The wives of King Sakka were reincarnated and had their own mansions, gardens and ponds in heaven. However, his youngest wife, who had never done any good in her lifetime, was reborn as a simple forest crane. King Sakka decided to visit the forest crane. He told the crane to follow Pancha shila (five moral […]
The Ajanta and Ellora Caves were built close to the city of Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, between the 5th and the 10th century.The Ellora Caves are, in fact, 34 rock-cut temples. These temples were carved out of the vertical cliff of the Charanandari Hills. Out of the 34 temples, 17 were Hindu temples, 12 were Buddhist
Once, a monk lived in a town monastery. The king looked after him well. One day, a senior monk came to the town. The king invited him to stay at the monastery. The town monk became jealous of the senior monk. The next day, the town monk went to the king’s palace without the senior
Once, there lived a rich man in Benaras; he was very generous. He built dining halls to distribute free food to the poor. In a forest near Benaras lived a Silent Buddha, who was meditating. After meditating for almost seven days and nights, the Silent Buddha was dying of starvation. So, he went to the
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City, Rome, and was built between 1473 and 1483.The Sistine Chapel is a 3-storey high rectangular building with an unadorned simple exterior. Its splendour lies within the chapel, which has beautifully painted frescoes on the wall and specifically the ceiling. Michelangelo painted
Once, an old man had a young son. The old man feared that once he died, his relatives would take away his wealth from his son. So, he buried his wealth in the forest with the help of his loyal servant Nanda, and requested, “Nanda, keep it a secret till my son has grown up.”
Chandaka, a young monk, and his brother were the humble disciples of Sakyamuni Buddha. While his brother could easily memorise verses, Chandaka could hardly remember his guru’s teachings. Seeing Chandaka’s futile attempts at memorizing the verses, his brother once advised him to leave the monastery and return home. Chandaka took his advice and left the
Notre Dame is a Catholic cathedral built in Paris, France, between 1163 and 1345. Notre Dame is an exemplary work of French-Gothic architecture that was the first ever building to make use of the flying buttress as supports on the outside walls. 69 metres high, the Notre Dame contains a rose window stained glass and
Once, a quail, a monkey and an elephant lived near a banyan tree. The three would often have arguments. One day, the three friends decided that every time they argued they would listen to the oldest person among them. However, none of them knew one another’s age. The elephant said, “When I was a baby,
Once, a giant tree grew in the forest. Many birds lived on this tree. Their leader was a wise bird. One day, the leader saw two branches rubbing against each other and then some smoke rising. The wise leader called a meeting of all the birds. There, he told them that the tree they were
Once, the Bodhisattva was born as a baby quail. His parents would bring him food, feed him and look after him. One day, a fire broke out in the forest. All the birds flew away, but the baby quail’s parents stayed with the baby, as he could not walk or fly yet. Finally, the fire
There was a monk who understood the language of all animals. One day, he was walking by the riverbank. Just then, he saw a fisherman cast a big net into the river. Peering into the water, the monk saw a big fish following its pretty wife. The husband was so lost in its beauty that
Once, the Bodhisattva was born as a scholar and mastered all the scriptures. He became a monk and had 500 disciples. One day, while the Bodhisattva was passing through the forest with his disciple Chandaka, he saw a hungry tigress about to eat her own cubs. Feeling pity for the cubs, the Bodhisattva decided to
The Arc de Triomphe I’Étoile is a monument built in Paris, France, between 1806 and 1826. One of Paris’ most iconic monuments, the Arc de Triomphe was built to commemorate and honour the soldiers who fought and died in the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. 50 metres in height the Arc was designed in a
A wicked hermit was living as a guest in a rich man’s house. One day, the rich man had to hide a box of gold coins. Thinking that the hermit had no interest in wealth and worldly pleasures, he buried the gold coins in the hermit’s room. But when the rich man left, the hermit