- published: 08 Feb 2011
- views: 8288
- author: Anil Sakya
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- Abhayagiri Vihāra
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Alexandria
Alexandria (Arabic: الإسكندرية Al Iskandariyya, Coptic: Ⲣⲁⲕⲟⲧⲉ Rakotə, Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια Alexándria, Koine Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ κατ' Αἴγυπτον IPA: [ɑlɛˈksɑndɾiɑ e kɑt ˈɛʝypton] "Alexandria in Egypt", Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه [eskendeˈrejːæ]) is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypt's imports and exports. Alexandria is also an important tourist resort. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library of Alexandria). It is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez.
Alexandria was founded around a small pharaonic town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (Fustat was later absorbed into Cairo). Alexandria was known because of its Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its library (the largest library in the ancient world); and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
wn.com/Alexandria -
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh /ˌɑːndrə prəˈdɛʃ/ is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the country's southeastern coast. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh lies between 12°41' and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude, and is bordered by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the east, Tamil Nadu to the south and Karnataka to the west.
Andhra Pradesh has the second-longest coastline of 972 km (604 mi) among the states of India. Two major rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna, run across the state. The small enclave (30 square kilometres (12 sq mi)) of Yanam, a district of Pondicherry, lies in the Godavari delta in the northeast of the state. The state is separated into three regions: Telangana, Andhra, and Rayalaseema.
The primary official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu and the co-official language is Urdu. Other languages often spoken in the state include Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, and Oriya.
wn.com/Andhra_Pradesh -
Ang Thong
Ang Thong (Thai: อ่างทอง (Pronunciation)) is a town (thesaban mueang) in Thailand, capital of the Ang Thong Province. The town covers the whole tambon Talat Luang and Bang Kaeo as well as parts of the tambon Sala Daeng, Ban Hae, Ban It, Pho Sa and Yansue, all of Mueang Ang Thong district, and as of 2006 has a population of 13,738. The town is located at the shore of the Chao Phraya River.
Ang Thong was originally known as Muang Wiset Chai Chan. The original location of Muang Wiset Chai Chan was on the Noi River. Muang Wiset Chai Chan was an essential frontier outpost of Ayutthaya during war with the Burmese, and the location of a Burmese encampment on route to the Battle at Bang Rachan in Singburi. During the Thonburi period, Muang Wiset Chai Chan was moved to the left bank of the Chao Phraya River at Ban Bangkaeo and was renamed "Muang Angthong."
Coordinates: 14°35′33″N 100°27′26″E / 14.5925°N 100.45722°E / 14.5925; 100.45722
wn.com/Ang_Thong -
Angkor
Angkor (Khmer: អង្គរ) is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara (नगर), meaning "city". The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a "universal monarch" and "god-king", until 1351, when Angkor first fell under Ayutthayan suzerainty, to 1431, when Ayutthaya put down a rebellion and sacked the Khmer capital, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek.
The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap (13°24′N, 103°51′E), in Siem Reap Province, and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach two million annually.
wn.com/Angkor -
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត) is the largestHindu temple complex in the world, situated at Angkor, Cambodia, built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.
Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.
wn.com/Angkor_Wat -
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura, (අනුරාධපුරය in Sinhala, அனுராதபுரம் in Tamil), is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Sri Lankan civilization.
The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malvathu Oya. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.
From the 4th century BC, it was the capital of Sri Lanka until the beginning of the 11th century AD. During this period it remained one of the most stable and durable centers of political power and urban life in South Asia. The ancient city, considered sacred to the Buddhist world, is today surrounded by monasteries covering an area of over sixteen square miles (40 km²).
Although according to historical records the city was founded in the 5th century BC, the archaeological data put the date as far back as the 10th century BC. Very little evidence was available about the period before the 5th century BC (i.e. the protohistoric period), though excavations have revealed information about the earlier inhabitants of the city.
wn.com/Anuradhapura -
Asgiriya
Asgiriya is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province.
wn.com/Asgiriya -
Ayutthaya (city)
Coordinates: 14°21′18″N 100°33′54″E / 14.355°N 100.565°E / 14.355; 100.565
Ayutthaya (full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Thai: พระนครศรีอยุธยา, pronounced [pʰráʔ náʔkʰɔ̄ːn sǐː ʔājúttʰājāː]; also spelled "Ayudhya") city is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. Located in the valley of the Chao Phraya River. The city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya kingdom or Siam. Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. Its remains, characterized by the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of its past splendour. It is estimated that Ayutthaya by the year 1600 CE had a population of about 300,000, with the population perhaps reaching 1,000,000 around 1700 CE, making it one of the world's largest cities at that time. In 1767, the city was destroyed by the Burmese army, resulting in the collapse of the kingdom. The Ayutthaya historical park is the ruins of the former capital of the Kingdom of Siam. It is the site of mass murder, rape and enslavement of Siamese people and destruction of the Ayutthaya city, its art and buildings by the Burmese in 1767, which is recognized internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was refounded a few kilometers to the east. The city is sometimes called "Venice of the East".
wn.com/Ayutthaya_(city) -
Bagan
Bagan (Burmese: ပုဂံ; MLCTS: pu.gam, IPA: [bəɡàɴ]; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.
The Bagan Archaeological Zone is a main draw for the country's nascent tourism industry.
Bagan is the present-day standard Burmese pronunciation of the Burmese word Pugan (ပုဂံ), derived from Old Burmese Pukam (ပုကမ်). Its classical Pali name is Arimaddana-pura (အရိမဒ္ဒနာပူရ, lit. "the City that Tramples on Enemies"). Its other names in Pali are in reference to its extreme dry zone climate: Tattadesa (တတ္တဒေသ, "parched land"), and Tammadipa (တမ္မဒီပ, "bronzed country").
wn.com/Bagan -
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital city of and largest urban area in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronounced [krūŋ tʰêːp máhǎː nákʰɔ̄ːn] (
listen)) or simply Krung Thep (
listen), meaning "city of angels". Bangkok is by far the most densely populated city in Thailand with about 12 million people. Bangkok was a small trading post near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century. It eventually grew in size and became the site of two capital cities: Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782.
Because of its strategic location in Southeast Asia, Siam (later Thailand) acted as a buffer-zone between the French and British colonial empires. Bangkok itself has gained a reputation as an independent, dynamic and influential city. Bangkok is the political, social and economic centre of Thailand, and one of the leading cities in Southeast Asia.
Due to the 1980s and 1990s Asian investment boom, many multinational corporations make their regional headquarters in Bangkok and the city is a regional force in finance and business. Its increasing influence on global politics, culture, fashion and entertainment underlines its status as an Alpha global city. In 2009, it was the second most expensive city in South-East Asia behind Singapore. The city's many cultural landmarks and attractions in addition to its nightlife venues has made it synonymous with exoticism. Its rapid modernization, reflected in the cityscape and the urban society, has left untouched the historic Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Vimanmek Palace Complex and hundreds of Buddhist temples draw about 10 million international visitors each year, second only to London.
wn.com/Bangkok -
Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°N 90°E / 23°N 90°E / 23; 90
Bangladesh (
i/ˈbɑːŋɡlədɛʃ/ or i/bæŋɡləˈdɛʃ/ (Anglicized pronunciation); Bengali: বাংলাদেশ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh) is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India and Burma and by the Bay of Bengal to the south. The capital (and largest city) is Dhaka, located in central Bangladesh. The official state language is Bengali. The name Bangladesh means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal" the in the Bengali language, from Bangla "Bengal" and desh holding a dual meaning of "land" and "country" as English "country," German land, French pays, etc.
The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal during the reign and demise of the British India. Its map was chartered by Sir Cyril Radcliffe during the creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, when the region became East Pakistan, part of the newly formed nation of Pakistan. Due to political exclusion and economic exploitation by the politically dominant West Pakistan, popular agitation grew against West Pakistan and led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence on 26 March 1971. With the intervention of the Indian Army, the war came to an end on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of the Pakistan Army at Ramna Race Course.
wn.com/Bangladesh -
Bodhi Tree
Coordinates: 24°41′45.29″N 84°59′29.29″E / 24.6959139°N 84.9914694°E / 24.6959139; 84.9914694
The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo (from the Sinhalese Bo), was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya (about 100 km (62 mi) from Patna in the Indian state of Bihar), under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi. In religious iconography, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed.
The term "Bodhi Tree" is also widely applied to currently existing trees, particularly the Sacred Fig growing at the Mahabodhi Temple, which is a direct descendant planted in 288 BC from the original specimen. This tree is a frequent destination for pilgrims, being the most important of the four main Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Other holy Bodhi trees which have a great significance in the history of Buddhism are the Anandabodhi tree in Sravasti and the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Both are believed to have been propagated from the original Bodhi tree.
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Burma
Burma
i/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar i/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km2 (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).
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Cambodia
Cambodia (i/kæmˈboʊdiə/;Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, Kampuchea, IPA: [kɑmˈpuˈciə]), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total landmass of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), it is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.
With a population of over 14.8 million, Cambodia is the 68th most populous country in the world. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is practiced by around 95% of the Cambodian population. The country minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 various hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh; the political, economic, and cultural center of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.
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Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai (Thai: เชียงใหม่ [tɕʰiəŋ màj] ( listen), Northern Thai: ᨩ᩠ᨿᨦᩉ᩠ᨾᩲ᩵ [tɕiəŋ màj]) sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province, a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna (1296–1768) and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is located 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok, among the highest mountains in the country. The city is on the Ping River, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River. Chiang Mai means "new city" and was so-named because it was the new capital, founded in 1296, succeeding Chiang Rai (founded 1262) in the capital of the Lanna kingdom.
In recent years, Chiang Mai has become an increasingly modern city and has been attracting over 5 million visitors each year, of which between 1.4 million and 2 million are foreign tourists (depending on the year). Chiang Mai gained prominence in the political sphere in May 2006, when the Chiang Mai Initiative was concluded here between the ASEAN nations and the "+3" countries (China, Japan, and South Korea). Chiang Mai is one of three Thai cities contending to host the World Expo 2020. It has also recently positioned itself to become a Creative City and is considering to apply for Creative City Status with UNESCO. Chiang Mai is the only tourist destination in Thailand to have made it in to the 2012 list of "25 Best Destinations in the World" of the popular travel website TripAdvisor, standing in place 24.
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Dambulla
Coordinates: 7°51′24″N 80°38′57″E / 7.85667°N 80.64917°E / 7.85667; 80.64917
The city of Dambulla is situated in the Matale District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, situated 148 km north-east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy.
Major attractions of the city include the largest and best preserved cave temple complex of Sri Lanka, and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, famous for being built in just 167 days. The city also boasts to have the largest rose quartz mountain range in South Asia, and the Iron wood forest, or Namal Uyana.
Ibbankatuwa prehistoric burial site near Dhambulla cave temple complexes is the latest archaeological site of significant historical importance found in Dambulla, which is located within 3 kilometers of the cave temples providing evidence on presence of indigenous civilisations long before the arrival of Indian influence on the Island nation.
The area is thought to be inhabited from as early as the 7th to 3rd century BC. Statues and paintings in these caves date back to the 1st century BC. But the paintings and statues were repaired and repainted in 11th, 12th, and 18th century AD. The caves in the city provided refuge to King Valagamba (also called Vattagamini Abhaya) in his 14 year long exile from the Anuradapura kingdom. Buddhist monks meditating in the caves of Dambulla at that time provided the exiled king protection from his enemies. When King Valagamba returned to the throne at Anuradapura kingdom in the 1st century BC, he had a magnificent rock temple built at Dambulla as a gratitude to the monks in Dambulla.
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Dambulla cave temple
Dambulla cave temple (Sinhala: දඹුලු ලෙන් විහාරය dam̆būlū len vihāraya, Tamil: தம்புள்ளை பொற்கோவில் tampuḷḷai poṟkōvil) also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla is a World Heritage Site (1991) in Sri Lanka, situated in the central part of the country. This site is situated 148 km east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy. It is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains.There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Lord Buddha and his life. There total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses. The latter include two statues of Hindu gods, the god Vishnu and the god Ganesh. The murals cover an area of 2,100 square meters. Depictions on the walls of the caves include the temptation by the demon Mara, and Buddha's first sermon.
Prehistoric Sri Lankans would have lived in these cave complexes before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as there are burial sites with human skeletons about 2700 years old in this area, at Ibbankatuwa near the Dambulla cave complexes.
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Htukkanthein Temple
HtukKanThein (Burmese: မ္ရောက္ဦးမ္ရုိ့; MLCTS: {{{MLCTS}}}), (pronounced 'Htoke-kan-thein' in Arakanese) is one of the most famous temples in the ancient Arakanese city of Mrauk U, in Rakhine State, Western Myanmar. The name means "Cross-Beam Ordination Hall".
Like most of Mrauk U's Buddhist temples, it is designed as a dual purpose 'fortress-temple'. Although it is a 'thein' (Ordination Hall), it is one of the most militaristic buildings in Mrauk U, built on raised ground, with a single entrance and small windows. According to Dr. Emil Forchhammer, an archaeologist employed by the British Raj to study Mrauk U in the late 19th century, the temples might have been employed as a refuge for the Buddhist religious order in times of war.
The temple enshrining the statues of Buddha was built in 1571 by King Min Phalaung. It is located on a small hill a stone's throw away from the Shite-thaung Temple. At the centre of the temple is a dome topped with a mushroom shaped crown or hti, surrounded by four smaller stupas at the corners. At the facade base of the central dome is a square window designed in such a manner that, at dawn, the sun's rays shine directly onto the main Buddha image inside the central vault. At the west side of the temple is a small meditation chamber, accessible only via the main temple.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Kandy
Kandy (Sinhala: මහ නුවර Maha Nuvara, pronounced [mahaˈnuʋərə]; Tamil: கண்டி kaṇṭi, pronounced [ˈkaɳɖi]) is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an administrative and religious city. It is the capital of the Central Province (which encompasses the districts of Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya) and also of Kandy District. Kandy is the home of The Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), one of the most venerable places for the Buddhist community of Sri Lanka and all around the world. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988.
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Korea
Korea (/kəˈriːə/ kə-REE-ə; Korean: 한국 Hanguk [hanɡuːk] or 조선 Joseon [tɕosʌn] – (see etymology) is an East Asian region that is divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea), and separated from Taiwan to the south by the East China Sea.
Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest the origins of the Korean people might have been Altaic language-speaking people from south-central Siberia,[dubious – discuss] who populated ancient Korea in successive waves from the Neolithic age to the Bronze Age. The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("Hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BC, and Buddhism in the 4th century AD, had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
The Three Kingdoms of Korea was first united during the Silla dynasty under the king Munmu of Silla. The united Silla dynasty fell to Goryeo Dynasty in 935 at the end of Later Three Kingdoms of Korea era. Goryeo was a highly cultural state and created the Jikji in the 14th century, using the world's first movable metal type printing press. The Mongol invasions in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation which was forced to become a tributary state. After the Mongol Empire's collapse, severe political strife followed and Goryeo was replaced by the Joseon Dynasty in 1388.
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Kuthodaw Pagoda
Kuthodaw Pagoda (Burmese: ကုသိုလ်တော်ဘုရား, pronounced: [kṵðòdɔ̀ pʰəjá]; literally Royal Merit, and formally titled Mahalawka Marazein မဟာလောကမာရဇိန်စေတီ) is a Buddhist stupa, located in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), that contains the world's largest book. It lies at the foot of Mandalay Hill and was built during the reign of King Mindon. The stupa itself, which is gilded above its terraces, is 188 feet (57 m) high, and is modelled after the Shwezigon Pagoda at Nyaung-U near Bagan. In the grounds of the pagoda are 729 kyauksa gu or stone-inscription caves, each containing a marble slab inscribed on both sides with a page of text from the Tipitaka, the entire Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.
Mindon Min had the pagoda built as part of the traditional foundations of the new royal city of Mandalay in 1857. He was later to convene the Fifth Buddhist Synod in 1871, but wanted to leave a great work of merit by having the Tipitaka set in stone for posterity, meant to last five millennia after the Buddha. Construction began in 1860, its hti (umbrella or crown) mounted on 19 July 1862, and the inscriptions were laid open to the public on 4 May 1868. They were arranged in neat rows within three enclosures, 42 in the first, 168 in the middle and 519 in the third. One more stands at the southeast corner of the first enclosure making it 730, and this stone records how it all came into being. Thirty four brick zayats (rest houses) stood all around except on the east side of the pagoda.
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Laos
Laos ((i/ˈlaʊs/, /ˈlɑː.ɒs/, /ˈlɑː.oʊs/, or /ˈleɪ.ɒs/) Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, pronounced [sǎː.tʰáː.laʔ.naʔ.lat páʔ.sáː.tʰiʔ.páʔ.tàj páʔ.sáː.són.láːw] Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be 6.5 million in 2012.
Laos traces its history to the Kingdom which existed from the 14th to the 18th century when it split into three separate kingdoms. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three kingdoms, Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak, uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975.
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Laykyun Setkyar
Coordinates: 22°04′49″N 95°17′22″E / 22.080207°N 95.289359°E / 22.080207; 95.289359 (Laykyun Setkyar)
The Laykyun Setkyar is the second tallest statue in the world at 116 metres. It stands on a 13.5 metre throne located in the village of Khatakan Taung, near Monywa, Myanmar. Construction began in 1996 and was completed on February 21, 2008.
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Lumbini
Lumbinī (Sanskrit: लुम्बिनी, "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi district of Nepal. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who as the Buddha Gautama founded the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha lived between roughly 563 and 483 BCE. Lumbini is one of four magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of the Buddha, the others being at Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya and Sarnath.
Lumbini was where the Buddha lived until the age of 29. Lumbini has a number of temples, including the Mayadevi temple, and others under construction. Also located here is the Puskarini or Holy Pond where the Buddha's mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he, too, had his first bath, as well as the remains of Kapilvastu palace. At other sites near Lumbini, earlier Buddhas were, according to tradition, born, achieved ultimate awakening and finally relinquished earthly form.
In the Buddha's time, Lumbini was situated between Kapilavastu and Devadaha. It was there that the Buddha was born. A pillar now marks the spot of Asoka's visit to Lumbiní. According to an inscription on the pillar, it was placed there by the people then in charge of the park to commemorate Asoka's visit and gifts. The park was previously known as Rummindei, two miles north of Bhagavanpura.
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Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu; سمننجوڠ تانه ملايو, Thai: คาบสมุทรมลายู) is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland. The area contains the southernmost tip of Burma, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and Southern Thailand.
The Titiwangsa Mountains are part of the Tenasserim Hills system, and form the backbone of the Peninsula. They form the southernmost section of the central cordillera which runs from Tibet through the Kra Isthmus (the Peninsula's narrowest point) into the Malay peninsula. The Strait of Malacca separates the Malay Peninsula from the Indonesian island of Sumatra while the south coast is separated from the island of Singapore by the Straits of Johor.
The Malay term Tanah Melayu (literally: 'The Malay Land') is generally used by the Malays and occasionally used in political discourse to describe uniting all ethnic Malay people on the peninsula under one Malay nation, although this ambition was largely realised with the creation of Malaysia.[citation needed]
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Mandalay
Mandalay (Burmese: မန္တလေး; MLCTS: manta.le: [máɴdəlé]; English: /ˌmændəˈleɪ/ or /ˈmændəleɪ/) is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma (Myanmar). Located 445 miles (716 km) north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region.
Mandalay is the economic hub of Upper Burma and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan Province, in the past twenty years, has reshaped the city's ethnic makeup and increased commerce with China. Despite Naypyidaw's recent rise, Mandalay remains Upper Burma's main commercial, educational and health centre.
The city gets its name from the nearby Mandalay Hill. The name is likely a derivative of a Pali word although the exact word of origin remains unclear. The root word has been speculated as: "Mandala" (meaning, circular plains), "Mandare" (believed to mean "auspicious land"), or "Mandara" (a mountain from Hindu mythology).
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Monywa
Monywa (Burmese: မုံရွာမြို့; MLCTS: muṃ rwa mrui.; pronounced: [mòʊɴjwà mjo̰]) is a city in Sagaing Region, Myanmar, located 136 km northwest of Mandalay on the eastern bank of the River Chindwin.
It is served by the Mandalay-Budalin branch railway line, but is best reached by bus as the road from Mandalay is in reasonably good shape. Monywa is now linked by road to Budalin, Dabayin, Ye-U and Kin-U, and by rail to Sagaing and the Mandalay - Myitkyina line. River transport on the Chindwin has always been important as it is navigable for 640 km (400 mi) up to Hkamti during the monsoon season, and most of the year to Homalin.
It got 5.47 inches (139 mm) of rainfall in 19 Oct 2011. It was the new record of rainfall within 24 hours of October in Monywa for last 47 years. The previous record was 5.31 inches (135 mm) of 24 Oct 1967.
Monywa is a major centre for trade and commerce and for agricultural produce from the surrounding Chindwin valley, especially beans, orange, pulses and jaggery (palm sugar). In addition, the local industry includes mills for the production of cotton, flour, noodles, and edible oils. Sausages from Alon called wet udaunk are quite popular, and Budalin longyi (sarong) is known for the strength of the fabric and its checked patterns. Monywa's rough cotton blankets are famous throughout Myanmar (with Monywa providing 80% of the country's blanket for a century), and some can even be found sewn up into knapsacks sold to unsuspecting tourists in Bangkok. Other regional crafts include bamboo and reed products, bullock carts and agricultural implements. The village of Kyaukka is well known for its lacquerware utensils for everyday use.
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Mrauk U
Mrauk U (Burmese: မြောက်ဦးမြို့; MLCTS: mrauk u: mrui., Burmese pronunciation: [mjaʊʔ ú mjo̰]) is an archaeologically important town in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. It is also the capital of Mrauk-U Township, a sub region of the Sittwe District. It was the capital of Mrauk U Kingdom, the most important and powerful Rakhine (Arakanese) kingdom, from 1430 to 1785.
Mrauk U lies roughly 11 km east of the Kaladan River on the banks of its minor tributaries. The town is located on a small outcrop of the Rakhine Yoma on the eastern side of the Kaladan's alluvial plain. Thus, the surrounding countryside is hilly yet also contains a great deal of marshes, mangroves and lakes.
Mrauk U, like much of Rakhine State, is situated in a coastal tropical monsoon rainforest climate region. The town receives over 1200mm of rain a year from the Southwestern Monsoon, making it one of the wettest regions in Myanmar. The Monsoon season usually begins in late May and ends by mid October.
Although located in a tropical region, Mrauk U enjoys lower temperatures when the Northeastern Monsoon falls. From mid October to mid March during the Cool Season, temperatures can drop to 13°C. This season coincides with the tourist season for Myanmar.
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Mumbai
Mumbai /mʊmˈbaɪ/, also known as Bombay /bɒmˈbeɪ/, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2009, Mumbai was named an Alpha world city. Mumbai is also the richest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.
The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands were under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the mid-18th century, Mumbai was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook the reclamation of the area between the seven constituent islands from the sea. Completed by 1845, the project along with construction of major roads and railways transformed Bombay into a major seaport on the Arabian Sea. Economic and educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century. When India became independent in 1947, the city was incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as capital. The city was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
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Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw (Burmese: နေပြည်တော်; MLCTS: Nepranytau, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw and Naypyitaw; pronounced: [nèpjìdɔ̀]) is the capital city of Burma, also known as Myanmar. It is administered as the Naypyidaw Union Territory, as per the 2008 Constitution. On 6 November 2005, the administrative capital of Myanmar was officially moved to a greenfield 3.2 km (2.0 mi) west of Pyinmana, and approximately 320 km (200 mi) north of Yangon (Rangoon), the previous capital. The capital's official name was announced on 27 March 2006, Myanmar Armed Forces Day. Much of this planned city is still under construction, which is set to be completed by around 2012. As of 2009, the population was 925,000, which makes it Myanmar's third largest city, behind Yangon and Mandalay. The city is one of the world's 10 fastest-growing cities.
Nay Pyi Daw is generally translated as "royal capital", "seat of the king" or "abode of kings". Traditionally, it was used as a suffix to the names of royal capitals, such as Mandalay, which was called ရတနာပုံနေပြည်တော် (Yadanabon Naypyidaw). The name literally means "royal city of the sun" in Burmese.
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Nyaung-U
Nyaung-U Burmese: ညောင်ဦးမြို့ is the administrative town of Nyaung-U Township of Nyaung-U District in the Mandalay Region of central Myanmar. It lies on the eastern bank of Ayeyarwaddy River. It is just 4 kilometers away from old Bagan, a popular tourist attraction. The Shwezigon Pagoda is located there. The other popular places in and around Nyaung-U were
It is the home of Nyaung U Airport. It can be reached by air, by railway, by bus and by boat.
The 8.10 inches (203 mm) rainfall of 19 Oct 2011 was the record breaking one for past 47 years. The previous record was 5.67 inches (144 mm) of 9 Oct 1989.
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Phnom Bakheng
Phnom Bakheng (Khmer: ប្រាសាទភ្នំបាខែង) at Angkor, Cambodia, is a Hindu temple in the form of a temple mountain. Dedicated to Shiva, it was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman (889-910). Located atop a hill, it is nowadays a popular tourist spot for sunset views of the much bigger temple Angkor Wat, which lies amid the jungle about 1.5 km to the southeast. The large number of visitors makes Phnom Bakheng one of the most threatened monuments of Angkor. [1]
Constructed more than two centuries before Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng was in its day the principal temple of the Angkor region, historians believe. It was the architectural centerpiece of a new capital, Yasodharapura, that Yasovarman built when he moved the court from the capital Hariharalaya in the Roluos area located to the southeast.
An inscription dated 1052 AD. and found at the Sdok Kak Thom temple in present-day Thailand states in Sanskrit: "When Sri Yasovardhana became king under the name of Yasovarman, the able Vamasiva continued as his guru. By the king's order, he set up a linga on Sri Yasodharagiri, a mountain equal in beauty to the king of mountains." Scholars believe that this passage refers to the consecration of the Phnom Bakheng temple approximately a century and a half earlier.
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Ruwanwelisaya
Coordinates: 8°21′00″N 80°23′47″E / 8.35°N 80.39639°E / 8.35; 80.39639
The Ruwanwelisaya is a stupa in Sri Lanka, considered a marvel for its architectural qualities and sacred to many Buddhists all over the world. It was built by King Dutugemunu, who became lord of all Sri Lanka after a war in which the Chola King Elara, was defeated. It is also known as Mahathupa, Swarnamali Chaitya, Suvarnamali Mahaceti (in Pali) and Rathnamali Dagaba.
The sea is one of the Solosmasthana (the 16 places of veneration) and the Atamasthana (the 8 places of veneration in the ancient sacred city of Anuradhapura). The stupa is one of the world's tallest monuments, standing at 300 feet (91 m) and with a circumference of 950 ft (290 m).[citation needed]
The Kaunghmudaw Pagoda in Sagaing, Myanmar is modeled after this stupa.
The ancient texts recount the following:
King Dutugemunu began the work of building the stupa during Vesak, on the full-moon day of the month of Vesakha (April-May), under the constellation of Visakha. In Buddhism this is considered a sacred full-moon day on which numerous events occurred, such as:
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Saraburi Province
Saraburi (Thai: สระบุรี) is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Lopburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Nayok, Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya. Saraburi has been an important town since ancient times. It is believed to have been constructed in the year 1548 during the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat of Ayutthaya as a centre for recruiting troops.
Saraburi is located on the east side of the Chao Phraya river valley. The east part of the province is covered by high plains and plateaus, while the western part is mostly low flat plains.
Two national parks are located in the province. Namtok Chet Sao Noi protects 28 km² around a scenic waterfall. Phra Phutthachai protects the Khao Sam Lan Forest, which consists of hilly landscape and is the source to several rivers and waterfalls. The highest elevation is the Khao Khrok, 329 m above sea level. The 44.57 km² were declared a national park in 1981.
The town, as a gateway to the northeastern region, is only 108 km from Bangkok. It occupies an area of 3,576.5 square kilometres.
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Sawankhalok District
Sawankhalok (Thai: สวรรคโลก) is a district (Amphoe) in the northern part of Sukhothai Province, northern Thailand.
Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise) Si Samrong, Thung Saliam, Si Satchanalai, Si Nakhon of Sukhothai Province, Phichai of Uttaradit Province and Phrom Phiram of Phitsanulok Province.
The district was originally the capital district of Sawankhalok province, which in 1932 was merged with Sukhothai province.. The new province was at first named Sawankhalok, but in 1939 was renamed to Sukhothai and its capital district moved to Sukhothai district.
In 1917, the district was renamed from Mueang (เมือง) to Wang Mai Khon (วังไม้ขอน).. 1938 it was named Mueang Sawankhalok (เมืองสวรรคโลก), which was changed to only Sawankhalok in 1939 following the province rename.
The district is subdivided into 14 subdistricts (tambon), which are further subdivided into 143 villages (muban). Suwankhalok is a town (thesaban mueang) and covers the whole tambon Mueang Suwankhalok. There are further 13 Tambon administrative organizations (TAO).
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Shwedagon Pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda (Burmese: ရွှေတိဂုံ ဘုရား; MLCTS: hrwe ti. gum. bhu. ra:, IPA: [ʃwèdəɡòʊɴ pʰəjá]); Mon: ကျာ် လ္ဂုၚ်, [tɕaɪʔ təkɜ̀ŋ]; officially titled Shwedagon Zedi Daw ([ʃwèdəɡòʊɴ zèdìdɔ̀]), also known in English as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda, is a 99 metres (325 ft)[citation needed] gilded pagoda and stupa located in Yangon, Burma. The pagoda lies to the west of Kandawgyi Lake, on Singuttara Hill, thus dominating the skyline of the city. It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda for the Burmese with relics of the past four Buddhas enshrined within, namely the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Koṇāgamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa and eight strands of hair of Gautama, the historical Buddha. Uppatasanti Pagoda is a same-sized replica of Shwedagon Pagoda in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Burma.
According to tradition, the Shwedagon Pagoda has existed for more than 2,500 years, making it the oldest historical pagoda in Burma and the world. According to tradition, two merchant brothers, Taphussa and Bhallika, from the land of Ramanya, met the Lord Gautama Buddha during his lifetime and received eight of the Buddha's hairs. The brothers traveled back to their homeland in Burma and, with the help of the local king, King Okkalapa of Burma, found Singuttara Hill, where relics of other Buddhas preceding Gautama Buddha had been enshrined. When the king opened the golden casket in which the brothers had carried the hairs, incredible things happened:
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Shwemawdaw Paya
The Shwemawdaw Paya (Burmese: ရွှေမောဓော ဘုရား [ʃwè mɔ̀dɔ́ pʰəjá]; Mon: ကျာ်မုဟ်တ [tɕaɪʔmṵtú]) is a stupa located in Bago, Myanmar. It is often referred to as the Golden God Temple. At 375 feet in height, the Shwemadaw holds the record for the tallest pagoda in the country although the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is usually credited as the tallest pagoda in Myanmar (at 98 meters - approximately 321.5 ft). Shwemadaw, along with the Shwedagon and Kyaiktiyo, are famous Mon pagodas. The pagoda's annual festival is a 10 day affair that takes place during the Burmese month of Tagu.
The Shwemawdaw Paya was originally built around the tenth century, C.E. It was destroyed several times due to earthquakes, including one in 1917 and another in 1930. Portions of the fallen pre-1917 version of the Paya remain at the site. The original version of the pagoda was approximately 70 feet tall, built by the Mon supposedly to hold two hairs of the Buddha. Allegedly, the hairs were given personally to two Mon merchants named Mahasala and Kullasala by the Buddha on a trip to India. Tooth relics were also added to the pagoda in 982 and 1385. Further additions to the temple include a bell from King Dhammazedi, a crown from King Bayinnaung, and a spire umbrella from King Bodawpaya. The current stupa, as of its most recent rebuilding, stands at 375 feet, making it the tallest in Myanmar.
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Shwezigon Pagoda
The Shwezigon Pagoda or Shwezigon Paya (Burmese: ရွှေစည်းခုံဘုရား) is a Buddhist temple located in Nyaung-U, a town near Bagan, in Burma (Myanmar). It is a prototype of Burmese stupas, and consists of a circular gold leaf-gilded stupa surrounded by smaller temples and shrines. Construction of the Shwezigon Pagoda began during the reign of King Anawrahta and was completed in 1102 AD, during the reign of King Kyansittha of the Pagan Dynasty. The pagoda is believed to enshrine a bone and tooth of Gautama Buddha. Within the compound of the Shwezigon Pagoda is a stone pillar containing Mon language inscriptions dedicated by King Kyansittha.
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (i/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, or /sriːˈlæŋkə/;Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon ( /sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.
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Sukhothai Province
Sukhothai (Thai: สุโขทัย) is one of the northern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Phrae, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, and Lampang. Sukhothai can be translated as Dawn of Happiness.
Sukhothai is located in the valley of the Yom River on the lower edge of the northern region, 427 kilometres north of Bangkok, and covers some 6,596 square kilometres.
The Khao Luang Mountain Range, with its four main peaks: Khao Phu Kha, Khao Phra Mae Ya, Khao Chedi, and Pha Narai, lies within the Ramkhamhaeng National Park in the south of the province. The Si Satchanalai National Park is located in the north-west, protecting the mountainous forest areas of the Phi Pan Nam Range at the northern end of the province.
Sukhothai, meaning the Dawn of Happiness, was a town founded in the 13th century on the fringe of the Khmer empire. The exact year is unknown, but according to the Fine Arts Office it was between 1238 and 1257. Founded by Phokhun Si Intharathit, it was the first truly independent Thai (Siamese) Kingdom after defeating the Khmers. Sukhothai enjoyed a golden age under their third king, King Ramkhamhaeng, who was credited with creating the Khmer-derived Thai alphabet which is essentially the same as that in use today. He also laid the foundation for politics, the monarchy and religion, as well as expanding its boundary of influence. Sukhothai was later ruled by many kings. The province is most famous for the historic city of Sukhothai, the capital of the Sukhothai kingdom. It is located about 12 km from the modern New Sukhothai city. Not far from Sukhothai are the Si Satchanalai historical park and the Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park. Both were cities within the former Sukhothai kingdom and of the same time period.
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Thailand
Thailand (
/ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] (
listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
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Tripitaka Koreana
The Tripitaka Koreana (lit. Goryeo Tripitaka) or Palman Daejanggyeong ("Eighty-Thousand Tripitaka") is a Korean collection of the Tripitaka (Buddhist scriptures, and the Sanskrit word for "three baskets"), carved onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks in the 13th century. It is the world's most comprehensive and oldest intact version of Buddhist canon in Hanja script, with no known errors or errata in the 52,382,960 characters which are organized in over 1496 titles and 6568 volumes. Each wood block measures 70 centimeters in width and 24 centimeters in length. The thickness of the blocks range from 2.6 to 4 centimeters and each weighs about three to four kilograms. The work is stored in Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple in South Gyeongsang province, in South Korea.
The name "Goryeo Tripitaka" comes from "Goryeo", the name of Korea from the 10th to the 14th centuries. It served as reference for the edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon.
The Tripitaka Koreana was first carved in 1087 during the Third Goryeo-Khitan War. The act of carving the woodblocks was considered to be a way of bringing about a change in fortune by invoking the Buddha's help.
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Ubon Ratchathani
Ubon Ratchathani (Thai: อุบลราชธานี, pronounced [ʔubon râːt.tɕʰa.tʰaːniː]) is a city on the Mun River in the south-east of the Isan region of Thailand. It is known as Ubon (อุบลฯ) for short. The name means "Royal Lotus City." The provincial seal features a pond with a lotus flower and leaves in a circular frame. Ubon is the administrative centre of Ubon Ratchathani province. As of 2006, the Ubon urban area had a population of about 200,000. This included 85,000 in Thetsaban Nakhon Ubon Ratchathani (Ubon municipality), 30,000 each in Thetsaban Mueang Warin Chamrap (Warin municipality) and Thetsaban Tambon Kham Yai, 24,000 in Thetsaban Tambon Saen Suk, and 10,000 each in Thetsaban Tambon Pathum and Tambon Kham Nam Saep, and 6000 in Thetsaban Tambon Ubon.
The city was founded in the late 18th century by Thao Kham Phong (ท้าวคำผง), descendant of Phra Wo and Phra Ta, who escaped from King Siribunsan of Vientiane into Siam Kingdom during the reign of King Taksin the Great. Later Thao Kham Phong was appointed to be “Phra Pathum Wongsa” and the first ruler of Ubon Ratchathani. In 1792 Ubon Ratchathani became a province. it was also the administrative center of the monthon Isan. Until 1972 the Ubon Ratchathani province was the largest province of Thailand in area. Yasothon province was split off in 1972 and followed by Amnat Charoen province in 1993. Ubon now ranks 5th in area.
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Uttaradit
Uttaradit (Thai pronunciation: [ʔùt.tā.rā.dìt]) is a town (thesaban mueang) in Thailand, capital of the Uttaradit province. The town covers the whole tambon Tha It of Mueang Uttaradit district. As of 2005 it has a population of 36,313.
During the Sukhothai era, Uttaradit rose to prominence with it marking the northern border of the kingdom.
Uttaradit is served by a station on the State Railway of Thailand. Beside the Railway, you can access Uttaradit by driving a car, riding a bus from Bus Terminal of Thailand. The nearest airport is at Phitsanulok.
The Wat Tha Thanon temple in Uttaradit is home to a historic Luang Phor Phet Buddha image dating back to the thirteenth century.
Within Uttaradit city limits one of the largest stores is Lotus. This store offers both food and household products, appliances, electronics, pharmacy, clothing and jewelry. The complex also hosts a small food court of local Thai cuisine and the Western food chains of KFC and Dunken Donuts. Outside of the Lotus complex visitors can browse from an array of tidy local vendors selling handbags, gadgets and shoes.
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Vientiane
Vientiane ( /vjɛnˈtjɑːn/ French pronunciation: [vjɛ̃'tjan]; Lao: ວຽງຈັນ Wiang-jun; Thai: เวียงจันทน์ Wiang-chan, IPA: [wíəŋ tɕàn]) is the capital and largest city of Laos, situated in the Mekong river. Vientiane became the capital in 1563 due to fears of a Burmese invasion. During French rule, Vientiane was the administrative capital and due to economic growth in recent times, it has become the economic centre of Laos.
The estimated population of the city is 754,000 (2009). The city hosted the 25th Southeast Asian Games in December 2009 celebrating the 50 years of SEA Games.
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Wat Arun
Wat Arun Rajwararam (Thai: วัดอรุณ, Thai pronunciation: [wát ʔarun], "Temple of the Dawn") is a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Thailand, on the Thonburi west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The full name of the temple is Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan (วัดอรุณราชวรารามราชวรมหาวิหาร). Named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn, the Wat Arun is considered one of the most well known of Thailand's many landmarks. Drawn on a novel by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima (The Temple of Dawn-The Sea of Fertility). The temple is so named because the first light of the morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence. The monastery has existed for many years since the days when Ayutthaya was capital of Thailand. At the time named Wat Mokok, situated in a place called Tumbol Bangmakok. The word Bangmakok, meaning " Village of Olive", has since been shortened to "Makok".
The temple was originally known as Wat Chaeng. Originally it was located in the palace grounds and during the time of Rama I it moved to the other side of the river. It was abandoned for a long period of time until Rama II, who restored the temple and extended the pagoda to 70m. The Wat eshrined the emerald Buddha image before it was transferred to Bangkok in 1785 A.D. and it is believed that King Taksin vowed to restore the Wat after passing it one dawn.
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Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Wat Chaiwatthanaram (Thai: วัดไชยวัฒนาราม) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, outside Ayutthaya island. It is one of Ayutthaya's best known temples and a major tourist attraction.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram lies on the west bank of Chao Phraya River, south west of the old city of Ayyuthaya. It is a large compound and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It can be reached by road or by boat.
The temple was constructed in 1630 by the king Prasat Thong as the first temple of his reign, as a memorial of his mother's resident in that area. The temple's name literally means the Temple of long reign and glorious era. It was designed in Khmer style which was popular in that time.
It has a central 35 meter high prang in Khmer style (Thai: พระปรางด์ประธาน) with four smaller prangs. The whole construction stands on a rectangular platform. About halfway up there are hidden entrances, to which steep stairs lead.
The central platform is surrounded by eight chedi-shaped chapels (Thai: เมรุทิศ เมรุราย - Meru Thit Meru Rai), which are connected by a rectangular cross-shaped passage (Phra Rabieng). The passage had numerous side entries and was originally roofed and open inwards, but today only the foundations of the pillars and the outside wall still stand. Along the wall, there were 120 sitting Buddha statues, probably painted in black and gold.
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Wat Nong Pah Pong
Wat Nong Pah Pong (Short: Wat Pah Pong, Thai: วัดหนองป่าพง) is the main monastery of the late Thai Forest Tradition meditation master, the Venerable Ajahn Chah. The monastery sits in Ubon Ratchathani Province, in the district of (Amphoe) Warin Chamrap.
In 1975, one of Ajahn Chah's first Western disciples, the Venerable Ajahn Sumedho, opened what was to be the first in a long line of branch monasteries (currently around 140 branches) of Wat Pah Pong specifically geared for the growing interests in traditional Buddhist practices among Westerners. Thai monastery, Wat Pah Nanachat, along with a growing list of monasteries opened in recent years around the world, are introducing the heart of the Buddhist teachings to what was previously something of an inaccessible audience to the Thai Forest masters.
Following is an incomplete list of International branch monasteries of Wat Nong Pah Pong, sorted alphabetically by country:
Coordinates: 15°09′32.60″N 104°49′40.60″E / 15.159056°N 104.827944°E / 15.159056; 104.827944
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Wat Pho
Wat Pho (Thai: วัดโพธิ์, IPA: [wát pʰoː]), is a Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Rattanakosin district directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan (Thai: วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร IPA: [wát pʰráʔ tɕʰêttupʰon wíʔmon maŋkʰlaːraːm râːttɕʰawɔːráʔmahǎːwíʔhǎːn]). The temple is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.
Wat Pho is named after a monastery in India where Buddha is believed to have lived. Prior to the temple's founding, the site was a centre of education for traditional Thai medicine, and statues were created showing yoga positions. An enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Si Sanaphet was destroyed by Burmeses in 1767, King Rama I (1782-1809 A.D.) incorporated its fragments to build a temple to enlarge and renovate the complex. The complex underwent many changes in the next 260 years. Under King Rama III (1824-1851 A.D.), plaques inscribed with medical texts were placed around the temple. These received recognition in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO on February 21, 2008. Adjacent to the building housing the Reclining Buddha is a small raised garden, the centrepiece being a bodhi tree which is propagated from the original tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment. The temple was created as a restoration of an earlier temple on the same site, Wat Phodharam, with the work beginning in 1788. The temple was restored and extended in the reign of King Rama III, and was restored again in 1982.
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Wat Phra Kaew
The Wat Phra Kaew (Thai: วัดพระแก้ว, RTGS: Wat Phra Kaeo, IPA: [wát pʰráʔ kɛ̂ːw], Pronunciation, English: Temple of the Emerald Buddha; full official name Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, Thai: วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม, IPA: [wát pʰráʔ sǐː rát.ta.náʔ sàːt.sa.daː.raːm]) is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple (wat) in Thailand. It is a "potent religio-political symbol and the palladium [safeguard] of Thai society". It is located in the historic centre of Bangkok (district Phra Nakhon), within the precincts of the Grand Palace.
The main building is the central ubosoth, which houses the statue of Emerald Buddha. The legendary history of this Buddha image is traced to India, five centuries after the Lord Buddha attained Nirvana, till it was finally enshrined in Bangkok at the Wat Phra Kaew temple in 1782 during Rama I's reign (1782–1809). This marked the beginning and raise of the Chakri Dynasty of the present Kingdom of Thailand (the present head of the dynasty is King Rama IX.) The Emerald Buddha, a dark green statue, is in a standing form, about 66 centimetres (26 in) tall, carved from a single jade stone (Emerald in Thai means deep green colour and not the specific stone). It is carved in the meditating posture in the style of the Lanna school of the northern Thailand. Except for the Thai King, no other person is allowed to touch the statue. The King changes the cloak around the statue three times a year, corresponding to the summer, winter, and rainy seasons, an important ritual performed to usher good fortune to the country during each season.
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World's largest book
The world's largest book stands upright, set in stone, in the grounds of the Kuthodaw pagoda (kuthodaw, "royal merit") at the foot of Mandalay Hill in Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma). It has 730 leaves and 1460 pages; each page is 107 cm (three and a half feet) wide, 153 cm (five feet) tall and 13 cm (five inches) thick. Each stone tablet has its own roof and precious gem on top in a small cave-like structure of Sinhalese relic casket type called kyauksa gu (stone inscription cave in Burmese), and they are arranged around a central golden pagoda.
The pagoda itself was built as part of the traditional foundations of the new royal city which also included a pitakat taik or library for religious scriptures, but King Mindon wanted to leave a great work of merit for posterity meant to last five millennia after the Gautama Buddha who lived around 500 BC. When the British invaded southern Burma in the mid-19th century, Mindon Min was concerned that Buddhist dhamma (teachings) would also be detrimentally affected in the North where he reigned. As well as organizing the Fifth Buddhist council in 1871, he was responsible for the construction in Mandalay of the world's largest book, consisting of 729 large marble tablets with the Tipitaka Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism inscribed on them in gold. One more was added to record how it all came about, making it 730 stone inscriptions in total.
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Yangon
Yangon (Burmese: ရန်ကုန်; MLCTS: rankun mrui, pronounced: [jàɴɡòʊɴ mjo̰]; also known as Rangoon, literally: "End of Strife") is a former capital of Burma (Myanmar) and the capital of Yangon Region. Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial centre.
Yangon's infrastructure is undeveloped compared to those of other major cities in Southeast Asia. Yangon has the largest number of colonial buildings in Southeast Asia today. While many high-rise residential and commercial buildings have been constructed or renovated throughout downtown and Greater Yangon in the past two decades, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be deeply impoverished.
Yangon (ရန်ကုန်) is a combination of the two words yan (ရန်) and koun (ကုန်), which mean "enemies" and "run out of" respectively. It is also translated as "End of Strife". "Rangoon" most likely comes from the British imitation of the pronunciation of "Yangon" in the Rakhine dialect (Arakanese) of Burmese, which is [rɔ̀ɴɡʊ́ɴ].
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A.K. Warder
Anthony Kennedy Warder is a scholar of Indology, mostly in Buddhist studies and related fields, such as the Pāli and Sanskrit languages. He has written 15 books and numerous articles. He currently holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit in the School of East Asian Studies in the University of Toronto.
Prof. A.K. Warder has spent several years in India exploring manuscript libraries in every state in connection with his work on Kavya, a literary style created by Asvaghosa in the 2nd century AD. He has also published on the subject of Indian Philosophy of all the religious schools in India.
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Ahl-e Haqq
The Ahl-e Haqq or Yârsân (Kurdish: یارسان Yâresân,Persian: اهل حق Ahl-e Haqq "People of Truth"), are members of a religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of members is estimated at around 1,000,000, primarily found in western Iran and Iraq, mostly ethnic Kurds, though there are also smaller groups of Persian, Luri, Azeri and Arab adherents. Some Yârsânî in Iraq are called Kaka'i.
The Yârsân have a distinct religious literature primarily written in Gorani and partly in Persian, although few modern Yâresânî can speak or read Gorani, as their mother tongues are Gorani and Soranî. The Sarl living near Eski Kalak are adherents, as Edmonds (1957: 195) surmised and Moosa (1988: 168) observed. Their central religious book is called as Kalâm-e Saranjâm, written in the 15th century based on the teachings of Sultan Sahak.
Up to the 20th century, the Yârsânî faith was strictly for Kurds who were born into it, called checkedea ("a drop of"), as opposed to individuals who married into a Yârsânî family, called chasbedea ("attached"). Adherents today are mainly found among the Kurdish tribes of the Guran, Qalkhani, Bajalani and Sanjabi, located in western Iran, forming approximately a third of the population in the religiously diverse province of Kermanshah. There are some groups located around Kirkuk in Iraq. The Arabic-speaking adherents are based in the Iraqi cities of Mandali, Baquba, and Khanaqin. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, "The chief source of information about the Ahl-e Haqq is the Firqan al-Akhbar, written in... early 20th century by Hajj Nematollah"
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Ajahn Amaro
Ajahn Amaro (born 1956) is a Theravadin teacher and abbot of the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery at the eastern end of the Chiltern Hills in south east England. The centre, in practice as much for ordinary people as for monastics, is inspired by the Thai forest tradition and the teachings of the late Ajahn Chah. Its chief priorities are the practice and teaching of Buddhist ethics, together with traditional concentration and insight meditation techniques, as an effective way of dissolving stress.
Ajahn Amaro was born Jeremy Charles Julian Horner in Kent, England. He was educated at Sutton Valence School and Bedford College, University of London. Ajahn means teacher. He is a second cousin of I.B. Horner (1896-1981), late President of the Pali Text Society.
Apart from a certain interest in the theories of Rudolf Steiner—to which he had been introduced by Trevor Ravenscroft, later perhaps best known as author of the 1970s cult volume The Spear of Destiny (after which a post-punk band named itself)—Amaro's principal enthusiasms on leaving university were, by his own admission, pretty much those standard-issue among sceptical students of the day: sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.
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Ajahn Brahm
Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera (known to most as Ajahn Brahm), born Peter Betts in London, United Kingdom on 7 August 1951, is a Theravada Buddhist monk. Currently Brahm is the Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery, in Serpentine, Western Australia, the Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, Spiritual Adviser to the Buddhist Society of Victoria, Spiritual Adviser to the Buddhist Society of South Australia, Spiritual Patron of the Buddhist Fellowship in Singapore, and Spiritual Patron of the Bodhikusuma Centre in Sydney.
Peter Betts came from a working-class background and went to Latymer Upper School. He won a scholarship to study Theoretical physics at Cambridge University in the late 1960s. After graduating from Cambridge he taught in high school for one year before traveling to Thailand to become a monk and train with the Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana Mahathera. Brahm was ordained in Bangkok at the age of twenty-three by the Abbot of Wat Saket. He subsequently spent nine years studying and training in the forest meditation tradition under Ajahn Chah.
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Ajahn Mun
Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Thera (Thai: มั่น ภูริทตฺโต; Lao: ຫຼວງປູ່ມັ່ນ ພູຣິທັຕໂຕ), 1870–1949, was a Thai Buddhist monk of Lao descent who is credited, along with his mentor, Phra Ajahn Sao Kantasilo Mahathera, with establishing the Thai Forest Tradition (the Kammatthana tradition) that subsequently spread throughout Thailand and to several countries abroad.
Ajahn Mun was born on Thursday, January 20, 1870, in a farming village named Baan Kham Bong, Khong Jiam, on the western bank of the Mekong River, in present day Si Mueang Mai District, Ubon Ratchathani Province of northeastern Thailand (Isan). Khong Jiam is located in a triangle of land where the Mun River flows into the Mekong River, as the Mekong turns east and flows into Laos. He was born into the Lao-speaking family of Kanhaew with Nai Kamduang as his father and Nang Jan as his mother. He was the eldest of nine children: eight boys and one girl.
Mun was first ordained as a novice monk at age 16, in the local village monastery of Khambong. As a youth, he studied Buddhist teachings, history and folk legends in Khom, Khmer and Tham scripts from fragile palm leaf texts stored in the monastery library. He remained a novice for two years, until 1888, when it was necessary for him to leave the monastery, at his father's request.
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Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta
Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Thera (Thai: มั่น ภูริทตฺโต; Lao: ຫຼວງປູ່ມັ່ນ ພູຣິທັຕໂຕ), 1870–1949, was a Thai Buddhist monk of Lao descent who is credited, along with his mentor, Phra Ajahn Sao Kantasilo Mahathera, with establishing the Thai Forest Tradition (the Kammatthana tradition) that subsequently spread throughout Thailand and to several countries abroad.
Ajahn Mun was born on Thursday, January 20, 1870, in a farming village named Baan Kham Bong, Khong Jiam, on the western bank of the Mekong River, in present day Si Mueang Mai District, Ubon Ratchathani Province of northeastern Thailand (Isan). Khong Jiam is located in a triangle of land where the Mun River flows into the Mekong River, as the Mekong turns east and flows into Laos. He was born into the Lao-speaking family of Kanhaew with Nai Kamduang as his father and Nang Jan as his mother. He was the eldest of nine children: eight boys and one girl.
Mun was first ordained as a novice monk at age 16, in the local village monastery of Khambong. As a youth, he studied Buddhist teachings, history and folk legends in Khom, Khmer and Tham scripts from fragile palm leaf texts stored in the monastery library. He remained a novice for two years, until 1888, when it was necessary for him to leave the monastery, at his father's request.
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Ajahn Sumedho
Luang Por Ajahn Sumedho (Thai: อาจารย์สุเมโธ) (born Robert Jackman, July 27, 1934, Seattle) is the senior Western representative of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He was abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery just north of London from its consecration in 1984 until his retirement in 2010. Luang Por means Venerable Father (หลวงพ่อ), an honorific and term of affection in keeping with Thai custom; ajahn means teacher. A bhikkhu for 43 years, Sumedho is considered a seminal figure in the transmission of the Buddha's teachings to the West.
Ajahn Sumedho was born Robert Jackman in Seattle, Washington in 1934. During the Korean War he did military service for four years from the age of 18 as a United States navy medic. He then did a BA in Far Eastern studies and graduated in 1963 with an MA in South Asian studies at the University of California, Berkeley. After a year as a Red Cross social worker, Jackman served with the Peace Corps in Borneo from 1964 to 1966 as an English teacher. On break in Singapore, sitting one morning in sidewalk café, he watched a Buddhist monk walk by and thought to him self, "That looks interesting." In 1966 he became a novice or samanera at Wat Sri Saket in Nong Khai, northeast Thailand. He took profession as a bhikkhu in May the following year.
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Ananda
Ānanda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council. For that, he was known as the Guardian of the Dharma.
According to the Buddha every Buddha in the past and to come will have two chief disciples and one attendant during his ministry. In the case of Gautama Buddha the pair of disciples were Sariputta and Mahamoggallana and the attendant Ānanda.
The word 'Ānanda' means 'bliss' in Pali, Sanskrit as well as other Indian languages. It is a popular Buddhist and Hindu name, but popular also among Muslims in Indonesia.
In the Kannakatthala Sutta (MN 90), Ananda is identified with the meaning of his name:
Ānanda was the first cousin of the Buddha by their fathers, and was devoted to him. In the twentieth year of the Buddha's ministry, he became the Buddha's personal attendant, accompanying him on most of his wanderings and taking the part of interlocutor in many of the recorded dialogues. He is the subject of a special panegyric delivered by the Buddha just before the Buddha's Parinibbana (the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16)); it is a panegyric for a man who is kindly, unselfish, popular, and thoughtful toward others.
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Asanga
Asaṅga (Sanskrit: असङ्ग; Tibetan: ཐོགས་མེད།; Wylie: Thogs med; traditional Chinese: 無著; pinyin: Wúzhuó; Romaji: Mujaku) was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school. The two half-brothers were also major exponents of Abhidharma teachings, which were highly technical and sophisticated hermeneutics as well.
Asaṅga was born as the son of a Kshatriya father and Brahmin mother in Purushapura (present day Peshawar in Pakistan), which at that time was part of the ancient kingdom of Gandhāra. Current scholarship places him in in the fourth century CE. He was perhaps originally a member of the Mahīśāsaka school or the Mūlasarvāstivāda school but later converted to Mahāyāna.
In the record of his journeys through the kingdoms of India, Xuanzang wrote that Asaṅga was initially a Mahīśāsaka monk, but soon turned toward the Mahāyāna teachings. Asaṅga had a half-brother, Vasubandhu, who was a monk from the Sarvāstivāda school. Vasubandhu is said to have taken up Mahāyāna Buddhism after meeting with Asaṅga and one of Asaṅga's disciples.
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Ashoka
Ashoka (Devanāgarī: अशोक, IAST: Aśoka, IPA: [aˈɕoːkə], ca. 304–232 BC), also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests. His empire stretched from present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west, to the present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam in the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. He conquered the kingdom named Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had conquered starting from Chandragupta Maurya. His reign was headquartered in Magadha (present-day Bihar). He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. Ashoka was a devotee of ahimsa (nonviolence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism. Ashoka is remembered in history as a philanthropic administrator. In the history of India, Ashoka is referred to as Samraat Chakravartin Ashoka – the "Emperor of Emperors Ashoka".
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Ashoka the Great
Ashoka (Devanāgarī: अशोक, IAST: Aśoka, IPA: [aˈɕoːkə], ca. 304–232 BC), also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests. His empire stretched from present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west, to the present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam in the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. He conquered the kingdom named Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had conquered starting from Chandragupta Maurya. His reign was headquartered in Magadha (present-day Bihar). He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. Ashoka was a devotee of ahimsa (nonviolence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism. Ashoka is remembered in history as a philanthropic administrator. In the history of India, Ashoka is referred to as Samraat Chakravartin Ashoka – the "Emperor of Emperors Ashoka".
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Asoka
Ashoka (Devanāgarī: अशोक, IAST: Aśoka, IPA: [aˈɕoːkə], ca. 304–232 BC), also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests. His empire stretched from present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west, to the present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam in the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. He conquered the kingdom named Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had conquered starting from Chandragupta Maurya. His reign was headquartered in Magadha (present-day Bihar). He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. Ashoka was a devotee of ahimsa (nonviolence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism. Ashoka is remembered in history as a philanthropic administrator. In the history of India, Ashoka is referred to as Samraat Chakravartin Ashoka – the "Emperor of Emperors Ashoka".
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Atisha
Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana (Bengali: অতীশ দীপঙ্কর শ্রীজ্ঞান Ôtish Dipôngkor Srigên, IAST: Dīpaṃkara- śrījñiāna Atiśa; Chinese: 燃燈吉祥智; pinyin: Rándēng Jíxiángzhì) (980–1054 CE) was a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa, was one of the major figures in the establishment of the Sarma lineages in Tibet after the repression of Buddhism by King Langdarma (Glang Darma).
Atisha is most commonly said to have been born in the year 980 in Vajrayogini village[citation needed] in Bikrampur, the northeastern region of Bengal (located in modern day Bangladesh). His homestead in the village is still known to the local people as the "Ponditer bhita" (the homestead of the Pundit - a learned man). The exact years of his birth and death are widely disputed. Some sources indicate that Atisha was born in 982 and died in 1054, while more recent studies contend that his life began in 980 and ended in 1052.[citation needed] In any case, it is unanimously recognised that Atisha lived to the age of seventy-two. It is noteworthy that, while no direct connections can be made to the birth of Atisha, the year 980 also saw a major power shift in Bengali politics as the resurgent Pala dynasty seized control of the region, disposing of the incumbent Kamboja rulers. Atisha was allegedly born into royalty, and it would be intriguing to know whether his royal status stemmed from one of these two contemporaneous contending powers.
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Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (b. December 10, 1944, NYC), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Society and has edited and authored several publications grounded in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.
In 1944, Block was born in Brooklyn, NY. In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College. In 1972, he obtained a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate School.
In 1967, while still a graduate student, Bodhi was ordained as a novice monk in the Vietnamese Mahayana order. In 1972, after graduation, Bodhi traveled to Sri Lanka where, under Ven. Ananda Maitreya, he received novice ordination and, in 1973, he received full ordination in a Theravada order.
In 1984, succeeding co-founder Ven. Nyanaponika Thera, Bodhi was appointed English-language editor of the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS, Sri Lanka) and, in 1988, became its president. In 2002, he retired from the society's editorship while still remaining its president.
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Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thai: ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; RTGS: Phumiphon Adunyadet; pronounced [pʰūː.mí.pʰōn ʔà.dūn.jā.dèːt] ( listen); see full title below; born 5 December 1927) is the current Monarch of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX. Having reigned since 9 June 1946, he is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.
Although Bhumibol is legally a constitutional monarch, he has made several decisive interventions in the Thai political sphere. He was credited with facilitating Thailand's transition to democracy in the 1990s, although he has supported numerous military regimes, including Sarit Dhanarajata's during the 1960s and the Council for National Security in 2006–8. During his long reign, he has authorized over 15 coups, 16 constitutions, and 27 changes of prime ministers. He has also used his influence to stop military coups, including attempts in 1981 and 1985. Bhumibol is advised by a hand-picked Privy Council.
Bhumibol is respected and revered by many Thais. He is, by law passed by the Thai parliament, considered "inviolable" and lèse majesté, i.e. offence against the dignity of the monarch, may be punished. In 1957, the overthrow of the government was justified with allegations of lese majeste. Bhumibol however invited public criticism in a 2005 speech.
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Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an (Sanskrit: Dhyāna, Japanese: Zen) to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch. According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the Shaolin monks that led to the creation of Shaolinquan.
Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend. There are three principal sources for Bodhidharma's biography: Yáng Xuànzhī's (Yang Hsüan-chih) The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (547), Tánlín's preface to the Two Entrances and Four Acts (6th century CE), and Dàoxuān's (Tao-hsuan) Further Biographies of Eminent Monks (7th century CE).
These sources vary on their account of Bodhidharma being either "from Persia" (547 CE), "a Brahman monk from South India" (645 CE), "the third son of a Brahman king of South India" (ca. 715 CE).Some traditions specifically describe Bodhidharma to be the third son of a Tamil Pallava king from Kanchipuram.
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Buddhaghosa
Bhadantācariya Buddhaghoṣa（Thai: พระพุทธโฆษาจารย์, Chinese: 覺音）was a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. His best-known work is the Visuddhimagga, or Path of Purification, a comprehensive summary and analysis of the Theravada understanding of the Buddha's path to liberation. The interpretations provided by Buddhaghosa have generally constituted the orthodox understanding of Theravada scriptures since at least the 12th century CE. He is generally recognized by both Western scholars and Theravadins as the most important commentator of the Theravada.
Limited reliable information is available about the life of Buddhaghosa. Three primary sources of information exist: short prologues and epilogues attached to Buddhaghosa's works; details of his life recorded in the Mahavamsa, a Sri Lankan chronicle; and a later biographical work called the Buddhaghosuppatti. A few other sources discuss the life of Buddhaghosa, but do not appear to add any reliable material. His name means "Reverend Teacher" (Bhadanta+ācariya) and "Voice of the Buddha" (Buddha+ghosa) in Pali.
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Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" in Sanskrit and Pāli). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end ignorance (avidyā), craving (taṇhā), and suffering (dukkha), by recognizing dependent origination and sunyata, and attain Nirvana.
Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tiantai (Tendai) and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications, Vajrayana—practiced mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and adjacent parts of China and Russia—is recognized as a third branch, while others classify it as a part of Mahayana. There are other categorisations of these three Vehicles or Yanas.
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Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Sino-Mongolian word далай (dalai) meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ bla-ma (with a silent "b") meaning "chief, high priest".
In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.
For certain periods between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female. The Chinese government was very quick to reject this and claimed that only it has the authority to select the next Dalai Lama.
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Faxian
Faxian (traditional Chinese: 法顯; simplified Chinese: 法显; pinyin: Fǎxiǎn; also romanized as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien, Fa Xian, et al.) (337 – c. 422 CE) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to India, Sri Lanka and Kapilavastu in today's Nepal between 399 and 412 to acquire Buddhist scriptures. His journey is described in his important travelogue, A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms, Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Xian of his Travels in India and Ceylon in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline.
He is most known for his pilgrimage to Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautama Buddha. Faxian is a Chinese pilgrim and scholar who visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II. Faxian claimed that demons and dragons were the original inhabitants of Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
On Faxian's return to China, after a two-year stay in Ceylon, a violent storm drove his ship onto an island that was probably Java. Faxian landed at Laoshan in what is now Shandong province, 30 km east of the city of Qingdao, and went to Shandong's then-capital, Qingzhou, where he remained for a year translating and editing the scriptures he had collected.
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Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha or Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम बुद्ध; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. The word Buddha is a title for the first awakened being in an era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (P. sammāsambuddha, S. samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age, "Buddha" meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." Gautama Buddha may also be referred to as Śākyamuni (Sanskrit: शाक्यमुनि "Sage of the Śākyas"). The Buddha found a Middle Way that ameliorated the extreme asceticism found in the Sramana religions.
The time of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE, but more recent opinion dates his death to between 486 and 483 BCE or, according to some, between 411 and 400 BCE. UNESCO lists Lumbini, Nepal, as a world heritage site and birthplace of Gautama Buddha. There are also claims about birth place of Gautama Buddha to be Kapileswara, Orissa or Kapilavastu at Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kośala.
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Huston Smith
Huston Cummings Smith (born May 31, 1919 in Suzhou, China) is a religious studies scholar in the United States. His book The World's Religions (originally titled The Religions of Man) has sold over two million copies and remains a popular introduction to comparative religion.
Smith was born in China to Methodist missionaries and spent his first 17 years there. Upon coming to the U.S. for education, he studied at Central Methodist University and the University of Chicago.
He taught at the University of Denver from 1944 to 1947; then at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri for the next ten years. He was then appointed professor and chair of the philosophy department at MIT from 1958 to 1973. While there, he participated in experiments with psychedelics that professors Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass) conducted at Harvard University. He then moved to Syracuse University, where he was Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy until his retirement in 1983 and current emeritus status. At University of California, Berkeley he was visiting professor of religious studies.
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I Ching (monk)
Yijing (traditional Chinese: 義淨; simplified Chinese: 义净; pinyin: Yìjìng; Wade–Giles: I Ching) (635–713 CE) was a Tang Dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk, originally named Zhang Wenming (張文明). The written records of his 25-year travels contributed to the world knowledge of the ancient kingdom of Srivijaya, as well as providing information about the other kingdoms lying on the route between China and the Nālandā Buddhist university in India. He was also responsible for the translation of a large number of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese. Yijing's full Buddhist title was "Tripiṭaka Dharma Master Yijing" (三藏法師義淨).
In some 19th century publications, Yijing's name may appear as I Tsing, following an antiquated method of Chinese romanization.
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Katyayana (Buddhist)
Katyayana was a disciple of Gautama Buddha.
Katyayana, also known as Kaccana (or Kaccayana), Mahakatyayana, Mahakaccana and in Japanese as Kasennen, is one of the "Ten Disciples of the Buddha". [(1) Mahakashyapa, 2) Ananda, 3) Shariputra, 4) Subhuti, 5) Purna, 6) Mahamaudgalyayana, 7) Maha Katyayana, 8) Aniruddha, 9) Upali and 10) Rahula.] He was foremost in explaining Dharma. He was born in a brahmin family at Ujjayini (Ujjain) and received a classical Brahminical education studying the Vedas. Katyayana studied assiduously under Asita on Mount Vindhya, who had predicted that Prince Siddharta would become either a cakravartin, a great worldly ruler, or a Buddha. With a group of seven friends he invited the Buddha to visit, and gained enlightenment (bodhi) while listening to him preach. He was ordained, and made numerous converts in the state of Avanti.
Tradition attributes the authorship to Katyayana of the Nettipakarana, a work of grammar, and the Petakopadesa, a treatise on exegetical methodology, although these were most probably composed by a school descended from him.
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Khema
Khema was one of the two chief female disciples of Buddha (the other being Uppalavanna).
The name Khema means well-composed and she was quite beautiful. The nun belonged to the royal family of Magadha and was one of the chief queens of King Bimbisara.
She did not want to meet the Buddha as she knew he did not care much about beauty, and she was very self conscious about hers. She heard about the Buddha from her husband who encouraged her to hear his sermons and told her how beautiful Buddha's monastery was. Very interested in seeing beautiful things, decked out in royal splendor, she went to the monastery of Lord Buddha. There Buddha saw her approaching and created an exceptionally beautiful maiden by his side, whose beauty surpassed her own. Khema was captivated, seeing this, Buddha slowly aged the maiden :
Khema was finally willing to listen to Buddha, after his sermons, she attained full enlightenment, she became an arahant. With her husband's permission, she joined the order of nuns.
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Lao people
The Lao (Lao: ລາວ, Isan: ลาว, IPA: láːw) is an ethnic subgroup of Tai/Dai in Southeast Asia.
The etymology of the word Lao is uncertain, although it may be related to tribes known as the Ai Lao (Lao: ອ້າຽລາວ, Isan: อ้ายลาว, Chinese: 哀牢; pinyin: Āiláo, Vietnamese: ai lao) who appear in Han Dynasty records in China and Vietnam as a people of what is now Yunan Province. Tribes descended from the Ai Lao included the Tai tribes that migrated to Southeast Asia. The English word Laotian, used interchangeably with Lao in most contexts, comes from French laotien/laotienne. The Lao people, like many other Tai peoples also refer to themselves as Tai (Lao: ໄທ, Isan: ไท, IPA: tʰáj) and more specifically Tai Lao (ໄທລາວ, ไทลาว). In Thailand, the local Lao people are differentiated from the Lao of Laos and by the Thais by the term Thai Isan (Lao: ໄທຍ໌ອີສານ, Isan: ไทยอีสาน, IPA: i: să:n), a Sanskrit-derived term meaning northeast, but 'Lao' is still used.
According to a shared legend amongst various Tai tribes, a possibly mythical king, Khun Borom Rachathiriat (ຂຸນບໍຣົມຣາຊາທິຣາດ, ขุนบรมราชาธิราช, [kʰǔn bɔ̄ː lóm láː sáː tʰī lâːt]) of Mueang Thaen (ເມືອງແຖນ, เมืองแถน, [mɯ́əŋ tʰɛ̌ːn]) (modern-day Điện Biên Phủ) begot several sons that settled and ruled other mueang, or city-states, across South-East Asia and southern China. Descended from ancient peoples known to the Chinese as the Yue and the Ai Lao, the Tai tribes began migrating into South-East Asia by the beginning of the 1st millennium, but large-scale migrations took place between the 7th and 13th centuries AD, especially from what is now Sipsongbanna, Yunnan Province and Guangxi. The reasons for Tai migration include pressures from Han Chinese expansion, Mongol invasions, suitable land for wet rice cultivation and the fall of states such as Nanzhao that the Tais inhabited.
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Ledi Sayadaw
The Venerable Ledi Sayadaw U Ñanadhaja (Burmese: လယ်တီဆရာတော် ဦးဉာဏဓဇ, pronounced: [lɛ̀dì sʰəjàdɔ̀ ʔú ɲàna̰dəza̰]; 1 December 1846 – 27 June 1923) was an influential Theravada Buddhist monk. He was recognized from a young age as being developed in both the theory and practice of Buddhism and so was revered as being both scholarly and saintly. He wrote many books on Dhamma in Burmese and these were accessible even to a serious lay person, hence he was responsible for spreading Dhamma to all levels of society and reviving the traditional practice of vipassana meditation, making it more available for renunciates and lay people alike.
He learned the technique of Vipassana still being taught in the caves of the Sagaing Hills; and after mastering the technique, he began to teach it to others. His vihara (monastery) was in Ledi village near the town of Monywa. There he meditated most of the time and taught the other bhikkhus. His leading disciple was a farmer Thet Gyi and so began a chain of lay teachers that continues to the present, the most prominent being Ba Khin and his disciple S. N. Goenka. Previously only the monks were taught vipassana.
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Luang Ta Maha Bua
Phra Thamma Wisutthi Mongkhon (Bua Yanasampanno) or Phra Dharma Visuddhi Monggol (Bua Ñāṇasampanno) (Thai: พระธรรมวิสุทธิมงคล (บัว ญาณสมฺปนฺโน)), commonly known as Ajahn Maha Bua or in Thai Luang Ta Maha Bua (Thai: พระอาจารย์มหาบัว, หลวงตามหาบัว; the word "Ajahn" (Thai: อาจารย์; RTGS: Achan) means "teacher"), born as Bua Lohitdee (Thai: บัว โลหิตดี), (August 12, 1913 – January 30, 2011), was a Thai Buddhist monk. Bua is one of the best known Thai Buddhist monks of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He was widely regarded as an Arahant — a living Buddhist saint. He was a disciple of the esteemed forest master Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, and was himself considered a master in the Thai Forest Tradition. He was a harsh critic of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as well as of events taking place in Watpa Salawan after the death of its abbot Luangpho Phut.
Bua was born in Baan Taad village in the northeastern province of Udon Thani. He was one of 16 children of a rich family of rice farmers. When he was 21, his parents asked him to enter the monkhood for a season, a Thai tradition to show gratitude towards one's parents. He entered Yothanimit monastery and was ordained on May 12, 1934 with Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi as his preceptor. His preceptor gave him the Pali name 'Nanasampanno', meaning 'one endowed with wisdom'. At the time, Bua had no intention of remaining a monk for the rest of his life.
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Mahapajapati Gotami
Mahāpajābatī Gotamī (in Pali; Mahāprajābatī Gautamī in Sanskrit) was the first woman to request ordination from the Buddha and to join the Saṅgha. Mayadevi and Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī were the Koliyan Princess and was sisters of Suprabuddha . She was both the Buddha's maternal aunt and adoptive mother, raising him after her sister, Queen Maya (Mahāmāyā), the Buddha's birth mother, died.
An eminent Therī, Mahāprajāpatī was born at Devadaha, in the family of Suppabuddha, as the younger sister of Mahāmāyā. Mahāprajāpatī was so called because, at her birth, augurs prophesied that she would have a large following. Both sisters married King Śuddhodana, leader of the Śākya. When Mahāmāyā died, seven days after the birth of the Buddha, Pajāpati looked after the Buddha and nursed him. She raised the Buddha and had her own children, Siddhartha's half-brother Nanda and half-sister Sundari Nanda, but it is said that she gave her own children to nurses and herself nursed the Buddha.
When her sister, Queen Maya, died, Mahapajapati Gotami decided to attain Ordination. Mahapajapati Gotami went to the Buddha and asked to be ordained into the Sangha. The Buddha refused and went on to Vesāli. Undaunted, Gotami cut off her hair and donned yellow robes and with a large number of Sakyan ladies followed the Buddha to Vesāli on foot. Upon arrival, she repeated her request to be ordained. Ananda, one of the principal disciples and an attendant of the Buddha, met her and offered to intercede with the Buddha on her behalf.
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Mahinda
Mahinda (Sanskrit: महेन्द्र; Mahendra) (born 3rd century BCE in Magadha, now in Bihar, India) was a Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka. He was the son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka and Ashoka's consort Maharani Devi.
The Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa, Sri Lanka's two great religious chronicles, contain accounts of Mahinda travelling to Sri Lanka and converting King Devanampiyatissa. These are the primary sources for accounts of his life and deeds. Inscriptions and literary references also establish that Buddhism became prevalent in Sri Lanka around the 3rd century BCE, the period when Mahinda lived.
Mahinda grew up at Vidisha, the residence of his mother and became a monk at the age of 20 with Moggaliputta-Tissa, his father's spiritual teacher, guiding him and was well-versed with the Tripitaka. Mahinda together with fellow monks Itthiya, Uttiya, Sambala, Bhaddasala and Saamanera Sumana(who was the son of Sanghamitta) were sent to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism, following the Third Buddhist Council, upon the recommendation of Moggaliputta-Tissa. He was also accompanied by a lay disciple Bhankuka, who was a maternal grandson of his aunt. The party left from Vedasagiri vihara, believed to be modern day Sanchi.
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Mahākāśyapa
Mahākāśyapa (Sanskrit; Pali: Mahākassapa; Japanese: Maha Kasho or Makakasho) or Kāśyapa was a brahman of Magadha, who became one of the principal disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha and who convened and directed the first council. Mahākāśyapa is one of the most revered of the Buddha's early disciples, foremost in ascetic practices. He is often depicted in statuary together with Ananda, each standing to one side of the Buddha.
Zen purports to lead its adherents to insights akin to that mentioned by Śākyamuni Buddha in his Flower Sermon in which he held up a white flower and just admired it in his hand. Mahākāśyapa smiled faintly, and Śākyamuni Buddha picked that disciple as one who truly understood him and who was worthy to be his successor.
The words of the Śākyamuni Buddha addressed to Mahākāśyapa are described below:
I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.
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Mandaeism
Mandaeism or Mandaeanism (Modern Mandaic: Mandaʻiūtā (מנדעיותא); Arabic: مندائية Mandāʼīyah/Mandāʾiyyah; Persian: مندائیان Mandâ'iyân) is a gnostic religion[citation needed] (Aramaic manda means "knowledge", as does Greek gnosis) with a strongly dualistic worldview.
Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram and especially John the Baptist, but reject Jesus of Nazareth and are hostile to Christianity. They are sometimes identified with mentions in the Quran of the Sabian religion, particularly in an Arabian context, but the Sabian religious community is extinct today.
According to most scholars, Mandaeans migrated from the Southern Levant to Mesopotamia in the first centuries CE and are certainly of pre-Arab and pre-Islamic origin. They are Semites and speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic known as Mandaic. They may well be related to the "Nabateans of Iraq" who were pagan, Aramaic speaking indigenous pre-Arab and pre-Islamic inhabitants of southern Iraq.
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Manichaeism
Manichaeism ( /ˈmænɨkiːɪzəm/; in Modern Persian آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese: 摩尼教; pinyin: Móní Jiào) was a major gnostic religion, originating in Sassanid era Babylonia. Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani (in Persian: مانی, Syriac: ܡܐܢܝ, Latin: Manichaeus or Manes) (c. 216–276 CE) have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived.
Manichaeism taught an elaborate cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process which takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light from which it came. Its beliefs, based on local Mesopotamian gnostic and religious movements, contained elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.
Manichaeism thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. It was widespread among the legions of the Roman Empire, who considered it a soldier's religion, and it was briefly the main rival to Christianity in the competition to replace classical paganism. Manichaeism survived longer in the East than in the West, and it appears to have finally faded away after the 14th century in southern China, contemporary to the decline in China of the Church of the East – see Ming Dynasty.
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Mazdak
Mazdak (in Persian مزدک) (died c. 524 or 528) was a proto-socialistPersian reformer and religious activist who gained influence under the reign of the Sassanian Shahanshah Kavadh I. He claimed to be a prophet of God, and instituted communal possessions and social welfare programs.
Mazdak was the chief representative of a religious and philosophical teaching called Mazdakism, which he viewed as a reformed and purified version of Zoroastrianism, although his teaching has been argued to display influences from Manichaeism as well. Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion of Sassanid Persia, and Mazdak himself was a Zoroastrian priest, or mobed, but most of the Zoroastrian clergy regarded his teaching as a heresy. Information about it is scarce and little is known beyond what is listed below; some further details may be inferred from the later doctrine of Khurramism, which has been seen as a continuation of Mazdakism.
Some sources claim that the original founders of this sect lived earlier than Mazdak. These were another mobed named Zardusht (of the same name, but not the same person as the founder of Zoroastrianism) and/or a Zoroastrian philosopher known as Mazdak the Elder, who taught a combination of altruism and hedonism: "he directed his followers to enjoy the pleasures of life and satisfy their appetite in the highest degree with regard to eating and drinking in the spirit of equality,to aim at good deeds; to abstain from shedding blood and inflicting harm on others; and to practice hospitality without reservation". This doctrine was further developed by the best known Mazdak, Mazdak the Younger, son of Bāmdād. At later stages the opposition to Mazdak blamed them for heresy and sharing women etc. which is not true. They are considered to be the first real socialists of human history who emphasized the community work and benefits for all.
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Melford Spiro
Melford Elliot Spiro (born April 26, 1920) is an American cultural anthropologist specializing in religion and psychological anthropology. He is known for his critiques of the pillars of contemporary anthropological theory--wholesale cultural determinism, radical cultural relativism, and virtually limitless cultural diversity--and for his emphasis on the theoretical importance of unconscious desires and beliefs in the study of stability and change in social and cultural systems, particularly in respect to the family, politics, and religion. Explicated in numerous theoretical publications, they are empirically exemplified in monographs based on his fieldwork in Ifaluk atoll in Micronesia, an Israeli kibbutz, and a village in Burma (now Myanmar). He was a significant figure in a series of debates over cultural relativism and postmodern theory among American cultural anthropologists in the 1980s and early 1990s, in which he consistently argued for the importance of the comparative method and the appreciation of universal cultural and psychological processes.
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Moggallana
This article incorporates text from the Dictionary of Pali Proper Names by G. P. Malalasekera, a publication now in the public domain.
Maudgalyāyana (Pali: Moggallāna; Chinese: 目連; pinyin: Mùlián; Japanese: 目犍連, Mokuren or Mokkenren), also known as Mahāmaudgalyāyana or Mahāmoggallāna, was one of the Śākyamuni Buddha's closest disciples. A contemporary of famous arhats such as Subhūti, Śāriputra, and Mahākāśyapa, he is considered the second of the Buddha's two foremost disciples (foremost in supernatural powers), together with Śāriputra. He was born in a Brahmin family of Kolita.
Maudgalyāyana was the most accomplished of all the Buddha's disciples in the various supernormal powers that could be developed through meditation. These abilities included being able to use mind-reading for such things as detecting lies from truths, transporting himself from his body into the various realms of existence, and speaking with ghosts and gods. He is traditionally attributed with the ability to do such things as walking through walls, walking on water, flying through the air, and moving with a speed comparable to the speed of light.[citation needed]
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Nagarjuna
Acharya Nāgārjuna (Devanagari:नागार्जुन, Telugu: నాగార్జున, Tibetan: ཀླུ་སྒྲུབ་ klu sgrub, Chinese: 龍樹, Sinhala නාගර්පුන) (ca. 150–250 CE) was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Mādhyamaka school was in turn transmitted to China under the name of the Sānlùn School (Ch. 三論宗, "Three Treatise School").
Nāgārjuna is sometimes credited with developing the philosophy of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, and being associated with the Buddhist university of Nālandā. In the Jodo Shinshu and Shingon schools of Buddhism in Japan he is considered the First Patriarch. In some Mahāyāna traditions, Nāgārjuna is regarded as a second buddha.
According to most available accounts, Nāgārjuna was originally from Southern India. Archaeological discoveries at Amarāvatī confirm the fact that Nāgārjuna maintained a friendship with the Sātavāhana king Gautamīputra Śātakarṇi, to whom he addressed his Letter to a Friend (Skt. Sahṛd-lekhā). On this basis, Nāgārjuna is conventionally placed at around 150–250 CE.
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Nanda (Buddhist)
Prince Nanda was the younger half-brother of the Buddha. He shared the same father as the Buddha, King Śuddhodana and his mother, Mahapajapati Gotami, was the Buddha's mother's younger sister.
It was seven years after his Enlightenment that the Buddha, at the request of his father, who missed him dearly, returned to his home city of Kapilavatthu.
On the third day of his return, the Buddha, after partaking of his meal, silently handed his bowl to Nanda, rose and exited. Thinking that the Buddha would take his bowl back, Nanda followed him until he reached the Park of Nigrodha, where the Buddha was staying. This was the Buddha's silent demonstration of the Dhamma to his younger brother: a scene which is often represented in Greco-Buddhist art.
When they arrived at the Park, the Buddha questioned Nanda regarding whether he might become a Monk. Although Nanda had just wedded the beautiful Janapada Kalyāni ,, that same day, he took ordination and joined the community of Monks.
However, Nanda enjoyed no spiritual happiness. His thoughts were constantly directed towards to Janapada Kalyāni and his heart pined for her.
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Nichiren
Nichiren (日蓮) (February 16, 1222 – October 13, 1282) was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching. Nichiren Buddhism includes various schools with diverging interpretations of Nichiren's teachings. While virtually all Nichiren Buddhist schools regard him as a reincarnation of the Lotus Sutra's Bodhisattva Superior Practices, Jōgyō Bosatsu (上行菩薩), some schools of Nichiren Buddhism's Nikkō lineages regard him as the actual Buddha of this age, or the Buddha of the Latter day of the Law.
Nichiren was born on February 16, 1222 in the village of Kominato, Nagase District, Awa Province (within present-day Chiba Prefecture). Nichiren's father was Mikuni-no-Tayu Shigetada, also known as Nukina Shigetada Jiro (d. 1258) and his mother was Umegiku-nyo (d. 1267). On his birth, his parents named him Zennichimaro (善日麿?) which has variously been translated into English as "Splendid Sun" and "Virtuous Sun Boy" among others. The exact site of Nichiren's birth is believed to be submerged off the shore from present-day Kominato-zan Tanjō-ji (小湊山 誕生寺), a temple in Kominato that commemorates Nichiren's birth. In his own words about his birth, Nichiren stated that he was "the son of a chandala family who lived near the sea in Tojo in Awa Province, in the remote countryside of the eastern part of Japan."
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Nichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism (日蓮系諸宗派: Nichiren-kei sho shūha) is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). Various forms of Nichiren Buddhism have had great influence among certain sections of Japanese society at different times in the country's history, such as among the merchants of Kyoto in Japan's Middle Ages and among some ultranationalists during the pre-World War II era. Nichiren Buddhism is generally noted for its focus on the Lotus Sutra and an attendant belief that all people have an innate Buddha nature and are therefore inherently capable of attaining enlightenment in their current form and present lifetime. It is also noted for positioning itself in opposition to other forms of Japanese Buddhism—in particular the Zen, Pure Land, esoteric, and Ritsu schools, which Nichiren saw as deviating from the orthodoxy of Mahayana Buddhism. Nichiren Buddhism is a comprehensive term covering several major schools and many sub-schools, as well as several of Japan's new religions. Nichiren Buddhists believe that the spread of Nichiren's teachings and their effect on practitioners' lives will eventually bring about a peaceful, just, and prosperous society.
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Nyanaponika Thera
Nyanaponika Thera or Nyaniponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901, Hanau – 19 October 1994, Forest Hermitage, Kandy, Ceylon) was a German-born Sri-Lanka-ordained Theravada monk, co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society[1], contemporary author of numerous seminal Theravada books, and teacher of contemporary Western Buddhist leaders such as Bhikkhu Bodhi.
Detailed Biography:
Ven. Nyanaponika Thera (Siegmund Feniger) was born in Hanau, Germany on July 21, 1901 as Siegmund Feniger, the only child of a Jewish family.
In 1922, he moved with his parents to Berlin, where he met with other German Buddhists and also had access to Buddhist literature in German language. He first came across the writings of Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera (1878–1957), the former German violin virtuoso Anton Gueth, which had already been published in Germany. Young Siegmund had learned Ven. Nayanatiloka Thera had established a monastery for Western Monks on an island lagoon (opposite the Railway station) Polgasduwa, Dodanduwa named Island Hermitage. This news stirred his conscience to go to Asia and become a Buddhist Monk.
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Philip Novak
Philip Novak is a Sarlo Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. He received a bachelors degree in English at University of Notre Dame (1972), and MA and PhD degrees in Religion at Syracuse University (1981). He joined the faculty of Dominican University in 1980. Novak has been Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences.
Books authored or edited by Novak include
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Punna
Purna Maitrayani-putra, also called Puṇṇa, was an arahant and one of the ten leading disciples of the Buddha.
When asked by the Buddha what he would think if people were to assault or kill him, each time Puṇṇa explained how he would find himself fortunate. As a result, the Buddha commended Puṇṇa on his self-control and peacefulness. Puṇṇa went on to establish a thousand lay followers in the Buddha's teaching. Upon Puṇṇa's death, the Buddha discerned that Puṇṇa had attained final Nibbana.
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Rāhula
Rāhula (born c. 534 BC) was the only son of Siddhartha Gautama (Pāli Siddhattha Gotama), later known as the Buddha, and his wife Princess Yasodharā.
Accounts of his life differ in certain points. The following is that given in the Pāli Canon.
Prince Siddhartha was preparing himself to leave the palace. One account claims that when he received the news of his son's birth he replied Rāhu jāto, bandhanam jātam — "A rāhu is born, a fetter has arisen." Accordingly the child was named Rāhula, meaning "fetter", or "impediment", recognizing that the child could be a tie that bound him to his wife Yashodhara, a binding that may impede a search for enlightenment. Others, however, feel rāhu does not mean "fetter" in this sense. The second account, found in the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya, is that Rāhula received his name in accordance with an eclipse of the moon, caused by the snake Rahu.
Supporting the first account, in the Dhammapada, the pleasure and joy that a man receives in his wife and children is called a "soft fetter" that ties individuals to life and suffering, not just through eventual loss and separation of loved ones but more deeply and subtly may act as ties to cyclic existence (samsara).
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Samaritan
The Samaritans (Hebrew: שומרונים Shomronim, Arabic: السامريون as-Sāmariyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously the Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism. Based on the Samaritan Torah, Samaritans claim their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to the Babylonian Exile, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel, as opposed to Judaism, which they assert is a related but altered and amended religion brought back by those returning from exile.
Ancestrally, Samaritans claim descent from a group of Israelite inhabitants from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph) as well as some descendants from the priestly tribe of Levi, who have connections to ancient Samaria from the period of their entry into the land of Canaan, while some suggest that it was from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the Samaritan Kingdom of Baba Rabba. The Samaritans, however, derive their name not from this geographical designation, but rather from the Hebrew term Shamerim שַמֶרִים, "Keepers [of the Law]".
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Sanghamitta
Sanghamittā (Sanghmitra in Sanskrit) was the daughter of Emperor Ashoka and his Buddhist queen Devī. Together with Mahinda, her brother, she entered an order of Buddhist monks. The two siblings later went to Sri Lanka to spread the teachings of Buddha at the request of King Devanampiya Tissa (250 BC – 210 BC) who was a contemporary of Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC). Ashoka was initially reluctant to send his daughter on an overseas mission. However, because of the insistence of Sanghamittā herself, he finally agreed. She was sent to Sri Lanka together with several other nuns to start the nun-lineage of Bhikkhunis (a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic) at the request of King Tissa to ordain queen Anulā and other women of Tissa's court at Anuradhapura who desired to be ordained as nuns after Mahindra converted them to Buddhism.
After Sanghamittā’s contribution to the propagation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and her establishing the 'Bikhhunī Sangha' or 'Meheini Sasna' (Order of Nuns) there, her name became synonymous with 'Buddhist Female Monastic Order of Theravāda Buddhism' that was established not only in Sri Lanka but also in Burma, China and Thailand, in particular. The day the most revered tree, the Bodhi tree, a sapling of which was brought by her to Sri Lanka and planted in Anuradhapura, and which is still surviving, is also celebrated every year on the Full Moon day of December as "Uduvapa Poya" or "Uposatha Poya" and "Sanghamittā Day" by Theravāda Buddhists in Sri Lanka.
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Sariputta
Śāriputra (Sanskrit: शारिपुत्र) or Sāriputta (Pāli) was one of two chief male disciples of the Buddha along with Maudgalyayana (Pali: Moggallāna), counterparts to the nuns Khema and Uppalavanna, named the two chief female disciples. He became an Arhat "foremost in wisdom" renowned for his teaching and is depicted in the Theravada tradition as one of the most important disciples of the Buddha.
Śāriputra came from a Brahmin family and had already embarked on life as a spiritual ascetic when he encountered the teachings of the Buddha. Śāriputra had a close friend Mahāmaudgalyāyana (Pāli: Mahāmoggallāna), another wandering ascetic. They both renounced the world on the same day and became disciples of the sceptic Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta before converting to Buddhism.
After hearing of the Buddha's teachings from a monk named Assaji (Sanskrit: Asvajit), Śāriputra sought out the Buddha and became an adherent to his teachings. These two are often depicted together with the Buddha, and several sutras regard interactions between Śāriputra and Mahāmaudgalyāyana (who became renowned among the early Buddhists for his mastery of supernatural powers).
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Shan people
The Shan (Shan: တႆး; IPA: [tɑ́ɪ], Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; [ʃán lùmjó]; Chinese: 掸族 or 傣族; pinyin: Shànzú) are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan live primarily in the Shan State of Burma (Myanmar), but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Division, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China and Thailand. Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935, the Shan are estimated to number approximately 6 million.
The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi, a small city of about 150,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw (Hsipaw), Lashio, Kengtung and Tachileik.
The Shan people can be divided into five major groups:
There are various ethnic groups designated as Tai throughout Shan State and Kachin State. Some of these groups in fact speak Tibeto-Burman and Mon-Khmer languages, although they are assimilated into Shan society. The following list is drawn from Edmondson (2008).
The majority of Shan are Theravada Buddhists, and the Shan constitute one of the four main Buddhist ethnic groups in Burma; the others are the Bamar, the Mon and the Rakhine.
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Tai peoples
Tai peoples are anybody predominantly descended from the original proto-Tai speakers. This includes those who have Tai blood but no longer speak Tai languages, some 8-10 million people in Northeastern India (not limited to Assam) claim descent from Ahomese, but may have intermarried with others and now speak Assamese, another tens of thousands in India still use Tai languages (mostly in Arunachal Pradesh). Aside from India, where language has eroded, Tai groups can be traced through their language.
Today, Tai peoples are split among nations, leading to different names for them. In China, Tai peoples (excluding Rauz peoples) are lumped together as Dai people, despite not self-identifying as "Dai", and in Burma they're similarly lumped together as Shan people (again, a bureaucratic designation not ethnic self-identity), in Vietnam Tay, and Laos Lao, and Thailand Thai people.
In a paper published in 2004, Linguist Laurent Sagart hypothesized that the proto-Tai–Kadai language originated as an Austronesian languages that migrants carried from Taiwan to mainland China. Afterwards, the language was then heavily influenced by local languages from Sino-Tibetan, Hmong–Mien, or other families, borrowing much vocabulary and converging typologically. Much closer to the present, some peoples speaking Tai languages migrated southward over the mountains into Southeast Asia, perhaps prompted by the coming of the Han Chinese to south China.
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Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, also known as Ajaan Geoff, (born 1949) is an American Theravada Buddhist monk of the Dhammayut Order (Dhammayutika Nikaya), Thai forest kammatthana tradition. He is currently the abbot of Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County. Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu is a notably skilled and prolific translator of the Pāli Canon. He is also the author of many free Dhamma books.
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu was born Geoffrey DeGraff in 1949 and was introduced to the Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths as a high schooler, during a plane ride from the Philippines. After graduating in 1971 with a degree in European Intellectual History from Oberlin College, he travelled to Thailand, where he practiced meditation under Ajaan Fuang Jotiko, who'd studied under Ajaan Lee. He was ordained in 1976 at Ajaan Lee's Wat Asokaram, where Ajaan Lee's nephew, Phra Rajvarakhun (Samrong Gunavuddho), served as Preceptor for his ordination. Later, he took residence at Wat Dhammasathit in Thailand, where he continued studying under Ajaan Fuang.
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Upali
Upali (Sanskrit उपालि upāli) was a monk, one of the ten chief disciples of the Buddha. Before joining the order, he worked as a barber. He asked the Buddha if a person of "low birth" such as he could join the order. Buddha ordained him before the princes and asked the princes to pay homage to Upali, who by then had become an Arhant with Buddha's sermons while Buddha was getting a hair cut. He became the chief disciple in knowing the rules of the order and the foremost disciple in keeping precepts.
wn.com/Upali -
Uppalavanna
Uppalavannā (蓮華色比丘尼)was considered to be amongst the two chief female disciples of the Buddha, the other being Khema.
She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant and was known for her great beauty. Her name means "one with the hue of the blue lotus".
She was the daughter of a businessman from Savatthi (Shravasti). She was named Uppalavanna because her complexion was that of a blue lotus. She was so beautiful that when she came of age, powerful and wealthy suitors sent messengers to her father asking for her hand. Not wanting to displease so many people, he suggested that she become a bhikkhuni. She agreed and became a nun. She quickly progressed in meditation and became an Arahant (fully liberated).
Buddha declared her to be the foremost in supernormal powers among the nuns.
Samyutta Nikaya V.5, the Uppalavanna Sutta, is attributed to her:
wn.com/Uppalavanna -
Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu (Sanskrit: वसुबन्दु; traditional Chinese: 世親; pinyin: Shìqīn; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་, Wylie: dbyig gnyen) (fl. 4th c.) was an Indian Buddhist monk, and along with his half-brother Asanga, one of the main founders of the Indian Yogācāra school. However, some scholars consider Vasubandhu to be two distinct people. Vasubandhu is one of the most influential figures in the entire history of Buddhism. In the Jodo Shinshu branch of Buddhism, he is considered the Second Patriarch. In Zen, he is the 21st Patriarch.
Born a brahmin Vasubandhu was said to have been the half brother of Asanga, another key personage in the founding of the Yogacara School. He was also, as well as his elder half brother Asanga, one of the ‘Six Ornaments’(i.e. six great commentators on the Buddha’s teachings). He resided at Kausambhi (near modern Allahabad) where he was trained in the orthodox Sarvastivada Order of Buddhism, which had its seat at Kausambhi. He was contemporaneous with King Chandragupta I, the father of Samudragupta. This information temporally places this Vasubandhu in the fourth century CE.
wn.com/Vasubandhu -
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘; pinyin: Xuánzàng; Wade–Giles: Hsüan-tsang Sanskrit: ह्वेनसांग) (c. 602 – 664) was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period. Born in Henan province of China in 602 or 603, from boyhood he took to reading sacred books, including the Chinese Classics and the writings of the ancient sages.
While residing in the city of Luoyang, Xuanzang entered Buddhist monkhood at the age of thirteen. Due to the political and social unrest caused by the fall of the Sui dynasty, he went to Chengdu in Sichuan (Szechuan), where he was ordained at the age of twenty. He later traveled throughout China in search of sacred books of Buddhism. At length, he came to Chang'an, then under the peaceful rule of Emperor Taizong of Tang. Here Xuanzang developed the desire to visit India. He knew about Faxian's visit to India and, like him, was concerned about the incomplete and misinterpreted nature of the Buddhist scriptures that had reached China.
wn.com/Xuanzang -
Śuddhodana
King Suddhodana (Sanskrit: Śuddhodana) was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya people, who lived in northern India and southern Nepal. Suddhodana's father was Sihahanu. Suddhodana won a battle against his father, thus gaining permission to marry the two sisters of his cousin, Suprabuddha, of the Koliya clan. Suprabuddha in turn married Suddhodana's two sisters. Siddhartha, later Buddha, in turn married his cousin, Yasodhara, daughter of Suprabuddha and his father's sister. Suddhodana's consorts, Mayadevi and Mahaprajapati of Devadaha Kingdom located in southern Nepal and northern India on the bank of the river Anoma, were in turn Buddha's mother, and step-mother.
The sage Asita visited Siddhartha when he was just a baby, and was surprised when the infant prince placed his feet on top of the sage's head. After Asita examined the prince’s feet, he kneeled and paid homage to the infant. King Suddhodana copied his action and said, “Son, this is my first act of obeisance.”. Siddhartha later received his name from the Five Forest Brahmana, Kaundinya, Mahaanaama, Baspa, Asvajita, and Bharika, who later became Buddha's companions during his ascetic practices, and his first five followers after his enlightenment at Bodh Gaaya and his first sermon (Dharmacakraptavatana sutra - Turning of the Wheel of Law) at Sraavastii.
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Theravada Buddhism-BBC.wmv
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:33
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Around the World in 80 faiths-episode Theravada Buddhism. Ven. Anil Sakya was interviewed on Thai Buddhism.
http://wn.com/Theravada_Buddhism-BBCwmv
Around the World in 80 faiths-episode Theravada Buddhism. Ven. Anil Sakya was interviewed on Thai Buddhism.
Ask A Monk: Esoteric Theravada Buddhism
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:25
- Updated: 23 Nov 2012
Are there any esoteric teachings in theravada buddhism --------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe for updates here: www.youtube.com and don't forget to click the "like" button to help promote these videos! Thanks everyone for your questions, comments and support for what I do. May all beings be happy. --------------------------------------------------------------- Community Website: my.sirimangalo.org Live Question and Answer Sessions: radio.sirimangalo.org Question and Answer Forum: ask.sirimangalo.org Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: www.twitter.com Google: www.google.com Weblog: yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org Schedule: yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org Audio Talks: yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org Book on How To Meditate: yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org Sirimangalo International (Our non-profit organization): www.sirimangalo.org Supporting This Work: www.sirimangalo.org
http://wn.com/Ask_A_Monk_Esoteric_Theravada_Buddhism
Are there any esoteric teachings in theravada buddhism --------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe for updates here: www.youtube.com and don't forget to click the "like" button to help promote these videos! Thanks everyone for your questions, comments and support for what I do. May all beings be happy. --------------------------------------------------------------- Community Website: my.sirimangalo.org Live Question and Answer Sessions: radio.sirimangalo.org Question and Answer Forum: ask.sirimangalo.org Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: www.twitter.com Google: www.google.com Weblog: yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org Schedule: yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org Audio Talks: yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org Book on How To Meditate: yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org Sirimangalo International (Our non-profit organization): www.sirimangalo.org Supporting This Work: www.sirimangalo.org
- published: 02 Oct 2011
- views: 2268
- author: yuttadhammo
What is Theravada Buddhism?
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:03
- Updated: 27 Nov 2012
This is great description of the Theravada tradition, explaining the deep philosophy and facts of this major Buddhist lineage. The end of the video leaves space for a short personal meditation by focusing on the nice meditation music that guides us through the whole video.
http://wn.com/What_is_Theravada_Buddhism?
This is great description of the Theravada tradition, explaining the deep philosophy and facts of this major Buddhist lineage. The end of the video leaves space for a short personal meditation by focusing on the nice meditation music that guides us through the whole video.
- published: 20 Apr 2011
- views: 12011
- author: TheBuddhaLight
Karma and Rebirth in Theravada Buddhism by Brian Ruhe - Part 1 of 8
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:57
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
This was recorded in class five of the Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation course in adult Ed. at the Vancouver School Board in BC, Canada in November, 2008. The video was incorrectly uploaded for a wide screen so my face is inhumanly wide! For the real me, see my later videos. I point this out because it's important for a Buddhist teacher to make a fashion statement : ) I am Brian Ruhe, a Buddhist follower and lay teacher. I teach Buddhism and meditation in Vancouver, Canada in adult ed. at several school boards and community centres. I am also available to lead private and professional retreats, and to mentor on a one-to-one basis by Skype. You can call my Skype address at: BrianARuhe For more information please do visit my website www.theravada.ca . Brian Ruhe is a former Buddhist monk, author of the new book, "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", available on Amazon.com. www.amazon.com Brian has been teaching Buddhism for 16 years. This topic is not being taught enough in a direct way by Buddhist monks and lay teachers in the West so Brian is posting this on You Tube to spread these teachings. For more info go to Brian's website at www.theravada.ca
http://wn.com/Karma_and_Rebirth_in_Theravada_Buddhism_by_Brian_Ruhe_Part_1_of_8
This was recorded in class five of the Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation course in adult Ed. at the Vancouver School Board in BC, Canada in November, 2008. The video was incorrectly uploaded for a wide screen so my face is inhumanly wide! For the real me, see my later videos. I point this out because it's important for a Buddhist teacher to make a fashion statement : ) I am Brian Ruhe, a Buddhist follower and lay teacher. I teach Buddhism and meditation in Vancouver, Canada in adult ed. at several school boards and community centres. I am also available to lead private and professional retreats, and to mentor on a one-to-one basis by Skype. You can call my Skype address at: BrianARuhe For more information please do visit my website www.theravada.ca . Brian Ruhe is a former Buddhist monk, author of the new book, "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", available on Amazon.com. www.amazon.com Brian has been teaching Buddhism for 16 years. This topic is not being taught enough in a direct way by Buddhist monks and lay teachers in the West so Brian is posting this on You Tube to spread these teachings. For more info go to Brian's website at www.theravada.ca
- published: 30 Jan 2009
- views: 12350
- author: Brian Ruhe
Mahayana and Theravada approaches
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:09
- Updated: 22 Apr 2012
Bhante Sangharakshita takes part in a panel discussion as part of the European Buddhist Union event in Berlin 1992.
http://wn.com/Mahayana_and_Theravada_approaches
Bhante Sangharakshita takes part in a panel discussion as part of the European Buddhist Union event in Berlin 1992.
- published: 06 Apr 2009
- views: 3853
- author: clearvisiontrust
Theravada Buddhism
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:48
- Updated: 12 Oct 2012
A Dhamma Talk from Birken Foreset Buddhist Monastery In Canada
http://wn.com/Theravada_Buddhism
A Dhamma Talk from Birken Foreset Buddhist Monastery In Canada
- published: 20 Jun 2007
- views: 25691
- author: movingyh
Theravada Buddhism, the way to true happiness
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:01
- Updated: 28 Nov 2012
Way to happiness, Buddhist meditation, The pursuit of happiness, How to become happy, Ajahn Chah teaching, Buddhism Mindfulness to True Happiness
http://wn.com/Theravada_Buddhism,_the_way_to_true_happiness
Way to happiness, Buddhist meditation, The pursuit of happiness, How to become happy, Ajahn Chah teaching, Buddhism Mindfulness to True Happiness
- published: 04 Mar 2010
- views: 21601
- author: mrnopparath
Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:51
- Updated: 27 Nov 2012
differences and similarities
http://wn.com/Theravada_and_Mahayana_Buddhism
differences and similarities
- published: 07 Mar 2011
- views: 6828
- author: mookungz
An Overview of Noble Eightfold Path - Summary Theravada Mahayana Zen vajrayana Samatha vipassana
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 22:11
- Updated: 23 Nov 2012
dhammatalks.org This mp3 by Venerable Thanissaro Bhikkhu. audiodharma.org dhammasukha.org www.dhammaloka.org.au www.bodhimonastery.net www.abhayagiri.org www.seeingthroughthenet.net ayyakhematalks.org sinhaladhamma.wordpress.com www.ceylonoutsourcing.com www.dhammatalks.org.uk www.dhammatalks.net groups.google.com Download using FDM,IDM Grabber , Transfer to your mp3 player , listen on the move..Be well, Feel good with Dhamma . Buddha only shows you the way, you have to follow the path to put an end to your suffering.
http://wn.com/An_Overview_of_Noble_Eightfold_Path_Summary_Theravada_Mahayana_Zen_vajrayana_Samatha_vipassana
dhammatalks.org This mp3 by Venerable Thanissaro Bhikkhu. audiodharma.org dhammasukha.org www.dhammaloka.org.au www.bodhimonastery.net www.abhayagiri.org www.seeingthroughthenet.net ayyakhematalks.org sinhaladhamma.wordpress.com www.ceylonoutsourcing.com www.dhammatalks.org.uk www.dhammatalks.net groups.google.com Download using FDM,IDM Grabber , Transfer to your mp3 player , listen on the move..Be well, Feel good with Dhamma . Buddha only shows you the way, you have to follow the path to put an end to your suffering.
- published: 18 Aug 2011
- views: 2996
- author: Arya Sravaka
Compilation of Ajahn Chah's Teaching, หลวงปู่ชา (Ajahn Chah, Theravada Buddhism)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:01
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
Theravada Buddhism. The core teaching of Venerable Ajahn Chah (Phra Bodhiñāna Thera), A good compilation of Ajahn Chah teaching. Venerable Ajahn Chah (Phra Bodhiñāna Thera) was born into a typical farming family in a rural village in the province of Ubon Rachathani, NE Thailand, on June 17, 1918. Wat Nong Pah Pong (วัดหนองป่าพง)
http://wn.com/Compilation_of_Ajahn_Chah's_Teaching,_หลวงปู่ชา_Ajahn_Chah,_Theravada_Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism. The core teaching of Venerable Ajahn Chah (Phra Bodhiñāna Thera), A good compilation of Ajahn Chah teaching. Venerable Ajahn Chah (Phra Bodhiñāna Thera) was born into a typical farming family in a rural village in the province of Ubon Rachathani, NE Thailand, on June 17, 1918. Wat Nong Pah Pong (วัดหนองป่าพง)
- published: 03 Mar 2010
- views: 52350
- author: mrnopparath
Working with Your Mind in Theravada Buddhist Meditation
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 30:07
- Updated: 25 Sep 2012
Topics in this video are about: Hanging on to wholesome feelings. Virtue is a jug that fills drop by drop. We think 60000 thoughts a day. 95% of those we thought yesterday. Be wary of thoughts of the past. The experience of being at the Birken Forest Monastery - www.birken.ca . It is a low sensory environment which makes the mind happy! Jhana- Google it. Ayya Nimmala Goldie Hawn's Mindfulness Education program in the schools. Welcome! I am Brian Ruhe, a Buddhist follower and lay teacher. I teach Buddhism and meditation in Vancouver, Canada in adult ed. at several school boards and community centres. I am also available to lead private and professional retreats anywhere, and to mentor on a one-to-one basis on Skype. Please call my Skype address at: BrianARuhe . For more information please do visit my website www.theravada.ca . My latest book "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", is available from Amazon.com at: www.amazon.com I was a Buddhist monk in Chiangmai, Thailand and I have been teaching Theravada Buddhism and meditation for 15 years. My first book from 1999, is "Freeing the Buddha" and I follow the Theravada Forest tradition with Ajahn Sona, at www.birken.ca
http://wn.com/Working_with_Your_Mind_in_Theravada_Buddhist_Meditation
Topics in this video are about: Hanging on to wholesome feelings. Virtue is a jug that fills drop by drop. We think 60000 thoughts a day. 95% of those we thought yesterday. Be wary of thoughts of the past. The experience of being at the Birken Forest Monastery - www.birken.ca . It is a low sensory environment which makes the mind happy! Jhana- Google it. Ayya Nimmala Goldie Hawn's Mindfulness Education program in the schools. Welcome! I am Brian Ruhe, a Buddhist follower and lay teacher. I teach Buddhism and meditation in Vancouver, Canada in adult ed. at several school boards and community centres. I am also available to lead private and professional retreats anywhere, and to mentor on a one-to-one basis on Skype. Please call my Skype address at: BrianARuhe . For more information please do visit my website www.theravada.ca . My latest book "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", is available from Amazon.com at: www.amazon.com I was a Buddhist monk in Chiangmai, Thailand and I have been teaching Theravada Buddhism and meditation for 15 years. My first book from 1999, is "Freeing the Buddha" and I follow the Theravada Forest tradition with Ajahn Sona, at www.birken.ca
- published: 22 Dec 2011
- views: 1687
- author: Brian Ruhe
Theravada Buddhism
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:22
- Updated: 23 Oct 2012
What is Theravada Buddhism.
http://wn.com/Theravada_Buddhism
What is Theravada Buddhism.
- published: 12 Jul 2009
- views: 14924
- author: Robert Buddysta
Ajahn Maha Bua 1 - www.theravada-dhamma.org
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:48
- Updated: 10 Nov 2012
Maha Bua gibt einen Vortrag an seine Mönche zur Anfang der Regenzeit 2550
http://wn.com/Ajahn_Maha_Bua_1_wwwtheravada-dhammaorg
Maha Bua gibt einen Vortrag an seine Mönche zur Anfang der Regenzeit 2550
- published: 25 Feb 2010
- views: 8056
- author: Patimokkha
True Meditation music of Theravada Buddhism
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:19
- Updated: 09 Nov 2012
This is the real meditation music. Look at the light in the picture, concentrate your mind and close your eyes slowly. Open your eyes when you here the sound at the end of meditation. True wisdom be in your heart. Welcome to buddhamessenger.blogspot.com don't miss this treasure!
http://wn.com/True_Meditation_music_of_Theravada_Buddhism
This is the real meditation music. Look at the light in the picture, concentrate your mind and close your eyes slowly. Open your eyes when you here the sound at the end of meditation. True wisdom be in your heart. Welcome to buddhamessenger.blogspot.com don't miss this treasure!
- published: 04 Jul 2009
- views: 25604
- author: Buddhamessenger
Buddhism New Religion Theravada Thailand Asia Meditation Relaxation Music Angel New Age Laos Music
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:31
- Updated: 08 Nov 2012
BuddhismIsis.com non-profit community http ENJOY ZOOM THE 40 PICTURES YOU JUST NEED A MOUSE Buddhism Religion Theravada Thailand Pali Temple Inner Peace Laos Cambogia Japan China Relaxation Eternity Spiritual Gnosis Buddhist Buddha Meditation Music Angel New Age Buddha Happiness Truth Tag Soudhama Mahatma Sri Dhama Gandhi Book Golden Voice Kingdom of Heaven Maha Buddhism Isis Creation Revelation 2009 08-08-08 09-09-09 happiness God Heaven University School East Asian Nirvana Enlightment Love Awakening Illumination Sun of Love Infinity Infinite Glory Positivism Though Hollyness Godspell Contemplation Sacreed Music Benediction Power Richness Abundance Wealth Fortune Happiness Omnipresence Consciousness Omniscience Keyword Gold Key Diamond Faith Creation Health Teaching Understanding Gnosis Humanity World in Peace Inner Peace Divine Life Divine Light Reincarnation Archangel Deva Angel Transfiguration Gnose Gnosis Gnostic Eternity Unity Unification Unlimited Experience Perception Knowledge Perfection Joy Rejoyce extasia blessing Force, Universe Genesis Symbolism Esoterism Masonic Rosicrucianism Theologie religion Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Buda, Bouddhisme Bouddhist Freedom Pyramid Egypt
http://wn.com/Buddhism_New_Religion_Theravada_Thailand_Asia_Meditation_Relaxation_Music_Angel_New_Age_Laos_Music
BuddhismIsis.com non-profit community http ENJOY ZOOM THE 40 PICTURES YOU JUST NEED A MOUSE Buddhism Religion Theravada Thailand Pali Temple Inner Peace Laos Cambogia Japan China Relaxation Eternity Spiritual Gnosis Buddhist Buddha Meditation Music Angel New Age Buddha Happiness Truth Tag Soudhama Mahatma Sri Dhama Gandhi Book Golden Voice Kingdom of Heaven Maha Buddhism Isis Creation Revelation 2009 08-08-08 09-09-09 happiness God Heaven University School East Asian Nirvana Enlightment Love Awakening Illumination Sun of Love Infinity Infinite Glory Positivism Though Hollyness Godspell Contemplation Sacreed Music Benediction Power Richness Abundance Wealth Fortune Happiness Omnipresence Consciousness Omniscience Keyword Gold Key Diamond Faith Creation Health Teaching Understanding Gnosis Humanity World in Peace Inner Peace Divine Life Divine Light Reincarnation Archangel Deva Angel Transfiguration Gnose Gnosis Gnostic Eternity Unity Unification Unlimited Experience Perception Knowledge Perfection Joy Rejoyce extasia blessing Force, Universe Genesis Symbolism Esoterism Masonic Rosicrucianism Theologie religion Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Buda, Bouddhisme Bouddhist Freedom Pyramid Egypt
- published: 14 Mar 2009
- views: 34767
- author: pawangtugte
IL BUDDHISMO THERAVADA 1/3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:06
- Updated: 19 Oct 2012
Non ho sposato alcuna religione. Un grande Saggio diceva:" Metti insieme oriente e occidente e poi inizia a cercare". Ed è ciò che ho fatto, cercando e trovando nei limiti entro i quali un essere umano può cercare, trovare e intuire.
http://wn.com/IL_BUDDHISMO_THERAVADA_1_3
Non ho sposato alcuna religione. Un grande Saggio diceva:" Metti insieme oriente e occidente e poi inizia a cercare". Ed è ciò che ho fatto, cercando e trovando nei limiti entro i quali un essere umano può cercare, trovare e intuire.
- published: 24 Feb 2012
- views: 1101
- author: Perchiunquehacompres
Theravada in Bangladesh
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:41
- Updated: 28 Sep 2012
Interview with Ajitananda Barua
http://wn.com/Theravada_in_Bangladesh
Interview with Ajitananda Barua
- published: 22 Apr 2009
- views: 1683
- author: Buddhachannel
Theravada Buddhist Principles and Practices
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 50:41
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
Welcome! Our topics in this Buddhist video are about: Discussing body sensations as a meditation subject, after the class has done the practice. The Kalama Sutta- the Buddha's declaration of free inquiry. What it takes to be a real Buddhist. Theravada Buddhist Principles and Practices. Four Noble Truths. I am Brian Ruhe, a Buddhist follower and lay teacher. I teach Buddhism and meditation in Vancouver, Canada in adult ed. at several school boards and community centres. I am also available to lead private and professional retreats, and to mentor on a one-to-one basis by Skype. You can call my Skype address at: BrianARuhe . You can join me on Facebook at: Brian Ruhe Vancouver. For more information please do visit my website www.theravada.ca . My latest book "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", is available from Amazon.com at: www.amazon.com I was a Buddhist monk in Chiangmai, Thailand and I have been teaching Theravada Buddhism and meditation for 15 years. My first book from 1999, is "Freeing the Buddha," also at Amazon. I follow the Theravada Forest tradition with Ajahn Sona at www.birken.ca .
http://wn.com/Theravada_Buddhist_Principles_and_Practices
Welcome! Our topics in this Buddhist video are about: Discussing body sensations as a meditation subject, after the class has done the practice. The Kalama Sutta- the Buddha's declaration of free inquiry. What it takes to be a real Buddhist. Theravada Buddhist Principles and Practices. Four Noble Truths. I am Brian Ruhe, a Buddhist follower and lay teacher. I teach Buddhism and meditation in Vancouver, Canada in adult ed. at several school boards and community centres. I am also available to lead private and professional retreats, and to mentor on a one-to-one basis by Skype. You can call my Skype address at: BrianARuhe . You can join me on Facebook at: Brian Ruhe Vancouver. For more information please do visit my website www.theravada.ca . My latest book "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", is available from Amazon.com at: www.amazon.com I was a Buddhist monk in Chiangmai, Thailand and I have been teaching Theravada Buddhism and meditation for 15 years. My first book from 1999, is "Freeing the Buddha," also at Amazon. I follow the Theravada Forest tradition with Ajahn Sona at www.birken.ca .
- published: 08 Mar 2012
- views: 880
- author: Brian Ruhe
Theravada Buddhist. "Pali with English Translation" Chanting.
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:32
- Updated: 25 Nov 2012
Created By Sir Richard DePorte
http://wn.com/Theravada_Buddhist_Pali_with_English_Translation_Chanting
Created By Sir Richard DePorte
- published: 23 Apr 2011
- views: 4786
- author: SramanaDharma
Theravada Buddhism 1 - the path to liberation.mov
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:54
- Updated: 23 Oct 2012
Here is a discussion for my Philosophy East/West class on some of the central themes within Theravada Buddhism - 1) What ought I to do on the path to Liberation? & 2) To whom ought I to look as a role model? (what is a Theravada Buddhist saint?). This is the first of three videos on the topic.
http://wn.com/Theravada_Buddhism_1_the_path_to_liberationmov
Here is a discussion for my Philosophy East/West class on some of the central themes within Theravada Buddhism - 1) What ought I to do on the path to Liberation? & 2) To whom ought I to look as a role model? (what is a Theravada Buddhist saint?). This is the first of three videos on the topic.
- published: 07 Feb 2010
- views: 1806
- author: sethtichenor
Karma and Rebirth in Theravada Buddhism - Part 3 of 8
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:56
- Updated: 17 Oct 2012
The three positions about what happens after death, majority of the world believes in some form or rebirth, rebirth not reincarnation, five kandhas, no self, non self, don't know about karma and rebirth but have a conviction about it, annihilationist view, Ajahn Sona's discovery of karma. This was recorded in class five of the Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation course in adult Ed. at the Vancouver School Board in BC, Canada in November, 2008. Brian Ruhe is a former Buddhist monk, author of the book, "Freeing the Buddha," published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, in India, and Brian has been teaching Buddhism for 12 years. This topic is not being taught enough in a direct way by Buddhist monks and lay teachers in the West so Brian is posting this on You Tube to spread these teachings, which are good. For more info go to: www.theravada.ca Brian's new book, "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", is available on Amazon.com www.amazon.com
http://wn.com/Karma_and_Rebirth_in_Theravada_Buddhism_Part_3_of_8
The three positions about what happens after death, majority of the world believes in some form or rebirth, rebirth not reincarnation, five kandhas, no self, non self, don't know about karma and rebirth but have a conviction about it, annihilationist view, Ajahn Sona's discovery of karma. This was recorded in class five of the Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation course in adult Ed. at the Vancouver School Board in BC, Canada in November, 2008. Brian Ruhe is a former Buddhist monk, author of the book, "Freeing the Buddha," published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, in India, and Brian has been teaching Buddhism for 12 years. This topic is not being taught enough in a direct way by Buddhist monks and lay teachers in the West so Brian is posting this on You Tube to spread these teachings, which are good. For more info go to: www.theravada.ca Brian's new book, "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", is available on Amazon.com www.amazon.com
- published: 22 Jan 2009
- views: 4558
- author: Brian Ruhe
Karma and Rebirth in Theravada Buddhism - Part 7
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:00
- Updated: 18 Apr 2012
Karma relating to Buddhist cosmology, heaven, the devas, hell, Joseph Stalin, the Columbine massacre, cats killing birds, not everything happens because of karma, nirvana is permanent, no to euthenasia or suicide. For more info go to: www.theravada.ca Brian's new book, "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", is available on Amazon.com www.amazon.com
http://wn.com/Karma_and_Rebirth_in_Theravada_Buddhism_Part_7
Karma relating to Buddhist cosmology, heaven, the devas, hell, Joseph Stalin, the Columbine massacre, cats killing birds, not everything happens because of karma, nirvana is permanent, no to euthenasia or suicide. For more info go to: www.theravada.ca Brian's new book, "A SHORT WALK ON AN ANCIENT PATH - A Buddhist Exploration of Meditation, Karma and Rebirth", is available on Amazon.com www.amazon.com
- published: 02 Feb 2009
- views: 2820
- author: Brian Ruhe
10-23-11 Bodhisattva Breakfast Corner - Theravada Bhikkhuni Ordination at Spirit Rock
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:39
- Updated: 02 Oct 2012
Ven. Chodron just returned from attending a Bhikkhuni ordination and the annual monastic conference. She shares with delight about the momentous occasion of three Theravada nuns taking Bhikkhuni ordination (nun's full ordination).
http://wn.com/10-23-11_Bodhisattva_Breakfast_Corner_Theravada_Bhikkhuni_Ordination_at_Spirit_Rock
Ven. Chodron just returned from attending a Bhikkhuni ordination and the annual monastic conference. She shares with delight about the momentous occasion of three Theravada nuns taking Bhikkhuni ordination (nun's full ordination).
- published: 23 Oct 2011
- views: 441
- author: Sravasti Abbey
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis
30 Nov 2012
- For historians, it represents a treasure trove of boundless rewards and an opportunity to revisit some of the most enduring myths about Britain's colonial past. But for some of those still living with the physical and psychological scars, the release of thousands of previously secret government-held documents offers fresh hope of finally gaining a measure of justice for their suffering under British rule ... 1096 Source.. Al Jazeera ... ;">....(size: 22.4Kb)
photo: UN / Eric Kanalstein
29 Nov 2012
Just before she leapt from her roof into the streets of Kabul, Farima thought of the wedding that would never happen and the man she would never marry. Her fiance would be pleased to see her die, she later recalled thinking. It would offer relief to them both. Farima, 17, had resisted her engagement to Zabiullah since it was ordained by her grandfather when she was 9 ... He ran outside. His daughter's torso was contorted ... Her skin was pallid....(size: 12.8Kb)
photo: US NARA
30 Nov 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. Staring at the quote on the small granite monument which read. "They said to one another, behold here comes the dreamer...Let us slay him...And we shall see what will become of his dreams," I tried to understand that fateful moment when a shot shattered heaven and earth ... Martin Luther King, Jr. Straining my ears, I tried to hear Rev. Abernathy cry out, "Oh my God, Martin's been shot!" ... Dr....(size: 6.5Kb)
photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan
30 Nov 2012
Israel has dismissed the UN vote to upgrade the status of the Palestinian territories as "negative political theatre" that will "hurt peace". Government spokesman Mark Regev said the move had taken Palestinians and Israelis out of a negotiating process. The General Assembly voted resoundingly to recognise the Palestinians as a non-member observer state on Thursday ... 'New ball-game' ... Please turn on JavaScript ... ....(size: 8.5Kb)
photo: UN
30 Nov 2012
UNITED NATIONS -- The UN voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians and an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the UN was approved in the 193-member world body by a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions ... The Palestinians still face enormous limitations ... U.S ... 0. Click to rate ... St ... ....(size: 9.3Kb)
Sacramento Bee
22 Nov 2012
YANGON, Myanmar -- Maung Thura, a comedian known as Zarganar, is a barrel of a man, stocky with a shaved head and a deep, forceful voice that seems out of place among the fluorescent lights and office furniture of the Home media group he recently helped found ... The punch line ... "This is not a time for revenge," he said ... Buddhism's Theravada school followed here can be hard-line relative to the practice of Buddhism elsewhere....(size: 6.2Kb)
The Inquisitr
16 Nov 2012
The Theravada Buddhist monks live in a remote forest temple in the Saiyok district of Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province, close to the border of Myanmar ... The monks believe the tigers are reincarnations of past generations of Theravada Buddhists and they consider the animals sacred ... tigers, thailand, Theravada Buddhist monks, Tiger Temple, tigers....(size: 8.9Kb)
Jakarta Post
14 Nov 2012
Deep in the historic heartland of Myanmar, Bagan offers a stunning expanse of Buddhist temples and traditional village life. (ANN/The Nation) ... The structures embody the dawn of Myanmar culture and history. The softening sunlight plays on the beauty of the temples' features ... Bagan was the template for future kingdoms and empires ... Theravada Buddhism spread and there was a boom in temple building on a vast, tree-laden plain ... rustic teashops....(size: 5.0Kb)
noodls
05 Nov 2012
The quality of presence, engaging in Zen, and experiencing the nonstatic universe may be unfamiliar concepts to many Westerners, but they will be the focus of an upcoming lecture by Dr ... "West Meets East ... 8, at 7 p.m ... With the focus of investigating Theravada Buddhism, Zen and Daoism, the lecture will show how these three areas can help revitalize and re-evaluate a number of Christian understandings and practices ... distributed by ... (noodl....(size: 3.1Kb)
The Star
03 Nov 2012
Myanmar is rich in history, tradition and gracious people. Visit for an epiphany. DONÂT you love that feeling of taking off? ... Many are of the perception that Myanmar is backward because of the stories of ethnic conflicts and its oppressive military government ... WhatÂs new? ... He introduced Theravada Buddhism to the people after renouncing an earlier and darker version of Buddhism which required virgin brides to sleep with the priest first....(size: 10.0Kb)
The Times of India
24 Oct 2012
MANGALORE. The education town of Ujire has a new attraction — the serene visage of Lord Buddha ... It was installed on instructions from philanthropist D Veerendra Heggade ... After Jayavarman's death, it was modified by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their religious preferences ... ....(size: 1.4Kb)
The Times of India
24 Oct 2012
MANGALORE. Education town of Ujire enroute Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, some 60-kms from here, has a new attraction for people serene visage of Lord Buddha ... Ganesh told TOI that the actual drawing was made for a stage to be set up at Lakshadeepotsava at Dharmasthala ... Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their religious preferences ... ....(size: 2.3Kb)
DNA India
21 Oct 2012
 Our obsession with worshipping Durga and Lakshmi, giving a cold shoulder to Saraswati, points to the changing values in our society. The Goddess of learning, Saraswati, is one of the ancient deities in the Hindu pantheon ... Perhaps they feel that once you have money, all else will follow.â ... âAs Buddhism moved from its earlier Theravada school to Mahayana, many elements from Hinduism were also adopted ... In parting, Purecha nails it ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)
noodls
09 Oct 2012
Bolam Lake Country Park in Northumberland is getting ready to welcome visitors to enjoy a walk to Ratanaghiri Buddhist Monastery. The walk and visit will take place on Sunday 14 October starting at 2pm and will last for three hours ... Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery is a Theravada Buddhist monastery and was set up in 1981 ... distributed by ... (noodl....(size: 2.4Kb)
The Examiner
04 Oct 2012
Related topics. CelebrationsBuddhismceremonies. Advertisement. HIGHLIGHTS.. Sunday, March 4th, 9.00am-Wat Sacramento Buddhavanaram will hold Makha Bucha, (full moon of the 3rd lunar month), celebration of Buddha’s first sermon after His Enlightenment ... Website. www.watsacramento.org Location ... HsingDing ... Saturday, March 17th, 9.00am, Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group (SBMG), Meditation Retreat with James Baraz, (Theravada/Vipassana) ... TBA ... St....(size: 11.4Kb)
Huffington Post
04 Oct 2012
In a world fraught with violence, is it too bold to say that peace is possible between people of different religious, national and ethnic backgrounds? One group of religious leaders and peace activists does not think so. On Oct ... The concept of a silent peace walk is not a new one ... Dr ... Read their reflections below.. Loading Slideshow. Daisy Khan ... <em>Jack Kornfield is a teacher in the vipassana movement of American Theravada Buddhism ... ....(size: 14.5Kb)
Huffington Post
24 Sep 2012
Waiting for a miracle? Lots of people are. A conducted in 2007 found that 79 percent of Americans believe miracles still occur today as in ancient times. Many hope for medical miracles -- almost 60 percent of the public and 20 percent of trauma professionals believe people in a persistent vegetative state (a coma) can be saved by a miracle ... Eric W ... The First Generation of Theravada Buddhism in America (Morality and Society Series) ... Like ... ....(size: 7.2Kb)
New Straits/Business Times
18 Sep 2012
UNIQUE. Photographer-turned-monk Ajahn Cagino captures the ascetic lives of the Buddhist monks. Forest monks meditating on bamboo rafts by Ajahn Cagino. Forest monks gathering for their meal after returning from an alms round. In deep meditation along a jungle stream ... IPOH ... Some 90 still images captured by photographer-turned-monk Ajahn Cagino offers a glimpse into the ascetic lives of Buddhist monks following the Thai Theravada tradition....(size: 2.8Kb)
Theravada, Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda, ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching," is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India. It is relatively conservative, and generally closer to early Buddhism than the other existing Buddhist traditions.[1] For many centuries, it has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (now about 70% of the population)[2] and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). Theravada is also practiced by minorities in parts of southwest China (mainly by the Shan and Tai ethnic groups), Vietnam (by the Khmer Krom), Bangladesh (by the ethnic groups of Baruas, Chakma, Magh, and Tanchangya), Malaysia and Indonesia, while recently gaining popularity in Singapore and the Western world. Today, Theravada Buddhists, otherwise known as Theravadins, number over 100 million worldwide, during the past few decades Theravada Buddhism has begun to take root in the West[3] and in the Buddhist revival in India.[4]
Contents
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History[link]
Origin of the school[link]
According to its own accounts, the Theravāda school is fundamentally derived from the Vibhajjavāda (or "doctrine of analysis") grouping[5] which was a division of the Sthavira ("Elders") stream. (The Sthavira were in turn a breakaway group from the majority Mahāsāṃghika during the Second Buddhist council.[6]) Theravadin accounts of its own origins mention that it received the teachings that were agreed upon the Third Buddhist Council, around 250 BCE, and these teachings were known as the Vibhajjavada.[7] The Vibhajjavādins in turn split into four groups: the Mahīśāsaka, Kāśyapīya, Dharmaguptaka, and the Tāmraparnīya.
The Theravada is descended from the Tāmraparnīya, which means "the Sri Lankan lineage." In the 7th century CE, Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing refer to the Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka as Shàngzuòbù (Ch. 上座部), corresponding to the Sanskrit "Sthavira" and the Pali "Thera."[8][9] The school has been using the name Theravada for itself in a written form since at least the 4th century, when the term appears in the Dipavamsa.[10]
According to Buddhist scholar A.K. Warder, the Theravada “spread rapidly south from Avanti into Maharastra and Andhra and down to the Chola country (Kanchi), as well as Ceylon. For some time they maintained themselves in Avanti as well as in their new territories, but gradually they tended to regroup themselves in the south, the Great Vihara (Mahavihara) in Anuradhapura, the capital of Ceylon, becoming the main centre of their tradition, Kanchi a secondary center and the northern regions apparently relinquished to other schools."[11]
According to the Pāli chronicles of the Sinhalese tradition, Buddhism was first brought to Sri Lanka by Arahant Mahinda, who is believed to have been the son of the Mauryan emperor Asoka, in the third century BCE, as a part of the dhammaduta (missionary) activities of the Asokan era. In Sri Lanka, Arahant Mahinda established the Mahāvihāra Monastery of Anuradhapura.
Over much of the early history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, three subdivisions of Theravāda existed in Sri Lanka, consisting of the monks of the Mahāvihāra, Abhayagiri Vihāra, and the Jetavana Vihāra.[12] According to A.K. Warder, the Indian Mahīśāsaka sect also established itself in Sri Lanka alongside the Theravāda, into which they were later absorbed.[12] Northern regions of Sri Lanka also seem to have been ceded to sects from India at certain times.[12]
Later history in Sri Lanka[link]
When the Chinese monk Faxian visited the island in the early 5th century CE, he noted 5000 monks at Abhayagiri, 3000 monks at the Mahāvihāra, and 2000 monks at the Cetiyapabbatavihāra.[14] Over the centuries, the Abhayagiri Theravādins maintained close relations with Indian Buddhists and adopted many new teachings from India.[15] including many elements from Mahāyāna teachings, while the Jetavana Theravādins adopted Mahāyāna to a lesser extent.[14][16] Xuanzang wrote of two major divisions of Theravāda in Sri Lanka, referring to the Abhayagiri tradition as the "Mahāyāna Sthaviras," and the Mahāvihāra tradition as the "Hīnayāna Sthaviras."[17] Akira Hirakawa notes that the surviving Pāli commentaries (Aṭṭhakathā) of the Mahāvihāra school, when examined closely, also include a number of positions that agree with Mahāyāna teachings.[18] In the 8th century CE, it is known that both Mahāyāna and the esoteric Vajrayāna form of Buddhism were being practiced in Sri Lanka, and two Indian monks responsible for propagating Esoteric Buddhism in China, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, visited the island during this time.[19] Abhayagiri Vihāra appears to have been a center for Theravadin Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna teachings.[20]
Some scholars have held that the rulers of Sri Lanka ensured that Theravāda remained traditional, and that this characteristic contrasts with Indian Buddhism.[21] However, before the 12th century CE, more rulers of Sri Lanka gave support and patronage to the Abhayagiri Theravādins, and travelers such as Faxian saw the Abhayagiri Theravādins as the main Buddhist tradition in Sri Lanka.[22][23] This changed in the 12th century CE, when the Mahāvihāra gained the support of King Parakkamabāhu I (1153-1186 CE), and the Abhayagiri and Jetavana Theravāda traditions were completely abolished.[24][25] The Theravāda monks of these two traditions were then defrocked and given the choice of returning to the laity permanently, or attempting re-ordination under the Mahāvihāra tradition as "novices" (sāmaṇera).[25][26] Regarding the differences between the Theravāda traditions, the Cūḷavaṁsa laments, "Despite the vast efforts made in every way by former kings down to the present day, the [bhikkhus] turned away in their demeanor from one another and took delight in all kinds of strife."[27]
Lineage of nuns[link]
A few years after the arrival of Sthavira Mahinda, Bhikkhuni Sanghamitta, who is also believed to be the daughter of Emperor Asoka, came to Sri Lanka. She started the first nun's order in Sri Lanka, but this order of nuns died out in Sri Lanka in the 11th century and in Burma in the 13th. In 429 CE, by request of China's emperor, nuns from Anuradhapura were sent to China to establish the Nun's Order. The order was then spread to Korea. In 1996, 11 selected Sri Lankan nuns were ordained fully as Bhikkhunis by a team of Theravāda monks in concert with a team of Korean Nuns in India. There is disagreement among Theravada vinaya authorities as to whether such ordinations are valid. In the last few years the head of the Dambulla chapter of the Siyam Nikaya in Sri Lanka has carried out ordination ceremonies for hundreds of nuns. This has been criticized by other leading figures in the Siyam Nikaya and Amarapura Nikaya, and the governing council of Burmese Buddhism has declared that there can be no valid ordination of nuns in modern times, though some Burmese monks disagree with this.[28]
In Southeast Asia[link]
According to Mahavamsa the Sri Lanka chronicle, after the conclusion of the Third Buddhist Council, a missionary was also sent to Suvannabhumi where two monks Sona and Uttara, are said to have proceeded.[30] Scholar opinions differ as to where exactly this land of Suvannabhumi is located, but Suvannabhumi is believed to be located somewhere in the area which now includes lower Burma, Thailand, Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island.
Before the 12th century, the areas of Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia were dominated by various Buddhist sects from India, and included the teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism.[31][32] In the 7th century, Yijing noted in his travels that in these areas, all major sects of Indian Buddhism flourished.[31] Though there are some early accounts that have been interpreted as Theravāda in Burma, the surviving records show that most Burmese Buddhism incorporated Mahāyāna, and used Sanskrit rather than Pali.[32][33][34] After the decline of Buddhism in India, missions of monks from Sri Lanka gradually converted Burmese Buddhism to Theravāda, and in the next two centuries also brought Theravāda Buddhism to the areas of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, where it supplanted previous forms of Buddhism.[35]
The Mon and Pyu were among the earliest people to inhabit Burma. Recent archaeological research at a Pyu settlement in the Samon Valley (around 100 km south-east of Bagan) has shown that they had trade links with India from 500-400 BC and with China around 200 BC.[36] Chinese sources which have been dated to around 240 A.D. mention a Buddhist kingdom by the name of Lin-Yang, which some scholars have identified as the ancient Pyu kingdom of Beikthano[37][38] 300 km north of Yangon. The oldest surviving Buddhist texts in the Pali language come from Pyu city of Sri Ksetra, the text which is dated from the mid 5th A.D. to mid 6th A.D. is written on twenty-leaf manuscript of solid gold.[39] The Burmese slowly became Theravadan when they came into contact with the Pyu and Mon civilization. The Thais also slowly became Theravadan as they came into contact with the Mon civilization.
Despite its success in Southeast Asia, Theravada Buddhism in China has generally been limited to areas bordering Theravada countries.
Modern developments[link]
The following modern trends or movements have been identified.[41][42]
- Modernism: attempts to adapt to the modern world and adopt some of its ideas; including, among other things
- Green movement
- Syncretism with other Buddhist traditions
- Universal inclusivity
- Reformism: attempts to restore a supposed earlier, ideal state of Buddhism; includes in particular the adoption of Western scholars' theories of original Buddhism (in recent times the "Western scholarly interpretation of Buddhism" is the official Buddhism prevailing in Sri Lanka and Thailand.[43])
- Ultimatism: tendency to concentrate on advanced teachings such as the Four Noble Truths at the expense of more elementary ones
- Neotraditionalism; includes among other things
- Revival of ritualism
- Remythologization
- Insight meditation
- Social action
- Devotional religiosity
- Reaction to Buddhist nationalism
- Renewal of forest monks
- Revival of samatha meditation
- Revival of the Theravada bhikkhuni lineage (not recognized in Thailand)
Buddhist revivalism has also reacted against changes in Buddhism caused by colonialist regimes. Western colonialists and Christian missionaries deliberately imposed a particular type of Christian monasticism on Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka and colonies in Southeast Asia, restricting monks' activities to individual purification and temple ministries.[44] Prior to British colonial control, monks in both Sri Lanka and Burma had been responsible for the education of the children of lay people, and had produced large bodies of literature. After the British takeover, Buddhist temples were strictly administered and were only permitted to use their funds on strictly religious activities. Christian ministers were given control of the education system and their pay became state funding for missions.[45] Foreign, especially British, rule had an enervating effect on the sangha.[46] According to Walpola Rahula, Christian missionaries displaced and appropriated the educational, social, and welfare activities of the monks, and inculcated a permanent shift in views regarding the proper position of monks in society through their institutional influence upon the elite.[46] Many monks in post-colonial times have been dedicated to undoing this paradigm shift.[47] Movements intending to restore Buddhism's place in society have developed in both Sri Lanka and Burma.[48]
Overview of Philosophy[link]
Theravada promotes the concept of Vibhajjavada (Pali), literally "Teaching of Analysis." This doctrine says that insight must come from the aspirant's experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith; however, the scriptures of the Theravadin tradition also emphasize heeding the advice of the wise, considering such advice and evaluation of one's own experiences to be the two tests by which practices should be judged.
In Theravada, the cause of human existence and suffering (dukkha) is identified as craving (tanha), which carries with it the defilements (kilesas). Those defilements that bind humans to the cycle of rebirth are classified into a set of ten "Fetters," while those defilements that impede concentration (samadhi) are presented in a fivefold set called the "Five Hindrances."[49] The level of defilement can be coarse, medium, and subtle. It is a phenomenon that frequently arises, remains temporarily and then vanishes. Theravadins believe defilements are not only harmful to oneself, but also harmful to others. They are the driving force behind all inhumanities a human being can commit.
Theravadins believe these defilements are habits born out of ignorance (avijja) that afflict the minds of all unenlightened beings, who cling to them and their influence in their ignorance of the truth. But in reality, those mental defilements are nothing more than taints that have afflicted the mind, creating suffering and stress. Unenlightened beings cling to the body, under the assumption that it represents a Self, whereas in reality the body is an impermanent phenomenon formed from the four basic elements. Often characterized by earth, water, fire and air, in the early Buddhist texts these are defined to be abstractions representing the sensorial qualities solidity, fluidity, temperature, and mobility, respectively.[50] The mental defilements' frequent instigation and manipulation of the mind is believed to have prevented the mind from seeing the true nature of reality. Unskillful behavior in turn can strengthen the defilements, but following the Noble Eightfold Path can weaken or eradicate them.
Unenlightened beings are also believed to experience the world through their imperfect six sense doors (eye, ear, nose, tongue, tactile sense, and mind) and use the mind, clouded by defilements, to form their own interpretation, perception and conclusion.[51] In such a condition the perception or conclusion made will be based on that being's own illusion of reality.[52] In the state of jhana (deep concentration), the five physical sense doors will fade, the mental defilements will be suppressed, and wholesome mental traits will become strengthened. The mind can then be used to investigate and gain insight into the true nature of reality.
There are three stages of defilements. During the stage of passivity the defilements lie dormant at the base of the mental continuum as latent tendencies (anusaya), but through the impact of sensory stimulus, they will manifest (pariyutthana) themselves at the surface of consciousness in the form of unwholesome thoughts, emotions, and volitions. If they gather additional strength, the defilements will reach the dangerous stage of transgression (vitikkama), which will then involve physical or vocal actions.
In order to be free from suffering and stress, Theravadins believe that the defilements need to be permanently uprooted. Initially they are restrained through mindfulness to prevent them from taking over mental and bodily action. They are then uprooted through internal investigation, analysis, experience and understanding of their true nature by using jhana. This process needs to be repeated for each and every defilement. The practice will then lead the meditator to realize the Four Noble Truths, Enlightenment, and Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, Nirvāṇa; Pali: निब्बान, Nibbāna; Thai: นิพพาน, Nípphaan). Nirvana is the ultimate goal of Theravadins, and is said to be a state of perfect bliss wherein the person is liberated from the repeated cycle of birth, illness, aging and death.
Theravadins believe that every individual is personally responsible for their own self-awakening and liberation, as they are the ones that were responsible for their own actions and consequences (Sanskrit: karma; Pali: kamma). Simply learning or believing in the true nature of reality as expounded by the Buddha is not enough, the awakening can only be achieved through direct experience and personal realization. An individual will have to follow and practice the Noble Eightfold Path as taught by the Buddha to discover the reality for themselves. In Theravada belief, Buddhas, gods or deities are incapable of giving a human being the awakening or lifting them from the state of repeated cycle of birth, illness, aging and death (samsara). For Theravadins, Buddha is only a Teacher of the Noble Eightfold Path, while gods or deities are still subject to anger, jealousy, hatred, vengeance, craving, greed, delusion, and death.
It is believed that some people who practice with earnestness and zeal can attain Nirvana within a single lifetime, as did many of the first few generations of Buddha's disciples. For others, the process may take multiple lifetimes, with the individual reaching higher and higher states of realization. One who has attained Nirvana is called an Arahant. Since Lord Buddha is believed to have possessed the ultimate knowledge on guiding a person through the process of enlightenment, Theravadins believe that disciples of a Buddha attain enlightenment the most quickly.
According to the early scriptures, the Nirvana attained by Arahants is identical to that attained by the Buddha himself, as there is only one type of Nirvana.[53] Buddha was superior to Arahants because the Buddha had discovered the path all by himself, and has taught it to others (i,e., metaphorically turning the wheel of Dhamma). Arahants, on the other hand, attained Nirvana due in part to the Buddha's teachings. Theravadins revere the Buddha as a single supremely gifted person but do recognize the existence of other such Buddhas in the distant past and future. Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya), for example, is mentioned very briefly in the Pali Canon as a Buddha who will come in the distant future.
Traditionally Theravadins can either have the conviction (or "faith") in the Buddha's teaching and practice the minor precepts in the hope of gaining some minor benefits or they can investigate and verify by direct experience the truth of the Buddha's teaching by practicing the jhana which is part of the Noble Eightfold Path for their own Enlightenment.
Fundamentals of Theravada[link]
First and foremost, the Theravada philosophy is a continuous analytical process of life, not a mere set of ethics and rituals.
The ultimate theory of Theravada uses the Four Noble Truths, also known as the Four Sublime Truths. In the simplest form these can be described as the problem, the cause, the solution and the pathway to solution (implementation).
Cause and Effect[link]
The Concept of Cause and Effect, or Causality, is a key concept in Theravada, and indeed, in Buddhism as a whole. This concept is expressed in several ways, including the Four Noble Truths, and most importantly, the Paticca-Samuppāda (dependent co-arising).
Abhidhamma in Theravada canon differentiate between a root cause (Hetu) and facilitating cause (pacca). By the combined interaction of both these, an effect is brought about. On top of this view, a logic is built and elaborated whose most supple form can be seen in the Paticca Samuppāda.
This concept is then used to question the nature of suffering and to elucidate the way out of it, as expressed in the Four Noble Truths. It is also employed in several suttas to refute several philosophies including creationism.
The Four Noble Truths[link]
Main article: Four Noble Truths
A formal description of the Four Noble Truths follows:
- Dukkha (suffering): This can be somewhat broadly classified into three categories. Inherent suffering, or the suffering one undergoes in all the worldly activities, what one suffers in day-to-day life: birth, aging, diseases, death, sadness, etc. In short, all that one feels from separating from "loving" attachments and/or associating with "hating" attachments is encompassed into the term. The second class of suffering, called Suffering due to Change, implies that things suffer due to attaching themselves to a momentary state which is held to be "good"; when that state is changed, things are subjected to suffering. The third, termed Sankhara Dukkha, is the most subtle. Beings suffer simply by not realizing that they are mere aggregates with no definite, unchanging identity.
- Dukkha Samudaya (cause of suffering): Craving, which leads to Attachment and Bondage, is the cause of suffering. Formally, this is termed Tanha. It can be classified into three instinctive drives. Kama Tanha is the Craving for any pleasurable sense object (which involves sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and mental perceptives). Bhava Tanha is the Craving for attachment to an ongoing process, which appears in various forms, including the longing for existence. Vibhava Tanha is the Craving for detachment from a process, which includes non-existence and causes the longing for self-annihilation.
- Dukkha Nirodha (cessation of suffering): One cannot possibly adjust the whole world to one's taste in order to eliminate suffering and hope that it will remain so forever. This would violate the chief principle of Change. Instead, one adjusts one's own mind through detachment so that the Change, of whatever nature, has no effect on one's peace of mind. Briefly stated, the third Noble Truth implies that elimination of the cause (craving) eliminates the result (suffering). This is inferred in the scriptural quote by The Buddha, 'Whatever may result from a cause, shall be eliminated by the elimination of the cause'.
- Dukkha Nirodha Gamini Patipada (pathway to freedom from suffering): This is the Noble Eightfold Pathway towards freedom or Nirvana. The path can roughly be rendered into English as right view, right intention, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
The Three Characteristics[link]
Main article: Three marks of existence
These are the three characteristics of all conditioned phenomena in Theravada thought.
- Anicca (impermanence): All conditioned phenomena are subject to change, including physical characteristics, qualities, assumptions, theories, knowledge, etc. Nothing is permanent, because, for something to be permanent, there has to be an unchanging cause behind it. Since all causes are recursively bound together, there can be no ultimate unchanging cause.
- Dukkha (suffering): Craving causes suffering, since what is craved is transitory, changing, and perishing. The craving for impermanent things causes disappointment and sorrow. There is a tendency to label practically everything in the world, as either "good," "comfortable" or "satisfying;" or "bad", "uncomfortable," and "unsatisfying." Labeling things in terms of like and dislike creates suffering. If one succeeds in giving up the tendency to label things and free himself from the instincts that drive him towards attaining what he himself labels collectively as "liking," he attains the ultimate freedom. The problem, the cause, the solution and the implementation, all of these are within oneself, not outside.
- Anatta (not-self): The concept of Anatta can be explained as the lack of a fixed, unchanging identity; there is no permanent, essential Self. A living being is a composite of the five aggregates (khandhas), which is the physical forms (rupa), feelings or sensations (vedana), perception (sanna), mental formations (sankhara), and consciousness (vinnana), none of which can be identified as one's Self. From the moment of conception, all entities (including all living beings) are subject to a process of continuous change. A practitioner should, on the other hand, develop and refine his or her mind to a state so as to see through this phenomenon.
Direct realization of these three characteristics leads to freedom from worldly bonds and attachments, thus leading to the state where one is completely, ultimately free, the state which is termed Nirvana, which literally means "to blow" (as in a lamp).[54]
The Three Noble Disciplines[link]
The pathway towards Nirvana, or the Noble Eightfold Pathway is sometimes stated in a more concise manner, known as the Three Noble Disciplines.,[55][56] These are known as discipline (sīla), training of mind (samādhi)[57] and wisdom (paññā).
Meditation[link]
Theravada Buddhist meditation practices fall into two broad categories: samatha, and vipassanā.[58] Some common terms encountered in the Theravada practice of meditation are:
Meditation (Pali: Bhavana) means the positive reinforcement of one's mind. Broadly categorized into Samatha and Vipassana, Meditation is the key tool implemented in attaining jhana. Samatha literally means "to make skillful," and has other renderings also, among which are "tranquilizing, calming," "visualizing," and "achieving." Vipassana means "insight" or "abstract understanding." In this context, Samatha Meditation makes a person skillful in concentration of mind. Once the mind is sufficiently concentrated, Vipassana allows one to see through the veil of ignorance.
Samatha meditation[link]
Main article: Samatha
The samatha meditation in Theravada is usually involved with the concepts of Kammaṭṭhāna which literally stands for "place of work"; in this context, it is the "place" or object of concentration (Pāli: Ārammana) where the mind is at work. In samatha meditation, the mind is set at work concentrated on one particular entity. There are forty (40) such classic objects (entities) used in samatha meditation, which are termed Kammaṭṭhāna. By acquiring a Kammaṭṭhāna and practising samatha meditation, one would be able to attain certain elevated states of awareness and skill of the mind called Jhana. Practising samatha has samadhi (concentration) as its ultimate goal.
It should be noted that samatha is not a method that is unique to Buddhism. In the suttas it is said to be implemented in other contemporary religions in India at the time of Buddha. In fact, the first teachers of Siddhartha, before they attained the state of awakening (Pāli: Bodhi), are said to have been quite skillful in samatha (although the term had not been coined yet). In the Pali Canon discourses, the Buddha frequently instructs his disciples to practice samadhi (concentration) in order to establish and develop jhana (full concentration). Jhana is the instrument used by the Buddha himself to penetrate the true nature of phenomena (through investigation and direct experience) and to reach Enlightenment.[59] Right Concentration (samma-samadhi) is one of the elements in the Noble Eightfold Path. Samadhi can be developed from mindfulness developed with kammaṭṭhāna such as concentration on breathing (anapanasati), from visual objects (kasina), and repetition of phrases. The traditional list contains 40 objects of meditation (kammaṭṭhāna) to be used for Samatha Meditation. Every object has a specific goal; for example, meditation on the parts of the body (kayanupassana or kayagathasathi) will result in a lessening of attachment to our own bodies and those of others, resulting in a reduction of sensual desires. Mettā (loving kindness) generates the feelings of goodwill and happiness toward ourselves and other beings; metta practice serves as an antidote to ill-will, wrath and fear.
Vipassanā meditation[link]
Vipassanā on the other hand, is concerned with seeing through the veil of ignorance (Pāli: Avijjā) and so, is unique to Buddhism. It can be aided by a practised mind (with samatha) but samatha is not necessary to practice vipassanā. Chiefly, vipassanā is involved in breaking the ten Fetters that bind one to the ever-iterating cycle of birth and death i.e. samsara. Some teachers do not distinguish between the two methods, rather prescribing meditation methods that develop both concentration and insight.
Levels of attainment[link]
Main article: Four stages of enlightenment
Through practice, (Theravadan) practitioners can achieve four stages of enlightenment:[60]
- Stream-Enterers: Those who have destroyed the first three fetters (false view of Self, doubt, and clinging to rites and rituals);
- Once-Returners: Those who have destroyed the first three fetters and have lessened the fetters of lust and hatred;
- Non-Returners: Those who have destroyed the five lower fetters, which bind beings to the world of the senses;[61]
- Arahants: Those who have reached Enlightenment—realized Nirvana, and have reached the quality of deathlessness—are free from all the fermentations of defilement. Their ignorance, craving and attachments have ended.[61]
Scriptures[link]
File:Kyauksa.JPG
One of the stone inscriptions of the World's largest book, consisting of 729 large marble tablets with the Pali Canon inscribed on them, at Kuthodaw Pagoda in Mandalay, Burma
The Theravada school upholds the Pali Canon or Tipitaka as the most authoritative collection of texts on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Sutta and Vinaya portion of the Tipitaka shows considerable overlap in content to the Agamas, the parallel collections used by non-Theravada schools in India which are preserved in Chinese and partially in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Tibetan, and the various non-Theravada Vinayas. On this basis, both these sets of texts are generally believed to be the oldest and most authoritative texts on Buddhism by scholars. It is also believed that much of the Pali Canon, which is still used by Theravāda communities, was transmitted to Sri Lanka during the reign of Asoka. After being orally transmitted (as was the custom in those days for religious texts) for some centuries, were finally committed to writing in the last century BC, at what the Theravada usually reckons as the fourth council, in Sri Lanka. Theravada is one of the first Buddhist schools to commit the whole complete set of its Buddhist canon into writing.[62]
Much of the material in the Canon is not specifically "Theravadan," but is instead the collection of teachings that this school preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of teachings. According to Peter Harvey:
The Theravadans, then, may have added texts to the Canon for some time, but they do not appear to have tampered with what they already had from an earlier period.[63]
The Pali Tipitaka consists of three parts: the Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. Of these, the Abhidhamma Pitaka is believed to be a later addition to the first two pitakas, which, in the opinion of many scholars, were the only two pitakas at the time of the First Buddhist Council. The Pali Abhidhamma was not recognized outside the Theravada school.
In the 4th or 5th century Buddhaghosa Thera wrote the first Pali commentaries to much of the Tipitaka (which were based on much older manuscripts, mostly in old Sinhalese), and after him many other monks wrote various commentaries, which have become part of the Theravada heritage. These texts, however, do not enjoy the same authority as the Tipitaka does. The Tipitaka is composed of 45 volumes in the Thai edition, 40 in the Burmese and 58 in the Sinhalese, and a full set of the Tipitaka is usually kept in its own (medium-sized) cupboard.
The commentaries, together with the Abhidhamma, define the specific Theravada heritage. Related versions of the Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka were common to all the early Buddhist schools, and therefore do not define only Theravada, but also the other early Buddhist schools, and perhaps the teaching of Gautama Buddha himself.
Theravada Buddhists consider much of what is found in the Chinese and Tibetan scriptural collections to be apocryphal, meaning that they are not authentic words of the Buddha.[64]
Lay and monastic life[link]
Traditionally, Theravada Buddhism has observed a distinction between the practices suitable for a lay person and the practices undertaken by ordained monks (in ancient times, there was a separate body of practices for nuns). While the possibility of significant attainment by laymen is not entirely disregarded by the Theravada, it generally occupies a position of less prominence than in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, with monastic life being hailed as a superior method of achieving Nirvana.[65] The view that Theravada, unlike other Buddhist schools, is primarily a monastic tradition has, however, been disputed.[66]
This distinction between ordained monks and laypeople — as well as the distinction between those practices advocated by the Pali Canon, and the folk religious elements embraced by many monks — have motivated some scholars to consider Theravada Buddhism to be composed of multiple separate traditions, overlapping though still distinct. Most prominently, the anthropologist Melford Spiro in his work Buddhism and Society separated Burmese Theravada into three groups: Apotropaic Buddhism (concerned with providing protection from evil spirits), Kammatic Buddhism (concerned with making merit for a future birth), and Nibbanic Buddhism (concerned with attaining the liberation of Nirvana, as described in the Tipitaka). He stresses that all three are firmly rooted in the Pali Canon. These categories are not accepted by all scholars, and are usually considered non-exclusive by those who employ them.
The role of lay people has traditionally been primarily occupied with activities that are commonly termed merit making (falling under Spiro's category of kammatic Buddhism). Merit making activities include offering food and other basic necessities to monks, making donations to temples and monasteries, burning incense or lighting candles before images of the Buddha, and chanting protective or merit-making verses from the Pali Canon. Some lay practitioners have always chosen to take a more active role in religious affairs, while still maintaining their lay status. Dedicated lay men and women sometimes act as trustees or custodians for their temples, taking part in the financial planning and management of the temple. Others may volunteer significant time in tending to the mundane needs of local monks (by cooking, cleaning, maintaining temple facilities, etc.). Lay activities have traditionally not extended to study of the Pali scriptures, nor the practice of meditation, though in the 20th Century these areas have become more accessible to the lay community, especially in Thailand.
A number of senior monastics in the Thai Forest Tradition, including Ajahn Buddhadasa, Luang Ta Maha Bua, Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo, Ajahn Pasanno, and Ajahn Jayasaro, have begun teaching meditation retreats outside of the monastery for lay disciples.
Ajahn Chah, a disciple of Ajahn Mun, set up a monastic lineage called Cittaviveka with his disciple Ajahn Sumedho, at Chithurst in West Sussex, England. Ajahn Sumedho later founded the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire, which has a retreat center specifically for lay retreats. Sumedho extended this to Harnham in Northumberland as Aruna Ratanagiri under the present guidance of Ajahn Munindo, another disciple of Ajahn Chah.
Nirvana, the highest goal of Theravada Buddhism, is attained through study and the practice of morality, meditation and wisdom (sila, samadhi, panna). The goal of Nirvana (and its associated techniques) have traditionally been seen as the domain of the fully ordained monastic, whereas many of the same techniques can be used by laypeople to generate happiness in their lives, without focusing on Nirvana. Monastic roles in the Theravada can be broadly described as being split between the role of the (often urban) scholar monk and the (often rural or forest) meditation monk. Both types of monks serve their communities as spiritual teachers and officiants by presiding over spiritual ceremonies and providing instruction in basic Buddhist morality and teachings.
Scholar monks undertake the path of studying and preserving the Pali literature of the Theravada. They may devote little time to the practice of meditation, but may attain great respect and renown by becoming masters of a particular section of the Pali Canon or its commentaries. Masters of the Abhidhamma, called Abhidhammika, are particularly respected in the scholastic tradition.
Meditation monks, often called forest monks because of their association with certain wilderness-dwelling traditions, are considered to be specialists in meditation. While some forest monks may undertake significant study of the Pali Canon, in general meditation monks are expected to learn primarily from their meditation experiences and personal teachers, and may not know more of the Tipitaka than is necessary to participate in liturgical life and to provide a foundation for fundamental Buddhist teachings. More so than the scholastic tradition, the meditation tradition is associated with the attainment of certain supernatural powers described in both Pali sources and folk tradition. These powers include the attainment of Nirvana, mind-reading, supernatural power over material objects and their own material bodies, seeing and conversing with gods and beings living in hell, and remembering their past lives. These powers are called abhiñña. Sometimes the remain of the cremated bone fragment of an accomplished forest monk is believed able to transform itself into crystal-like relics (sārira-dhātu).
Ordination[link]
The minimum age for ordaining as a Buddhist monk is 20 years, reckoned from conception. However, boys under that age are allowed to ordain as novices (samanera), performing a ceremony such as Shinbyu in Burma. Novices shave their heads, wear the yellow robes, and observe ten basic precepts. Although no specific minimum age for novices is mentioned in the scriptures, traditionally boys as young as seven are accepted. This tradition follows the story of the Lord Buddha’s son, Rahula, who was allowed to become a novice at the age of seven. Monks follow 227 rules of discipline, while nuns follow 311 rules.
In most Theravada countries, it is a common practice for young men to ordain as monks for a fixed period of time. In Thailand and Burma, young men typically ordain for the 3 month Rain Retreat (vassa), though shorter or longer periods of ordination are not rare. Traditionally, temporary ordination was even more flexible among Laotians. Once they had undergone their initial ordination as young men, Laotian men were permitted to temporarily ordain again at any time, though married men were expected to seek their wife's permission. Throughout Southeast Asia, there is little stigma attached to leaving the monastic life. Monks regularly leave the robes after acquiring an education, or when compelled by family obligations or ill health.
Ordaining as a monk, even for a short period, is seen as having many virtues. In many Southeast Asian cultures, it is seen as a means for a young man to "repay" his parents for their work and effort in raising him, because the merit from his ordination accrues to them as well. Thai men who have ordained as a monk may be seen as more fit husbands by Thai women, who refer to men who have served as monks with a colloquial term meaning "ripe" to indicate that they are more mature and ready for marriage. Particularly in rural areas, temporary ordination of boys and young men traditionally gave peasant boys an opportunity to gain an education in temple schools without committing to a permanent monastic life.
In Sri Lanka, temporary ordination is not practiced, and a monk leaving the order is frowned upon. The continuing influence of the caste system in Sri Lanka may play a role in the taboo against temporary ordination and leaving the monkhood. Though Sri Lankan monastic nikayas are often organized along caste lines, men who ordain as monks temporarily pass outside of the conventional caste system, and as such during their time as monks may act (or be treated) in a way that would not be in line with the expected duties and privileges of their caste.
Men and women born in western countries, who become Buddhists as adults, wish to become monks or nuns. It is possible, and one can live as a monk or nun in the country they were born in, seek monks or nuns which has gathered in a different western country or move to a monastery in countries like Sri Lanka or Thailand. It is seen as being easier to live a life as a monk or nun in countries where people generally live by the culture of Buddhism, since it is difficult to live by the rules of a monk or a nun in a western country. For instance; a Theravada monk or nun is not allowed to work, handle money, listen to music, cook and so on, which are extremely difficult rules to live by in cultures which do not embrace Buddhism. The recommendation is usually that to be able to live fully as a monk or nun you should move to a monastery in a country with a culture that embraces Theravada Buddhism.
Some of the more well-known Theravadan monks are: Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, Ajahn Chah, Ledi Sayadaw, Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo, Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Brahm, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Buddhadasa, Mahasi Sayadaw, Nyanaponika Thera, Preah Maha Ghosananda, Sayadaw U Pandita, Ajahn Amaro, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Walpola Rahula, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, and Bhante Yogavacara Rahula.
Monastic practices[link]
The practices usually vary in different sub-schools and monasteries within Theravada. But in the most orthodox forest monastery, the monk usually models his practice and lifestyle on that of the Buddha and his first generation of disciples by living close to nature in forest, mountains and caves. Forest monasteries still keep alive the ancient traditions through following the Buddhist monastic code of discipline in all its detail and developing meditation in secluded forests.
In a typical daily routine at the monastery during the 3 month vassa period, the monk will wake up before dawn and will begin the day with group chanting and meditation. At dawn the monks will go out to surrounding villages bare-footed on alms-round and will have the only meal of the day before noon by eating from the bowl by hand. Most of the time is spent on Dhamma study and meditation. Sometimes the abbot or a senior monk will give a Dhamma talk to the visitors. Laity who stay at the monastery will have to abide by the traditional eight Buddhist precepts.
The life of the monk or nun in a community is much more complex than the life of the forest monk. In the Buddhist society of Sri Lanka, most monks spend hours every day in taking care of the needs of lay people such as preaching bana,[67] accepting alms, officiating funerals, teaching dhamma to adults and children in addition to providing social services to the community.
After the end of the Vassa period, many of the monks will go out far away from the monastery to find a remote place (usually in the forest) where they can hang their umbrella tents and where it is suitable for the work of self-development. When they go wandering, they walk barefoot, and go wherever they feel inclined. Only those requisites which are necessary will be carried along. These generally consist of the bowl, the three robes, a bathing cloth, an umbrella tent, a mosquito net, a kettle of water, a water filter, razor, sandals, some small candles, and a candle lantern.
The monks do not fix their times for walking and sitting meditation, for as soon as they are free they just start doing it; nor do they determine for how long they will go on to meditate. Some of them sometimes walk from dusk to dawn whereas at other times they may walk from between two to seven hours. Some may decide to fast for days or stay at dangerous places where ferocious animals live in order to aid their meditation.
Those monks who have been able to achieve a high level of attainment will be able to guide the junior monks and lay Buddhists toward the four degrees of spiritual attainment.
Lay devotee[link]
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In Pali the word for a male lay devotee is Upasaka. Upasika is its female equivalent. One of the duties of the lay followers, as taught by the Buddha, is to look after the needs of the monk/nuns. They are to see that the monk/nuns do not suffer from lack of the four requisites: food, clothing, shelter and medicine. As neither monks nor nuns are allowed to have an occupation, they depend entirely on the laity for their sustenance. In return for this charity, they are expected to lead exemplary lives.
In Burma and Thailand, the monastery was and is still regarded as a seat of learning. In fact today about half of the primary schools in Thailand are located in monasteries. Religious rituals and ceremonies held in a monastery are always accompanied by social activities. In times of crisis, it is to the monks that people bring their problems for counsel.
Traditionally, a ranking monk will deliver a sermon four times a month: when the moon waxes and wanes and the day before the new and full moons. The laity also have a chance to learn meditation from the monks during these times.
It is also possible for a lay disciple to become enlightened. As Bhikkhu Bodhi notes, "The Suttas and commentaries do record a few cases of lay disciples attaining the final goal of Nirvana. However, such disciples either attain Arahantship on the brink of death or enter the monastic order soon after their attainment. They do not continue to dwell at home as Arahant householders, for dwelling at home is incompatible with the state of one who has severed all craving."[68]
Influences[link]
According to the linguist Zacharias P. Thundy the word "Theravada" may have been Hellenized into "Therapeutae," to name a coenobitic order near Alexandria described around the 1st century CE. The similarities between the Therapeutae and Buddhist monasticism, combined with Indian evidence of Buddhist missionary activity to the Mediterranean around 250 BC (the Edicts of Asoka), have been pointed out. The Therapeutae would have been the descendants of Asoka's emissaries to the West, and would have influenced the early formation of Christianity.[69] However, the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism[70] states that theories of influences of Buddhism on early Christianity are without historical foundation.
Thundy's speculation about the origin of "Therapeutae" seems improbable, as cognates of this term (i.e. "Therapeuo" and "Therapon") are used by Thucydides[71] and Homer.[72] One must question how much Buddhist influence there might have been in the sect which Philo notes,(looked)" upon the seventh day as one of perfect holiness and a most complete festival, have thought it worthy of a most especial honour,"("De Vita Contemplativa," IV, 36). Nor did these keepers of the seventh-day Sabbath neglect Passover, "(84) Then they sing hymns which have been composed in honour of God in many metres and tunes, at one time all singing together, and at another moving their hands and dancing in corresponding harmony, and uttering in an inspired manner songs of thanksgiving, and at another time regular odes, and performing all necessary strophes and antistrophes. (85) Then, when each chorus of the men and each chorus of the women has feasted separately by itself, like persons in the bacchanalian revels, drinking the pure wine of the love of God, they join together, and the two become one chorus, an imitation of that one which, in old time, was established by the Red Sea, on account of the wondrous works which were displayed there; (86) for, by the commandment of God, the sea became to one party the cause of safety, and to the other that of utter destruction; for it being burst asunder, and dragged back by a violent reflux, and being built up on each side as if there were a solid wall, the space in the midst was widened, and cut into a level and dry road, along which the people passed over to the opposite land, being conducted onwards to higher ground; then, when the sea returned and ran back to its former channel, and was poured out from both sides, on what had just before been dry ground, those of the enemy who pursued were overwhelmed and perished. (87) When the Israelites saw and experienced this great miracle, which was an event beyond all description, beyond all imagination, and beyond all hope, both men and women together, under the influence of divine inspiration, becoming all one chorus, sang hymns of thanksgiving to God the Saviour, Moses the prophet leading the men, and Miriam the prophetess leading the women." (Vita, XI 84-87).
Monastic orders within Theravada[link]
 Early Buddhism |
| Scriptures |
| Councils |
| Schools |
|
First Sangha |
Theravada monks typically belong to a particular nikaya, variously referred to as monastic orders or fraternities. These different orders do not typically develop separate doctrines, but may differ in the manner in which they observe monastic rules. These monastic orders represent lineages of ordination, typically tracing their origin to a particular group of monks that established a new ordination tradition within a particular country or geographic area.
In Sri Lanka caste plays a major role in the division into nikayas. Some Theravada Buddhist countries appoint or elect a sangharaja, or Supreme Patriarch of the Sangha, as the highest ranking or seniormost monk in a particular area, or from a particular nikaya. The demise of monarchies has resulted in the suspension of these posts in some countries, but patriarchs have continued to be appointed in Thailand. Burma and Cambodia ended the practice of appointing a sangharaja for some time, but the position was later restored, though in Cambodia it lapsed again.
-
- Bangladesh:
- Burma (Myanmar):
- Sri Lanka:
- Siam Nikaya
- Rohana
- Malwaththa
- Asgiriya
- Waturawila (or Mahavihara Vamshika Shyamopali Vanavasa Nikaya)
- Amarapura Nikaya has many Sub orders including
- Dharmarakshitha
- Kanduboda (or Swejin Nikaya)
- Tapovana (or Kalyanavamsa)
- Ramañña Nikaya
- Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha (or 'Galduwa Tradition')
- Delduwa
- Siam Nikaya
- Thailand and Cambodia
Festivals and customs[link]
- Magha Puja
- Vesakha Puja
- Asalha Puja
- Uposatha
- Vassa (Rain Retreat)
List of Theravada majority countries[link]
| Rank | Country | Population | Buddhist % | Buddhist total | Importance of religion | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 | 123 | 123 | 123 | |||||
| 1 |  Thailand |
66,720,153[73] | 94.6%[74] | 63,117,265 | 98%[75] | |||
| 2 |  Burma |
60,280,000[76] | 89%[77] | 53,649,200 | 96%[78] | |||
| 3 |  Sri Lanka |
21,283,913[79] | 69.1%[80] | 14,707,184 | 98%[81] | |||
| 4 |  Cambodia |
14,701,717[82] | 96.4%[83] | 14,172,455 | 95%[84] | |||
| 5 |  Laos |
6,477,211[85] | 67%[86] | 4,339,731 | 96%[87] |
Gallery[link]
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Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the most sacred pagoda in Burma.
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Wat Phra Buddha Baat, the most important temple in central Thailand.
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Buddhists at the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, near Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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Khmer monk in meditation at Phnom Bakheng in Angkor, Cambodia.
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Ruwanwelisaya in Anuradhapura, the most sacred stupa in Sri Lanka.
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Dambulla cave temple in Sri lanka, one of the oldest Buddhist temples.
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Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the most important temple in Sri Lanka.
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Kuthodaw paya.JPG
Kuthodaw Pagoda in Mandalay, Burma.
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Shwemawdaw Paya in Bago, the tallest pagoda in Burma.
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Shwezigon Pagoda in Nyaung-U, a prototype of Burmese stupas.
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Uppatasanti Pagoda, a landmark in the Burmese capital Naypyidaw.
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Htukkanthein, one of the most famous temples in Mrauk U, Burma.
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Wat Pho, one of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok, Thailand.
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Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok, the most sacred temple in Thailand.
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Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the world's largest religious building.
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Pha That Luang in Vientiane, the national symbol of Laos.
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism, p1. Oxford University Press, 1998.
- ^ "The World Factbook: Sri Lanka". CIA World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ce.html. Retrieved 2006-08-12. .
- ^ Bullitt, John. "What is Theravada Buddhism?". BuddhaNet. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/whats-thera.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-15. "In the last century, however, the West has begun to take notice of Theravada's unique spiritual legacy and teachings of Awakening. In recent decades, this interest has swelled, with the monastic Sangha from the various schools within Theravada establishing dozens of monasteries across Europe and North America."
- ^ Adherants.com - See the citations under 'Theravada Buddhism — World'
- ^ See "On the Vibhajjavādins", Lance Cousins, Buddhist Studies Review 18, 2 (2001)
- ^ Skilton, Andrew. A Concise History of Buddhism. 2004. p. 48, 64
- ^ Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner), A History Of India Buddhism, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1993, page 109.
- ^ Samuel Beal, "Si-Yu-Ki — Buddhist Records of the Western World — Translated from the Chinese of Hiuen Tsiang AD 629", published by Tuebner and Co, London (1884), reprint by the Oriental Book Reprint Corporation, New Delhi, (1983), Digital version: Chung-hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, Taipei. In this book, Hiuen Tsiang refer to the Buddhist in Sri Lanka "They principally follow the teaching of Buddha, according to the dharma of the Sthavira (Shang-tso-pu) school"
- ^ Samuel Beal, "The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang: By the Shaman Hwui Li. With an introduction containing an account of the works of I-tsing", published by Tuebner and Co, London (1911), Digital version: University of Michigan. In this book, I-tsing refer to situation in Sri Lanka as "In Ceylon the Sthavira school alone flourishes; the Mahasanghikas are expelled"
- ^ It is used in the Dipavamsa (quoted in Debates Commentary, Pali Text society, page 4), which is generally dated to the 4th century
- ^ Indian Buddhism by A.K. Warder Motilal Banarsidass: 2000. ISBN 81-208-1741-9 pg 278[1]
- ^ a b c Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. 2000. p. 280
- ^ http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/561
- ^ a b Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. p. 121
- ^ Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. p. 124
- ^ Gombrich, Richard Francis. Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History. 1988. p. 158
- ^ Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 53
- ^ Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. p. 257
- ^ Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. pp. 125-126
- ^ "Esoteric Buddhism in Southeast Asia in the Light of Recent Scholarship" by Hiram Woodward. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Jun., 2004), p. 341
- ^ Randall Collins, The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change. Harvard University Press, 2000, page 187.
- ^ Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. p. 125
- ^ Sujato, Bhikkhu. Sects & Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools. 2006. p. 59
- ^ Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. p. 126
- ^ a b Williams, Duncan. Queen, Christopher. American Buddhism: Methods and Findings in Recent Scholarship. 1999. p. 134
- ^ Gombrich, Richard. Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History From Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. 1988. p. 159
- ^ Sujato, Bhikkhu. Sects & Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools. 2006. p. 69
- ^ See the article on this subject in Buddhist Studies Review, 24.2 (2007)
- ^ http://www.asiaexplorers.com/myanmar/bagan_travel_guide.htm
- ^ Mahavamsa: The great chronicle of Ceylon tr. Wilhelm Geiger. Pali Text Society, 1912, Page 82 and 86
- ^ a b Sujato, Bhikkhu. Sects & Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools. 2006. p. 72
- ^ a b Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 131
- ^ Smith, Huston & Novak, Philip. Buddhism: A Concise Introduction. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003
- ^ Gombrich, Richard Francis. Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History. 1988. p. 137
- ^ Gombrich, Richard Francis. Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History. 1988. p. 3
- ^ Bob Hudson, The Origins of Bagan, Thesis for University of Sydney,2004, page 95.
- ^ Bob Hudson, The Origins of Bagan, Thesis for University of Sydney,2004, page 36.
- ^ Elizabeth Moore, "Interpreting Pyu material culture: Royal chronologies and finger-marked bricks," Myanmar Historical Research Journal, No(13) June 2004, pp.1-57, page 6 & 7. Available [2]
- ^ Professor Janice Stargardt, "Historical Geography of Burma: Creation of enduring patterns in the Pyu period" IIAS Newsletter Online, No 25,Theme Burmese Heritage. Available [3]
- ^ http://blog.hotelclub.com/the-seven-tallest-statues-in-the-world/
- ^ Indian Insights, ed Connolly & Hamilton, Luzac, London, 1997, pages 187-9
- ^ "Modern Theravada". http://www.theravadabuddhism.org/moderntheravada.
- ^ Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, volume 28 (part 2), page 302 (2005)
- ^ Edmund F. Perry's introduction to Walpola Rahula's The Heritage of the Bhikkhu: A Short History of the Bhikkhu in the Educational, Cultural, Social, and Policital Life. Grove Press, New York, 1974, page xii.
- ^ Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Buddhism Betrayed? The University of Chicago Press, 1992, pages 35-36.
- ^ a b Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Buddhism Betrayed? The University of Chicago Press, 1992, page 28.
- ^ Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Buddhism Betrayed? The University of Chicago Press, 1992, page 29.
- ^ Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Buddhism Betrayed? The University of Chicago Press, 1992, pages 63-64.
- ^ Bhikkhu Bodhi. "The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering". Buddhist Publication Society. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ Dan Lusthaus, "What is and isn't Yogacara." He specifically discusses early Buddhism as well as Yogacara. [4].
- ^ The five sensory doors, together with the mind, are known in the Pali Canon as the "Six Sense Bases""Salayatana-samyutta". Access to Insight. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/index.html#salayatana. Retrieved 2008-12-04. and "Salayatana-vibhanga Sutta". Access to Insight. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.137.than.html. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ^ "Vipallasa Sutta". Access to Insight edition. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.049.olen.html. Retrieved 2008-12-04. and "The Way of Wisdom: The Restraint of the Senses". Buddhist Publication Society. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/conze/wheel065.html#ch2.2. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ^ Bodhi. "A Treatise on the Paramis: From the Commentary to the Cariyapitaka". http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.html. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:324.pali
- ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/contextualize.pl?p.4.pali.103879
- ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:989.pali
- ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:3397.pali
- ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:3558.pali
- ^ "A Sketch of the Buddha's Life". Access to Insight. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/buddha.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ "Lohicca Sutta". Access to Insight. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.12.0.than.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b Shaw, Sarah. "Buddhist Meditation Practices in the West". Department of Continuing Education, Oxford University. p. 8. http://202.28.52.45/vesak50/article/pdf_file/13_Buddhist_%20Meditation_Practices_West.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 3.
- ^ Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press, 1995, page 9.
- ^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004 (Volume Two), page 756
- ^ "Glossary of Buddhism". Buddhist Art and the Trade Routes. Asia Society. 2003. http://www.asiasocietymuseum.org/buddhist_trade/glossary.html#theravada. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ Epstein, Ron (1999-02). "Clearing Up Some Misconceptions about Buddhism". Vajra Bodhi Sea: A Monthly Journal of Orthodox Buddhism (Dharma Realm Buddhist Association): 41–43. http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Misconceptions%20about%20Buddhism.htm. "Some Western scholars have erroneously tried to claim that Mahayana is primarily a religion for laymen and Theravada is a priamarily monastic religion. Both Mahayana and Theravada have as their foundation strong monastic communities, which are almost identical in their regulations. Schools of Mahayana Buddhism without monastic communities of fully ordained monks and nuns are relatively recent and atypical developments, usually based on cultural and historical considerations rather than differences in fundamental doctrine. Both Mahayana and Theravada also provided a clear and important place for lay followers."
- ^ PUBLICATIONSMahinda Deegalle, Popularizing Buddhism: Preaching as Performance in Sri Lanka, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, 2006.
- ^ Bhikkhu Bodhi,In the Buddha's Words, Wisdom Publications 2005; page 376
- ^ "The Original Jesus" (Element Books, Shaftesbury, 1995), Elmar R Gruber, Holger Kersten
- ^ (Volume One), page 159
- ^ "The Greek language of Healing From Homer to New Testament Times" ", (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter,
- ^ Greenhalgh, P.A.L.Bulletin of the Institute of Classical StudiesVolume 29, Issue 1, pages 81–90, December 1982
- ^ http://203.113.86.149/stat/pk/pk53/pk_53.pdf
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html
- ^ GALLUP WorldView - data accessed on 15 October 2011
- ^ http://www.adb.org/Documents/Fact_Sheets/MYA.pdf. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html
- ^ GALLUP WorldView - data accessed on 15 October 2011
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ce.html
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ce.html
- ^ GALLUP WorldView - data accessed on 15 October 2011
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html
- ^ GALLUP WorldView - data accessed on 15 October 2011
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/la.html
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/la.html
- ^ GALLUP WorldView - data accessed on 15 October 2011
External links[link]
 |
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (December 2009) |
- Bristol University Buddhist Death Ritual Project
- Orange Tip Editions - Buddhism in everyday life
- BuddhaNet - World Buddhist directory & information resource
- Nibbana.com - A Collection of Theravada Resources
- Nibbanam.com - On Nibbana (Nirvana), Pali and Theravada in general
- DhammaTalks.net - A Collection of Theravada Resources
- Dhamma talk downloads at Dharma Seed - A vast collection of Theravada Dhamma Talks from over 40 centers worldwide
- The Buddhist Society of Western Australia - A Collection of Dhamma Talks
- Tipitaka Network - Dhamma Studies
- TripleGem.net - Buddhist Directory
- Sadhu! - Theravada Web Directory
- Meditation in the Theravada tradition - Vipassana Meditation as taught by SN Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin
- Vipassana and Theravada site
- Buddhist Meditation in the Theravada tradition - Vipassana Meditation
- Meditation Retreat in Asia (German and English)
- Sobhana.net - Theravada Dhamma Talks
- The Broken Buddha/Critical Reflecctions on Theravada and a Plea for a New Buddhism by S. Dhammika
- Saranaloka Foundation - Supporting nuns in America (Thai Forest tradition; Ajahn Sumedho lineage)
- Access to Insight - Readings in Theravada Buddhism
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| Phra Dharmavisuddhimonggol (Bua Ñāṇasampanno) | |
|---|---|
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| School | Theravada, Dhammayutika Nikaya |
| Lineage | Thai Forest Tradition |
| Other name(s) | Ajahn Maha Bua Ajahn Maha Boowa Luang Ta Maha Boowa |
| Dharma name(s) | Ñāṇasampanno |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | Thai |
| Born | (1913-08-12)August 12, 1913 Baan Taad village, Udon Thani Province, Thailand |
| Died | January 30, 2011(2011-01-30) (aged 97) Baan Taad village, Udon Thani Province, Thailand |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Wat Pa Baan Taad |
| Title | Abbot of Wat Pa Baan Taad |
| Successor | Phra Ajahn Sudjai Dantamano |
| Religious career | |
| Teacher | Venerable Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Mahathera |
| Website | Luangta.com |
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Phra Thamma Wisutthi Mongkhon (Bua Yanasampanno) or Phra Dharma Visuddhi Monggol (Bua Ñāṇasampanno) (Thai: พระธรรมวิสุทธิมงคล (บัว ญาณสมฺปนฺโน)), commonly known as Ajahn Maha Bua or in Thai Luang Ta Maha Bua (Thai: พระอาจารย์มหาบัว, หลวงตามหาบัว; the word "Ajahn" (Thai: อาจารย์; RTGS: Achan) means "teacher"), born as Bua Lohitdee (Thai: บัว โลหิตดี), (August 12, 1913 – January 30, 2011), was a Thai Buddhist monk. Bua is one of the best known Thai Buddhist monks of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He was widely regarded as an Arahant — a living Buddhist saint. He was a disciple of the esteemed forest master Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, and was himself considered a master in the Thai Forest Tradition.[1] He was a harsh critic of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as well as of events taking place in Watpa Salawan after the death of its abbot Luangpho Phut.[2]
Contents |
Biography[link]
Early years[link]
Bua was born in Baan Taad village in the northeastern province of Udon Thani. He was one of 16 children of a rich family of rice farmers.[3] When he was 21, his parents asked him to enter the monkhood for a season, a Thai tradition to show gratitude towards one's parents. He entered Yothanimit monastery and was ordained on May 12, 1934 with Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi as his preceptor. His preceptor gave him the Pali name 'Nanasampanno', meaning 'one endowed with wisdom'. At the time, Bua had no intention of remaining a monk for the rest of his life.
As Pra Nanasampanno, he studied the incarnations of the Buddha and his Arahant Disciples. He has said he was so impressed that he decided to seek the same enlightenment as had the Buddha's original disciples. He tried to understand the ways of practicing the Dhamma (Dharma) which would eventually lead to Nibbana (Nirvana).
He studied Pali, the language of Theravada Buddhism, as well as the Vinaya (the monastic rules of correct conduct). After seven years, he passed the third level of Pali studies, and achieved the highest level in Dhamma and Vinaya studies. He then concentrated entirely on the practice of Dhamma in hopes of studying with Venerable Ajahn Mun, one of the most renowned meditation masters of his time.[4]
Venerable Ajahn Mun[link]
Nanasampanno then went in search of Venerable Ajahn Mun. When he finally met him, he was pleased with his efforts, since it seemed as if Mun already knew his desires, intentions, and doubts. Mun clarified the questions in his mind and showed him the paths leading to Nibbana still exist. Nanasampanno said to himself:
"Now, I have come to the real thing. He has made everything clear and I no longer have doubts. It is now up to me to be true or otherwise. I'm determined to be true!"
He learned the meditation methods followed by Mun, based on the principles of Buddhism and the code of Buddhist discipline. He continued to follow these methods in his own teaching of monks and novices. Due to his deep respect and admiration for Mun, whom he likens to a father and mother to his students, he was inspired to write a biography of Mun to disseminate his methods of practice and document his character for coming generations. He has also written many books on the practice of Buddhist meditation and recorded teachings on Dhamma so Buddhists may have a guide in practicing meditation.[5] One of his fellow student monks was Ajahn Thate.
Seclusion and establishing a monastery[link]
In 1950, after the death of Mun, Bua sought a secluded place. He went to Huey Sai village in Mukdahan province. He was very strict and serious in teaching the monks and novices, both in the austere dhutanga practices and in meditation. He continued his teaching until these same principles became established amongst his followers.
Learning that his mother was ill, he returned home to look after her. Villagers and relatives requested that he settle permanently in the forest south of the village and no longer wander in the manner of a forest monk. As his mother was very old and that it was appropriate for him to look after her, he accepted the offer. With a donation of 64 acres (26 ha) of land, he began to build his monastery in November 1955. It was given the name Wat Pa Baan Taad.[5]
Wat Pa Baan Taad[link]
Bua said:
"This monastery has always been a place for meditation. Since the beginning it has been a place solely for developing the mind. I haven't let any other work disturb the place. If there are things which must be done, I've made it a rule that they take up no more time than is absolutely necessary. The reason for this is that, in the eyes of the world and the Dhamma, this is a meditation temple. We're meditation monks. The work of the meditation monk was handed over to him on the day of his ordination by his Preceptor - in all its completeness. This is his real work, and it was taught in a form suitable for the small amount of time available during the ordination ceremony - five meditation objects to be memorized in forward and reverse order - and after that it's up to each individual to expand on them and develop them to whatever degree of breadth or subtlety he is able to. In the beginning the work of a monk is given simply as: Kesa - hair of the head, Loma - hair of the body, Nakha - nails, Danta - teeth, Taco - the skin which enwraps the body. This is the true work for those monks who practice according to the principles of Dhamma as were taught by the Lord Buddha."
The wilderness surrounding the monastery has vanished, as it has now been cleared for cultivation. The forest inside the monastery is all that remains. Wat Pa Baan Taad preserves this remnant in its original condition, so that monks, novices, and lay people can use its tranquility for the practice of the Dhamma as taught by the Lord Buddha.[5]
Rise to fame[link]
Bua has traveled to London to give lectures. He also founded the Help Thai Nation Project, a charitable effort dedicated to helping the Thai economy. He has been visited and supported by the King and Queen of Thailand.
Bua's biographer wrote:
"Ven. Ajahn Maha Bua is well known for the fluency and skill of his Dhamma talks, and their direct and dynamic approach. They obviously reflect his own attitude and the way he personally practiced Dhamma. This is best exemplified in the Dhamma talks he gives to those who go to meditate at Wat Pa Bahn Tahd. Such talks usually take place in the cool of the evening, with lamps lit and the only sound being the insects and cicadas in the surrounding jungle. He often begins the Dhamma talk with a few moments of stillness — this is the most preparation he needs — and then quietly begins the Dhamma exposition. As the theme naturally develops, the pace quickens and those listening increasingly feel its strength and depth."[1]
Some basic teachings on the 'Citta'[link]
Bua sees the essential enduring truth of the sentient being as constituted of the indestructible reality of the citta (heart/mind), which is characterized by the attribute of Awareness or Knowingness. This citta, which is intrinsically bright, clear, and Aware, gets superficially tangled up in samsara but ultimately cannot be destroyed by any samsaric phenomenon. Although Bua is often at pains to emphasise the need for meditation upon the non-Self (anatta), he also points out that the citta, while getting caught up in the vortex of conditioned phenomena, is not subject to destruction as are those things which are impermanent, suffering, and non-Self (anicca, dukkha, anatta). The citta is ultimately not beholden to these laws of conditioned existence. The citta is bright, radiant, and deathless, and is its own independent reality:
'Being intrinsically bright and clear, the citta is always ready to make contact with everything of every nature. Although all conditioned phenomena without exception are governed by the three universal laws of anicca, dukkha, and anattã, the citta’s true nature is not subject to these laws. The citta is conditioned by anicca, dukkha, and anattã only because things that are subject to these laws come spinning in to become involved with the citta and so cause it to spin along with them. However, though it spins in unison with conditioned phenomena, the citta never disintegrates or falls apart. It spins following the influence of those forces which have the power to make it spin, but the true power of the citta’s own nature is that it knows and does not die. This deathlessness is a quality that lies beyond disintegration. Being beyond disintegration, it also lies beyond the range of anicca, dukkha, and anattã and the universal laws of nature. ….'[6]
The fundamental problem that besets human beings, according to Bua, is that they have taken fake and false things as their true self and lack the necessary power to be their 'own true self'; they allow the wiles and deceits of the mental defilements to generate fear and anxiety in their minds. Fear and anxiety are not inherent within the citta; in fact, the citta is ultimately beyond all such things and indeed is beyond time and space. But it needs to be cleansed of its inner defilements (the kilesas) before that truth can be realised. Bua states:
‘Our real problem, our one fundamental problem—which is also the citta’s fundamental problem—is that we lack the power needed to be our own true self. Instead, we have always taken counterfeit things to be the essence of who we really are, so that the citta’s behavior is never in harmony with its true nature. Rather, it expresses itself through the kilesas’ cunning deceits, which cause it to feel anxious and frightened of virtually everything … As a result, the citta is forever full of worries and fears. And although fear and worry are not intrinsic to the citta, they still manage to produce apprehension there. When the citta has been cleansed so that it is absolutely pure and free of all involvement, only then will we see a citta devoid of all fear. Then, neither fear nor courage appear, only the citta’s true nature, existing naturally alone on its own, forever independent of time and space. Only that appears—nothing else. This is the genuine citta’.[7]
Bua goes on to attempt to describe the inner stages and experience of the cleansed citta. When its purgation of defilements is complete, it itself does not disappear – only the impermanent, suffering, and the non-Self disappear. The citta remains, experientially abiding in its own firm foundation, yet ultimately indescribable:
‘Once the Citta has become so well-cleansed that it is always bright and clear, then … even though the citta has not ‘converged’ in samãdhi, the focal point of its awareness is so exceedingly delicate and refined as to be indescribable. This subtle awareness manifests as a radiance that extends forth in all directions around us. We are unconscious of sights, sounds, odors, tastes, and tactile sensations, despite the fact that the citta has not entered samãdhi. Instead, it is actually experiencing its own firm foundation, the very basis of the citta that has been well-cleansed to the point where a mesmerizing, majestic quality of knowing is its most prominent feature.
‘Seeming to exist independent of the physical body, this kind of extremely refined awareness stands out exclusively within the citta. Due to the subtle and pronounced nature of the citta at this stage, its knowing nature completely predominates. No images or visions appear there at all. It is an awareness that stands out exclusively on its own. This is one aspect of the citta.
‘Another aspect is seen when this well-cleansed citta enters meditative calm, not thinking or imagining anything. Ceasing all activity, all movement, it simply rests for awhile. All thought and imagination within the citta come to a complete halt. This is called “the citta entering a state of total calm.” Then, the citta’s essential knowing nature is all that remains. Except for this very refined awareness—an awareness that seems to blanket the entire cosmos—absolutely nothing else appears… Distance is not a factor. To be precise, the citta is beyond the conditions of time and space, which allows it to blanket everything. Far is like near, for concepts of space do not apply. All that appears is a very refined awareness suffusing everything throughout the entire universe. The whole world seems to be filled by this subtle quality of knowing, as though nothing else exists, though things still exist in the world as they always have. The all-encompassing flow of the citta that has been cleansed of the things that cloud and obscure it, this is the citta’s true power.
'The citta that is absolutely pure is even more difficult to describe. Since it is something that defies definition, I don’t know how I could characterize it. It cannot be expressed in the same way that conventional things in general can be, simply because it is not a conventional phenomenon. It is the sole province of those who have transcended all aspects of conventional reality, and thus realize within themselves that non-conventional nature. For this reason, words cannot describe it.
'Why do we speak of a “Conventional” Citta and an “absolutely pure” citta? Are they actually two different cittas? Not at all. It remains the same citta. When it is controlled by conventional realities, such as kilesas and ãsavas, that is one condition of the citta. But when the faculty of wisdom has scrubbed it clean until this condition has totally disintegrated, the true citta, the true Dhamma, the one that can stand the test, will not disintegrate and disappear along with it. Only the conditions of anicca, dukkha, and anattã, which infiltrate the citta, actually disappear.
'No matter how subtle the kilesas may be, they are still conditioned by anicca, dukkha, and anattã, and therefore, must be conventional phenomena. Once these things have completely disintegrated, the true citta, the one that has transcended conventional reality, becomes fully apparent. This is called the citta’s Absolute Freedom, or the citta’s Absolute Purity. All connections continuing from the citta’s previous condition have been severed forever. Now utterly pure, the citta’s essential knowing nature remains alone on its own….
'Since this refined awareness does not have a point or a center, it is impossible to specifically locate its position. There is only that essential knowing, with absolutely nothing infiltrating it. Although it still exists amid the same khandhas with which it used to intermix, it no longer shares any common characteristics with them. It is a world apart. Only then do we know clearly that the body, the khandhas, and the citta are all distinct and separate realities…'[8]
Some of the notions found here are reminiscent of the Tathagatagarbha tradition - although the latter posits an original, primordial purity to the mind, whereas Bua sees that purity as needing to be established through mental and moral cultivation.[9]
Kammatthana[link]
Kammatthana literally means "basis of work" or "place of work". It describes the contemplation of certain meditation themes used by a meditating monk so the forces of defilement (kilesa), craving (tanha), and ignorance (avijja) may be uprooted from the mind. Although kammatthana can be found in many meditation-related subjects, the term is most often used to identify the forest tradition (the Kammatthana tradition) lineage founded by Ajahn Sao Kantasilo Mahathera and his student Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Mahathera.[1]
Criticism of Thaksin Shinawatra[link]
On 27 September 2005, Manager Daily published a sermon by Luang Ta Maha Bua.[10][11] The sermon was extremely critical of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Especially controversial were the following quotes:
"They complained to me about PM Thaksin and Mr. Visanu and two other people that I don’t remember. This is the big ogre, big power. Atrocious power will swallow our country, bite liver and lungs and aim for the presidency....He will put a torch to the country. He will never listen....This savagery and atrocity appear in every aspect of him.... All he has are things to be used for burning."
"He is clearly aiming for the presidency now. The monarch trampled, the religion trampled, the country trampled, by this savage and atrocious power in a few people in the government circle. That is the circle of ogres, of ghosts, of trolls, of demons, all in there....So even Devadatta saw the harm he caused, and he was rewarded for his good deed. He would attain Buddhahood. For those who have made mistakes, if we see the harm we cause, we can still get by. But what is it with Thailand? What kind of governance?"
"They even dare to accuse Luangta Maha Bua of playing politics. Politics, what dog shit. There’s only shit all over the country. I brought the Buddha’s dharma to cleanse in order for them to repent and recognize good and evil. Because they’re the government. The world flatters them as smart people, but don’t be smart down in a toilet. Don’t be smart about putting a torch to the head of everyone in the country, from Nation, Religion, and Monarchy on down. These guys will get burned unless they recognize the truth. I’m saddened by all this. How does this come about?"
On 11 October 2005, Thaksin sued Manager newspaper for THB 500 million.[12] As monks have traditionally been above criticism, Thaksin did not sue Luang Ta Maha Bua. "This is an exercise of an individual's right to protect his reputation and privacy. The newspaper did not criticise the prime minister fairly as a public official, but rather it took him to task personally, using harsh words, which was damaging to him," Thana Benjathikul, Thaksin's lawyer said.
Thaksin's legal team noted that other newspapers only published selected passages of the sermon, and furthermore, that a slanderous headline was used. Respected civil rights lawyer Thongbai Thongpao has noted that Thaksin's lawsuit did have merit. He added that the lawsuits "do not constitute an attack on freedom of the press".[13]
The case, along with several other libel cases, was withdrawn after King Bhumibol Adulyadej indirectly advised against such legal action during his annual birthday speech.
As recently as 14 March 2006, Luang Ta Maha Bua asked Thaksin to resign. In a sermon that the monk called "most vehement since the temple was set up," the monk said it was time for Thaksin to abandon the "rotten system he is presiding over". He described the government as "wicked, corrupt, power-hungry, and greedy".[14]
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ a b c http://www.buddhanet.net/masters/mahaboowa.htm Buddhanet's page on Ajahn Maha Bua
- ^ The Nation. Luangta Maha Bua asks Thaksin to resign. Accessed: 27-12-2552.
- ^ Luang Ta Maha Boowa - AmuletForums.com - Thai Amulets & Buddhism Online Discussion Forums
- ^ http://www.luangta.com/English/site/history.php History of the Monastery Barn Tard
- ^ a b c http://www.luangta.com/English/site/history.php
- ^ Maha Boowa, Arahattamagga, Arahattaphala: the Path to Arahantship – A Compilation of Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa’s Dhamma Talks about His Path of Practice, translated by Bhikkhu Silaratano, 2005, http://www.forestdhammabooks.com/book/3/Arahattamagga.pdf (consulted 19 March 2009)p.99
- ^ Maha Boowa, Arahattamagga, Arahattaphala: the Path to Arahantship – A Compilation of Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa’s Dhamma Talks about His Path of Practice, translated by Bhikkhu Silaratano, 2005, http://www.forestdhammabooks.com/book/3/Arahattamagga.pdf (consulted 16 March 2009), p. 100
- ^ pp. 101–103 Maha Boowa, Arahattamagga, Arahattaphala: the Path to Arahantship – A Compilation of Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa’s Dhamma Talks about His Path of Practice, translated by Bhikkhu Silaratano, 2005, http://www.forestdhammabooks.com/book/3/Arahattamagga.pdf (consulted 16 March 2009)
- ^ Maha Boowa, op. cit. p. 101
- ^ (Thai) "404 error". manager.co.th. http://www.manager.co.th/Politics/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9480000132593. Retrieved 2006-09-21.
- ^ "Channeling Luangta Maha Bua, sort of". sanpaworn.vissaventure.com. 2005-10-10. http://sanpaworn.vissaventure.com/?id=198. Retrieved 2006-09-21.
- ^ "DEFAMATION LAWSUITS: Luangta Bua escapes PM's legal wrath". The Nation. 2005-10-11. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/sondhi/r24.php. Retrieved 2006-09-21.
- ^ Asia Times Online :: Southeast Asia news and business from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam
- ^ Bangkok's Independent Newspaper
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bua Ñanasampanno |
- Luang Ta Maha Bua's homepage
- Arahattamagga Arahattaphala - The Path to Arahantship
- Buddhanet's page on Ajahn Maha Bua
- The Dhamma of Ajaan Panyavaddho
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bua, Ajahn Maha |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 12 August 1914 |
| Place of birth | Baan Taad village, Udon Thani Province, Thailand |
| Date of death | 30 January 2011 |
| Place of death | Baan Taad village, Udon Thani Province, Thailand |
http://wn.com/Ajahn_Maha_Bua
Related pages:
http://de.wn.com/Ajahn Maha Bua Nyanasampanno
http://es.wn.com/Maha Boowa Ñanasampanno
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajahn_Maha_Bua
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Prahlad Friedman | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Spirit Rock, Pragress |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California |
| Born | (1978-05-20) May 20, 1978 (age 34) |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 5 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish |
20th, 2006 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | 1 |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 5 |
| Information accurate as of 23 February 2010. | |
Prahlad S. Friedman (born May 20, 1978) is an American professional poker player from Los Angeles, California.[1] He has played under the screen names "Spirit Rock" on Full Tilt Poker, "Mahatma" on Ultimate Bet, "Zweig" on Prima Network, and "Prefontaine" on PokerStars. [2][3]
Friedman won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in 2003 in the $1,500 pot limit hold'em event earning him $109,400. Later, at the WSOP circuit event at Harrah's Rincon in 2005, he won the second place prize of $363,165. At the 2006 WSOP Main Event, Friedman outlasted over 8,700 other players, finishing 20th and securing $494,797. During the tournament, Friedman was noted for an incident with Jeff Lisandro, in which Friedman felt that Lisandro had not put in his ante, worth 5,000 chips, in a hand. Friedman and Lisandro argued constantly through the hand, with the dealer telling them both to stop bringing it up. Friedman would not stop, and implied that Lisandro "robbed" the other man of the 5,000. Lisandro was very upset to hear that, and argued with Friedman, telling him he would "take your head off, buddy". Friedman tried to settle things with Lisandro afterwards during play, but Lisandro refused to talk to him. Many in the poker world criticized Friedman for his actions, including Norman Chad of ESPN and Todd Brunson of Cardplayer Magazine. In the end, it was discovered in the replay that Lisandro did in fact put in the ante. (In posting one of the blinds, a third player at the table forgot to put in his ante; the dealer corrected his mistake.) [4]
As of 2010, Friedman's total live tournament winnings exceed $2,300,000.[5] His 5 cashes as the WSOP account for $713,372 of those winnings.[6] Friedman was an ethnic studies major at UC Berkeley. It was there that he played a lot of poker for the first time. At the Oaks Club, Friedman honed his game at the $15–$30 limit hold'em table, before switching to the no limit game at the Lucky Chances casino. Friedman's usual online limits are $25–$50 and $50–$100 no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha games.
Friedman is also well known on internet poker message boards for his raps. He has rapped for ESPN for a "The Nuts" segment at the WSOP circuit event at Harrah's Rincon in 2005, the Main Event in the 2006 World Series of Poker, and also for the poker website RakeBreak. Friedman is married to professional poker player Dee Luong Friedman, to whom he was engaged since 2002. He is a vegan. The name Prahlad is derived from a figure in Hindu mythology, known for his staunch devotion towards Vishnu.
In August 2009, Friedman won the WPT Legends of Poker event for $1,000,900. He defeated 2009 WSOP Main Event "November Niner" Kevin Schaffel heads up.
When Ultimate Bet was involved in a major cheating scandal prior to 2008, Friedman was one of the biggest victims having lost millions of dollars.[7] After rumors started to surface, in December 2010, that Friedman would be signing with UB, many people in the poker community criticized Friedman.[8][9] When asked how he could sign with a poker site where he was cheated out of millions, Friedman said, "I feel like they took care of me after the scandal. I feel like they didn’t have to pay people back and they did. It was amazing to find out I was going to get a hunk of money back. I have a good relationship with their team and their management and I feel like this is a totally different UB than anything associated with the scandal."[8]
On May 9, 2011, Prahlad and ten other U.S. sponsored professionals were informed by UltimateBet's parent company that their contracts had been terminated. [10]
Notes[link]
- ^ Prahlad Friedman WPT profile
- ^ http://pokerworks.com/poker-news/2009/12/18/prahlad-s-friedman-where-are-they-now.html
- ^ http://www.poker-king.com/poker-king-articles.php?article=262
- ^ http://www.cardplayer.com/magazine/article/16819
- ^ Poker Pages Database: Prahlad Friedman
- ^ World Series of Poker Earnings, worldseriesofpoker.com
- ^ Bradley, Lance (20 Feb 2009). "Matusow Admits Losing Millions to Hamilton on UltimateBet". http://news.bluffmagazine.com/matusow-admits-losing-millions-to-hamilton-on-ultimatebet-2427/. Retrieved 6 Jan 2011.
- ^ a b Bradley, Lance (6 Jan 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: Prahlad Friedman Speaks About Joining UB Poker". Bluff Magazine Online. Bluff Magazine. http://news.bluffmagazine.com/prahlad-friedman-speaks-about-joining-ub-poker-17829/. Retrieved 6 Jan 2011.
- ^ M Rhodes (3 Jan 2011). "Negreanu Says Prahlad Friedman Stupid If Signs With UB.com". Online Poker.net. http://www.onlinepoker.net/poker-news/poker-pros-news/negreanu-prahlad-friedman-stupid-signs-ubcom/8994. Retrieved 6 Jan 2011.
- ^ [1]
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Friedman, Prahlad |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | May 20, 1978 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Prahlad_Friedman
Related pages:
http://nl.wn.com/Prahlad Friedman
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prahlad_Friedman
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
