HIST 80a Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Vajrayana, Vajrapani, Northern Wei
23 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Footprints were favored over physical representations of the buddha to emphasize how he vanished after nirvana. Relics and monasteries were originally popular with buddhists before christianity. Usually the buddha is depicted in a meditating pose, and has a profound greco roman influence when the folds of the drapery are present. Vajrapani is a quasi-godlike protector of the buddha who was initially depicted as a warrior and then as a monstrous beast. The spread of buddhism through the silk road. Vajrayana buddhism is a northern chinese buddhist school of thought that emphasized internal spiritual energy through meditation in chakras. Bamiyan is in afghanistan, a site of rock cut buddhas. One of the westernmost places of the silk road was in what is now modern day jordan, or as it was known then petra. It was the site of elaborate temple like, rock cut, tombs for wealthy merchants. Many rock cut buddhas have been destroyed in the region.
