“Windows To Spirituality”
The Wisdom Of The Other Bank The Wisdom Of The Other Bank is a chapter from “India in Primitive Christianity” By Arthur Lillie. Fine mysticism of Buddhism—The man who was born blind—The Tevigga Sutta—The Sinner—The Penitent Thief—”God revealed in the form of mercy—Death of Buddha. If the Roman Catholics were told that...
Fundamentals Of Buddhism: Wisdom This article covers Fundamentals Of Buddhism: Wisdom. Today we are going to complete our survey of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the last two weeks, we have looked at good conduct and mental development. Today, we have the third group to look at, and that is...
Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path (ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo; āryāṣṭāṅgamārga) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi (‘meditative absorption or...
Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (catvāri āryasatyāni; cattāri ariyasaccāni) are “the truths of the Noble Ones,” the truths or realities which are understood by the “worthy ones” who have attained nirvana. The truths are: dukkha, “incapable of satisfying,” painful; samudaya, the “arising” of dukkha together with tanha (“thirst,” desire, craving); nirodha, “cessation” of dukkha by “confinement” of tanha; and marga, the...
The Basics Of Buddhist Wisdom The Four Noble Truths Life is suffering; Suffering is due to attachment; Attachment can be overcome; There is a path for accomplishing this. Suffering is perhaps the most common translation for the Sanskrit word duhkha, which can also be translated as imperfect, stressful, or filled...
Tirukkural: The Book Of Wisdom Ancient Text on Virtue, Wealth & Love The Tirukkural (திருக்குறள், literally Sacred Verses), or shortly the Kural, is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 couplets or Kurals. The text is divided into three books, each with aphoristic teachings on virtue (aram, dharma), wealth (porul, artha) and love (inbam, kama). Considered one...
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་) is a title given by the Tibetan people for the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or “Yellow Hat” school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest of the classical schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India. See Also: Dalai Lama...
Prajñā in Buddhism Prajñā (Sanskrit) or paññā (Pāli), often translated as “wisdom“, is the state of understanding. It is described in Buddhist commentaries 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: anicca (impermanence), dukkha...
Gautama Buddha The Gautama Buddha (also known as The Buddha, Siddhattha Gotama or Siddhārtha Gautama) was a philosopher, mendicant, meditator, spiritual teacher, and religious leader who lived in Ancient India (c. 5th to 4th century BCE). He is revered as the founder of the world religion of Buddhism. He taught for around 45 years and...
Buddhism Buddhism is the world’s fourth-largest religion with over 520 million followers, or over 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on original teachings attributed to the Buddha and resulting interpreted philosophies. Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading...
Buddhism And Western Philosophy Buddhism and Western Philosophy include several parallels. Before the 20th century, a few European thinkers such as Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche had engaged with Buddhist thought. Likewise, in Asian nations with Buddhist populations, there were also attempts to bring the insights of Western thought to...
What Is Buddhist Modernism? Buddhist modernism (also referred to as modern Buddhism, modernist Buddhism, and Neo-Buddhism) are a new movement based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other religions. The sources of influences have variously been an engagement of Buddhist...
Criticism Of Buddhism Criticism of Buddhism has taken numerous different forms, including that its practitioners act in ways contrary to Buddhist principles or that those principles systemically marginalize women. There are many sources of criticism, both ancient and modern, stemming from other religions, the non-religious, and other Buddhists. Criticism of...
Kshanti Kshanti or khanti is patience, forbearance and forgiveness. It is one of the pāramitās in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism. Canonical sources Examples in the Pāli canon identify using forbearance in response to others’ anger, cuckolding, torture and even fatal assaults. Dhammapada verses Khanti is the first word of the Ovada-Patimokkha Gatha (Pāli for “Patimokkha Exhortation Verse”), also found in the Dhammapada, verse...
Women In Buddhism Women in Buddhism is a topic that can be approached from varied perspectives including those of theology, history, anthropology and feminism. Topical interests include the theological status of women, the treatment of women in Buddhist societies at home and in public, the history of women in Buddhism,...
Buddhism And Violence The relationship between Buddhism and violence includes acts of violence and aggression committed by Buddhists with religious, political, or socio-cultural motivations, as well as self-inflicted violence by ascetics or for religious purposes. Buddhism is generally seen as among the religious traditions least associated with violence. However, in...
Buddhist Cosmology Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to the Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It consists of temporal and spatial cosmology: the temporal cosmology being the division of the existence of a ‘world’ into four discrete moments (the creation, duration, dissolution, and state...
Karma In Buddhism Karma (karman, kamma) is a Sanskrit term that literally means “action” or “doing”. Karma in Buddhism refers to action driven by intention (cetanā) which leads to future consequences. Those intentions are considered to be the determining factor in the kind of rebirth in samsara, the cycle of rebirth....
Rebirth In Buddhism Rebirth in Buddhism refers to its teaching that the actions of a person lead to a new existence after death, in endless cycles called saṃsāra. This cycle is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful. The cycle stops only if liberation is achieved by insight and the extinguishing of desire. Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of...
Naraka In Buddhism This article covers Naraka in Buddhism. Naraka (नरक; निरय Niraya) is a term in Buddhist cosmology usually referred to in English as “hell” (or “hell realm”) or “purgatory“. The Narakas of Buddhism are closely related to diyu, the hell in Chinese mythology. A Naraka differs from the hell of Christianity...
