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Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-BMA
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, š‘€©š‘„š‘€„š‘€ŗš‘€²š‘€¢š‘†š‘€¢š‘†š‘€Æ (BrahmÄ«), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools as well as modern Theravada Buddhism, a bodhisattva (Pali: ''bodhisatta'') refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so. In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated ''bodhicitta'', a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritually heroic persons that work to attain awakening and are driven by a great compassion (''mahakaruį¹‡Ä''). These beings are exemplified by important spiritual qualities such as the "four divine abodes" (''brahmaviharas'') of loving-kindness (''metta''), compassion (''karuį¹‡Ä''), empathetic ...
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Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: ą¤…ą¤µą¤²ą„‹ą¤•ą¤æą¤¤ą„‡ą¤¶ą„ą¤µą¤°, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāį¹‡i (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, described, and portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. In East Asian Buddhism, he has evolved into a female form called Guanyin. Etymology The name ''Avalokiteśvara'' combines the verbal prefix ''ava'' "down", ''lokita'', a past participle of the verb ''lok'' "to notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense; and finally ''īśvara'', "lord", "ruler", "sovereign" or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), ''a''+''īśvara'' becomes ''eśvara''. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazes down (at the world)". The word ''loka'' ("world") is absent from the name, but the phrase is implied. It does appear in the Cambodian form of the name, ''Lokesvarak''. The earliest translation ...
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Enlightenment In Buddhism
The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: ą¤¬ą„‹ą¤§ą¤æ; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect, of a Buddha. The verbal root ''budh-'' means "to awaken," and its literal meaning is closer to awakening. Although the term '' buddhi'' is also used in other Indian philosophies and traditions, its most common usage is in the context of Buddhism. ''Vimukti'' is the freedom from or release of the fetters and hindrances. The term "enlightenment" was popularised in the Western world through the 19th-century translations of German-born philologist Max MĆ¼ller. It has the Western connotation of general insight into transcendental truth or reality. The term is also being used to translate several other Buddhist terms and concepts, which are used to denote (initial) insight ('' prajna'' (Sanskrit), '' wu'' (Chinese), '' kensho'' and '' ...
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Mudita
''Muditā'' ( Pāli and Sanskrit: ą¤®ą„ą¤¦ą¤æą¤¤ą¤¾) means joy; especially sympathetic or vicarious joy, or the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being. The traditional paradigmatic example of this mind-state is the attitude of a parent observing a growing child's accomplishments and successes. Mudita should not be confused with pride, as a person feeling mudita may not have any benefit or direct income from the accomplishments of the other. Mudita is a pure joy unadulterated by self-interest. Application Mudita meditation is used to cultivate appreciative joy at the success and good fortune of others. The Awakened One, Lord Buddha, said: ''"Here, O, Monks, a disciple lets his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of unselfish joy, and so the second, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, everywhere and equally, he continues to pervade with a heart of unselfish joy, abundant, grown gre ...
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Karuį¹‡Ä
' () is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Buddhism is important in all schools of Buddhism. For Theravada Buddhists, dwelling in is a means for attaining a happy present life and heavenly rebirth. For Mahāyāna Buddhists, is a co-requisite for becoming a Bodhisattva. Theravada Buddhism In Theravāda Buddhism, is one of the four "divine abodes" ('' brahmavihāra''), along with loving kindness ( Pāli: '' mettā''), sympathetic joy ('' mudita'') and equanimity ('' upekkha''). In the Pali canon, Gautama Buddha recommends cultivating these four virtuous mental states to both householders and monastics. When one develops these four states, Buddha counsels radiating them in all directions, as in the following stock canonical phrase regarding : Such a practice purifies one's mind, avoids evil-induced ...
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Maitrī
''Maitrī'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''mettā'') means benevolence, loving-kindness,Warder (2004), pp. 63, 94. friendliness,Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 540, entry for "Mettā," retrieved 2008-04-29 from "U. Chicago" a amity, good will,Richard Gombrich (1988, reprinted 2002), ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo''. Routledge: London. . and active interest in others. It is the first of the four sublime states (''Brahmaviharas'') and one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism. The cultivation of benevolence (''mettā bhāvanā'') is a popular form of Buddhist meditation. It is a part of the four immeasurables in Brahmavihara (divine abidings) meditation. ''Metta'' as 'compassion meditation' is often practiced in Asia by broadcast chanting, wherein monks chant for the laity. The compassion and universal loving-kindness concept of ''Metta'' is discussed in the '' Metta Sutta'' of Buddhism, and is also found in the ancien ...
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Brahmavihara
The ''brahmavihārās'' (sublime attitudes, lit. "abodes of brahma") are a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the four immeasurables (Sanskrit: ą¤…ą¤Ŗą„ą¤°ą¤®ą¤¾ą¤£, ''apramāį¹‡a'', Pāli: ą¤…ą¤Ŗą„ą¤Ŗą¤®ą¤žą„ą¤žą¤¾, ''appamaƱƱā'') or four infinite minds ( Chinese: 四ē„”量åæƒ). The ''Brahma-viharas'' are: # loving-kindness or benevolence (maitrÄ«/mettā) # compassion (karuį¹‡Ä) # empathetic joy (muditā) # equanimity (upekį¹£Ä/upekkhā) According to the ''Metta Sutta'', cultivation of the four immeasurables has the power to cause the practitioner to be reborn into a "Brahma realm" (Pāli: ''Brahmaloka''). Etymology and translations * Pāli: ''cattāri brahmavihārā'' * sa, ą¤šą¤¤ą„ą¤µą¤¾ą¤°ą„‹ ą¤¬ą„ą¤°ą¤¹ą„ą¤®ą¤µą¤æą¤¹ą¤¾ą¤°ą¤¾ą¤ƒ ( IAST: ') * , ( Wylie: tshad med bzhi) ''Brahmavihāra'' may be parsed as "Brahma" and "vihāra", which is often rendered into English as "sublime" or "di ...
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Tharpa Publications
Tharpa Publications (Sanskrit for "liberation" and pronounced "Tar-pa") is a New York-based "major international and multilingual publisher of Buddhist books" by the Buddhist author and scholar Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. These include basic Buddhist meditation books such as '' The New Meditation Handbook'', books on the Buddhist way of life such as ''Universal Compassion'', books on Buddhist philosophy and psychology such as '' Heart of Wisdom'', and books on Buddhist Tantra. Tharpa Publications is a non-profit corporation that has operated for 25 years and claims to have sold over a million books. Waterhouse adds that the books "are distributed widely and may be seen on the shelves of popular booksellers as well as in university libraries." Kelsang Gyatso To date, Tharpa has published 22 of his books, covering the entire range of Buddha Shakyamuni's Sutra and Tantra teachings. These are in the process of being translated into German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, ...
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Sentient Beings (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, sentient beings are beings with consciousness, sentience, or in some contexts life itself.Getz, Daniel A. (2004). "Sentient beings"; cited in Buswell, Robert E. (2004). ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism''. Volume 2. New York, USA: Macmillan Reference USA. (Volume 2): pp.760 Sentient beings are composed of the five aggregates, or skandhas: matter, sensation, perception, mental formations and consciousness. In the '' Samyutta Nikaya'', the Buddha is recorded as saying that "just as the word 'chariot' exists on the basis of the aggregation of parts, even so the concept of 'being' exists when the five aggregates are available." While distinctions in usage and potential subdivisions or classes of sentient beings vary from one school, teacher, or thinker to another, it principally refers to beings in contrast with buddhahood. That is, sentient beings are characteristically ''not'' enlightened, and are thus confined to the death, rebirth, and dukkha (suffering) characteristic o ...
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Bodhicitta
In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta, ("enlightenment-mind" or "the thought of awakening"), is the mind (citta) that is aimed at awakening ( bodhi), with wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings. Bodhicitta is the defining quality of the Mahayana bodhisattva (a being striving towards Buddhahood) and the act of giving rise to bodhicitta (''bodhicittotpāda)'' is what makes a bodhisattva a bodhisattva. The '' Daśabhūmika Sūtra'' explains that the arising of bodhicitta is the first step in the bodhisattva's career. Etymology Etymologically, the word is a combination of the Sanskrit words bodhi and citta. ''Bodhi'' means "awakening" or "enlightenment". ''Citta'' derives from the Sanskrit root ''cit'', and means "that which is conscious" (i.e., mind or consciousness). ''Bodhicitta'' may be translated as "awakening mind" or "mind of enlightenment". It is also sometimes translated as "the thought of enlightenment." Definition Indian sources The term bodhicit ...
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Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being ''Theravāda'' and Vajrayana).Harvey (2013), p. 189. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna SÅ«tras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''PrajƱāpāramitā''. '' Vajrayāna'' or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna, which make use of numerous tantric methods considered to be faster and more powerful at achieving Buddhahood by Vajrayānists. "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha ('' samyaksaį¹ƒbuddha'') for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is thus ...
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Buddha (title)
In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: š‘€©š‘€¼š‘€¤š‘†š‘€„, ą¤¬ą„ą¤¦ą„ą¤§), "awakened one", is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, awake, and have attained Nirvana (Buddhism), nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out the dharma (Sanskrit š‘€„š‘€­š‘†š‘€«; Pali ''dhamma''; "right way of living"). The title is most commonly used for The Buddha, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, who is often simply known as "the Buddha". Buddhahood ( sa, š‘€©š‘€¼š‘€¤š‘†š‘€„š‘€¢š‘†š‘€Æ, buddhatva; pi, buddhatta or ; ) is the condition and rank of a buddha "awakened one". This highest spiritual state of being is also termed ''sammā-sambodhi'' (skt. samyaksaį¹ƒbodhi 'full complete awakening'). The title is also used for other beings who have achieved ''bodhi'' (awakening) and ''moksha'' (release from craving), such as the other human Buddhas who achieved enlightenment before Gautama, the Five Tathagatas, five celes ...
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