Zen Buddhism: Did you mean...?

The Edicts of Ashoka are 33 inscriptions engraved on pillars, large stones, and cave walls by Ashoka the Great (r. 268-232 BCE), the third king of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE) of India. One set, the so-called Major Rock Edicts, are consistent...

Brahmanism (also known as Vedic Religion) is the belief system that developed from the Vedas during the Late Vedic Period (c. 1100-500 BCE) originating in the Indus Valley Civilization after the Indo-Aryan Migration c. 2000-1500 BCE. It claims...

Chanakya (l. c. 350-275 BCE, also known as Kautilya and Vishnugupta) was prime minister under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya (r. c. 321-c.297 BCE), founder of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE). He is best known as the author of the political...

Taejo (r. 918-943 CE), previously known as Wang Geon or Wang Kon, was the founder and first king of the Goryeo (Koryo) kingdom which unified and ruled ancient Korea from 918 CE to 1392 CE. Wang Geon was given the posthumous title of Taejo...

Hachiman is the ancient Shinto god or kami of war, divination, and culture. He is famously credited with sending the kamikaze or 'divine wind' which twice dispersed the invading fleets of Mongol ruler Kublai Khan in the 13th century CE. This...

Wuzong of Tang (also Wu-Tsung, formerly Li Yan) reigned as emperor of China from 840 to 846 CE. He is best remembered today for his persecution of Buddhists, the worst such attack in all of China's history, and his early death by insanity...

The Shishunaga Dynasty (also Sishunaga/Shaishunaga Dynasty) ruled the Magadha Kingdom in ancient India from c. 413 BCE to c. 345 BCE (in some sources from 421 BCE). It is said to be the third imperial dynasty of Magadha after the Brihadratha...

Byodo-in is a Buddhist temple complex at Uji, south of Kyoto, which was founded in 1052 CE by the important court official and regent Fujiwara no Yorimichi. The large Phoenix Hall is one of the finest surviving examples of architecture from...

The Pallavas ruled south-eastern India from the 3rd through the 9th centuries CE. Their empire covered what is today the Tamil Nadu state. Their origin is shrouded in mystery though historians believe their roots might have been from Andhra...

Madonna di Piazza, tempera on panel by Andrea del Verrocchio, 1474-1483. Cattedrale di San Zen, Pistoia