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Buddhist Funeral
Among ''Buddhists'', death is regarded as one of the occasions of major religious significance, both for the deceased and for the survivors. For the deceased, it marks the moment when the transition begins to a new mode of existence within the round of rebirths (see Bhavacakra). When death occurs, all the karmic forces that the dead person accumulated during the course of his or her lifetime become activated and determine the next rebirth. For the living, death is a powerful reminder of the Buddha's teaching on impermanence; it also provides an opportunity to assist the deceased person as he or she fares on to the new existence. There are several academic reviews of this subject. In Buddhism, death marks the transition from this life to the next for the deceased. Theravada traditions For the non-Arhat, death is a time of transitioning to a yet another rebirth; thus, the living participate in acts that transfer merit to the departed, either providing for a more auspicious rebirth o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhavacakra
The bhavacakra (Sanskrit: भवचक्र; Pāli: ''bhavacakka''; Tibetan: སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ, Wylie: ''srid pa'i 'khor lo'') is a symbolic representation of saṃsāra (or cyclic existence). It is found on the outside walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibetan region, to help non Buddhists understand Buddhist teachings. It is used in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. Etymology ''Bhavachakra'', "wheel of life," consists of the words ''bhava'' and ''cakra''. ''bhava'' () means "being, worldly existence, becoming, birth, being, production, origin".Monier Monier-Williams (1899), Sanskrit English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Archiveभव bhava In Buddhism, ''bhava'' denotes the continuity of becoming (reincarnating) in one of the realms of existence, in the samsaric context of rebirth, life and the maturation arising therefrom. It is the tenth of the Twelve Nidanas, in its '' Pratītyasamutpāda'' doctrine. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saṃsāra (Buddhism)
Saṃsāra ( sa, संसार, pi, saṃsāra; also ''samsara'') in Buddhism and Hinduism is the beginningless cycle of repeated birth, mundane existence and dying again. Samsara is considered to be '' dukkha'', suffering, and in general unsatisfactory and painful, perpetuated by desire and '' avidya'' (ignorance), and the resulting karma. Rebirths occur in six realms of existence, namely three good realms (heavenly, demi-god, human) and three evil realms (animal, ghosts, hellish). Samsara ends if a person attains nirvana, the "blowing out" of the desires and the gaining of true insight into impermanence and non-self reality. Characteristics In Buddhism, ''saṃsāra'' is the "suffering-laden, continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end". In several suttas of the Samyutta Nikaya's chapter XV in particular it's said "From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Chen
The ''Book of Chen'' or ''Chen Shu'' (''Chén Shū'') was the official history of the Chen dynasty, one of the Southern Dynasties of China. The ''Book of Chen'' is part of the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was compiled by the Tang dynasty historian Yao Silian and completed in 636 AD ( Zhenguan 10th year). The ''Chen Shu'' is a biographical history book with thirty-six volumes, recording the historical facts of 33 years from the accession of Chen Baxian (Emperor Wu of Chen) to the last emperor Chen Shubao ( Emperor Houzhu of Chen).Book of ChenBook of Tang Synopsis Chen Shu consists of 36 volumes, including 6 volumes of biographies of emperors and 30 volumes of other biographies. In addition to the national history of the Chen Dynasty and the old draft compiled by Yao's father and son, the historical sources of Chen Shu include eight volumes of ''Yongding Residence Note'' (《永定起居注》), twenty-three volumes of ''Tianjia Residence Note'' (《天 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huiyuan (Buddhist)
Huiyuan (; 334–416 AD) was a Chinese Buddhist teacher who founded Donglin Temple on Mount Lushan in Jiangxi province and wrote the text ''On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings'' in 404 AD. He was born in Shanxi province but after a long life of Buddhist teaching he wound up in Jiangxi province, where he died in 416. Although he was born in the north, he moved south to live within the bounds of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Huiyuan was posthumously named First Patriarch of the Pure Land School of Buddhism. His disciples included Huiguan (慧觀), Sengji (僧濟), and Faan (法安). Life Huiyuan began studying the ''Zhuangzi'' and '' Laozi'' at a young age, as well as the teachings of Confucius. However, at the age of 21 he was converted in Hebei Province by the Buddhist Dao An, who was a Chinese disciple of a Kuchan missionary. Hearing the sermons of Dao An convinced Huiyuan to "leave the family" and embark on a life of Buddhist teachings.Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated Histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the Sichuan Basin and the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau between the Jinsha River on the west, the Daba Mountains in the north and the Yungui Plateau to the south. Sichuan's capital city is Chengdu. The population of Sichuan stands at 83 million. Sichuan neighbors Qinghai to the northwest, Gansu to the north, Shaanxi to the northeast, Chongqing to the east, Guizhou to the southeast, Yunnan to the south, and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west. In antiquity, Sichuan was the home of the ancient states of Ba and Shu. Their conquest by Qin strengthened it and paved the way for Qin Shi Huang's unification of China under the Qin dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms era, Liu Bei's state of Shu was based in Sichuan. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in Northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Dunhuang was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for the nearby Mogao Caves. Dunhuang is situated in an oasis containing Crescent Lake and Mingsha Shan (, meaning "Singing-Sand Mountain"), named after the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon. Dunhuang commands a strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and Southern Siberia, and also controls the entrance to the narrow Hexi Corridor, which leads straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang. Administratively, the county-level city of Dunhuang is part of the prefecture-level city of Jiuquan. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longmen Grottoes
The Longmen Grottoes () or Longmen Caves are some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Housing tens of thousands of statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and his disciples, they are located south of present-day Luoyang in Henan province, China. The images, many once painted, were carved as outside rock reliefs and inside artificial caves excavated from the limestone cliffs of the Xiangshan () and Longmenshan, running east and west. The Yi River () flows northward between them and the area used to be called Yique (). The alternative name of "Dragon's Gate Grottoes" derives from the resemblance of the two hills that check the flow of the Yi River to the typical " Chinese gate towers" that once marked the entrance to Luoyang from the south. There are as many as 100,000 statues within the 2,345 caves, ranging from to in height. The area also contains nearly 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, hence the name “Forest of Ancient Stelae", as well as over sixty Buddhist pagodas. Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, China's first emperor, held his imperial court, and constructed his massive mausoleum guarded by the Terracotta Army. From its capital at Xianyang, the Qin dynasty ruled a larger area than either of the preceding dynasties. The imperial city of Chang'an during the Han dynasty was located northwest of today's Xi'an. During the Tang dynasty, the area that came to be known as Chang'an included the area inside the Ming Xi'an fortification, plus some small areas to its east and west, and a substantial part of its southern suburbs. Thus, Tang Chang'an was eight times the size of the Ming Xi'an, which was reconstructed upon the site of the former imperial quarters of the Sui and Tang city. During its heyday, Chang'an w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joss Paper
Joss paper, also known as incense papers, are papercrafts or sheets of paper made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship (such as the veneration of the deceased family members and relatives on holidays and special occasions). Worship of deities in Chinese folk religion also uses a similar type of joss paper. Joss paper, as well as other papier-mâché items, are also burned or buried in various Asian funerals, "to ensure that the spirit of the deceased has sufficient needs in the afterlife." In Taiwan alone, the annual revenue of temples received from burning joss paper was US$400 million (NT$13 billion) as of 2014. Traditional Joss paper is traditionally made from coarse bamboo paper, which feels handmade with many variances and imperfections, although rice paper is also commonly used. Traditional joss is cut into individual squares or rectangles. Depending on the region, Joss paper may be decorated with seals, stamps, pieces of contrasting paper, engraved des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra
The ''Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Dharani'', sometimes called the ''Pure Land Rebirth Mantra'' is considered an important mantra or dharani in Pure Land Buddhism and other schools of Buddhism, mainly following the Mahayana tradition. The full name of this mantra is the ''Dharani for pulling out the fundamental cause of karmic obstacles and obtaining rebirth in the Pure Lands'' (Chinese:拔一切業障根本得生淨土陀羅尼). It is also known as ''Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī'' (Chinese:往生淨土神咒; Wang Sheng Jing Tu Shen Zhou), or ''Rebirth Mantra'' (Chinese: 往生咒; Wang Sheng Zhou) for short. Reciting this mantra grants the reciter a peaceful and joyful life in this life, and allow them to be reborn into the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in the future. It can also be recited to help the spirits of the animals that a person has killed in the past, including poultry, game, aquatic creatures, insects, etc. to ascend to a higher spiritual realm. Background Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
