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Eight Legions
The Eight Legions ( sa, अष्टसेना, ; 八部衆) are a group of Buddhist deities whose function is to protect the Dharma. These beings are common among the audience addressed by the Buddha in Mahāyāna sūtras, making appearances in such scriptures as the Lotus Sutra and the Golden Light Sutra. They are also referred to as the "Eight Legions of Devas and Nāgas" (天龍八部). Asuras are also listed here as protectors of dharma in same sense as demigods are referred as "asuratvam" (holy) in Rigvedic "Hymn to all gods" where devatas are related to "asuras" (thus, protectors of dharma). Related word "Ahura-Mazda" in Zoroastrianism also mean "god". Etymology The name ''aṣṭasenā'' (अष्टसेना) is composed of two Sanskrit terms. ''Aṣṭa'' (अष्ट) means ''eight'', with connections to the Latin ''octo'' and the Persian ''hašt'' (هشت). ''Senā'' (सेना) means ''legion'', but can be rendered ''army'', ''general'', ''warrior'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahoraga
The ''Mahoraga'' (Sanskrit: महोरग) are a race of deities in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Like the nāga, they are often depicted as anthropomorphic beings with serpentine bodies from the waist down. However, their appearance can differ depending on artistic tradition, sometimes having serpent heads with humanoid bodies. Buddhism The Mahoraga are one of the eight classes of deities (aṣṭasenā) that are said to protect the Dharma. They are described as huge subterranean serpents who lie on their sides and rotate the earth, which occasionally causes earthquakes. Like the kinnara, the mahoraga are also associated with music. They are understood as being associated with large serpents such as pythons, while the nāgas are more closely related to the cobra.Kobuta, Yura & F.E.A.R. ''Mikkyo Mandara.'' Shinkigensha Co., Ltd., 2000 According to the Śariputraparipṛcchā Sūtra (T. 1465), one is reborn as a mahoraga as a result of practicing generosity and upholding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wylie Transliteration
Wylie transliteration is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English-language typewriter. The system is named for the American scholar Turrell V. Wylie, who created the system and published it in a 1959 '' Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' article. It has subsequently become a standard transliteration scheme in Tibetan studies, especially in the United States. Any Tibetan language romanization scheme faces the dilemma of whether it should seek to accurately reproduce the sounds of spoken Tibetan or the spelling of written Tibetan. These differ widely, as Tibetan orthography became fixed in the 11th century, while pronunciation continued to evolve, comparable to the English orthography and French orthography, which reflect Late Medieval pronunciation. Previous transcription schemes sought to split the difference with the result that they achieved neither goal perfectly. Wylie transliteration was designed to precisely tran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garuḍa
Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is also the half-brother of the Devas, Daityas, Danavas and Yakshas. He is the son of the sage Kashyapa and Vinata. He is the younger brother of Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun. Garuda is mentioned in several other texts such as the Puranas and the Vedas. Garuda is described as the king of the birds and a kite-like figure. He is shown either in a zoomorphic form (a giant bird with partially open wings) or an anthropomorphic form (a man with wings and some ornithic features). Garuda is generally portrayed as a protector with the power to swiftly travel anywhere, ever vigilant and an enemy of every serpent. He is also known as Tarkshya and Vainateya. Garuda is a part of state insignia of India, Indonesia and Thailand. The Indonesian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demi-Gods And Semi-Devils
''Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils'' is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised concurrently from 3 September 1963 to 27 May 1966 in the newspapers ''Ming Pao'' in Hong Kong and ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' in Singapore. It has been adapted into films and television series in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China numerous times since the 1970s. Set in 11th-century China, the plot is made up of separate yet intertwining storylines revolving around three protagonists – Qiao Feng, Duan Yu and Xuzhu – and other characters from various empires (Song, Liao, Dali, Western Xia and Tibet) and martial arts sects. The novel examines the cause and effect that form and break the inherent bonds underlying each major character's struggles on five uniquely corresponding levels: self, family, society, ethnic group, and country (dominion). The novel's Chinese title is a reference to the eight races of demi-gods and semi-devils described in Buddhist cosmology as the major charac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jin Yong
Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong daily newspaper ''Ming Pao'' in 1959 and served as its first editor-in-chief. He was Hong Kong's most famous writer, and is named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia". His wuxia novels have a widespread following in Chinese communities worldwide. His 15 works written between 1955 and 1972 earned him a reputation as one of the greatest and most popular wuxia writers ever. By the time of his death he was the best-selling Chinese author, and over 100 million copies of his works have been sold worldwide (not including an unknown number of pirated copies). According to ''The Oxford Guide to Contemporary World Literature'', Jin Yong's novels are considered to be of very high quality and are able to appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumbhanda
A (Sanskrit) or (Pāli) is one of a group of dwarfish, misshapen spirits among the lesser deities of Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ... mythology. was a dialectal form for "gourd", so they may get their name from being thought to resemble gourds in some way, e.g. in having big stomachs. But can also be interpreted as "pot-egg"; since "egg" () was a common euphemism for "testicle", the were imagined having testicles "as big as pots". The terms and are sometimes used for the same person; in these cases is the more general term, including a variety of lower deities. The are classed among the Cāturmahārājika deities, and are subject to the Great King Virūḍhaka, Guardian of the South. One of their chiefs is called Kumbhīra. According ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nagaraja
Nagaraja ( sa, नागराज ', ) is a title used to refer to the nagas, the serpent-like figures that appear in Indian religions. It refers to the kings of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human form. Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least two thousand years. Hinduism Hindu texts refer to three main beings by this title: Shesha, Takshaka, and Vasuki. All of them are the children of the rishi Kashyapa and Kadru. Shesha Shesha, also sometimes known as Ananta, is the eldest brother, and the first serpent king of all serpents. A devotee and a mount of Vishnu, he serves as the deity's bed and is named as the noblest of all nagas. He is the being that supports the earth, on the behest of the creator god, Brahma, obtaining the boon to stand ever firmly on the concept of dharma. Vasuki V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anāgāmi
In Buddhism, an ''anāgāmin'' (Sanskrit; Pāli: ''anāgāmī'', lit. "non-returning") is a partially enlightened person who has cut off the first five fetters that bind the ordinary mind. ''Anāgāmins'' are the third of the four aspirants. The ''anāgāmin'' is not reborn into the human world after death, but into the heaven of the Pure Abodes, where only ''anāgāmins'' reside. There they attain full enlightenment ( arahantship). Requisites for becoming an ''anāgāmin'' An ''anāgāmin'' is free from the lowest five chains or fetters (Sanskrit: ; Pali: ''pañcorambhāgiyāni-saṃyojanāni''; 五下分結) which are as follows: # Belief in ātman or self (Sanskrit: ' or ''svakāya-dṛṣṭi''; Pāli: ''sakkāya-diṭṭhi''; 有身見) # Attachment to rites and rituals (Sanskrit: '' śīlavrata-parāmarśa-dṛṣṭi''; Pāli: ''sīlabbata-parāmāsa-diṭṭhi''; 戒禁取見) # Skeptical doubt (Sanskrit: '' vicikitsā''; Pali: ''vicikicchā''; 疑) # Sensuous cra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhyāna In Buddhism
In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind ('' bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" the defilements, and leading to a "state of perfect equanimity and awareness ('' upekkhā- sati- parisuddhi'')." ''Dhyāna'' may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, in combination with several related practices which together lead to perfected mindfulness and detachment. In the later commentarial tradition, which has survived in present-day Theravāda, ''dhyāna'' is equated with "concentration", a state of one-pointed absorption in which there is a diminished awareness of the surroundings. In the contemporary Theravāda-based Vipassana movement, this absorbed state of mind is regarded as unnecessary and even non-beneficial for the first stage of awakening, which has to be reached by mindfulness of the body and ''vip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deva (Buddhism)
A Deva (देव Sanskrit and Pāli; Mongolian тэнгэр, tenger) in Buddhism is a type of celestial beings or gods who share the god-like characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, much happier than humans, although the same level of veneration is not paid to them as to Buddhas. Other words used in Buddhist texts to refer to similar supernatural beings are devatā ("deities") and devaputta ("son of god"). While the former is a synonym for deva ("celestials"), the latter refers specifically to one of these beings who is young and has newly arisen in its heavenly world. Types Deva refers to a class of beings or a path of the six paths of the incarnation cycle. It includes some very different types of beings which can be ranked hierarchically according to the merits they have accumulated over lifetimes. The lowest classes of these beings are closer in their nature to human beings than to the higher classes of deva. Devas can be degraded to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
