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Mahasiddha
Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: ''mahāsiddha'' "great adept; ) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the "siddhi of perfection". A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic and spiritual abilities and powers. Mahasiddhas were practitioners of yoga and tantra, or ''tantrika''s. Their historical influence throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayas was vast and they reached mythic proportions as codified in their songs of realization and hagiography, hagiographies, or Namtar (biography), namtars, many of which have been preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. The Mahasiddhas are identified as founders of Vajrayana traditions and lineage (Buddhism), lineages such as Dzogchen and Mahamudra, as well as among Bon, Bön, Nath, Nāth, and Tamil Siddhar, siddhars, with the same Mahasiddha sometimes serving simultaneously as a founding figure for different traditions. Robert Thurman explains the symbiotic relati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajrayana
''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emphasizes Eastern esotericism, esoteric practices and rituals aimed at Sudden awakening, rapid spiritual awakening. Emerging between the 5th and 7th centuries CE in medieval India, Vajrayāna incorporates a Tibetan tantric practice, range of techniques, including the use of mantras (sacred sounds), dhāraṇīs (mnemonic codes), mudrās (symbolic hand gestures), mandalas (spiritual diagrams), and the visualization of Buddhist deities, deities and Buddhahood, Buddhas. These practices are designed to transform ordinary experiences into paths toward Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlightenment, often by engaging with aspects of Taṇhā, desire and Dvesha, aversion in a ritualized context. A distinctive feature of Vajrayāna is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tilopa
Tilopa (Prakrit; Sanskrit: Talika or Tilopadā; 988–1069) was an Indian Buddhist tantric mahasiddha who lived along the Ganges River. He practised Anuttarayoga Tantra, a set of spiritual practices intended to accelerate the process of attaining Buddhahood. He became a holder of all the tantric lineages, possibly the only person in his day to do so. In addition to the way of insight and Mahamudra, Tilopa learned and passed on the Way of Methods (today known as the Six Dharmas of Naropa, Six Yogas of Naropa) and guru yoga. Naropa is considered his main student. Life Tilopa was born into the priestly Brahmin caste of Bengalis, Bengali origin in Eastern India. He adopted the monastery, monastic life upon receiving orders from a dakini (female buddha whose activity is to inspire practitioners) who told him to adopt a mendicant and itinerant minister, itinerant existence. From the beginning, she made it clear to Tilopa that his real parents were not the persons who had raised him bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siddha
''Siddha'' (Sanskrit: '; "perfected one") is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means "one who is accomplished." It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of perfection of the intellect as well as moksha, liberation or Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlightenment. In Jainism, the term is used to refer to the liberated souls. ''Siddha'' may also refer to one who has attained a siddhi, paranormal capabilities. Siddhas may broadly refer to siddhars, naths, asceticism, ascetics, sadhus, or yogis because they all practice sādhanā. Jainism In Jainism, the term ''siddha'' is used to refer the liberated souls who have destroyed all Karma in Jainism, karmas and have obtained Moksha (Jainism), moksha.They are free from the transmigratory cycle of birth and death (''Saṃsāra (Jainism), saṃsāra'') and are above ''Arihant (Jainism), Arihantas'' (omniscient beings). Siddhas do not have a body; they are soul in its purest form. They r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, 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. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indian Tantras (Buddhism), Buddhist Tantras. They include Tibetan Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism. Although Southern Esoteric Buddhism does not directly reference the tantras, its practices and ideas parallel them. In Bud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nalanda
Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be among the greatest Ancient higher-learning institutions, centres of learning in the ancient world and often referred to as "the world's first residential university", it was located near the city of Rajagriha (now Rajgir), roughly southeast of Pataliputra (now Patna). Operating for almost a thousand years from 427 CE until around 1400 CE, Nalanda mahavihara played a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts, culture and academics during the 5th and 6th century CE, a period that has since been described as the "Golden Age of India" by scholars. Nalanda was established by emperor Kumaragupta I of the Gupta Empire around 427 CE, and was supported by numerous Indian and Javanese patrons – both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. Nalanda continue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charnel Ground
A charnel ground (Sanskrit: श्मशान; IAST: śmaśāna; Tibetan pronunciation: durtrö; ) is an above-ground site for the putrefaction of bodies, generally human, where formerly living tissue is left to decompose uncovered. Although it may have demarcated locations within it functionally identified as burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria, it is distinct from these as well as from crypts or burial vaults. In a religious sense, it is also a very important location for sadhana and ritual activity for Indo-Tibetan traditions of Dharma, particularly those traditions iterated by the Tantric view such as Kashmiri Shaivism, Kaula tradition, Esoteric Buddhism, Vajrayana, Mantrayana, Dzogchen, and the sadhana of Chöd, Phowa and Zhitro, etc. The charnel ground is also an archetypal liminality that figures prominently in the literature and liturgy and as an artistic motif in Dharmic Traditions and cultures iterated by the more antinomian and esoteric aspects of tradi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lineage (Buddhism)
A lineage in Buddhism is a line of transmission of the Buddhist teaching that is "theoretically traced back to the Buddha himself." The acknowledgement of the transmission can be oral, or certified in documents. Several branches of Buddhism, including Chan (including Zen and Seon) and Tibetan Buddhism maintain records of their historical teachers. These records serve as a validation for the living exponents of the tradition. The historical authenticity of various Buddhist lineages has been subject to debate. Stephen Batchelor has claimed, speaking about specifically Japanese Zen lineage, "the historicity of this “lineage” simply does not withstand critical scrutiny." Erik Storlie has noted that transmission "is simply false on historical grounds." Edward Conze said "much of the traditions about the early history of Chan are the inventions of a later age." Vinaya In the lineage of the vinaya, the requirements for ordination as a bhikkhu ("monk") or a bhikkhuni ("nun") in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namtar (biography)
A namtar (), sometimes spelled namthar, is a spiritual biography or hagiography in Tibetan Buddhism. ''Namtar'' is a contraction of ''nampar tharpa'' (), which literally means 'complete liberation'. This name refers to the fact that the texts tell stories of yogis or Indo-Tibetan Mahasiddha who attained complete enlightenment. If Namtars do not justify a literal chronology of events, how could they function as a kind of learning example that hits the key points of the yogi's spiritual life? Such a text would serve as an example of buddhahood for any practitioner of Vajrayana and complement the ''tantras'' in imparting instructions on specific tantric spiritual practices. According to Janice D. Willis, the focus on spiritual practice forms an essential difference between Christian and Tibetan hagiography. In her book ''Women of Wisdom'', Tsultrim Allione Lama Tsultrim Allione (born Joan Rousmanière Ewing in 1947) is an American author and teacher who has studied in Tibetan Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abhayadatta Sri
Abhayadatta Sri (also known as Abhayadattaśrī or Abhayadāna) was a 12th-century Indian Buddhist monk notable for composing the ''Caturaśītisiddhapravrtti'' (the lives of the eighty-four mahasiddhas) which detailed the backgrounds of the mahasiddhas who were tantric masters. His work was later translated into Tibetan. His story on the lives of the mahasiddhas was influential in showing their highly unconventional paths to achieving realization. He was a native of Campara which has been identified with modern day Champaran district in Bihar, 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 .... He was also a disciple of Vajrasana who was one of the last great siddhas of the eleventh century. References {{reflist Indian Buddhist monks Indian scholars of Buddhism 12th-ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siddhar
The Siddhar (Tamil language, Tamil (romanized) ''cittar)'' in Tamils, Tamil tradition is a perfected individual who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''. Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who were early-age wandering adepts that dominated ancient Tamil teaching and philosophy. They were knowledgeable in science, technology, astronomy, literature, fine arts, music, drama, and dance and provided solutions to common people's illnesses and advice for their future. Some of their ideologies are considered to have originated during the First Sangam period. Practice Siddhars were typically scientists, saints, doctors, alchemists, and mystics all in one. They wrote their findings in the form of Tamil poems on Palm-leaf manuscript, palm leaf manuscripts. They typically believe in Monotheism, one god, but there are some Siddhars who believe in polytheism. These are still owned by some families in Tamil Nadu and handed down through the generations, as well as bei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahamudra
Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmudrā is a multivalent term of great importance in later Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism which "also occurs occasionally in Hindu and East Asian Buddhist esotericism." The name also refers to a body of teachings representing the culmination of all the practices of the New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism, who believe it to be the quintessential message of all of their sacred texts. The practice of Mahāmudrā is also known as the teaching called " Sahajayoga" or "Co-emergence Yoga". In Tibetan Buddhism, particularly the Kagyu school, Sahaja Mahāmudrā is sometimes seen as a different Buddhist vehicle ( yana), the "Sahajayana" (Tibetan: ''lhen chig kye pa''), also known as the vehicle of self-liberation. Jamgon Kongtrul, a T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songs Of Realization
Songs of realization, or Songs of Experience (; Devanāgarī: दोहा; Romanized Sanskrit: ''Dohā''; Oriya: ପଦ), are sung poetry forms characteristic of the tantric movement in both Vajrayana Buddhism and in Hinduism. Doha is also a specific poetic form. Various forms of these songs exist, including caryagiti (), or 'performance songs' and vajragiti (Sanskrit: ''vajragīti'', Tibetan: ''rDo-rje gan-sung'' ), or 'diamond songs', sometimes translated as vajra songs and doha (Sanskrit: ''dohā'', दोह, 'that which results from milking the cow'), also called doha songs, distinguishing them from the unsung Indian poetry form of the doha. According to Roger Jackson, caryagiti and vajragiti "differ generically from dohās because of their different context and function"; the doha being primarily spiritual aphorisms expressed in the form of rhyming couplets whilst caryagiti are stand-alone performance songs and vajragiti are songs that can only be understood in the context ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
