Here’s an entertaining video about the teachings of Vardhamana Mahavira and the spread of Jainism. Find out more about Jainism at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which has “one of the most important permanent collections of Jain art in the UK.”  It’s online material is awesome. BBC Religion also has a good site for information about basic beliefs and customs. And here’s an interesting clip from PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newwekly about modern Jains in India today. Read more

Upworthy posted this fascinating video about the way Hasidic Jews dress and identify themselves.  At 4 minutes in,  you’ll find them talking about how looking the same makes you more individual. And toward the end of the video, you’ll find some Hasidic ideas on feminism and sex. Read more

Teaching Shintoism?  Here’s a good documentary clip about its origins and history from “Religions of the World.” Another clip, below, explains a Japanese shrine. Read more

Confucianism is a scholarly tradition in which education is crucial. In fact, according to Harvard professor Tu Wei Ming, learning to be human is an ultimate concern. These are some of the ideas about Confucianism that Dr. Ming discusses with Bill Moyers in this 1988 clip form Moyer’s series called “A World of Ideas.”  Dr. Ming believes that the humanism of Confucius can help us cope with issues today. Born in China 1940, Ming’s family fled to Taiwan when the... Read more

If you want to understand the history of Tibetan Buddhism, you might watch this 55 minute documentary produced by France 3. It is mostly black and white and somewhat dry.  But if you want to learn more about the Dalai Lama,  why the Chinese first invaded Tibet or why the Dalai Lama fled to India, then this video is worth watching. Read more

Here is an excellent summary of the five universal religions by John Bellaimey on Ted Talks. Bellaimy summarizes each in about 2 minutes. Ken Halla posted this video on our World History blog which you can access here. And here is Bellaimey discussing the hidden meaning of yin and yang.   Read more

Teaching Buddhism?  Here’s a 6 minute clip about the meaning of Nirvana from Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk. Read more

The Bay Psalm Book (A little history and religion) First book printed in the colonies in 1640 First  book printed in English in the New World Only 11 copies left in the world Could bring $30 to $50 million at Sotheby’s The Old South Church in Boston is selling the rare book in order to raise its endowment. The church, according to this interesting New York Times story, baptized Benjamin Franklin and was a meeting place for upset colonists. The... Read more

The Mahabodhi Temple, pictured above, is one of four holy sites related to the life of the Buddha. It’s located in Bodh Gaya in India where the Buddha attained enlightenment. Emperor Asoka built the first temple at this site in the 3rd century,CE and this temple was built in the 5th or 6th century. Now a group of people, including the king of Thailand, want to cover the dome with 660 pounds of gold that they plan to donate. What would would... Read more

Here is the audio recording of Vivekananda’s famous speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893. Vivekananda was a Hindu monk and disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He was the first of a number of Indian gurus who began to travel to the West in the late 1800’s. In the speech above, Vivekananda introduced the West to Hinduism  and called for tolerance and an end to fanaticism. Vivekananda also set up Vedanta Societies and  Ramakrishna missions... Read more