Archaeologists have discovered an ancient temple complex dating back to a society once subjugated by the Tang Dynasty - the state of Nanzhao. Researchers found the words "Buddha sarira enshrined by...
Archaeologists have discovered a unique hilltop monastery in eastern India. The 11th or 12th century religious center is special because of its location and because it was headed by a Buddhist nun,...
A huge, headless religious statue has been discovered carved into the rock face under apartment buildings in China. It is of questionable age - some claim it’s from the Republican era and others...
Bhutan’s sacred Burning Lake (known also as Membartsho or Mebar Tsho), in the Tang Valley, gets its name from a legend involving Pema Lingpa (or Padma Lingpa), a renowned Bhutanese saint. Today, the...
India is the birthplace of Buddhism and as one of the oldest faiths followed, there are many wonderous Buddhist sites. There is also a growing recognition of the country’s Buddhist heritage. One of...
In Pakistan , a group of construction workers destroyed a priceless Pakistani Buddha , smashing the figure to pieces. The almost 2000-year-old figure was vandalized because it offended local...
Strabo, Philostratus and Pliny all wrote about mythological giants: Antaeus, Ilio son of Hercules , Orestes, Cyclops and many others, and one of the most common components of creation myths found in...
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva, in its most general sense, refers to a person who is on his/her way to becoming a buddha. More specifically, bodhisattvas are savior-like beings who forsake their own...
Although Central Asia is no longer inundated by tourists, in the past it was a dynamic and diverse area, largely thanks to the Silk Road . One of the many remarkable sites in this region is the...
Laos is a country that we know little about, it is only in recent years that the nation has opened to the outside world. But the country has many important archaeological sites, amongst the most...
The story of Heracles is considered one of the oldest of the Greek myths . Heracles’ popularity stretched from the western world to the far reaches of northern India. His likeness has appeared as...
The oldest Buddhist scrolls ever discovered were made on birch bark and spent two millennia folded in clay pots, in a cave, situated along the northern border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and now...
Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha or “Enlightened One,” is probably one of the most influential individuals to come out of India through the incidental founding of Buddhism . Siddhartha...
Of all the countries in the world, India has some of the finest examples of Buddhist history and heritage. One of the noteworthy sites is the sacred monastery of Bavikonda in Andhra Pradesh . It is...
As early as Homer, more than 2,500 years ago, Greek mythology explored the idea of automatons and self-moving devices. By the third century BC, engineers in Hellenistic Alexandria, in Egypt, were...
Buddhism is one of the most well-known spiritual traditions in India and its long history in the country has resulted in many spectacular and significant Buddhist sites and ruins. These include...