Buddhism is generally regarded as a non-theistic religion. Although it does teach the existence of “gods” (devas), these are merely heavenly beings who temporarily dwell in celestial worlds of great happiness. Such beings, however, are not eternal in that incarnational form and are subject to death and eventual rebirth into lower realms of existence. However, a distinction needs to be drawn between the seemingly non-deistic and non-theistic teachings of the Buddha in the Pāli Canon and the “agamas”, and the mystically-hued id ...

Including:

• God in Buddhism - The God Idea in Early Buddhism
• God in Buddhism - Mahayana and Tantric Mystical Doctrines
• God in Buddhism - Literature

Read more here: » God in Buddhism: Encyclopedia - God in Buddhism

See also:

God in Buddhism, God in Buddhism - The God Idea in Early Buddhism, God in Buddhism - Mahayana and Tantric Mystical Doctrines, God in Buddhism - Literature

Read more here: » God in Buddhism: Encyclopedia II - God in Buddhism - Mahayana and Tantric Mystical Doctrines

The Buddha of the Pāli suttas (scriptures) dismisses as “foolish talk”, as “ridiculous, mere words, a vain and empty thing” (Digha-Nikaya No. 13, Tevijja Sutta) the notion that Brahmins (the priestly caste), who according to the Buddha have not in fact seen Brahman face to face, can teach others how to achieve union with what they themselves have never beheld. This is not a denial of the existence of Brahman, however, but merely intended (by the Buddha) to indicate the folly of those religious teachers who ...

See also:

God in Buddhism, God in Buddhism - The God Idea in Early Buddhism, God in Buddhism - Mahayana and Tantric Mystical Doctrines, God in Buddhism - Literature

Read more here: » God in Buddhism: Encyclopedia II - God in Buddhism - The God Idea in Early Buddhism

Negative theology - also known as the Via Negativa (Latin for "Negative Way") and Apophatic theology - is a theology that attempts to describe God by negation, to speak of God only in terms of what may be said about God and to avoid what may not be said. In brief, the attempt is to gain and express knowledge of God by describing what God is not (apophasis), rather than by describing what God is. The apophatic tradition is often allied with or expressed in tandem with the approach of mysticism, which ...

Including:

• Negative theology - Apophatic description of God
• Negative theology - In the Christian tradition
• Negative theology - In the Jewish tradition
• Negative theology - In Hinduism
• Negative theology - In Buddhism
• Negative theology - In other Eastern traditions

Read more here: » Negative theology: Encyclopedia - Negative theology

In Hinduism, Indra (Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is god of weather and war, and Lord of Heaven or Swargaloka. He was also an important figure in non-Hindu traditions. Indra - Iranian Indra. Indra was known in early Indo-Iranian religion. Whether Indra is cognate with other Indo-European thunder-gods such as Thor, Tarhun and Taranis is highly speculative; it is generally considered that the Indo-European root for the name cannot be reconstructed. However, in the Vedic religion Indra has prominence over the ...

Including:

• Indra - Iranian Indra
• Indra - Indra in Hinduism
• Indra - Status and function
• Indra - Characteristics
• Indra - Relations with other gods
• Indra - Stories about Indra
• Indra - Indra in Buddhism and Jainism
• Indra - Uses outside Hinduism

Read more here: » Indra: Encyclopedia - Indra

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived in what is now Northern India and Nepal between 566 and 483 BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries following his death. It continued to spread into Central, Southeast, and East Asia over the next two millennia. With approximately 708 million followers, Buddhism is a major world religion whose adherents are called Buddhists. Buddhist denominations are historically categ ...

Including:

• Buddhism - What is a Buddha?
• Buddhism - Origins
• Buddhism - Principles of Buddhism
• Buddhism - The Four Noble Truths
• Buddhism - The Noble Eightfold Path
• Buddhism - Practices of Buddhism
• Buddhism - Refuge in The Three Jewels
• Buddhism - The Five Precepts
• Buddhism - Meditation
• Buddhism - Buddha-dhatu Buddha-Principle, Buddha-nature
• Buddhism - Other principles and practices
• Buddhism - Vegetarianism
• Buddhism - Buddhist religious philosophy and branches
• Buddhism - Buddhism after the Buddha
• Buddhism - Principal schools of Buddhist philosophy
• Buddhism - Scriptures
• Buddhism - Relations with other Eastern faiths
• Buddhism - Buddhism in the modern world
• Buddhism - Buddhism and the West
• Buddhism - Buddhism
• Buddhism - Related systems and religions
• Buddhism - References and Links
• Buddhism - References
• Buddhism - Footnotes
• Buddhism - External links

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Buddha (Sanskrit, Pali, others: literally Awakened One, from the root: √budh, "to awaken") is a title used in Buddhism for anyone who has discovered their enlightenment (bodhi), although it is commonly used to refer to Siddhartha Gautama, the historical founder of Buddhism, who was born in Lumbini--a place situated in modern Nepal. Generally, Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama—who lived in ancient India from about 623 BC to 543 BC, and attained bodhi around 588 BC—to have been ...

Including:

• Buddha - Eternal Buddha
• Buddha - Names of the Buddhas
• Buddha - Sources

Read more here: » Buddha

Buddha-nature (originally in Sanskrit, "Buddha-dhatu" - "Buddha Element", "Buddha-Principle") is a doctrine important for many schools of Mahayana Buddhism. The Buddha-nature ("Buddha-dhatu") is taught to be a truly real eternal potential or principle, present in all sentient beings, for awakening and becoming Enlightened. The Buddha-nature doctrine relates to the possession by sentient beings of the innate buddha-mind or buddha-element ("Buddha-dhatu"), which is, prior to the full attainment of buddhahood, not fully actualized, or at ...

Including:

• Buddha-nature - Development of Buddha-nature
• Buddha-nature - Buddha-nature vs. atman

Read more here: » Buddha-nature

Introduction to Buddhism.

Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life. This makes Buddhism different from many other faiths for it is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God. Buddhism doesn't fit the pattern of other faiths and needs to be seen in its own terms to be understood properly. Buddhists do not believe in a personal creator God. It does not have the concept of a Saviour, nor of Heaven and Hell in the popular sense. Buddhism doesn't demand blind faith or belief, and says that people should test its teachings against personal experience.

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Buddhist Quotes: Even the Gods

For the one who has no inner, angry thoughts,

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(See also: Buddhism Archives, Buddhist Quotes, Inspirational Quotes, Love Quotes, Friendship Quotes, Life Quotes)

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Faith (saddha/ sraddha) is an important constituent element of the teachings of the Buddha - both in the Theravada tradition as in the Mahayana. While not of the “blind” variety and on occasion linked with insight (prajna), Buddhist faith (as advocated by the Buddha of the various scriptures) nevertheless requires a degree of trusting confidence and belief primarily in the spiritual attainment and salvational knowledge of the Buddha. Faith in Buddhism centres on belief in the Buddha as a supremely Awakened being, on his unexcelled ...

Including:

• Faith in Buddhism - Faith in Early Buddhism Theravada
• Faith in Buddhism - Faith in Mahayana Buddhism
• Faith in Buddhism - Literature

Read more here: » Faith in Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Faith in Buddhism

God is the term used to denote the Supreme Being ascribed by many religions to be the creator, ruler and/or the sum total of, existence. Conceptions of God vary widely, despite the common use of the same term for them all. God - Definition. God - Concept of God. In many Western religions, God is usually said to have a specific and clearly defined relationship to, and interest in, the happenings of this world and the lives of those in it. Metaphors for God's relationship t ...

Including:

• God - Definition
• God - Concept of God
• God - Attributes of God
• God - Etymology
• God - Capitalization
• God - Names of God
• God - History of monotheism
• God - Theology
• God - Conceptions of God
• God - Abrahamic conceptions
• God - Conceptions of God in Hinduism
• God - Christian Monism
• God - The Ultimate
• God - Aristotelian definition of God
• God - Modern views
• God - Notes and references
• God - Popular Culture

Read more here: » God: Encyclopedia - God

Buddhism, a religion and philosophy from ancient India, is based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, of the Shakyas. His lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 483 BCE; it spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in the five centuries following his death. Missionaries would carry Buddhism throughout Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, as well as East Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan in the following two millenia. Buddhism is classified as an Ārya dharma ("Noble religion") and is one ...

Including:

• Buddhism - What is a Buddha?
• Buddhism - Origins
• Buddhism - Principles of Buddhism
• Buddhism - The Three Marks of Existence
• Buddhism - The Four Noble Truths
• Buddhism - The Noble Eightfold Path
• Buddhism - Practices of Buddhism
• Buddhism - Refuge in The Three Jewels
• Buddhism - The Five Precepts
• Buddhism - Meditation
• Buddhism - Buddha-dhatu Buddha-Principle Buddha-nature
• Buddhism - Other principles and practices
• Buddhism - Vegetarianism
• Buddhism - Buddhist religious philosophy and branches
• Buddhism - Buddhism after the Buddha
• Buddhism - Principal schools of Buddhist philosophy
• Buddhism - Scriptures
• Buddhism - Relations with other Eastern faiths
• Buddhism - Buddhism in the modern world
• Buddhism - Buddhism and the West
• Buddhism - Buddhism
• Buddhism - Related systems and religions
• Buddhism - References and Links
• Buddhism - References
• Buddhism - Footnotes
• Buddhism - External links

Read more here: » Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Buddhism

The usefulness of dividing philosophy into Western philosophy and other philosophies is open to challenge, not the least for speaking down to those other philosophies. To say this is not to deny that there are important traditions in philosophy that are intimately bound up with historical and geographical circumstances. The term Eastern philosophy refers very broadly to the various philosophies of Iran, India, China, and Japan. When one uses the term "philosophy" in an academic context, it typically refers to the philoso ...

Including:

• Eastern philosophy - Philosophical and religious traditions
• Eastern philosophy - Hinduism
• Eastern philosophy - Sufism & Islamic philosophy
• Eastern philosophy - Confucianism
• Eastern philosophy - Taoism
• Eastern philosophy - Legalism
• Eastern philosophy - Buddhism
• Eastern philosophy - Jainism
• Eastern philosophy - Maoism
• Eastern philosophy - Shinto
• Eastern philosophy - Arguments against the Eastern philosophy designation
• Eastern philosophy - The perception of God and the gods
• Eastern philosophy - Gods' relationship with the universe
• Eastern philosophy - The role and nature of the individual
• Eastern philosophy - Syntheses of Eastern and Western philosophy

Read more here: » Eastern philosophy: Encyclopedia - Eastern philosophy

Atman is a Sanskrit word, normally translated as 'soul' or 'self' (also ego). In Buddhism, the concept of Atman is the prime consequence of ignorance, – itself the cause of all misery - the foundation of Samsara itself. In a number of sutras of Mahayana Buddhism, as well as in certain Buddhist Tantras, however, the term "Atman" is used in a dual sense, in some instances denoting the impermanent, mundane ego (attachment to which needs to be overcome), and on other occasions explicitly referring to the ultimately real, p ...

Including:

• Atman Buddhism - The need for Buddhists to understand Atman
• Atman Buddhism - The definition of Atman in Buddhism
• Atman Buddhism - The ontological status of Atman in Buddhism
• Atman Buddhism - Atman in Nikaya
• Atman Buddhism - The abandonment of Atman in later Buddhist metaphysics
• Atman Buddhism - Positive teachings on the Atman in Mahayana Buddhism

Read more here: » Atman Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Atman Buddhism

Karma or "Karm"(Sanskrit: कर्म from the root kri, "to do", meaning deed) or Kamma (Pali: meaning action, effect, destiny) is a term in several eastern religions that comprises the entire cycle of cause and effect. Karma is a sum of all that an individual has done and is currently doing. The effects of those deeds actively create present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life. In religions that incorporate reincarnation, karma extends through one's present ...

Including:

• Karma - Karma in the Dharma-based religions
• Karma - Hinduism
• Karma - Buddhism
• Karma - Analogs of Karma - God the judge
• Karma - Western interpretation
• Karma - New Age and Theosophy
• Karma - Psychology

Read more here: » Karma: Encyclopedia - Karma

In the Indian religions Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, nirvāna (from the Sanskrit निर्वाण, Pali: Nibbāna -- Chinese: 涅槃; Pinyin: niè pán), literally "extinction" and/or "extinguishing", is the culmination of the yogi's pursuit of liberation. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, described the Dharma as "... a raft used to cross the river. Only a fool would carry the raft around after he had already reached the other shore of liberation." Hinduism and Jainism also use the word nirvana to describe the state of moksha, and it is spoken of in several Hin ...

Including:

• Nirvana - Nirvana in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra
• Nirvana - Quotations

Read more here: » Nirvana: Encyclopedia - Nirvana

The Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa ("Exposition of Non-Decrease and Non-Increase") is a Buddhist sutra belonging to the Tathagatagarbha class of sutras. It is noteworthy for its teaching (delivered, in this text, by the Buddha to Sariputra) that Nirvana is not cessation of being or utter vacuity, but is the realm of the Tathagatagarbha, the unfabricated, utterly pure and everlasting essence of all creatures and beings. The Buddha links the Tathagatagarbha to the spotless immaculacy of the "Dharmakaya" (ultimate true nature of the Buddha) ...

Read more here: » Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa: Encyclopedia - Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa

Buddha-nature (originally in Sanskrit, "Buddha-dhatu" - "Buddha Element", "Buddha-Principle") is a doctrine important for many schools of Mahayana Buddhism. The Buddha-nature ("Buddha-dhatu") is taught to be a truly real eternal potential or principle, present in all sentient beings, for awakening and becoming Enlightened. The Buddha-nature doctrine relates to the possession by sentient beings of the innate buddha-mind or buddha-element ("Buddha-dhatu"), which is, prior to the full attainment of buddhahood, not fully actualized, or at ...

Including:

• Buddha-nature - Development of Buddha-nature
• Buddha-nature - Buddha-nature vs. atman

Read more here: » Buddha-nature: Encyclopedia - Buddha-nature

Buddha (Sanskrit, Pali, others: literally Awakened One, from the root: √budh, "to awaken") is a title used in Buddhism for anyone who has discovered their enlightenment (bodhi), although it is commonly used to refer to Siddhartha Gautama, the historical founder of Buddhism. Generally, Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama—who lived from about 623 BC to 543 BC, and attained bodhi around 588 BC—to have been the first or the last Buddha. From the standpoint of classical Buddhist doct ...

Including:

• Buddha - Eternal Buddha
• Buddha - 32 Marks of the Buddha
• Buddha - Names of the Buddhas
• Buddha - Sources

Read more here: » Buddha: Encyclopedia - Buddha