Once, a king and a queen had a beautiful baby. They named him Prince Goodspeaker. The king hoped this name would help his son in later life. The prince was no ordinary baby. He was an ardent follower of the Buddha–the Enlightened One. He wanted to gain enlightenment like the Buddha. He was reborn in […]
Casa Milà, popularly known as La Pedrera, was built in Barcelona, Spain, between 1906 and 1912. One of the modernist buildings in Spain, Casa Milà with its undulating limestone façade, wrought iron cave-like balconies and windows, and an underground garage was one of the most innovative structures in architecture. The entire house is planned as
Once, a bald carpenter was famous for his shiny head. He was very wise and was liked by all the villagers. One day, a bumblebee saw his shiny head and decided to have a feast. The bald carpenter was busy with his work and did not notice. After a while, he saw the bumblebee and
The fourth wife of Indra, the ruler of the Heaven, was reincarnated as the Princess of the Asuras. Her good deeds let her change her fate and attain glory. After following the five moral precepts Panch Shila, she was reborn as a beautiful princess amongst the otherwise ugly Asuras. The king was happy with the
Nagarjuna went to Benaras and started studying under a Bodhisattva. However, he never listened to the Bodhisattva’s teachings and fought with other students. Soon, the students started quitting and the Bodhisattva lost his income. He asked Nagarjuna to leave Benaras. Next day, Nagarjuna went to a nearby village. He married a woman and had two
The Balmoral Castle was built in Aberdeenshire, Scotland between 1853 and 1856. The Balmoral Castle is one of the residences of the British Royal family. While the original castle was purchased by Prince Albert, the house was found too small, hence the present Balmoral Castle was built in the Scottish Baronial style of architecture in
Once, a pigeon and a crow lived in a birdhouse next to a rich man’s house. One day, the crow said to the pigeon, “I can smell the delicious food being cooked in the kitchen. Help me and we shall get the food.” The pigeon said, “No friend, work hard to find food.” The crow
Once, the King of Kosala attacked the King of Benaras. Sadly, he killed the King of Benaras and ruled his palace and kingdom. Meanwhile, the queen and her son escaped from the palace. In the countryside, the prince raised a huge army and surrounded the city. He then told the king to surrender the kingdom.
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