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Jangsem Sherap Zangpo
Jangsem Sherab Zangpo, also known as Jangsem Sherab Sangpo, (1395-1457) was a 15th-century Buddhist monk and teacher, and one of the six contemporary disciples of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of one of the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Gelug school. He is crediting with establishing the famed Thikse Monastery and the remotely located Phugtal Monastery in Ladakh, in the North Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Biography Birth and early years Jangsem Sherab Zangpo is believed to have been born in 1395 in the village of Stakmo Ladakh India. Some claim that he was born in the village of Bershi, in the Nanchen county of Kham. He was the son of Bege Tongpon Rilu and Akyima. At the age of seven, he received lay vows from Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama, the fifth Gyalwa Karmapa of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Design was on his way to or from China, gave Jangsen the name, Sherab Zangpo. After deciding to devote his life to religion, went off to study the traditions o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Sri-Vidya, the Kaula, and Kashmir Shaivism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on India ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonang
The Jonang () is one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Its origins in Tibet can be traced to early 12th century master Yumo Mikyo Dorje, but became much wider known with the help of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, a monk originally trained in the Sakya school. The Jonang school’s main practice comes from the Kalachakra cycle. The Jonang re-established their religio-political center in Golok, Nakhi and Mongol areas of Kham and Amdo with the school's seat () at Dzamtang Tsangwa () dzong and have continued practicing uninterrupted to this day. An estimated 5,000 monks and nuns of the Jonang tradition practice today in these areas. However, their teachings were limited to these regions until the Rimé movement of the 19th century encouraged the study of non-Gelug schools of thought and practice.Gruschke 2001, p.72 History The monk Künpang Tukjé Tsöndrü (, 1243–1313) established a kumbum or stupa-vihara in the Jomonang Valley about northwest of the Tashilhunpo Monastery i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cakrasaṃvara Tantra
The ''Cakrasaṃvara Tantra'' (, ''khorlo demchok,'' The "Binding of the Wheels" Tantra) is an influential Buddhist Tantra. It is roughly dated to the late eight or early ninth century by David B. Gray (with a ''terminus ante quem'' in the late tenth century). The full title in the Sanskrit manuscript used by Gray's translation is: ''Great King of Yoginī Tantras called the Śrī Cakrasaṃvara'' (''Śrīcakrasaṃvara-nāma-mahayoginī-tantra-rāja''). The text is also called the ''Discourse of Śrī Heruka'' (''Śrīherukābhidhāna'') and the ''Samvara Light'' (''Laghusaṃvara''). "Cakrasaṃvara" may also refer to the main deity in this tantra as well as to a collection of texts or "cycle" associated with the root Cakrasaṃvara tantra. Tsunehiko Sugiki writes that this "Cakrasaṃvara cycle", "is one of the largest collections of Buddhist Yoginītantra literature from the early medieval South Asian world."Sugiki, Tsunehiko. Review of ''David B. Gray, The Cakrasamvara Tantra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vimalaprabha
''Vimalaprabhā'' is a Sanskrit word that means "The Radiance of Purity", or "Drimé Ö" (). This 11th-century Tibetan Buddhist text is a commentary to the Kālacakra Tantra. The ''Vimalaprabhā'' is attributed to Shambhala King Pundarika (Tibetan: Pad ma dkar po). It is composed in Sanskrit and consists of 12,000 lines of text. Manuscripts of the work have survived in the libraries of Tibetan monasteries and Indian libraries. The ''Vimalaprabhā'' commentary, together with the '' Laghutantra'', form the basis of the Kālacakra practice as it is currently known and practiced in Tibetan Buddhism, as part of the Vajrayana practices. It is one of the three major commentaries on Kālacakra system, along with ''Hevajrapindarthatika'' and ''Laksabhidhana duddhrta laghutantra pindartha vivarana nama''. History and date According to John Newman, the ''Vimalaprabhā'' mentions an event in the year "403" in Tibetan number symbols stating it to be the "year of the lord of the barbarians". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalachakra
''Kālacakra'' () is a polysemic term in Vajrayana Buddhism that means " wheel of time" or "time cycles". "''Kālacakra''" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practice lineage in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. The tantra is considered to belong to the unexcelled yoga ('' anuttara-yoga'') class. Kālacakra also refers both to a patron tantric deity or yidam in Vajrayana and to the philosophies and yogas of the Kālacakra tradition. The tradition's origins are in India and its most active later history and presence has been in Tibet. The tradition contains teachings on cosmology, theology, philosophy, sociology, soteriology, myth, prophecy, medicine and yoga. It depicts a mythic reality whereby cosmic and socio-historical events correspond to processes in the bodies of individuals. These teachings are meant to lead to a transformation of one's body and mind into perfect Buddhahood through various yogic methods. The Kālacakra tradition is based o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guhyasamāja Tantra
The ''Guhyasamāja Tantra'' (Sanskrit: ''Guhyasamājatantra''; Tibetan: ''Gsang ’dus rtsa rgyud'', Toh 442; ''Tantra of the Secret Society or Community''), also known as the ''Tathāgataguhyaka (Secrets of the Tathagata),'' is one of the most important scriptures of Tantric Buddhism, written in Sanskrit. In its fullest form, it consists of seventeen chapters, though a separate "explanatory tantra" (''vyākhyātantra'') known as the ''Later Tantra'' (Sanskrit: Guhyasamāja Uttaratantra; Tibetan: Rgyud phyi ma. (Toh 443)) is sometimes considered to be its eighteenth chapter. Many scholars believe that the original core of the work consisted of the first twelve chapters, with chapters thirteen to seventeen being added later as explanatory material. The ''Guhyasamāja-tantra'' is not to be confused with the Mahayana sutra titled '' Tathāgataguhyaka Sūtra''. In India, it was classified as a Yoga or Mahāyoga Tantra. In Tibet it is considered an Unexcelled Yoga Tantra (''rnal ’ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
The ''Mūlamadhyamakakārikā'' ( sa, मूलमध्यमककारिका, ''Root Verses on the Middle Way''), abbreviated as ''MMK'', is the foundational text of the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy. It was composed by the Indian philosopher Nāgārjuna (approximately around 150 CE).Siderits and Katsura (2013), p. 1. The MMK makes use of reductio arguments to show how ''all'' phenomena (''dharmas'') are empty of ''svabhava'' (which has been variously translated as essence, own-being, or inherent existence). The MMK is widely regarded as one of the most influential and widely studied texts in the history of Buddhist philosophy. The MMK had a major impact on the subsequent development of Buddhist thought, especially in Tibetan Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism. Background The MMK is the work of Nāgārjuna, an Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher writing in Sanskrit. Very little is known about this figure, including exactly where he lived (somewhe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery (, "Rice Heap Monastery"), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelug university gompas (monasteries) of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery. Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries and is located on the Gambo Utse mountain, five kilometers from the western suburb of Lhasa. Freddie Spencer Chapman reported, after his 1936–37 trip to Tibet, that Drepung was at that time the largest monastery in the world, and housed 7,700 monks, "but sometimes as many as 10,000 monks." Since the 1950s, Drepung Monastery, along with its peers Ganden and Sera, have lost much of their independence and spiritual credibility in the eyes of Tibetans since they operate under the close watch of the Chinese security services. All three were re-established in exile in the 1950s in the state of Karnataka in south-west India. Drepung and Ganden are in Mundgod and Sera is in Bylakuppe. History Drepung Monastery was founde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganden Monastery
Ganden Monastery (also Gaden or Gandain) or Ganden Namgyeling or Monastery of Gahlden is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries of Tibet. It is in Dagzê County, Lhasa. The other two are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery. Ganden Monastery was founded in 1409 by Je Tsongkhapa Lozang-dragpa, founder of the Gelug order. The monastery was destroyed after 1959, but has since been partially rebuilt. Another monastery with the same name and tradition was established in Southern India in 1966 by Tibetan exiles. Location Ganden is northeast of Lhasa. The monastery lies in a hilly natural amphitheater. from the ''kora'' route around the monastery there are dramatic views over the valleys that surround it. Ganden Monastery is at the top of Wangbur Mountain, Dagzê County at an altitude of 4,300m. Its full name is Ganden Namgyal Ling (''dga' ldan rmam rgyal gling''). ''Ganden'' means "joyful" and is the Tibetan name for Tuṣita, the heaven where the bodhisattva Mait ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra
The ''Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra'' or ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' ( sa, बोधिसत्त्वाचर्यावतार; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ་ ''byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa;'' Chinese: 入菩薩行論; Japanese: 入菩薩行論) translated into English as ''A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life'', is a Mahāyāna Buddhist text written c. 700 AD in Sanskrit verse by Shantideva (Śāntideva), a Buddhist monk at Nālandā Monastic University in India which is also where it was composed. Structure It has ten chapters dedicated to the development of bodhicitta (the mind of enlightenment) through the practice of the six perfections (''Skt.'' Pāramitās). The text begins with a chapter describing the benefits of the wish to reach enlightenment. The sixth chapter, on the perfection of patient endurance (''Skt.'' ), strongly criticizes anger and has been the subject o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prajñāpāramitā
A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā ( sa, प्रज्ञापारमिता) means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna and Theravāda Buddhism. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the nature of reality, as well as to a particular body of Mahāyāna scriptures (sūtras) which discusses this wisdom. It also refers to the female deity Prajñāpāramitā Devi, a personification of wisdom also known as the "Great Mother" (Tibetan: ''Yum Chenmo''). The word ''Prajñāpāramitā'' combines the Sanskrit words '' prajñā'' "wisdom" (or "knowledge") with ''pāramitā'' "perfection" or " transcendent". Prajñāpāramitā is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism and is generally associated with ideas such as emptiness ('' śūnyatā''), 'lack of svabhāva' ( essence), the illusory (''māyā'') nature of things, how all phenomena are characterized by "non-ari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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