Category: Buddhism

Ascetic redirects here. You might also be looking for acetic acid. Asceticism denotes a life which is characterized by refraining from worldly pleasures (austerity). Those who practice ascetic lifestyles often perceive their practices as virtuous and pursue them to achieve greater spirituality. Many ascetics believe the action of purifying the body helps to purify the soul, and thus obtain a...

Asanga (also called Aryasanga), born around 300 C.E., was a great exponent of the Yogacara. Born in Gandhara in north India as a Brahmin’s son, he was perhaps originally a member of the Mahīśāsaka or the Mūlasarvāstivāda school but later converted to Mahāyāna; after many years of intense meditation, during which time some traditions say that he often visited Tushita...

In Buddhism, the arūpajhānas are four successive levels of meditation on non-material objects. These levels are higher than the rūpajhānas, and harder to attain. While rupajhanas differ considering their characteristics, arupajhanas differ as their object is determined by the level of the jhana. 4 levels fifth jhāna: infinite space, sixth jhāna: infinite consciousness, seventh jhāna: infinite nothingness, eighth jhāna: neither...

For the arhat fruit, see Siraitia grosvenorii. An arhat (Sanskrit, also arahat or arahant (Pali); Chinese: 阿羅漢, āluóhàn, luóhàn, lohan; Tibetan: dgra-bcom-pa; Jp. arakan; Hindi Arihant अरिहन्त ) is a highly realized Buddhist or Jain ascetic, one who has completely destroyed greed, hatred and delusion. The word comes from Sanskrit arhati, Pali arahati, “he/she is worthy”, but there is also...

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...

Antai-ji (安泰寺) is a Buddhist temple belonging to the Soto Zen school. It was founded in 1923 by Oka Sotan as a monastery for scholars to study the Shobogenzo. At that time it was located in northern Kyoto, and many leading scholars studied there. During the second worldwar though, Antaiji was vacated until in 1949 Sawaki Kodo (1880-1965) and Uchiyama...

Impermanence (Sanskrit: anitya; Pali anicca; Tibetan: mi rtag pa; Chinese: 無常, wúcháng; Japanese: mujō) is one of the essential doctrines or the three marks of Buddhism. According to it, everything is constantly in flux. This changing flux excludes nothing–even planets, stars and gods. This is embodied in human life in the aging process and the cycle of birth and rebirth...

The Anguttara Nikaya (“Gradual Collection”) is the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the “three baskets” that compose the Pali Tipitaka. This nikaya consists of several thousand discourses by the Buddha and his chief disciples arranged in eleven nipatas, or books, according to the number of Dhamma items referenced in them....

Anapana Sati, meaning mindfulness of breathing (“sati” means mindfulness, “ānāpāna” refers to breathing) is a basic form of meditation taught by the Buddha. According to the Buddha’s teaching in the anapanasati Sutra, practicing mindfulness of breathing meditation as a part of the Noble Eightfold Path leads to the removal of all defilements (kleśas) and finally the attainment of Nibbana. Buddha‘s...

Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maitreya (August 24,1896-July 18,1998), a Sri Lankan scholar-monk, was one of the great personalities of Theravada Buddhism in the twentieth century. He was believed to have achieved through his meditations the highest level of spiritual development within the Sri Lankan sangha (Buddhist monastic order). However, he lived a modest life in a secluded monastery, and so is...

Note: the word Ananda means bliss in Sanskrit language and is quite often part of a Hindu monastic name. Ananda (Ch:阿難) was one of many principal disciples of the Buddha, a devout attendant and was renowned as the Guardian of the Dharma. Ananda was the first cousin of the Buddha, and was devotedly attached to him. Once he entered the...

Anagarika Dharmapala (1864 – 1933) was born David Hewavitarne in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was then a British colony known as Ceylon, so Hewavitarne’s state education was a Christian one: he attended Christian College, Kotte and the Colombo Academy. But the historical tide in Ceylon was beginning to turn in Buddhism’s favour. In 1875 in New York, Madame Blavatsky...

In Buddhist context, an anagarika is a white-robed student in the Theravada tradition who, for a few months, awaits being considered for Samaneras ordination. The student’s time is generally spent helping others with tasks, while adapting to their new life. An anagarika can choose to leave the monastery at any time, without shame. Etymology: Pāli: anāgarika

The Buddhist term Anātman (Sanskrit) or Anatta (Pali) is an adjective that specifies the absence of a supposedly permanent and unchanging self or soul in any one of the psycho-physical (namo-rupa) constituents of empirical existence; eg. “none of these khandhas are my Soul, are anatta (non-Self)”. What is normally thought of as the “Self” is in fact an agglomeration of...