Image Details

Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

In this fragment of a frieze from Pakistan, dating from the first to fourth century A.D., Buddha sits beneath a tree as he addresses his disciples. Legends of the Buddha and his teaching have come down through the ages in the East just as those of Jesus have in the West. Like Jesus, Buddha encouraged his closest followers to abandon their worldly goods and their families, and to follow him, spreading his message of compassion throughout the world.