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Diamond Sutra
The ''Diamond Sutra'' (Sanskrit: ) is a Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Buddhist sutra from the genre of ('perfection of wisdom') sutras. Translated into a variety of languages over a broad geographic range, the ''Diamond Sūtra'' is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras in East Asia, and it is particularly prominent within the Chan Buddhism, Chan (or Zen) tradition, along with the ''Heart Sutra''. A copy of the Tang dynasty ''Diamond Sūtra'' was found among the Dunhuang manuscripts in 1900 by Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu and sold to Aurel Stein in 1907. It dates back to May 11, 868 CE and is broadly considered to be the oldest extant printed book, although other, earlier, printed materials on paper exist that predate this artifact. It is in the collection of the British Library. The book of the diamond sutra is also the first known creative work with an explicit public domain dedication, as its colophon (publishing), colophon at the end states that it was created "for unive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Frontispiece
A frontispiece in books is a decorative or informative illustration facing a book's title page, usually on the left-hand, or verso, page opposite the right-hand, or recto page of a book. In some ancient editions or in modern luxury editions the frontispiece features thematic or allegory, allegorical elements, in others is the author's portrait that appears as the frontispiece. In medieval illuminated manuscripts, a presentation miniature showing the book or text being presented (by whom and to whom varies) was often used as a frontispiece. Etymology The word comes from the French language, French ''frontispice'', which derives from the late Latin ''frontispicium'', composed of the Latin ''frons'' ('forehead') and ''specere'' ('to look at'). It was synonymous with 'metoposcopy'. In English, it was originally used as an frontispiece (architecture), architectural term, referring to the decorative facade of a building. In the 17th century, in other languages as in Italian language, It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurel Stein
Sir Marc Aurel Stein, (; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at Indian universities. Stein was also an ethnographer, geographer, linguist and surveyor. His collection of books and manuscripts bought from Dunhuang caves is important for the study of the history of Central Asia and the art and literature of Buddhism. He wrote several volumes on his expeditions and discoveries which include ''Ancient Khotan'', ''Serindia'' and ''Innermost Asia''. Early life Stein was born to Náthán Stein and Anna Hirschler, a Jewish couple residing in Budapest in the Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire. His parents and his sister retained their Jewish faith but Stein and his brother, Ernst Eduard, were baptised as Lutherans. At home the family spoke German and Hungarian, Stein graduated from a secondary school in Budapest before going on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classical Tibetan
Classical Tibetan refers to the language of any text written in Tibetic after the Old Tibetan period. Though it extends from the 7th century until the modern day (along with Arabic, Ge'ez, and New Persian, it is one of the handful of 'living' classical languages), it particularly refers to the language of early canonical texts translated from other languages, especially Sanskrit. The phonology implied by Classical Tibetan orthography is very similar to the phonology of Old Tibetan, but the grammar varies greatly depending on period and geographic origin of the author. Such variation is an under-researched topic. In 816 AD, during the reign of King Sadnalegs, literary Tibetan underwent a thorough reform aimed at standardizing the language and vocabulary of the translations being made from Sanskrit, which was one of the main influences for literary standards in what is now called Classical Tibetan. Nouns Structure of the noun phrase Nominalizing suffixes — or and — ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diamond Of Perfect Wisdom Sutra
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insoluble in water. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, but diamond is metastable and converts to it at a negligible rate under those conditions. Diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, properties that are used in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools. Because the arrangement of atoms in diamond is extremely rigid, few types of impurity can contaminate it (two exceptions are boron and nitrogen). Small numbers of defects or impurities (about one per million of lattice atoms) can color a diamond blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown (defects), green (radiation exposure), purple, pink, oran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of the Sarvastivada and Sautrāntika schools. After his conversion to Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism, along with his brother, Asanga, he was also one of the main founders of the Yogacara school. Vasubandhu's ''Abhidharmakośakārikā'' ("Commentary on the Treasury of the Abhidharma") is widely used in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism, as the major source for non-Mahayana Abhidharma philosophy. His philosophical verse works set forth the standard for the Indian Yogacara metaphysics of "appearance only" (''vijñapti-mātra''), which has been described as a form of "epistemological idealism", Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology and close to Immanuel Kant's transcendental idealism. Apart from this, he wrote several commentaries, works on logic, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asanga
Asaṅga (Sanskrit: असंग, , ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') (fl. 4th century C.E.) was one of the most important spiritual figures of Mahayana Buddhism and the founder of the Yogachara school.Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment: A Complete Translation of the Bodhisattvabhumi,'' Shambhala Publications, 2016, Translator's introduction.Rahula, Walpola; Boin-Webb, Sara (translators); Asanga, ''Abhidharmasamuccaya: The Compendium of the Higher Teaching,'' Jain Publishing Company, 2015, p. xiii. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the major classical Indian Sanskrit exponents of Mahayana Abhidharma, ''Vijñanavada'' (awareness only; also called ''Vijñaptivāda'', the doctrine of ideas or percepts, and ''Vijñaptimātratā-vāda'', the doctrine of 'mere representation) thought and Mahayana teachings on the bodhisattva path. He is also traditionally considered as one of the seventeen Nalanda masters who taugh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangut
Tangut may refer to: *Tangut people, an ancient ethnic group in Northwest China *Tangut language, the extinct language spoken by the Tangut people *Tangut script, the writing system used to write the Tangut language *Tangut (Unicode block) *Western Xia (1038–1227), also known as the Tangut Empire, a state founded by the Tangut people In 18th and 19th century works, the term 'Tangut' is often used as a synonym for Tibet or Tibetan, and may refer to: *Tibet *Tibetan people *Tibetan language *Tibetan script A number of plants found in the region of Tibet have been given the specific epithet ''tangutica'' or ''tanguticus'': *''Anisodus tanguticus'' *''Caragana tangutica'' *''Caryopteris tangutica'' *''Clematis tangutica'' *''Daphne tangutica'' *''Lonicera tangutica'' *''Prunus tangutica'' *''Saussurea tangutica'' *''Scopolia tangutica'' *''Sinacalia tangutica ''Sinacalia'' is a genus of Chinese plants in the groundsel tribe within the daisy family. ; Species * '' Sinacalia car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prajñā (Buddhism)
() or () is a Buddhist term often translated as "wisdom", "insight", "intelligence", or "understanding". It is described in Buddhist texts as the understanding of the true nature of phenomena. In the context of Buddhist meditation, it is the ability to understand the three characteristics of all things: ("impermanence"), ("dissatisfaction" or "suffering"), and ("non-self" or "egolessness"). Mahāyāna texts describe it as the understanding of ("emptiness"). It is part of the Threefold Training in Buddhism, and is one of the ten of Theravāda Buddhism and one of the six Mahāyāna . Etymology is often translated as "wisdom", but according to Buddhist bioethics scholar Damien Keown, it is closer in meaning to "insight", "non-discriminating knowledge", or "intuitive apprehension". The component parts of the word are: ; ''Pra'' () : an intensifier which can be translated as "higher", "greater", "supreme" or "premium", or "being born or springing up", referring to a spon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajra
The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as symbolic and ritual tools is found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The vajra is a round, symmetrical metal scepter with two ribbed spherical heads. The ribs may meet in a ball-shaped top, or they may be separate and end in sharp points. The vajra is considered inseparable from the bell, and both are sold in dharma stores only in matching sets. The bell is also metal with a ribbed spherical head. The bell also depicts the face of Dhatvisvari, a female buddha and the consort of Akshobhya. The vajra has also been associated as the weapon of Indra, the Vedic king of the Deva (Hinduism), devas and Svarga, heaven. It is used symbolically by the dharma, dharmic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, often to represent firmness of spir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
