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Mahayana

Mahayana
Mahāyāna (Sanskrit: महायान mahāyāna, literally the "Great Vehicle") is one of two (or three, under some classifications) main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. The Buddhist tradition of Vajrayana is sometimes classified as a part of Mahayana Buddhism, but some scholars may consider it as a different branch altogether.[1] According to the teachings of Mahāyāna traditions, "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of the Bodhisattva seeking complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, also called "Bodhisattvayāna", or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle."[2][note 1] A bodhisattva who has accomplished this goal is called a samyaksaṃbuddha, or "fully enlightened Buddha." A samyaksaṃbuddha can establish the Dharma and lead disciples to enlightenment. The Mahāyāna tradition is the largest major tradition of Buddhism existing today, with 53.2% of practitioners, compared to 35.8% for Theravāda and 5.7% for Vajrayāna in 2010.[3] Related:  alan wattsJust So: An Odyssey into the Cosmic Web of Connection, Play, and True PleasureAlan Watts

Learn Japanese | JapanesePod101.com (Audio) - Download free podcast episodes by Wizzard Media on iTunes. Pali Middle Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent Burmese Kammavaca manuscript written in Pali in the 'Burmese' script. Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Pāli Canon or Tipiṭaka as well as the sacred language of Theravāda Buddhism.[2] In early time, It was wrtitten in Bramhi script. Origin and development[edit] Etymology[edit] The word 'Pali' is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon. The name Pali does not appear in the canonical literature, and in commentary literature is sometimes substituted with tanti, meaning a string or lineage.[3]: 1 This name seems to have emerged in Sri Lanka early in the second millennium CE during a resurgence in the use of Pali as a courtly and literary language.[4][3]: 1 Geographic origin[edit] Early history[edit] 19th century Burmese Kammavācā (confession for Buddhist monks), written in Pali on gilded palm leaf T. According to K.

Mahayana | Buddhism Origins The origins of Mahayana Buddhism remain obscure; the date and location of the tradition’s emergence are unknown, and the movement most likely took shape over time and in multiple places. The proper appraisal of the early Mahayana is even further complicated by the fact that most reconstructions have been heavily influenced by the agendas of modern sectarian movements and that the scriptures most valued by later groups are not necessarily the texts that best represent the movement in its formative period. The earliest sources for the tradition are the Mahayana sutras, scriptures that were first compiled some four centuries after the Buddha’s death. As in earlier canonical Buddhist literature, these scriptures, almost certainly written by monks, present the movement’s innovative ideas in the form of sermons said to have been delivered by the Buddha Shakyamuni, as Siddhartha Gautama is known. Teachings Bodhisattva Awakening Monastic and philosophical traditions Read More on This Topic

Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophy founded by Nagarjuna Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; Chinese: 中觀見; pinyin: Zhōngguān Jìan; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; dbu ma pa), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no svabhāva doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhist philosophy and practice founded by the Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher Nāgārjuna (c. 150 – c. 250 CE).[2][3] The foundational text of the Mādhyamaka tradition is Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā ("Root Verses on the Middle Way"). More broadly, Mādhyamaka also refers to the ultimate nature of phenomena as well as the non-conceptual realization of ultimate reality that is experienced in meditation. According to the classical Indian Mādhyamika thinkers, all phenomena (dharmas) are empty (śūnya) of "nature", of any "substance" or "essence" (svabhāva) which could give them "solid and independent existence", because they are dependently co-arisen. Etymology[edit] Philosophical overview[edit] Jay L.

Shikantaza Shikantaza (只管打坐?) is a Japanese translation of a Chinese term for zazen introduced by Rujing, a monk of the Caodong school of Zen Buddhism. In Japan, it is associated with the Soto school. Etymology[edit] The term is believed to have been first used by Dōgen's teacher Tiantong Rujing, and it literally means, "nothing but (shikan) precisely (da) sitting (za) A translation of "shikantaza" offered by Kobun Chino Otogawa[6] provides some additional insight into the literal meaning of the components of the Japanese word: Shikan means pure, one, only for it. Origins and development[edit] Silent illumination[edit] Silent illumination may be understood as the integrated practice of shamatha (calming the mind) and vipashyana (insightful contemplation), and was the hallmark of the Chinese Caodong school of Chan. Shikantaza's origins can also be traced back to silent illumination. Dogen[edit] Even still, Chan Master Shengyen states that shikantaza is similar to silent illumination.[8][12] Practice[edit]

Śūnyatā Śūnyatā (Sanskrit: शून्यता, translit. śūnyatā; Pali: suññatā) – pronounced ‘shoonyataa’, translated into English most often as emptiness[1] and sometimes voidness[2] – is a Buddhist concept which has multiple meanings depending on its doctrinal context. It is either an ontological feature of reality, a meditative state, or a phenomenological analysis of experience. In Theravada Buddhism, suññatā often refers to the non-self (Pāli: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman)[note 1] nature of the five aggregates of experience and the six sense spheres. Suññatā is also often used to refer to a meditative state or experience. In Mahayana, Sunyata refers to the tenet that "all things are empty of intrinsic existence and nature (svabhava)," [4][5] but may also refer to the Buddha-nature teachings and primordial or empty awareness, as in Dzogchen and Shentong. Etymology[edit] "Śūnyatā" (Sanskrit) is usually translated as "devoidness," "emptiness," "hollow, hollowness," "voidness." Early Buddhism[edit] Chán[edit]

Mahayana Buddhism Origins, Mahayana Buddhism History, Mahayana Buddhism Beliefs Mahayana Buddhism, also known as the Great Vehicle, is the form of Buddhism prominent in North Asia, including China, Mongolia, Tibet, Korea, and Japan. Arising out of schisms—about both doctrine and monastic rules—within Indian Buddhism in the first century C.E., the Great Vehicle considers itself a more authentic version of the Buddha's teachings. The Mahayana accepts the canonical texts of the Theravada tradition (what they derisively call the Hinayana, or "lesser vehicle), but also have a vast corpus of philosophical and devotional texts. The most distinctive teaching of the Mahayana is that the great compassion that is an inherent component of enlightenment is manifest in bodhisattvas (enlightenment beings); these beings postpone nirvana (final enlightenment) in order to assist and guide those beings still suffering in the cycle of rebirths.

en.m.wikipedia 3rd-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna [c. 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)] was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist philosopher monk of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school.[2] He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.[3] Jan Westerhoff considers him to be "one of the greatest thinkers in the history of Asian philosophy."[4] Nāgārjuna is widely considered to be the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy and a defender of the Mahāyāna movement.[3][5] His Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka, MMK) is the most important text on the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness. The MMK inspired a large number of commentaries in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese and continues to be studied today.[6] History[edit] Background[edit] India in the first and second centuries CE was politically divided into various states, including the Kushan Empire and the Satavahana Kingdom. Life[edit] Traditional hagiography[edit] Works[edit] Jay L.

Shinto Shinto priest and priestess. Shinto (神道, Shintō?), also kami-no-michi,[note 1] is the indigenous religion of Japan and the people of Japan.[2] It is defined as an action-centered religion,[3] focused on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient past.[4] Founded in 660 BC according to Japanese mythology,[5] Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 8th century. The word Shinto ("way of the gods") was adopted, originally as Shindo,[8] from the written Chinese Shendao (神道, pinyin: shén dào),[9][note 2] combining two kanji: "shin" (神?) According to Inoue (2003): In modern scholarship, the term is often used with reference to kami worship and related theologies, rituals and practices. Types of Shinto Shinto religious expressions have been distinguished by scholars into a series of categories:[16] Shrine Shinto (神社神道, Jinja-Shintō?) Kami Kannagara

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