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Transcendental Realism (Schopenhauer)
Philosophical pessimism is a philosophical school that is critical of existence, emphasizing the inherent suffering and futility of life. This perspective can be traced back to various religious traditions and philosophical writings throughout history. Pessimism, in this context, is not merely a negative psychological outlook, but a philosophical stance that questions the fundamental value or worth of existence. Notable early expressions of pessimistic thought can be found in the works of ancient philosophers such as Hegesias of Cyrene, who lived in Greece during the 3rd century BCE and was known for his teachings on the benefits of suicide. In the Eastern philosophical tradition, the Indian texts of Buddhism, particularly the Four Noble Truths, which acknowledge the existence of suffering ( ''duḥkha'') as a fundamental aspect of life, also reflect a pessimistic worldview. These early expressions laid the groundwork for more systematic and articulated forms of pessimism that woul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophical Pessimism
Philosophical pessimism is a philosophical tradition that argues that life is not worth living and that non-existence is preferable to existence. Thinkers in this tradition emphasize that suffering outweighs pleasure, happiness is fleeting or unattainable, and existence itself does not hold inherent value or an intrinsic purpose. Philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer suggest responses to life's suffering ranging from artistic contemplation to Asceticism, ascetic withdrawal, while Buddhism advocates for spiritual practices. Pessimism often addresses the ethics of both creating and continuing life. Antinatalism, Antinatalists assert that bringing new life into a world of suffering is morally wrong, and some pessimists view suicide as a rational response in extreme circumstances. The roots of pessimism trace back to ancient philosophies and religions. History of Buddhism in India, Buddhism in ancient India identified life as fundamentally marked by suffering (''duḥkha''). At t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Candid Guide To Life's Biggest Questions"
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version is often written in one of two forms: the double-storey and single-storey . The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English, '' a'' is the indefinite article, with the alternative form ''an''. Name In English, the name of the letter is the ''long A'' sound, pronounced . Its name in most other languages matches the letter's pronunciation in open syllables. History The earliest known ancestor of A is ''aleph''—the first letter of the Phoenician ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pessimism Controversy
Philosophical pessimism is a philosophical school that is critical of existence, emphasizing the inherent suffering and futility of life. This perspective can be traced back to various religious traditions and philosophical writings throughout history. Pessimism, in this context, is not merely a negative Pessimism#As a psychological disposition, psychological outlook, but a philosophical stance that questions the fundamental value or worth of existence. Notable early expressions of pessimistic thought can be found in the works of ancient philosophers such as Hegesias of Cyrene, who lived in Greece during the 3rd century BCE and was known for his teachings on the benefits of suicide. In the Eastern philosophical tradition, the Indian texts of Buddhism, particularly the Four Noble Truths, which acknowledge the existence of suffering (Duḥkha, ''duḥkha'') as a fundamental aspect of life, also reflect a pessimistic worldview. These early expressions laid the groundwork for more syst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Marie Guyau
Jean-Marie Guyau (28 October 1854 – 31 March 1888) was a French philosopher and poet. Guyau was inspired by the philosophies of Epicurus, Epictetus, Plato, Immanuel Kant, Herbert Spencer, and Alfred Fouillée, and the poetry and literature of Pierre Corneille, Victor Hugo, and Alfred de Musset. Life Guyau was first exposed to Plato and Kant, as well as the history of religions and philosophy in his youth through his stepfather, the noted French philosopher Alfred Fouillée. With this background, he was able to attain his Bachelor of Arts at only 17 years of age, and at this time, translated the ''Handbook'' of Epictetus. At 19, he published his 1300-page "Mémoire" that, a year later in 1874, won a prize from the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences and helped to earn him a philosophy lectureship at the Lycée Condorcet. However, this was short-lived, as he soon began to suffer from pulmonary disease. Following the first attacks of his disease, he went to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ptolemaic Dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Reigning for 275 years, the Ptolemaic was the longest and last dynasty of ancient Egypt from 305 BC until its incorporation into the Roman Republic in 30 BC. Ptolemy, a general and one of the '' somatophylakes'' (bodyguard companions) of Alexander the Great, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC he declared himself Pharaoh Ptolemy I, later known as ''Sōter'' "Saviour". The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt. The new dynasty showed respect to local traditions and adopted the Egyptian titles and iconography, while also preserving their own Greek language and culture. The Ptolemaic period was marked by the intense interactions and blending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greco-Buddhism
Greco-Buddhism or Graeco-Buddhism was a cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD in Gandhara, which was in present-day Pakistan and parts of north-east Afghanistan. While the Greco-Buddhist art shows clear Hellenistic influences, the majority of scholars do not assume a noticeable Greek influence on Gandharan Buddhism beyond the artistic realm. Cultural interactions between ancient Greece and Buddhism date back to Greek forays into the Indian subcontinent from the time of Alexander the Great. A few years after Alexander's death, the Easternmost fringes of the empire of his general Seleucus were lost in a war with the Mauryan Empire, under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka would convert to Buddhism and spread the religious philosophy throughout his domain, as recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka. This spread to the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, which itself seceded from the Sele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skandha
' (Sanskrit) or (Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings, clusters". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the perpetual process of craving, clinging and aversion due to Avijja. They are also explained as the five factors that constitute and explain a sentient being's person and personality, but this is a later interpretation in response to ''Sarvastivada, Sarvāstivādin'' essentialism. The 14th Dalai Lama subscribes to this interpretation. The five aggregates or heaps of clinging are: # form, sense objects (or material image, impression) () # sensations (or feelings of pleasure, pain, or indifference (both bodily and mental), created from the coming together of the senses, sense objects, and the consciousness) () # perceptions (or the nature of recognizing ''marks'' — making distinctions) () # mental activity, formations, or perpetuations () # consciousness (or the nature o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhikkhu
A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimokṣa, prātimokṣa or pāṭimokkha, pātimokkha. Their lifestyles are shaped to support their spiritual practice: to live a simple and meditative life and attain Nirvana (Buddhism), nirvana. A person under the age of 20 cannot be ordained as a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni but can be ordained as a samanera, śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇērī. Definition ''Bhikkhu'' literally means "begging, beggar" or "one who lives by dāna, alms". The historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, Prince Siddhartha, having abandoned a life of pleasure and status, lived as an alms mendicant as part of his śramaṇa lifestyle. Those of his more serious students who renounced their lives as householders and came to study full-time under his supervision also adopted this lifest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944) () born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka. He teaches in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Society and has edited and authored several publications grounded in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Early life In 1944, Block was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents. He grew up in Borough Park, where he attended elementary school P.S. 160. In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College. In 1972, he obtained a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University. Career In 1967, while still a graduate student, Bodhi was ordained as a '' sāmaṇera'' (novice) in the Vietnamese Mahayana order. In 1972, after graduation, he traveled to Sri Lanka, where, under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero, he received ''sāmaṇera'' ordination in the Theravada Order and, in 1973, received full ordination ('' upasampadā'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duḥkha
''Duḥkha'' (; , ) "suffering", "pain", "unease", or "unsatisfactoriness", is an important concept in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Its meaning depends on the context, and may refer more specifically to the "unsatisfactoriness" or "unease" of craving for and grasping after transient 'things' (sense objects, including thoughts), expecting pleasure from them while ignorant of this transientness. In Buddhism, dukkha is part of the first of the Four Noble Truths and one of the three marks of existence. The term also appears in scriptures of Hinduism, such as the Upanishads, in discussions of moksha (spiritual liberation). While the term ''dukkha'' has often been derived from the prefix ''du-'' ("bad" or "difficult") and the root ''kha'' ("empty," "hole"), meaning a badly fitting axle-hole of a cart or chariot giving "a very bumpy ride," it may actually be derived from ''duḥ-stha'', a "dis-/ bad- + stand-", that is, "standing badly, unsteady," "unstable." Etymology and ... [...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] |
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
The ''Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta'' (Pali; Sanskrit: ''Dharmacakrapravartana Sūtra''; English: ''The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma Sutta'' or ''Promulgation of the Law Sutta'') is a Buddhist scripture that is considered by Buddhists to be a record of the first sermon given by Gautama Buddha, the Sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath. The main topic of this sutta is the Four Noble Truths, which refer to and express the basic orientation of Buddhism in a formulaic expression. This sutta also refers to the Buddhist concepts of the Middle Way, impermanence, and dependent origination. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha delivered this discourse on the day of Asalha Puja, in the month of Ashadha, in a deer sanctuary in Isipatana. This was seven weeks after he attained Enlightenment. His audience consisted of five ascetics who had been his former companions: Kondañña, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa, and Mahānāma. Definitions ''Dhamma'' (Pāli) or ''dharma'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
