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The Twelve Sisters
The legend of The Twelve Sisters or The Twelve Ladies, known as ''Nang Sip Song'' (นางสิบสอง) or as ''Phra Rot Meri'' (พระรถเมรี) in Thai and រឿងភ្នំនាងកង្រី ''Puthisen Neang KongRei'' in Cambodia, is a Southeast Asian folktale, and also an apocryphal Jātaka Tale, the Rathasena Jātaka of the Paññāsa Jātaka collection. It is one of the stories of the previous lives of Shakyamuni Buddha in which Rathasena, the son of one of the twelve women, is the bodhisattva. Background The story of the Twelve Sisters is part of the folk tradition of certain countries in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Cambodia and Laos and the folktales derived from it come in different versions, often under different titles depending from the country. This legend was also brought to Malaysia by the Malaysian Siamese where it became popular among the Malaysian Chinese community. It is a long story about the life of twelve sisters aban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing them from dessert bananas. The fruit is variable in size, color and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a peel, which may have a variety of colors when ripe. It grows upward in clusters near the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless ( parthenocarp) cultivated bananas come from two wild species – '' Musa acuminata'' and ''Musa balbisiana'', or hybrids of them. ''Musa'' species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia; they were probably domesticated in New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make banana paper and textiles, while some are grown as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Apsaras
Apsaras (, , Khmer: អប្សរា are a class of celestial beings in Hindu and Buddhist culture. They were originally a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters, but, later play the role of a "nymph" or "fairy". They figure prominently in the sculptures, dance, literature and paintings of many South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. The apsaras are described to be beautiful, youthful and elegant, and are said to be able to change their shape at will; making anyone fall for their beauty. There are two types of apsaras—''laukika'' (worldly) and ''daivika'' (divine). They are great in the art of dancing, and often wives of the gandharvas, the court musicians of Indra. The apsaras reside in the palaces of the gods and entertain them by dancing to the music made by the Gandharvas. The 26 apsaras of Indra's court are each said to symbolise a different facet of the performing arts, drawing comparisons to the Muses of ancient Greece. They are also renowned for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Banyan
A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as an epiphyte, i.e. a plant that grows on another plant, when its seed germinates in a crack or crevice of a host tree or edifice. "Banyan" often specifically denotes '' Ficus benghalensis'' (the "Indian banyan"), which is the national tree of India, though the name has also been generalized to denominate all figs that share a common life cycle and used systematically in taxonomy to denominate the subgenus '' Urostigma''. Characteristics Like other fig species, banyans also bear their fruit in the form of a structure called a "syconium". The syconium of ''Ficus'' species supply shelter and food for fig wasps and the trees depend on the fig wasps for pollination. Frugivore birds disperse the seeds of banyans. The seeds are small, and be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Carissa Carandas
''Carissa carandas'' is a species of flowering shrub in the family Apocynaceae. It produces berry-sized fruits that are commonly used as a condiment in Indian pickles and spices. The fruit is black and tastes sweet or sour depending on the plant. It is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant that thrives well in a wide range of soils. Common names in English include Bengal currant, Christ's thorn, Distribution The plant flourishes in regions with high temperatures, and it is abundant in the[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Rebirth (Buddhism)
Rebirth in Buddhism refers to the teaching that the actions of a sentient being lead to a new existence after death, in an endless cycle called ''saṃsāra''. This cycle is considered to be ''dukkha'', unsatisfactory and painful. The cycle stops only if Nirvana (liberation) is achieved by Enlightenment in Buddhism, insight and the Nirvana, extinguishing of craving. Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of Buddhism, along with Karma in Buddhism, karma and Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana. Rebirth was a key teaching of Early Buddhist schools, early Buddhism along with the doctrine of Karma in Buddhism, karma (which it shared with early Indian religions like Jainism). In Early Buddhist texts, Early Buddhist Sources, the Buddha claims to have knowledge of his many past lives. Rebirth and other concepts of the afterlife have been interpreted in different ways by different Buddhist traditions. The rebirth doctrine, sometimes referred to as reincarnation or metempsychosis, transmigrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (other), lifespan in a different physical form or physical body, body after biological death. In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of a human being is immortality, immortal and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, the soul merely becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or into an animal to continue its immortality. (The term "transmigration" means the passing of a soul from one body to another after death.) Reincarnation (''punarjanman'') is a central tenet of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of Judaism, in certain Paganism, pagan religions (including Wicca), and in some beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and of Australian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Rishi
In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or "sages" who after intense meditation (Tapas (Sanskrit), tapas) realized the supreme truth and eternal knowledge, which they composed into hymns.Hartmut Scharfe (2002), Handbook of Oriental Studies, BRILL Academic, , pp. 13–15. The term appears in Pali literature as Ishi; in Buddhism they can be either Buddhas, Pratyekabuddha, Paccekabuddhas, Arhat, Arahats or a Buddhist monasticism, monk of high rank. Etymology According to Indian tradition, the word may be derived from two different meanings of the root 'rsh' (). Sanskrit grammarians derive this word from the second meaning: "to go, to move". V. S. Apte gives this particular meaning and derivation, and Monier-Williams also gives the same, with some qualification. Another ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Dice
A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing games, and games of chance. A traditional die is a cube with each of its six faces marked with a different number of dots ( pips) from one to six. When thrown or rolled, the die comes to rest showing a random integer from one to six on its upper surface, with each value being equally likely. Dice may also have other polyhedral or irregular shapes, may have faces marked with numerals or symbols instead of pips and may have their numbers carved out from the material of the dice instead of marked on it. Loaded dice are specifically designed or modified to favor some results over others, for cheating or entertainment purposes. History Dice have been used since before recorded history, and their origin is uncertain. It is hypoth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
