B.C.E.: Before the Christian (or Common) Era. Commonly seen as B.C., meaning before Christ, though Christ was actually born in 6 B.C.E. See also C.E.

 (See also: B.C.E., Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Definition and meaning of Buddhism

Buddhism - [World History]

Buddhism evolved from Hinduism in northern India and Nepal and diffused from this core area. The founder was Siddhartha Gautama (563 B.C.-483 B.C.) who left his rich Hindu existence to seek understanding. Buddha means "the Enlightened One." The Buddhist way to salvation is through self-discipline and poverty. It is a religion and philosophy of "Four Noble Truths": that suffering and misery are universal, that the cause of suffering is desire, that the end of suffering is realized when desire is controlled, and that the way to escape pain and suffering is to follow the Middle Way. Nirvana is the state of wanting nothing. The Middle Way is virtuous and marked by compassion for all living things. Today, Buddhism is practiced in different forms throughout the world. The largest concentrations of Buddhists occur in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Japan.

(Source: The Social Studies Center at Texas University )

Also see these pages:  Social Studies, Social Studies Sitemap, History, History Sitemap

Definition and meaning of Buddhism

Buddhism - [World History]

Buddhism evolved from Hinduism in northern India and Nepal and diffused from this core area. The founder was Siddhartha Gautama (563 B.C.-483 B.C.) who left his rich Hindu existence to seek understanding. Buddha means "the Enlightened One." The Buddhist way to salvation is through self-discipline and poverty. It is a religion and philosophy of "Four Noble Truths": that suffering and misery are universal, that the cause of suffering is desire, that the end of suffering is realized when desire is controlled, and that the way to escape pain and suffering is to follow the Middle Way. Nirvana is the state of wanting nothing. The Middle Way is virtuous and marked by compassion for all living things. Today, Buddhism is practiced in different forms throughout the world. The largest concentrations of Buddhists occur in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Japan.

(Source: The Social Studies Center at Texas University )

Also see these pages:  Social Studies, Social Studies Sitemap, History, History Sitemap

Buddhism: The religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (ca 624544 bce). He refuted the idea of man's having an immortal soul and did not preach of any Supreme Deity. Instead he taught that man should seek to overcome greed, hatred and delusion and attain enlightenment through realizing the Four Noble Truths and following the Eightfold Path.

Prominent among its holy books is the Dhammapada. Buddhism arose out of Hinduism as an inspired reform movement which rejected the caste system and the sanctity of the Vedas. It is thus classed as nastika, "unbeliever," and is not part of Hinduism. Buddhism eventually migrated out of India, the country of its origin, and now enjoys a following of over 350 million, mostly in Asia.

See: Buddha.

(See also: Buddhism, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Buddhism {}

(See also: Buddhism, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

BÖN or BÖNPA

The aboriginal magicians of Tibet, prior to Buddhism, at first much opposed to the Lamas, but eventually joining them in their adoption of Tantric Buddhism. Like all major movements, Buddhism did not become popular until it learned how to take in and alter local beliefs. Dhyana (meditation) was used in Tibet before passing to Japan as Zen, though one cant be sure if its a non-stop link from Tibet to Japan. If it is, then why not Obon/Bon equivalence, as well? Bon was (is) very back-woodsy and little is known about it. Christmas Humphreys says it has roots in Asiatic (Mongol) Shamanism: nature worship, sex magic and psychic arts. Modern Bon are called black hats and are sorcerers of the Dug-pa sects of Bhutan and Ladak.

(See also: BÖN, BÖNPA, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Rajagriha (Sanskrit). A city in Magadha famous for its conversion to Buddhism in the days of the Buddhist kings. It was their residence from Bimbisara to Asoka, and was the seat of the first Synod, or Buddhist Council, held 510 B.C..

(See also: Rajagriha, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Kanishka (Sanskrit). A King of the Tochari, who flourished when the third Buddhist Synod met in Kashmir, i.e., about the middle of the last century B.C., a great patron of Buddhism, he built the finest stupas or dagobas in Northern India and Kabulistan.

(See also: Kanishka, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

KETHER

the "Crown" of the Sephir Yetzirah. Corresponds, in Buddhism, to Nirvana (see NIRVANA). It is the very first of the power chakras of the Qabalah and is the link to the "outside," the Ain, or Void, which is "Universe B."

(See also: KETHER, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Buddha: The Awakened One - The honorary title of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism who lived in the sixth century B.C. The name is also given to those who achieve true enlightenment and as a result, inner freedom.

(See also: Buddha, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Buddha:

Buddha ("awakened"): a designation of the person who has attained enlightenment (bodhi) and therefore inner freedom; honorific title of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, who lived in the sixth century B.C.E.

(See also: Buddha, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Nagarjuna (Sanskrit). An Arhat, a hermit (a native of Western India) converted to Buddhism by Kapimala and the fourteenth Patriarch, and now regarded as a Bodhisattva-Nirmanakaya. He was famous for his dialectical subtlety in metaphysical arguments; and was the first teacher of the Amitabha doctrine and a representative of the Mahayana School. Viewed as the greatest philosopher of the Buddhists, he was referred to as "one of the four suns which illumine the world". He was born 223 B.C, and going to China after his conversion converted in his turn the whole country to Buddhism.

(See also: Nagarjuna, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Seicho-No-Ie (SNI): Supradenominational truth movement founded in 1930 in Japan by Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi (b. 1893), author of The Role of Mind in Cancer (1965) and The Truth of Life, a series of twenty books. Spiritual healing is a major component of Seicho-No-Ie, which combines Christianity and Buddhism.

In a nutshell, the principle of Seicho-No-Ie healing is that illness does not exist in Reality (the true spiritual world at the core of the phenomenal world) and that it is a false appearance. Seicho-No-Ie literally means House of Growth.

(See also: Seicho-No-Ie, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Svastika (Sanskrit). In popular notions, it is the Jaina cross, or the "four-footed" cross (croix cramponnée). In Masonic teachings, "the most ancient Order of the Brotherhood of the Mystic Cross" is said to have been founded by Fohi, 1,027 B.C., and introduced into China fifty-two years later, consisting of the three degrees.

In Esoteric Philosophy, the most mystic and ancient diagram. It is "the originator of the fire by friction, and of the ‘ Forty-nine Fires’." Its symbol was stamped on Buddha’s heart, and therefore called the " Heart’s Seal". It is laid on the breasts of departed Initiates after their death ; and it is mentioned with the greatest respect in the Ramayana. Engraved on every rock, temple and prehistoric building of India, and wherever Buddhists have left their landmarks; it is also found in China, Tibet and Siam, and among the ancient Germanic nations as Thor’s Hammer. As described by Eitel in his Hand-Book of Chinese Buddhism. .

(1) it is "found among Bonpas and Buddhists";

(2) it is "one of the sixty-five figures of the Sripada" ; ( it is "the symbol of esoteric Buddhism" ;

(4) "the special mark of all deities worshipped by the Lotus School of China". Finally, and in Occultism, it is as sacred to us as the Pythagorean Tetraktys, of which it is indeed the double symbol.

(See also: Svastika, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

SANKHYA

The ancient Hindu philosophy which exerted the strongest influence on Buddhism. Created by Kapila in 600 B.C., it reveals how the Kosmos has been engaged in a dualistic war between Prakriti (physical nature, matter or reality) and Purusha ("Person," Soul of the Universe, Archetypal man, Brahma, spirit, etc.). In the end, Purusha and Prakriti must be re-united in order to set in motion the world's evolution. Essential teaching is also encountered in Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism and contemporary psychiatry. The hallmarks of Prakriti, as follows, are known as gunas and they can be related perfectly to Alchemy:

TAMAS: The mineral nature characterized by heaviness, inertia,  indifference, inactivity, and delusion. (Salt, in alchemy.)

RAJAS: The vegetal nature shown by movability. (Sulphur, in alchemy.)

SATTVAS: The animal nature as lit by balance, harmony, luminosity. The  guna of transcendence. (In alchemy: mercury.)

(See also: SANKHYA, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

His territories covered the eastern dominions of the divided Greek empire of Bactria (from the areas of the Panjshir and Kapisa) and extended to the modern Pakistani province of Punjab with diffuse tributaries to the south and east, probably as far as Mathura. His capital is supposed to have been Sagala, a very prosperous city in northern Punjab (modern Sialkot). He is one of the few Bactrian kings mentioned by Greek authors, among them Apollodorus of Artemita, quoted by Strabo, who claims that the Greeks from Bactria were even ...

See also:

Menander I, Menander I - A renowned Indo-Greek king, Menander I - Menander and Buddhism, Menander I - The Milinda Pañha, Menander I - Other Indian accounts, Menander I - Menander the Just King of the Dharma, Menander I - The question of Menander's change of title, Menander I - Menander's death, Menander I - Succession, Menander I - Legacy, Menander I - Buddhism, Menander I - Representation of the Buddha, Menander I - Geography, Menander I - Notes

Read more here: » Menander I: Encyclopedia II - Menander I - A renowned Indo-Greek king

Menander I - The Milinda Pañha. According to tradition, Menander embraced the Buddhist faith, as described in the Milinda Pañha, a classical Pali Buddhist text on the discussions between Milinda and the Buddhist sage Nāgasena. He is described as constantly accompanied by a guard of 500 Greek ("Yonaka") soldiers, and two of his counsellors are named Demetrius and Antiochus.

Menander I, Menander I - A renowned Indo-Greek king, Menander I - Menander and Buddhism, Menander I - The Milinda Pañha, Menander I - Other Indian accounts, Menander I - Menander the Just King of the Dharma, Menander I - The question of Menander's change of title, Menander I - Menander's death, Menander I - Succession, Menander I - Legacy, Menander I - Buddhism, Menander I - Representation of the Buddha, Menander I - Geography, Menander I - Notes

Read more here: » Menander I: Encyclopedia II - Menander I - Menander and Buddhism

Plutarch (Praec. reip. ger. 28, 6) reports that Menander died in camp while on campaign, thereby differing with the version of the Milindapanha. Plutarch gives Menander as an example of benevolent rule, contrasting him with disliked tyrants such as Dionysus, and goes on explaining that his subject towns disputed about the honour of his burial, ultimately sharing his ashes among them and placing them in "monuments" (possibly stupas), in a manner reminiscent of the funerals of the Buddha [11]. ...

See also:

Menander I, Menander I - A renowned Indo-Greek king, Menander I - Menander and Buddhism, Menander I - The Milinda Pañha, Menander I - Other Indian accounts, Menander I - Menander the Just King of the Dharma, Menander I - The question of Menander's change of title, Menander I - Menander's death, Menander I - Succession, Menander I - Legacy, Menander I - Buddhism, Menander I - Representation of the Buddha, Menander I - Geography, Menander I - Notes

Read more here: » Menander I: Encyclopedia II - Menander I - Menander's death

Menander I - Buddhism. Main article: Greco-Buddhism After the reign of Menander I, his son Strato I and several subsequent Indo-Greek rulers, such as Amyntas, Nicias, Peukolaos, Hermaeus, and Hippostratos, depicted themselves or their Greek deities forming with the right hand a symbolic gesture identical to the Buddhist vitarka mudra (thumb and index joined together, with other fingers extended), which in Buddhism signifies the transmission of the Buddha's teaching. At the same time, right after the ...

See also:

Menander I, Menander I - A renowned Indo-Greek king, Menander I - Menander and Buddhism, Menander I - The Milinda Pañha, Menander I - Other Indian accounts, Menander I - Menander the Just King of the Dharma, Menander I - The question of Menander's change of title, Menander I - Menander's death, Menander I - Succession, Menander I - Legacy, Menander I - Buddhism, Menander I - Representation of the Buddha, Menander I - Geography, Menander I - Notes

Read more here: » Menander I: Encyclopedia II - Menander I - Legacy