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Keutsang Hermitage
Keutsang Hermitage (''ke’u tshang'') is a historical hermitage, belonging to the Sera Monastery, about northwest of Lhasa in Tibet Autonomous Region. The hermitage was in a precariously perched cave once inhabited by the great Tibetan guru Tsongkhapa. However, the original cave collapsed in a landslide. What is present now was rebuilt, adjoining the ruined Keutsang West Hermitage, at a safer location. As it exists now, Keutsang is to the east of Sera on a hillside above Lhasa’s principal cemetery. Rakhadrak Hermitage is above and close to this hermitage. The hermitage is one of the pilgrim sites on the Sera Mountain Circumambulation Circuit (se ra’i ri ’khor) of the ‘Sixth-Month Fourth-Day (''drug pa tshe bzhi'')’ celebrations that devotees visit. Topology The word ‘Keutsang’ spelt ''ke’u tshang'' denotes “cave,” “cavern,” or “overhang.” Thus, the hermitage is pre-fixed with this word suggesting that it was a cave monastery. Geography Keutsang mon ...
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Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majority regions surrounding the Himalayan areas of India (such as Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and a minority in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), in much of Central Asia, in the southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, and in Mongolia. Tibetan Buddhism evolved as a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism stemming from the latest stages of Indian Buddhism (which also included many Vajrayāna elements). It thus preserves many Indian Buddhist tantric practices of the post-Gupta early medieval period (500 to 1200 CE), along with numerous native Tibetan developments. In the pre-modern era, Tibetan Buddhism spread outside of Tibet primarily due to the influence of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), founded by Kublai Khan, which had ruled China, ...
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Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The Revolution marked the effective commanding return of Mao –who was still the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)– to the centre of power, after a period of self-abstention and ceding to less radical leadership in the aftermath of the Mao-led Great Leap Forward debacle and the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961). The Revolution failed to achieve its main goals. Launching the movement in May 1966 with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group, Mao charged that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society with the aim of restoring capitalism. Mao called on young people to "bombard the headqu ...
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Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, described, and portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. In East Asian Buddhism, he has evolved into a female form called Guanyin. Etymology The name ''Avalokiteśvara'' combines the verbal prefix ''ava'' "down", ''lokita'', a past participle of the verb ''lok'' "to notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense; and finally '' īśvara'', "lord", "ruler", "sovereign" or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), ''a''+''īśvara'' becomes ''eśvara''. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazes down (at the world)". The word ''loka'' ("world") is absent from the name, but the phrase is implied. It does appear in the Cambodian form of the name, ''Lokesvarak''. The earliest translation ...
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Tibetan New Year
Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location (Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, India) tradition. The holiday is a new year's festival, celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar, which corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. In 2020, the new year commenced on the 24th of February and celebrations ran until the 26th of the same month. It also commenced the Year of the Male Iron Rat. The variation of the festival in Nepal is called ''Lhochhar'' and is observed about eight weeks earlier than the Tibetan Losar. History Losar predates the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet and has its roots in a winter incense-burning custom of the Bon religion. During the reign of the ninth Tibetan king, Pude Gungyal (317-398), it is said that ...
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Lunar Month
In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and European traditions, the month starts when the young crescent moon first becomes visible, at evening, after conjunction with the Sun one or two days before that evening (e.g., in the Islamic calendar). In ancient Egypt, the lunar month began on the day when the waning moon could no longer be seen just before sunrise. Others run from full moon to full moon. Yet others use calculation, of varying degrees of sophistication, for example, the Hebrew calendar or the ecclesiastical lunar calendar. Calendars count integer days, so months may be 29 or 30 days in length, in some regular or irregular sequence. Lunar cycles are prominent, and calculated with great precision, in the ancient Hindu Panchangam calendar, widely used in the Indian subcontin ...
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Full Moon
The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opposition (astronomy), differ by 180°). This means that the lunar hemisphere facing Earth—the near side of the Moon, near side—is completely sunlit and appears as an approximately circular disk. The full moon occurs roughly once a month. The time interval between a full moon and the next repetition of the same phase, a Lunar month#Synodic month, synodic month, averages about 29.53 days. Therefore, in those lunar calendars in which each month begins on the day of the new moon, the full moon falls on either the 14th or 15th day of the lunar month. Because a calendar month consists of a Natural number, whole number of days, a month in a lunar calendar may be either 29 or 30 days long. Characteristics A full moon is often thought of as an ...
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Maitreya
Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at reinstating the dharma, a vital concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In all branches of Buddhism, he is viewed as the direct successor of Gautama Buddha. In some Buddhist literature, such as the '' Amitabha Sutra'' and the ''Lotus Sutra'', he is referred to as Ajita. Despite many religious figures and spiritual leaders claiming to be Maitreya throughout history, all Buddhists firmly agree that these were false claims, indicating that Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, is yet to appear. According to Buddhist tradition, Maitreya is a bodhisattva who is prophesied to appear on Earth, achieve complete Enlightenment, and teach the Dharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya's teachings will be similar to those of Gautama Buddha ...
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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 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 th ...
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Altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, modern paganism, and in certain Islamic communities around Caucasia and Asia Minor. Many historical-medieval faiths also made use of them, including the Roman, Greek, and Norse religions. Etymology The modern English word '' altar'' was derived from Middle English '' altar'', from Old English '' alter'', taken from Latin '' altare'' ("altar"), probably related to '' adolere'' ("burn"); thus "burning place", influenced by '' altus'' ("high"). It displaced the native Old English word '' wēofod''. Altars in antiquity File:Tel Be'er Sheva Altar 2007041.JPG, Horned altar at Tel Be'er Sheva, Israel. File:3217 - Athens - Sto… of Attalus Museum - Kylix - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, ...
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Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''dharma'' in European languages, it is commonly translated as "righteousness", "merit" or "religious and moral duties" governing individual conduct.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (9 April 2019)Dharma. ''Encyclopedia Britannica''. Accessed 14 September 2021. In Hinduism, dharma is one of the four components of the ''Puruṣārtha'', the aims of life, and signifies behaviours that are considered to be in accord with '' Ṛta'', the order that makes life and universe possible. It includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living".see: *"Dharma", ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 6th Ed. (2013), Columbia University Press, Gale, ; *Steven Rosen (2006), Essential Hinduism, Praeger, , Chapter 3. It had a transtempor ...
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Acala
or Achala ( sa, अचल, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism., Jp. rel. dict., pp. 242–246 Originally a minor deity described as a messenger or acolyte of the buddha Vairocana, Acala later rose to prominence as an object of veneration in his own right as a remover of obstacles and destroyer of evil, eventually becoming seen as the wrathful manifestation of either Vairocana, the buddha Akṣobhya, or the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. In later texts, he is also called (, "Violent Wrathful One", ) or (, "Violent One of Great Wrath", ), the names by which he is more commonly known in countries like Nepal and Tibet. In East Asian esoteric Buddhism, Acala is classed among the Wisdom Kings () and is preeminent among the five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. Accordingly, he occupies an important hierarchical positio ...
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