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Udumbara (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, ' (Pali, Sanskrit) refers to the tree, flower and fruit of the ''Ficus racemosa'' (syn. ''Ficus glomerata''). Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 175, 186. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0175-ujjha.pdf and http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0186-udaya.pdf. In Buddhist literature, this tree or its fruit may carry the connotation of rarity and parasitism. It is also mentioned in Vedic texts as the source of wood for rituals and amulets. The uḍumbara is also used to refer to the flower of the blue lotus (''Nymphaea caerulea Sav.''). Buddhist Symbolism Unseen flowers In some Buddhist texts, the flowers of the uḍumbara are enclosed within its fruit, as in all figs (see fig pollination and fig fruit). Because the flower is hidden inside the fruit, a legend developed to explain t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ficus Racemosa Fructescence
''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The common fig (''F. carica'') is a temperate species native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region (from Afghanistan to Portugal), which has been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit, also referred to as figs. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses. Description ''Ficus'' is a pantropical genus of trees, shrubs, and vines occupying a wide variety of ecological niches; most are evergreen, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kama
''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual desire, and longing both in religious and secular Hindu and Buddhist literature, as well as contemporary Indian literature, but the concept more broadly refers to any desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, desire for, longing to and after, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, enjoyment of love is particularly with or without enjoyment of sexual, sensual and erotic desire, and may be without sexual connotations. Kama is one of the four goals of human life and is also contemplated as one of the primary needs to fulfill during the stages of life according to the Hindu tradition. It is considered an essential and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing the other three goals: Dharma (virtu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cullaniddesa
The Niddesa (abbrev., "Nidd") is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is in the form of a commentary on parts of the Suttanipata. The tradition ascribes it to the Buddha's disciple Sariputta. It is divided into two parts: * Maha Niddesa (mahā-) (abbrev., "Nidd I" or "Nd1"), commenting on the ''Atthaka Vagga'' ("Octet Chapter," Sn 4); * Culla or Cula Niddesa () (abbrev., "Nidd II" or "Nd2"), commenting on the ''Parayana Vagga'' ("Way to the Far Shore Chapter,"Sn 5) and ''Khaggavisana Sutta'' ("Rhinoceros Horn Discourse," Sn 1.3). This text is believed to have been most likely composed no later than the 1st century BC.Hinüber (2000), p. 59, para. 118, writes: :The age of Nidd has been discussed at great length by S.Lévi 1925, who arrives at a date in the 2nd century AD, arguing from the geographical horizon of the text. This date has been disputed recently by Norman 1983: 84,86, who ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jataka
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is "one of the oldest classes of Buddhist literature."Skilling, Peter (2010). ''Buddhism and Buddhist Literature of South-East Asia,'' pp. 161-162. Some of these works are also considered great works of literature in their own right. In these stories, the future Buddha may appear as a king, an outcast, a deva, an animal—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates. Often, Jātaka tales include an extensive cast of characters who interact and get into various kinds of trouble - whereupon the Buddha character intervenes to resolve all the problems and bring about a happy ending. The Jātaka genre is based on the idea that the Buddha was able to recollect all his past lives and thus could use these memor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhamma
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 transtempora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pali Literature
Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school. Pali literature includes numerous genres, including Suttas (Buddhist discourses), Vinaya (monastic discipline), Abhidhamma (philosophy), poetry, history, philology, hagiography, scriptural exegesis, and meditation manuals. History The Pali language is a composite language which draws on various Middle Indo-Aryan languages. Much of the extant Pali literature is from Sri Lanka, which became the headquarters of Theravada for centuries. Most extant Pali literature was written and composed there, though some was also produced in outposts in South India. Most of the oldest collection of Pali Literature, the Pali Canon, was committed to writing in Sri Lanka at about the first century BCE (though it contains material that is much older, possibly dating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''puruṣārtha'' (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the ''Mahābhārata'' are the '' Bhagavad Gita'', the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shatapatha Brahmana
The Shatapatha Brahmana ( sa, शतपथब्राह्मणम् , Śatapatha Brāhmaṇam, meaning 'Brāhmaṇa of one hundred paths', abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Śukla (white) Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. Described as the most complete, systematic, and important of the Brahmanas (commentaries on the Vedas), it contains detailed explanations of Vedic sacrificial rituals, symbolism, and mythology. Particularly in its description of sacrificial rituals (including construction of complex fire-altars), the Shatapatha Brahmana (SB) provides scientific knowledge of geometry (e.g. calculations of pi and the root of the Pythagorean theorem) and observational astronomy (e.g. planetary distances and the assertion that the Earth is circular) from the Vedic period. The Shatapatha Brahmana is also considered to be significant in the development of Vaishnavism as the origin of several Puranic legends and avatars of the RigVedic god Vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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