Editing Religious art (section)

==Buddhist art==
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{{main|Buddhist art}}
[[File:Sri lanka aukana buddha statue.jpg|thumb|Buddha statue in Sri Lanka.]]
Buddhist art originated on the [[Indian subcontinent]] following the historical life of [[Siddhartha Gautama]], 6th to 5th century BC, and thereafter evolved by contact with other cultures as it spread throughout Asia and the world.

Buddhist art followed believers as the dharma spread, adapted, and evolved in each new host country. It developed to the north through [[Central Asia]] and into [[Eastern Asia]] to form the Northern branch of Buddhist art.

Buddhist art followed to the east as far as [[Southeast Asia]] to form the Southern branch of Buddhist art.

[[File:Thangka Depicting Vajrabhairava, ca. 1740, Sotheby's.jpg|thumb|An example of Tibetan Buddhist art: Thangka Depicting [[Vajrabhairava]], c. 1740]]

In India, the Buddhist art flourished and even influenced the development of [[Hindu art]], until Buddhism nearly disappeared in India around the 10th century due in part to the vigorous expansion of [[Islam]] alongside [[Hinduism]].

===Tibetan Buddhist art===
Most Tibetan Buddhist artforms are related to the practice of [[Vajrayana]] or Buddhist tantra.
[[Tibetan art]] includes [[thangka]]s and [[mandala]]s, often including depictions of [[Buddhahood|Buddhas]] and [[bodhisattva]]s. Creation of Buddhist art is usually done as a [[meditation]] as well as creating an object as aid to meditation. An example of this is the creation of a [[sand mandala]] by monks; before and after the construction prayers are recited, and the form of the mandala represents the pure surroundings (palace) of a Buddha on which is meditated to train the mind. The work is rarely, if ever, signed by the artist. Other Tibetan Buddhist art includes metal ritual objects, such as the [[vajra]] and the [[phurba]].

===Indian Buddhist art===
Two places suggest more vividly than any others the vitality of Buddhist cave painting from about the 5th century AD. One is Ajanta, a site in India long forgotten until discovered in 1817. The other is Dunhuang, one of the great oasis staging posts on the Silk Road...The paintings range from calm devotional images of the Buddha to lively and crowded scenes, often featuring the seductively full-breasted and narrow-waisted women more familiar in Indian sculpture than in painting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?gtrack=pthc&ParagraphID=bdc#bdc |title=History Of Buddhism |publisher=Historyworld.net |access-date=2013-09-06}}</ref>

===Chinese Buddhist art===
{{See also|Shuilu ritual paintings}}