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Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra
The Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra (Sanskrit: उष्णीष विजय धारणी सूत्र; IAST: uṣṇīṣa vijaya dhāraṇī sūtra, Chinese: 佛頂尊勝陀羅尼經; Pinyin: Fódǐng Zūnshèng Tuóluóní Jīng; Romanji: Butsuchō Sonshō Darani Kyō; Vietnamese: Phật Đảnh Tôn Thắng Đà La Ni; English: Dhāraṇī of the Victorious Buddha-Crown/The Sūtra of The Supreme Sacrosanct Dhāraṇī From The Buddha's Summit) is a Mahāyāna Sūtra from India. An alternate longer Sanskrit title is the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra (सर्वदुर्गतिपरिशोधन उष्णीष विजय धारणी सूत्र). History The sutra was translated a total of eight times from Sanskrit to Chinese between 679 and 988 CE. It gained wide circulation in China, and its practices have been utilized since the Tang dynasty, from which it then spread to the rest of East Asia. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ushnisha
The ushnisha (, IAST: ) is a three-dimensional oval at the top of the head of the Buddha. In Pali scriptures, it is the crown of Lord Buddha, the symbol of his Enlightenment and Enthronement. Description The Ushnisha is the thirty-second of the 32 major marks of the Buddha. The thirty-second of these is that the Buddha has a fleshy or cranial protuberance at the top of his head. Later sets elaborate that this is covered with hairs that curl in the direction of the sun. Later on a second definition of Ushnisha was added, which was a flame that ascends from the middle of this protuberance. Representation The first representations of the Buddha in the 1st century CE in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara also represent him with a topknot, rather than just a cranial knob. It is thought that the interpretation of the ushnisha as a supernatural cranial protuberance happened at a later date, as the representation of the topknot became more symbolic and its original meaning was lost. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eight Consciousnesses
The Eight Consciousnesses (Skt. ''aṣṭa vijñānakāyāḥ'') is a classification developed in the tradition of the Yogācāra school of Mahayana Buddhism. They enumerate the five sense consciousnesses, supplemented by the mental consciousness (''manovijñāna''), the defiled mental consciousness (''kliṣṭamanovijñāna''), and finally the fundamental store-house consciousness (''ālāyavijñāna''), which is the basis of the other seven.Waldron, William S. The Buddhist Unconscious: The Alaya-vijñana in the context of Indian Buddhist Thought. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism, 2003, page 97 This eighth consciousness is said to store the impressions ('' vāsanāḥ'') of previous experiences, which form the seeds (''bīja'') of future karma in this life and in the next after rebirth. Eightfold network of primary consciousnesses All surviving schools of Buddhist thought accept – "in common" – the existence of the first six primary consciousne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the context of later Vedic society wherein members were organised into four classes: ''brahmin'', kshatriya, ''vaishya'' and ''shudra''. History Early Rigvedic tribal monarchy The administrative machinery in the Vedic India was headed by a tribal king called Rajan whose position may or may not have been hereditary. The king may have been elected in a tribal assembly (called Samiti), which included women. The Rajan protected the tribe and cattle; was assisted by a priest; and did not maintain a standing army, though in the later period the rulership appears to have risen as a social class. The concept of the fourfold varna system is not yet recorded. Later Vedic period The hymn ''Purusha Sukta'' to the ''Rigveda'' describes the symbolic creation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru or acharya). The other three varnas are the Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The traditional occupation of Brahmins is that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies, and rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers.James Lochtefeld (2002), Brahmin, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, , page 125 Traditionally, the Brahmins are accorded the highest ritual status of the four social classes. Their livelihood is prescribed to be one of strict austerity and voluntary poverty ("A Brahmin should acquire what just suffices for the time, what he earns he should spend all that the same day"). In practice, Indian texts suggest that some Brahmins historicall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools as well as modern Theravada Buddhism, a bodhisattva (Pali: ''bodhisatta'') refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so. In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated ''bodhicitta'', a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritually heroic persons that work to attain awakening and are driven by a great compassion (''mahakaruṇā''). These beings are exemplified by important spiritual qualities such as the "four divine abodes" (''brahmaviharas'') of loving-kindness ('' metta''), compassion (''karuṇā''), empathet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asura
Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated "Titan (mythology), titan", "demigod", or "antigod". According to Hindu texts, Hindu scriptures, the asuras are in constant battle with the devas. Asuras are described in Indian texts as powerful superhuman demigods with good or bad qualities. In early Vedic literature, the good Asuras are called ''Adityas'' and are led by Varuna, while the malevolent ones are called ''Danava (Hinduism), Danavas'' and are led by Vritra. In the earliest layer of Vedic texts Agni, Indra and other gods are also called Asuras, in the sense of their being "lords" of their respective domains, knowledge and abilities. In later Vedic and post-Vedic texts, the benevolent gods are call ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yama
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. In Sanskrit, his name can be interpreted to mean "twin". He is also an important deity worshipped by the Kalasha and formerly by the Nuristani peoples, indicating his prominence in ancient Hinduism. In Hinduism, Yama is the son of sun-god SuryaEffectuation of Shani Adoration pp. 10–15. and , the daughter of |
Kalpa (aeon)
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'' ( sa, कल्प, , a formation or creation) 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) ( sa, कॢप्, kḷp, to create, prepare, form, produce, compose, invent). Hinduism In Hinduism, a ''kalpa'' is equal to 4.32 billion years, a "day of Brahma" (12-hour day proper) or one thousand '' mahayugas'', measuring the duration of the world. Each ''kalpa'' is divided into 14 ''manvantara'' periods, each lasting 71 ''Yuga Cycles'' (306,720,000 years). Preceding the first and following each ''manvantara'' period is a juncture (''sandhya'') equal to the length of a ''Satya Yuga'' (1,728,000 years). A ''kalpa'' is followed by a ''pralaya'' (dissolution) of equa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preta
Preta ( sa, प्रेत, bo, ཡི་དྭགས་ ''yi dags''), also known as hungry ghost, is the Sanskrit name for a type of supernatural being described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion as undergoing suffering greater than that of humans, particularly an extreme level of hunger and thirst. They have their origins in Indian religions and have been adopted into East Asian religions via the spread of Buddhism. Preta is often translated into English as "hungry ghost" from the Chinese and East Asian adaptations. In early sources such as the ''Petavatthu'', they are much more varied. The descriptions below apply mainly in this narrower context. The development of the concept of the preta started with just thinking that it was the soul and ghost of a person once they died, but later the concept developed into a transient state between death and obtaining karmic reincarnation in accordance with the person's fate. In order to pass into the cycle of ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pure Land
A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). The various traditions that focus on pure lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bon. Discussion In the Mahayana sutras, there are many pure lands. Bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteśvara and Manjushri would obtain pure lands after they attained buddhahood. In the ''Lotus Sutra'', Buddha's close followers such as Śāriputra, Mahākāśyapa, Subhuti, Maudgalyāyana and Buddha's son Rāhula would also have pure lands. The relative time-flow in the pure lands may be different, with a day in one pure land being equivalent to years in another. Pure lands have been documented as arising due to the intention and aspiration of a bodhisattva such as the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sukhavati
Sukhavati (IAST: ''Sukhāvatī''; "Blissful") is a pure land of Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. It is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure Land, and is the most well-known of Buddhist pure lands, due to the popularity of Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia. Etymology and names The word is the feminine form of ''sukhāvat'' ("full of joy; blissful"), from ''sukha'' ("delight, joy") and ''-vat'' ("full of"). Sukhavati is known by different names in other languages. East Asian names are based on Chinese translations, and longer names may consist of the words "Western", "Blissful" and "Pure Land" in various combinations. Some names and combinations are more popular in certain countries. Due to its importance, Sukhavati is often simply called "The Pure Land" without distinguishing it from other pure lands. * Only common in Chinese. Nine levels of birth In the final part of the ''Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra'', Gautama Buddha discusses the nine levels into which those born into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called the principle of karma, wherein intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect): Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths. As per some scripture, there is no link of rebirths with karma. The concept of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism), as well as Taoism.Eva Wong, Taoism, Shambhala Publications, , pp. 193 In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives—one's '' saṃsāra''. This concept has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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