Seeker
Seeker: Week of 11 25 13: Oldest Buddha Shrine Dates Birth 6th C. b.c.
When was the Buddha, or Enlightened One, born, and when? The recent discovery of the oldest known Buddist shrine tells archaelogists more than we've ever know.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: How to Identify a Buddha
The earliest surviving representations of the Buddha date from hundreds of years after his death, so they are not portraits in the usual sense. Buddha images vary greatly from place to place and period to period, but they almost always...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Standing Crowned Buddha With Four Scenes of His Life
This is an image of a crowned and bejeweled Buddha, standing on a lotus pedestal, surrounded by four other figures representing four famous scenes from the life of the historical Buddha. It dates from approximately 1050-1100 C.E. The...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Seated Amitabha Buddha (Amida Nyorai)
Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of a historical figure known as the Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived about 2,500 years ago. This sculpture shows Amitabha, identified as the Buddha of the Western Paradise. Amitabha is shown...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: The Buddha Shakyamuni
How do we recognize this figure as Shakyamuni Buddha? This is the traditional representation of the Shakyamuni Buddha or the historical Buddha. The statue shows the moment of his enlightenment at a place called Bodh Gaya in India, which...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Development of the Buddha Image
There is significant debate concerning the development of the Buddha image--where it first occurred, why, and when. Broadly speaking, the image of the Buddha emerged during the first few centuries C.E. in two major centers of Indian art...