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Varanasi
(Encyclopedia)Varanasi bənäˈrĭz [key], city (1991 pop. 1,030,863), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. Although a rail hub and trade center, Varanasi is chiefly important as a holy city. ...barrow, in archaeology
(Encyclopedia)barrow, in archaeology, a burial mound. Earth and stone or timber are the usual construction materials; in parts of SE Asia stone and brick have entirely replaced earth. A barrow built primarily of st...Kyoto
(Encyclopedia)Kyoto kyōˈtō [key], city (1990 pop. 1,461,140), capital of Kyoto prefecture, S Honshu, Japan, on the Kamo River. Yodo is its port. Kyoto is one of Japan's largest cities and an important cultural a...snake worship
(Encyclopedia)snake worship. The snake has been variously adored as a regenerative power, as a god of evil, as a god of good, as Christ (by the Gnostics), as a phallic deity, as a solar deity, and as a god of death...stupa
(Encyclopedia)CE5 Stupa stupa sto͞oˈpə [key] [Sanskrit,=mound], Buddhist monument in tumulus, or mound, form, often containing relics. The words tope and dagoba are synonymous, though the latter properly ref...sunyata
(Encyclopedia)sunyata sho͞onˈyətə [key] [Skt.,=emptiness], one of the main tenets of Mahayana Buddhism, first presented by the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna-paramita) scriptures (1st cent. b.c. on) and later sys...Zen Buddhism
(Encyclopedia)Zen Buddhism, Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin. Ch'an, Jap. Zen) derives from the Sanskrit dhyana [meditation]. In China the school early became known for making its centra...Lhasa
(Encyclopedia)Lhasa or Lasa lä-sŭ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 118,000), capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, SW China. It is on a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) at an altitude of c.11,800 ft (3,600 ...Thich Nhat Hanh
(Encyclopedia)Thich Nhat Hanh, 1926-2022, Zen master, b. Hue, Vietnam, as Nguyen Xuan Bao. At age 16, he began Buddhist training, completing his studies at Bao Quoc I...Rakhine State
(Encyclopedia)Rakhine State ărəkănˈ, äräkänˈ [key], state (1983 pop. 2,045,891), 14,194 sq mi (36,762 sq km), W Myanmar, extending along the Bay of Bengal. It lies at the foot of the Arakan Mts., which rise...Browse by Subject
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