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Gandavyuha Sutra
The ''Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra'' (Tib. ''sdong po bkod pa'i mdo'') is a Buddhist Mahayana Sutra of Indian origin dating roughly c. 200 to 300 CE.Osto, Douglas. The Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra: a study of wealth, gender and power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative, 2004, pg 60 The term ''Gaṇḍavyūha'' is obscure and has been translated variously as ''Stem Array, Supreme Array, Excellent Manifestation''.'''' The Sanskrit ''gaṇḍi'' can mean “stem” or “stalk” and “pieces” or “parts” or “sections,” as well as "the trunk of a tree from the root to the beginning of the branches")''.'' Peter Alan Roberts notes that "as the sūtra is composed of a series of episodes in which Sudhana meets a succession of teachers, the intended meaning could well have been 'an array of parts' or, more freely, 'a series of episodes."'' He also notes that the term gaṇḍa can also mean "great" or "supreme" in some circumstances and thus some translators have rendered this compound as ''Supreme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being ''Theravāda'' and Vajrayana).Harvey (2013), p. 189. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna Sūtras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''Prajñāpāramitā''. '' Vajrayāna'' or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna, which make use of numerous tantric methods considered to be faster and more powerful at achieving Buddhahood by Vajrayānists. "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha ('' samyaksaṃbuddha'') for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indra's Net
Indra's net (also called Indra's jewels or Indra's pearls, Sanskrit ''Indrajāla'', Chinese: 因陀羅網) is a metaphor used to illustrate the concepts of Śūnyatā (emptiness), pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination),. and interpenetration in Buddhist philosophy. The metaphor's earliest known reference is found in the Atharva Veda. It was further developed by the Mahayana school in the 3rd century '' Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra'' and later by the Huayan school between the 6th and 8th centuries. In the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra'' "Indra's net" is an infinitely large net owned by the Vedic deva Indra, which hangs over his palace on Mount Meru, the axis mundi of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology. In East Asian Buddhism, Indra's net is considered as having a multifaceted jewel at each vertex, with each jewel being reflected in all of the other jewels. In the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism, which follows the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra'', the image of "Indra's net" is used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahayana Sutras
The Mahāyāna sūtras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures (''sūtra'') that are accepted as canonical and as ''buddhavacana'' ("Buddha word") in Mahāyāna Buddhism. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan Buddhist canon, and in extant Sanskrit manuscripts. Several hundred Mahāyāna sūtras survive in Sanskrit, or in Chinese and Tibetan translations. They are also sometimes called ''Vaipulya'' ("extensive") sūtras by earlier sources.Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism II: New Perspectives, ''Religion Compass'' 4/2 (2010): 66–74, The Buddhist scholar Asaṅga classified the Mahāyāna sūtras as part of the ''Bodhisattvapiṭaka'', a collection of texts meant for bodhisattvas.Boin-Webb, Sara (tr). Rahula, Walpola (tr). Asanga. ''Abhidharma Samuccaya: The Compendium of Higher Teaching.'' 2001. pp. 199–200 Modern scholars of Buddhist studies generally hold that these sūtras first began to appear between the 1st century BCE ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borobudur
Borobudur, also transcribed Barabudur ( id, Candi Borobudur, jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ, Candhi Barabudhur) is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, not far from the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indonesia. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple. The temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and originally 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa. Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple design follows Javanese Buddhist architecture, which blends the Indonesian indigenous tradition of ancestor worship and the Buddhist concept of attaining nirvāṇa. The temple demonstrates the influences of Gupta art that reflects India's influence on the region, yet there are enough indigenous scenes and elements incorporated to make Borobud ... [...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] |
Lamrim
Lamrim (Tibetan: "stages of the path") is a Tibetan Buddhist textual form for presenting the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of ''lamrim'', presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools. However, all versions of the ''lamrim'' are elaborations of Atiśa's 11th-century root text '' A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'' (''Bodhipathapradīpa''). History When Atiśa, the originator of the ''lamrim'' came from India to Tibet, he was asked by king Jang Chub Ö to give a complete and easily accessible summary of the doctrine in order to clarify wrong views, especially those resulting from apparent contradictions across the sutras and their commentaries. Based upon this request he wrote the '' Bodhipathapradīpa'' ("A Lamp for the Path to Awakening"), teaching what came to be known as the ''lamrim'' for the Tibetans. Atiśa's presentation of the doctrine later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodhipathapradīpa
''Bodhipathapradīpa'' (''A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'') is a Buddhist text composed in Sanskrit by the 11th-century teacher Atiśa and widely considered his magnum opus. The text reconciles the doctrines of many various Buddhist schools and philosophies, and is notable for the introduction of the three levels of spiritual aspiration: lesser, middling and superior, which in turn became the foundation for the Lamrim Lamrim (Tibetan: "stages of the path") is a Tibetan Buddhist textual form for presenting the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of ''lamrim'', pres ... tradition. This text was translated into Tibetan as ''Byang chub lam gyi sgron ma''. In the text, Atiśa classifies individuals into three different capacities, and writes for those of the final capacity, which he calls "Supreme". * "Inferior individuals": those who are still attached to samsaric existence. * " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atiśa
( bn, অতীশ দীপংকর শ্রীজ্ঞান, ôtiś dīpôṅkôr śrigyen; 982–1054) was a Buddhist religious leader and master. He is generally associated with his work carried out at the Vikramashila monastery in Bihar. He was one of the major figures in the spread of 11th-century Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in Asia and inspired Buddhist thought from Tibet to Sumatra. He is recognised as one of the greatest figures of medieval Buddhism. Atiśa's chief disciple, Dromtön, was the founder of the Kadam school, one of the New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism, later supplanted by the Gelug tradition in the 14th century which adopted its teachings and absorbed its monasteries. In 2004, Atiśa was ranked 18th in the BBC's poll of the greatest Bengalis of all time. Early life Palace life Bikrampur, the most probable place for Atiśa's birthplace, was the capital of the Pala Empire as it was of the ancient kingdoms of southeast Bengal. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva)
Samantabhadra (lit. "Universal Worthy", "All Good") is a great bodhisattva in Buddhism associated with practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, he forms the Shakyamuni Triad in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the patron of the ''Lotus Sutra'' and, according to the '' Avatamsaka Sutra'', made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva. In Chinese Buddhism, Samantabhadra is known as Pǔxián and is associated with action, whereas Mañjuśrī is associated with '' prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom). In Japan, this bodhisattva is known as Fugen, and is often venerated in Tendai and Shingon Buddhism. In the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Samantabhadra is also the name of the Adi-Buddha, often portrayed in indivisible union ('' yab-yum'') with his consort, Samantabhadrī. In wrathful form he is one of the Eight Herukas of the Nyingma Mahayoga and he is known as Vajramrtra, But this Samantabhadra buddha and Samantabhadra bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mañjuśrī
Mañjuśrī ( Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta (),Keown, Damien (editor) with Hodge, Stephen; Jones, Charles; Tinti, Paola (2003). ''A Dictionary of Buddhism.'' Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p.172. literally "Mañjuśrī, Still a Youth" or, less literally, "Prince Mañjuśrī". Another name of Mañjuśrī is Mañjughoṣa. It is claimed that Nurhaci, the founder of what would become the Qing dynasty of China, named his tribe Man (满) after Manjushri. In Mahāyāna Buddhism Scholars have identified Mañjuśrī as the oldest and most significant bodhisattva in Mahāyāna literature. Mañjuśrī is first referred to in early Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Prajñāpāramitā ''sūtra''s and through this association, very early in the tradition he came to symbolize the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Cleary
Thomas Cleary (24 April 1949 – 20 June 2021) was an American translator and writer of more than 80 books related to Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Muslim classics, and of '' The Art of War'', a treatise on management, military strategy, and statecraft. He has translated books from Pali, Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Old Irish into English. Cleary lived in Oakland, California. Life and work Cleary became interested in Buddhism when he was a teenager; his researches into Buddhist thought began with a desire to learn during this time of his life. When he began translating, he chose either untranslated works or—as in the case of Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War''—books whose extant translations were "too limited". Cleary earned a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University, and a JD from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. After completing his doctoral studies, Cleary had little involvement with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalpa (aeon)
A ''kalpa'' is a long period of time (aeon) in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, generally between the creation and recreation of a world or universe. Etymology ''Kalpa'' ( sa, कल्प, , a formation or creation) in this context, means "a long period of time (aeon) related to the lifetime of the universe (creation)." It is derived from ''कॢप्'' (kḷp) + -अ (-a, nominalizing suffix) ( sa, कॢप्, kḷp, to create, prepare, form, produce, compose, invent). Hinduism In Hinduism, a ''kalpa'' is equal to 4.32 billion years, a "day of Brahma" (12-hour day proper) or one thousand '' mahayugas'', measuring the duration of the world. Each ''kalpa'' is divided into 14 '' manvantara'' periods, each lasting 71 ''Yuga Cycles'' (306,720,000 years). Preceding the first and following each ''manvantara'' period is a juncture (''sandhya'') equal to the length of a '' Satya Yuga'' (1,728,000 years). A ''kalpa'' is followed by a '' pralaya'' (dissolution) of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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