The term "nondual" is a literal translation of the Sanskrit term advaita. In the context of postmodern feminism and Tibetan Buddhism, Anne Carolyn Klein (1995, p.151), defines "dualism" as "an opposition that presumes a differance or tension that goes beyond taking account of qualities unique to logically related categories, for example, subject and object, sacred and profane, or enlightened or unenlightened." She defines cognitive, ontological, and evolutionary nondualism. Simultaneous perception of self and other or joining o ...

See also:

Nondualism, Nondualism - Terminology, Nondualism - Nondual realization, Nondualism - Nondual religious and spiritual traditions, Nondualism - Zen, Nondualism - Buddhism, Nondualism - Dzogchen, Nondualism - Advaita, Nondualism - Taoism, Nondualism - Sufism, Nondualism - Individuals subscribing to a non-dual view of reality, Nondualism - Ancient Western philosophers, Nondualism - Medieval Western philosphers, Nondualism - Modern Western philosophers, Nondualism - Asian philosophers and spiritual leaders, Nondualism - Authors, Nondualism - Musicians, Nondualism - Source

Read more here: » Nondualism: Encyclopedia II - Nondualism - Terminology

Enlightenment: A state in which one is aware of one's true nature. This is not necessarily a state of complete awareness, which would be nirvana.

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

Awakening vs. Enlightenment

A clear distinction should be made between awakening to the Way (Great Awakening) and attaining the Way (attaining Enlightenment). (Note: There are many degrees of Awakening and Enlightenment. Attaining the Enlightenment of the Arhats, Pratyeka Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, etc. is different from attaining Supreme Enlightenment, i.e., Buddhahood.)

To experience a Great Awakening is to achieve (through Zen meditation, Buddha Recitation, etc.) a complete and deep realization of what it means to be a Buddha and how to reach Buddhahood.

It is to see one's Nature, comprehend the True Nature of things, the Truth. However, only after becoming a Buddha can one be said to have truly attained Supreme Enlightenment (attained the Way).

A metaphor appearing in the sutras is that of a glass of water containing sediments. As long as the glass is undisturbed, the sediments remain at the bottom and the water is clear. However, as soon as the glass is shaken, the water becomes turbid. Likewise, when a practitioner experiences a Great Awakening (awakens to the Way), his afflictions (greed, anger and delusion) are temporarily suppressed but not yet eliminated.

To achieve Supreme Enlightenment (i.e., to be rid of all afflictions, to discard all sediments) is the ultimate goal. Only then can he completely trust his mind and actions. Before then, he should adhere to the precepts, keep a close watch on his mind and thoughts, like a cat stalking a mouse, ready to pounce on evil thoughts as soon as they arise.

To do otherwise is to court certain failure, as stories upon stories of errant monks, roshis and gurus demonstrate.

 (See also: Awakening vs. Enlightenment, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Zen is the Japanese name of a well known branch of Mahāyāna Buddhist schools, practiced originally in India as Dhyan (ध्यान), which then came to be known in China as Ch'an (禪), and subsequently in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Zen emphasizes the role of sitting meditation (zazen) in pursuing enlightenment. Though considered simply a practice by most of its practitioners, Zen is also considered a religion or a philosophy by some. It has also been describe ...

Including:

• Zen - Spread of Zen
• Zen - Zen in Japan
• Zen - Zen and Buddhism
• Zen - Zen teachings and practices
• Zen - Zazen
• Zen - The teacher
• Zen - Koan practice
• Zen - Radical teachings
• Zen - Zen and Western culture
• Zen - Zen in Films
• Zen - American Zen

Read more here: » Zen: Encyclopedia - Zen

Kenshō (見性), literally "seeing the nature", is an experience described in the context of Zen Buddhism. The term is often used to denote an initial awakening experience, seeing one's True-Nature or Buddha-Nature, that can be enlarged and clarified through further practice in daily life. Kensho - The Kensho experience. In Kensho, one experiences the illusionary nature of the separate self ("I"). Because of the nature of the mind, any perception seems to involve a perceived object, the process of ...

Including:

• Kensho - The Kensho experience
• Kensho - Seeking kensho

Read more here: » Kensho: Encyclopedia - Kensho

Enlightenment is a fundamental concept in religion and spirituality which essentially means being illuminated by acquiring new wisdom or understanding. While "enlightenment" typically refers to the generally Eastern religious concept —ie. the Buddhist Bodhi, the Zen Satori, and the Hindu moksha, —Western religious traditions (ie. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) also hold a similar concept of divine illumination. Enlightenment concept - Definition. The Western intelle ...

Including:

• Enlightenment concept - Definition
• Enlightenment concept - Seeking enlightenment
• Enlightenment concept - Kant's definition of enlightenment
• Enlightenment concept - Adorno's and Horkheimer's definition of enlightenment
• Enlightenment concept - Enlightenment in Western civilization
• Enlightenment concept - The Age of Enlightenment
• Enlightenment concept - People who have been said to be enlightened

Read more here: » Enlightenment concept: Encyclopedia - Enlightenment concept

Buddhist music is music created for or inspired by Buddhism and part of Buddhist art. Buddhist music - Honkyoku. Honkyoku are the pieces of shakuhachi or hocchiku music played by wandering Japanese Zen monks called komuso. Komuso played honkyoku for enlightenment and alms as early as the 13th century. In the 18th century, a komuso named Kinko Kurosawa of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism was commissioned to travel throughout Japan and collect these musical pieces. The results of several years of travel a ...

Including:

• Buddhist music - Honkyoku
• Buddhist music - Buddhist chant
• Buddhist music - Shomyo
• Buddhist music - Buddhist music in the US
• Buddhist music - Source

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The Buddhata is the fundamental nature of all reality, an eternal essence that all beings possess, and in virtue of which they can all become buddhas. The Buddhata is an intrinsic 'Buddhahood' common to all life, and it is this that allows people to reach enlightenment. This teaching is most common in the Zen and Mahayanan denominations, and notably not endorsed by such denominations as the Theravadan denomination. Other related archivesMahayanan, Theravadan, Zen, buddhas

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Satori (悟 Japanese satori; Chinese: wù - from the verb, Satoru) is a Zen Buddhist term for enlightenment. The word literally means "to understand". It is sometimes loosely used interchangeably with Kensho, but Kensho refers to the first perception of the Buddha-Nature or True-Nature, sometimes referred to as " awakening". Kensho is not a permanant state of enlightenment, but rather a clear glimpse of the true nature of creation. Satori on the other ha ...

Including:

• Satori - External link

Read more here: » Satori: Encyclopedia - Satori

A koan (pronounced /ko.an/) is a story, dialog, question, or statement in the history and lore of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, yet that may be accessible to Intuition. Koans are often used by Zen practitioners as objects of meditation to induce an experience of enlightenment or realization, and by Zen teachers as testing questions when a student wishes to ...

Including:

• Koan - Examples
• Koan - Roles of the koan in Zen practice
• Koan - Etymology and the evolving meaning of koan
• Koan - The role of koans in the Soto Rinzai and other sects
• Koan - Interpretation of koans
• Koan - The sound of one hand
• Koan - The Gateless Gate
• Koan - Other traditional koans
• Koan - Contemporary koans

Read more here: » Koan: Encyclopedia - Koan

Mahāyāna (literally "great vehicle"; from the Indian language of Sanskrit. Chinese: 大乘, Dàshèng; Japanese: 大乗, Daijō; Vietnamese: Đại Thừa; Korean:대승, Dae-seung) is one of the major branches of Buddhism. (See Yana for the classification of Buddhism into vehicles, and Schools of Buddhism for further information.) Mahayana originated in the Indian subcontinent, and some of the areas in which it is practiced today are India, China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. From Mahayana d ...

Including:

• Mahayana - Doctrine
• Mahayana - Universalism
• Mahayana - Enlightened wisdom
• Mahayana - Compassion
• Mahayana - Salvation
• Mahayana - Headline text
• Mahayana - Origins
• Mahayana - Epigraphical evidence
• Mahayana - Scriptures
• Mahayana - The 4th Buddhist Council
• Mahayana - Expansion 1st c.CE–10th c.CE
• Mahayana - Bibliography
• Mahayana - Older works

Read more here: » Mahayana: Encyclopedia - Mahayana

Buddhist music is music created for or inspired by Buddhism and part of Buddhist art. Buddhist music - Honkyoku. Honkyoku are the pieces of shakuhachi or hocchiku music played by wandering Japanese Zen monks called komuso. Komuso played honkyoku for enlightenment and alms as early as the 13th century. In the 18th century, a komuso named Kinko Kurosawa of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism was commissioned to travel throughout Japan and collect these musical pieces. The results of several years of travel a ...

Including:

• Buddhist music - Honkyoku
• Buddhist music - Buddhist chant
• Buddhist music - Shomyo
• Buddhist music - Buddhist music in the US
• Buddhist music - Source

Read more here: » Buddhist music: Encyclopedia - Buddhist music

Huineng (慧能, 638 - 713) was a Chinese Chan (Chinese Zen) monastic who is one of the most important figures in the entire tradition. Huineng is the Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Chan Buddhism. In Japanese he is known as Daikan Enō. He is said to have advocated an immediate and direct approach to Buddhist practice and enlightenment, and in this regard, is considered the founder of the "Sudden Enlightenment" (頓教) Southern Chan school of Buddhism. While these are the legendary accounts handed down by the traditi ...

Including:

• Huineng - Biography
• Huineng - Becoming the Sixth Patriarch

Read more here: » Huineng: Encyclopedia - Huineng

Nondualism is the belief that dualism or dichotomy are illusory phenomenae. Examples of dualisms include self/other, mind/body, male/female, good/evil, active/passive, and many others. A nondual philosophical or religious perspective or theory maintains that there is no fundamental distinction between mind and matter, or that the entire phenomenological world is an illusion (with the reality being described variously as ...

Including:

• Nondualism - Terminology
• Nondualism - Nondualistic world views
• Nondualism - Nondual religious and spiritual traditions
• Nondualism - Zen
• Nondualism - Buddhism
• Nondualism - Dzogchen
• Nondualism - Advaita
• Nondualism - Taoism
• Nondualism - Individuals subscribing to a non-dual view of reality
• Nondualism - Ancient Western philosophers
• Nondualism - Medieval Western philosphers
• Nondualism - Modern Western philosophers
• Nondualism - Asian philosophers and spiritual leaders
• Nondualism - Authors
• Nondualism - Musicians
• Nondualism - Source

Read more here: » Nondualism: Encyclopedia - Nondualism

The Church of Life seeks to promote and nurture life, sentience, and understanding. It is an umbrella organisation for a variety of individual sects. This non-religious alternative is for those who have transcended the tenets of organised religion and faith-based teaching. The church was founded to represent the needs of post-Enlightenment man in a world still dominated by religious institution. The Church does not make demands of its adherents, rather it provides a communit ...

Including:

• Church of Life - Virtuous Sects
• Church of Life - The Not Zen Sect

Read more here: » Church of Life: Encyclopedia - Church of Life

The Rinzai school (臨済宗; Japanese: Rinzai-shū, Chinese: Linji-zong) is one of the two major Japanese Zen sects (the other major one being Sōtō). The Rinzai school is known for its emphasis on sudden enlightenment and the use of methods such as the koan to achieve this end. Rinzai is the Japanese branch of the Chinese Linji school, which was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Linji Yixuan. It was brought to Japan by Myōan Eisai in 1191. Rinzai school - Characteristics. Unlike th ...

Including:

• Rinzai school - Characteristics
• Rinzai school - Martial arts
• Rinzai school - Koan
• Rinzai school - Tea ceremony
• Rinzai school - Later developments

Read more here: » Rinzai school: Encyclopedia - Rinzai school

Working towards this realisation is usually a lengthy process of meditation and introspection under guidance of a Zen or other Buddhist teacher, usually in intensive sesshin retreats. Koans are often used (particularly in the Rinzai tradition). Kensho may also be spontaneous, upon hearing or reading some significant phrase, or as result of a profound dream. One method is known as: 'Who am I', since it is this question that guides the enquiry into one's true nature. The realization that there is no 'I' that is doing the thinking, but rather that the thinking process brings forth the illusion o ...

See also:

Kensho, Kensho - The Kensho experience, Kensho - Seeking kensho

Read more here: » Kensho: Encyclopedia II - Kensho - Seeking kensho

A sect in the Church of Life. Adherents typically practice zazen and explore koan, although they are not zen buddhists as they do not derive their lineage from one of the recognised zen masters. This sect is for those who have reached some level of enlightenment and are masters of their own spiritual progress. An example of Not Zen haiku. A golden leaf falls, A tear streaks down from my ey ...

See also:

Church of Life, Church of Life - Virtuous Sects, Church of Life - The Not Zen Sect

Read more here: » Church of Life: Encyclopedia II - Church of Life - The Not Zen Sect

The story is about a constantly horny scholar (played by Lawrence Ng) who dared to challenge the moral teachings of the Sack Monk. The monk had tried to lecture the scholar that spiritual enlightenment transcended the passions of the flesh but the scholar, who enjoys women, naturally doesn't agree. However, the most powerful man in the town marries his daughter, played by Amy Yip, to the Scholar. The daughter is a ...

See also:

Sex and Zen, Sex and Zen - Plot, Sex and Zen - Sequels, Sex and Zen - Cast

Read more here: » Sex and Zen: Encyclopedia II - Sex and Zen - Plot

In modern-Western manifestations of the Zen Buddhist tradition, it is considered insufficient simply to understand Buddha-nature intellectually. Rather it must be experienced and felt directly, in one's entire mind and body together. Enlightenment in a certain sense consists of a direct experience of one's authentic identity, which is traditionally described as śūnyata (emptiness), the ultimate reality of Buddha-nature. The Zen tradition often uses parables to try to explain the Buddha-nature: according to one story, a monk once app ...

See also:

Tathagatagarbha doctrine, Tathagatagarbha doctrine - Tathagatagarbha in Zen, Tathagatagarbha doctrine - Buddha-bots, Tathagatagarbha doctrine - Texts

Read more here: » Tathagatagarbha doctrine: Encyclopedia II - Tathagatagarbha doctrine - Tathagatagarbha in Zen