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Devadatta
Devadatta was by tradition a Buddhist monk, cousin and brother-in-law of Gautama Siddhārtha. The accounts of his life vary greatly, but he is generally seen as an evil and divisive figure in Buddhism, who led a breakaway group in the earliest days of the religion. Etymology The name ''Devadatta'' means ''god-given'' in Palī and Sanskrit. It is composed from the stem form of ''deva'' ("god") and the past participle ''datta'' of the verb ''da'' ("to give"), composed as a tatpuruṣa compound. In the ''Bhagavad Gītā'', the conch shell used by Arjuna on the battle-field of Kurukshetra was named ''Devadatta''. The name Devadatta is still used today. Scholarship Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya research According to Andrew Skilton, modern scholarship generally agrees that the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya is the oldest extant Buddhist Vinaya.Skilton, Andrew. ''A Concise History of Buddhism.'' 2004. p. 48 According to Reginald Ray, the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya mentions the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gautama Siddhartha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic ( sa, śramaṇa). After leading a life of begging, asceticism, and meditation, he attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in what is now India. The Buddha thereafter wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. He taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Nirvana, that is, freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His teachings are summarized in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind that includes meditation and instruction in Buddhist ethics such as right effort, mindfulness, and ''jhana''. He died in Kushina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lotus Sūtra
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 inf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahāsāṃghika
The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha", ) was one of the early Buddhist schools. Interest in the origins of the Mahāsāṃghika school lies in the fact that their Vinaya recension appears in several ways to represent an older redaction overall. Many scholars also look to the Mahāsāṃghika branch for the initial development of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Location The original center of the Mahāsāṃghika sect was in Magadha, but they also maintained important centers such as in Mathura and Karli. The Kukkuṭikas were situated in eastern India around Vārāṇasī and Pāṭaliputra and the Bahuśrutīya in Kośala, Andhra, and Gandhara. The Lokottaravāda subschool itself claimed to be of the 'Middle Country', i.e. Ganges Basin region in the north of India. The Mahāsāṃghikas and the Lokottaravāda subschool also had centres in the Gandhara region.The Ekavyāvahārika are not known from later times. The Caitik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contemplation Sutra
The ''Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra'' (Sanskrit; , ''Guan-wuliangshou-jing;'' Vietnamese: Phật Thuyết Kinh Quán Vô Lượng Thọ Phật; English: ''Sutra on the Visualization of he BuddhaImmeasurable Life'') is a Mahayana sutra in Pure Land Buddhism, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism.Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014). ''The Princeton dictionary of Buddhism,'' p. 332. (Princeton University Press). It is one of the three principle Pure Land sutras along with the '' Longer Amitabha Sutra'' and the '' Shorter Amitabha Sutra''. Amitāyus is another name for the Buddha Amitābha, the preeminent figure in Pure Land Buddhism, and this sūtra focuses mainly on meditations involving complex visualizations. This is reflected in the name of the sūtra, which translates to the "Amitāyus Meditation Sūtra." It is believed to have first been composed in Chinese in the 5th century. Title The name of the sūtra translates to the "Amitāyus Meditation Sūtra." According to Paul W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sangha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and has long been used by religious associations including the Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. Given this history, some Buddhists have said the tradition of the ''sangha'' represents humanity's oldest surviving democratic institution. In Buddhism, ''sangha'' refers to the monastic community of ''bhikkhu'' (monks) and '' bhikkhuni'' (nuns). These communities are traditionally referred to as the ''bhikkhu-sangha'' or ''bhikkhuni-sangha''. As a separate category, those who have attained any of the four stages of enlightenment, whether or not they are members of the monastic community, are referred to as the ''āryasaṅgha'' ("noble Sangha"). According to the Theravada school and Nichir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Sūtras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''Prajñāpāramitā''. ''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 (''samyaksaṃbuddha'') for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is thus als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapas (Sanskrit)
Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions. In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification); in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices including meditation and self-discipline; and in the different traditions within Hinduism it means a spectrum of practices ranging from asceticism, inner cleansing to self-discipline by meditation practices. The ''Tapas'' practice often involves solitude, and is a part of monastic practices that are believed to be a means to moksha (liberation, salvation). In the Vedas literature of Hinduism, fusion words based on ''tapas'' are widely used to expound several spiritual concepts that develop through heat or inner energy, such as meditation, any process to reach special observations and insights, the spiritual ecstasy of a yogin or ''Tāpasa'' (a vṛddhi derivative meaning "a practitioner of austerities, an ascetic"), even warmth of sexual intimacy.Kaelber, W. O. (197 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacqueline Stone
Jacqueline Ilyse Stone (born June 30, 1949) is an emeritus Professor of Japanese Religion in the Department of Religion at Princeton University's Department of Religion and a specialist in Japanese Buddhism, particularly Kamakura Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism from medieval to modern times, and deathbed practices in Japan, She has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Biography Stone earned a B.A. in Japanese and English from San Francisco State University in 1974. She then received an M.A. (1986) and a Ph.D. (1990) from UCLA, where she studied under William LaFleur and wrote a dissertation on problematic texts attributed to Nichiren. She taught at Princeton from 1990 until her retirement on July 1, 2019. Academic career Stone has written and edited widely in English and Japanese on topics including the Lotus Sutra, medieval and modern movements in Nichiren Buddhism, historiography, death, and ideas of time and space in Japanese religions. As a teacher at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajji (tribe)
Vajji (Pāli: ) or Vriji (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Vajji, the Vajjikas, were organised into a (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), presently referred to as the Vajji Republic, which was part of the larger Vajjika League. Location The Vajjikas lived in the territory around Vesālī. History The Vajjikas used to be the most powerful tribe in the region around Vesālī, where their territory was located. Later history The Vajjika League was located on the territory of the former Mahā-Videha kingdom. Shortly before or during the lifetime of the Buddha, around the 7th or 6th century BCE, In the 7th or 6th century BCE, the Licchavikas invaded Mahā-Videha, replaced their monarchy by a republican system, and settled down in the southern part of former Mahā-Videha, where they founded their own republican state. After setting up their state, the Licchavikas founded the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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