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Sumedha And Dīpankara Buddha, Burmese Manuscript
In Buddhist texts, Sumedha is a previous life of Gotama Buddha (Pāli; ) in which he declares his intention to become a Buddha. Buddhist texts describe that this takes place when Gotama Buddha is still a Buddha-to-be (', '). Traditions regard Sumedha's life as the beginning of the spiritual journey leading up to the attainment of Buddhahood by Gotama in his last life, a journey which takes place through many lifetimes. Born in a brahmin family, Sumedha begins to live as an ascetic in the mountains. One day he meets Dīpankara Buddha () and offers his own body for him to walk over. During this sacrifice, he makes a vow that he also will be a Buddha in a future lifetime, which is confirmed by Dīpankara through a prophecy. The encounter between Sumedha and Dīpankara Buddha is the oldest Buddhist story known which deals with the path of a ''bodhisatta'', and the story has been described as the Theravādin interpretation of this ideal. It is the most detailed story of a previou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapas (Indian Religions)
Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्, romanized: tapas) 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 inti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agama (Buddhism)
Religion *Āgama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts *Āgama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects *Jain literature (Jain Āgamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism Other uses * ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards in the family Agamidae ** '' Agama agama'', a species of lizard from the family Agamidae * Religion, referred to as ''agama'' in the Malay-speaking world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) * Parthenogenesis Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ... or agamic, a form of asexual reproduction not involving the fusion of male and female gametes * Agama Yoga is a yoga school founded by Swami Vivekananda Saraswati, a Romanian yoga instructor born as Narcis Tarcău See also * Agam (other) {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalpa (Buddhism)
A ''kalpa'' is a long period of time (aeon) in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, generally between the creation and recreation of a world or universe. Etymology ''Kalpa'' () in this context, means "a long period of time (aeon) related to the lifetime of the universe (creation)." It is derived from कॢप् (kḷp) + -अ (-a, nominalizing suffix) (). Hinduism In Hinduism, a ''kalpa'' is a unit of time equal to 4.32 billion years. It corresponds to one day in the life of Brahma, the creator god, and represents the active, creative phase of the cosmic cycle. Each ''kalpa'' is made up of 1,000 '' Yuga Cycles'', vast ages that repeat in a set pattern. A ''kalpa'' is further divided into 14 ''manvantaras''. Each ''manvantara'' lasts for 71 ''Yuga Cycles'', or 306.72 million years. Before the first ''manvantara'' and after each one are transitional periods known as ''sandhyas'', each as long as a ''Satya Yuga''—1.728 million years. At the end of each ''kalpa'', the universe enter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pandit
A pandit (; ; also spelled pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt. or Pdt.) is an individual with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge in Hinduism, particularly the Vedic scriptures, dharma, or Hindu philosophy; in colonial-era literature, the term generally refers to lawyers specialized in Hindu law. Whereas, today the title is used for experts in other subjects, such as music. Pandit entered English as the loanword pundit, referring to a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. Ustad is the equivalent title for a Muslim man in the musical sense. The equivalent titles for a Hindu woman are Vidushi, Pandita, or Panditain; however, these titles are not currently in widespread use. In Sanskrit, pandit generally refers to any "wise, educated or learned man" with specialized knowledge. The term is derived from ' () which means ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nalanda
Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be among the greatest Ancient higher-learning institutions, centres of learning in the ancient world and often referred to as "the world's first residential university", it was located near the city of Rajagriha (now Rajgir), roughly southeast of Pataliputra (now Patna). Operating for almost a thousand years from 427 CE until around 1400 CE, Nalanda mahavihara played a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts, culture and academics during the 5th and 6th century CE, a period that has since been described as the "Golden Age of India" by scholars. Nalanda was established by emperor Kumaragupta I of the Gupta Empire around 427 CE, and was supported by numerous Indian and Javanese patrons – both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. Nalanda continue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ajanta Caves
The Ajanta Caves are 30 rock-cut architecture, rock-cut Buddhist caves in India, Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century Common Era, BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. Ajanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist art, Buddhist religious art, the caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of Ancient Indian architecture, ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form. The caves were built in two phases, the first starting around the second century BCE and the second occurring from 400 to 650 CE, according to older accounts, or in a brief period of 460–480 CE according to later scholarship. The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries (''Vihāra, Viharas'') and worship-halls (''Chaityas'') of different Buddhist traditions car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gandhara
Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending as far east as the Pothohar Plateau in Punjab, though the cultural influence of Greater Gandhara extended westwards into the Kabul, Kabul valley in Afghanistan, and northwards up to the Karakoram range. The region was a central location for the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asia with many Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist pilgrims visiting the region. Between the third century BCE and third century CE, Gandhari language, Gāndhārī, a Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language written in the Kharosthi script and linked with the modern Dardic languages, Dardic language family, acted as the lingua franca of the region and through Buddhism, the language spread as far as China based on Gandhār ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nangarhar
Nangarhār (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also called Nangrahar or Ningrahar, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country and bordering Logar, Kabul, Laghman and Kunar provinces as well as having an international border with Pakistan. It is divided into 22 districts and has a population of about 1,735,531, the third highest of the country's 34 provinces. The city of Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. Nangarhar province is famous for its fish and karahi dishes. Etymology Henry George Raverty theorized that the word Nangarhar is derived from the Pashto term ''nang-nahar'' ("nine streams"), which appears in some Persian chronicles. The term supposedly refers to nine streams originating from Safed Koh. However, according to S. H. Hodivala, the name of the province derives from the Sanskrit term Nagarahara, which appears in a 9th-century inscription discovered at Ghosrawa in present-day Bihar, India. ''Nà-jiā-luó-ā'', the Chinese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nagarāhāra
Nagara (), also known as Dionysopolis (), was an ancient city in the northwest part of ("India (Herodotus), India within the Ganges"), distinguished in Ptolemy by the title 'also Dionysopolis'. It also appears in sources as Nagarahara, and was situated between the Kabul River and the Indus, in present-day Afghanistan. The site of Nagara is usually associated with a large stupa called Nagara Ghundi, about west of Jalalabad near Tepe Khwaja Lahori, south of the junction of the Surkhab River, Surkhäb and Kabul rivers, where ancient ruins have been found. Dionysopolis and Nysa From the second name which Ptolemy has preserved, Dionysopolis, we are led to believe that this is the same place as Nysa (mythology), Nysa () or Nyssa (), which, according to ancient historians, was spared from plunder and destruction by Alexander the Great because the inhabitants asserted that it had been founded by Dionysus, when he conquered the area and he named the city Nysa and the land Nysaea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faxian
Faxian (337–), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Fa-hien and Fa-hsien, was a Han Chinese, Chinese Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist bhikkhu, monk and translator who traveled on foot from Eastern Jin dynasty, Jin China to medieval India to acquire Buddhist scriptures. His birth name was Gong Sehi. Starting his journey about age 60, he traveled west along the overland Silk Road, visiting Buddhist sites in Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and Southeast Asia. The journey and return took from 399 to 412, with 10 years spent in India. Faxian's account of his Buddhist pilgrimage, pilgrimage, the ''Foguoji'' or ''Record of the Buddhist Kingdoms'', is a notable independent record of early Buddhism in India. He returned to China with a large number of Sanskrit texts, whose translations greatly influenced East Asian Buddhism and provide a for many historical names, events, texts, and ideas therein. Biography Faxian was born in Shanxi in the 4th-century under the Later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sutra
''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text. Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, sutras are a distinct type of literary composition, a compilation of short aphoristic statements.Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pages 54–55 Each sutra is any short rule, like a theorem distilled into few words or syllables, around which teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar, or any field of knowledge can be woven. The oldest sutras of Hinduism are found in the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of the Vedas. Every school of Hindu philosophy, Vedic guides for rites of passage, various fields of arts, law, and social ethics developed respective sutras, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
