Greater Vehicle Buddhism

Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Punya

In the Hindu theory of Karma, Punya is merit that accumulates as a result of good deeds, acts or thoughts and that carries over to later in life or to a person's next birth. Punya is an important element of the Mahayana ("Greater Vehicle") branch of Buddhism, but not as much of the earlier Hinayana ("Lesser Vehicle") branch. Other related archivesBuddhism, Hinayana, Hindu, Karma, Mahayana

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Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Pagan Paganism Dictionary II on Mahayana, Greater Vehicle Buddhism

Mahayana, Greater Vehicle Buddhism

A later, “heterodox” version of Buddhism which incorporates many Paleopagan deities from throughout Asia as Buddhas or Saints.

Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Zen and Buddhism Dictionary on Mahayana

Mahayana: The Greater Raft/Vehicle. One of the four main branches of Buddhism, emphasizing salvation for the regular people. The Mahayana school uses the vernacular language to convey its teachings. It was founded some time after Asoka, from his example of spreading Buddhism. It is practiced in China and Japan.

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

Greater Vehicle Buddhism: : Vajrayana

Also known as Tantric Buddhism, Mantrayana, Tantrayana, Esoteric Buddhism, Diamond Vehicle or True Words Sect. (Secret) Mantra vehicle is the name most commonly used in Tibetan scriptures. Vajrayāna Buddhism is often viewed as the third major 'vehicle' (Yana) of Buddhism, alongside the Hinayana and Mahayana. The Vajrayana is an extension of Mahayana Buddhism consisting not of philosophical differences, but rather the adoption of ad ...

Including:

Vajrayana - Advantages of Vajrayana

Vajrayana - Esoteric Transmission Initiation

Vajrayana - Relationship with Mahayana
Vajrayana - History of Vajrayana

Vajrayana - India
Vajrayana - China
Vajrayana - Tibet and other Himalayan kingdoms
Vajrayana - Japan
Vajrayana - Indonesia and Malaysia
Vajrayana - Mongolia

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

Including:

Buddhist texts - Canonical texts
Buddhist texts - Non-canonical texts
Buddhist texts - Texts of the Nikaya Schools

Buddhist texts - Sutta
Buddhist texts - Abhidharma
Buddhist texts - Non-canonical texts

Buddhist texts - Mahayana texts

Buddhist texts - Perfection of Wisdom Texts
Buddhist texts - Saddharma-pundarika
Buddhist texts - Pure Land Sutras
Buddhist texts - The Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra
Buddhist texts - Samadhi Sutras
Buddhist texts - Confession Sutras
Buddhist texts - The Avatamsaka Sutra
Buddhist texts - Third Turning Sutras
Buddhist texts - Tathagatagarbha class sutras
Buddhist texts - Collected Sutras
Buddhist texts - Transmigration Sutras
Buddhist texts - Discipline Sutras
Buddhist texts - Sutras Devoted to Individual Figures
Buddhist texts - Proto-Mahayana Sutras
Buddhist texts - Non-canonical texts
Buddhist texts - References

Buddhist texts - Vajrayana Texts

Buddhist texts - Buddhist tantras
Buddhist texts - Other products of the Vajrayana literature

Including:

Vajrayana - Distinguishing features of Vajrayana

Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Bön

Bön has typically been described as the shamanistic religion in Tibet before the arrival of Buddhism in the 7th century. With the recent exile of many Bönpo lamas to India, however, a more complex description of Bön is emerging and is now being considered by Western scholars. Bön - Historical phases of Bön. According to the Bönpo themselves, the Bön religion has actually gone through three distinct phases: Animistic Bön, Yungdrung or Eternal Bön, and New Bön.

Including:

Bön - Historical phases of Bön

Bön - Bön spiritual practices

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Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Buddhism

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 - Practices of Buddhism

Buddhism - Principal schools of Buddhist philosophy

Buddhism - References and Links

Read more here: » Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Buddhism

Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Theravada

Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. These developed in India during the century subsequent to the death of the Buddha. The name of the school means "Teachings of the Elders" which implies that this was the most conservative school of Buddhism, a school that has attempted to conserve the original teachings of the Buddha. Adherents trace their lineage back to the Sthaviras (Pali: Theras; "Elders") of the First Buddhist Council when 500 arahants, including Mahakasyapa chose a position of orthodoxy to keep all the ...

Including:

Theravada - Festivals and customs

Theravada - Criticisms

Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Buddhist texts

There are a great variety of Buddhist texts. Buddhists place varying value on them: attitudes range from worship of the text itself, to dismissal of some texts as falsification of the ineffable truth. They therefore cannot be called "scripture" in the sense of other religions. The texts can be categorized in a number of ways, but the most fundamental division is that between canonical and non-canonical texts. The former, also called the Sutras (Sanskrit) or Suttas (Pali), are held to be, literally or metaphoricall ...

Including:

Buddhist texts - Mahayana texts

Buddhist texts - Vajrayana Texts

Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Ajanta

Ajanta takes the name after the village Ajinţhā in Aurangabad district in the state of Maharashtra (N. lat. 20 deg. 32' by E. long. 75 deg. 48'). It is celebrated for its cave art and architecture. As of 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been an UNESCO World Heritage Site specifically nominated for the international World heritage program. Ajanta - Introduction. The caves are in a wooded and rugged horseshoe-shaped ravine about 3 1/2 m. from the village of Ajinthā. It is situated in the Aurangābād district o ...

Including:

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Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Mantra

A mantra is a religious syllable or poem, typically from the Sanskrit language. Their use varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra. They are primarily used as spiritual conduits, words and vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee. Other purposes have included religious ceremonies to accumulate wealth, avoid danger, or eliminate enemies. Mantras originated in India with Vedic Hinduism and were later adopted by Buddhists and Jains, now popular in various modern forms of spiritual practice which are loosely b ...

Including:

Mantra - Remarks

Mantra - Mantra in Buddhism

Mantra - Mantra in Shingon Buddhism

Mantra - Mantra in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism

Mantra - Mantra in other traditions or contexts

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Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Zen

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 - Zen in Films

Zen - American Zen

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Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Altruism

Altruism is either a practice or habit (in the view of many, a virtue) as well as an ethical doctrine. In Buddhism it is also seen as a fundamental property of human nature. Altruism can refer to: being helpful to other people with little or no interest in being rewarded for one's efforts (the colloquial definition). This is distinct from merely helping others. actions that benefit others with a net detrimental or neutral effect on the actor, regardless of the actor's own psychology, moti ...

Including:

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Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Alcoholic beverage

Alcoholic beverages are drinks containing ethanol. Alcoholic beverages have been widely consumed since prehistoric times by people around the world, seeing use as a component of the standard diet, for hygienic or medical reasons, for their relaxant and euphoric effects, for recreational purposes, for artistic inspiration, as aphrodisiacs, and for other reasons. Some have been invested with symbolic or religious significance suggesting the mystical use of alcohol, e.g., by Greco-Roman religion in the ecstatic rituals of Dionysus (also called Bacchus), god of drink and revelry ...

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Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Indonesian language

Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a standardized dialect of the Malay language that was officially defined with the declaration of Indonesian independence in 1945, and the two languages remain quite similar. The language is spoken fluently as a second language by most Indonesians, who use a regional language (examples are Minangkabau and Javanese) at home and in their local community. Most formal education, as well as nearly all ...

Including:

Greater Vehicle Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Auckland

Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. It is a conurbation, made up of the cities of Auckland, Waitakere, Manukau and North Shore. In Māori it bears the name Tāmaki Makau Rau or Ākarana. Auckland lies between the Hauraki Gulf of the Pacific Ocean to the east, the low Hunua Ranges to the south-east, Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus ...