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Mikkyō
In Japanese Buddhism, ''mikkyō'' (密教, from ''himitsu bukkyō'', literally "secret Buddhism") or Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, is the lineage of Vajrayana transmitted to Japan, primarily in the early Heian by Kūkai, and to a later extent by Saichō and his successors such as Ennin. It consists of complex systems of icons, meditative rituals, and ritual languages; distinct from the exoteric (, 顕経) schools. Mikkyō is descended most recently from the Chinese Tangmi tradition, especially the dual mandala system taught by Huiguo, itself derived from Indo- Chinese tantric masters such as Amoghavajra. Shingon focuses almost exclusively on esotericism, while Tendai views exoteric and esoteric doctrines as complementary. Shugendo is a syncretic tradition which integrates mikkyō with Shintō and Taoist practices. Esoteric practices are diffused throughout the Japanese Buddhist tradition in various forms outside of these schools. Mikkyō has been influential in Japanese c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saichō
was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Japanese Tendai school of Buddhism. He was awarded the posthumous title of Dengyō Daishi (伝教大師). Recognized for his significant contributions to the development of Japanese Buddhism, Saichō is most famous for introducing the Chinese Tiantai school to Japan, which he adapted into the Tendai tradition. Saichō traveled to Tang China in 804, where he studied the Chinese Tiantai school (along with other traditions). After returning to Japan, he founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai at Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei (near the capital of Kyoto), which became the center of Tendai practice and a major institution in the history of Japanese Buddhism. Saichō emphasized the integration of the Tiantai teachings on meditation, study, precepts, and ritual practice, with the mantrayana practices of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. He also worked to establish a new ordination system which was based on the bodhisattva prece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese monk Saichō. The Tendai school, which has been based on Mount Hiei since its inception, rose to prominence during the Heian period (794–1185). It gradually eclipsed the powerful Hossō school and competed with the rival Shingon school to become the most influential sect at the Imperial court. By the Kamakura period (1185–1333), Tendai had become one of the dominant forms of Japanese Buddhism, with numerous temples and vast landholdings. During the Kamakura period, various monks left Tendai to found new Buddhist schools such as Jōdo-shū, Jōdo Shinshū, Nichiren-shū and Sōtō Zen. The destruction of the head temple of Enryaku-ji by Oda Nobunaga in 1571, as well as the geographic shift of the capital away from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shingon
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric [Buddhism] of Tō-ji"). The word ''shingon'' is the Kan-on, Japanese reading of the Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese word ('), which is the translation of the Sanskrit word mantra. The Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Zhēnyán lineage was founded in China (c. 7th–8th centuries) by Indian Vajracharya, vajrācāryas (esoteric masters) like Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. These esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (, 774–835), who traveled to Tang dynasty, Tang China and received these esoteric transmissions from a Chinese master named Huiguo (746–805). Kūkai established his tradition at Mount Kōya (in Wakayama Prefecture), which remains the central pilgrimage center of Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangmi
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist ''Zhenyan'' (, "true word", "mantra") tradition from 716 to 720 during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. It employed mandalas, mantras, mudras, abhiṣekas, and deity yoga. The Zhenyan tradition was transported to Japan as Tendai and Shingon Buddhism by Saichō and Kūkai, as well as influencing Korean Buddhism and Vietnamese Buddhism. The Song dynasty (960–1279) saw a second diffusion of Esoteric texts. Esoteric Buddhist practices continued to have an influence into the late imperial period and Tibetan Buddhism was also influential during the Yuan dynasty period and beyond. In the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) through to the modern period, esoteric practices and teachings became absorbed and merged with the other Chinese Buddhist traditions to a large exte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajrayana Buddhism
''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emphasizes esoteric practices and rituals aimed at rapid spiritual awakening. Emerging between the 5th and 7th centuries CE in medieval India, Vajrayāna incorporates a range of techniques, including the use of mantras (sacred sounds), dhāraṇīs (mnemonic codes), mudrās (symbolic hand gestures), mandalas (spiritual diagrams), and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. These practices are designed to transform ordinary experiences into paths toward enlightenment, often by engaging with aspects of desire and aversion in a ritualized context. A distinctive feature of Vajrayāna is its emphasis on esoteric transmission, where teachings are passed directly from teacher (guru or vajrācārya) to student through initiation ceremon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waka Poetry
is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although ''waka'' in modern Japanese is written as , in the past it was also written as (see Wa, an old name for Japan), and a variant name is . Etymology The word ''waka'' has two different but related meanings: the original meaning was "poetry in Japanese" and encompassed several genres such as ''chōka'' and ''sedōka'' (discussed below); the later, more common definition refers to poetry in a 5-7-5-7-7 metre. Up to and during the compilation of the in the eighth century, the word ''waka'' was a general term for poetry composed in Japanese, and included several genres such as , , and . However, by the time of the '' Kokinshūs compilation at the beginning of the tenth century, all of these forms except for the ''tanka'' and ''chōka'' had effectively gone extinct, and ''chōka'' had significantly diminished in prominence. As a result, the word ''waka'' became effectively synonymous with ''tanka'', and the word ''tanka' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kana
are syllabary, syllabaries used to write Japanese phonology, Japanese phonological units, Mora (linguistics), morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , which were Kanji, Chinese characters used phonetically to transcribe Japanese language, Japanese (e.g. ''man'yōgana''); and ''hentaigana'', which are historical variants of the now-standard hiragana. Katakana, with a few additions, are also used to write Ainu language, Ainu. A Okinawan scripts, number of systems exist to write the Ryūkyūan languages, in particular Okinawan language, Okinawan, in hiragana. Taiwanese kana were used in Taiwanese Hokkien as ruby text for Chinese characters in Taiwan when it was Taiwan under Japanese rule, under Japanese rule. Each syllabogram, kana character corresponds to one phoneme or syllable, unlike kanji, which generally each logogram, corresponds to a morpheme. Apart from the five vowels, it is always ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhadharma
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the 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 the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of development which leads to awakening and full liberation from '' dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes such as asceticism or sensual indulgence. Teaching that ''dukkha'' arises alongside attachment or clinging, the Buddha advised meditation practices and eth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arhat
In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism), endless cycle of rebirth. The understanding of the concept has changed over the centuries, and varies between different schools of Buddhism and different regions. A range of views on the attainment of arhats existed in the early Buddhist schools. The Sarvastivada, Sarvāstivāda, Kāśyapīya, Mahāsāṃghika, Ekavyāvahārika, Lokottaravāda, Bahuśrutīya, Prajñaptivāda, and Caitika schools all regarded arhats as imperfect in their attainments compared to buddhahood, buddhas.Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. ''Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra''. 2008. p. 44Warder, A.K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. p. 277 Mahayana Buddhist teachings urge followers to take up the path of a bodhisattva, and to not fall back to the level of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taoism
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', 'path', or 'technique', generally understood in the Taoist sense as an enigmatic process of transformation Ultimate reality, ultimately underlying reality. Taoist thought has informed the development of various practices within the Taoist tradition and beyond, including forms of Taoist meditation, meditation, Chinese astrology, astrology, qigong, feng shui, and Neidan, internal alchemy. A common goal of Taoist practice is self-cultivation, a deeper appreciation of the Tao, and more harmonious existence. Taoist ethics vary, but generally emphasize such virtues as ''wu wei, effortless action'', ziran, ''naturalness'', ''pu (Taoism), simplicity'', and the Three Treasures (Taoism), three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility. The co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
