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A NEW FRAGMENT OF AN UNKNOWN COMMENTARY TO THE YUANJUE JING

Author(s): Zhang Tieshan,Peter Zieme / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2012

The fragment we are publishing here is preserved in the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage (the former China Institute of Cultural Relics). It is the 53rd leaf of an Uigur manuscript that contains the beginning of an unknown commentary to the Yuanjue jing. Other leaves of the same manuscript of the Hedin Collection in Stockholm were studied by K. Kudara in 1992.

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AYAGRĪVAVIDYĀ: SPELL TO THE HORSE-NECKED ONE

Author(s): Beáta Kakas / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2011

The Hayagrīvavidyā included in a Gilgit manuscript belongs to the earliest works invoking the god Hayagrīva. It is a spell which could be applied to achieve several aims. The god destroys the enemies, rescues from danger, his mantra protects against all sorts of evil, demons and black magic. His mare-face is believed to counteract the effects of enemy mantras.

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BHAGAVADGITA

Author(s): / Language(s): Romany / Publication Year: 2009

Translation to Romany language of the ancient Indian epic "Bhagavad Gita". / "We translated the ancient Indian epic Bhagavadgita for the first time in the world in the Roma language some ten years ago. The first variant of the text was published in the Andral magazine Nos 10, 19-20, 21, 22-23, 24, 25-26, 27-28 and 29-30 from 2000 till 2003. A decade after the first translation came to light, the translation comes out in a separate revised version. Many times I have pointed out that for me the Andral translations are no more than preliminary attempts; it was far more important for us to participate in a ‘game’ aiming at a goal that was next to impossible in the past and dare tackle the linguistic problems that occurred. The different texts are merely challenges for different solutions. No venture, no win." / "U puranuindueku eposi “Bhagavadgita” irizyam rromani chshibati agu drom desh bresh anglal. Agu variantus hramusaribnasti mukyam andu zhuralusti “Andral” andw ila 10, 19-20, 21, 22-23, 24, 25-26, 27-28 ti 29-30 mashkaral 2000 ti 2003 breshwndi. Desh bresha palal kanatu mukyam u agu kotor, u sastu irizipi akana inkila korrkorimnangu pandakerdu ti lachshwskerdu inkalzipnasti. Aver drom da vakerimas, ta Andraliskw irizipya mangi sini butserni, amingi astsyal mangseyla pis u “khelwybi” ti ovil bizaprimi buti manushwndar, ti shiyzis ti kerws chshipas, kontu her manush anglisarni vakwtsindar phennasli, ta si … bishiyzimnu, hwzlws ti astarws tut ti alakhis u tertipya sar ti irizis u tekstuya, sar ti irizis u inkistu angla tw ekhindi swy nanwy chshibakw problemuya. U ekha-avera hramusaribya sade mangina ti benin andw tuti u indriya ti rodis ekha-avera tertipya ti kerws butsi twrri en lachshws. Bi ti kerws kiya butsi, si nanwyshiyzimis ti alakhis sotu ti ovil."

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Bhāviveka vs. Candrānanda

Author(s): He HuanHuan / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2017

This essay offers an analysis of “the two-finger” illustration which Bhāviveka discusses in the Vaiśeṣikatattvaviniścaya chapter of the Tarkajvālā, the auto-commentary on his Madhyamakahṛdaya[ kārikā], wherein he introduces and criticises the theories of the Vaiśeṣika school. Going through the early Vaiśeṣika literature, I have noticed that these two-finger (dvyaṅgula, two fingers in a unit form, or finger-pair) illustrations only occur in Candrānanda’s Vṛtti, and in a very clear and straightforward manner. As I will point out, it is a mystery and indeed somewhat perplexing that the references to this illustration in the Tarkajvālā are not at all immediately intelligible. This circumstance will be addressed in this essay, where also an interpretation and a solution will be offered. In addition, the relative chronology of Bhāviveka and Candrānanda as well as their contemporaries in around 6th-century India will also be discussed.

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Buddhism: between philosophy and religion

Author(s): Krzysztof Jakubczak / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2017

The question of the character of Buddhism — whether it belongs to the re alms of philosophy or religion — emerged in the early stages of Buddhist studies and is still valid to this day. It is often emphasised that the answer to this question depends on the definitions of the underlying key terms. Thus, some assert that Buddhism is a religion, some — a philosophy. Another opinion is that these terms are connected by a conjunction, rather than alternative denial, and therefore both can be applied to the description of Buddhism as they encompass its varied aspects. On a social and cultural level, Buddhism possesses all the characteristics of a religion, and on an individual level it comes across as a practical philosophy of life which belongs to the same philosophical model as ancient Stoicism, Epicureanism, or Neoplatonism.

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Buddhist philosophy for the treatment of problem gambling

Author(s): Edo Shonin,William Van Gordon,Mark D. Griffiths / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2013

In the last five years, scientific interest into the potential applications of Buddhist-derived interventions (BDIs) for the treatment of problem gambling has been growing. This paper reviews current directions, proposes conceptual applications, and discusses integration issues relating to the utilisation of BDIs as problem gambling treatments. Method: A literature search and evaluation of the empirical literature for BDIs as problem gambling treatments was undertaken. Results: To date, research has been limited to cross-sectional studies and clinical case studies and findings indicate that Buddhist-derived mindfulness practices have the potential to play an important role in ameliorating problem gambling symptomatology. As an adjunct to mindfulness, other Buddhist-derived practices are also of interest including: (i) insight meditation techniques (e.g., meditation on ‘emptiness’) to overcome avoidance and dissociation strategies, (ii) ‘antidotes’ (e.g., patience, impermanence, etc.) to attenuate impulsivity and salience-related issues, (iii) loving-kindness and compassion meditation to foster positive thinking and reduce conflict, and (iv) ‘middle-way’ principles and ‘bliss-substitution’ to reduce relapse and temper withdrawal symptoms. In addition to an absence of controlled treatment studies, the successful operationalisation of BDIs as effective treatments for problem gambling may be impeded by issues such as a deficiency of suitably experienced BDI clinicians, and the poor provision by service providers of both BDIs and dedicated gambling interventions. Conclusions: Preliminary findings for BDIs as problem gambling treatments are promising, however, further research is required.

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BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY OF THE GLOBAL MIND FOR SUSTAINABLE PEACE

Author(s): Juichiro Tanabe / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2017

While violence and conflict are the main problems that must be tackled for a peace-ful world, they are caused and sustained through our own thoughts. Though external causes must not be ignored, the most fundamental problem is an epistemological one—our way of knowing and understanding the world. Since its beginning, Buddhism has deepened its analysis of the dynamics of the human mind, both as a root cause of suffer-ing and as a source of harmony. This paper explores how Buddhism's analysis of the human mind can be applied to conflict dynamics, conflict resolution, and building a sustainable peace.

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Buddhist Teen Bowing to Parents: Straddling the Border between Private and Public Religion

Author(s): Phra Nicholas Thanissaro / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Bowing to parents is a Buddhist home practice that links with the Spreed of religious-led attitudes across a notional border into the public sphere of young Buddhists’ lives. A quantitative study sought to map the attitudes corresponding with bowing to parents for teen self-identifying Buddhists in Britain. A variety of statements including those concerning personal wellbeing, discrimination, work, school, RE, friends, family, substance use, collectivism, tradition and religion were rated for levels of agreement by 417 self-identifying Buddhists, aged between 13 and 20, using postal and online surveys. The 56% who bowed to parents were found to have stronger public sphere attitudes such as work ethic, resilience to intoxicant use, valuing study and RE. In the private sphere, they were found to have a more positive attitude towards family and Buddhism. Additionally the study found the significance of bowing differed with age – being linked particularly with an increased subjective well-being in early teens and acceptance of hierarchy and parental influence in late teens. Also, the attitudes corresponding with bowing depended on religious style – bowing being linked with Asian values and feeling more religious for convert Buddhist teens, whereas for heritage Buddhist teens it was linked more with in-group mentality. Unlike non-Buddhist adolescents, bowing to parents in Buddhists was linked with wanting to look after parents in old age. The article argues that bowing to parents has the cultural function of bringing religiously-led good into society, acting as a perpetuating structure, binding the Buddhist community together, facilitating mutual respect from adults and a sense of social hierarchy and such deserves to be considered an aspect of Buddhist religiosity.

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Budistički agnosticizam

Author(s): Nebojša Vasic / Language(s): Bosnian / Issue: 1/2017

Buddhistic agnosticism in its original teaching denies the relevance of the existence of universal truths which are insignificant to the fundamental – eschatological goal; release from suffering. The eightfold buddhistic path is not related to transcendence, while the Buddhist “noble silence” reveals itself in the sense of renouncing the need to find the ultimate refuge in the transcendence, ultimately in the meaning of existence or the salvation of suffering. Buddhistic apathetic agnosticism is not seen in the idea of otherworldliness as an essential basis for its learning and the acceptance of the fourfold noble truths. Postmodernism in its attempt to abolish the universalities forgets that it is possible only with universality to abolish universalities – which is an immanent paradoxical position.

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BUDISTINĖ JOGINĖS PERCEPCIJOS (YOGIPRATYAKṢ A) APOLOGIJA INDIJOJE

Author(s): Audrius Beinorius / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 93/2018

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the conception of yogic perception (yogipratyakṣa) in Indian Buddhist philosophy. By relying on the primary Buddhist Sanskrit sources and contemporary critical studies, the historically relevant questions are raised: how yogic perception has been treated in Indian Buddhist tradition, and especially in the texts by the eminent representatives of its Yogācāra-Vijñānavada logico-epistemological school (Diṅnāga, Dharmakīrti, Ratnakīrti)? Why was it recognised as a valid source of knowledge, and what role was it granted to in the general Buddhist epistemological scheme (pramāṇavada)? Combined – textological semantic, hermeneutical and comparative – methodologies are applied in the course of analysis. The following conclusion has been made: while representing a coherent empiricist and phenomenalist approach, Buddhism has supplemented the classical Indian system of valid means of knowledge with two more means, namely, with that of yogic perception and authoritative testimony (āpta). However, by acknowledging the validity of yogic perception the Buddhists agreed, that it does not ensure per se the cognition of the truth and should be verified by the other valid means of knowledge. Most important from the Buddhist perspective is that such extraordinary perception should correspond to Buddha’s experience and its conceptual description.

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Ciemniejsza strona ciemności – ścieżka lewej ręki w zachodniej tradycji ezoterycznej. Wybrane zagadnienia

Author(s): Zbigniew Lagosz,Agata Swierzowska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2016

The article is a comprehensive attempt at demonstrating the entry of the concept of the Indian Tantric Left-Hand Path into the Western esoteric tradition. Based on selected examples such as Wicca, Satanism and Thelema, the authors show the ways in which this idea has been reinterpreted and absorbed by the Western esoteric milieu.

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Czy Budda praktykował ascezę w okresie poprzedzającym jego przebudzenie? Krytyczna analiza sutty Māhasīhanāda ze zbioru Majjhimanikāya

Author(s): Grzegorz Polak / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2017

It is widely believed, that the Buddha practiced the most radical forms of asceticism and self mortification prior to his awakening. A critical analysis of the suttas depicting that crucial period of his life shows, however, that the only text which portrays the bodhisatta as a foremost ascetic is the Māhasīhanāda Sutta (MN 12/I, 68). The aim of this paper is to examine the issue of the authenticity of this text and thus to answer the question as to whether there is enough ground to claim that the Buddha was an ascetic at all. Through a comparative analysis, I show that the structure and content of the Māhasīhanāda Sutta cannot be reconciled with other suttas from the Majjhima Nikāya, which describe the bodhisatta’s path to awakening. I point out certain late features of the Māhasīhanāda Sutta. Then, through a comparative analysis I try to show that some parts of the Buddhist text may have been borrowed from the Jain Āyāraṁga Sutta. Next, I attempt to reinterpret the term attakilamathānuyogo from the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta in such a way which will not pertain to asceticism. In the final part of the paper, I try to explain how the view that the Buddha was a foremost ascetic prior to his awakening could have arisen.

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Da li je svet poreciv? O duhu Indije i zapadnoj gnozi

Author(s): Peter Sloterdijk / Language(s): German,Serbian / Issue: 0/1994

Es gehoert zu den peinlichen Geheimnissen des philosophischen Metiers, dass dort, wo in positiven Toenen von letzten Erkenntnissen gesprochen wird, der Irrsin selbst oft nicht weit ist. In der Hingezogenheit zu “ den groessten Gedanken der M etaphysik und im Sog des “ psychistrisch relevanten Ich-Todes wirkt - so ist zu vermuten - derselbe Magnetismus, diesselbe Anziehungskraft eines im buchstaeblichen Sinn ausserordentlichen und exzentrischen Pols.

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Dharma and Religion in Tagore’s Views

Author(s): Iwona Milewska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2014

Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), one of the greatest contemporary Indian thinkers, discussed the problem of comparative study of religion and faith on the grounds of global pluralism and religious diversity. He presented his views in numerous poetical works but he also delivered many speeches, mostly addressed to Western audiences. In his writing, Tagore often uses the English term “religion” and the Sanskrit term dharma interchangeably. This article focuses on both key terms and on the question whether they may be seen as equivalent according to him. To answer this question one needs to consider their etymological meanings but also Tagore’s concepts of the so called “Man the Eternal” and “Divinity in Man”.

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Dharma sprzed abhidharmy

Author(s): Krzysztof Kosior / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2017

The paper deals with the issue as to whether early Buddhism can be defined as a philosophy or as a religion. My analysis starts with the definition of the Buddha as the discoverer of the Dharma — the ancient and ennobling path (purāṇa‑, ariya‑magga) — which has made him the exalted teacher of gods and people. Then, after characterizing the possible meanings of Abhidharma in the context of their presence in canonical statements expressing Dharma, I draw conclusions about the connection or lack of connection between philosophy and soteriology in the teaching of the Buddha. Finally, after recalling the canonical statements of Buddha on his status, I conclude that the characterization of early Buddhism as a religion is also questionable.

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Die Buddhistischen Sogdischen Texte in der Berliner Turfansammlung und die Herkunft des Buddhistischen Sogdischen Wortes für Bodhisattva

Author(s): Yutaka Yoshida / Language(s): German / Issue: 3/2008

In the present article some unpublished Buddhist Sogdian texts belonging to the German Turfan collection are studied. Apart from a small fragment from the Sogdian version of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-mahā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra , I selected those texts which belong to categories unknown or not well represented among the Buddhist Sogdian texts published so far. Thus, specimens of the vinaya literature, Zen Buddhism and apocryphal texts are cited. One group of fragments contains Tocharian loanwords and is likely to have been translated from Tocharian, while another group is unique in that it is provided with a colophon in the Uighur language. Finally, various forms denoting “bodhisattva” are collected and in light of their distribution and number of occurrences among the texts I challenge the generally accepted view that they came into Sogdian via Parthian, and that the Uighur form bodisavt had its origin in Sogdian.

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Dsakhchin (West-Mongolian) folksongs with Buddhist content

Author(s): Ágnes Birtalan / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2008

The Hungarian — Mongolian Joint Expedition aiming to investigate the languages and folk culture of West-and North-Mongolian ethnic groups started its research in 1991. Taking part in the activity of the expedition I had the opportunity to observe the renewed activity of the monks’ communities that became possible due to the political changes in 1990. In this article I will present a few folksongs with Buddhist content recorded from old Dsakhchin monks. This noteworthy new source material substantially contributes to the study of the Buddhist culture among the Mongols. A short description of genre analysis will be attached to each song.

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Female and Male Attractiveness as depicted in the Vanaparvan of the Mahābhārata

Author(s): Iwona Milewska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2015

This paper deals with the bodily attractiveness of heroines and heroes, as described in one of the two most important epics of India. The basis for this analysis is the love stories and episodes included in the main plot of the Vanaparvan, the third book of the Mahābhārata. The stories from this book have been taken into consideration due to their numerous occurrences, which are a sufficient ground for generalizations. many characteristic features of their protagonists are repeated in different sub ‑stories. Also, the images of female and male characters, princesses, queens and kings are presented and discussed in detail. the external beauty of such female heroines as Damayantī, Sāvitrī, Sukanyā, Suśobhanā and Sitā; as well as the attractiveness of two semi‑goddesses, called Apsarases, are described and analysed. the names of the Apsarases discussed in the context of female beauty are Urvaśī and menakā. Besides this, the image of an unnamed courtesan is discussed, as it is the most detailed description of a female character and probably follows the ideal of female beauty as shown in the Mahābhārata. As far as the male protagonists are concerned, the images of heroes such as nala, Bhīma, Aśvapati, Rāma and Daśaratha are taken into consideration. The examples of male attractiveness also include features of the five main heroes of the Mahābhārata: the Paṇḍava brothers.

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Further Remarks Apropos of the 'Ba'-rom-pa and the Tanguts

Author(s): Elliot Sperling / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2004

The 'Ba'-rom-pa subsect of the Tibetan Buddhist Bka'-brgyud-pa sect played an instrumental role in establishing the cult of Mahākāla at the court of the last Tangut emperors. The cult was a major element in ritual Tibetan Buddhist practices utilised to empower these Tangut emperors in the mundane world. It is from this tradition that the practice of propitiating Mahākāla came to be adopted by the Tangut state's Mongol conquerors. Over the last several years, a number of new sources have become available that detail aspects of the 'Ba'-rom-pa role at the Tangut court. Using them allows for a deeper understanding of the life of Ti-shrī Ras-pa, the last Tibetan imperial preceptor at that court, and of his place in the transmission of teachings that included the explicitly power-oriented Mahākāla instructions transmitted by Rtsa-mi lo-tsā-ba. These sources also cast new light on the existing accounts of the Mongol siege of the Tangut capitol, from a Tibetan perspective, and permit us to make some reasonable identifications of the Tangut emperors mentioned in Tibetan sources with those mentioned in Chinese sources.

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