Buddhist Vegetarianism Buddhist vegetarianism is the belief in following a vegetarian diet is implied in the Buddha‘s teaching. In Buddhism, however, the views on vegetarianism vary between different schools of thought. The Mahayana schools generally recommend a vegetarian diet; according to some sutras the Buddha himself insisted that his followers should not eat the flesh of any sentient being. Early...
Buddhist Deities Buddhist deities include a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various rituals and popular contexts. Initially, they included mainly Indian figures such as vedic devas and yakshas, but later came to include other Asian spirits and local gods. Buddhist deities range from enlightened Buddhas to regional spirits adopted...
Deva In Buddhism A deva (देव, Mongolian tenger (тэнгэр)) in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the godlike characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, much happier than humans, although the same level of veneration is not paid to them as to buddhas. The concept of devas was...
Zen Scriptures Though Zen is said to be based on a “special transmission outside scriptures” which “did not stand upon words”, the Zen-tradition has a rich doctrinal and textual background. It has been influenced by sutras such as the Lankavatara Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, and the Lotus Sutra. Subsequently, the Zen tradition produced...
Korean Seon Seon, or Seon Buddhism or Sŏn Buddhism (Korean: 선, 禪) is the Korean name for Chan Buddhism, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism commonly known in English as Zen Buddhism. Seon is the Sino-Korean pronunciation of Chan (Chinese: 禪; pinyin: chán) an abbreviation of 禪那 (chánnà), which is a Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word of dhyāna (“meditation“). Seon...
Chan Buddhism Chan (禅, 禪; Chán; 禪那; chánnà), from Sanskrit dhyāna (meaning “meditation” or “meditative state”), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming dominant during the Tang and Song dynasties. After the Yuan dynasty, Chan more or less fused with Pure Land Buddhism. Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the...
Abhidharma Abhidharma (Sanskrit) or Abhidhamma (Pali) are ancient (3rd century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist sutras. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the field of knowledge that this method is said to study. Bhikkhu Bodhi calls it “an abstract...
Sati (Mindfulness in Buddhism) Sati (from सति; स्मृति smṛti) is mindfulness or awareness, a spiritual or psychological faculty (indriya) that forms an essential part of Buddhist practice. It is the first factor of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. “Correct” or “right” mindfulness (Pali: sammā-sati, Sanskrit samyak-smṛti) is the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path. Definition The Buddhist term translated...
Three Marks Of Existence In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (tilakkhaṇa; त्रिलक्षण, trilakṣaṇa) of all existence and beings, namely impermanence (aniccā), unsatisfactoriness or suffering (duḥkha), and non-self (anattā). These three characteristics are mentioned in verses 277, 278 and 279 of the Dhammapada. That humans are subject to delusion...
Buddhist View Of Marriage The Buddhist view of marriage considers marriage a secular affair and as such, it is not considered a sacrament. Buddhists are expected to follow the civil laws regarding marriage laid out by their respective governments. While the ceremony itself is civil, many Buddhists obtain the blessing from monks at the...
Buddhism And Sexuality Although only a limited number of scholarly studies have appeared to date on the topic of Buddhism and sexuality, most concur, explicitly or implicitly, that teachings such as the ‘Sermon on Burning’ (Ādittapariyāya-sutta) from the Saṃyutta-nikāya (35.28) in which the Buddha warns his monks that sense perception...
Lankavatara Sutra The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra (लंकावतारसूत्र, ལང་ཀར་བཤེགས་པའི་མདོ་) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. This sūtra recounts a teaching primarily between Gautama Buddha and a bodhisattva named Mahāmati, “Great Wisdom”. The sūtra is set in Laṅkā, the island fortress capital of Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasa demons. The title of this text roughly translates as “Scripture of the...
Japanese Zen Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen Buddhism, an originally Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism that strongly emphasizes dhyāna, the meditative training of awareness and equanimity. This practice, according to Zen proponents, gives insight into one’s true nature, or the emptiness of inherent existence, which opens the way to a liberated way of living. History...
Pratityasamutpada Pratityasamutpada or pratītyasamutpāda (प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद, pratītyasamutpāda; पटिच्चसमुप्पाद, paṭiccasamuppāda), commonly translated as dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a key doctrine of Buddhist philosophy, which states that all dharmas (“phenomena”) arise in dependence upon other dharmas: “if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist”. The principle is expressed in the...
Sunyata Sunyata or Śūnyatā (शून्यता, śūnyatā; suññatā) – pronounced in English as (shoon-ya-ta), translated most often as emptiness and sometimes voidness – 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...
Madhyamaka Madhyamaka (“Middle way” or “Centrism”; मध्यमक, 中觀見; Zhōngguān Jìan, dbu ma pa) also 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 philosopher Nāgārjuna (c. 150-250 CE). The foundational text of the Mādhyamaka tradition is Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on the Middle Way). More...
Suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of affective phenomena. The opposite of suffering is pleasure or happiness. Suffering is often...
Emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression, loneliness, anhedonia, despair, or other mental/emotional disorders, including schizoid personality disorder, post trauma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. A sense of emptiness is also part of a natural process of...
Buddhist Monasticism Buddhist monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns, called bhikkhu (Skt. bhikshu) and bhikkhuni (Skt. bhikshuni), are responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha‘s teaching and the guidance of Buddhist lay people. Three surviving traditions...
Kensho Kensho or Kenshō (見性) is a Japanese term from the Zen tradition. Ken means “seeing”, shō means “nature, essence“. It is usually translated as “seeing one’s (true) nature”, that is, the Buddha-nature or nature of mind. Kenshō is an initial insight or awakening, not full Buddhahood. It is to be followed by further training to deepen this insight, and learn...