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Dharani Pillar
A dharani pillar (), sutra pillar, or jingchuang () is a type of stone pillar engraved with ''Dharani, dhāraṇī''-Sutra, sūtras or simple ''dhāraṇī'' incantations that is found in China. Dharani pillars were usually erected outside Buddhist temples, and became popular during the Tang dynasty (618–907). History The earliest surviving Dharani pillars date to the Tang dynasty, and they became very popular during the mid-Tang. One of the first recorded mentions of their existence was by the Japanese monk Ennin who visited China from 838 to 847. Qian Liu (852–932), founder of the Wuyue kingdom (907–978) during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, is recorded as having erected several dharani pillars during his reign, as an act of devotion: one at the Zhaoxian Temple (招賢寺) in 911, two at the Daqian Temple (大錢寺) in 911, one at the Tianzhu Riguan Hermitage (天竺日觀庵) in 913, and two at the Haihui Temple (海會寺) in 924. A distinctive style o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ming Dharani Pillar From Biyun Temple
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump state, rump regimes ruled by remnants of the House of Zhu, Ming imperial family, collectively called the Southern Ming, survived until 1662. The Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor (1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the naval history of China, navy's dockyards in Nanjing were the largest in the world. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantra
A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Feuerstein, Georg (2003), ''The Deeper Dimension of Yoga''. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA Some mantras have a syntactic structure and a literal meaning, while others do not. ꣽ, ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as an important mantra in various Indian religions. Specifically, it is an example of a seed syllable mantra ( bijamantra). It is believed to be the first sound in Hinduism and as the sonic essence of the absolute divine reality. Longer mantras are phrases with several syllables, names and words. These phrases may have spiritual interpretations such as a name of a deity, a longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Examples of lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of , with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its Urbanization by country, highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined Free area of the Republic of China, territories under ROC control consist of list of islands of Taiwan, 168 islands in total covering . The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, largest metropolitan area is formed by Taipei (the capital), New Taipei City, and Keelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated countries. Tai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanyi, Miaoli
Sanyi Township () is a rural township in southern Miaoli County, Taiwan. It is famous for its (woodcarving) industry, earning it the name the ''Woodcarving Kingdom of Taiwan''. Geography Sanyi is located in the mountains of northwestern Taiwan. On its northeastern boundary is Sanjiao Mountain at 567 meters, and to the east lies Huoyan Mountain at 602 meters. As of September 2023, its population was estimated to be 14,995. Administrative divisions The township comprises seven villages: Guangcheng, Liyutan, Longteng, Shengxing, Shuanghu, Shuangtan and Xihu. Politics The township is part of Miaoli County Constituency I electoral district for Legislative Yuan. Economy Initially, the Sanyi area produced timber and hides. Later tung oil was extracted from the abundant tung trees and camphor from the camphor trees. Concurrently the wood carving industry developed. At one point, over 80% of local families were employed in wood carving. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abhayamudra
The abhayamudra () is a mudra (gesture) that is the gesture of reassurance and safety, which dispels fear and accords divine protection and bliss in Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Indian religions. The right hand is raised to shoulder height, with the palm is facing outward and the fingers pointing upwards This is one of the earliest mudras found depicted on a number of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh images. Description The abhayamudra represents protection, peace, benevolence and the dispelling of fear. A form of the Hindu god Shiva, Nataraja, is depicted with the second right hand making the abhayamudra, bestowing protection from both evil and ignorance to those who follow the righteousness of dharma. In Theravada Buddhism, it is usually made with the right hand raised to shoulder height, the arm bent and the palm facing outward with the fingers upright and joined and the left hand hanging down while standing. In Thailand and Laos, this mudra is associated with the Walkin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japamala
A japamala, , or simply Japay mala (; , meaning 'garland') is a loop of prayer beads commonly used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is used for counting recitations ('' japa'') of mantras, prayers or other sacred phrases. It is also worn to ward off evil, to count repetitions within some other form of '' sadhana'' (spiritual practice) such as prostrations before a holy icon. They are also used as symbols of religious identification. The main body of a mala usually consists of 108 beads of roughly the same size and material as each other, although smaller versions, often factors of 108 such as 54 or 27, exist. A distinctive 109th "guru bead" or mother bead, which is not counted, is very common. Mala beads have traditionally been made of a variety of materials such as wood, stone, gems, seeds, bone and precious metals—with various religions often favouring certain materials—and strung with natural fibres such as cotton, silk, or animal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lotus Position
Lotus position or Padmasana () is a cross-legged sitting meditation posture, meditation pose from History of India, ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha yoga, and is widely used for meditation in Hinduism, Hindu, Tantra, Jainism, Jain, and Buddhism, Buddhist traditions. Variations include easy pose (Sukhasana), half lotus, bound lotus, and psychic union pose. Advanced variations of several other asanas including yoga headstand have the legs in lotus or half lotus. The pose can be uncomfortable for people not used to sitting on the floor, and attempts to force the legs into position can injure the knees. Shiva, the meditating ascetic God of Hinduism, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and the Tirthankaras in Jainism have been depicted in the lotus position, especially in statues. The pose is emblematic both of Buddhist meditation and of yoga, and as such has found a place in Western culture as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahāyāna Buddhism
Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Theravāda and Vajrayāna.Harvey (2013), p. 189. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna sūtras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''Prajñāpāramitā''. Vajrayāna or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna which makes use of numerous tantric methods Vajrayānists consider to help achieve Buddhahood. Mahāyāna also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is thus also called the "Bodhisattva Vehicle" (''Bodhisattvayāna''). Damien Keown (2003), A Dictionary of Buddhism', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī
The , also known as the , or Great Compassion Dhāraṇī / Mantra (Standard Chinese, Chinese: 大悲咒, ''Dàbēi zhòu''; Japanese language, Japanese: 大悲心陀羅尼, ''Daihishin darani'' or 大悲呪, ''Daihi shu''; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Chú đại bi'' or ''Đại bi tâm đà la ni''; Korean language, Korean: 신묘장구대다라니 (Hanja: 神妙章句大陀羅尼), ''Sinmyo janggu daedarani''), is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist dhāraṇī associated with the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin). The dhāraṇī is thought to have originally been Nama sankeerthanam, a recitation of names and attributes of Harihara (a composite form of the Hinduism, Hindu gods Vishnu and Shiva; ''Nīlakaṇṭha'' 'the blue-necked one' is a title of Shiva) said to have been recited by Avalokiteśvara, who was sometimes portrayed as introducing popular non-Buddhist deities (e.g. Hayagriva, Cundi (Buddhism), Cundi) into the Buddhist pantheon by reciting their dhāraṇīs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nilakantha Dharani Stele At Fo Ding Shan Pilgrim Monastery Temple 20170820
Nilkanth, Neelkanth, or Nīlakaṇtha () is another name or characteristic of the Hindu deity Shiva. It may also refer to: People * Mahipatram Rupram Nilkanth, Gujarati educationist, reformer, novelist and biographer * Neelakantha Chaturdhara, seventeenth-century commentator on the ''Mahābhārata'' * Neelkanth Ganjoo, judge in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, India * Neelkanth Tiwari, Minister of State in Government of Uttar Pradesh in Yogi Adityanath ministry * Nilakantha Daivajna, 16th-century astronomer-astrologer * Nilakantha Somayaji, mathematician of the Kerala school * Nilkanth Singh Munda, member of the Legislative Assembly of India from Khunti constituency * Ramanbhai Nilkanth, Gujarati writer * Swaminarayan, known as Nilkanth Varni during his teenage years and founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya religious movement * Vidyagauri Nilkanth, Gujarati social reformer, educationist, and writer Animals * Indian roller, a bird of the family ''Coraciidae'', known as ''nilkan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangut Script
The Tangut script ( Tangut: ; ) is a logographic writing system, formerly used for writing the extinct Tangut language of the Western Xia dynasty. According to the latest count, 5863 Tangut characters are known, excluding variants. The Tangut characters are similar in appearance to Chinese characters, with the same type of strokes, but the methods of forming characters in the Tangut writing system are significantly different from those of forming Chinese characters. As in Chinese calligraphy, regular, running, cursive and seal scripts were used in Tangut writing. History According to the '' History of Song'' (1346), the script was designed by the high-ranking official Yeli Renrong in 1036. The script was invented in a short period of time, and was put into use quickly. Government schools were founded to teach the script. Official documents were written in the script (with diplomatic ones written bilingually). A great number of Buddhist scriptures were translated from Tibetan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
