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Ajita Kesakambali
Ajita Kesakambali (; ) was an ancient Indian philosopher in the 6th century BC. He is considered to be the first known proponent of Indian materialism, and forerunner to the Charvaka school. He was probably a contemporary of the Buddha and Mahavira. It has frequently been noted that the doctrines of the Lokayata school were considerably drawn from Ajita's teachings. Philosophy Like those of Lokayatins, nothing survives of Ajita's teachings in script, except some scattered references made by his opponents for the sake of refutation. Thus, due to the nature of these references, the basic framework of his philosophy has to be derived by filtering out obscure legends associated with him. From Buddhist sources According to a Buddhist legend, Ajita wore a blanket of human hair (''Kesakambali'' in Sanskrit means "with the hair blanket"), "which is described as being the most miserable garment. It was cold in cold weather, and hot in the hot, foul smelling and uncouth".Bhaskar (1972) ' ...
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Indian Philosophy
Indian philosophy consists of philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The philosophies are often called darśana meaning, "to see" or "looking at." Ānvīkṣikī means “critical inquiry” or “investigation." Unlike darśana, ānvīkṣikī was used to refer to Indian philosophies by classical Indian philosophers, such as Chanakya in the Arthashastra, Arthaśāstra. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Vedas as a valid source of knowledge; whether the school believes in the premises of Brahman and Atman (Hinduism), Atman; and whether the school believes in afterlife and Deva (Hinduism), Devas. (though there are exceptions to the latter two: Mimamsa and Samkhya respectively). There are six major (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy, Vedic philosophy—Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga (philosophy), Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedanta—and five ...
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Religious
Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. It is an essentially contested concept. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacredness, faith,Tillich, P. (1957) ''Dynamics of faith''. Harper Perennial; (p. 1). and a supernatural being or beings. The origin of religious belief is an open question, with possible explanations including awareness of individual death, a sense of community, and dreams. Religions have sacred histories, narratives, and mythologies, preserved in oral traditions, sacred texts, symbols, and holy places, that may attempt to explain the origin of life, the universe, and other phe ...
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6th-century BC Indian Philosophers
The 6th century is the period from 501 through 600 in line with the Julian calendar. In the West, the century marks the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire late in the previous century left Europe fractured into many small Germanic kingdoms competing fiercely for land and wealth. From the upheaval the Franks rose to prominence and carved out a sizeable domain covering much of modern France and Germany. Meanwhile, the surviving Eastern Roman Empire began to expand under Emperor Justinian, who recaptured North Africa from the Vandals and attempted fully to recover Italy as well, in the hope of reinstating Roman control over the lands once ruled by the Western Roman Empire. Owing in part to the collapse of the Roman Empire along with its literature and civilization, the sixth century is generally considered to be the least known about in the Dark Ages. In its second golden age, the Sassanid Empire reached ...
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Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944) () born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka. He teaches in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Society and has edited and authored several publications grounded in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Early life In 1944, Block was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents. He grew up in Borough Park, where he attended elementary school P.S. 160. In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College. In 1972, he obtained a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University. Career In 1967, while still a graduate student, Bodhi was ordained as a '' sāmaṇera'' (novice) in the Vietnamese Mahayana order. In 1972, after graduation, he traveled to Sri Lanka, where, under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero, he received ''sāmaṇera'' ordination in the Theravada Order and, in 1973, received full ordination ('' upasampadā'') ...
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Bhagchandra Jain
Bhagchandra (Bhaskar) Jain (born on 11 September 1936) is an Indian scholar, renowned for his knowledge of Jainism and Buddhism, and of classical Indian languages including Pali and Sanskrit. His career has spanned more than five decades. He is the recipient of the 2004 "Presidential Award" for his contribution to Pali-Prakrit languages and Buddhism & Jainism religions. Bhagchandraji received his Ph.D. from Vidyodaya (University of Ceylon) in 1966. His dissertation was later published as ''Jainism in Buddhist Literature'' in 1972, which has since emerged as a major reference on the topic. He was Head of Department of Pali and Prakrit at Nagpur University from 1965 to 1996, and he served as the director of Parshvanath Vidyapith at Varanasi from 1999 to 2001. He is currently working as a Professor Emeritus in JAIN Vishwabharti (Deemed University), Ladnun in Rajasthan. Previously, he worked at JRRS University, Jaipur as Professor & Head of Jain Philosophy as well. Mr. Bhagchandra ...
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Purana Kassapa
Purana Kassapa (; Pali: ''Pūraṇa Kassapa'') was an Indian ascetic teacher who lived around the 6th century BCE, contemporaneous with Mahavira and Shakyamuni Buddha. Biography Purana taught a theory of "non-action" (Pāli, Skt.: ''akiriyāvāda'') whereby the body acts independent of the soul, merit or demerit. In the Pali Canon, Purana (along with the ascetic Makkhali Gosala) is identified as an ''ahetuvadin'', "denier of a cause" (of merit). As an example of Purana's beliefs, in the Samannaphala Sutta ( DN 2) it is reported that Purana said: :"... acting or getting others to act, in mutilating or getting others to mutilate, in torturing or getting others to torture, in inflicting sorrow or in getting others to inflict sorrow, in tormenting or getting others to torment, in intimidating or getting others to intimidate, in taking life, taking what is not given, breaking into houses, plundering wealth, committing burglary, ambushing highways, committing adultery, speaking ...
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Pakudha Kaccayana
was an Indian teacher and philosopher who lived around the 6th century BCE, contemporaneous with Mahavira and the Buddha. He was an atomist who believed in atomism which believed that everything is made of seven eternal elements – earth, water, fire, air, happiness, pain and soul. Early life According to the Pali Canon, Kacayana was his family name and he is said to have belonged to a Brahmin caste. He was sometimes called Pakkudha Katiyana, or Kadhudha Katiyana. Teachings According to Pakudha, there are seven eternal "elements": Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Joy, Sorrow and Life. Pakudha further asserted that these elements do not ''interact'' with one another. The Samannaphala Sutta ( DN 2) represents Pakudha's views as follows: :"'... ere are these seven substances — unmade, irreducible, uncreated, without a creator, barren, stable as a mountain-peak, standing firm like a pillar — that do not alter, do not change, do not interfere with one another, are incapable of ca ...
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Makkhali Gosala
Makkhali Gosala (Pāli; BHS: Maskarin Gośāla; Jain Prakrit sources: Gosala Mankhaliputta) or Manthaliputra Goshalak (6th or 5th century BCE) was an ascetic ajivika teacher of ancient India. He was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. Sources Details about Gosala's life are sparse. All of the available information about Gosala and about the Ājīvika movement generally comes from Buddhist and Jain sources. As Gosala's teachings appear to have been rivals of those of the Buddhist and Jain leaders of his day, this information is regarded by most scholars as being overtly influenced and coloured by sectarian hostilities. Two primary sources describe Gosala's life and teaching: the Jain Bhagavati Sutra, and Buddhaghosa's commentary on the Buddhist Sammannaphala Sutta. The Bhagavati Sutra goes into detail about the career of Makkhali Gosala and his relationship with Mahavira; the Sammannaphala ...
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Ajñana
''Ajñāna'' (, (Vedic) IPA: /ɐd͡ʑ.ɲɑː.nɐ/; (Classical) IPA: /ɐd͡ʑˈɲɑː.n̪ɐ/) was one of the Āstika and nāstika, ''nāstika'' or "heterodox" schools of Hindu philosophy, ancient Indian philosophy, and the ancient school of radical Indian Philosophical skepticism#Ajñana, skepticism. It was a Śramaṇa, Śramaṇa movement and a major rival of Pre-sectarian Buddhism, early Buddhism, Jainism and the Ājīvika school. They have been recorded in Buddhist and Jain texts. They held that it was impossible to obtain knowledge of metaphysical nature or ascertain the truth value of philosophical propositions; and even if knowledge was possible, it was useless and disadvantageous for final salvation. They specialized in refutation without propagating any positive doctrine of their own. Sanjaya Belatthiputta was one of the major proponents of this school of thought. Sources All of our knowledge of the Ajñāna come from the Buddhists and Jain sources. The Ajñāna view po ...
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