ASIAN RELIGION AND CULTURE

Yakshi – detail of eastern gateway to Great Stupa – ca 0

HINDUISM

• Recognize no founder or teacher• Means “religion of the Indians” • Goal – to achieve liberation from cycles and

become universal spirit• Deities have various natures and take on

different forms

Dancing Shiva - 550

Shiva as Mahadeva – basalt - 550

Shiva as Nataraja – bronze - 1000

Vishnu asleep on serpent - 500

Harihara – stone - 600

Vishnu lying on cosmic ocean – bronze – 8’ long - 1000

Rock Cut Temples - 600

Vishvanatha Temple - 1000

Angkor Wat - 1100

BUDDHISM

Prince Siddartha Gautama born 563 BCEAge 29 – left palace, abandoning wife and family, to

encounter suffering and the world he was sheilded fromFound Nirvana through meditation and…Wheel of Law:- Life is Suffering- The cause of suffering is desire- One can overcome and extinguish desire- Follow Buddah’s path to Nirvana to end cycles of rebirth

The Life and Death of Buddha – 100CE

Meditating Buddah – 100 and Seated Buddah preaching first sermon - 450

Head of Buddha – lime - 200

Great Stupa – Sanchi, India – 3rd cent BCE to 1st cent CE

Interior of Chaitya Hall (cave) - 450

Bodhisattiva

Borobudur – Java, Indonesia - 800

Death of Buddha – Sri Lanka - 1100