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Sukha
''Sukha'' (Pali and ) means happiness, pleasure, ease, joy or bliss. Among the early scriptures, 'sukha' is set up as a contrast to 'preya' (प्रेय) meaning a transient pleasure, whereas the pleasure of 'sukha' has an authentic state happiness within a being that is lasting. In the Pāli Canon, the term is used in the context of describing laic pursuits and meditation. Etymology According to Monier-Williams (1964), the etymology of ''sukha'' is "said to be ''su'' good'+ ''kha'' aperture'and to mean originally 'having a good axle-hole'"; thus, for instance, in the Rig Veda ''sukha'' denotes "running swiftly or easily" (applied, e.g., to chariots). Monier-Williams also notes that the term might derive alternatively as "possibly a Prākrit form of ''su-stha'', q.v.; c.f. ''duh̩kha''", literally meaning ''su'' good'+ ''stha'' standing' ''Sukha'' is juxtaposed with ''dukha'' (Sanskrit; Pali: '' dukkha''; often translated as "suffering"), which was established as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Cosmology
Buddhist cosmology describes the planes and realms in which beings can be reborn. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a horizontal cosmology, the distribution of these world-systems into an "apparently" infinite sheet of "worlds." The temporal cosmology describes the timespan of the creation and dissolvement of universes in aeons. Buddhist cosmology is also intwined with the belief of karma, and explains that the world around us is the product of past actions. As a result, some ages are filled with prosperity and peace due to common goodness, whereas other eras are filled with suffering, dishonesty and short lifespans. Meaning and origin Course of rebirth and liberation The Buddhist cosmology is not a literal description of the shape of the universe; rather, it is the universe as seen through the (Pāli: dibbacakkhu दिब्बचक्खु), the "div ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhyāna In Buddhism
In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind ('' bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" the defilements, and leading to a "state of perfect equanimity and awareness ('' upekkhā- sati- parisuddhi'')." ''Dhyāna'' may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, in combination with several related practices which together lead to perfected mindfulness and detachment. In the later commentarial tradition, which has survived in present-day Theravāda, ''dhyāna'' is equated with "concentration", a state of one-pointed absorption in which there is a diminished awareness of the surroundings. In the contemporary Theravāda-based Vipassana movement, this absorbed state of mind is regarded as unnecessary and even non-beneficial for the first stage of awakening, which has to be reached by mindfulness of the body and ''vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedanā
Vedanā (Pāli and Sanskrit: वेदना) is an ancient term traditionally translated as either "feeling" or "sensation." In general, ''vedanā'' refers to the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations that occur when our internal sense organs come into contact with external sense objects and the associated consciousness. Vedanā is identified as valence or "hedonic tone" in psychology. Vedanā is identified within the Buddhist teaching as follows: * One of the ''seven universal mental factors'' in the Theravāda Abhidharma. * One of the ''five universal mental factors'' in the Mahāyāna Abhidharma. * One of the twelve links of dependent origination (in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions). * One of the five skandas (in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions). * One of the objects of focus within the four foundations of mindfulness practice. In the context of the twelve links, craving for and attachment to vedanā leads to suffering; reciprocally, concent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Happiness
Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Since the 1960s, happiness research has been conducted in a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including gerontology, social psychology and positive psychology, clinical and medical research and happiness economics. Definitions "Happiness" is subject to debate on usage and meaning, and on possible differences in understanding by culture. The word is mostly used in relation to two factors: * the current experience of the feeling of an emotion (affect) such as pleasure or joy, or of a more general sense of 'emotional condition as a whole'. For instance Daniel Kahneman has defined happiness as "''what I experience here and now''". This usage is prevalent in dictionary definitions of happiness. * appraisal of life satisfaction, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Householder (Buddhism)
In English translations of Buddhist texts, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch. In contemporary Buddhist communities, householder is often used synonymously with ''laity'', or non-monastics. The Buddhist notion of householder is often contrasted with that of wandering ascetics ( pi, : '; Sanskrit: ') and monastics (''bhikkhu'' and '' bhikkhuni''), who would not live (for extended periods) in a normal house and who would pursue freedom from attachments to houses and families. Upāsakas and upāsikās, also called śrāvakas and śrāvikās - are householders and other laypersons who take refuge in the Three Jewels (the Buddha, the teachings and the community) and practice the Five Precepts. In southeast Asian communities, lay disciples also give alms to monks on their daily rounds and observe weekly uposatha days. In Buddhist thought, the cultivation of ethical co ... [...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 co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic ( sa, śramaṇa). After leading a life of begging, asceticism, and meditation, he attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in what is now India. The Buddha thereafter wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. He taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Nirvana, that is, freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His teachings are summarized in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind that includes meditation and instruction in Buddhist ethics such as right effort, mindfulness, and '' jhana''. He die ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maitrī
''Maitrī'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''mettā'') means benevolence, loving-kindness,Warder (2004), pp. 63, 94. friendliness,Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 540, entry for "Mettā," retrieved 2008-04-29 from "U. Chicago" a amity, good will,Richard Gombrich (1988, reprinted 2002), ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo''. Routledge: London. . and active interest in others. It is the first of the four sublime states (''Brahmaviharas'') and one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism. The cultivation of benevolence (''mettā bhāvanā'') is a popular form of Buddhist meditation. It is a part of the four immeasurables in Brahmavihara (divine abidings) meditation. ''Metta'' as 'compassion meditation' is often practiced in Asia by broadcast chanting, wherein monks chant for the laity. The compassion and universal loving-kindness concept of ''Metta'' is discussed in the ''Metta Sutta'' of Buddhism, and is also found in the ancien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mudita
''Muditā'' ( Pāli and Sanskrit: मुदिता) means joy; especially sympathetic or vicarious joy, or 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. Mudita should not be confused with pride, as a person feeling mudita may not have any benefit or direct income from the accomplishments of the other. Mudita is a pure joy unadulterated by self-interest. Application Mudita meditation is used to cultivate appreciative joy at the success and good fortune of others. The Awakened One, Lord Buddha, said: ''"Here, O, Monks, a disciple lets his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of unselfish joy, and so the second, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, everywhere and equally, he continues to pervade with a heart of unselfish joy, abundant, grown gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmavihara
The ''brahmavihārās'' (sublime attitudes, lit. "abodes of brahma") are a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the four immeasurables (Sanskrit: अप्रमाण, ''apramāṇa'', Pāli: अप्पमञ्ञा, ''appamaññā'') or four infinite minds ( Chinese: 四無量心). The ''Brahma-viharas'' are: # loving-kindness or benevolence (maitrī/mettā) # compassion (karuṇā) # empathetic joy (muditā) # equanimity (upekṣā/upekkhā) 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: ''Brahmaloka''). Etymology and translations * Pāli: ''cattāri brahmavihārā'' * sa, चत्वारो ब्रह्मविहाराः ( IAST: ') * , ( Wylie: tshad med bzhi) ''Brahmavihāra'' may be parsed as "Brahma" and "vihāra", which is often rendered into English as "sublime" or " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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