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Diamond Realm
The Mandala of the Two Realms (Traditional Chinese: 両界曼荼羅; Pinyin: ''Liǎngjiè màntúluó''; Rōmaji: ''Ryōkai mandara''), also known as the Mandala of the Two Divisions (Traditional Chinese: 両部曼荼羅; Pinyin: ''Liǎngbù màntúluó''; Rōmaji: ''Ryōbu mandara''), is a set of two mandalas in East Asian Esoteric Buddhism, particularly prominent within Chinese Esoteric Buddhism as well as the Shingon and Tendai traditions of Japanese Buddhism. The Dual Mandala comprises two complementary mandalas: the ''Womb Realm Mandala'' (, Traditional Chinese: 胎蔵界曼荼羅; Pinyin: ''Tāizāngjiè màntúluó''; Rōmaji: ''Taizōkai mandara'') associated with compassion and the ''Diamond Realm Mandala'' (Sanskrit: ''vajradhātu'', Traditional Chinese: 金剛界曼荼羅; pinyin: ''Jīngāngjiè màntúluó''; rōmaji: ''Kongōkai mandara'') associated with wisdom. The Dual Mandalas represent distinct yet non-dual dimensions of the enlightened cosmos centered on the u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of human understanding. Some philosophers, including Aristotle, designate metaphysics as first philosophy to suggest that it is more fundamental than other forms of philosophical inquiry. Metaphysics encompasses a wide range of general and abstract topics. It investigates the nature of existence, the features all entities have in common, and their division into categories of being. An influential division is between particulars and universals. Particulars are individual unique entities, like a specific apple. Universals are general features that different particulars have in common, like the color . Modal metaphysics examines what it means for something to be possible or necessary. Metaphysicians also explore the concepts of space, time, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...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] |
Bījamantra
A bījamantra (, in modern schwa-deleted Indo-Aryan languages: beej mantra), or a ''bījākṣara'' ("seed-syllable"), is a monosyllabic mantra believed to contain the essence of a given deity. They are found in Tantric Hinduism and in Esoteric Buddhism (Vajrayana / Mantrayana). A bījamantra is ritually uttered for the invocation of a deity. It is considered the true name of the deity as well as a manifestation of the deity in sonic form. It is also found in religious art, often standing for a specific deity. A bījamantra can be regarded to be a mystic sound made of the first few characters of a given deity's name, the chanting of which is regarded to allow an adherent to achieve a state of spiritual sanctity. These mantras are also associated with the chakras of the body. The Romanian scholar Mircea Eliade stated that an adherent who chants the semantically meaningless bījamantra "appropriates its ontological essence, concretely and directly assimilates with the god". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mudra
A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual gestures employed in the iconography and spiritual practice of Indian religions, mudras have meaning in many forms of Indian dance, and yoga. The range of mudras used in each field (and religion) differs, but with some overlap. In addition, many of the Buddhist mudras are used outside South Asia, and have developed different local forms elsewhere. In hatha yoga, mudras are used in conjunction with pranayama (yogic breathing exercises), generally while in a seated posture, to stimulate different parts of the body involved with breathing and to affect the flow of prana. It is also associated with bindu, bodhicitta, amrita, or consciousness in the body. Unlike older tantric mudras, hatha yogic mudras are generally internal actions, involvin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Deities
Buddhism includes a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various ritual and popular contexts. Initially they included mainly Indian figures such as devas, asuras and yakshas, but later came to include other Asian spirits and local gods (like the Burmese ''nats'' and the Japanese ''kami''). They range from enlightened Buddhas to regional spirits adopted by Buddhists or practiced on the margins of the religion. Buddhists later also came to incorporate aspects from the countries to which it spread. As such, it includes many aspects taken from other mythologies of those cultures. Buddhas A Buddha is a being who is fully awakened and has fully comprehended the Four Noble Truths. In the Theravada tradition, while there is a list of acknowledged past Buddhas, the historical Buddha Sakyamuni is the only Buddha of our current era and is generally not seen as accessible or as existing in some higher plane of existence. The Pali literature of the Theravāda tradi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wisdom King
A wisdom king (Sanskrit: विद्याराज; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''vidyārāja'', ) is a type of Wrathful deities, wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism. Whereas the Sanskrit name is translated literally as "wisdom / knowledge king(s)," the term ''Vidya (philosophy), vidyā'' in Vajrayana Buddhism is also specifically used to denote mantras; the term may thus also be rendered "mantra king(s)." ''Vidyā'' is translated in Chinese with the character wikt:明, 明 (lit. "bright, radiant", figuratively "knowledge(able), wisdom, wise"), leading to a wide array of alternative translations such as "bright king(s)" or "radiant king(s)". A similar category of fierce deities known as herukas are found in Tibetan Buddhism. The female counterparts of wisdom kings are known as wisdom queens (Sanskrit (IAST): ''vidyārājñī'', Chinese: 明妃, ''Míngfēi'', Japanese: ''Myōhi''). Overview Development ''Vidyārājas'', as their name suggests, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in order to compassionately help other individuals reach Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools, as well as modern Theravāda Buddhism, bodhisattva (or bodhisatta) refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will come to pass. In Theravāda Buddhism, the bodhisattva is mainly seen as an exceptional and rare individual. Only a few select individuals are ultimately able to become bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated '' bodhicitta'', a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deity Yoga
The fundamental practice of Vajrayana and Tibetan tantric practice, Tibetan tantra is deity yoga (''devatayoga''), a form of Buddhist meditation centered on a chosen deity or "cherished divinity" (Skt. ''Iṣṭa-devatā,'' Tib. ''yidam''). This involves the recitation of mantras and prayers alongside the detailed visualization of the deity and their mandala—a sacred configuration that includes their pure land, Buddha field, consorts, and attendant figures. The 14th-century scholar Tsongkhapa stated that deity yoga is the distinctive feature that sets Tantra apart from the Sutra-based path. In the highest class of Tantras, the Unsurpassed Yoga Tantras, deity yoga is typically practiced in two stages: the generation stage (''utpatti-krama'') and the completion stage (''nispanna-krama''). In the generation stage, practitioners dissolve ordinary perception into emptiness and then re-imagine reality through the form of a fully enlightened deity, understood as an expression of ulti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi-Buddha
The Ādi-Buddha (, Ch: 本佛, Jp: honbutsu, First Buddha, Original Buddha, or Primordial Buddha) is a Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to the most fundamental, supreme, or ancient Buddha in the cosmos. Another common term for this figure is Dharmakāya Buddha. The term emerges in Tantras (Buddhism), tantric Buddhist literature, most prominently in the Kalachakra. "Ādi" means "first", such that the Ādibuddha was the first to attain Buddhahood. "Ādi" can also mean "primordial", not referring to a person but to an innate wisdom that is present in all sentient beings. In East Asian Buddhism, the term 本佛 (běn fó, original Buddha, root Buddha) also appears in the works of Tiantai and Tendai school, referring to the original Buddha of the ''Lotus Sutra'' which was also later identified with the cosmic Buddha Vairocana, Mahavairocana. It and similar terms were also used in the traditions of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism and Shingon Buddhism, Shingon to refer to the cosmic Budd ... [...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. Hinduism In Hinduism, is one of the fundamental virtues and qualities that a spiritual aspirant is encouraged to cultivate. Many Hindu deities are depicted as embodiments of compassion. Karuṇā is often linked with other virtues such as "Maitri" (loving-kindness) and "Ahimsa" (non-violence). Together, these virtues form the foundation of a righteous and spiritually fulfilling life. The word comes from the Sanskrit kara, meaning “to do” or “to make,” indicating an action-based form of compassion, rather than the pity or sadness associated with the English word. In Hindu mythology, the concept of "Karuṇā" or compassionate action is deeply embedded and is often illustrated through stories, characters, and teachings. Each avatar's story of Hindu pantheon is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
