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The Light Of Asia
''The Light of Asia'', or ''The Great Renunciation'' (''Mahâbhinishkramana''), is a book by Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in London in July 1879. In the form of a narrative poem, the book endeavours to describe the life and time of Prince Gautama Buddha, who, after attaining enlightenment, became the Buddha, The Awakened One. The book presents his life, character, and philosophy in a series of verses. It is a free adaptation of the Lalitavistara. A few decades before the book's publication, very little was known outside Asia about the Buddha and Buddhism. Arnold's book was one of the first successful efforts to popularize Buddhism for a Western readership. After receiving the poem from theosophists, Mahatma Gandhi was awed and his subsequent introduction to Madame Blavatsky and her '' Key to Theosophy'' inspired him to study his own religion. The book has been highly acclaimed from the time it was first published and has been the subject ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwin Arnold
Sir Edwin Arnold KCIE CSI (10 June 183224 March 1904) was an English poet and journalist, who is most known for his work ''The Light of Asia''.Sir Edwin Arnold '''', 25 March 1904 Biography Arnold was born at , Kent, the second son of a magistrate, Robert Coles Arnold. He grew up at Southchurch Wick, a farm in |
Blavatsky Lodge
The Blavatsky Lodge, officially The Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society, was an English Theosophical Society founded by Helena Blavatsky and 13 other members. History The Blavatsky Lodge was founded on May 19, 1887 in London by 14 members of the London Lodge. It was the second official theosophical lodge in England after the London Lodge, and the third in Europe (after the Loge Germania in Germany). Before its foundation, several members of the London Lodge invited Helena Blavatsky to London, where she arrived on 1 May 1887 from Ostend. She stayed in London until her death on 8 May 1891. Archibald and Bertram Keightley were considering forming an independent theosophical lodge, which would be focussed on the works of Blavatsky. Other members of the London Lodge gave their approval, and the Blavatsky Lodge was founded. It is unclear if the deed of foundation was signed by Olcott, the president of the society, or by Blavatsky. The distinguishing factor in the Blavatsky Lod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Song Celestial
''The Song Celestial: A Poetic Version of the Bhagavad Gita'' is a translation of the Bhagavad Gita (a part of the Mahabharata) from Sanskrit into English by Sir Edwin Arnold, first published in 1885. The translation following ''The Light of Asia'', his narrative-poem of the Lalitavistara Sūtra. It is dedicated to India with the following preface: In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi recalled when two theosophist brothers gave him ''The Song Celestial'' during his studies in England. This was the first time Gandhi had ever read the Gita, as he had never read it in Sanskrit nor in Gujarati. Gandhi adored this version, stating: "I have read almost all English translations ..and I regard Sir Edwin Arnold's as the best." Gandhi also invited Edwin Arnold to be the vice-president of the Vegetarian Society in London. Summary The book summarizes itself as the following: Krishna, who is regarded as an incarnation of the Divine, then instructs Arjuna on the way of duty and liberation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (chapters 23–40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva), dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE and is typical of the Hindu synthesis. It is considered to be one of the holy scriptures for Hinduism. The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. At the start of the dharma yuddha (or the "righteous war") between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Arjuna is preoccupied by a moral and emotional dilemma and despairs about the violence and death the war will cause in the battle against his kin. Wondering if he should renounce the war, he seeks Krishna's counsel, whose answers and discourse constitute the Gita. Krishna counsels Arjuna to "fu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theosophist
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultism, occultist stream of Western esotericism, it draws upon both older European philosophies such as Neoplatonism and Asian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. As presented by Blavatsky, Theosophy teaches that there is an ancient and secretive brotherhood of spiritual adepts known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, Masters, who—although found around the world—are centered in Tibet. These Masters are alleged by Blavatsky to have cultivated great wisdom and supernatural powers, and Theosophists believe that it was they who initiated the modern Theosophical movement through disseminating their teachings via Blavatsky. They believe that these Masters are attempting to revive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East India
East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadha from which it inherits its various Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhand is situated on the Chota Nagpur Plateau. Odisha lies on the Eastern Ghats and the Deccan Plateau. West Bengal's capital Kolkata is the largest city of this region. The Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the country's third largest. The region is bounded by Bhutan, Nepal and the state of Sikkim in the north, the states of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on the west, the state of Andhra Pradesh in the south and the country of Bangladesh in the east. It is also bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the south-east. It is connected to the Seven Sister States of Northeast India by the narrow Siliguri Corrido ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right ''samadhi'' ('meditative absorption or union'; alternatively, equanimous meditative awareness). In early Buddhism, these practices started with understanding that the body-mind works in a corrupted way (right view), followed by entering the Buddhist path of self-observance, self-restraint, and cultivating kindness and compassion; and culminating in ''dhyana'' or ''samadhi'', which reinforces these practices for the development of the body-mind. In later Buddhism, insight ('' prajñā'') became the central soteriological instrument, leading to a different concept and structure of the path, in which the "goal" of the Buddhist pa ... [...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 ''vipassan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enlightenment In Buddhism
The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect, of a Buddha. The verbal root ''budh-'' means "to awaken," and its literal meaning is closer to awakening. Although the term ''buddhi'' is also used in other Indian philosophies and traditions, its most common usage is in the context of Buddhism. '' Vimukti'' is the freedom from or release of the fetters and hindrances. The term "enlightenment" was popularised in the Western world through the 19th-century translations of German-born philologist Max Müller. It has the Western connotation of general insight into transcendental truth or reality. The term is also being used to translate several other Buddhist terms and concepts, which are used to denote (initial) insight ('' prajna'' (Sanskrit), '' wu'' (Chinese), '' kensho'' and ''satori'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duḥkha
''Duḥkha'' (; Sanskrit: दुःख; Pāli: ''dukkha''), commonly translated as "suffering", "pain," or "unhappiness," is an important concept in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Its meaning depends on the context, and may refer more specifically to the "unsatisfactoriness" or "unease" of mundane life when driven by craving/ grasping and ignorance. While the term ''dukkha'' has often been derived from the prefix ''du'' ("bad" or "difficult") and the root ''kha'', "empty," "hole," a badly fitting axle-hole of a cart or chariot giving "a very bumpy ride," it may actually be derived from ''duḥ-stha'', a "dis-/ bad- + stand-," that is, "standing badly , unsteady," "unstable." It is the first of the Four Noble Truths_and_it_is_one_of_the_three_marks_of_existence.html" ;"title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ... and it is one of the three marks of existence">Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ... and it is one of the three marks of existence. The term ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kapilavastu (ancient City)
Kapilavastu was an ancient city in the north of the Indian subcontinent which was the capital of the clan ''gaṇasaṅgha'' or "republic" of the Shakyas in the late Iron Age, around the 6th and 5th centuries BC. King Śuddhodana and Queen Māyā are believed to have lived at Kapilavastu, as did their son Prince Siddartha Gautama (Gautama Buddha) until he left the palace at the age of 29. Buddhist texts such as the Pāli Canon say that Kapilavastu was the childhood home of Gautama Buddha, on account of it being the capital of the Shakyas, over whom his father ruled. Kapilavastu is the place where Siddhartha Gautama spent 29 years of his life. According to Buddhist sources the name Kapilvatthu means "tawny area", due to the abundance of reddish sand in the area. Kapilavastu never became a major pilgrimage site like Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini not far away, which would have left unmistakeable remains. The settlement was probably never as large as depictions in early Buddhi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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