Initially, when Gautama Buddha was alive in about 400 BC, his followers attempted to emulate his lifetime of asceticism, meditation and solitude. As time went on a religion formed around the Buddha’s concepts and spiritual practices. No visual representation of the Buddha was allowed for the first few 100 years after the Buddha’s death. But this very austere form of Buddhism did not appeal much to the common folk. So, the priests of Hinayana Buddhism created a new, more accessible form of Bhuddism callled Mahayana. Several centuries later, as Mahayana Buddhism moved to China and Southeast Asia, another, more elaborate and colorful form of Buddhism flourished in Cambodia, and Thailand called Therveda Buddhism. This presentation largely explores the many, Nancy