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Bhavanga
Bhavaṅga (Pali, "ground of becoming", "condition for existence"), also bhavanga-sota and bhavanga-citta is a passive mode of intentional consciousness (''citta'') described in the Abhidhamma of Theravada Buddhism. It is also a mental process which conditions the next mental process at the moment of death and rebirth. It is an exclusively Theravada doctrine that differs from Sarvastivadin and Sautrantika theories of mind, and has been compared to the Mahayana concept of store-consciousness. Classical definition and development The term does not occur in the Nikayas, though the Theravada tradition identifies it with one that does; the phenomenon described as "luminous mind." The Theravāda Abhidhamma tradition asserts that it is the bhavanga that motivates one to seek nibbana. It is first found in the Patthana, part of the Theravada Abhidhamma Pitaka. The word bhavaṅga is also found in the Nettipakaraṇa, Milindapañha, and Petakopadesa. The nature of bhavaṅga is also di ...
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Luminous Mind
Luminous mind ( Skt: or , Pali: ; Tib: ; Ch: ; Jpn: ; Kor: ) is a Buddhist term which appears only rarely in the Pali Canon, but is common in the Mahayana sūtras and central to the Buddhist tantras. It is variously translated as "brightly shining mind", or "mind of clear light" while the related term ''luminosity'' (Skt. ; Tib. ; Ch. ; Jpn. ; Kor. ) is also translated as "clear light" or "luminosity" in Tibetan Buddhist contexts or, "purity" in East Asian contexts. The Theravada school identifies the "luminous mind" with the ''bhavanga'', a concept first proposed in the Theravāda Abhidhamma. The later schools of the Mahayana identify it with ''bodhicitta'' and ''tathagatagarbha''. The luminosity of mind is of central importance in the philosophy and practice of the Buddhist tantras, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen. Early Buddhist texts In the Early Buddhist Texts there are various mentions of luminosity or radiance which refer to the development of the mind in meditation. ...
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Theravāda Abhidhamma
The Theravāda Abhidhamma is a scholastic systematization of the Theravāda school's understanding of the highest Buddhist teachings ( Abhidhamma). These teachings are traditionally believed to have been taught by the Buddha, though modern scholars date the texts of the ''Abhidhamma Piṭaka'' to the 3rd century BCE. Theravāda traditionally sees itself as the ''vibhajjavāda'' ("the teaching of analysis"), which reflects the analytical (''vibhajjati'') method used by the Buddha and early Buddhists to investigate the nature of the person and other phenomena. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, a modern Theravāda scholar, the Abhidhamma is "simultaneously a philosophy, a psychology and an ethics, all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation."Bodhi (2000), p. 3. There are different textual layers of Abhidhamma literature. The earliest Abhidhamma works are found in the Pali Canon. Then there are exegetical works which were composed in Sri Lanka in the 5th century. There a ...
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Store-consciousness
The Eight Consciousnesses (Skt. ''aṣṭa vijñānakāyāḥ'') is a classification developed in the tradition of the Yogācāra school of Mahayana Buddhism. They enumerate the five sense consciousnesses, supplemented by the mental consciousness (''manovijñāna''), the defiled mental consciousness (''kliṣṭamanovijñāna''), and finally the fundamental store-house consciousness (''ālāyavijñāna''), which is the basis of the other seven.Waldron, William S. The Buddhist Unconscious: The Alaya-vijñana in the context of Indian Buddhist Thought. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism, 2003, page 97 This eighth consciousness is said to store the impressions ('' vāsanāḥ'') of previous experiences, which form the seeds (''bīja'') of future karma in this life and in the next after rebirth. Eightfold network of primary consciousnesses All surviving schools of Buddhist thought accept – "in common" – the existence of the first six primary consciousne ...
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Visuddhimagga
The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and systematizing the 5th century understanding and interpretation of the Buddhist path as maintained by the elders of the Mahavihara Monastery in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is considered the most important Theravada text of outside of the Tipitaka canon of scriptures,See, for instance, Kheminda Thera, in Ehara et al. 1995 p. xliii: "The ''Visuddhimagga'' is a household word in all ''Theravāda'' lands. No scholar of Buddhism whether of ''Theravāda'' or of ''Mahāyāna'' is unacquainted with it." and is described as "the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis of the Tipitaka." Background Structure The structure of the ''Visuddhimagga'' is based on the ''Ratha-vinita Sutta'' ("Relay Chariots Discourse," MN 24), which describes th ...
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Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed Theravādins, have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhism), Buddha Dhamma'' in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia. The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a Indo-Aryan languages, classical Indian language, Pali, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and ''lingua franca''.Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity'', p. 2. In contrast to ''Mahāyāna'' and ''Vajrayāna'', Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine (''pariyatti'') and monastic discipline (''vinaya''). One element of this conservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras (which appeared c. ...
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Nyanatiloka
Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera (19 February 1878, Wiesbaden, Germany – 28 May 1957, Colombo, Ceylon), born as Anton Walther Florus Gueth, was one of the earliest Westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk. Early life and education Nyanatiloka was born on 19 February 1878 in Wiesbaden, Germany, as Anton Walther Florus Gueth. His father was Anton Gueth, a professor and principal of the municipal Gymnasium of Wiesbaden, as well as a private councillor. His mother's name was Paula Auffahrt. She had studied piano and singing at the Royal Court Theatre in Kassel. He studied at the Königliche Realgymnasium (Royal Gymnasium) in Wiesbaden from 1888 to 1896. From 1896 to 1898 he received private tuition in music theory and composition, and in playing the violin, piano, viola and clarinet. From 1889 to 1900 he studied theory and composition of music as well as the playing of the violin and piano at Hoch’sches Conservatorium (Hoch Conservatory) in Fra ...
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Unconscious Mind
The unconscious mind (or the unconscious) consists of the processes in the mind which occur automatically and are not available to introspection and include thought processes, memories, interests, and motivations. Even though these processes exist well under the surface of conscious awareness, they are theorized to exert an effect on behavior. The term was coined by the German Romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge.Christopher John Murray, ''Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850'' (Taylor & Francis, 2004: ), pp. 1001–1002. Empirical evidence suggests that unconscious phenomena include repressed feelings, automatic skills, subliminal perceptions, and automatic reactions, and possibly also Complex (psychology), complexes, hidden phobias, and desires. The concept was popularized by the Austrian neurologist and Psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. In psychoanalytic theory#The uncon ...
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Rupert Gethin
Rupert Mark Lovell Gethin (born 1957, in Edinburgh) is Professor of Buddhist Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and codirector of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, and (since 2003) president of the Pali Text Society. He holds a BA in Comparative Religion (1980), a master's degree in Buddhist Studies (1982), and a PhD in Buddhist Studies (1987), all from the University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer .... He was appointed Lecturer in Indian Religions by the University of Bristol in 1987, and then Professor In Buddhist Studies in 2009. His main area of research is the history and development of Buddhist thought and practice in the Nikayas and Abhidhamma. His major publications include ''The Buddhist ...
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Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in the lineage of the Sinhalese Mahāvihāra. His best-known work is the ''Visuddhimagga'' ("Path of Purification"), a comprehensive summary of older Sinhala commentaries on Theravada teachings and practices. According to Sarah Shaw, in Theravada this systematic work is "the principal text on the subject of meditation." The interpretations provided by Buddhaghosa have generally constituted the orthodox understanding of Theravada scriptures since at least the 12th century CE. He is generally recognized by both Western scholars and Theravadins as the most important philosopher and commentator of the Theravada, but is also criticised for his departures from the canonical texts. Name The name Buddhaghosa means "Voice of the Buddha" (''Buddha' ...
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