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Stupa
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...

Article
Jesus & the Law of Moses
New Testament studies now place Jesus Christ within the parameters of Second Temple Judaism in the 1st century CE, attempting to go behind the layers of later Christian theology and philosophy (such as the trinity) to understand how his message...

Definition
Mahasanghika
Mahasanghika (“Great Congregation”, also given as Mahasamghika) was an early Buddhist school of thought which is thought to have been formed after the Second Buddhist Council of 383 BCE when it separated itself from another school, the Sthaviravada...

Definition
Yakushiji
The Yakushiji temple, located in Nara, Japan, is the headquarters of the Buddhist Hosso sect and one of the most important temples in the country. Originally founded in 680 CE at Fujiwara-kyo but then relocated to Nara in 718 CE, its famous...

Definition
Ancient Nara
Nara, located around 30 km south of modern Kyoto, was the capital of ancient Japan between 710 and 784 CE. It gave its name to the Nara Period (710-794 CE), although the name during the 8th century CE was Heijokyo. Modelled on the Chinese...

Definition
Longmen Grottoes
The Longmen Grottoes, a Buddhist cave complex located 13 kilometers south of Luoyang in China's Henan province, form some of the most significant and exquisite representations of ancient Chinese stone art. Created over the course of approximately...

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Statue of Buddhist Guardian Tamonten
This is a wooden statue of Tamonten — one of the Four Deva Kings (Shitenno) and a guardian of Buddhist teaching. This statue can be seen at the Daibutsuden or Great Buddha Hall of the Todaiji temple complex in Nara, Japan.

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Buddhist Illuminated Manuscript, Goryeo Period
An illuminated text of the Buddhist Lotus sutra. Goryeo period (918-1392 CE).
Gwangdeoksa temple in Chenan, Korea.

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Buddhist Monastery Ruins, Sarnath
Remains of a Buddhist monastery around the Dharmarajika Stupa. The rectangular cells are thought to be rooms where the monks slept. The yellow structure visible in the background is a relatively modern Jain temple. Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh...

Definition
Ancient Korea
Korea, located on a large peninsula on the eastern coast of the Asian mainland, has been inhabited since Neolithic times. The first recognisable political state was Gojoseon in the second half of the first millennium BCE. From the 1st century...