Zen Buddhism: Did you mean...?

A stupa (literally “heap” or “pile”) is a reliquary, a shrine containing the remains of a holy or sainted person and/or artifacts (relics) associated with them, originating in India prior to the 5th century BCE as tombs of holy men and evolving...

Cyrus the Great (558-530 BCE) built the first universal empire, stretching from Greece to the Indus River. This was the famous Achaemenid Empire of Persia. An inscription at Naqsh-i-Rustam, the tomb of his able successor Darius I (521-486...

Buddhism originated in the Ganges Plain of Magadha (modern Bihar, India) during the 5th–4th century BCE, following the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha (c. 5th century BCE). Initially transmitted through oral teaching and monastic...

The history of green tea in Japan goes back to the 8th century when it was a popular stimulant for meditating monks. In this article, we examine tea's origins and cultivation, how it became an integral part of Japanese culture, the symbolism...

The medieval period of Japan is considered by most historians to stretch from 1185 to 1603 CE. Stand out features of the period include the replacement of the aristocracy by the samurai class as the most powerful social group, the establishment...

A map illustrating the spread of Buddhism from its origins in India in the 5th century BCE with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama - the Buddha.

The Enryakuji is a Buddhist monastic complex on the sacred Mt. Hiei, near Kyoto, Japan. The site was selected by the monk Saicho to become the headquarters of the Tendai sect, which he founded in Japan in the early 9th century CE. Enryakuji...

A sutra (Sanskrit for “thread”) is a written work in the belief systems of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism which is understood to accurately preserve important teachings of the respective faiths and guide an adherent on the path from ignorance...

Religious practices in ancient China go back over 7,000 years. Long before the philosophical and spiritual teachings of Confucius and Lao-Tzu developed or before the teachings of the Buddha came to China, the people worshipped personifications...

This infographic illustrates the Eightfold Path (आर्याष्टाङ्गमार्ग", Āryāṣṭāṅgamārga), a core teaching in Buddhism, established by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, over 2,500 years ago as a way to overcome suffering and achieve enlightenment...