Illustration of Bodhisattva Sadāprarudita (Ever weeping), a character in the 8000 line PP sutra Avadana section, which is used by the Buddha as an exemplar of those who seek Prajñāpāramitā.

Prajñāpāramitā

Prajñāpāramitā Prajñāpāramitā means “the Perfection of (Transcendent) Wisdom” in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Prajñāpāramitā refers to this perfected way of seeing the nature of reality, as well as to a particular body of sutras and to the personification of the concept in the Bodhisattva known as the “Great Mother” (Tibetan: Yum Chenmo). The word...

Buddha Bokeh Lotus Position Buddhism Meditation

Buddhist Philosophy

What Is Buddhist Philosophy? Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various Buddhist schools in India following the death of the Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combines both philosophical reasoning and meditation. The Buddhist traditions present a multitude of Buddhist paths to liberation, and...

Buddha Buddhism Meditation Asia Believe Religion

Buddhist Views On Sin

Buddhist Views On Sin There are a few differing Buddhist views on sin. American Zen author Brad Warner states that in Buddhism there is no concept of sin at all. The Buddha Dharma Education Association also expressly states “The idea of sin or original sin has no place in Buddhism.”Zen student and author Barbara O’Brien has said...

Theravādin monk meditating beside Sirikit Dam (Thailand)

Theravada

Theravada Theravada or Theravāda (“School of the Elders”) is the oldest of Buddhism‘s extant schools. Theravadins have preserved their version of the Gautama Buddha‘s teaching in the Pāli Canon. The Pāli Canon is the only complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school’s sacred language and lingua franca. For over a...

Illustrated Korean manuscript of the Lotus Sutra, Goryeo Dynasty, c. 1340. Notice the three carts at the top which are symbolic of the 'three vehicles', i.e. the Śrāvakayāna, Pratyekabuddhayāna and the Bodhisattvayāna.

Mahayana

Mahayana Mahayana or Mahāyāna (“Great Vehicle”) is one of two main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being Theravada) and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. This movement added a further set of discourses, and although it was initially small in India, it had long-term historical significance....

Buddhism and Evolution

Buddhism And Evolution

Buddhism And Evolution This article covers the relationship between Buddhism and evolution. Evolution is not explicitly mentioned in the Tipitaka. As no major principles of Buddhism contradict it, many Buddhists tacitly accept the theory of evolution. Questions about the eternity or infinity of the universe at large are counted among the 14 unanswerable questions which...