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Sunita Gogoi
Sunita was a highly accomplished disciple of the Buddha. He was born in a family of untouchables whose job was of sweeping around the temple area. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu's translation of the Theragāthā account, Sunīta laments: :"People found me disgusting, :despised me, disparaged me. :Lowering my heart, :I showed reverence to many." Sunīta continues, describing his meeting with the Buddha and ordination: :The compassionate Teacher, :sympathetic to all the world, said: ::"Come monk." :That was my formal Acceptance. Sunīta practiced arduously and eventually became an Arahant. His status was acknowledged by the gods Brahmā Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hin ... and Śakra: :Then, as night was ending :& the sun returning, :Indra & Brahmā came to pay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but Great Renunciation, renounced his Householder (Buddhism), home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained Nirvana (Buddhism), nirvana at Bodh Gaya, Bodh Gayā in what is now India. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a Sangha, monastic order. Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached ''parinirvana'' ("final release from conditioned existence"). According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Vimutti, freedom from Avidyā (Buddhism), ignora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Untouchable (India)
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold varna of the caste hierarchy and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of ''Panchama''. Several scholars have drawn parallels between Dalits and the ''Burakumin'' of Japan, the ''Baekjeong'' of Korea and the peasant class of the medieval European feudal system. Dalits predominantly follow Hinduism with significant populations following Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam. The constitution of India includes Dalits as one of the Scheduled Castes; this gives Dalits the right to protection, positive discrimination (known as reservation in India), and official development resources. Terminology The term ''Dalit'' is for those called the "untouchables" and others that were outside of the traditional Hindu caste hiera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theragatha
The ''Theragāthā'' (''Verses of the Elder Monks'') is a Buddhist text, a collection of short poems in Pali attributed to members of the early Buddhist sangha. It is classified as part of the Khuddaka Nikaya, the collection of minor books in the Sutta Pitaka. A similar text, the Therigatha, contains verses attributed to early Buddhist nuns. Etymology ''Theragatha'' is a Pali word, constructed from the words ''thera'' (elder, masculine) and ''gāthā'' (verse). Overview The Theragatha consists of 264 poems, organized into 21 chapters. Chapters are based on the number of verses in the poem, but beyond chapter 16 the chapter headings are only a rough guide. Various figures for the number of total verses in the collection are given- the oral tradition claimed 1360, 1294 are mentioned in summaries within the text, but a plain count of the verses gives a number of 1279. This may be because different versions of the Theragatha were combined to produce the current version of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arhat
In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism), endless cycle of rebirth. The understanding of the concept has changed over the centuries, and varies between different schools of Buddhism and different regions. A range of views on the attainment of arhats existed in the early Buddhist schools. The Sarvastivada, Sarvāstivāda, Kāśyapīya, Mahāsāṃghika, Ekavyāvahārika, Lokottaravāda, Bahuśrutīya, Prajñaptivāda, and Caitika schools all regarded arhats as imperfect in their attainments compared to buddhahood, buddhas.Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. ''Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra''. 2008. p. 44Warder, A.K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. p. 277 Mahayana Buddhist teachings urge followers to take up the path of a bodhisattva, and to not fall back to the level of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmā (Buddhism)
is a leading God (Deva (Buddhism), deva) and heavenly king in Buddhism. He is considered as a protector of teachings (''dharmapala''), and he is never depicted in early Buddhist texts as a Creator deity, creator god. In Buddhist tradition, it was the deity Brahma Sahampati who appeared before the Buddha and invited him to teach, once the Buddha attained enlightenment. Brahma lords over the heavenly realm of Rebirth (Buddhism), rebirth called the ''Brahmaloka#Buddhism, Brahmaloka,'' one of the highest realms in Buddhist cosmology. Brahma is generally represented in Buddhist culture as a god with four faces and four arms, and variants of him are found in Mahayana Buddhist cultures. Origins and nomenclature The origins of Brahma in Buddhism and other Indian religions are uncertain, in part because several related words such as one for metaphysical Ultimate Reality (Brahman), and priest (Brahmin) are found in the Vedic literature. According to KN Jayatilleke, the Rigveda express ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Śakra (Buddhism)
Indra, with the epitaph of Śakra ( ; ) is the ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven according to Buddhist cosmology. The name Śakra ("powerful") as an epithet of Indra is found in several verses of the Rigveda. Indra is also referred to by the title "Śakra, Lord of the Devas" (Sanskrit: ; Pali: ). In East Asian cultural traditions, Indra Śakra is known as () or () in Chinese, as () in Japanese, as () in Korean, and as () or () in Vietnamese. In Chinese Buddhism, Indra Śakra is sometimes identified with the Taoist Jade Emperor ( , often simplified to ); both share a birthday on the ninth day of the first lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually in February). The Trāyastriṃśa heaven in which Indra Śakra rules is located on the top of Mount Meru, imagined to be the polar center of the physical world, around which the Sun and Moon revolve. Trāyastriṃśa is the highest of the heavens in direct contact with humankind. Like all deities, Indra Śakra is long-l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arhats
In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. The understanding of the concept has changed over the centuries, and varies between different schools of Buddhism and different regions. A range of views on the attainment of arhats existed in the early Buddhist schools. The Sarvāstivāda, Kāśyapīya, Mahāsāṃghika, Ekavyāvahārika, Lokottaravāda, Bahuśrutīya, Prajñaptivāda, and Caitika schools all regarded arhats as imperfect in their attainments compared to buddhas.Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. ''Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra''. 2008. p. 44Warder, A.K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. p. 277 Mahayana Buddhist teachings urge followers to take up the path of a bodhisattva, and to not fall back to the level of arhats and śrāvakas. The arhats, or at least the senior ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
