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Fourteen Unanswerable Questions
In Buddhism, ''acinteyya'' (Pali), "imponderable" or "incomprehensible," ' (Sanskrit: अव्याकृत, Pali: , "unfathomable, unexpounded,"), and ''atakkāvacara'', "beyond the sphere of reason," are unanswerable questions or undeclared questions. They are sets of questions that should not be thought about, and which the Buddha refused to answer, since this distracts from practice, and hinders the attainment of liberation. Various sets can be found within the Pali and Sanskrit texts, with four, and ten (Pali texts) or fourteen (Sanskrit texts) unaswerable questions. Etymology The Sanskrit word ''acintya'' means "incomprehensible, surpassing thought, unthinkable, beyond thought." In Indian philosophy, ''acinteyya'' is It is also defined as The term is used to describe the ultimate reality that is beyond all conceptualization. Thoughts here-about should not be pursued, because they are not conducive to the attainment of liberation. Synonymous terms are ''avyāk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
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 gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; " taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self (philosophy)
The philosophy of self is the study of wisdom as self at a conceptual level. Many different ideas on what constitutes self have been proposed, including the self being an activity, the self being independent of the senses, the bundle theory of the self, the self as a narrative center of gravity, and the self as a syntactic construct rather than an entity. The self (or its non-existence) is also an important concept in Eastern philosophy, including Buddhist philosophy. Definitions of the self Most philosophical definitions of self—per Descartes, Locke, Hume, and William James—are expressed in the first person. A third person definition does not refer to specific mental qualia but instead strives for objectivity and operationalism. To another person, the self of one individual is exhibited in the conduct and discourse of that individual. Therefore, the intentions of another individual can only be inferred from something that emanates from that individual. The particular c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Cosmology
Buddhist cosmology describes the planes and realms in which beings can be reborn. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a horizontal cosmology, the distribution of these world-systems into an "apparently" infinite sheet of "worlds." The temporal cosmology describes the timespan of the creation and dissolvement of universes in aeons. Buddhist cosmology is also intwined with the belief of karma, and explains that the world around us is the product of past actions. As a result, some ages are filled with prosperity and peace due to common goodness, whereas other eras are filled with suffering, dishonesty and short lifespans. Meaning and origin Course of rebirth and liberation The Buddhist cosmology is not a literal description of the shape of the universe; rather, it is the universe as seen through the (Pāli: dibbacakkhu दिब्बचक्खु), the "div ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acatalepsy
In philosophy, acatalepsy (from the Greek ἀκαταληψία "inability to comprehend" from alpha privative and καταλαμβάνειν, "to seize") is incomprehensibleness, or the impossibility of comprehending or conceiving a thing. It is the antithesis of the Stoic doctrine of katalepsis (i.e., the ability to apprehend).George Henry Lewes, 1863, ''The biographical history of philosophy'', Volume 1, page 297 According to the Stoics, katalepsis was true perception, but to the Pyrrhonists and Academic Skeptics, no perception could be known to be true. All perceptions were thus acataleptic, i.e. what, if any, conformity between the object and the perception of that object was unknown and, for the Academic Skeptics, could never be known. For the Academic Skeptics, acatalepsy meant that human knowledge never amounts to certainty, but only to plausibility. For the Pyrrhonists it meant that knowledge was limited to the ''phantasiai'' (typically translated as "appearances," m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kant's Antinomies
The antinomies, from the '' Critique of Pure Reason'', are contradictions which Immanuel Kant argued follow necessarily from our attempts to cognize the nature of transcendent reality by means of pure reason. Kant thought that some certain antinomies of his (God and Freedom) could be resolved as "Postulates of Practical Reason". He used them to describe the equally rational-but-contradictory results of applying the universe of pure thought to the categories or criteria, i.e. applying reason proper to the universe of sensible perception or experience (phenomena). Empirical Empirical evidence for a proposition is evidence, i.e. what supports or counters this proposition, that is constituted by or accessible to sense experience or experimental procedure. Empirical evidence is of central importance to the sciences and ... reason cannot here play the role of establishing rational truths because it goes beyond possible experience and is applied to the sphere of that which transcends it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Similarities Between Pyrrhonism And Buddhism
According to Edward Conze, Greek Skepticism (particularly that of Pyrrho) can be compared to Buddhist philosophy, especially the Indian Madhyamika school.Conze, EdwardBuddhist Philosophy and Its European Parallels Philosophy East and West 13, p.9-23, no.1, January 1963. University press of Hawaii. The Pyrrhonian Skeptics' goal of ataraxia (the state of being untroubled) is similar to the Buddhist soteriological goal nirvana. These similarities can be traced back to the origins of Pyrrhonism. Pyrrho, the founder of Pyrrhonism, spent about 18 months in Taxila as part of Alexander the Great's court during Alexander's conquest of the east. During his time in India he studied Indian philosophy and presumably encountered Early Buddhism. Centuries later, Pyrrhonism may have influenced the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka philosophy. Mutual influences Buddhist influences on Pyrrho Diogenes Laërtius' biography of Pyrrho reports that Pyrrho traveled with Alexander the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noble Silence
Noble Silence is a term attributed to the Gautama Buddha, for his reported responses to certain questions about reality. One such instance is when he was asked the fourteen unanswerable questions. In similar situations he often responded to antinomy-based descriptions of reality by saying that both antithetical options presented to him were inappropriate. A specific reference to noble silence in Buddha's teaching involved an occasion where Buddha forbade his disciples from continuing a discussion, saying that in such congregation the discussion of the sacred doctrine is proper or practicing noble silence. This does not indicate misology or disdain for philosophy on the Buddha's part. Rather, it indicates that he viewed these questions as not leading to true knowledge. Pali Canon While silence is generally thought to be something observable on the outside of a person, an external state, whether they are talking, in the Pali Canon noble is an internal state which is synonymous with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ātman (Hinduism)
''Ātman'' (; sa, आत्मन्) is a Sanskrit word that refers to the (universal) Self or self-existent essence of individuals, as distinct from ego ('' Ahamkara''), mind (''Citta'') and embodied existence (''Prakṛti''). The term is often translated as soul, but is better translated as "Self," as it solely refers to pure consciousness or witness-consciousness, beyond identification with phenomena. In order to attain moksha (liberation), a human being must acquire self-knowledge ('' Atma Gyaan or Brahmajnana''). ''Atman'' is a central concept in the various schools of Indian philosophy, which have different views on the relation between ''Atman'', individual Self ('' Jīvātman''), supreme Self ('' Paramātmā'') and, the Ultimate Reality (''Brahman''), stating that they are: completely identical (Advaita, Non-Dualist), completely different ( Dvaita, Dualist), or simultaneously non-different and different (Bhedabheda, Non-Dualist + Dualist). The six orthodox schools ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eternity
Eternity, in common parlance, means Infinity, infinite time that never ends or the quality, condition, or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside time, whereas sempiternity corresponds to infinite Duration (philosophy), duration. Philosophy Classical philosophy defines eternity as what exists outside time, as in describing timeless supernatural beings and forces, distinguished from sempiternity which corresponds to infinite time, as described in requiem prayers for the dead. Some thinkers, such as Aristotle, suggest the Eternity of the world, eternity of the natural cosmos in regard to both past and future eternal duration. Boethius defined eternity as "simultaneously full and perfect possession of interminable life". Thomas Aquinas believed that God's eternity does not cease, as it is without either a beginning or an end; the concept of eternity is of divine simplicity, thus incapable of be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism.Stargardt, Janice. ''Tracing Thoughts Through Things: The Oldest Pali Texts and the Early Buddhist Archaeology of India and Burma.'', Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2000, page 25. Early in the language's history, it was written in the Brahmi script. Origin and development Etymology The word 'Pali' is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon. The word seems to have its origins in commentarial traditions, wherein the (in the sense of the line of original text quoted) was distinguished from the commentary or vernacular translation that followed it in the manuscript. K. R. Norman suggests that its emergence was based on a misunderstanding of the compound , with being interpreted as the name of a particular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tathāgata
Tathāgata () is a Pali word; Gautama Buddha uses it when referring to himself or other Buddhas in the Pāli Canon. The term is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" (''tathā-gata''), "one who has thus come" (''tathā-āgata''), or sometimes "one who has thus not gone" (''tathā-agata''). This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena. There are, however, other interpretations and the precise original meaning of the word is not certain.Chalmers, RobertThe Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1898. pp.103-115/ref> The Buddha is quoted on numerous occasions in the Pali Canon as referring to himself as ''the Tathāgata'' instead of using the pronouns ''me'', ''I'' or ''myself''. This may be meant to emphasize by implication that the teaching is uttered by one who has transcended the human condition, one beyond the otherwise endless cycle of rebirth and death, i.e. beyond dukkha. Etymology a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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