Explore the basic tenets and influences of Hinduism and Buddhism throughout Asia. Special attention is given to the evolution of Hinduism and Buddhism in India, and the representation of these beliefs in sculpture and religious architecture (stupas, temples, caves, and so on). Includes lessons on the traditions of threshold art and handouts on the symbolic gestures of Buddhas.

India; probably Kurkihar, Bihar state Stone The Avery Brundage Collection, B60S598

Photo by Olivier Laude, 1999. The photograph shows the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, in the state of Bihar in eastern India. This temple stands next to a descendent of the bodhi tree under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment. This site is the most important pilgrimage site in the Buddhist world, similar to Varanasi for Hindus or Mecca for Muslims.

Photo by Olivier Laude, 1999. This is the Great Stupa at Sanchi, located on a hill in the countryside of central India just north of present day Bhopal. It is the largest of several stupas at the site, which also includes the remains of several monastic buildings, including dining halls and pilgrim rooms.

India; Mathura area, Uttar Pradesh state Sandstone Gift of the Asian Art Museum Foundation, B69S13 This is not a portrait of a real person, but a type of figure known as a yakshi a semi-divine spirit referring to a fertile woman whose touch brings certain kinds of trees to blossom. The image conveys a sense of blossoming fertility.

Photo by Olivier Laude, 1999. This is one of a series of caves excavated out of the volcanic rock that extends along a cliff overlooking the Wagora River at Ajanta, about two hours north of the present-day city of Aurangabad, in Maharastra state in western India. The Ajanta caves predate the caves equally famous at Ellora, but they are entirely Buddhist. There are early caves at Ajanta, from about the same time as the stupa at Sanchi (approx. 200–100 bce), and later caves, dating from around 450 to 500 ce. This cave is numbered 26, and dates from the later period—around the 470s.

Pakistan; ancient region of Gandhara Schist The Avery Brundage Collection, B60S597 This statue depicts the bodhisattva Maitreya. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who postpone their own salvation in order to help all sentient beings. The bodhisattva is an ideal type, not a depiction of an historical person like the Buddha.