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Archive 1009 II Buddhism A Wisdom Archive on Buddhism Buddhism Buddhism: Buddhism, the fourth-largest organized religion in the world, was fou nded in India sometime between the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. based on the t eachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, or the "awakened one." Budd hism teaches that meditation and the practice of moral behavior (and, according to some schools, rituals) can lead to the elimination of personal craving and he nce the release of suffering and the attainment of absolute peace (nirvana). Thi s is gradually achieved through successive cycles of rebirth (although some scho ols say such liberation may be obtained as quickly as within one lifetime). Alth ough Buddhism is frequently described as a nontheistic tradition since the histo rical Buddha did not claim to be divine and there is no concept of a divine abso lute God the vast and complex tradition of Buddhism includes an intricate cosmology of beneficent and wrathful deities as well as transcendent Buddhas and bodhisatt vas who can be propitiated to help Buddhist practitioners on the path to enlight enment. There are three major forms or "vehicles" of Buddhism: Theravada, found in most of Southeast Asia, focuses on individual realization, wit h practices particularly directed to monastic life; Mahayana stresses the universality of Buddha-nature and the possibility of enligh tenment for all beings. It developed into many variant schools in China, Japan a nd Korea; Vajrayana, or Tibetan Buddhism, is found in Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia. Vajrayana de veloped from the Mahayana tradition but is often considered separately as a thir d "vehicle." See Buddha, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path and Siddhartha Gautama. Titles for Buddhist teachers or masters are capitalized when used with a name bu t lowercase otherwise. The title of lama generally precedes a name; rinpoche, se nsei and roshi generally follow the name, but practice varies, especially in the United States. (For example, a well-known Japanese Zen teacher is always referr ed to as Maezumi Roshi; a well-known American Zen teacher is Roshi Bernard Glass man.) To determine how to refer to a particular Buddhist teacher, ask or try loo king up the name through a database or other Web tool. Teachers may be addressed by their titles (e.g., "Rinpoche, may I ask a question ?"). Dalai Lama is capitalized when referring to the man who holds the title and no name is used; dalai lama is lowercase otherwise. Buddhists address the Dalai Lama as Your Holiness in person and His Holiness in writing. Ordained monks in Theravada Buddhism are given the honorific Venerable before their names. See ges he, lama, rinpoche, roshi, sensei and tulku. See: Religion, (Source: Religion Newswriters Association) The primary goal of the Buddhists is nirvana, defined as the end of change, lite

rally meaning "blowing out," as one blows out a candle. Theravada tradition desc ribes the indescribable as "peace and tranquility." The Mahayana and Vajrayana t raditions view it as "neither existence nor nonexistence," "emptiness and the un changing essence of the Buddha" and "ultimate Reality." It is synonymous with re lease from the bonds of desire, ego, suffering and rebirth. Glossary related to Buddhism Dream Dictionary related to Buddhism buddhism, Buddhism, Buddhism - Buddhism after the Buddha, Buddhism - Buddhism an d the West, Buddhism - Buddhism in the modern world, Buddhism - Buddhist religio us philosophy and branches, Buddhism - Origins, Buddhism - Practices of Buddhism , Buddhism - References and Links, Buddhism - Relations with other Eastern faith s, Buddhism - Scriptures, Buddhism - Buddhism, Archives on Buddhism Introduction Buddhism FOUNDED: Buddhism began about 2,500 years ago in India. FOUNDER: Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, or "Enlightened One." MAJOR SCRIPTURES: The Tripitaka, Anguttara-Nikaya, Dhammapada, Sutta-Nipata, Sam yutta-Nikaya and many others. ADHERENTS: Over 300 million. SECTS: Buddhism today is divided into three main sects: Theravada or Hinayana (S ri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia), Mahayana (China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea), a nd Vajrayana (Tibet, Mongolia and Japan). INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM Life's goal is nirvana. Toward that end, Buddha's teachings are capsulized in th e Four Noble Truths, chatvari arya satyani: THE TRUTH OF SUFFERING: Suffering, duhkha, is the central fact of life. Being bo rn is pain, growing old is pain, sickness is pain, death is pain. Union with wha t we dislike is pain, separation from what we like is pain, not obtaining what w e desire is pain. THE TRUTH OF THE ORIGIN (SAMUDaYA) OF SUFFERING: The cause of suffering is the d esire (icchha), craving (tanha) or thirst (trishna) for sensual pleasures, for e xistence and experience, for worldly possessions and power. This craving binds o ne to the wheel of rebirth, samsara. THE TRUTH OF THE CESSATION (NIRODHA) OF SUFFERING: Suffering can be brought to a n end only by the complete cessation of desires -- the forsaking, relinquishing and detaching of oneself from desire and craving.

THE TRUTH OF THE PATH (marga) TO ENDING SUFFERING: The means to the end of suffe ring is the Noble Eightfold Path (arya ashtanga marga), right belief, right thou ght, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulne ss and right meditation. GOALS OF BUDDHISM The primary goal of the Buddhists is nirvana, defined as the end of change, lite rally meaning "blowing out," as one blows out a candle. Theravada tradition desc ribes the indescribable as "peace and tranquility." The Mahayana and Vajrayana t raditions view it as "neither existence nor nonexistence," "emptiness and the un changing essence of the Buddha" and "ultimate Reality." It is synonymous with re lease from the bonds of desire, ego, suffering and rebirth. Buddha never defined nirvana, except to say, "There is an unborn, an unoriginated, an unmade, an unc ompounded," and it lies beyond the experiences of the senses. Nirvana is not a s tate of annihilation, but of peace and reality. As with Jainism, Buddhism has no creator God and thus no union with Him. SPIRITUAL PATH Buddhism takes followers through progressive stages of dhyana, samapatti and sam adhi. Dhyana is meditation, which leads to moral and intellectual purification, and to detachment which leads to pure consciousness. The samapattis, or further dhyanas, lead through a progressive nullification of psychic, mental and emotion al activity to a state which is perfect solitude, neither perception nor nonperc eption. This leads further to samadhi, supernatural consciousness and, finally, entrance into the ineffable nirvana. Many Buddhists understand the ultimate dest iny and goal to be a heaven of bliss where one can enjoy eternity with the Bodhi sattvas. Mahayana places less value on monasticism than Theravada and differs fu rther in believing one can rely on the active help of other realized beings for salvation. Vajrayana, also called Tantric or Mantrayana Buddhism, stresses tantr ic rituals and yoga practices under the guidance of a guru. Its recognition of a nd involvement in the supernatural distinguishes it from other Buddhist schools. BUDDHIST BELIEFS * I believe that the Supreme is completely transcendent and can be descr ibed as Sunya, a void or state of nonbeing. * I believe in the Four Noble Truths: 1) that suffering is universal; 2) that desire is the cause of suffering; 3) that suffering may be ended by the an nihilation of desire; 4) that to end desire one must follow the Eight-Fold Path. * I believe in the Eight-Fold Path of right belief, right aims, right sp eech, right actions, right occupation, right endeavor, right mindfulness and rig ht meditation. * I believe that life's aim is to end suffering through the annihilation of individual existence and absorption into nirvana, the Real. * I believe in the "Middle Path," living moderately, avoiding extremes o f luxury and asceticism. * I believe in the greatness of self-giving love and compassion toward a ll creatures that live, for these contain merit exceeding the giving of offering s to the Gods. * I believe in the sanctity of the Buddha and in the sacred scriptures o f Buddhism: the Tripitaka (Three Baskets of Wisdom) and/or the Mahayana Sutras.

* I believe that man's true nature is divine and eternal, yet his indivi duality is subject to the change that affects all forms and is therefore transie nt, dissolving at liberation into nirvana. * I believe in dharma (the Way), karma (cause and effect), reincarnation , the sanga (brotherhood of seekers) and the passage on Earth as an opportunity to end the cycle of birth and death. Source: Himalayan Calendar --Introduction and links to related topics Below are some short introductions. Click on the blue hyperlinked word to get mo re related articles. Agon Buddhism A sect of Buddhism that uses the Agon Sutras as scriptures. ddhism Eternal Buddha In Mahayana Buddhism's Triple Body (trikaya) theory, the Eternal Buddha is undif ferientiated absolute existence behind all appearances, and functionally the sam e as nirvana, emptiness, Buddha-nature, and suchness. See also: Eternal Buddha Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism derives from the confluence of Buddhism and yoga which started to arrive in Tibet from India briefly around the late eighth century and then mo re steadily from the thirteenth century onwards. Indian Buddhism around that tim e had incorporated both Hindu yogic and tantric practices along with the classic al teachings of the historical Buddha who lived around 500 BC. It acknowledged that there were two paths to enlightenment (complete transcenden ce of identification with the personal ego). One path was that taught in the sut ras according to the historical teachings. The heart of sutra practice was based on morality, concentration, and wisdom (not identifying with the personal ego. The other path, which has become the cornerstone of Tibetan variations, was tant ric. This practice blended the sutra teachings with techniques adapted from Hind u systems of yoga and tantra. See also: Tibetan Buddhism Pratyeka Buddha Pratyeka Buddha (Sanskrit) [from prati towards, for + eka one] Each one for himself; exalted and in one sense holy beings who crave spiritual e nlightenment for themselves alone. They "are those Bodhisattvas who strive after and often reach the Dharmakaya robe after a series of lives. Caring nothing for the woes of mankind or to help it, but only for this own bliss, they enter Nirv ana and -- disappear from the sight and the hearts of men. In Northern Buddhism a 'Pratyeka Buddha' is a synonym of spiritual Selfishness"; "He, who becomes Pra tyeka-Buddha, makes his obeisance but to his Self" (VS 86, 43). They achieve nirvana automatically as it were, and leave the world in its misery behind. Though exalted, nevertheless they do not rank with the unutterable subl See also: Agon Bu

imity, wisdom, and pity of the Buddhas of Compassion. "The Pratyeka Buddha is a degree which belongs exclusively to the Yogacharya sch ool, yet it is only one of high intellectual development with no true spirituali ty. It is the dead-letter of the Yoga laws, in which intellect and comprehension play the greatest part, added to the strict carrying out of the rules of the in ner development. It is one of the three paths to Nirvana, and the lowest, in whi ch a Yogi -- 'without teacher and without saving others' -- by the mere force of will and technical observances, attains to a kind of nominal Buddhaship individ ually; doing no good to anyone, but working selfishly for his own salvation and himself alone. The Pratyekas are respected outwardly but are despised inwardly by those of keen or spiritual appreciation. A Pratyeka is generally compared to a 'Khadga' or so litary rhinoceros and called Ekashringa Rishi, a selfish solitary Rishi (or sain t)" (TG 261). See also: Pratyeka Buddha Sakyamuni Buddha Sakyamuni Buddha (Sanskrit). A name of the founder of Buddhism, the great Sage, the Lord Gautama. See also: Sakyamuni Buddha Soka Gakkai Buddhism A mystical form of Buddhism based on the teachings of 13th century Japanese fish erman Nichiren Daishonin, who taught that the true interpretations of Buddha's t eachings were recorded in the Lotus Sutra See also: Soka Gakkai Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism School of Mahayana Buddhism founded in China by Tao-cho (562-645 CE) which empha sizes devotion to Amida, the Celestial Buddha who founded a heavenly Buddha-Land called the Pure Land which awaits his followers upon their deaths. See also: Pure Land Buddhism Celestial Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism's Triple Body (trikaya) theory, these are heavenly or god-l ike Buddhas, the most famous of which is Amita; by showing devotion to Celestial Buddhas they assist us in our quest for enlightenment. See also: Celestial Bu ddha Chogyam Trungpa (1940-87) Tibetan teacher noted for his propagation of Tibetan Buddhism in North America. Trungpa was recognized as the eleventh Trungpa tulku ("incarnate lama"), an impo rtant line of Kagyu tulkus who presided over the Surmang monasteries in eastern Tibet. He was found and enthroned when he was eighteen months old, was subsequen tly ordained, and received the rigorous training reserved for high tulkus. He fl ed Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1959, first working in India under appointment by t he Dalai Lama, then traveling to England in 1963, where he relinquished his mona stic vows, married, and taught Tibetan Buddhism and its contemplative practices to Westerners. Arriving in the United States in 1970, Trungpa spent the next seventeen years te aching, writing, founding contemplative centers, and inaugurating various organi zations, including the Vajradhatu association of (Tibetan) Buddhist churches (Ha lifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), the Naropa Institute, an upper division accredited

college (Boulder, Colorado), the Nalanda Translation Committee (Halifax and Boul der), and Shambhala Training, a nonsectarian program in meditation. Trungpa was known for his innovative, sometimes unconventional approach to trans mitting Buddhism to the West and for his insistance that meditation is the corne rstone of Buddhism. See also: Chogyam Trungpa Horse Horse In the ancient Mediterranean and Northern European mythologies, used in co nnection with the sun and standing as a symbol for the solar powers or the sun i tself. The sun is frequently represented in ancient thought as being drawn along the heavens by means of horses. In ancient Persia and Greece, individual heroes , as for instance Hushenk and Bellerophon, are said to have obtained mastery ove r and consequent use of wonderful horses with which they were enabled to approac h the sun. In Scandinavian mythology, horses were represented as carrying the he roes into the under- and over-world, and as mounts of the Valkyries they bore th e fallen heroes to Valhalla. In this connection, the Kalki-avatara -- stated to be the final incarnation of V ishnu in Hinduism or the incarnation of Maitreya-Buddha in Northern Buddhism -and the final great hero and savior of mankind of the Zoroastrians called Sosios h, as well as the Faithful and True one of the Christian book of Revelation, all appear on a white horse. All these heroes or saviors are connected emblematical ly with horses of power because the horse has been from immemorial time a repres entation of solar, spiritual, and intellectual energies. See also ASVAMEDHA Teachers Teachers In theosophical writings, often used to designate masters of wisdom, ad epts, mahatmas, or messengers qualified to instruct and guide pupils on the path of wisdom. Teachers are of various grades, belonging to different degrees of di fferent benevolent hierarchies; at the summit are those buddhas and manus who se rve as inspirers and light-bringers to the races of mankind. Below these highest come lesser teachers, pertaining to the lesser cycles of time. The mythology of ancient peoples contains reference to divine instructors of various ranks. The term teachers is applied specially in theosophy to the mahatmas or masters o f wisdom, from whom comes the light that guides and aids, but does not govern or control, working through many channels to keep alive mankind's spiritual intuit ions. These masters of wisdom send into the world messengers who have earned the right to labor for mankind, including the sublime duty of teaching. On the othe r hand, false teachers have always abounded in the world, and the pupil needs to discriminate between the false and the true. If his own motives and aspirations are lofty and pure, he will be satisfied with nothing less than what appeals to these aspirations and motives. A true teacher is recognizable by the universality of his teachings, which are n ot circumscribed by sectarian, national, credal, party, or other limitations. Th e true teacher never constrains the will of his pupil nor exacts unconditional a cceptance of any doctrines: he points the way in answer to the pupil's call, his authority is that of the torchbearer, seeking to evoke and stimulate the pupil' s own spiritual and intellectual strength and inner vision. Teachers always stan d ready to answer all who are able to give the right knock; and an aspirant who has the right spirit will find his teacher in due season. Teachers succeed one another and thus pass on the teachings from age to age; as in the succession of the buddhas and especially of the bodhisattvas in Buddhism; See also: Horse

the guruparampara chain in Brahmanism; and even in exoteric life in ancient tim es, and in far less degree, there were the hierophants in the various Mystery sc hools, such as in the Eleusinia. See also: Teachers Primum Mobile Primum Mobile (Latin) The first movable, nt or motion; the tenth and outermost of the earth in the Ptolemaic cosmic system oples surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, mographic description. signifying the first or original moveme the crystalline spheres which surround -- a system common to nearly all the pe and which Ptolemy copied in his own cos

It answers to Plato's and Aristotle's aeikinetos (the evermoving), that which is perpetually in motion; but beyond this, Aristotle and Plato have an "unmoving m otion," the inherent motion or life and intelligence of boundless space, compara ble to the svabhavat of Mahayana Buddhism, which as the cosmic womb of all hiera rchies in being, and as their periodic producer, seems to answer to the arche ki neseos (beginning or origin of motion), the nous of Anaxagoras (Key sec 6). According to the popular enumeration of the crystalline spheres, they begin with the first sphere surrounding the earth, and count outwards towards the fixed st ars and the vastness beyond; but it would perhaps be better to invert this syste m of counting, making the primum mobile, or the first movement of a system, the originator, and all within it its descending scale of enumerated spheres. See also: Primum Mobile Buddha-lands In Mahayana Buddhism, heavenly realms instituted by Celestial Buddhas to which t he devoted go after death; the most famous Pure Land is that of the Amida. See also: Buddha-lands Mesopaganism A general term for a variety of movements both organized and nonorganized, start ed as attempts to recreate, revive or continue what their founders thought were the best aspects of the Paleopagan ways of their ancestors (or predecessors), bu t which were heavily influenced (accidentally, deliberately and/or involuntarily ) by concepts and practices from the monotheistic, dualistic, or nontheistic wor ldviews of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or early Buddhism. Examples of Mesopagan belief systems would include Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Spiritualism, etc., as well as those forms of Druidism influenced by those movements, the many Afro-Diasporatic faiths (such as Voudoun, Santeria, Ca ndomble, etc.), Sikhism, several sects of Hinduism that have been influenced by Islam and Christianity, Mahayana Buddhism, Aleister Crowley'ss religion/philosop hy of Thelema, Odinism (most Norse Paganism), most "Family Traditions" of Witchc raft (those that aren'st completely fake), and most orthodox (aka "British Tradi tionalist") denominations of Wicca. Some Mesopagan belief systems may be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. There are at least a billion Mesopagans living and worshiping their deities today. See Paleopaganism and Neopaganism. Pali Pali The language spoken in the north of India from and before the 7th century B C to about the 5th century AD. It is still the literary sacred language of Burma , Thailand, and Ceylon. There were two factors which made Pali one of the most i See also: Mesopaganism

mportant literary languages of the world: first, with the rise of the Kosalas in to a kingdom, the language of its capital (Savatthi, in Nepal) become the form o f speech almost universally adopted. Secondly, Gautama Buddha, being of Kosalan by birth, probably used the Pali language in giving forth his teachings, and the refore the subsequent philosophical writings of his disciples were similarly cou ched in this language. Sanskrit, on the other hand, "was really the sacred language of the Brahmanas an d held more or less private or secret by them. The Sanskrit even in those ancien t times was the vehicle for the archaic Wisdom-teachings of the Aryan peoples of India, such as the Vedas, and the Puranas, and the Upanishads, and the great ep ics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. But Pali was one of several other languag es of culture in ancient India, all which were of so-called Prakrit character, a lthough very little is known about these other literary languages. Pali has surv ived to the present time because . . . it became the linguistic vehicle in which were enshrined the teachings of Buddhism, i.e., of Southern Buddhism, much as L atin has survived because enshrining the teachings of early medieval Christianit y. Just as there were in ancient Italy many other Italic tongues, each one havin g its literary or cultured form, and likewise its popular idiom, so was it in an cient India. "Pali is not a 'washed-out Sanskrit.' Sanskrit was rather a mystery-language whi ch was 'composed' or 'builded up' to perfection by initiates of the Sanctuaries; and because it was thus constructed into an almost perfect expression of human thought, at least for that day, it was called samskrita, which means 'composed,' 'constructed.' Thus Pali is not a true child of Sanskrit, but is and was the li terary form of one of the ancient languages of India popularly spoken over an ap parently wide stretch of the Indian Peninsula, . . ." (SOPh 694-5). In the 3rd century BC the language used throughout Northern India was practicall y one, and it was derived directly from the speech of the Vedic Aryans, retainin g many Vedic forms lost in the later classical Sanskrit. The basis of the langua ge used in the Buddhist canon was that used in Ujjayini, the capital of the Avan ti district. The chief doctrines of Buddhism are recorded in the works known as the Suttas (Sutras in Sanskrit) -- there being four Nikayas consisting of 16 vol umes; the fifth Nikaya being the Jatakas (birth stories). See also: Pali Arahatta Arahatta (Pali) (from the verbal root arh to be worthy; or from ari enemy, foe + the verbal root han to slay) State of arhatship; in Buddhism the state or condition of an arahant, free from the asavas (intoxication of mind or sense); by extension of thought, final and c omplete emancipation, the state of nibbana (Sanskrit nirvana). See also ARHAT Sutrantaka Sutrantaka (Sanskrit) [from sutra maxim, precept + anta inner meaning, final mea ning] One who follows the inner and spiritual meaning of the Buddhist Sutras or teachi ngs. Everywhere Buddhism predominates, there are two distinct classes of Buddhis ts: those who adhere closely to the spirit of the Buddha's original teachings, a nd those who not only make the teaching popular, but who perhaps also are follow ers of their letter. These are another phase of the two methods said to have been taught by the Buddh See also: Arahatta

a, called the heart doctrine and the eye doctrine: the former was the doctrine o f occult wisdom and deep mystery; the latter, containing the same teaching but e xpressed in such a way as to be more easily understood, was the outer teaching, and came to be called the doctrine of the Buddha's eye. Likewise these two aspec ts might be called the doctrine of the spirit, and the doctrine of the intellect . To one who understands both, and coalesces the two into a single unity, full i llumination comes regarding the complete content of the archaic wisdom-religion which Gautama Buddha taught. See also: Sutrantaka Hinayana The oldest or most "orthodox" form of Buddhism, with deities demoted to very min or roles or completely absent. See also: Hinayana Myalba Myalba (Tibet, Tibetan). In the Esoteric philosophy of Northern Buddhism, the na me of our Earth, called Hell for those who reincarnate in it for punishment. Exo terically, Myalba is translated a Hell. See also: Myalba Buddha The Awakened One - The honorary title of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Budd hism who lived in the sixth century B.C. The name is also given to those who ach ieve true enlightenment and as a result, inner freedom. See also: Buddha Rajagriha Rajagriha Rajagrha (Sanskrit) The ancient capital of Magadha, famous for its con version to Buddhism in the days of the Buddhist kings. It was the royal residenc e from Bimbisara-raja to Asoka, and the seat of the first Synod or Buddhist Coun cil held 510 BC. The famous Saptaparna cave, in which the Buddha's select circle of arhats were i nitiated, was in this famous city. See also: Rajagriha Samapatti Samapatti (Sanskrit) [from sam-a-pad to progress to perfect fulfillment from the verbal root pad to go, progress] In Buddhism, a subdivision of the fourth stage of abstract meditation (there bei ng eight samapattis); "perfect concentration" in the raja yoga system of occult training, a state of intellectual, spiritual, and psychic unfolding in which med itation becomes vision, and there ensues perfect indifference to things of this world. Said to be the final degree of development, upon reaching which the possi bility of entering into samadhi is attained. See also: Samapatti Buddha (Sanskrit) "The enlightened." Usually the title of bce), a prince born of the Shakya clan- a Saivite on the Nepalese border. He renounced the world and ghtenment he preached the doctrines upon which his ism. See: Buddhism. Upanishad See also: Buddha Siddhartha Gautama (ca 624544 Hindu tribe in eastern India became a monk. After his enli followers later founded Buddh

Upanishad (Sanskrit). Translated as "esoteric doctrine ", or interpretation of t he Vedas by the Vedanta methods. The third division of the Vedas appended to the Brahmanas and regarded as a port ion of Sruti or "revealed" word. They are, however, as records, far older than t he Brahmanas the exception of the two, still extant, attached to the Rig -Veda o f the Aitareyins. The term Upanishad is explained by the Hindu pundits as "that which destroys ign orance, and thus produces liberation" of the spirit, through the knowledge of th e supreme though hidden truth; the same, therefore, as that which was hinted at by Jesus, when he is made to say, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth sh all make you free " (John viii. 32). It is from these treatises of the Upanishad s - themselves the echo of the primeval Wisdom-Religion?that the Vedanta system of philosophy has been developed. (See "Vedanta".) Yet old as the Upanishads may be, the Orientalists will not assign to the oldest of them more than an antiquity of 600 years B.C. The accepted number of these t reatises is 150, though now no more than about twenty are left unadulterated. Th ey treat of very abstruse, metaphysical questions, such as the origin of the Uni verse; the nature and the essence of the Unmanifested Deity and the manifested g ods the connection, primal and ultimate, of spirit and matter ; the universality of mind and the nature of the human Soul and Ego. The Upanishads must be far more ancient than the days of Buddhism, as they show no preference for, nor do they uphold, the superiority of the Brahmans as a cast e. On the contrary, it is the (now) second caste, the Kshatriya, or warrior clas s, who are exalted in the oldest of them. As stated by Professor Cowell in Elphi nstone'ss History of India - - "they breathe a freedom of spirit unknown to any earlier work except the Rig Veda. . . The great teachers of the higher knowledg e and Brahmans are continually represented as going to Kshatriya Kings to become their pupils." The " Kshatriya Kings" were in the olden times, like the King Hi erophants of Egypt, the receptacles of the highest divine knowledge and wisdom, the Elect and the incarnations of the primordial divine Instructors - the Dhyani Buddhas or Kumaras. There was a time, eons before the Brahmans became a caste, or even the Upanishad s were written, when there was on earth but one "lip ", one religion and one sci ence, namely, the speech of the gods, the Wisdom-Religion and Truth. This was be fore the fair fields of the latter, overrun by nations of many languages, became overgrown with the weeds of intentional deception, and national creeds invented by ambition, cruelty and selfishness, broke the one sacred Truth into thousands of fragments. See also: Upanishad Sangha Sangha, Samgha (Sanskrit) Sangha (Pali) [from sam together + han to strike toget her, unite] Assemblage, gathering, convocation; in Buddhism, popularly applied to the assemb lage of Buddhist priests (sangha-bhikkhu) and often rendered incorrectly as the Buddhist church. The Order or Brotherhood are also translations. The idea conveyed is the unity of all who accept the doctrine of the Lord, i.e., Buddhists. More mystically applied by Buddhist initiates to signify likewise th e unity or universal brotherhood of all human beings at any time or place, who t hrough knowledge or natural intuition follow the law of the Buddhas, the law of right and compassion. See also: Sangha Buddhochinga

Buddhochinga (Sanskrit) The name of a great Indian Arhat who went to China in th e 4th century to propagate Buddhism and converted masses of people by means of m iracles and most wonderful magic feats. See also: Buddhochinga Zen A major school of Mahayana Buddhism, with several branches. One of its most popular techniques is meditation on koans, which leads to the ge neration of the Great Doubt. According to this method: The master gives the stud ent a koan to think about, resolve, and then report back on to the master. Conce ntration intensifies as the student first tries to solve the koan intellectually . This initial effort proves impossible, however, for a koan cannot be solved ra tionally. Indeed, it is a kind of spoof on the human intellect. Concentration and irrationality -- these two elements constitute the characteris tic psychic situation that engulfs the student wrestling with a koan. As this pe rsistent effort to concentrate intellectually becomes unbearable, anxiety sets i n. The entirety of one's consciousness and psychic life is now filled with one t hought. The exertion of the search is like wrestling with a deadly enemy or tryi ng to make one's way through a ring of flames. Such assaults on the fortress of human reason inevitably give rise to a distrust of all rational perception. This gnawing doubt (Great Doubt), combined with a futile search for a way out, c reates a state of extreme and intense yearning for deliverance. The state may pe rsist for days, weeks or even years; eventually the tension has to break. (Dumou lin, Zen Buddhism, Vol. I, p.253.) An interesting koan is the koan of Buddha Recitation. Unlike other koans, it wor ks in two ways. First of all, if a cultivator succeeds in his meditation through this koan, he can achieve awakening as with other koans. However, if he does no t succeed, and experience shows that many cultivators do not, then the meditatio n on the Buddha's narne helps him to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land. This is so provided he believes (as most practitioners in Asia do) in Amitabha a nd the expedient Pure Land. Thus, the Buddha Recitation koan provides a safety n et, and demonstrates the underlying unity of Zen and Pure Land. See also: Zen Buddhism A variety of religions founded by a man named Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha ("E nlightened One"). An outgrowth of Vedic Paleopagan mysticism, rooted in the "Fou r Noble Truths:" (1) Existence is suffering, (2) Suffering is caused by desire, (3) Desire can be overcome, (4) by following the Eightfold Path (right belief, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right medita tion). See also: Buddhism Theosophy Society founded in 1875 by H.P. Blavatsky and Col. H.S. Olcott. Immediate divine illumination. Spiritual insight is superior to empirical knowledge. Specificall y, Theosophy is the revelation of HPB that incorporates Gnosticism, Zoroastriani

sm, Platonism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Theosophy proposes "four bodies": the phys ical, the astral, the esthetic and the Self. See also: Theosophy Alaya Alaya (Sanskrit) (from a not + laya dissolution from the verbal root li to disso lve) Nondissolution; the indissoluble; used in Buddhism for the universal soul or hig her portions of anima mundi, the source of all beings and things. Mystically ide ntical with akasa in the latter's highest elements and with mahabuddhi; also wit h mulaprakriti as root-producer or root-nature (OG 5). With Mahayana Buddhists alaya is both the universal soul and the spiritual self of an advanced sage. Aryasamgha taught that "he who is strong in the Yoga can in troduce at will his Alaya by means of meditation into the true Nature of Existen ce" (cf SD 1:49-51; also FSO 98n). The Secret Doctrine (1:49) mentions Alaya in the Yogachara system, most probably referring to alaya-vijnana, but adds that with the "Esoteric 'Buddhists' . . . 'Alaya' has a double and even a triple meaning." See also: Alaya Jainas Jainas (Sanskrit). A large religious body in India closely resembling Buddhism, but who preceded it by long centuries. They claim that Gautama, the Buddha, was a disciple of one of their Tirtankaras, or Saints. They deny the authority of th e Vedas and the existence of any personal supreme god, but believe in the eterni ty of matter, the periodicity of the universe and the immortality of men'ss mind s (Manas) as also of that of the animals. An extremely mystic sect. See also: Jainas Upasaka Upasaka (Sanskrit) [from upa-as to serve, worship, engage in reverential and dev oted study as a disciple from upa by the side of, with the implication of revere ntial following + the verbal root as to sit] Serving, worshiping; worshiper, follower, disciple, pupil; also in Buddhism a la y worshiper as distinguished from a bhikshu. Upasika in Buddhism is a woman votary of the Buddha, as distinguished from a bhi kshuni -- a Buddhist mendicant or nun. The title was given to Blavatsky by the M ahatmas. See also: Upasaka Dana Dana (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root da to give) The act of giving; gift, donation; in Buddhism the first of the paramitas: "the key of charity and love immortal" (VS 47). See also: Dana Bon The native Tibetan religion that later merged with Buddhism and Tantrism. also: Bon Rajagriha Rajagriha (Sanskrit). A city in Magadha famous for its conversion to Buddhism in See

the days of the Buddhist kings. It was their residence from Bimbisara to Asoka, and was the seat of the first Synod, or Buddhist Council, held 510 B.C.. See also: Rajagriha Four Noble Truths central doctrine of Buddhism which contends that (1) life is suffering, (2) suff ering comes from desire, (3) extinguishing desire (nirvana) ends suffering, and (4) desire is extinguished through the eightfold path (or the middle way). See also: Four Noble Truths Dharani Dharani (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root dhri to bear, support) In Buddhism, a mystical verse or mantra; in Hinduism, verses from the Rig-Veda. "In days of old these mantras or Dharani were all considered mystical and practi cally efficacious in their use. At present, however, it is the Yogacharya school alone which proves the claim in practice. When chanted according to given instructions a Dharani produces wonde rful effects. Its occult power, however, does not reside in the words but in the inflexion or accent given and the resulting sound originated thereby" (TG 100). Also, any tubular vessel of the body; the earth. Three Treasures (Three Jewels; Tri-ratna) The three central elements or principal features of Bu ddhism. They are Buddha Gautama, the Dharma, and the sangha. Mantra Mantra is a combination of divine syllables or sounds which when recited invokes the latent power in that particular mantra, which involves pleasing some deitie s or attaining some results (used originally in Vedic sanatana dharma, Hinduism and Buddhism). The Mantras are created by spiritual Seers (Rishis and Yogis) in a divine trance. Each mantra has a rishi (spiritual seer). In Sanskrit, mantra literally means 'instrument of thought', from man (to think) verb : 'Mananat trayate iti mantrah's - by the Manana (constant recollection or recitation) of which one is liberated. Liberation involves your aim, i.e. what one wants to achieve by this mantra -sadhana. Each Mantra consists of a Matraa (phase) which creates a distinct sound-frequenc y; a Devataa (deity or God); a Bija (seed) which gives it a special power, and t he Kilakam (support or pillar). Some mantras consists of only seeds (single syll ables without special literal meaning) an are called Bija-mantras. [The word is accepted in New English Oxford Dictionary]. See also: Mantra Heart Doctrine Heart Doctrine In Mahayana Buddhism, the hidden or esoteric teachings as opposed to the eye doctrine, the public or exoteric teachings. In theosophy, the heart doctrine is considered to contain the more profound and compassionate teachings which go beyond the literal interpretation of the publicly given doctrines. S ee also: Heart Doctrine See also: Three Treasures See also: Dharani

Dasa-sila Dasa-sila (Pali) The ten moral applications and their accompanying practices com prising the code of morality binding upon Buddhist priests; otherwise the ten it ems of good character and behavior which are abstinence from: panatipata veramani (taking life); adinnadana (taking what is not given to one); abrahmachariya (adultery) otherwise called kamesu michchha-chara; musavada (telling lies); pisunavachaya (slander); pharusa-vachaya (harsh or impolite speech); samphappalapa (frivolous and senseless talk); abhijjhaya (covetousness); byapada (malevolence); michchhaditthiya (heretical views). The first four, with the addition of abstinence from the use of intoxicants, com prise the Pansil (Pancha-sila in Sanskrit) or obligations undertaken when a new follower enters into and accepts Buddhism. See also: Dasa-sila Anagamin Anagamin (Sanskrit) (from a not + agamin from a-gam to come, proceed toward) One who does not come; in Southern or Theravada Buddhism, a "never returner," on e who will be reborn on earth no more -- "unless he so desires in order to help mankind" (VS 88). The third stage of the fourfold path that leads to nirvana, th e path of arhatship. See also ARHAT Vedanta Vedanta (Sanskrit) The end or completion of the Veda; the final, most perfect ex position of the Vedic tenets. As Uttara-mimansa, one of the six Darsanas or Hind u schools of philosophy, it is said to have been founded by the compiler of the Vedas, Vyasa. Sankaracharya is the main popularizer of the Advaita or nondualist ic Vedantic philosophy, which is virtually identical with Central Asian Buddhism . "The Vedanta is the highest form that the Brahmanical teachings have taken . . . "The Vedanta may briefly be described as a system of mystical philosophy derived from the efforts of Sages through many generations to interpret the sacred or e soteric meaning of the Upanishads. . . . The Hindus call the Vedanta Brahma-jnan a" (OG 181). See also: Vedanta * Encyclopedia II - Essence - Buddhism Within the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism, Candrakirti identifies the se See also: Anagamin

lf as being: an essence of things that does not depend on others; it is an intri nsic nature. The non-existence of that is selflessness. -- Bodhisattvayogacary catu atak 6.1.7 Indeed the concept of Buddhist Emptiness, is the strong assertion that all phenomena are empty of any essence - demonstrating that anti-essentialism lies at the very root of Buddhist praxis. Therefore, within ... Read more here: Essence: Encyclopedia II - Essence - Buddhism * Encyclopedia II - Eschatology - Buddhism At the time of the Buddha, he apparently predicted that his teachings would disa ppear after 500 years. According to the Sutta Pitaka, the "ten moral courses of conduct" will disappear and people will follow the ten amoral concepts of theft, violence, murder, lying, evil speaking, adultery, abusive and idle talk, coveto usness and ill will, wanton greed, and perverted lust resulting in skyrocketing poverty and the ... Read more here: Eschatology: Encyclopedia II - Eschatology - Buddhism * Encyclopedia II - Arya - Buddhism The word Arya is very frequently used in Buddhist texts. Buddhist texts refer to this term much more often than do Hindu or Jain texts. Buddha's Dharma and Vina ya is the ariyassa dhammavinayo. The four noble truths are called the Arya Satya ni (catvAri-Arya-satyAni), the noble eightfold path is called the Aryamarga (Ary a-ashtANgika-mArga, in Pali:Ariyamagga). Buddhists themselves are called ariyapu ggalas (Arya persons). In Buddhist texts, the Aryas are those who have the Buddh ist "sila" virtue and are following the Buddhist path. Those who despise Bud ... Read more here: Arya: Encyclopedia II - Arya - Buddhism * Encyclopedia II - Buddhism - Principles of Buddhism Buddhism - The Three Marks of Existence. According to the Buddhist tradition, al l phenomena (dharmas) are marked by three characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Dharma seals, that is anicca(impermanence), dukkha (suffering) and Anatt a (no self) Main Article: Anicca (P li; Sanskrit: anitya): All compounded phenomena (things and experiences) are inconstant, unsteady, and impermanent. (Practicall y) everything is made up of parts, and is dependent on the right condit ... Read more here: Buddhism: Encyclopedia II - Buddhism - Principles of Buddhism * Day Of Buddhas Enlightenment Twenty-five years ago, in the light of a full moon, I sat facing the lying Buddh a in Polonnaruwa in central Sri Lanka. It was Buddha Purnima . I noticed the Bud dhas smile as he lay dying, and the concern on his disciple, Anandas face, standin g before him. Buddhas last words were: Be lamps unto yourselves. As he left us, the Sakyamuni did not ask us to pray to him or believe in him as a messiah. Unfortunately, over t ime, his life and teachings have become encrusted in layers of religiosity. (See also: Buddhism, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul ) Read more here: Buddhism: Day Of Buddhas Enlightenment * Play of Sensations And Wheel of Life

The doctrine of Paticca-samuppada is the cornerstone of Buddhism. It says nothin g happens without a cause, and every cause has an effect. This law applies to ev ery entity living or dead, big or small, from individual to communities, societi es to nations. Paticca-samuppada is also called the law of cause and effect. Paticca means 'dep endent upon, samuppada means 'arising. This doctrine is applied to the wheel of li fe, which consists of 12 interdependent causes and effects. (See also: Paticca-samuppada, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul ) Read more here: Paticca-samuppada: Play of Sensations And Wheel of Life * : Buddhist architecture Buddhist religious architecture developed in the South Asia in the third century BCE. Two types of structures are associated with early Buddhism: stupas and vih aras. The initial function of a stupa was the veneration and safe-guarding of th e relics of the Buddha. The earliest existing example of a stupa is in Sanchi (M adhya Pradesh). In accordance with changes in religious practice, stupas were gr adually incorporated into chaitya-grihas (stupa halls). These reached their high point in the first century BCE, exemplified by the ca ... Read more here: Buddhist architecture * : Buddhist art Buddhist art originated in the Indian subcontinent in the centuries following th e life of the historical Gautama Buddha in the 6th to 5th century BCE, before ev olving through its contact with other cultures and its diffusion through the res t of Asia and the world. A first, essentially Indian, aniconic phase (avoiding direct representations of the Buddha), was followed from around the 1st century CE by an iconic phase (with direct representations of the Buddha). From that tim e, Buddhist art diversified and evolved ... Including: Buddhist art - Aniconi c phase 5th century - 1st century BCE Buddhist art - Iconic phase 1st century C E present Buddhist art - Northern Buddhist art Buddhist art - Central Asia Bu ddhist art - China Buddhist art - Korea Buddhist art - Japan Buddhist art - T ibet and Bhutan Buddhist art - Vietnam Buddhist art - Southern Buddhist ar t Buddhist art - Burma Buddhist art - Cambodia Buddhist art - Thailand Bud dhist art - Indonesia Read more here: Buddhist art * : Buddhist terms and concepts Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that c over the breadth of the original term. Below are given a number of important Bud dhist terms, short definitions, and the languages in which they appear. In this list, an attempt has been made to organize terms by their original form and give translations and synonyms in other languages below the definition. Languages an d traditions dealt with here: English (Eng.) P li: Therav da Buddhism Sanskrit (or Bu ddhist Hybrid S ... Including: Buddhist terms and concepts - A Buddhist terms an d concepts - B Buddhist terms and concepts - D Buddhist terms and concepts - F B uddhist terms and concepts - G Buddhist terms and concepts - H Buddhist terms an d concepts - I Buddhist terms and concepts - J Buddhist terms and concepts - K B uddhist terms and concepts - L Buddhist terms and concepts - M Buddhist terms an d concepts - N Buddhist terms and concepts - O Buddhist terms and concepts - P B uddhist terms and concepts - R Buddhist terms and concepts - S Buddhist terms an d concepts - T Buddhist terms and concepts - U Buddhist terms and concepts - V B

uddhist terms and concepts - Z Read more here: Buddhist terms and concepts * : Bodhi - title given to the spiritual teacher Gautama Buddha Bodhi (P li and Sanskrit. Lit. awakening) is a title given in Buddhism to the speci fic awakening experience attained by the Indian spiritual teacher Gautama Buddha and his disciples. It is sometimes described as complete and perfect sanity, or awareness of the true nature of the universe. After attainment, it is believed one is freed from the cycle of Sams ra: birth, suffering, death and rebirth. Bodhi is most commonly translated into English as enlightenment, though this translati on is problematic, since enlightenment ... Including: Bodhi - Modes of Enlight enment Bodhi - Pacceka-Bodhi Pratyeka Bodhi - Samm -Sambodhi supreme Buddha Bodhi - Quotes Read more here: Bodhi - title given to the spiritual teacher Gautama Buddha * : Buddhism in China Buddhism is a very important religion in China and one of the three major school s of thought along with Confucianism and Taoism. It has affected and been affect ed by Chinese culture, politics, literature and philosophy for almost two millen nia. For a more generalized discussion of Chinese religion, see religion in Chin a. Buddhism in China - History of Buddhism in China. The arrival of Buddhism i n China followed the first contacts between China and Central Asia which occurre d with the opening of the Silk Ro ... Including: Buddhism in China - History of Buddhism in China Buddhism in China - Relation to Confucianism and Daoism Buddh ism in China - Local interpretation of Indian texts Buddhism in China - Buddhism gains political traction in the north Buddhism in China - Monks and rulers join forces Buddhism in China - Modern Chinese Buddhism Buddhism in China - Refere nce Read more here: Buddhism in China * : Sri Lankan Buddhism Sri Lankan Buddhism belongs to the Theravada tradition. About 69% of the country adheres to Buddhism. Sri Lanka is the country with longest continuous history o f Buddhism. Theravada has been the major religion in the island since soon after its introduction in the 2nd century BC by Venerable Mahinda, the son of the Emp eror Ashoka of India during the reign of Sri Lanka's King Devanampiya. The diffe rent orders of the Therevada are referred to as nikayas, and in Sri Lanka there are three: Siam Nikay ... Read more here: Sri Lankan Buddhism * Encyclopedia - Vipaka Vipaka (Pali) is the result of karma (intentional actions). See also. Buddhism L ist of Buddhist topics Rebirth ... Read more here: Vipaka: Encyclopedia - Vipaka * Encyclopedia - Population Connection Population Connection is an organization in the United States, formerly known as Zero Population Growth. They adopted their current name in 2002. Zero Populatio n Growth was originally founded in 1968 by Paul R. Ehrlich, Richard Bowers, and Charles Remington, in the wake of the impact from Ehrlich's best-selling book, T

he Population Bomb. According to an ad in the paperback edition of that book: "Z ero Population Growth Inc. is an organization which has been formed to bring the crucial issue of over-population to th ... Including: * Population Connection - External link Read more here: Population Connection: Encyclopedia - Population Connection * Encyclopedia - Three marks of existence After much meditation, the Buddha concluded that everything in the physical worl d (plus everything in the phenomenology of psychology) is marked by three charac teristics, known as the three characteristics of existence, three signs of being or Dharma Seals. Together the three characteristics of existence are called tilakkhana, in Pali; or tri-laksana, in Sanskrit. Dukkha or unsatisfactoriness. No thing found in the physical world or the psychological realm can bring lasting d eep satisfaction. Anicca ... Including: * Three marks of existence - Interpretations of the three marks by vario us schools Read more here: Three marks of existence: Encyclopedia - Three marks of existenc e * Encyclopedia - Buddhist terms and concepts Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that c over the breadth of the original term. Below are given a number of important Bud dhist terms, short definitions, and the languages in which they appear. In this list, an attempt has been made to organize terms by their original form and give translations and synonyms in other languages below the definition. Languages an d traditions dealt with here: English (Eng.) P li: Therav da Buddhism Sanskrit (or Bud dhist Hybrid S ... Read more here: Buddhist terms and concepts: Encyclopedia - Buddhist terms and c oncepts * Encyclopedia - Shaolin

The Shaolin temple (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Sholns; literally "Young Forest Temple" ddhist monastery famed for its long association with Chn (Japanese: Zen) Buddhism and martial arts, and is perhaps the Buddhist monastery best known in the West. According to the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (645) by Daoxuan, the or iginal Shaolin monastery was built on the north side of the S ... Read more here: Shaolin: Encyclopedia - Shaolin Glossary related to Buddhism Dream Dictionary related to Buddhism Home P Home