Over the past 2,500 years, Buddhism has had a significant impact on how Asian civilisation has developed and behaved. It is founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, a historical figure who lived in the fifth century BCE. Buddhism adopted local beliefs as it spread across Asia and included a broad variety of local and foreign imagery into its art and religious ceremonies. Buddhism is still developing as a religion around the world. Buddhism is a complicated topic, a philosophy that has developed in numerous ways and throughout diverse Asian locations, and it is still an active religion today. Because there are so many variants, it is challenging to give concise explanations of Buddhism’s ideas and artistic developments. These variances and points of view should be known to the Buddhist student. Here, we give a very broad overview as a starting point for examining historical Buddhist artworks, with an emphasis on Indian art.