Category: Buddhism

Yogācāra (Sanskrit: “yoga practice”), also spelled yogāchāra, is an influential school of philosophy and psychology that developed in Indian Mahayana Buddhism starting sometime in the fourth to fifth centuries C.E., also commonly known as Consciousness-only (Sanskrit: Cittamātra). Sometimes referred to as the Knowledge Way or Vijnanavada, Yogācāra has also been called Subjective Realism, acknowledging that individual factors including karma contribute...

Yoga is a family of ancient spiritual practices that originated in India, where it remains a vibrant living tradition and is seen as a means to enlightenment. Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Raja Yoga are considered the four main yogas, but there are many other types. In other parts of the world where yoga is popular, notably the...

Yinyuan Longqi (Chinese 隱元隆琦; pinyin yin yuan long qi; Japanese Ingen Ryuki) (Fuqing, Fujian, 1592 – Uji, 1673) was a Chinese Linji Chan Buddhist monk, poet, and calligrapher. Ingen’s father disappeared when he was five. At age 20, while searching for him, Ingen arrived at Mount Putuo off Zhejiang province, where he served tea to monks. At 28, after the...

Venerable Master Yin Shun (印順導師, Yin Shun Dao Shi) (March 12th, 1906–June 4, 2005) was an important figure in modern Mahayana Buddhism. Known as a contemporary master, he was notably known as the mentor of Venerable Master Cheng Yen, the founder of Tzu-Chi Buddhist Foundation, a charity association that has gained a worldwide presence. Master Yin Shun also helped bring...

In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Yidam (Tibetan) or Ishtadevata (Sanskrit) is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as meditational deity. A Yidam is an enlightened being with whom one identifies during meditation: one perceives his or her own Buddha nature through such identification....

Nianfo (念佛. Chinese pinyin nian fo; Japanese: 念仏 nembutsu; Korean: yeombul; Vietnamese: niệm Phật), literally “mindfulness of the Buddha“, is a term commonly seen in the Pure Land school of Mahayāna Buddhism. In the Pure Land tradition, mindfully chanting of the name of Amitabha Buddha allows one to obtain rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land of the West.

Yang Xuanzhi (Chinese:楊衒之) was a Chinese writer and translator of Mahayana Buddhist texts into the Chinese language, during the 6th century, under the Northern Wei Dynasty. He wrote “Stories About Buddhist Temples in Luoyang” (Chinese: 洛陽伽藍記; pinyin: Luòyáng Qiélánjì) in 547. Yang Xuanzhi relates the first introduction of Buddhism to China around 70 CE: “The establishment of the Baima Temple...

Yana is a Sanskrit word with a range of meanings including nouns such as vehicle, journey, and path; and verbs such as going, moving, riding, and marching. In the Indian religions Buddhism and Hinduism, both yana and marga (road or path) express the metaphor of spiritual practice as a path or journey. Ancient texts in both religions discuss doctrines and...

Yakushi-ji (薬師寺) is an ancient Buddhist temple of the Hosso sect in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The main image is of Yakushi Nyorai, the Healing Buddha. Founded in 680 A.D. in Kashihara, Yakushiji was moved to its present location when the capital moved to Nara in 710. Yakushiji is one of the places in Nara that UNESCO...

Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘; Hanyu Pinyin: xuán zàng; Wade-Giles: Hsüan-tsang; Cantonese IPA: jyn4dzɔŋ1; Cantonese Jyutping:jyun4zong1) (602-644/664) was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk. Xuanzang was born near Luoyang, Henan in 602 as Chen Yi (陳褘 Ch’en I, yi1). He came from a scholarly family, and had three elder brothers. (Other texts had it that he had two elder brothers and an elder...

The World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) is arguably the largest and most influential international Buddhist organization. It was founded in 1950 in Colombo, Sri Lanka by representatives from 27 nations. Although Theravada Buddhists are most influential in the organization, (its headquarters are in Thailand and all of its presidents have been from Sri Lanka or southeast Asia), members of all...

Woncheuk (613-696) was a Korean Buddhist monk, also known as Ximing fashi (西明法師) after the name of the temple where he did his most important work. Originally from Korea, he lived at Ximing Temple and studied at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty with the great translator and exponent of Yogacara, Xuanzang. Under Xuanzang’s influence, he specialized in the study...

Won Buddhism, often written Wonbuddhism, is a modern religious movement based in South Korea. The Korean word, based on a Chinese character, Won means circular. History Founded in 1924 by the venerable So Tae San, Won Buddhism combines aspects of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, Zen Buddhism and Christianity. Beliefs and Rituals Combining Zen, Seon, Chan Buddhist teachings with some Christian influence,...

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Womb Realm (Skt. garbhakosa-dhatu, Jp. 胎蔵界 taizōkai) is the metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Wisdom Kings. The Womb Realm is based on the Mahavairocana Sutra. The Womb Realm is a very popular subject for mandalas, and along with the Diamond Realm (vajradhatu) Mandala forms the Mandala of the Two Realms.