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Prayudh Payutto
P. A. Payutto (; born 12 January 1938), also known by his current monastic title, Somdet Phra Buddhaghosacariya (), is a well-known Thai Buddhist monk, an intellectual, and a prolific writer. Payutto has lectured and written extensively about a variety of topics related to Buddhism, including the position of women in Buddhism and the relationship between Buddhism and the environment. He was awarded the 1994 UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. Because changes in Thai monastic title involve adding or changing monastic names, Payutto has been known by, and published under, a variety of different names over his career. Previously, he was known as ''Phra Rajavaramuni'', ''Phra Debvedhi'', ''Phra Dhammapitaka, and'' ''Phra Bhramagunabhorn''. Upon his appointment to the Sangha Supreme Council in 2016, his current title is ''Somdet Phra Buddhaghosacariya''. Early life Payutto was born as the fifth child of Samran and Chunkee Aryankura on 12 January 1938 in Si Prachan district, Suphan Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, 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 Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theravada Buddhism
''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia. The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and ''lingua franca''.Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity'', p. 2. In contrast to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine ('' pariyatti'') and monastic discipline ('' vinaya''). One element of this conservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras (which appeared onwards). Consequently, Theravāda generally does not recognize the existence of many Buddhas and bodhisattvas believed by the Mahāyāna school, such as Amitābha a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Laws
Natural law (, ) is a philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts that certain rights and moral values are inherent in human nature and can be understood universally, independent of enacted laws or societal norms. In jurisprudence, natural law—sometimes referred to as iusnaturalism or jusnaturalism, but not to be confused with what is called simply ''naturalism'' in legal philosophy—holds that there are objective legal standards based on morality that underlie and inform the creation, interpretation, and application of human-made laws. This contrasts with ''positive law'' (as in legal positivism), which emphasizes that laws are rules created by human authorities and are not necessarily connected to moral principles. Natural law can refer to "theories of ethics, theories of politics, theories of civil law, and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General Assembly (1987)''Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future''. Transmitted to the General Assembly as an Annex to document A/42/427 – Development and International Co-operation: Environment. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity. Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the Economic development, economy, Environmental protection, environment, and society. The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make the concept of sustainable development better known. Sustainable development overlaps with the idea of sustainability which is a Normativity, normative concept. Text was copied from this source, which is av ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Way
The Middle Way (; ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaṃ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha. The first phrasing, the Middle Way, refers to a spiritual practice that steers clear of both extreme asceticism and sensual indulgence. This spiritual path is defined as the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to awakening. The second formulation, "teaching the Dharma by the middle," refers to how the Buddha's Dharma (Teaching) approaches ontological issues of existence and personal identity by avoiding eternalism (or absolutism) and annihilationism (or nihilism). Early Buddhist texts In the early Buddhist texts, there are two aspects of the Middle Way taught by the Buddha. Scholar David Kalupahana describes these as the "philosophical" Middle Way and the "practical" Middle Way. He associates these with the teachings found in the ''Kaccānagotta-sutta'' and the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnancies. Deliberate actions to end a pregnancy are called induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word ''abortion'' generally refers to induced abortion. Common reasons for having an abortion are birth-timing and limiting family size. Other reasons include maternal health, an inability to afford a child, domestic violence, lack of support, feelings of being too young, wishing to complete an education or advance a career, or not being able or willing to raise a child conceived as a result of rape or incest. When done legally in industrialized societies, induced abortion is one of the safest procedures in medicine. Modern methods use medication or surgery for abortions. The drug mifepristone (aka RU-4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blind Men And An Elephant
The parable of the blind men and an elephant is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and imagine what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the animal's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the animal based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other. In some versions, they come to suspect that the other person is dishonest and they come to blows. The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience as they ignore other people's limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true. The parable originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent, from where it has been widely diffused. The Buddhist text ''Tittha Sutta, Udāna 6.4, Khuddaka Nikaya'', contains one of the earliest versions of the story. The Tittha Sutta is dated to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya (, , ) is a Buddhist temple (''wat'') in Khlong Luang district, in the Pathum Thani province north of Bangkok, Thailand. It was founded in 1970 by the ''maechi'' (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong and Luang Por Dhammajayo. It is the best-known and the fastest growing temple of the Dhammakaya tradition. This tradition, teaching Dhammakaya meditation (''Vijja Dhammakaya''), was started by the meditation master Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro in the early 20th century. Wat Phra Dhammakaya is one of the temples that emerged from this tradition and is part of the Maha Nikaya, Mahā Nikāya fraternity. The temple is legally represented by the Dhammakaya Foundation. It aims to adapt traditional Buddhist values in modern society, doing so through modern technology and marketing methods. The temple has faced controversy and a government crackdown. Wat Phra Dhammakaya plays a leading role in Thai Buddhism, with theologian Edward Irons describing it as "the face of modern Thai Buddhism". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhammakaya Movement
The Dhammakaya tradition or Dhammakaya movement (sometimes spelled Thammakaai) is a Thai Buddhist tradition founded by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro in the early 20th century. It is associated with several temples descended from Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Bangkok. The tradition is distinguished from other Thai Buddhist traditions by its teachings on the Buddhist concept of '' Dhammakaya'' and the practice of Dhammakaya meditation (''Vijja Dhammakaya''), a method which scholars have connected to the Yogavacara tradition, which predates the 19th-century reform of Thai Buddhism. The Dhammakaya tradition is known for its teaching that there is a "true self" connected with Nirvana, which was notably criticized in the 1990s as an alleged contradiction of the Buddhist doctrine of ''anattā'' (not-self). The Dhammakaya tradition is seen by its followers as a form of Buddhist revivalism pioneered by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro. Buddhist Studies scholars have described aspects of its practice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nibbana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the cycle of birth and rebirth (''saṃsāra''). In Indian religions, nirvana is synonymous with ''moksha'' and ''mukti''. All Indian religions assert it to be a state of perfect quietude, freedom, and highest happiness; liberation from attachment and worldly suffering; and the ending of ''samsara'', the cycle of existence.Gavin Flood, ''Nirvana''. In: John Bowker (ed.), '' Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'' However, non-Buddhist and Buddhist traditions describe these terms for liberation differently. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union of or the realization of the identity of Atman with Brahman, depending on the Hindu tradition. In Jainism, nirvana is also the soteriological goal, representing the release of a soul from karmic bondage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
