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Buddhism
Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of psychology. ...
Image File history File links Lotus-buddha. ...
| | History
The History of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. ...
| | Dharmic religions
Timeline of Buddhism
Buddhist councils
map showing the prevalence of Dharmic (yellow) and Abrahamic (purple) religions in each country. ...
563 BCE: SiddhÄrtha Gautama, Buddha-to-be, is born in Lumbini, Ancient India. ...
// 1st Buddhist council (5th century BC) The first Buddhist council was held soon after the death of the Buddha under the patronage of king Ajatasatru, and presided by a monk named Mahakasyapa, at Rajagaha (todays Rajgir). ...
| | Foundations
Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. ...
| | Four Noble Truths
Noble Eightfold Path
The Five Precepts
Nirvāna · Three Jewels
The Four Noble Truths (Pali: Chattari Arya Sachchhani, Chinese: å››è–諦 Sìshèngdì), being among the most fundamental Buddhist teachings, appear many times throughout the most ancient Buddhist texts, the Pali Canon. ...
The Dharma wheel, often used to represent the Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path (PÄli: अरियो अटà¥à¤ ङà¥à¤—ीको मगà¥à¤—ो, Ariyo aá¹á¹haá¹…giko maggo; Sanskrit: आरà¥à¤¯à¤¾à¤·à¥à¤Ÿà¤¾à¤™à¥à¤—ो मारà¥à¤—ो, Ä€rya á¹£á¹Äá¹…ga mÄrgaḥ; Chinese: å…«æ£é“, BÄzhèngdà o; Japanese: å…«æ£é“, HasshÅdÅ) is, in the Buddhist tradition as taught by the Buddha ÅšÄkyamuni, considered to be the...
The five precepts (Pali: Pañcasīla, Sanskrit: Pañcaśīla Ch: 五戒 wǔ jiè, Sinhala: පන්සිල්) constitute the basic Buddhist code of ethics, undertaken by lay followers of the Buddha Gautama. ...
(Devanagari , Pali: NibbÄna निबà¥à¤¬à¤¾à¤¨ -- Chinese: 涅槃; Pinyin: nièpán, Japanese: nehan, Thai: Nibpan นิพพาน ), is a Sanskrit word from India that literally means extinction (as in a candle flame) and/or extinguishing (i. ...
The Triratna or Three Jewels symbol, on a Buddha footprint. ...
| | Key Concepts
Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. ...
| | Three marks of existence
Skandha · Cosmology · Dharma
Samsara · Rebirth · Shunyata
Pratitya-samutpada · Karma
After much meditation, the Buddha concluded that everything in the physical world (plus everything in the phenomenology of psychology) is marked by three characteristics, known as the three characteristics of existence or Dharma Seals. ...
The skandhas (Sanskrit: PÄli: Khandha; literally: heap or bundle) are the five constituents or aggregates through which the functioning and experience of an individual is created according to Buddhist phenomenology. ...
Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ...
Dharma (Sanskrit) or Dhamma (PÄli) in Buddhism has two primary meanings: the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment the constituent factors of the experienced world In East Asia, the character for Dharma is 法, pronounced fÇŽ in Mandarin and hÅ in Japanese. ...
SaṃsÄra, the Sanskrit and PÄli term for continous movement or continuous flowing refers in Buddhism to the concept of a cycle of birth (jÄti) and consequent decay and death (jarÄmaraṇa), in which all beings in the universe participate and which can only be escaped...
// Rebirth in the context of other religions and other Buddhist beliefs One of the features that distinguishes the Middle Eastern religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) from the Indian religions (most notably Hinduism and Buddhism) is the view of life and death. ...
ŚūnyatÄ, शूनà¥à¤¯à¤¤à¤¾ (Sanskrit, Pali: suññatÄ), or Emptiness, is a term for an aspect of the Buddhist metaphysical critique as well as Buddhist epistemology and phenomenology. ...
The doctrine of PratÄ«tyasamutpÄda (Sanskrit) or PaticcasamuppÄda (PÄli; Tibetan: ) Dependent Arising is an important part of Buddhist metaphysics. ...
Karma (Sanskrit karman) or Kamma (PÄli) means action or doing; whatever one does, says, or thinks is a karma. ...
| | Major Figures
A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists. ...
| | Gautama Buddha
Buddha's Disciples · Family
Nagarjuna · Dogen
Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ...
A statue depicting Nagarjuna at the Samye Ling Monastery, Dumfriesshire, Scotland NÄgÄrjuna (నాగారà±à°œà±à°¨ in Telugu, é¾æ¨¹ in Chinese) (c. ...
DÅgen Zenji DÅgen Zenji (é“元禅師; also Kigen DÅgen 希玄é“å…ƒ) (19 January 1200–22 September 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in KyÅto, and the founder of the SÅtÅ school of Zen in Japan. ...
| | Practices and Attainment
| | Buddhahood · Bodhisattva
Four Stages of Enlightenment
Paramis · Meditation · Laity
Media:Example. ...
In Buddhist thought, a bodhisattva (Pali: bodhisatta; Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: púsà ; Japanese: è©è–© bosatsu; Korean: ë³´ì‚´ bosal ; Tibetan changchub sempa (byang-chub sems-dpa); Vietnamese: Bồ Tát; Thai: พระโพธิสัตว์) is a being who is dedicated to assisting all sentient beings in achieving complete Buddhahood. ...
The Four stages of enlightenment in Buddhism are the four degrees of approach to full enlightenment as an arhat which a Buddhist can attain in this life. ...
Pāramitā (Sanskrit) or Parami (Pāli): Perfection or Transcendent (lit. ...
Buddhist meditation, meditation used in the practice of Buddhism, includes any method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim. The closest word for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism is bhavana or mental development. // Methods of meditation The main methods of Buddhist meditation are divided into samatha...
In canonical Buddhism, householder refers to a particular strata of society whose individuals are typified by having a home life and family. ...
| | Regions
Buddhist beliefs and practices vary according to region. ...
| | Southeast Asia · East Asia
Tibet · India · Western
Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. ...
The Aomori Daibutsu (Big Buddha), Aomori, Japan. ...
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, the Himalayan region (including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim), Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (Russia), and northeastern China (Manchuria: Heilongjiang, Jilin). ...
The Indo-Greek king Menander (155-130 BCE) is the first Western historical figure documented to have converted to Buddhism. ...
| | Schools
There are many divisions and subdivisions of the schools of Buddhism. ...
| | Theravāda · Mahāyāna
Vajrayāna · Early schools
Theravada (PÄli: theravÄda; Sanskrit: sthaviravÄda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and continental Southeast Asia (parts of southwest China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia...
Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Divisions among the early Buddhist schools came about due to doctrinal or practical differences in the views of the Buddhist Sangha following the death of the Buddha. ...
| | Texts
There are a great variety of Buddhist texts. ...
| | Pali Canon
Pali Suttas · Mahayana Sutras
Vinaya · Abhidhamma
Standard edition of the Thai Pali Canon The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. ...
The Sutta Pitaka (suttapiá¹aka; or Suttanta Pitaka; Sanskrit सूतà¥à¤° पिटक Sutra Pitaka) is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, the great Pali collection of Buddhist writings, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. ...
Mahayana sutras are a very broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that began to be compiled from the first century BCE. They form the basis of the various Mahayana schools, and survive either as original texts in Sanskrit and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit or as primary translations in Chinese and Tibetan, with...
Pali or Sanskrit word meaning discipline. The Vinaya is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ...
The abhidhamma is the name of one of the three pitakas, or baskets of tradition, into which the Tipitaka (Pali; Sanskrit: Tripitaka), the canon of early Buddhism, is divided. ...
| | Comparative Studies
Culture · List of Topics
Portal: Buddhism
The cultural elements of Buddhism vary by region and include: Buddhist cuisine Buddhist art Buddharupa Art and architecture of Japan Greco-Buddhism Tibetan Buddhist sacred art Buddhist music Buddhist chant Shomyo Categories: Buddhism-related stubs ...
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The following is a List of Buddhist topics: A Abhidharma Ahimsa Ajahn Ajahn Chah Ajanta Aksobhya Alexandra David-Néel...
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 Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...
This box: view • talk • edit | The two truths doctrine in Buddhism differentiates between two levels of truth in Buddhist discourse, a relative, or commonsense truth, and an "ultimate" truth or highest spiritual truth. It is used to avoid confusion between doctrinally accurate statements about the true nature of reality (e.g., there is no "self") and practical statements that make reference to things that, while not expressing the true nature of reality, are necessary in order to communicate easily and help people achieve enlightenment (e.g., talking to a student about "himself" or "herself"). While this division, particularly when referred to as the "satya-dvaya", is often associated with the Madhyamaka school, its history is quite extensive. Casual readers of Buddhist thought have often used the ideas of the two truths to erroneously identify Buddhism as being Transcendental in nature, and thereby identify its doctrines with Plato or Kant. Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of psychology. ...
Common dictionary definitions of truth mention some form of accord with fact or reality. ...
Discourse is a term used in semantics as in discourse analysis, but it also refers to a social conception of discourse, often linked with the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) and Jürgen Habermas The Theory of Communicative Action (1985). ...
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ...
Bodhi, the PÄli and Sanskrit word for awakening or enlightenment, is an abstract noun formed from the verbal root budh (awake, become aware, notice, know or understand), corresponding to the verbs bujjhati (PÄli) and bodhati or budhyate (Sanskrit). ...
This page lists direct English translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. ...
Madhyamaka is a Buddhist philosophical tradition that asserts that all phenomena are empty of self-nature or essence (Sanskrit: SvabhÄva), that they have no intrinsic, independent reality apart from the causes and conditions from which they arise. ...
In philosophy, transcendental/transcendence, has three different but related primary meanings, all of them derived from the words literal meaning (from Latin), of climbing or going beyond: one that originated in Ancient philosophy, one in Medieval philosophy and one in modern philosophy. ...
Plato (ancient Greek: Πλάτων, PlátÅn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ...
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ...
Canonical use Two pairs of terms are used in the Pali Tipitaka. One pair is nītattha (Pali; Sanskrit: nītārtha, "of plain or clear meaning" (Monier-Williams)) and neyyattha (Pali; Sanskrit: neyartha, "(a word or sentence) having a sense that can only be guessed" (Monier-Williams)). These terms were used to identify texts or statements that either did or did not require additional interpretation in order to be made clear and/or non-contradictory and/or doctrinally accurate in a strict sense; a nītattha required no explanation, while a neyyartha text might mislead some people unless properly explained. (McCagney, 82) The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ...
- There are these two who misrepresent the Tathagata. Which two? He who represents a Sutta of indirect meaning as a Sutta of direct meaning and he who represents a Sutta of direct meaning as a Sutta of indirect meaning.
- — Anguttara Nikaya I:60 (Jayatilleke, 361, in McCagney, 82)
The other pair is saṃmuti (Pali; Sanskrit: saṃvṛti; Pali = "common consent, general opinion, convention" (PED), with same meaning in Buddhist Sanskrit) and paramattha (Pali; Sanskrit: paramārtha, "ultimate"). These are used to distinguish conventional or common-sense language, as used in metaphors or for convenience's sake, from language used to express higher truths directly. TathÄgata (Sanskrit; Pali The one thus-come or The one thus-gone; Chinese: 如來; Pinyin: Rú lái; Japanese: nyorai) This is traditionally interpreted as one who comes and goes in the same way (as the previous Buddhas). TathÄgata is the name which the historical Buddha Sakyamuni (Siddhattha Gotama...
Sutra (सूतà¥à¤°) in Sanskrit is derived from the verb siv-, meaning to sew (these words, including English to sew and Latinate suture, all derive from PIE *syÅ«-). It literally means a rope or thread, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms...
The Anguttara Nikaya (Gradual Collection) is the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the three baskets that compose the Pali Tipitaka. ...
The term vohāra (Pali; Sanskrit: vyavahāra, "common practice, convention, custom" is also used in more or less the same sense as samuti.
In the canon, the distinction is not made between a lower truth and a higher truth, but rather between two kinds of expressions of the same truth, which must be interpreted differently. Thus a phrase or passage, or a whole sutta, might be classed as neyyattha or samuti or vohāra, but it is not regarded at this stage as expressing or conveying a different level of truth. Canon law is the term used for the internal ecclesiastical law which governs various churches, most notably the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Anglican Communion of churches. ...
There is a canonical assertion that "truth is one" that might be held to conflict with a systematic assertion that there is a bifold distinction of truths. [1]
Theravāda commentarial tradition The Theravādin commentators expanded on these categories and began applying them not only to expressions but to the truth then expressed. Theravada (PÄli: theravÄda; Sanskrit: sthaviravÄda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and continental Southeast Asia (parts of southwest China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia...
- The Awakened One, the best of teachers, spoke of two truths, conventional and higher; no third is ascertained; a conventional statement is true because of convention and a higher statement is true as disclosing the true characteristics of events.
- — Khathāvatthu Aṭṭha kathǎ (Jayatilleke, 363, in McCagney, 84)
Further developments in Nikaya Buddhism The Prajnāptivāda school took up the paramārtha/saṃvṛti distinction, and extended the concept to dharmas (metaphysical-phenomenological constituents), distinguishing those which are tattva (real) from those which are purely conceptual, i.e., ultimately nonexistent, "prajnāpti". The Prajñaptivāda (Conceptualist) school of Buddhism split from Golulikas in late third century BCE. The Prajñaptivādins were early articulators of the two truths doctrine that is so important to Mahāyāna Buddhism, where it is usually found in the tension between...
Dharma (Sanskrit: धरà¥à¤®) or Dhamma (PÄli: धमा) (Natural Law) refers to the underlying order in Nature and human behaviour considered to be in accord with that order. ...
Madhyamaka The distinction between two truths (satyadvayavibhaga) is of great importance for the Madhyamaka school, as it forms a cornerstone of their beliefs; in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārika, for example, it is used to defend the identification of pratītyasamutpāda with śūnyatā. A statue depicting Nagarjuna at the Samye Ling Monastery, Dumfriesshire, Scotland NÄgÄrjuna (నాగారà±à°œà±à°¨ in Telugu, é¾æ¨¹ in Chinese) (c. ...
- The Buddha's teaching of the dharma relied on two truths,
- The common truth of the world (lokasaṃvṛtisatya) and what is ultimately true (paramārthasatya).
- They who do not know the division of the two truths
- Do not know the deep reality of the Buddha's instructions.
- The ultimate is not taught without resorting to the conventional (vyavahāra);
- Without having gotten to the ultimate (paramārtha), nirvana cannot be approached.
- — MMK 24:8-10
(Devanagari , Pali: NibbÄna निबà¥à¤¬à¤¾à¤¨ -- Chinese: 涅槃; Pinyin: nièpán, Japanese: nehan, Thai: Nibpan นิพพาน ), is a Sanskrit word from India that literally means extinction (as in a candle flame) and/or extinguishing (i. ...
See also Upaya is a term in Mahayana Buddhism which is often translated as means, though literally expedient would be more accurate, as upaya (from upa√i) refers to something which goes or brings you up to something (i. ...
References - McCagney, Nancy. The Philosophy of Openness. Rowman and Littlefield, 1997
- Keown, Damien. Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press, 2003
- Monier-Williams, Monier. Sanskrit-English Dictionary
- Gethin, Rupert. Foundations of Buddhism. pp. 207, 235-245
- Jayatilleke, K.N. Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge. George Allen and Unwin, 1963
- Lopez, Donald S., "A Study of Svatantrika", Snow Lion Publicatins, 1987, pp.192-217.
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