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Ashtamangala
The Ashtamangala is a sacred suite of ''Eight Auspicious Signs'' endemic to a number of religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The symbols or "symbolic attributes" () are yidam and teaching tools. Not only do these attributes (or energetic signatures) point to qualities of enlightened mindstream, but they are the investiture that ornaments these enlightened "qualities" (Sanskrit: ''guṇa''; ). Many cultural enumerations and variations of the Ashtamangala are extant. In Buddhism Tibetan Buddhists make use of a particular set of eight auspicious symbols, ''ashtamangala'', in household and public art. Some common interpretations are given along with each symbol although different teachers may give different interpretations: Conch The right-turning white conch shell (Sanskrit: ; ) represents the beautiful, deep, melodious, interpenetrating and pervasive sound of the dharma, which awakens disciples from the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accompli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashtamangala
The Ashtamangala is a sacred suite of ''Eight Auspicious Signs'' endemic to a number of religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The symbols or "symbolic attributes" () are yidam and teaching tools. Not only do these attributes (or energetic signatures) point to qualities of enlightened mindstream, but they are the investiture that ornaments these enlightened "qualities" (Sanskrit: ''guṇa''; ). Many cultural enumerations and variations of the Ashtamangala are extant. In Buddhism Tibetan Buddhists make use of a particular set of eight auspicious symbols, ''ashtamangala'', in household and public art. Some common interpretations are given along with each symbol although different teachers may give different interpretations: Conch The right-turning white conch shell (Sanskrit: ; ) represents the beautiful, deep, melodious, interpenetrating and pervasive sound of the dharma, which awakens disciples from the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accompli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashtamangala Right Whorl Conch
The Ashtamangala is a sacred suite of ''Eight Auspicious Signs'' endemic to a number of religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The symbols or "symbolic attributes" () are yidam and teaching tools. Not only do these attributes (or energetic signatures) point to qualities of enlightened mindstream, but they are the investiture that ornaments these enlightened "qualities" (Sanskrit: ''guṇa''; ). Many cultural enumerations and variations of the Ashtamangala are extant. In Buddhism Tibetan Buddhists make use of a particular set of eight auspicious symbols, ''ashtamangala'', in household and public art. Some common interpretations are given along with each symbol although different teachers may give different interpretations: Conch The right-turning white conch shell (Sanskrit: ; ) represents the beautiful, deep, melodious, interpenetrating and pervasive sound of the dharma, which awakens disciples from the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accomplish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It continues to be used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It generally takes the form of a cross, the arms of which are of equal length and perpendicular to the adjacent arms, each bent midway at a right angle. The word ''swastika'' comes from sa, स्वस्तिक, svastika, meaning "conducive to well-being". In Hinduism, the right-facing symbol (clockwise) () is called ', symbolizing ("sun"), prosperity and good luck, while the left-facing symbol (counter-clockwise) () is called ''sauwastika'', symbolising night or tantric aspects of Kali. In Jain symbolism, it represents Suparshvanathathe seventh of 24 Tirthankaras (spiritual teachers and savio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shankha
A Shankha ( conch shell) has religious ritual importance in Hinduism. It is the shell of any suitable sea snail which had a hole made for the performer's embouchure. In Hindu history, the shankha is a sacred emblem of The Hindu preserver god Vishnu. It is still used as a trumpet in Hindu ritual, and in the past was used as a war trumpet. The shankha is praised in Hindu scriptures as a giver of fame, longevity and prosperity, the cleanser of sin and the abode of goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of prosperity and consort of Vishnu. The shankha is displayed in Hindu art in association with Vishnu. As a symbol of water, it is associated with female fertility and serpents (Nāgas). The shankha (representing the conch of the presiding deity of Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a part of the state emblem of the Indian state of Kerala. The symbol was derived from the erstwhile emblems of the Indian princely state of Travancore, and the Kingdom of Cochin. The shankha is one of the eight a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrivatsa
The Shrivatsa (Sanskrit: ; IAST: ''Śrīvatsa,'' ) is an ancient symbol, considered auspicious in Hinduism and other Indian religious traditions. Hinduism Origin Shrivatsa means "Beloved of Shri", an epithet of Vishnu, and a reference to his consort, the goddess Lakshmi, also called Shri. It is a mark on the chest of Vishnu, where his consort is described to reside. The Bhagavata Purana explains the origin of this mark. The story goes that a number of maharishis once gathered on the banks of the river Sarasvati to perform a yajna. A dispute arose among these sages regarding the superiority of the members of the Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva. The sage Bhrigu was appointed to discover the truth of this matter, and undertook this task by travelling to the abodes of these deities. He felt disrespected by Brahma when the latter was offended by the fact that he had taken his seat on a stool that was not offered to him. He grew anxious when Shiva rose to embrace him, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the highest form of Ishvara is with qualities (Saguna), and have certain form, but is limitless, transcend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Philosophy
Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combines both philosophical reasoning and meditation.Siderits, Mark. Buddhism as philosophy, 2007, p. 6 The Buddhist traditions present a multitude of Buddhist paths to liberation, and Buddhist thinkers in India and subsequently in East Asia have covered topics as varied as phenomenology, ethics, ontology, epistemology, logic and philosophy of time in their analysis of these paths. Pre-sectarian Buddhism was based on empirical evidence gained by the sense organs ('' ayatana'') and the Buddha seems to have retained a skeptical distance from certain metaphysical questions, refusing to answer them because they were not conducive to liberation but led instead to further speculation. A recurrent theme in Buddhist philosophy has been the reificatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namkha
Namkha (Tibetan: ནམ་མཁའ་ ''nam mkha' '' "sky", "space", " aether"," heaven"), also known as ''Dö''; (Tibetan ''mdos'' (མདོས) ) is a form of yarn or thread cross composed traditionally of wool or silk and is a form of the Endless knot of the ''Eight Auspicious Symbols (Ashtamangala)''. Namkha, space, is the Tibetan name of an extremely ancient structure made of coloured threads wrapped around wooden sticks, variations of which can be found in other traditions of the populations of our planet, which from time immemorial, Tibetans have imbued with a very precise, well defined and meaningful function, as we shall see from the pure symbolic representation. Used in the ancient rituals of Bön — the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet — in reality this object represents the fundamental components and aspects of the energy of the individual, as defined from the conception until the birth of the individual. Knowledge about the use of Namkha were almost completely los ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karuṇā
' () is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Buddhism is important in all schools of Buddhism. For Theravada Buddhists, dwelling in is a means for attaining a happy present life and heavenly rebirth. For Mahāyāna Buddhists, is a co-requisite for becoming a Bodhisattva. Theravada Buddhism In Theravāda Buddhism, is one of the four "divine abodes" ('' brahmavihāra''), along with loving kindness (Pāli: '' mettā''), sympathetic joy (''mudita'') and equanimity ('' upekkha''). In the Pali canon, Gautama Buddha recommends cultivating these four virtuous mental states to both householders and monastics. When one develops these four states, Buddha counsels radiating them in all directions, as in the following stock canonical phrase regarding : Such a practice purifies one's mind, avoids evil-induced conseq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prajñā (Buddhism)
Prajñā (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञा) or paññā (Pāli: पञ्ञा), is a Buddhist term often translated as "wisdom", "intelligence", or "understanding". It is described in Buddhist texts as the understanding of the true nature of phenomena. In the context of Buddhist meditation, it is the ability to understand the three characteristics of all things: ''anicca'' ("impermanence"), '' dukkha'' ("dissatisfaction" or "suffering"), and '' anattā'' ("non-self"). Mahāyāna texts describe it as the understanding of ''śūnyatā'' ("emptiness"). It is part of the Threefold Training in Buddhism, and is one of the ten '' pāramīs'' of Theravāda Buddhism and one of the six Mahāyāna ''pāramitās''. Etymology ''Prajñā'' () is often translated as "wisdom", but according to Buddhist bioethics scholar Damien Keown, it is closer in meaning to "insight", "non-discriminating knowledge", or "intuitive apprehension". * ''jñā'' () can be translated as "consciousness", "knowl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pratītyasamutpāda
''Pratītyasamutpāda'' (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद, Pāli: ''paṭiccasamuppāda''), commonly translated as dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a key doctrine in Buddhism shared by all schools of Buddhism. It states that all dharmas (phenomena) arise in dependence upon other dharmas: "if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist". The basic principle is that all things (dharmas, phenomena, principles) arise in dependence upon other things. The doctrine includes depictions of the arising of suffering (''anuloma-paṭiccasamuppāda'', "with the grain", forward conditionality) and depictions of how the chain can be reversed (''paṭiloma-paṭiccasamuppāda'', "against the grain", reverse conditionality).Fuller, Paul (2004). ''The Notion of Ditthi in Theravada Buddhism: The Point of View.'' p. 65. Routledge.Harvey, Peter. ''The Conditioned Co-arising of Mental and Bodily Processes within Life and Bet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
śūnyatā
''Śūnyatā'' ( sa, शून्यता, śūnyatā; pi, suññatā; ), translated most often as ''emptiness'', ''vacuity'', and sometimes ''voidness'', is an Indian philosophical concept. Within Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and other philosophical strands, the concept has multiple meanings depending on its doctrinal context. It is either an ontological feature of reality, a meditative state, or a phenomenological analysis of experience. In Theravāda Buddhism, ''Suññatā'' often refers to the non-self (Pāli: ''anattā'', Sanskrit: ''anātman'') nature of the five aggregates of experience and the six sense spheres. ''Suññatā'' is also often used to refer to a meditative state or experience. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, ''śūnyatā'' refers to the tenet that "all things are empty of intrinsic existence and nature (''svabhava'')", but may also refer to the Buddha-nature teachings and primordial or empty awareness, as in Dzogchen, Shentong, or Chan. Etymology "'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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