|
Buddhist Chant
A Buddhist chant is a form of musical verse or incantation, in some ways analogous to religious recitations of other faiths. Traditional chanting In Buddhism, chanting is the traditional means of preparing the mind for meditation, especially as part of formal practice (in either a lay or monastic context). Some forms of Buddhism also use chanting for ritualistic purposes. While the basis for most Theravada chants is the Pali Canon, Mahayana and Vajrayana chants draw from a wider range of sources. Theravada chants In the Theravada tradition, chanting is usually done in Pali, sometimes with vernacular translations interspersed.Khantipalo (1982, 1995). Among the most popular Theravada chants are: :*Buddhabhivadana (Preliminary Reverence for the Buddha) :*Tisarana (The Three Refuges). Audio file at http://www.buddhanet.net/filelib/mp3/03-chant-03.mp3 :* Pancasila (The Five Precepts) :*Buddha Vandana (Salutation to the Buddha) :*Dhamma Vandana (Salutation to his Teaching) :*Sangha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Meditation
Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are '' bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and luminous mind). Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward liberation from defilements ('' kleshas'') and clinging and craving (''upādāna''), also called awakening, which results in the attainment of Nirvana, and includes a variety of meditation techniques, most notably '' anapanasati'' (mindfulness of breathing). Other techniques include '' asubha bhavana'' ("reflections on repulsiveness");Deleanu, Florin (1992)Mindfulness of Breathing in the Dhyāna Sūtras Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan (TICOJ) 37, 42-57. reflection on '' pratityasamutpada'' (dependent origination); ''anussati'' (recollections, including ''anapanasati'') and ''sati'' (mindfulness), culminating in ''dhyana'' (develop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metta Sutta
The Mettā Sutta is the name used for two Buddhist discourses (Pali: '' sutta'') found in the Pali Canon. The one, more often chanted by Theravadin monks, is also referred to as ''Karaṇīyamettā Sutta'' after the opening word, ''Karaṇīyam'', "(This is what) should be done." It is found in the Suttanipāta (Sn 1.8) and Khuddakapāṭha (Khp 9). It is ten verses in length and it extols both the virtuous qualities and the meditative development of '' mettā'' (Pali), traditionally translated as "loving kindness" or "friendliness". Additionally, Thanissaro Bhikkhu's translation, "goodwill", underscores that the practice is used to develop wishes for unconditional goodwill towards the object of the wish. The other, also chanted by Theravadin Buddhist monks at times, extols the benefits of the practice of '' mettā'' (Pali) and it is found in the Anguttara Nikaya (AN 11.15). is also referred to as ''Mettānisamsa Sutta''. This article will focus on the first version. Backgrou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nianfo
Nianfo (, Japanese: , , vi, niệm Phật) is a term commonly seen in Pure Land Buddhism. In the context of Pure Land practice, it generally refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha. It is a translation of Sanskrit '' '' (or, "recollection of the Buddha"). Indian Sanskrit Nianfo The Sanskrit phrase used in India is not mentioned originally in the bodies of the two main Pure Land sutras. It appears in the opening of the extant Sanskrit Infinite Life Sutra, as well as the Contemplation Sutra, although it is a reverse rendering from Chinese, as the following: :''namo'mitābhāya buddhāya'' The apostrophe and omission of the first "A" in "Amitābha" comes from normal Sanskrit sandhi transformation, and implies that the first "A" is omitted. A more accessible rendering might be: :''Namo Amitābhāya Buddhāya'' A literal English translation would be "Bow for the sake of Amitābha Buddha". The Sanskrit word-by-word pronunciation is the following; : While almost unk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pure Land
A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). The various traditions that focus on pure lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bon. Discussion In the Mahayana sutras, there are many pure lands. Bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteśvara and Manjushri would obtain pure lands after they attained buddhahood. In the ''Lotus Sutra'', Buddha's close followers such as Śāriputra, Mahākāśyapa, Subhuti, Maudgalyāyana and Buddha's son Rāhula would also have pure lands. The relative time-flow in the pure lands may be different, with a day in one pure land being equivalent to years in another. Pure lands have been documented as arising due to the intention and aspiration of a bodhisattva such as the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lotus Sutra
The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. It is the main scripture on which the Tiantai, Tendai, Cheontae, and Nichiren schools of Buddhism were established. It is also influential for other East Asian Buddhist schools, such as Zen. According to the British Buddhologist Paul Williams, "For many Buddhists in East Asia since early times, the ''Lotus Sūtra'' contains the final teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha—complete and sufficient for salvation." The American Buddhologist Donald S. Lopez Jr. writes that the ''Lotus Sūtra'' "is arguably the most famous of all Buddhist texts," presenting "a radical re-vision of both the Buddhist path and of the person of the Buddha." Two central teachings of the ''Lotus Sūtra'' have been very i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sutra
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text. Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, sutras are a distinct type of literary composition, a compilation of short aphoristic statements.Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pages 54–55 Each sutra is any short rule, like a theorem distilled into few words or syllables, around which teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar, or any field of knowledge can be woven. The oldest sutras of Hinduism are found in the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of the Vedas. Every school of Hindu philosophy, Vedic guides for rites of passage, v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''dharma'' in European languages, it is commonly translated as "righteousness", "merit" or "religious and moral duties" governing individual conduct.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (9 April 2019)Dharma. ''Encyclopedia Britannica''. Accessed 14 September 2021. In Hinduism, dharma is one of the four components of the ''Puruṣārtha'', the aims of life, and signifies behaviours that are considered to be in accord with '' Ṛta'', the order that makes life and universe possible. It includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living".see: *"Dharma", ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 6th Ed. (2013), Columbia University Press, Gale, ; *Steven Rosen (2006), Essential Hinduism, Praeger, , Chapter 3. It had a transtempor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
''Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō'' () are Japanese words chanted within all forms of Nichiren Buddhism. In English, they mean "Devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra" or "Glory to the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra". The words refer to the Japanese title of the Lotus Sūtra. The mantra is referred to as () or, in honorific form, () meaning ''title'' and was first publicly declared by the Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren on 28 April 1253 atop Mount Kiyosumi, now memorialized by Seichō-ji temple in Kamogawa, Chiba prefecture, Japan. The practice of prolonged chanting is referred to as (). Believers claim that the purpose of chanting is to reduce suffering by eradicating negative karma along with reducing karmic punishments both from previous and present lifetimes, with the goal of attaining perfect and complete awakening. Early Buddhist proponents The Tendai monks Saicho and Genshin are said to have originated the , while the Buddhist priest Nichiren is known today as its gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism ( ja, 日蓮仏教), also known as Hokkeshū ( ja, 法華宗, meaning ''Lotus Sect'') is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period schools. Its teachings derive from some 300–400 extant letters and treatises either authored by or attributed to Nichiren. Nichiren Buddhism generally sources its basic doctrine from the Lotus Sutra claiming that all sentient beings possess an internal Buddha-nature capable of attaining Buddhahood in the current life. There are three essential aspects to Nichiren Buddhism: # The faith in Nichiren's Gohonzon # The chanting of ''Namu Myoho Renge Kyo'' with varying recitations of the Lotus Sutra # The study of Nichiren's scriptural writings, called ''Gosho''. After his death, Nichiren left to both his senior disciples and lay followers the mandate to widely propagate the ''Gohonzon'' and chanting the '' Daimoku'' in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism In Vietnam
Buddhism in Vietnam (''Đạo Phật'' 道佛 or ''Phật Giáo'' 佛教 in Vietnamese), as practiced by the ethnic Vietnamese, is mainly of the Mahayana tradition and is the main religion. Buddhism may have first come to Vietnam as early as the 3rd or 2nd century BCE from the Indian subcontinent or from China in the 1st or 2nd century CE. Vietnamese Buddhism has had a syncretic relationship with certain elements of Taoism, Chinese spirituality, and Vietnamese folk religion.Cuong Tu Nguyen & A.W. Barber 1998, pg 132. History Dynastic period There are conflicting theories regarding whether Buddhism first reached Vietnam during the 3rd or 2nd century BCE via delegations from India, or during the 1st or 2nd century from China. In either case, by the end of the 2nd century CE, Vietnam had developed into a major regional Mahayana Buddhist hub, centering on Luy Lâu in modern Bắc Ninh Province, northeast of the present-day capital city of Hanoi. Luy Lâu was the capital of the Han ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chan Buddhism
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the Japanese pronunciation of the same character, which is the most commonly used English name for the school). Chan Buddhism spread from China south to Vietnam as Thiền and north to Korea as Seon, and, in the 13th century, east to Japan as Japanese Zen. History The historical records required for a complete, accurate account of early Chan history no longer exist. Periodisation The history of Chan in China can be divided into several periods. Zen, as we know it today, is the result of a long history, with many changes and contingent factors. Each period had different types of Zen, some of which remained influential while others vanished. Ferguson distinguishes three p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodhi Mandala Zen Center 7
The English term enlightenment is the Western world, Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: wikt:बोधि#Sanskrit, बोधि; 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 Fetter (Buddhism), fetters and Five hindrances, hindrances. The term "enlightenment" was popularised in the Western world through the 19th-century translations of German-born philologist Max Müller. 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) in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Pure Land")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō")
