title: Grass snake

text: After the Christianization of Lithuania and Latvia, the grass snake still retained some mythological significance. In spite of the serpent's symbolic meaning as a symbol of evil in Christianity, in Latvia and Lithuania there were various folk beliefs, dating even to the late 19th century, that killing grass snakes might bring grave misfortune or that an injured snake will take revenge on the offender. The ancient Baltic belief of grass snakes as household spirits transformed into a belief that there is a snake (known or not to the inhabitants) living under every house; if it leaves, the house will burn down. Common Latvian folk sayings include "who kills a grass snake, kills his happiness" and "when the Saulė sees a dead grass snake, she cries for 9 days".


title: Grass snake

text: Well-known literary works based on these traditions include Lithuanian folk tale Eglė the Queen of Serpents ("Eglė žalčių karalienė") and the Latvian folk fairytale "The grass snake's bride" ("Zalkša līgava"). These works include another common theme in Baltic mythology: that grass snakes wear crowns (note grass snake's yellow spots) and that there is a king of snakes who wears a golden crown. In some traditions the king of snakes changes every year; he drops his crown in spring and the other snakes fight for it (possibly based on the mating of grass snakes).


title: Grass snake

text: Today grass snakes hold a meaning of house blessing among many Latvians and Lithuanians. One tradition is to put a bowl of milk near a snake's place of residence, although there is no evidence of a grass snake ever drinking milk. Driven by late 19th century and 20th century Romantic nationalism, grass snake motifs in Latvia have gained a meaning of education and wisdom, and are common ornaments in the military, folk dance groups and education logos and insignia. They are also found on the Lielvārde Belt. The grass snake has also become one of the main symbols of the Lithuanian neo-pagan movement Romuva.


title: Grass snake

text: Virgil in his 29 BC "Georgics" (book III, lines 425-439: ) describes the grass snake as a large feared snake living in marshes in Calabria, eating frogs and fish.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The history of Buddhism spans from the 5th century BCE to the present. Buddhism arose in Ancient India, in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha, and is based on the teachings of the ascetic Siddhārtha Gautama. The religion evolved as it spread from the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent throughout Central, East, and Southeast Asia. At one time or another, it influenced most of Asia.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The history of Buddhism is also characterized by the development of numerous movements, schisms, and philosophical schools, among them the Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions, with contrasting periods of expansion and retreat.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Siddhārtha Gautama (5th cent. BCE) was the historical founder of Buddhism. The early sources state he was born in the small Shakya (Pali: Sakya) Republic, which was part of the Kosala realm of ancient India, now in modern-day Nepal. He is thus also known as the "Shakyamuni" (literally: "The sage of the Shakya clan").


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Early Buddhist Texts contain no continuous life of the Buddha, only later after 200 BCE were various "biographies" with much mythological embellishment written. All texts agree however that Gautama renounced the householder life and lived as a sramana ascetic for some time studying under various teachers, before attaining nirvana (extinguishment) and bodhi (awakening) through meditation.


title: History of Buddhism

text: For the remaining 45 years of his life, he traveled the Gangetic Plain of north-central India (the region of the Ganges/Ganga river and its tributaries), teaching his doctrine to a diverse range of people from different castes and initiating monks into his order. The Buddha sent his disciples to spread the teaching across India. He also initiated an order of nuns. He urged his disciples to teach in the local language or dialects. He spent a lot of his time near the cities of Sāvatthī, Rājagaha and Vesālī (Skt. Śrāvastī, Rājagrha, Vāiśalī). By the time of his death at 80, he had thousands of followers.


title: History of Buddhism

text: After the death of the Buddha, the Buddhist sangha (monastic community) remained centered on the Ganges valley, spreading gradually from its ancient heartland. The canonical sources record various councils, where the monastic Sangha recited and organized the orally transmitted collections of the Buddha's teachings and settled certain disciplinary problems within the community. Modern scholarship has questioned the accuracy and historicity of these traditional accounts.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The first Buddhist council is traditionally said to have been held just after Buddha's Parinirvana, and presided over by Mahākāśyapa, one of his most senior disciples, at Rājagṛha (today's Rajgir) with the support of king Ajātasattu. According to Charles Prebish, almost all scholars have questioned the historicity of this first council.


title: History of Buddhism

text: After an initial period of unity, divisions in the sangha or monastic community led to the first schism of the sangha into two groups: the Sthavira (Elders) and Mahasamghika (Great Sangha). Most scholars agree that the schism was caused by disagreements over points of vinaya (monastic discipline). Over time, these two monastic fraternities would further divide into various Early Buddhist Schools.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Lamotte and Hirakawa both maintain that the first schism in the Buddhist sangha occurred during the reign of Ashoka. According to scholar Collett Cox "most scholars would agree that even though the roots of the earliest recognized groups predate Aśoka, their actual separation did not occur until after his death." According to the Theravada tradition, the split took place at the Second Buddhist council, which took place at Vaishali, approximately one hundred years after Gautama Buddha's parinirvāṇa. While the second council probably was a historical event, traditions regarding the Second Council are confusing and ambiguous. According to the Theravada tradition the overall result was the first schism in the sangha, between the Sthavira nikāya and the Mahāsāṃghikas, although it is not agreed upon by all what the cause of this split was.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Sthaviras gave birth to a large number of influential schools including the Sarvāstivāda, the Pudgalavāda (also known as "Vatsīputrīya"), the Dharmaguptakas and the Vibhajyavāda (the Theravādins being descended from these. The Mahasamghikas meanwhile also developed their own schools and doctrines early on, which can be seen in texts like the Mahavastu, associated with the Lokottaravāda, or ‘Transcendentalist’ school, who might be the same as the Ekavyāvahārikas or "One-utterancers". This school has been seen as foreshadowing certain Mahayana ideas, especially due to their view that all of Gautama Buddha's acts were "transcendental" or "supramundane", even those performed before his Buddhahood.


title: History of Buddhism

text: In the third century BCE, some Buddhists began introducing new systematized teachings called Abhidharma, based on previous lists or tables ("Matrka") of main doctrinal topics. Unlike the Nikayas, which were prose sutras or discourses, the Abhidharma literature consisted of systematic doctrinal exposition and often differed across the Buddhist schools who disagreed on points of doctrine. Abhidharma sought to analyze all experience into its ultimate constituents, phenomenal events or processes called "dharmas". These texts further contributed to the development of sectarian identities. The various splits within the monastic organization went together with the introduction and emphasis on Abhidhammic literature by some schools. This literature was specific to each school, and arguments and disputes between the schools were often based on these Abhidhammic writings. However, actual splits were originally based on disagreements on vinaya (monastic discipline), though later on, by about 100 CE or earlier, they could be based on doctrinal disagreement. Pre-sectarian Buddhism, however, did not have Abhidhammic scriptures, except perhaps for a basic framework, and not all of the early schools developed an Abhidhamma literature.


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the reign of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (268–232 BCE), Buddhism gained royal support and began to spread more widely, reaching most of the Indian subcontinent. After his invasion of Kalinga, Ashoka seems to have experienced remorse and began working to improve the lives of his subjects. Ashoka also built wells, rest-houses and hospitals for humans and animals. He also abolished torture, royal hunting trips and perhaps even the death penalty. Ashoka also supported non-Buddhist faiths like Jainism and Brahmanism. Ashoka propagated religion by building stupas and pillars urging, among other things, respect of all animal life and enjoining people to follow the Dharma. He has been hailed by Buddhist sources as the model for the compassionate chakravartin (wheel turning monarch).


title: History of Buddhism

text: Another feature of Mauryan Buddhism was the worship and veneration of stupas, large mounds which contained relics (Pali: "sarīra") of the Buddha or other saints within. It was believed that the practice of devotion to these relics and stupas could bring blessings. Perhaps the best-preserved example of a Mauryan Buddhist site is the Great Stupa of Sanchi (dating from the 3rd century BCE).


title: History of Buddhism

text: According to the plates and pillars left by Aśoka (known as the Edicts of Ashoka), emissaries were sent to various countries in order to spread Buddhism, as far south as Sri Lanka and as far west as the Greek kingdoms, in particular the neighboring Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and possibly even farther to the Mediterranean.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Theravadin sources state that Ashoka convened the third Buddhist council around 250 BCE at Pataliputra (today's Patna) with the elder Moggaliputtatissa. The objective of the council was to purify the Saṅgha, particularly from non-Buddhist ascetics who had been attracted by the royal patronage. Following the council, Buddhist missionaries were dispatched throughout the known world, as is recorded in some of the edicts of Ashoka.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Some of the Edicts of Ashoka describe the efforts made by him to propagate the Buddhist faith throughout the Hellenistic world, which at that time formed an uninterrupted cultural continuum from the borders of India to Greece. The edicts indicate a clear understanding of the political organization in Hellenistic territories: the names and locations of the main Greek monarchs of the time are identified, and they are claimed as recipients of Buddhist proselytism: Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Kingdom (261–246 BCE), Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt (285–247 BCE), Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia (276–239 BCE), Magas (288–258 BCE) in Cyrenaica (modern Libya), and Alexander II (272–255 BCE) in Epirus (modern Northwestern Greece). One of the edicts states:


title: History of Buddhism

text: Furthermore, according to the Mahavamsa (XII) some of Ashoka's emissaries were Greek (Yona), particularly one named Dhammarakkhita. He also issued edicts in the Greek language as well as in Aramaic. One of them, found in Kandahar, advocates the adoption of "piety" (using the Greek term "eusebeia" for Dharma) to the Greek community.


title: History of Buddhism

text: It is not clear how much these interactions may have been influential, but authors like Robert Linssen have commented that Buddhism may have influenced Western thought and religion at that time. Linssen points to the presence of Buddhist communities in the Hellenistic world around that period, in particular in Alexandria (mentioned by Clement of Alexandria), and to the pre-Christian monastic order of the Therapeutae (possibly a deformation of the Pāli word "Theravāda"), who may have "almost entirely drawn (its) inspiration from the teaching and practices of Buddhist asceticism" and may even have been descendants of Aśoka's emissaries to the West. Philosophers like Hegesias of Cyrene and Pyrrho are sometimes thought to have been influenced by Buddhist teachings.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have also been found in Alexandria, decorated with depictions of the Dharma wheel. The presence of Buddhists in Alexandria has even drawn the conclusion that they influenced monastic Christianity. In the 2nd century CE, the Christian dogmatist, Clement of Alexandria recognized Bactrian "śramanas" and Indian "gymnosophists" for their influence on Greek thought.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Sri Lankan chronicles like the "Dipavamsa" state that Ashoka's son Mahinda brought Buddhism to the island during the 2nd century BCE. In addition, Ashoka's daughter, Saṅghamitta also established the bhikkhunī (order for nuns) in Sri Lanka, also bringing with her a sapling of the sacred bodhi tree that was subsequently planted in Anuradhapura. These two figures are seen as the mythical founders of the Sri Lankan Theravada. They are said to have converted the King Devanampiya Tissa (307–267 BCE) and many of the nobility.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The first architectural records of Buddha images, however, actually come from the reign of King Vasabha (65–109 CE). The major Buddhist monasteries and schools in Ancient Sri Lanka were Mahāvihāra, Abhayagiri and Jetavana. The Pāli canon was written down during the 1st century BCE to preserve the teaching in a time of war and famine. It is the only complete collection of Buddhist texts to survive in a Middle Indo-Aryan language. It reflects the tradition of the Mahavihara school. Later Pali Mahavihara commentators of the Theravada such as Buddhaghoṣa (4th–5th century) and Dhammapāla (5th–6th century), systematized the traditional Sri Lankan commentary literature (Atthakatha).


title: History of Buddhism

text: Although Mahāyāna Buddhism gained some influence in Sri Lanka as it was studied in Abhayagiri and Jetavana, the Mahavihara (“Great Monastery”) school became dominant in Sri Lanka following the reign of Parakramabahu I (1153–1186), who abolished the Abhayagiri and Jetavanin traditions.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Buddhist movement that became known as Mahayana (Great Vehicle) and also the Bodhisattvayana, began sometime between 150 BCE and 100 CE, drawing on both Mahasamghika and Sarvastivada trends. The earliest inscription which is recognizably Mahayana dates from 180 CE and is found in Mathura.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Mahayana emphasized the Bodhisattva path to full Buddhahood (in contrast to the spiritual goal of arhatship). It emerged as a set of loose groups associated with new texts named the Mahayana sutras. The Mahayana sutras promoted new doctrines, such as the idea that "there exist other Buddhas who are simultaneously preaching in countless other world-systems". In time Mahayana Bodhisattvas and also multiple Buddhas came to be seen as transcendental beneficent beings who were subjects of devotion.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Mahayana remained a minority among Indian Buddhists for some time, growing slowly until about half of all monks encountered by Xuanzang in 7th-century India were Mahayanists. Early Mahayana schools of thought included the Mādhyamaka, Yogācāra, and Buddha-nature ("Tathāgatagarbha") teachings. Mahayana is today the dominant form of Buddhism in East Asia and Tibet.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Several scholars have suggested that the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, which are among the earliest Mahāyāna sūtras, developed among the Mahāsāṃghika along the Kṛṣṇa River in the Āndhra region of South India. The earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to include the very first versions of the Prajñāpāramitā genre, along with texts concerning Akṣobhya Buddha, which were probably written down in the 1st century BCE in the south of India. A.K. Warder believes that "the Mahāyāna originated in the south of India and almost certainly in the Āndhra country." Anthony Barber and Sree Padma also trace Mahayana Buddhism to ancient Buddhist sites in the lower Kṛṣṇa Valley, including Amaravati Stupa, Nāgārjunakoṇḍā and Jaggayyapeṭa.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Shunga dynasty (185–73 BCE) was established about 50 years after Ashoka's death. After assassinating King Brhadrata (last of the Mauryan rulers), military commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Shunga took the throne. Buddhist religious scriptures such as the Aśokāvadāna allege that Pushyamitra (an orthodox Brahmin) was hostile towards Buddhists and persecuted the Buddhist faith. Buddhists wrote that he "destroyed hundreds of monasteries and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Monks": 840,000 Buddhist stupas which had been built by Ashoka were destroyed, and 100 gold coins were offered for the head of each Buddhist monk.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Modern historians, however, dispute this view in the light of literary and archaeological evidence. They opine that following Ashoka's sponsorship of Buddhism, it is possible that Buddhist institutions fell on harder times under the Shungas, but no evidence of active persecution has been noted. Etienne Lamotte observes: "To judge from the documents, Pushyamitra must be acquitted through lack of proof."


title: History of Buddhism

text: Another eminent historian, Romila Thapar points to archaeological evidence that "suggests the contrary" to the claim that "Pushyamitra was a fanatical anti-Buddhist" and that he "never actually destroyed 840,000 stupas as claimed by Buddhist works, if any". Thapar stresses that Buddhist accounts are probably hyperbolic renditions of Pushyamitra's attack of the Mauryas, and merely reflect the desperate frustration of the Buddhist religious figures in the face of the possibly irreversible decline in the importance of their religion under the Shungas.


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the period, Buddhist monks deserted the Ganges valley, following either the northern road ("uttarapatha") or the southern road ("dakṣinapatha"). Conversely, Buddhist artistic creation stopped in the old Magadha area, to reposition itself either in the northwest area of Gandhāra and Mathura or in the southeast around Amaravati Stupa. Some artistic activity also occurred in central India, as in Bhārhut, to which the Shungas may or may not have contributed.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I (reigned c. 200–180 BCE) invaded the Indian Subcontinent, establishing an Indo-Greek kingdom that was to last in parts of Northwest South Asia until the end of the 1st century CE.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greek and Greco-Bactrian kings. One of the most famous Indo-Greek kings is Menander (reigned c. 160–135 BCE). He may have converted to Buddhism and is presented in the Mahāyāna tradition as one of the great benefactors of the faith, on a par with king Aśoka or the later Kushan king Kaniśka. Menander's coins bear designs of the eight-spoked dharma wheel, a classic Buddhist symbol.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Direct cultural exchange is also suggested by a dialogue called the Debate of King Milinda ("Milinda Pañha") which recounts a discussion between Menander and the Buddhist monk Nāgasena, who was himself a student of the Greek Buddhist monk Mahadharmaraksita. Upon Menander's death, the honor of sharing his remains was claimed by the cities under his rule, and they were enshrined in stupas, in a parallel with the historic Buddha. Several of Menander's Indo-Greek successors inscribed "Follower of the Dharma," in the Kharoṣṭhī script, on their coins.


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the first century BCE the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha are found in the lands ruled by the Indo-Greeks, in a realistic style known as Greco-Buddhist. Many of the stylistic elements in the representations of the Buddha point to Greek influence: the Greco-Roman toga-like wavy robe covering both shoulders (more exactly, its lighter version, the Greek "himation"), the contrapposto stance of the upright figures (see: 1st–2nd century Gandhara standing Buddhas), the stylicized Mediterranean curly hair and topknot (ushnisha) apparently derived from the style of the Belvedere Apollo (330 BCE), and the measured quality of the faces, all rendered with strong artistic realism (See: Greek art). A large quantity of sculptures combining Buddhist and purely Hellenistic styles and iconography were excavated at the Gandharan site of Hadda.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Several influential Greek Buddhist monks are recorded. Mahadharmaraksita (literally translated as 'Great Teacher/Preserver of the Dharma'), was "a Greek ("Yona") Buddhist head monk", according to the Mahavamsa (Chap. XXIX), who led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alasandra" (Alexandria of the Caucasus, around 150 km north of today's Kabul in Afghanistan), to Sri Lanka for the dedication of the Great Stupa in Anuradhapura during the rule (165–135 BCE) of King Menander I. Dhammarakkhita (meaning: "Protected by the Dharma"), was one of the missionaries sent by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka to proselytize the Buddhist faith. He is described as being a Greek (Pali: "Yona", lit. "Ionian") in the Sri Lankan "Mahavamsa."


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Kushan empire (30–375 CE) was formed by the invading Yuezhi nomads in the 1st century BCE. It eventually encompassed much of northern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Kushans adopted elements of the Hellenistic culture of Bactria and the Indo-Greeks. During Kushan rule, Gandharan Buddhism was at the height of its influence and a significant number of Buddhist centers were built or renovated.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Buddhist art of Kushan Gandhara was a synthesis of Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian elements. The Gandhāran Buddhist texts also date from this period. Written in Gāndhārī Prakrit, they are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered (c. 1st century CE). According to Richard Salomon, most of them belong to the Dharmaguptaka school.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Emperor Kanishka (128–151 CE) is particularly known for his support of Buddhism. During his reign, stupas and monasteries were built in the Gandhāran city of Peshawar (Skt. "Purusapura"), which he used as a capital. Kushan royal support and the opening of trade routes allowed Gandharan Buddhism to spread along the Silk Road to Central Asia, the Tarim Basin and thus to China.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Kanishka is also said to have convened a major Buddhist council for the Sarvastivada tradition, either in Gandhara or Kashmir. Kanishka gathered 500 learned monks partly to compile extensive commentaries on the Abhidharma, although it is possible that some editorial work was carried out upon the existing Sarvastivada canon itself. Allegedly during the council there were altogether three hundred thousand verses and over nine million statements compiled, and it took twelve years to complete. The main fruit of this council was the compilation of the vast commentary known as the Mahā-Vibhāshā ("Great Exegesis"), an extensive compendium and reference work on a portion of the Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma. Modern scholars such as Etienne Lamotte and David Snellgrove have questioned the veracity of this traditional account.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Scholars believe that it was also around this time that a significant change was made in the language of the Sarvāstivādin canon, by converting an earlier Prakrit version into Sanskrit. Although this change was probably effected without significant loss of integrity to the canon, this event was of particular significance since Sanskrit was the sacred language of Brahmanism in India, and was also being used by other thinkers, regardless of their specific religious or philosophical allegiance, thus enabling a far wider audience to gain access to Buddhist ideas and practices.


title: History of Buddhism

text: After the fall of the Kushans, small kingdoms ruled the Gandharan region, and later the Hephthalite White Huns conquered the area (circa 440s–670). Under the Hephthalites, Gandharan Buddhism continued to thrive in cities like Balkh (Bactria), as remarked by Xuanzang who visited the region in the 7th century. Xuanzang notes that there were over a hundred Buddhist monasteries in the city, including the Nava Vihara as well many stupas and monks. After the end of the Hephthalite empire, Gandharan Buddhism declined in Gandhara proper (in the Peshawar basin). However it continued to thrive in adjacent areas like the Swat Valley of Pakistan, Gilgit, Kashmir and in Afghanistan (in sites such as Bamiyan).


title: History of Buddhism

text: Central Asia was home to the international trade route known as the Silk Road, which carried goods between China, India, the Middle East and the Mediterranean world. Buddhism was present in this region from about the second-century BCE. Initially, the Dharmaguptaka school was the most successful in their efforts to spread Buddhism in Central Asia. The Kingdom of Khotan was one of the earliest Buddhist kingdoms in the area and helped transmit Buddhism from India to China.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Kushan empire's unification of most of this area and their support of Buddhism allowed it to easily spread along the trade routes of the region throughout Central Asia. During the first century CE under the Kushans, the Sarvastivada school flourished in this region, some of the monks also bringing Mahayana teachings with them. Buddhism would eventually reach modern-day Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. As Buddhism reached many of these lands, Buddhists began to translate and produce texts in the local languages, such as Khotanese (a Middle Iranian language), Sogdian (also Iranian), Uighur (Turkish), Tangut, Tibetan, and Chinese.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Central Asians played a key role in the transmission of Buddhism to China The first translators of Buddhists scriptures into Chinese were Iranians, including the Parthian An Shigao (c. 148 CE), the Yuezhi Zhi Qian and Kang Sengkai (from Samarkand). Thirty-seven early translators of Buddhist texts are known, and the majority of them have been identified as hailing from the Iranian cultural sphere. The Zoroastrian Sassanian empire (226–651 CE) would eventually rule over many of these regions (such as Parthia and Sogdia), but they tolerated the Buddhist religion.


title: History of Buddhism

text: However, during the mid-seventh century, the Arab conquest of the Iranian Plateau followed by the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan and the later establishment of the Ghaznavid kingdom in Central Asia (c. 977–1186) led to the decline and eventual disappearance of Buddhism from most of these regions.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism also flourished in the eastern part of central Asia, like the Tarim Basin. Indians and Iranians lived in major cities of this region like Kashgar and Khotan. The region has revealed extremely rich Buddhist works of art as well as Buddhist texts such as those found in Dunhuang. Serindian art is highly reminiscent of the Gandhāran style, and scriptures in the Gandhāri script Kharoṣṭhī have been found. The Uyghurs conquered the area in the 8th century and blended with the local Iranian peoples, absorbing the Buddhist culture of the region. They were later absorbed by the Mongol Yuan dynasty.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Many printed Buddhist texts from the region date to the Yuan, and they were printed in the Uyghur, Xixia and Sanskrit languages. The Uyghurs also restored cave temples and repainted Buddhist wall paintings such as at Bezeklik. Uyghur Buddhism was the last major Buddhist culture in Xinjiang and it lasted until the mid 14th century. After the Islamicisation of Xinjiang, Buddhism ceased to be a major religion there.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism continued to flourish in India during the Gupta Empire (4th–6th centuries) which brought order to much of north India. Gupta rulers such as Kumaragupta I (c. 414–455 CE) supported Buddhism. He enlarged Nālandā university, which became the largest and most influential Buddhist university in India for many centuries. Great Buddhist philosophers like Dignaga, and Dharmakirti taught philosophy there. Nalanda remained a central place for the study of epistemology (pramana).


title: History of Buddhism

text: Another major Buddhist university was Valabhi, in western India, which was second only to Nalanda in the 5th century. This influential university was founded and supported by the Maitraka Dynasty. It was mainly a center of sravakayana Buddhism (that is, non-Mahayana), but was also a place for the study of numerous subjects including secular topics of higher education (such as medicine, logic and grammar).


title: History of Buddhism

text: The influence of the Gupta style of Buddhist art spread along with the faith from south-east Asia to China. During this period, Chinese pilgrims also visited India to study Buddhism.


title: History of Buddhism

text: One of these pilgrims was Faxian, who visited India during the reign of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II in 405, and commented on the prosperity and mild administration of the Gupta empire. Another Chinese traveler who reached India after the end of the Guptas in the 7th century was Xuanzang. He reported in his travels across India that Buddhism was popular in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. While reporting many deserted stupas in the area around modern day Nepal and the persecution of Buddhists by Shashanka in the Kingdom of Gauda in modern-day West Bengal, Xuanzang complimented the patronage of emperor Harṣavardana (c. 590–647 CE). Xuanzang also noted that in various regions Buddhism was giving way to Jainism and Hinduism.


title: History of Buddhism

text: After the fall of Harsha's empire, the Gangetic plain saw the rise of many small feuding kingdoms. This was to last until the rise of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th centuries) in the Bengal region. The Pālas were stanch supporters of Buddhism, and built several important Buddhist centers, such as Vikramashila, Somapura and Odantapuri. They also supported older centers like Nalanda and Bodh Gaya. It was at these great Buddhist centers that scholars developed the philosophies of Vajrayana, Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, Yogacara and Pramana, as well as the study of linguistics, medicine, astronomy, music, painting, and sculpture. Great Buddhist scholars such as Atisha and Santaraksita date from this period. Under the Pālas, Vajrayana Buddhism thus flourished and spread to Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim.


title: History of Buddhism

text: A milestone in the decline of Indian Buddhism in the North occurred in 1193 when Turkic Islamic raiders under Muhammad Khilji burnt Nālandā. By the end of the 12th century, following the Islamic conquest of the Buddhist strongholds in Bihar and Bengal by Delhi Sultanate's Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, and the loss of political support coupled with social pressures, the practice of Buddhism retreated to the Himalayan foothills in the North and Sri Lanka in the south. Additionally, the influence of Buddhism also waned due to Hinduism's revival movements such as Advaita, and the rise of the bhakti movement.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Under the Gupta and Pala empires, a Tantric Buddhist movement arose, variously named Vajrayāna, Mantrayāna, Tantric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism. It promoted new practices such as the use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas and developed a new class of literature, the Buddhist Tantras. The movement can be traced back to groups of wandering yogis called mahasiddhas.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism, especially the Buddhist Yogini tantras. The Mañjusrimulakalpa, which later came to classified under Kriyatantra, states that mantras taught in the Shaiva, Garuda and Vaishnava tantras will be effective if applied by Buddhists since they were all taught originally by Manjushri. The Guhyasiddhi of Padmavajra, a work associated with the Guhyasamaja tradition, prescribes acting as a Shaiva guru and initiating members into Saiva Siddhanta scriptures and mandalas. The Samvara tantra texts adopted the pitha list from the Shaiva text "Tantrasadbhava", introducing a copying error where a deity was mistaken for a place.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism arrived late in Tibet, during the 7th century. The form that predominated, via the south of Tibet, was a blend of "mahāyāna" and "vajrayāna" from the universities of the Pāla empire of the Bengal region in eastern India. Sarvāstivādin influence came from the south west (Kashmir) and the north west (Khotan). Their texts found their way into the Tibetan Buddhist canon, providing the Tibetans with almost all of their primary sources about the Foundation Vehicle. A subsect of this school, Mūlasarvāstivāda was the source of the Tibetan Vinaya. Chan Buddhism was introduced via east Tibet from China and left its impression, but was rendered of lesser importance by early political events.


title: History of Buddhism

text: From the outset, Buddhism was opposed by the native shamanistic Bon religion, which had the support of the aristocracy, but with royal patronage, it thrived to a peak under King Rälpachän(817–836). Terminology in translation was standardised around 825, enabling a translation methodology that was highly literal. Despite a reversal in Buddhist influence which began under King Langdarma (836–842), the following centuries saw a colossal effort in collecting available Indian sources, many of which are now extant only in Tibetan translation. Tibetan Buddhism was favored above other religions by the rulers of imperial Chinese and Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism was introduced in China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) and was present by around 50 CE. Although the archaeological record confirms that Buddhism was introduced sometime during the Han dynasty, it did not flourish in China until the Six Dynasties period (220–589 CE). The first documented Buddhist texts translated into Chinese are those of the Parthian An Shigao (148–180 CE). The first known Mahāyāna scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema in Luoyang, between 178 and 189 CE. Early translators faced the difficulty of communicating foreign Buddhist concepts to the Chinese, and often used Taoist terminology to explain them. This has been called "concept-matching". Later translators such as Kumārajīva (334–413 CE) improved the translation methods of Chinese Buddhism considerably.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Some of the earliest known Buddhist artifacts found in China are small statues on "money trees", dated c. 200 CE, in typical Gandhāran drawing style. In the period between 460 and 525 CE during the Northern Wei dynasty, the Chinese constructed Yungang Grottoes, and the Longmen Grottoes which include some impressive monumental sculptures. In the fifth century, Chinese Buddhists also developed new schools and traditions, such as the Tiantai school, the Huayen school, the Pure Land school and Chan Buddhism.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism continued to grow during the early Tang Dynasty (618–907). It was during this dynasty that the Chinese monk Xuanzang traveled to India, bringing back 657 Buddhist texts along with relics and statues. He established a famed translation school in the Tang capital of Chang'an (today's Xi'an), focusing on Yogacara school texts. Also during the Tang, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was introduced from India. The Tang dynasty also saw the growth of Chan Buddhism (Zen), with the great Zen masters such as Mazu Daoyi and Linji Yixuan. In the later Tang, Chinese Buddhism suffered a setback during the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution of 845.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism recovered during the Song Dynasty (960–1279), which is known as the "golden age" of Chan. During this period Chinese Chan influenced Korean and Japanese Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism also became popular during this period and was often practiced together with Chan. It was also during the Song that the entire Chinese Buddhist canon was printed using over 130,000 wooden printing blocks.


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the Yuan Dynasty, Tibetan Buddhism became the state religion. During the Ming (1368–1644), the Chan school became the dominant tradition in China and all monks were affiliated with Chan. In the 17th century, Buddhism was spread to Taiwan by Chinese immigrants.


title: History of Buddhism

text: There is disagreement on when exactly Buddhism arrived in Vietnam. Buddhism may have arrived as early as the 3rd or 2nd century BCE via India, or alternatively during the 1st or 2nd century from China. Whatever the case, Mahayana Buddhism had been established by the second century CE in Vietnam. By the 9th century, both Pure Land and Thien (Zen) were major Vietnamese Buddhist schools. In the southern Kingdom of Champa, Hinduism, Theravada, and Mahayana were all practiced until the 15th century, when an invasion from the north led to the dominance of Chinese-based forms of Buddhism. However Theravada Buddhism continues to exist in the south of Vietnam. Vietnamese Buddhism is thus very similar to Chinese Buddhism and to some extent reflects the structure of Chinese Buddhism after the Song Dynasty. Vietnamese Buddhism also has a symbiotic relationship with Taoism, Chinese spirituality and the native Vietnamese religion.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism was introduced to the Three Kingdoms of Korea beginning around 372 CE. During the 6th century, many Korean monks traveled to China and India to study Buddhism and various Korean Buddhist schools developed. Buddhism prospered in Korea during the North–South States Period (688–926) when it became a dominant force in society. Buddhism continued to be popular in the Goryeo period (918–1392), in particular Seon (Zen) Buddhism. However, during the Confucian Yi Dynasty of the Joseon period, Buddhism faced a reversal of fortunes beginning with the confiscation of monastery lands, the closing of monasteries and the ban on ordination by aristocrats in the 15th century.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 6th century by Korean monks bearing sutras and an image of the Buddha. During the Nara Period (710–794), emperor Shōmu ordered the building of temples throughout his realm. Numerous temples and monasteries were built in the capital city of Nara, such as the five-story pagoda and Golden Hall of the Hōryū-ji, or the Kōfuku-ji temple. There was also a proliferation of Buddhist sects in the capital city of Nara, known as the "Nanto Rokushū" ("the Six Nara Sects"). The most influential of these being the Kegon school (from the Chinese Huayan).


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the late Nara, the key figures of Kūkai (774–835) and Saichō (767–822) founded the influential Japanese schools of Shingon and Tendai, respectively. An important doctrine for these schools was "hongaku" (innate awakening or original enlightenment), a doctrine which was influential for all subsequent Japanese Buddhism. Buddhism also influenced the Japanese religion of Shinto, which incorporated Buddhist elements.


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the later Kamakura period (1185–1333), there were six new Buddhist schools founded which competed with the older Nara schools and are known as "New Buddhism" ("Shin Bukkyō") or "Kamakura Buddhism." They include the influential Pure Land schools of Hōnen (1133–1212) and Shinran (1173–1263), the Rinzai and Soto schools of Zen founded by Eisai (1141–1215) and Dōgen (1200–1253) as well as the Lotus Sutra school of Nichiren (1222–1282).


title: History of Buddhism

text: Japanese Buddhist art was especially productive between the 8th and 13th centuries during Nara period (710–794), Heian period (794–1185) and Kamakura period (1185–1333). Buddhism, especially Zen, remained culturally influential during the Ashikaga period (1333–1573) and the Tokugawa era (1603–1867).


title: History of Buddhism

text: The rulers of the nomadic empires such as the Xiongnu (209 BC – 93 AD), Xianbei (93-234), Rouran Khaganate (late 4th c. - middle 6th c.) and the Göktürks (middle first mill. AD) received missionaries and built temples for them. Buddhism prevailed among aristocrats and was patronised by the monarchs of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty (386–535) and of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty (916–1125). The Khitans aristocracy regarded Buddhism as the culture of the Uyghur Khaganate that dominated the Mongolian steppes before the rise of the Liao dynasty. The monarchs of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234) also regarded Buddhism as part of their culture.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Genghis Khan (c. 1162 - 1227) and his immediate successors conquered nearly all of Asia and European Russia and sent armies as far as central Europe and Southeast Asia. The emperors of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) in the 13th and 14th century converted to Tibetan Buddhism. The founder of the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan, invited lama Drogön Chögyal Phagpa of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism to spread Buddhism throughout his realm (the second introduction of Buddhism among the Mongols). Buddhism became the "de facto" state religion of the Yuan dynasty. In 1269, Kublai Khan commissioned Phagpa lama to design a new writing system to unify the writing systems of the multilingual empire. The 'Phags-pa script, also known as the "Square script", was based on the Tibetan script and written vertically from top was designed to write in Mongolian, Tibetan, Chinese, Uighur and Sanskrit languages and served as the official script of the empire. The activities of the Mongols were conducive to the prominency of the Sakya school and then the Gelug, and to the further development of Tibeto-Mongolian culture.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Mongols returned to shamanic traditions after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and during the Northern Yuan dynasty.


title: History of Buddhism

text: In 1578 Altan Khan, a Mongol military leader with ambitions to unite the Mongols and to emulate the career of Genghis Khan, invited the 3rd Dalai Lama, the head of the rising Gelug lineage to a summit. They formed an alliance that gave Altan Khan legitimacy and religious sanction for his imperial pretensions and that provided the Buddhist school with protection and patronage. Altan Khan recognized Sonam Gyatso lama as a reincarnation of Phagpa lama, gave the Tibetan leader the title of Dalai Lama ("Ocean Lama"), which his successors still hold. Sonam Gyatso, in turn, recognized Altan as a reincarnation of Kublai Khan. Thus, Altan added legitimacy to the title "khan" that he had assumed, while Sonam Gyatso received support for the supremacy he sought over the Tibetan sangha. Since this meeting, the heads of the Gelugpa school became known as Dalai Lamas. Altan Khan also bestowed the title Ochirdara (Очирдар, from Sanskr. Vajradhara) to Sonam Gyatso.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Since around 500 BCE, the culture of India has exerted influence on Southeast Asian countries. Land and maritime trade routes linked India with the region and both Hindu and Buddhist beliefs became influential there during the period of the Indianization of Southeast Asia. For more than a thousand years, Indian influence was, therefore, the major factor that brought a certain level of cultural unity to the various countries of the region. The Pāli and Sanskrit languages and Indian scripts, together with Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism, were transmitted from direct contact and through sacred texts and Indian literature such as the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata.


title: History of Buddhism

text: From the 5th to the 13th centuries, South-East Asia saw a series of powerful states which were extremely active in the promotion of Buddhism and Buddhist art alongside Hinduism. The main Buddhist influence now came directly by sea from the Indian subcontinent, so that these empires essentially followed the Mahāyāna faith. Examples include mainland kingdoms like Funan, the Khmer Empire and the Thai kingdom of Sukhothai as well as Island kingdoms like the Kalingga Kingdom, the Srivijaya Empire, Mataram and Majapahit.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Buddhist monks traveled to China from the kingdom of Funan in the 5th century CE, bringing Mahayana texts, a sign that the religion was already established in the region by this point. Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism were the main religions of the Khmer Empire (802–1431), a state that dominated most of the South-East Asian peninsula during its time. Under the Khmer, numerous temples, both Hindu and Buddhist, were built in Cambodia and in neighboring Thailand. One of the greatest Khmer kings, Jayavarman VII (1181–1219), built large Mahāyāna Buddhist structures at Bayon and Angkor Thom.


title: History of Buddhism

text: In the Indonesian island of Java, Indianized kingdoms like the Kalingga Kingdom (6–7th centuries) were destinations for Chinese monks seeking out Buddhist texts. The Malay Srivijaya (650–1377), a maritime empire centered on the island of Sumatra, adopted Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism and spread Buddhism to Java, Malaya and other regions they conquered.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Chinese Buddhist Yijing described their capital at Palembang as a great center of Buddhist learning where the emperor supported over a thousand monks at his court. Yijing also testified to the importance of Buddhism as early as the year 671 and advised future Chinese pilgrims to spend a year or two in Palembang. Atiśa studied there before travelling to Tibet as a missionary. As Srivijaya expanded, Buddhism thrived and also became part of a local syncretism that incorporated several different religions such as Hinduism and other indigenous traditions.


title: History of Buddhism

text: In the island of Java, another kingdom also promoted Mahayana Buddhist culture, the Mataram Kingdom (732–1006), a major rival of Srivijaya. They are known for their monumental temple construction, especially the massive Borobudur, as well as Kalasan, Sewu, and Prambanan. Indonesian Buddhism, alongside Hinduism, continued to thrive under the Majapahit Empire (1293–1527), but was completely replaced by Islam afterward.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The lands of the Mon and Pyu peoples in Myanmar show extensive evidence of Theravada presence in the Irrawaddy and Chao Phraya basins from the 5th century CE onwards. Theravada Buddhism in Burma initially coexisted with other forms of Buddhism and other religions. After the decline of Buddhism in the Indian mainland, Theravada Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka mounted missionary efforts in Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, and they were successful in converting all these regions to Theravada Buddhism.


title: History of Buddhism

text: King Anawrahta (1044–1078); the founder of the Pagan Empire, adopted the Theravādin Buddhist faith from Sri Lanka, building numerous Buddhist temples at his capital of Pagan. Invasions from the Burmese and the Mongols weakened Theravada in this region and it had to be reintroduced from Sri Lanka. During the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1552), Theravada Buddhism was the dominant religion in Burma, with strong ties to Sri Lankan Buddhism. One of their kings, Dhammazedi, is particularly known for his reformation of Burmese Buddhism from the Sri Lankan Mahavihara tradition between 1476 and 1479. Theravada remained the official religion of the subsequent Burmese Taungoo Dynasty (1510–1752).


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the reign of the Khmer King Jayavarman VII (r. c. 1181–1218), Theravada Buddhism was promoted by the royal family and Sri Lankan monks, including his son Tamalinda who himself had traveled to Sri Lanka. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Theravada became the dominant religion of Cambodia, and monasteries replaced the local priestly classes. The Theravāda faith was also adopted by the Thai kingdom of Sukhothai as the state religion during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (1237/1247–1298). Theravāda Buddhism was further reinforced during the Ayutthaya period (14th–18th century), becoming an integral part of Thai society.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The modern era brought new challenges to the Buddhist religion such as the colonization of traditionally Buddhist Asian countries by Western states, which weakened the traditional political structures which supported the religion, as well as criticism and competition from Christianity. Modern wars, communist anti-religious pressure, the growth of capitalism, modern science and regional political instability are also influential pressures on modern Buddhism.


title: History of Buddhism

text: In British Ceylon, Christian missionaries ran all the state-approved schools and commonly criticized Buddhist beliefs. By 1865, Buddhist monks began a counter movement against Christian attacks, printing pamphlets and debating Christians in public, such as at the famous Panadura debate in 1873, which saw the monk Gunananda win a debate in front of a crowd of 10,000.


title: History of Buddhism

text: During this period a new form of Buddhism began to take shape, termed Buddhist modernism (or sometimes "Protestant Buddhism"), which tended to see the Buddha from a humanist point of view and claimed that Buddhism was a rational and scientific religion. Important figures in this new movement include the American convert Henry Olcott (1832–1907) and Anagarika Dharmapala (1864–1933), who promoted Buddhist schools, lay organizations and the printing of newspapers. Dharmapala also founded the Mahā Bodhi Society to restore the dilapidated Indian site of Bodh Gaya. Dharmapala also traveled to the UK and the US to teach Buddhism.


title: History of Buddhism

text: This society helped usher in a revival of Buddhism in India, where Buddhism became popular among some Indian intellectuals. One of these was the lawyer B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956), leader of the Dalit Buddhist movement, who urged low caste Indian Dalits to convert to Buddhism. Other Indian figures include Rahul Sankrityayan (1893-1963), Dharmanand Kosambi (1876-1941) and Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan.


title: History of Buddhism

text: In Burma, a central modern figure is King Mindon (r. 1853–1878), who convened the 5th Buddhist council (1868–71), where different editions of the Pali Canon were cross-checked and a final version was inscribed on 729 stone slabs, currently still the world's largest book. A new meditation movement arose in Burma, called the Vipassana movement, beginning with figures such as Medawi (1728–1816), who was instrumental in the promotion of Buddhist meditation practices. In 1956, Burmese politician U Nu presided over a sixth council, which saw monks from various Theravada countries produce another new edition of the Pali Canon. Recently, Buddhist monks have become involved in political protest movements such as the Saffron Revolution of 2007.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Thailand, which was the only country to avoid colonization, had two important Buddhist kings, who pushed for modernization and reformation of the Buddhist sangha. They were King Mongkut (r. 1851–68), and his son King Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910), who were responsible for several key modern reforms of Thai Buddhism. Two recent Thai modernist movements are the monastic revival of the Thai forest tradition and the Wat Phra Dhammakāya movement.


title: History of Buddhism

text: From 1893, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were all French colonies. The Communists came to power in Laos in 1975. There was no widespread repression of the Buddhist sangha, but the communist government has sought to control the Sangha and use it as a tool to spread its ideology. In Cambodia however, the communist terror of the Khmer Rouge during 1975–79 caused much damage to the Buddhist sangha.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The opening of Japan in 1853 by Admiral Perry and the Meiji Restoration of 1868 led to the end of feudal Japan and rapid modernization. A new form of State Shinto arose as a strong competitor to Buddhism when it was adopted by the Japanese government. In 1872, the Japanese government decreed that Buddhist clerics could marry. These changes led to modernization efforts by Japanese Buddhism which saw the setting up of publishing houses and the study of Western philosophy and scholarship. In the post-war period, Japanese new religions arose, many of them influenced by Buddhism.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Chinese Buddhism meanwhile, suffered much destruction during the Christian-inspired Taiping rebellion (1850–64), but saw a modest revival during the Republican period (1912–49). A key figure was Taixu (T’ai-hsü, 1899–1947), who is associated with the modernist Humanistic Buddhism trend of Chinese Buddhism. The Communist Cultural Revolution (1966–76) led to the closing of all Buddhist monasteries and widespread destruction of Buddhist institutions. However, since 1977, there has been a general shift in the policy of the communist government, and Buddhist activity, both monastic and lay, has once again been renewed.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Korean Buddhism suffered a series of setbacks during the Japanese invasions, occupation, and also during the Korean war. North Korea's harsh government nevertheless offers some limited support to the sangha, but it closely controls all activity. In South Korea, Buddhism underwent a revival, with youth groups being influential and temples being rebuilt with government aid. An example of a recent modern form of Korean Buddhism is Won Buddhism.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Tibet (which had been a client state of the Qing dynasty) remained a traditional theocratic state (the Ganden Phodrang polity) with the Dalai Lamas as heads of state, from 1912 until the Chinese communist invasion in 1950. The 14th Dalai Lama fled the country in 1959. A Tibetan exile community was established in India, with its center at Dharamsala, which today contains various Buddhist monasteries and is a center for the study of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th Dalai Lama has become one of the most popular Buddhist leaders in the world today.


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the Red Guard period (1966–67), Chinese communists destroyed around 6,000 monasteries in Tibet along with their art and books, an attempt to wipe out the Tibetan Buddhist culture. After 1980, Chinese repression of Tibetan Buddhism has decreased and the situation has improved with the reprinting of the Tibetan Canon and some artistic restoration. In the nearby countries of Bhutan, and Nepal, Vajrayana Buddhism continues to flourish as a major religion.


title: History of Buddhism

text: In Mongolia, which also has Tibetan Buddhism as its main religion, communist rule (between 1924 and 1990) saw much repression of Buddhism. However, Buddhism is now undergoing a revival in post-communist Mongolia, with more ordained monks and nuns, and with 284 monasteries since 2009. More recent liberal attitudes towards religion has also benefited the Buddhists of Tuva and Buryatia, as well as the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.


title: History of Buddhism

text: Another modern development was the founding of the Kalmyk Khanate in the 17th century with Tibetan Buddhism as its main religion. During the course of the 18th century, they were absorbed by the Russian Empire as Kalmykia, which remains a federal subject of Russia with a majority Buddhist religion.


title: History of Buddhism

text: During the 19th century, Western intellectuals became more aware of Buddhism through various contacts such as colonial servants, administrators, and Christian missionaries. Sir Edwin Arnold's book-length poem "The Light of Asia" (1879), a life of the Buddha, was a successful early publication on Buddhism that led to much interest among English speaking middle classes. The work of western Buddhist scholars like Hermann Oldenberg (1854–1920), T. W. Rhys Davids (1843–1922) and F. Max Müller was also influential in introducing Buddhism to western audiences.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The late 19th century also saw the first-known modern western conversions to Buddhism, including leading Theosophists Henry Steel Olcott and Helena Blavatsky in 1880 in Sri Lanka. The Theosophical Society was very influential in popularizing Indian religions in the west. The 19th century also saw the first western monastics such as U Dhammaloka, Ananda Metteyya and the German Nyānatiloka Thera (1878–1956).


title: History of Buddhism

text: Another important element leading to the growth of Buddhism in the west was the large scale immigration of Chinese and Japanese to the United States and Canada in the late 19th century. Refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have also immigrated to west, beginning in 1975. Asian Buddhists such as DT Suzuki, Hsüan Hua, Hakuun Yasutani and Thích Nhất Hạnh were influential in teaching Zen Buddhism in the West in the 20th century. Shunryu Suzuki opened the Soto San Francisco Zen Center (1961) and the Tassajara Monastery (1967).


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Tibetan diaspora has also been active in promoting Tibetan Buddhism in the West. All of the four major Tibetan Buddhist schools have a presence in the West and have attracted Western converts. The number of its adherents is estimated to be between ten and twenty million.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The Theravada tradition has established various temples in the West, especially among immigrant communities in the US. Theravada vipassana meditation was also established in the West, through the founding of institutions like the Insight Meditation Society in 1975 and the vipassana centers of S. N. Goenka. The Thai forest tradition has also established communities in the US and in the UK. In the UK, the Triratna Buddhist Community arose as a new modern Buddhist movement.


title: History of Buddhism

text: In Continental Europe, interest in Buddhism also increased during the late 20th century, with an exponential increase in Buddhist groups in countries like Germany. In France and Spain, Tibetan Buddhism has the largest following. Tibetan, East Asian and Theravada traditions are now also present and active in Australia and New Zealand. Tibetan and Zen Buddhism also have established a small presence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela.


title: History of Buddhism

text: The expansion of Buddhism to the west in the 20th century has made the religion a worldwide phenomenon.


title: Julien Temple

text: Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle", "Absolute Beginners" and a documentary film about "Glastonbury".


title: Julien Temple

text: Temple was born in Kensington, London, the son of Landon Temple, who organised the travel company Progressive Tours. He was educated at St Marylebone Grammar School (from which he was expelled), William Ellis School, and King's College, Cambridge. He grew up with little interest in film until, when a student at Cambridge, he discovered the works of French anarchist director Jean Vigo. This, along with his interest in the early punk scene in London in 1976, led to his friendship with The Sex Pistols, leading him to document many of their early gigs.


title: Julien Temple

text: Temple's first film was a short documentary called "Sex Pistols Number 1", which set out to show the rise of the band from 1976–1977, in a series of short clips from television interviews and gigs. This led to Temple making "The Great Rock And Roll Swindle", another documentary. As band members Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious had left the band by this time, the story of the group is told from the viewpoint of their manager, Malcolm McLaren.


title: Julien Temple

text: "The Great Rock And Roll Swindle" tells of the rise of The Sex Pistols, apparently as manipulated by McLaren, and how he had shaped the band throughout their short career. Many of the 'facts' given by McLaren were disputed by John Lydon (who had dropped the Johnny Rotten name after leaving the band), who accused McLaren of using the film to attack him personally. This helped split opinion on the film as, although it was praised for attempting to capture some of the punk scene of the time, it was seen as too skewed towards McLaren's vision. Controversy aside, Temple was praised for his mix of animated scenes, documentary footage, and specially shot footage which he used to tell McLaren's story. This helped launch Temple into a career making music videos, something for which he would be best known for much of his career.


title: Julien Temple

text: In 1983, Temple directed a film for the BBC Arena series called "It's All True", named after the 1942 unfinished Orson Welles film. Compered by Welles himself, the film comprised many short segments about the state of the video industry, both real and imagined, many featuring cameos by celebrities including Mel Brooks, Grace Jones, Ray Davies, and Koo Stark. This was followed by Temple's next theatrical release, the short film "Jazzin' for Blue Jean" featuring David Bowie which was released as a support feature to "The Company of Wolves". By 1985, Temple was now well known for being a director of successful music videos by the Kinks, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and other British artists, several of which were early, groundbreaking, videos for the new MTV channel, but he was yet to direct a major film.


title: Julien Temple

text: In 1986, Temple directed the film version of Colin MacInnes' book "Absolute Beginners". One of the most expensive films in British history, the fate of the studios involved (as well as several careers) were dependent on the success of the film. The film was critically panned in the UK. As it was a musical, rather than a straight adaptation of the book, it was attacked for a lack of narrative; it was also called "a series of badly-linked music videos". "Absolute Beginners" was financially unsuccessful and was partly responsible for the Goldcrest company going bankrupt. Temple found himself being blamed personally for the failure. He moved to the United States, where he was offered the film "Earth Girls Are Easy", as well as a series of music videos for such artists as Duran Duran, Janet Jackson, Neil Young and Tom Petty.


title: Julien Temple

text: Temple returned to the UK in the late 1990s, where he continued to make films and music videos. "Vigo: Passion for Life" (1998) recounts the passionate relationship between French film maker Jean Vigo (1905–34) and his wife Lydou, who both suffered from tuberculosis. The film was not well received. A reviewer in "Sight & Sound" commented that the film "although absolutely faithful to the facts, is absolutely dreadful".


title: Julien Temple

text: Films which followed included "Pandæmonium" (2001), a critically acclaimed film about the friendship between Romantic poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, and "The Filth and the Fury" (2000), another documentary about The Sex Pistols. This time the film was made with the full cooperation of the surviving members of the band and told the story of the band from their viewpoint. This film mixed newly shot footage and interviews with footage culled from "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle" and previously unseen interviews. The film was a critical success and was seen as setting the record straight in regard to the history of The Sex Pistols.


title: Julien Temple

text: Between 2002 and 2005, Temple completed a feature-length documentary about the Glastonbury Festival. This involved him shooting footage at the festival as well as drawing on the vast amount of archival footage, as well as footage sent in by fans of the festival. It was released in the UK in April 2006.


title: Julien Temple

text: In November 2007, Temple filmed several of the Sex Pistols' comeback shows at the Brixton Academy in London. This was followed by several filming sessions with each member of the band as they re-visited their old London haunts. The footage was assembled into a new documentary film released on DVD in 2008 as "The Sex Pistols: There'll Always Be An England", bringing Temple's association with the Sex Pistols up to date.


title: Julien Temple

text: In June 2008, Temple filmed three concerts by Madness at the Hackney Empire. These concerts were previews of the band's forthcoming album, "The Liberty of Norton Folgate".


title: Julien Temple

text: In 2009, Temple directed the third film in his punk trilogy, "Oil City Confidential", which celebrated the Canvey Island legends Dr. Feelgood, and a hymn to the Motor City entitled "Requiem For Detroit?" (2010).


title: Julien Temple

text: In 2010, Temple directed the biography "Ray Davies: Imaginary Man". Previously, he had directed several Kinks videos. Also, he was referred to by name in The Kinks song "Too Hot" from their "Word of Mouth" album: "Julien's on the street today/ Scouting out locations..."


title: Julien Temple

text: In 2011, Temple returned to Glastonbury to further document the legendary festival. The resulting 75 minute film, titled ""Glastonbury After Hours: Glastopia"", was shot on location in the Shangri-La, Arcadia, the Unfair Ground, Strummerville, Block 9 and the Common areas. It was premiered on BBC4 on 15 June 2012.


title: Julien Temple

text: On 4 March 2013, it was announced that Jesse L. Martin would replace Lenny Kravitz as Marvin Gaye in "Sexual Healing," directed by Temple, and produced by Vassal Benton and Fred Bestall. With approximately 70% of the film completed and only three weeks to go on a planned nine-and-a-half-week shoot, production was stopped on the biopic, primarily due to financial problems (crew members were said to have not been paid fully for their work on the film).


title: Julien Temple

text: With his wife, Amanda (Pirie) Temple, Temple has a daughter named Juno (born in 1989) and two sons, Leo (born 1993) and Felix (born 2000).


title: Kwak Si-yang

text: Kwak debuted as an actor in the 2014 drama "Glorious Day". His first major role was the film 2014 "Night Flight". He then appeared in the music drama, "Persevere, Goo Hae-ra".


title: Kwak Si-yang

text: On October 1, 2015, Starhaus Entertainment launched the project group "One O One", releasing their debut single "Love You". The group consists of Kwak along with fellow Starhaus actors Ahn Hyo-seop, Song Won-seok and Kwon Do-kyun.


title: Kwak Si-yang

text: Kwak gained popularity after starring in the hit romantic comedy drama "Oh My Ghost", portraying a chef who appears stand-offish but is kind and sweet. He then starred in daily drama "", and joined the reality show "We Got Married" where he was paired with actress Kim So-yeon.


title: Kwak Si-yang

text: In 2016, Kwak starred in his first historical drama "Mirror of the Witch". He received his first major role in SBS's 2016 drama "Second to Last Love", which won him the New Star Award at SBS Drama Awards.


title: Kwak Si-yang

text: In 2017, he starred in tvN's fantasy-romance drama "Chicago Typewriter" as Yoo Ah-in's rival. He also made a special appearance in KBS' romantic comedy drama "Fight for My Way".


title: Kwak Si-yang

text: In 2018, Kwak appeared in the thriller film "The Witness", and also in the romance thriller drama "Four Men", a prequel to the 2017's "Man to Man".


title: Kwak Si-yang

text: In 2019, Kwak starred in the war film "The Battle of Jangsari". In 2020, he joined the SBS sci-fi drama "Alice" as time traveler Yu Min-hyuk.


title: Kwak Si-yang

text: In 2021, Kwak starred in the SBS historical-fantasy drama "Lovers of the Red Sky". The same year he joined the JTBC drama "". Later in September 2021, Kwak signed a contract with Drawing Entertainment after his contract with the previous agency has ended.


title: Özge Gürel

text: Of Circassian and Turkish origin, Özge Gürel was born on 5 February 1987 in Istanbul. Her father is of Circassian descent while her maternal family were Turkish immigrants from Thessaloniki. She lived in Silivri, Turkey, until she finished high school. Gürel initially studied business at the Beykent University, but left it unfinished. She then took acting lessons, followed by acting management lessons.


title: Özge Gürel

text: Gürel stepped into the world of acting with the character of "Zeynep" in "Kızım Nerede?". In 2014, she became the lead actress in "Kiraz Mevsimi". Between 2016–2017, "Kiraz Mevsimi" was broadcast on Canale 5, one of Italy's most famous channels, and became the first Turkish TV series broadcast on Italian television. She played the leading role in the TV series "Yıldızlar Şahidim" in 2017.


title: Özge Gürel

text: In 2020, Gürel started playing the lead role "Ezgi" in the Turkish series "Bay Yanlış" (Mr. Wrong), opposite Can Yaman. The series is produced by Gold Film, directed by Deniz Yorulmazer, and its script is written by Aslı Zengin and Banu Zengin Tak. It premiered on FOX in June 2020 and concluded in October 2020.


title: Özge Gürel

text: On 14 July 2022, Gürel and her longtime boyfriend Serkan Çayoğlu married in Germany. Family and close friends attended the intimate ceremony.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Hearts is an "evasion-type" trick-taking playing card game for four players, although most variations can accommodate between three and six players. It was first recorded in America in the 1880s and has many variants, some of which are also referred to as "Hearts", especially the games of Black Lady and Black Maria. The game is a member of the Whist group of trick-taking games (which also includes Bridge and Spades), but is unusual among Whist variants in that it is a trick-avoidance game; players avoid winning certain penalty cards in tricks, usually by avoiding winning tricks altogether. The original game of Hearts is still current, but has been overtaken in popularity by Black Lady in the United States and Black Maria in Great Britain.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: The game of Hearts probably originated with Reversis, which became popular around 1750 in Spain. In this game, a penalty point was awarded for each trick won, plus additional points for taking or in tricks. A similar game called "Four Jacks" centred around avoiding any trick containing a Jack, which were worth one penalty point, and worth two.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Hearts itself emerged in the United States during the 1880s, "The Standard Hoyle" of 1887 reporting that it had only been played there for "the last five years" and was "probably of German origin". It described Hearts as "a most pleasant game, highly provocative of laughter". It was a no-trump, trick-taking game for four players using a full pack of cards, the aim being to avoid taking any hearts in tricks. The basic format has changed little since. Two scoring variants were mentioned under the name 'Double or Eagle Game'. The first was the precursor to Spot Hearts whereby the cards of the heart suit cost the following in chips: Ace 14, King 13, Queen 12, Jack 11 and pip cards their face value. The second scoring scheme was: Ace 5, King 4, Queen 3, Jack 2 and all pips 1 chip each.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: In 1909, the was added as the highest penalty card in a variant called either Discard Hearts, after the new feature of passing unwanted cards to other players after the deal, or Black Lady, after the nickname for the . This new variant has since become the standard game of the Hearts group in America where it is often, somewhat confusingly, also called "Hearts". To begin with, Black Lady did not have the option of "shooting the moon"; that came later.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: In the 1920s, the variation (ten positive points) was introduced, and sometime later the scoring was reversed so that penalty points were expressed as positive instead of negative.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: The slam is known as "shooting the moon" and first appeared in Britain in 1939 in a variant of Hearts called Hitting the Moon. Today this feature is a common element of modern Black Lady.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Meanwhile, in Britain the game of Black Maria, with its additional penalty cards in the suit of spades, emerged in 1939 and, both it and another offshoot, Omnibus Hearts, are "sufficiently different and popular to justify descriptions as separate games."


title: Hearts (card game)

text: The game has increased in popularity through Internet gaming sites which, however, usually offer the Black Lady variant while still calling it Hearts, whereas most books maintain the distinction between the two games.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: The game is usually played by four players, but three to six can be accommodated (see below). The aim is to avoid taking any cards of the heart suit in tricks. A standard 52-card pack of English pattern cards is used, cards ranking in from Ace (high) down to the two. Players draw a fixed number of chips, typically 25 or 50, which may or may not have a monetary value. The pack is shuffled by the dealer, cut by the player to their right and then dealt clockwise beginning with the player left of the dealer until each player has thirteen cards. There are no trumps. If cards are misdealt, the deal passes to the left. If cards are faced in the pack, the dealer reshuffles, offers it for the cut and re-deals.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Eldest hand (left of the dealer) leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit if able; otherwise may discard any card. The trick is won by the highest card of the led suit and the trick winner leads to the next trick. If a player revokes, they lose the trick and pay the pre-agreed penalty in chips.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: A player taking all 13 hearts pays 13 chips: four to each opponent and one to the table. Otherwise, the player with the lowest number of hearts wins and the others pay that player in chips the number of hearts they took. So if A has one heart, B two, C four and D six, A will receive 2 chips from B, 4 from C and six from D making 12 "in toto". If two or more players have the lowest number of hearts, they divide the spoils, any remainder staying on the table for the next round. So if A and B have two hearts, C has three and D has six, C pays 3 chips, D pays 6 and A and B claim 4 each, leaving the remaining chip on the table. A player who revokes in order to avoid taking 13 chips, pays 8 to each opponent.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Three to six may play, but four is best. A standard pack is used. For three players, the is removed; for five players the and are removed, for six players the , , and are left out. Players draw cards to determine the first dealer; lowest deals. Deal and play are clockwise. Dealer shuffles and youngest hand (right of dealer) cuts. The dealer then deals all the cards, individually and face down, beginning with the eldest hand (to the left of the dealer).


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Eldest hand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit if able; otherwise, they may play any card. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, and the winning player captures the cards played in the trick. The winner also leads the following trick.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Each heart captured in tricks incurs a penalty point, there being thirteen penalty points "in toto." The winner is the player with the lowest score after an agreed number of deals. Alternatively, a target score may be agreed (such as 80 for four players) and when the first player reaches the target, the game ends. The player with the lowest score wins.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: If Hearts is played for stakes, the average score is worked out and those above it pay the difference into a pool, while those below it draw the difference.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: The variant of Auction Hearts appears for the first time in the 1897 edition of "Foster's Complete Hoyle". It is a game for four players, although five or six may "form a table". Its novel feature is that, after the deal, players may bid in sequence to declare the penalty suit. Eldest hand begins the bidding by stating the number of chips he or she is willing to pay for the privilege of naming the suit; the succeeding players may pass or bid higher. The dealer goes last and there is only one round of bidding. The player who wins the auction pays the winning bid into the pool and leads to the first trick.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Black Jack appeared at the same time as Black Lady, both as alternative names for the more general name of Discard Hearts. Discard Hearts, as the name suggests, introduced the concept of discarding (also called passing or exchanging) for the first time into Hearts. It is identical with the basic Black Lady game, but with the as the penalty card, worth 10 "hearts" (i.e. points). It is last mentioned by Gibson in 1974, only this time with the same penalty as Black Lady of 13 points.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Black Lady appeared in 1909, at which time it was also called Discard Hearts, and has since become the most popular variant in the United States, overtaking Hearts itself to become a game in its own right. It is frequently, and confusingly, also called Hearts, not least in computer gaming versions. However, its distinguishing feature is that the , the Black Lady, is an additional penalty card worth 13 points. The first description of the game already included the feature of discarding cards to one's neighbour after the deal. Over time, the game has developed elaborations such as 'shooting the moon' and passing cards in different directions with each deal.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Black Maria is the British variant of Hearts and features three additional penalty cards – the worth 10 points, the worth 7 points and the Black Maria or worth 13 points. It was first described by Hubert Phillips in the mid-20th century. It usually includes passing to the right (not left as in other variants) which is considered more challenging because you don't know any of the next player's cards. Hitting the moon is an optional rule. Confusingly, sometimes the name Black Lady is given to this game and sometimes Black Lady is called Black Maria.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Cancellation Hearts is first described in 1950 by Culbertson and is a variant designed for larger numbers of players, typically 6 to 11 players, using two packs shuffled together. If exactly the same card is played twice in one trick, the cards cancel each other out, and neither can win the trick. If two such pairs appear in the same trick, the whole trick is cancelled and the cards are rolled over to the winner of the next trick.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: A French variant of the second half of the 19th century both in France and Belgium in which the aim is to avoid taking all four Queens as well all hearts. Three to six may play, but the game is best for four. Queens are worth 13 penalty points each, the hearts (except the Q) 1 penalty point each. A player may declare a "Générale" and seek to win all the penalty cards; if successful the opponents score 64 penalty points each; if unsuccessful the declarer scores 64. A silent (unannounced) "Générale" incurs 54 penalty points for each opponent.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Another variant first noted by Foster in 1909, the key feature of which is that it is played with a stock. Each player receives six cards and the remainder are placed face down on the table as stock. A player unable to follow suit, has to draw cards, one at a time, from the stock until able to can follow suit. The last player holding cards must pick up any remaining cards in the stock and count them with their tricks. Every heart taken scores one penalty point. As soon as any player reaches or exceeds thirty-one points, the game is over and the winner is the player with the fewest hearts scored.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Greek Hearts is a name given to at least three different variants. In the earliest version, which Phillips and Westall (1939) say is widely played in Greece hence why they call it "Greek Hearts", the scores 50 penalty points, the scores 15, the courts score 10 and the remaining pip cards of the Hearts suit score their face value. A player taking all the penalty cards scores 150, that is, gets paid 150 points by each opponent. There is "a great deal more in the game than there is in 'Slippery Anne'" (Black Lady). Meanwhile, Culbertson (1950) describes it as the game of Black Lady with three changes: three cards are always passed to the right, the counts as 10 plus points and a heart card may not be led to the first trick of the game. Maguire's version (1990) is essentially Spot Hearts with passing to the left and Parlett (2008) has a similar scoring system to the original, with the valued at 50 penalty points, the at 15, courts 10 each, but the remaining hearts as only 1 each.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Heartsette is another very early variant that is still played. Its distinguishing feature is a widow. When four play, the is removed, twelve cards are dealt to each player and the remaining three cards are placed face down in the centre of the table to form the widow. For other numbers of players, the full pack is used, the widow comprising three cards when three play, two when five play and four when six play. The player winning the first trick takes in the widow and any hearts it contains. That player may look at these cards but may not show them to anyone. Otherwise, the game is played as normal. The key difference from basic Hearts is that the first winner is the only one who knows how many and which hearts are still to be played.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Joker Hearts is recorded as early as 1897. One or more Jokers are added, which can be played at any time (regardless if following suit is possible). They cannot win tricks or score any penalty points.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: In 1950, Culbertson reported that Omnibus Hearts was "rapidly becoming the most popular of Hearts games" and was so called because it included all the features found in different members of the Hearts family and Arnold states that it is "sufficiently different and popular" to justify being described as a separate game." In effect, Omnibus Hearts is really a variant of Black Lady to which has been added the bonus card of the which earns 10 plus points for the player who takes it in a trick. A player who takes all fifteen counters (, and thirteen hearts), scores 26 plus points for the deal and the rest score zero (noting that in Culbertson's Black Lady rules, what is now called shooting the moon results in no player scoring for that deal). Arnold (2011) states that Omnibus Hearts is considered the best version of Hearts by many players. He refers to the capture of all counting cards as "hitting the moon, take-all or slam". The game ends when a player reaches or exceeds 100 penalty points, whereupon the player with the lowest score wins.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: A recent variant to enable players to play in partnership. There are three versions of Partnership Hearts. In the first, partners sit opposite one another and combine their scores, a team that successfully shoots the moon causing the other to earn 52 penalty points. In the second, partners also face each other at the table, but keep individual scores. A player shooting the moon must do this alone. When any player reaches 100 or more, the partners combine their scores and the team with the lower score wins. The third is really a variant of Omnibus Hearts with a slam bid. After the deal, players bid to shoot the moon by taking all tricks. The player holding the becomes the silent partner of the winning bidder and they combine their scores. If no one bids, the game is played as in Omnibus Hearts with no partnerships.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Spot Hearts appears as a variant in the very first description of Hearts in 1887, albeit referred to as the Double Game of Hearts or the Eagle Game of Hearts, being first named as Spot Hearts by Foster in 1897. Both names continue to be used until the 1920s when Spot Hearts becomes the standard name of the game. The key difference is that the hearts are now worth values ranging from 2 to 14, rather than being worth 1 chip (or penalty point) each. The actual values are: at 14, at 13, at 12, at 11 and pips score their face value. Foster remarks that "this adds nothing to the interest or skill of the game; but rather tends to create confusion and delay, owing to the numerous disputes as to the correctness of the count." Nevertheless, the game has been regularly listed right up to the present day with the "Little Giant Encyclopedia" (2009) giving an alternative name of Chip Hearts. Modern rules, however, tend to score the as 1 penalty point rather than the original 14.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: Although it appears wise to play low hearts first, it is usually better to hold onto them until it is clearer, from the fall of the cards, to whom you are giving them. Low hearts are especially handy for passing the lead over in the dangerous final few tricks. The exception to this is when one's plain suit cards are high or dangerous, but hearts are relatively low. In this case, it may be better to ditch the hearts earlier on.


title: Hearts (card game)

text: A void is when a player does not have any cards of a certain suit. Generally, this is a highly advantageous situation, because it prevents the player from winning any points in that suit, and provides a means to dispose of poor cards. These can be intentionally created with good passing strategy, or appear by themselves.


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry or sector.


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: CAGR is equivalent to the more generic exponential growth rate when the exponential growth interval is one year.


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: where formula_2 is the initial value, formula_3 is the end value, and formula_4 is the number of years.


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: Actual or normalized values may be used for calculation as long as they retain the same mathematical proportion.


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: In this example, we will compute the CAGR over a three-year period. Assume that the year-end revenues of a business over a three-year period, formula_5, have been:


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: Therefore, to calculate the CAGR of the revenues over the three-year period spanning the "end" of 2004 to the "end" of 2007 is:


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: Note that this is a smoothed growth rate per year. This rate of growth would take you to the ending value, from the starting value, in the number of years given, if growth had been at the same rate every year.


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: Multiply the initial value (2004 year-end revenue) by (1 + CAGR) three times (because we calculated for 3 years). The product will equal the year-end revenue for 2007. This shows the compound growth rate:


title: Compound annual growth rate

text: In contrast to CAGR, you cannot obtain formula_3 by multiplying the initial value, formula_2, three times by (1 + AMR) (unless all annual growth rates are the same).


title: Shichimi

text: , also known as or simply shichimi, is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients. Tōgarashi is the Japanese name for "Capsicum annuum", a red pepper native to Central and South America, and it is this ingredient that makes shichimi spicy.


title: Shichimi

text: Some recipes may substitute or supplement these with yuzu peel, rapeseed or shiso. Shichimi is distinguished from , which is simply ground red chili pepper.


title: Shichimi

text: It is often consumed with soups and on noodles and gyūdon. Some rice products such as rice cakes, agemochi and roasted rice crackers also use it for seasoning.


title: Shichimi

text: Shichimi dates back at least to the 17th century, when it was produced by herb dealers in Edo, current day Tokyo, and sometimes it is referred to as . Most shichimi sold today come from one of three kinds, sold near temples: sold near Sensō-ji, sold near Kiyomizu-dera, and sold near Zenkō-ji.


title: Shichimi

text: In modern times, the product is generally sold as a formulated product, but in the past it was prepared and sold according to the customer's needs (七味唐辛子売り). Even today, performances can be seen at festival stalls.


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: Sudhir Chaudhary is an Indian journalist, and media personality. He is currently working at Hindi news channel, Aaj Tak as Consulting Editor and hosting it's flagship prime-time show "Black & White" ("B & W"). He was formerly the editor-in-chief and CEO of Zee News, WION, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas and hosted the prime-time show "Daily News & Analysis" ("DNA") on Zee News.


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: Chaudhary has been working in the television news industry since the 1990s. Belonging to the first generation of television journalists, he was in live television reporting and then 24 hours news television. Chaudhary was told to have been in the squad which has covered the Vajpayee–Musharraf Indo-Pak meeting at Islamabad, after the 2001 Indian Parliament attack.


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: In 2003, he left Zee News. He was instrumental in the launch of Sahara Samay, the Hindi-language news channel of the Sahara group. He also joined India TV for a brief time. In 2012, he rejoined Zee News, where he hosts the news show "Daily News & Analysis" ("DNA").


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: Chaudhary resigned again from Zee News in July 2022 and joined Aaj Tak. He is hosting Aaj Tak's prime time show "Black & White" ("B & W").


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: In November 2012, Chaudhary and his colleague Sameer Ahluwalia were arrested on charges of extortion after businessman Naveen Jindal alleged that the two journalists had tried to extort Crore worth of advertisements from his company in exchange for dropping stories that linked the Jindal Group with the Coalgate scam. The two were sent to 14-day judicial custody in Tihar Jail but were released on bail. The Broadcast Editors' Association suspended Chaudhary as its treasurer in the wake of these charges, saying that Chaudhary had acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests and objectives of the Association. In July 2018, the Jindal Group wrote to the investigating agencies saying that a settlement had been reached, and requesting them to withdraw the allegations against the journalists and close the case; on the same day, charges of bribery were filed against Jindal and others related to the case.


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: Chaudhary accused Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra of plagiarising speech of Truman Longman pointing out early signs of fascism in India while both Longman and Moitra later denied plagiarising the speech. Mahua Moitra filed criminal defamation case against Sudhir Chaudhary after which Chaudhary on his daily prime time show accepted that only a part of Mahua Moitra's speech was broadcast and showed his regrets. Zee Media also filed a defamation case against her for calling it 'chor' and 'paid' news.


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: On 10 April 2020, on Zee News, Chaudhary (according to Al Jazeera) openly accused Muslims of impeding India's coronavirus war. Chaudhary said on his show "DNA" that the "Tablighi Jamaat betrayed the nation."


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: In May 2020, Kerala Police filed a first information report against Chaudhary for his March 11 broadcast of "DNA", in which Chaudhary discusses the "types of jihads", which were criticized as Islamophobic.


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: In 2015, Sudhir Chaudhary got X-category security after allegations that someone had threatened to murder Chaudhary. In 2020, Zee News claimed that China had been monitoring Sudhir Chaudhary.


title: Sudhir Chaudhary (journalist)

text: Chaudhary won a Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism in the "Hindi broadcast" category for 2013. He won the award for his interview with the friend of the Delhi December 16 gang-rape victim.<ref name="http://indianexpress.com"></ref>


title: Loren Gray

text: Loren Gray Beech (born April 19, 2002) is an American social media personality and singer best known for the TikTok career she began in 2016, at the age of 13. She is the seventeenth most-followed individual on TikTok as of December 2022, and was the most-followed TikTok individual from March 31, 2019 to March 25, 2020. She was signed to Virgin Records and Capitol Records until February 2021, when she became an independent artist.


title: Loren Gray

text: Loren Gray joined musical.ly (now known as TikTok) in 2015. After gaining a large following on musical.ly in the 8th grade, she began to get bullied at school. She eventually moved to Los Angeles, California and grew her other social media platforms. As of September 2022, she has more than 54.6 million TikTok followers, 23.4 million Instagram followers, 3.86 million YouTube subscribers, and over 1.5 million Twitter followers. On her backup Instagram, she has over 4.7 million followers. Gray is the seventeenth most-followed individual on TikTok and had been the most-followed TikTok individual from March 31, 2019 to March 25, 2020.


title: Loren Gray

text: In March 2018, Gray signed a record deal with Virgin Records before releasing her debut single "My Story" in August, which she says is based on a friend who "kept falling in love with the wrong people". In November 2018, she released her second single, "Kick You Out", which was written and produced by herself and Ido Zmishlany, and was described by "Billboard" as showing "the true highs and lows that come from being in love". Her third single, "Queen", an empowering anthem produced by herself and Captain Cuts, was released in December 2018. The video for the song, released the following month, received more than 18 million views as of July 2021.


title: Loren Gray

text: Gray was featured on Lost Kings' single "Anti-Everything", released on January 11, 2019. She cites Eminem and Justin Bieber among her favorite artists. On April 4, 2019, Loren Gray released two new singles – "Options" and "Lie Like That". She teamed up with Captain Cuts (Walk the Moon, Halsey, The Chainsmokers) to write and produce both tracks, bringing in collaborators Nija (Jason Derulo, Chris Brown) on "Options" and Australian artist Ivy Adara on "Lie Like That". On May 17, 2019, Loren Gray released a new single titled "Can't Do It" featuring American rapper Saweetie. It marks her first single as a lead artist to feature another artist. After taking almost a year break from releasing songs, she released a new single titled "Cake" on May 13, 2020. She released her final solo single with Virgin Records and Capitol Records titled “Alone” on July 21, 2020. She departed from her music label in February 2020 and became an independent artist. She released her first independent song with TELYKast on March 12, 2021. She released her first solo independent song titled “Piece of Work” on July 9, 2021. According to "Billboard", she is one of the top 10 music influencers on TikTok, with over 50 million followers.


title: Loren Gray

text: On December 3, 2020, Gray launched her own jewelry brand, &always. Her Instagram run business has a follower count of 28.4K followers as of August 2022. She had been working on the brand a year prior to release. When first launched, the brand released two editions: The Starlet Mirror Edition and Otherworld Edition.


title: Loren Gray

text: According to a "Forbes" report published in August 2020, Gray earned $2.4 million in 2019 from her numerous sponsorship deals and merchandise, making her the fourth highest-earning TikTok star.


title: Loren Gray

text: Gray was nominated for Choice Muser at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards and Muser of the Year at the 9th Annual Shorty Awards in 2017. In 2018, she was nominated for Choice Muser a second time at the 2018 Teen Choice Awards. She was nominated for the Social Star Award, a socially voted award, at the 2019 iHeart Radio Music Awards.


title: Pitch drop experiment

text: A pitch drop experiment is a long-term experiment which measures the flow of a piece of pitch over many years. 'Pitch' is the name for any of a number of highly viscous liquids which appear solid, most commonly bitumen, also known as asphalt. At room temperature, tar pitch flows at a very low rate, taking several years to form a single drop.


title: Pitch drop experiment

text: The best-known version of the experiment was started in 1927 by Professor Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, to demonstrate to students that some substances which appear solid are highly viscous fluids. Parnell poured a heated sample of the pitch into a sealed funnel and allowed it to settle for three years. In 1930, the seal at the neck of the funnel was cut, allowing the pitch to start flowing. A glass dome covers the funnel and it is placed on display outside a lecture theatre. Large droplets form and fall over a period of about a decade.


title: Pitch drop experiment

text: The seventh drop fell at approximately 4:45 p.m. on 3 July 1988, while the experiment was on display at Brisbane's World Expo 88. However, apparently no one witnessed the drop fall itself; Professor Mainstone had stepped out to get a drink at the moment it occurred.