There's a long tradition of Swiss exploration in northern India and the Himalayas. Hrīḥ is a seed (bīja) syllable, or a condensed mantra. In Pure Land Buddhism, hrīḥ is associated with Amitābha; in this Tibetan context it might associated with Avalokiteśvara.

Some important Bodhisattvas are associated with an aspect of Buddhist truth, such as wisdom or compassion. We will see at least two: one who keeps an eye out and helps those on the Bodhisattva Path, and one who is a friend to all, responding to requests for guidance and assistance.

Lovely image! The hairstyle, facial shape, and style of robes tell me this interpretation is East Asian. Amida Buddha is crucial to Pure Land traditions, which we'll get to soon. I also love that Buddhas of this size often have ventilation grates, suggesting the inaccessible interior of stupas.

I'm not sure we could ever know conclusively. But I think we can see his example as demonstrating Buddhism's political potential, and the idea that anyone can 'wake up' to Buddhism's truths. This story has been taken seriously by many Buddhists, so its impact has been sincere whether or not he was.

Well noted! These details aren't just for flourish or dramatic tension: they also illustrate core Buddhist ideas, and place them at the very origin of Buddhism.

While the human and institutional aspects of Buddhism can be just as good at prejudice and restriction as any other tradition, doctrinal exclusivity and persecution between forms of Buddhism is not the flashpoint it might be in other traditions.

This is a solid Buddhist-lens reading -- nothing remained between Ātmans, like the emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena. But due to causal chains, a new fish was purchased and placed! A Hindu reading, which would fit the play's 'divine self' definition, would see a transcendent and impervious ātman.

As Emily notes, human 'elements' can appear in animals, and vice versa. The primary distinction is that animals are said to lack self-determination - they can't recognize the truth of the Buddha's teaching and choose to follow the Dharma. Prayers reference 'all sentient beings,' human, animal, etc.

Great question -- there are many types of Yoga, and we looked primarily at Haṭha. Karma yoga focuses on 'right action' (karma), which can include service. Bhakti yoga says to 'relinquish the fruits of action,' meaning you remain selfless but act anyway.

I like the hypothesis that this is an architectural echo. While I'm not sure about the 8 sides, those figures are trigrams, related to the hexagrams of Yì Jīng (I-Ching) divination. We have a Sanskrit word in a Sinitic symbol!

Open, free, no tracking/algo, none of my students were on it so they didn’t feel exposed.