Annotated Resource Set (ARS)
Title / Content Area:
Ways of Being Buddhist in South Asia: Past and Present
Developed by:
Amy Hyne & Alia Hasan-Khan, South Asia Institute, University of Texas in Austin
Grade Level:
6–12
Essential Question:
In what ways has Buddhist culture left its mark on local political systems, landscapes,
and customs over the course of its development and spread? How do Buddhist beliefs
and forms of expression, such as art, dance, architecture, vary within South Asia?
What can Buddhist material culture tell us about the lives and cultures of those
involved in its construction?
Contextual Paragraph:
Buddhism has around 376 million followers in the world today, making it one of the
world’s major religions. Buddhism started in India around 2,500 years ago, and is now
practiced by people all over the world. Teaching on Buddhism in the West is often
limited to an overview of Buddhism as a system of religious beliefs and practices.
Students are introduced to the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama (the
Buddha); they learn about his disdain for worldly goods and attachments, his
enlightenment, his teachings, and the initiation of his first disciples. They may also be
introduced to the different schools of thought, which have different rituals, practices,
and geographies. Theravada Buddhism, for example, is practiced mainly in Southeast
Asia, whereas Mahayana Buddhism (developed sometime around 1st century CE)
spread to China, Mongolia, Tibet, and as far as Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. (For a
good introductory resource on Buddhism see the following volume: Buddhism: A Very
Short Introduction by Damien Keown (Oxford University Press, 2013).
This resource set assumes prior knowledge of these foundational topics, and
examines in closer detail the dynamics of the spread of Buddhism from India outward,
with special focus on the diversity of Buddhism within South Asian countries. Rather
than presenting students with a timeline of events, this resource set encourages
students to think about how the actions and motivations of individuals determine the
course of history. To this end, students critically consider the roles of historical and
modern Buddhist figures. It also teaches them how to analyze material culture
(manuscripts, photographs, inscriptions and architecture, for example) to reveal how
Buddhist ideas and practices spread from person to person and region to region.
Students are challenged to step beyond the idea of Buddhism as religious belief and
consider how Buddhism is reflected in cultural practices, events, social roles, and
everyday life.
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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Resource Set
Map of China-India
Border
Monograph on Buddha
Sakyamuni’s Birth-Place
in the Nepalese Tarai
Lamas and prayer flags
Lamas blowing gyalings
at temple door
Final Examination for
Lamas
Studying the art of
religious painting
This map, from 1963,
shows a detail of the
area of Nepal, Tibet,
Bhutan, Assam,
Northern India, and
Pakistan. The territory
just East of India, here
labeled Pakistan,
became Bangladesh in
1971. Buddhism has
flourished in all of these
places in different
periods throughout
history.
A German archeologist,
Anton Fuhrer, is
credited with
discovering the
birthplace of Buddha in
what is now Nepal. This
monograph published in
1897 chronicles his
discovery.
There are two kinds of
prayer flags in Tibetan
Buddhism, vertical and
horizontal. These
vertical ones represent
victory over an
adversary, whereas
horizontal ones that are
usually strung between
two objects in a high
place are used as a
blessing.
Music plays an
important role in
Buddhist temples. These
oboe-like instruments,
called gyalings, are used
during prayer to
summon good deities
and provide a focus for
meditation.
Lamas are the most
senior monks in Tibetan
Buddhism. They have
usually achieved
mastery of meditation
and sacred rituals.
Monks and nuns are
required to obey more
than 200 rules, covering
everything from
relations with other
people, to the food they
eat and the clothes they
wear.
Young boys studying
religious painting in
Sikkim. The figure
shown in the painting is
a bodhisattva, an
enlightened buddha
who helps teach others
how to escape samsara,
the cycle of death and
rebirth.
http://memory.loc.gov/
gmd/gmd7/g7821/g782
1f/ct002822.jp2
http://www.wdl.org/en/ http://www.loc.gov/pict
item/2371/?q=buddhis
ures/item/2011646973/
m&regions=central-andsouthasia&qla=en&view_type
=gallery
http://www.loc.gov/pict
ures/item/2011646636/
resource/
http://www.loc.gov/pict
ures/item/2011646969/
resource/
http://www.loc.gov/pict
ures/collection/kskm/it
em/2011646305/
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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Young girl praying in
front of big Buddha
Monk burns effigy of
evil
Woman turning
prayer wheel in front
of stupa
Webcast of Dr. Kendall
and Hope Cooke giving
presentation on Sikkim
Webcast of the Natasinh
Dancers & Musicians
Chapter on Buddhism from
edited volume Great
Religions of the World
This is an image from
1969 of a young girl,
Kimu, praying in front
of a giant Buddha
statue at the Lachung
Monastery in northern
Sikkim.
Tibetan New Year is
celebrated in the
festival of Losar, which
takes place in the first
full moon of January.
This ritual is performed
to frighten away any
evil spirits that have
appeared in the
previous year.
When the Buddha
died, his remains were
spread over many
places in India. Large,
dome shaped
structures called
stupas were built
around these and they
became sites of
pilgrimage for
Buddhists.
Dr. Alice Kandell was the
photographer of this
collection from Sikkim,
India. She was a close
friend of Hope Cooke,
the former Queen of
Sikkim.
The Lao Natasinh Dance
Troupe of Iowa is a
group of Lao dancers
and musicians trained in
the Natasinh style of
performance. The genre
includes court music for
royal ceremonies and
the classical dancedrama based on the
Ramayana, as well as
music and dance
performed for social and
ritual occasions.
Published in 1912, this is a
collection of studies on
world religions. The section
on Buddhism (pp. 33–52)
was written by a pioneer of
Buddhist studies in the
west, T.W. R Davids It will
be useful for advanced high
school students, for
teachers seeking an
introduction to major
topics, and as an example
of how Buddhism was
discussed in Western
academic circles in the
early 20th century.
http://www.loc.gov/pi
ctures/collection/ksk
m/item/2011646270/
http://www.loc.gov/pic
tures/collection/kskm/i
tem/2011646390/
http://www.loc.gov/pi
ctures/collection/ksk
m/item/2011648822/
http://www.loc.gov/toda
y/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.
php?rec=4912
http://www.loc.gov/tod
ay/cyberlc/feature_wde
sc.php?rec=4359
http://lccn.loc.gov/120134
59
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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“One Million Pagoda
Charms” (East Asian
Buddhism)
Buddhist procession
bringing new rice to the
Temple of the Tooth,
Kandy, Sri Lanka
Street leading to Dalada
Malagawa – the Temple
of the Sacred Tooth,
Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sikkim, Gangtok, early
Buddhist script written
on palm leaves
This miniature pagoda
and these strips of
prayers are an example
of how relics of texts
can function in similar
ways to relics of bodies.
Between 764 and 770,
the Empress Shtoku
ordered the Buddist
prayers (dharani) to be
printed and placed in
"one million" tiny
wooden pagodas as a
memorial to the dead
and distributed to
monasteries throughout
Japan.
Relics of the Buddha are
housed in stupas, which
become important
pilgrimage places for
Buddhist monks, nuns,
and lay people. This
temple in Sri Lanka
(formerly called Ceylon)
is believed to house a
tooth of the Buddha.
Pilgrims believe that
they can acquire merit
for themselves and their
families by visiting and
making offerings to the
Buddha’s relics at these
stupas.
This is an 1895
photograph of the
pathway leading to the
Temple of the Sacred
Tooth, an important
Buddhist reliquary
monument in Kandy, Sri
Lanka. We know from
inscriptions that as early
as 150 BCE, monks,
nuns, and lay people
would donate money
and goods at stupas in
hopes of acquiring merit
and attaining certain
goals such as good
health or supreme
knowledge.
Photograph shows palm
leaves with Devanagari
and Bengali script, on
exhibit at the Namgyal
Tibetology Institute,
Gangtok, Sikkim. Before
printing was available,
manuscripts (which
were subject to decay)
would be copied by
hand by monks or
scribes.
The Gandhara Scroll is
A print of an engraving
one of several
by Henry Winkles (1800–
manuscripts recently
ca. 1860), this image
unearthed in
shows the Buddha, the
Afghanistan that
Hindu god Vishnu, and
contains the oldest
various Hindu ascetics. A
known Buddhist writings
good piece for
to date. This resource is
challenging students to
a three-page web article
think about religious
on the background,
syncretism in India. Also
examination, and
invites comparison of
conservation of the
Buddhist and Hindu
scroll at the Library of
modes of
Congress.
representation, and
analysis of colonial
impressions of those
representations.
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/world/worldrecord.html
http://www.loc.gov/pict
ures/resource/cph.3c19
742/
http://www.loc.gov/pict
ures/resource/wtc.4a02
550/
http://www.loc.gov/pic
tures/item/2011646383
/
http://www.loc.gov/pre
servation/conservators/
gandhara/index.html
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
Conservation of the
Gandhara Scroll
Images of Hinduism and
Buddhism
http://www.loc.gov/pict
ures/resource/cph.3c15
361/
5
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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A Country Study:
Bhutan
A Country Study: Sri
Lanka
A Country Study: Nepal
Death, Rebirth, Being
Human in Tibetan
Buddhism (webcast)
Tibetans in Exile
Tibetan Buddhist Wheel
of Life
This resource provides
an outline of the
history of Bhutan, and
links to documents
describing the manner
of arrival of Buddhism
in this country and the
mixing of Buddhism
with local Bon religion.
This links to an outline
of the history of Sri
Lanka. Relevant sections
discuss the arrival of
Buddhism in Sri Lanka
and its subsequent
development.
This resource provides
an abbreviated outline
on the history of Nepal.
The section on
Buddhism is limited, but
the information on
interaction between
Nepal and neighboring
regions is useful for
understanding the
spread of cultures and
ideas in the region.
In this talk, Frances
Garrett considers
images of dying, the
afterlife, and rebirth,
and notions of human
embodiment and
personhood, in Tibetan
Buddhism. He argues
that the use of
knowledge about dying
and birth in Buddhist
meditation compels us
to revise our
understanding of the
categories of medicine
and religion.
This resource set,
available through the
Library of Congress
partner site, the American
Folklife Center, examines
the conflict between Tibet
and China, and documents
the practices, beliefs, and
struggles of Tibetan
communities living in
exile.
One in a series of images
that help students
compare views of the
cosmos from different
parts of the world, this
image depicts the Wheel
of Life of the Tibetan
Buddhists. The six
realms of existence are
all held in the grasp of
the Lord of Death.
http://memory.loc.gov
/frd/cs/bttoc.html
http://memory.loc.gov/f
rd/cs/lktoc.html
http://memory.loc.gov/f
rd/cs/nptoc.html
http://www.loc.gov/to
day/cyberlc/feature_w
desc.php?rec=4367
http://www.internationalf
olkart.org/eventsedu/edu
cation/hah_tibet/index.ht
ml
http://myloc.gov/exhibit
ions/earlyamericas/inter
actives/heavensandeart
h/html/earth/artifact5earth.html
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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Bill Text of the 107th
Congress (2001–2002),
S. CON.RES 30
Bill Text of the 104th
Congress (1995–1996),
S.RES.169
Asian Historical
Architecture,
Kathmandu, Nepal
Asian Historical
Architecture, Bodh
Gaya, India
Asian Historical
Architecture, Bamiyan,
Afghanistan
Asian Historical
Architecture, Taxila,
Pakistan
A bill condemning the
destruction of preIslamic statues in
Afghanistan by the
Taliban regime.
Among them was a
pair of 1,600-year-old
175-foot-tall and 120foot-tall statues
carved out of a
mountainside at
Bamiyan, one of which
is believed to have
been the world's
largest statue of a
standing Buddha.
A bill expressing the
sense of the Senate
welcoming His Holiness
the Dalai Lama on his
visit to the United
States. Expressing the
sentiment that Tibet is
recognized by the U.S.
as a sovereign nation,
this bill touches on
human rights violations
in the area and the
destruction of Tibetan
Buddhist monasteries
and artifacts by the
People’s Republic of
China.
A photographic survey
of Asia's architectural
heritage with
background
information, maps, and
virtual tours.
Geographical limits
correspond to areas
heavily influenced by
Buddhism or Hinduism.
A photographic survey
of Asia's architectural
heritage with
background
information, maps, and
virtual tours.
Geographical limits
correspond to areas
heavily influenced by
Buddhism or Hinduism.
A photographic survey of
Asia's architectural
heritage with background
information, maps, and
virtual tours. Geographical
limits correspond to areas
heavily influenced by
Buddhism or Hinduism.
A photographic survey
of Asia's architectural
heritage with
background information,
maps, and virtual tours.
Geographical limits
correspond to areas
heavily influenced by
Buddhism or Hinduism.
KATHMANDU, NEPAL:
Site of 14th century
Bodhnath Stupa, the
largest stupa in Nepal,
and the Svayambhunath
Stupa, the oldest in
Nepal.
BODH GAYA, INDIA:
Site where the Buddha
attained
enlightenment.
http://thomas.loc.gov
/cgibin/query/z?c107:S.C
ON.RES.30.IS:/
http://thomas.loc.gov/c
gibin/query/z?c104:S.RES.
169.ATS:/
http://lccn.loc.gov/2003
547845
http://lccn.loc.gov/200
3547845
http://lccn.loc.gov/20035
47845
http://lccn.loc.gov/2003
547845
http://www.orientalarc
hitecture.com/nepal/kat
hmandu/index.php
http://www.orientalarc
hitecture.com/india/bo
dhgaya/index.php
http://www.orientalarchit
ecture.com/afghanistan/st
atewide/bamiyan.php
http://www.orientalarch
itecture.com/pakistan/t
axila/index.php
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
BAMIYAN, AFGHANISTAN:
The location of the
famous silk-road Buddhist
sculptures, probably built
around the 5th century,
which were destroyed in
2001.
TAXILA, PAKISTAN: Site
of Dharmarajika Stupa, a
2nd century monument
built by Ashoka, a
famous Emperor who
converted to Buddhism
and helped its spread
across South Asia.
8
Foundations Annotations
Curriculum Connections
Social Studies, World History, World Geography
Curriculum Standards
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies
§113.18. Social Studies, Grade 6
(2) History. The student understands the influences of individuals and groups from various cultures on various hjstorical and contemporary societies. The
student is expected to: (A) identify and describe the influence of individual or group achievements on various historical or contemporary societies such as the
classical Greeks on government and the American Revolution on the French Revolution; and
(B) evaluate the social, political, economic, and cultural contributions of individuals and groups from various societies, past and present.
(15) Culture. The student understands the similarities and differences within and among cultures in various world societies. The student is expected to: (A)
define culture and the common traits that unify a culture region; (B) identify and describe common traits that define cultures; (E) analyze the similarities and
differences among various world societies
(17) Culture. The student understands relationships that exist among world cultures. The student is expected to: (D) identify and define the impact of cultural
diffusion on individuals and world societies; (E) identify positive and negative impacts of cultural diffusion.
(18) Culture. The student understands the relationship that exists between the arts and the societies in which they are produced. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the relationships that exist between societies and their architecture, art, music, and literature; (D) identify examples of art, music, and literature that
have transcended the boundaries of societies and convey universal themes such as religion, justice, and the passage of time.
(19) Culture. The student understands the relationships among religion, philosophy, and culture. The student is expected to: (B) explain the significance of
religious holidays and observances such as Christmas, Easter, Ramadan, the annual hajj, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, and Vaisakhi in various
contemporary societies.
(21) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired through established research methodologies from
a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to: (A) differentiate between, locate, and use valid primary and secondary
sources such as computer software; interviews; biographies; oral, print, and visual material; and artifacts to acquire information about various world cultures;
(B) analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing,
making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions.
§113.42. World History Studies
(1) History. The student understands traditional historical points of reference in world history. The student is expected to: (B) identify major causes and
describe the major effects of the following events from 500 BC to AD 600: the development of the classical civilizations of Greece, Rome, Persia, India (Maurya
and Gupta), China (Zhou, Qin, and Han), and the development of major world religions;
(3) History. The student understands the contributions and influence of classical civilizations from 500 BC to AD 600 on subsequent civilizations. The student is
expected to: (A) describe the major political, religious/philosophical, and cultural influences of Persia, India, China, Israel, Greece, and Rome, including the
development of monotheism, Judaism, and Christianity
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
9
(15) Geography. The student uses geographic skills and tools to collect, analyze, and interpret data. The student is expected to: (B) analyze and compare
geographic distributions and patterns in world history shown on maps, graphs, charts, and models.
(23) Culture. The student understands the history and relevance of major religious and philosophical traditions. The student is expected to: (A) describe the
historical origins, central ideas, and spread of major religious and philosophical traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam,
Judaism, Sikhism, and the development of monotheism
(25) Culture. The student understands how the development of ideas has influenced institutions and societies. The student is expected to: (A) summarize the
fundamental ideas and institutions of Eastern civilizations that originated in China and India
(26) Culture. The student understands the relationship between the arts and the times during which they were created. The student is expected to: (A) identify
significant examples of art and architecture that demonstrate an artistic ideal or visual principle from selected cultures
(29) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic
technology. The student is expected to: (C) explain the differences between primary and secondary sources and examine those sources to analyze frame of
reference, historical context, and point of view; (F) analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing,
contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, drawing inferences and conclusions, and developing connections
between historical events over time
(30) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to: (A) use social studies terminology correctly;
(B) use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation; (C) interpret and create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies
information; and (D) transfer information from one medium to another.
§113.43. World Geography Studies
(5) Geography. The student understands how political, economic, and social processes shape cultural patterns and characteristics in various places and regions.
The student is expected to: (A) analyze how the character of a place is related to its political, economic, social, and cultural elements.
(16) Culture. The student understands how the components of culture affect the way people live and shape the characteristics of regions. The student is
expected to: (B) describe elements of culture, including language, religion, beliefs and customs, institutions, and technologies; (C) explain ways various groups
of people perceive the characteristics of their own and other cultures, places, and regions differently.
(17) Culture. The student understands the distribution, patterns, and characteristics of different cultures. The student is expected to: (B) describe major world
religions, including animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism, and their spatial distribution; (D) evaluate the experiences and
contributions of diverse groups to multicultural societies.
(18) Culture. The student understands the ways in which cultures change and maintain continuity. The student is expected to: (C) identify examples of cultures
that maintain traditional ways, including traditional economies.
Content & Thinking Objectives
Content Objectives Objective 1: Students will describe some of ways in which Buddhism is incorporated into the varied cultures of its practitioners.
Objective 2: Students will learn about various mediums, such as music, dance, painting, and architecture, through which Buddhists express their religion.
Objective 2: Students will be able to identify South Asian countries where Buddhism is practiced and will be able to describe some aspects of Buddhism in those
places.
Objective 3: Students will become familiar with some political conversations and events related to Buddhism in modern South Asia.
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
10
Objective 4: Students will be able to describe the role of stupas in Buddhism and will learn about practices associated with relics of the Buddha.
Thinking Objectives Objective 1: Students will be challenged to think critically about the interactions between religious practice, culture, and politics.
Objective 2: Students will develop strategies for interpreting material culture (art, manuscripts, inscriptions, architecture) as a primary resource in historical
research.
Objective 3: Students will consider the diversity of practice and belief within South Asian Buddhist cultures, which will help them develop strategies for
understanding other major world belief systems.
Inquiry Activities & Strategies
1. Buddhism and Politics: Congressional Bill Comparison & Discussion – Divide your students into small groups and ask them to read the two congressional
resolutions from the resource set. Ask them to consider the following questions with their peers: What are the possible motivations behind each of these
bills (humanitarian, political, religious, etc.)? Who are the major players? Do they endorse Buddhism? Condemn other religions? If so, how? What does it
mean to have “freedom of religion” and how might this concept relate to the events discussed in the bills? What responsibility does a modern nation state
have, if any, to protect and maintain its historical artifacts and monuments? Is it possible to distinguish between “religious” artifacts and “cultural”
artifacts? If so, how? After the students have had time to prepare, bring the group together to share and discuss. (Note: The resource “Tibetans in Exile” will
provide students and teachers with a more in-depth background of the conflict leading up the resolution regarding the Dalai Lama. The Asian Historical
Architecture resource set has a section on Bamiyan that provides images and background information).
2. If Walls Could Talk: Architecture Analysis Activity – Using the links to the Oriental Architecture site from the research set, show students the slides and
discuss the background of these major Buddhist sites. Ask the students to compare the sites and identify the consistencies and differences in style. Ask
them to consider how the values of the region, religion, and culture are reflected in the architecture. Consider the height of the monuments, the placement
of sculpture and inscription, and the layout of the property, and ask them to reflect on what kinds of issues (audience, reach, function) might have been
considered in the designing of these monuments. For example, did they need to house monks? Were they built according to local styles in order to appeal
to local communities? Do certain aspects seem more decorative than functional? After the discussion, ask students to take some time to design a
monument. A simple drawing will work, but if you have more time consider allowing your students to sketch the design on paper, and then attempt to build
the monument with modeling clay, construction paper, popsicle sticks, and/or any art supplies you have available. Alternatively, assign the task as
homework and have students bring their monument the following day. Ask them to write a brief summary discussing their monument, including its
purpose, its imagined location in space (in a city, on a hill, etc.), and the reasons for their design choices. Ask them to discuss how their process of design
and final product compares with those of the Buddhist monuments from the research set and those of their peers. The goal of this activity is to teach
students about Buddhist architecture, while also teaching them to think critically about the localized human motivations and efforts behind the building of
monuments more generally.
3. Annotated Map Activity - Give students a large blank map of South Asia at the beginning of the unit. Ask them to fill in the map as they learn about the
different countries, labeling and briefly describing important Buddhist cities and sites that they learn about, and tracing with dotted lines the spread of
Buddhism from one region to the next. (A blank map of South Asia can be downloaded from: http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxasia.htm)
4. Photograph Activity – Ask students to analyze a photograph from the research set. Can they identify the region? What kinds of clues might help them to do
this? What kinds of clothes are the people wearing? What kinds of activities are depicted in the photographs? Who is performing them? Ask them to
interpret what they think is going on in the photograph. After, ask the students to share their impressions. What strategies did they use? What stereotypes
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
11
about Buddhism in Asia were revealed during the course of this activity? Ask students to be self-reflective and consider what experiences of their own
might have contributed to their impressions.
Assessment Strategies
1. Triple Entry Journal – Before beginning the unit on Buddhism, ask students to create a journal. They can use a report cover or folder for this, or alternatively
a journal can be made by stapling 10 sheets of 8.5” x 11” binder paper between an 18” x 24” sheet of construction paper. Their first entry should be
completed before starting the unit. In this entry they should list or discuss anything that comes to their mind when they think of Buddhism. Ask them to
write anything they have previously learned or heard about Buddhism or Buddhists. For example, do they know: where Buddhism started; who Gautama
Buddha is; where Buddhism is practiced today; what Buddhists believe? Ask them also to write any stereotypes they have heard about Buddhism or
Buddhists. The second entry in the journal will be their notes on the unit. Ask students to take notes about what they learn from the resource set, lectures,
and discussions, and also ask them to note any questions that arise from the materials. Allow students to share their questions and discuss with the class.
The final entry in the journal will be a personal reflection on the unit. Ask students to reread their initial entry and reflect on how their understandings of
Buddhism have changed as a result of the unit. What, if anything, surprised them about Buddhism? What was the most interesting aspect of the unit for
them? This type of assignment will allow teachers to assess both the content learned and the students’ ability to reflect on the content.
2. Divide the class into groups and assign each group a different South Asian country (Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Pakistan). Have each student select and
research a particular artifact from that country that demonstrates how Buddhism interacts with the local culture in some way. Students can select an
image, a newspaper article, a monument, a local festival or holiday, a piece of legislation, a conflict, a form of art, music, or dance. For example, students
might choose to study Tibetan prayer flags, or prayer wheels, or mandalas. They might select a type of instrument used in Buddhist ritual (such as the
gyaling or bells) and discuss the history of this instrument in their particular context. If students would like to choose a work of art or sculpture, they can
consult the following websites for ideas: http://www.asianart.org/ and http://www.metmuseum.org). Have the students prepare a presentation for the
class with each student briefly describing and analyzing their artifact. Have them try to answer the following questions: What is your artifact and how does
it reflect Buddhist belief, practice, or customs? How does it reflect the country of its origin? What is its purpose? When was it created and by whom?
Alternatively or in addition, you can ask students to turn in a research paper on their artifact or topic.
Other Resources
Web Resources
http://asiasociety.org/education A website for K-12 educators maintained by the Asia Society that has extensive materials and information for teaching about
Buddhism.
http://edsitement.neh.gov/ Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, this website has a substantial library of lesson plans, including a
handful on South and East Asian Buddhism and the history of the Buddha. They also have a link to a PBS program on the Buddha.
http://www.discoveryeducation.com Offers a lesson plan on Buddhism and the Dalai Lama.
http://www.bessqld.com/ A website that has lesson plans and printouts that teach through Buddhism and about Buddhism. The developers of this site are
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interested not only in spreading Buddhist teachings, but in instilling in students what they consider to be Buddhist values. As such, this website is an interesting
source for understanding how the spread of Buddhism continues through different types of media in non-Asian countries.
http://www.asianart.org/ This is the website of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco with additional images and references for the study of Buddhism in
South Asian art.
http://teachindiaproject.org/ This website provides resources and lessons plans on India which seem to be geared towards South Asian communities in the
diaspora. Their mission statement: The Mission of the Teach India Project is to provide educators with tools and resources for global awareness and
multicultural education and to give parents of the Indian Diaspora a cultural literacy resource so that we may work together to deepen children’s understanding
of the world.
http://www.crl.edu/area-studies/samp From the website: “The South Asia Microform Project (SAMP) seeks to acquire and maintain a readily accessible
microform collection of unique materials related to the study of South Asia. Materials are collected both through the project’s filming efforts and through the
purchase of positive copies of materials filmed by other groups, institutions, and companies.” Some of the items available digitally will be useful, though many
items will need to be ordered through inter-library loan.
Secondary Sources
Books:
Carrithers, Michael. Buddha: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).
Gethin, Rupert, trans. Sayings of the Buddha. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008). This is a very accessible book that contains translations of early Pali texts.
The selections present the teachings of the Buddha and the development of the sangha, the Buddhist monastic community.
Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History, and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Keown, Damien. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013).
Strong, John. Relics of the Buddha. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004). This book, though written primarily for an academic audience, contains
important discussions surrounding the relics of the Buddha and the practices associated with their preservation, installment in stupas, and worship.
Wheeler, Robert Eric Mortimer. Early India and Pakistan: To Ashoka. (Rev. ed.) New York: Praeger, 1968.
Articles:
Over the past 20 years or so scholars of Buddhism have had to seriously reconsider the origins of one of the most pervasive forms of Buddhism, Mahayana (or,
“The Great Vehicle”). Though textbook companies are increasingly sensitive to the new findings in scholarship on Buddhism, misunderstandings about the
earlier history of this branch are still quite common. For a discussion of these issues, see the two following articles:
Harrison, Paul. “Searching for the Origins of Mahāyāna: What are We Looking For?” in The Eastern Buddhist 28, no. 1, (1995): 48-69.
Silk, Jonathan A. “What, if Anything, is Mahāyāna Buddhism? Problems of Definitions and Classifications” in Numen, Vol. 49, No. 4 (2002), pp. 355-405.
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