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Abhiseka
Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism An abhiṣeka is conducted by priests by bathing the image of the deity being worshipped, amidst the chanting of mantras. Usually, offerings such as milk, yogurt, ghee, honey, panchamrita, sesame oil, rose water, sandalwood paste may be poured among other offerings depending on the type of abhishekam being performed. This rite is routinely performed in Hindu temples. A '' Rudrābhiṣeka'' or abhiṣeka of Rudra is performed on lingams. A Kumbhabhishekam is a consecration ritual for a Hindu temple. Buddhism Vajrayana Buddhism In Vajrayana Buddhism or Mantrayana Buddhism, one enters into the path of Vajrayana Buddhism by receiving the four stages of tantric empowerments, or ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Sri-Vidya, the Kaula, and Kashmir Shaivism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majority regions surrounding the Himalayan areas of India (such as Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and a minority in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), in much of Central Asia, in the southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, and in Mongolia. Tibetan Buddhism evolved as a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism stemming from the latest stages of Indian Buddhism (which also included many Vajrayāna elements). It thus preserves many Indian Buddhist tantric practices of the post-Gupta early medieval period (500 to 1200 CE), along with numerous native Tibetan developments. In the pre-modern era, Tibetan Buddhism spread outside of Tibet primarily due to the influence of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), founded by Kublai Khan, which had ruled Chin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudra
Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. Rudra means "who eradicates problems from their roots". Depending upon the periodic situation, Rudra can mean 'the most severe roarer/howler' (could be a hurricane or tempest) or 'the most frightening one'. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages. The '' Shri Rudram'' hymn from the Yajurveda is dedicated to Rudra and is important in the Shaivism sect.For an overview of the Śatarudriya see: . In Prathama Anuvaka of Namakam ( Taittiriya Samhita 4.5), Sri Rudram the 'mightiest of the mighty' Rudra, is revered as '' Sadasiva (meaning 'mighty Shiva')'' and Mahadeva. Sadashiva is the Supreme Being, Lord Paramashiva in the Mantra marga Siddhanta sect of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Investiture
Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian knighthoods or damehoods, in addition to government offices. In an investiture, a person may receive an outward sign of their membership, such as their religious habit, an ecclesiastical decoration (as with chivalric orders) or a scapular (as with confraternities); they may be given the authority and regalia of a high office. Investiture can include formal dress and adornment such as robes of state or headdress, or other regalia such as a throne or seat of office. An investiture is also often part of a coronation rite or enthronement. Christianity Religious institutes Investiture indicates in religious orders the usually ceremonial handing over of the religious habit to a new novice. The investiture usually takes place upon admission ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Seas
The Four Seas () were four bodies of water that metaphorically made up the boundaries of ancient China. There is a sea for each for the four cardinal directions. The West Sea is Qinghai Lake, the East Sea is the East China Sea, the North Sea is Lake Baikal, and the South Sea is the South China Sea. Two of the seas were symbolic until they were tied to genuine locations during the Han dynasty's wars with the Xiongnu. The lands "within the Four Seas", a literary name for China, are alluded to in Chinese literature and poetry. History The original Four Seas were a metaphor for the borders of pre- Han dynasty China. Only two of the Four Seas were tied to real locations, the East Sea with the East China Sea and the South Sea with the South China Sea. During the Han dynasty, wars with the Xiongnu brought them north to Lake Baikal. They recorded that the lake was a "huge sea" (hanhai) and designated it the mythical North Sea. They also encountered Qinghai Lake, which th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shingon Buddhism
Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Known in Chinese as the Tangmi (; the Esoteric School in Tang Dynasty of China), these esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (), who traveled to Tang China to acquire and request transmission of the esoteric teachings. For that reason, it is often called Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, or Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism. The word ''shingon'' is the Japanese reading of the Chinese word ('), which is the translation of the Sanskrit word ("mantra"). History Shingon Buddhist doctrine and teachings arose during the Heian period (794-1185) after a Buddhist monk named Kūkai traveled to China in 804 to study Esoteric Buddhist practices in the city of Xi'an (), then called Chang-an, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism
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 Shingon Buddhism by Kūkai as well as influencing Korean 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 extent. In Chinese these traditions are also terme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pointing-out Instruction
The pointing-out instruction () is an introduction to the nature of mind in the Tibetan Buddhist lineages of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen. In these traditions, a lama gives the pointing-out instruction in such a way that the disciple successfully recognizes the nature of mind. Terminology In the Mahāmudrā tradition, pointing-out instruction () is also referred to as "pointing out the nature of mind" (), "pointing out transmission", or "introduction to the nature of mind". In the Dzogchen tradition, the pointing out instructions are often called the “introduction to awareness” () or "sems khrid," pronounced "sem tri". Senior Shambhala Buddhist teacher Jeremy Hayward describes this as In the Mahāmudrā tradition, the mind pointed out is called "ordinary mind" ( ''tamel gyi shépa'', Sanskrit: *''prākṛita-jñana''). As the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche explains, In the Dzogchen tradition, knowledge of the basis pointed out is called ''rigpa'' (, Sanskrit: *''vidya''). Som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empowerment (Vajrayana)
In Vajrayāna Buddhism, esoteric transmission is the transmission of certain teachings directly from teacher to student during an empowerment (''abhiṣeka'') in a ritual space containing the mandala of the deity. Many techniques are also commonly said to be secret, but some Vajrayana teachers have responded that secrecy itself is not important and only a side-effect of the reality that the techniques have no validity outside the teacher-student lineage. The secrecy of teachings was often protected through the use of allusive, indirect, symbolic and metaphorical language (twilight language) which required interpretation and guidance from a teacher. The teachings may also be considered "self-secret", meaning that even if they were to be told directly to a person, that person would not necessarily understand the teachings without proper context. In this way, the teachings are "secret" to the minds of those who are not following the path with more than a simple sense of curiosity. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring to Buddhist traditions associated with Tantra and "Secret Mantra", which developed in the medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia. Vajrayāna practices are connected to specific lineages in Buddhism, through the teachings of lineage holders. Others might generally refer to texts as the Buddhist Tantras. It includes practices that make use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. Traditional Vajrayāna sources say that the tantras and the lineage of Vajrayāna were taught by Śākyamuni Buddha and other figures such as the bodhisattva Vajrapani and Padmasambhava. Contemporary historians of Buddhist studies meanwhile argue that thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring to Buddhist traditions associated with Tantra and "Secret Mantra", which developed in the medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia. Vajrayāna practices are connected to specific lineages in Buddhism, through the teachings of lineage holders. Others might generally refer to texts as the Buddhist Tantras. It includes practices that make use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. Traditional Vajrayāna sources say that the tantras and the lineage of Vajrayāna were taught by Śākyamuni Buddha and other figures such as the bodhisattva Vajrapani and Padmasambhava. Contemporary historians of Buddhist studies meanwhile argue that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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