The Story of Buddhism by Benoy K Behl

A series of videos on the philosophy, art and culture of Buddhism in India by the renowned historian and photographer Benoy K Behl covering the Stupa, cave monasteries and later developments in the Himalayan Region.

This is a series of nineteen videos lasting 2 – 7 minutes each on the philosophy, art and culture of Buddhism in India by the renowned art historian and photographer Benoy K Behl.

Behl has had many exhibitions of his work, and made many videos on the subject of Indian art and sculpture. He has also been featured in National Geographic magazine.

Behl presents his material in a very attractive manner and gives the context, background and underlying philosophy of the various monuments that he visits across India and Ladakh.

He himself is evidently a neo-Vedantin and he tends to interpret things from that perspective, talking about the aim of Buddhism as being the “formless” and the “divine”, which someone following early Buddhism could not agree with. It does however give him a sympathy with later, especially Tantric forms of Buddhism.

The films are very well made and quite inspiring, and he certainly has a genuine love of the paintings, sculptures and art works which he examines. The film series finishes without closure, and (besides a trailer) there is only one other film on his YouTube channel Buddhism Films and that is a song so it appears it may never have been completed.

In the series he takes in the following subjects:

Path Of Compassion
The First Sermon
Emperor Ashoka
The Stupa
Bharhut Stupa
Sanchi Stupas
Stupas Of Andhra Pradesh
The Journey Within (Overview of Cave Monasteries)
Bhaja Caves (Maharasthra)
Kondavane & Karle Caves (Maharasthra)
Masterpieces Of Buddhist Art (Aja??a)
The Intellectual Quest (Mahayana and Nalanda)
The Vehicle Of The Thunderbolt (Vikramasila)
Orissa: A Cradle Of Buddhism
Buddhism In Kashmir
Legacy Of Kashmir
The Second Great Diffusion Of Buddhism (Himalayan Region)
The Monasteries Of Rinchen Zangpo (Ladakh)
Enchanted Alchi (Ladakh)

These are the sort of meditative films that can be returned to profitably again and again. At the end I include a trailer for his proposed film about The Second Buddha, Guru Padmasambhava. I hope he gets the opportunity to complete this work.

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