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Brahmavihāra
The (sublime attitudes, lit. "abodes of Brahma") is a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the four immeasurables (Pāli: ) or four infinite minds ( Chinese: ). The are: # loving-kindness or benevolence () # compassion () # empathetic joy () # equanimity () According to the ''Metta Sutta'', cultivation of the four immeasurables has the power to cause the practitioner to be reborn into a "Brahma realm" (Pāli: ). Etymology and translations * Pāli: * (sathara brahmavihārā) * , ( Wylie: ) may be parsed as "" and "", which is often rendered into English as "sublime" or "divine abodes". , usually translated as "the immeasurables", means "boundlessness, infinitude, a state that is illimitable". Rhys Davids & Stede, 1921–25, ''Pali-English Dictionary'', Pali Text Society. When developed to a high degree in meditation, these attitudes are said to make the mind "immeasurable" and like the mind of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmā (Buddhism)
is a leading God (Deva (Buddhism), deva) and heavenly king in Buddhism. He is considered as a protector of teachings (''dharmapala''), and he is never depicted in early Buddhist texts as a Creator deity, creator god. In Buddhist tradition, it was the deity Brahma Sahampati who appeared before the Buddha and invited him to teach, once the Buddha attained enlightenment. Brahma lords over the heavenly realm of Rebirth (Buddhism), rebirth called the ''Brahmaloka#Buddhism, Brahmaloka,'' one of the highest realms in Buddhist cosmology. Brahma is generally represented in Buddhist culture as a god with four faces and four arms, and variants of him are found in Mahayana Buddhist cultures. Origins and nomenclature The origins of Brahma in Buddhism and other Indian religions are uncertain, in part because several related words such as one for metaphysical Ultimate Reality (Brahman), and priest (Brahmin) are found in the Vedic literature. According to KN Jayatilleke, the Rigveda express ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metta Sutta
The Mettā Sutta is the name used for two Buddhist discourses (Pali: '' sutta'') found in the Pali Canon. The one, more often chanted by Theravadin monks, is also referred to as ''Karaṇīyamettā Sutta'' after the opening word, ''Karaṇīyam'', "(This is what) should be done." It is found in the Suttanipāta (Sn 1.8) and Khuddakapāṭha (Khp 9). It is ten verses in length and it extols both the virtuous qualities and the meditative development of '' mettā'' (Pali), traditionally translated as " loving kindness" or "friendliness". Additionally, Thanissaro Bhikkhu's translation, "goodwill", underscores that the practice is used to develop wishes for unconditional goodwill towards the object of the wish. The other, also chanted by Theravadin Buddhist monks at times, extols the benefits of the practice of '' mettā'' (Pali) and it is found in the Anguttara Nikaya (AN 11.15). is also referred to as ''Mettānisamsa Sutta''. This article will focus on the first version. Backgr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but Great Renunciation, renounced his Householder (Buddhism), home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained Nirvana (Buddhism), nirvana at Bodh Gaya, Bodh Gayā in what is now India. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a Sangha, monastic order. Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached ''parinirvana'' ("final release from conditioned existence"). According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Vimutti, freedom from Avidyā (Buddhism), ignora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with about 500 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mudita
''Muditā'' (Pāli and Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...: मुदिता) is a dharmic concept of joy, particularly an especially sympathetic or vicarious joy—the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being. The traditional paradigmatic example of this mind-state is the attitude of a parent observing a growing child's accomplishments and successes. Application Mudita meditation cultivates appreciative joy at the success and good fortune of others. The Buddha described this variety of meditation in this way: Buddhist teachers compare mudita to an inner spring of infinite joy that is available to everyone at all times, regardless of circumstances. Joy is also traditionally regarded as the most difficult to cultivate of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its consequences."Salvation." ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. 1989. "The saving of the soul; the deliverance from sin and its consequences." The academic study of salvation is called ''soteriology''. Meaning In Abrahamic religions and theology, ''salvation'' is the saving of the soul from sin and its consequences. It may also be called ''deliverance'' or Redemption (theology), ''redemption'' from sin and its effects. Depending on the religion or even denomination, salvation is considered to be caused either only by the Divine grace, grace of God (i.e. unmerited and unearned), or by faith, good deeds (works), or a combination thereof. Religions often emphasize that man is a sinner by nature and that the pena ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rebirth (Buddhism)
Rebirth in Buddhism refers to the teaching that the actions of a sentient being lead to a new existence after death, in an endless cycle called ''saṃsāra''. This cycle is considered to be ''dukkha'', unsatisfactory and painful. The cycle stops only if Nirvana (liberation) is achieved by Enlightenment in Buddhism, insight and the Nirvana, extinguishing of craving. Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of Buddhism, along with Karma in Buddhism, karma and Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana. Rebirth was a key teaching of Early Buddhist schools, early Buddhism along with the doctrine of Karma in Buddhism, karma (which it shared with early Indian religions like Jainism). In Early Buddhist texts, Early Buddhist Sources, the Buddha claims to have knowledge of his many past lives. Rebirth and other concepts of the afterlife have been interpreted in different ways by different Buddhist traditions. The rebirth doctrine, sometimes referred to as reincarnation or metempsychosis, transmigrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the world". In 1731, German philosopher Christian Wolff used the term cosmology in Latin (''cosmologia'') to denote a branch of metaphysics that deals with the general nature of the physical world. Religious or mythological cosmology is a body of beliefs based on mythological, religious, and esoteric literature and traditions of creation myths and eschatology. In the science of astronomy, cosmology is concerned with the study of the chronology of the universe. Physical cosmology is the study of the observable universe's origin, its large-scale structures and dynamics, and the ultimate fate of the universe, including the laws of science that govern these areas. It is investigated by scientists, including astronomers and physicists, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion, diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age#South Asia, Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a lingua franca, link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting effect on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Indo-Aryan languages# ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indology
Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is often associated with German scholarship, and is used more commonly in departmental titles in German and continental European universities than in the anglophone academy. In the Netherlands, the term ''Indologie'' was used to designate the study of Indian history and culture in preparation for colonial service in the Dutch East Indies. Classical Indology majorly includes the linguistic studies of Sanskrit literature, Pāli and Tamil literature, as well as study of Dharmic religions (like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, etc.). Some of the regional specializations under South Asian studies include: * Bengali studies – study of culture and languages of Bengal * Dravidology – study of Dravidian languages of Southern India ** Tamil studi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Gombrich
Richard Francis Gombrich (; born 17 July 1937) is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli, and Buddhist studies. He was the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-President of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. He is a past president of the Pali Text Society (1994–2002) and general editor emeritus of the Clay Sanskrit Library. Early life and education Gombrich is the only child of classical pianist Ilse Gombrich ( Heller; 1910–2006), and Austrian-British art historian Sir Ernst Gombrich. He studied at St. Paul's School in London from 1950 to 1955 before attending Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1957. He received his B.A. from Oxford in 1961 and his DPhil from the same university in 1970. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''Contemporary Sinhalese Buddhism in its relation to the Pali canon''. He received his M.A. from Harvard University in 1963. Early work Gombrich's first major contribution in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path () or Eight Right Paths () 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 ('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 or , which reinforces these practices for the development of the body-mind. In later Buddhism, insight () became the central soteriological instrument, leading to a different concept and structure of the path, in which the "goal" of the Buddhist path came to be specified as ending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
