Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Teaching about Buddhism?

This site from National Geographic is interactive, and shows some wonderful pictures of the giant Buddhas that are found near caves Dunhuang, China.  Dunhuang was near the ancient Silk Roads.  In the early 20th century, archaeologists made an incredible discovery in these caves - according to the British Library, thousands of Buddhist artifacts have been found here.  The caves vary in size, and the National Geographic site allows you to virtually travel from one end of the caves to the other, taking a peek into some of the grottoes.  You can see gigantic Buddha statues, as well as murals and other paintings.  For more about the caves, you can also see the article on the National Geographic site by clicking here.

The International Dunhuang Project is working toward making many of these artifacts available free online.

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