Tea House: Interviews, Commentary, Reviews, Poetry
About Abhidharma
Abhidharma (Sanskrit) or Abhidhamma (Pali) are ancient Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic reworkings of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist sutras, according to schematic classifications. The Abhidhamma works do not contain systematic philosophical treatises, but summaries or abstract and systematic lists.
Different types of Buddhist texts & literature
Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition.
The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha.
The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, found in Afghanistan and written in Gāndhārī, they date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.
The first Buddhist texts were initially passed on orally by Buddhist monastics, but were later .
Establishment & History of Kalachakra Tantra
The word Kalachakra refers to the wheel of time or time cycle in Buddhism. And, Tantra is considered to belong to a magnificent yoga class. The origin of this tradition was first in India and then it is most active in Tibet.
This Tradition teaches on Cosmology, Theology, sociology, myth, prophecy, medicine, and yoga. These teachings are to signify the transformation of one body and mind into perfect Buddhahood through various yogic methods. The Kalachakra .
Interpreting of Wheel of Life
The wheel of life is a symbolic representation of cyclic existence found on the outside walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibetan region. This pictorial thangka presents basic Buddhist concepts such as karma and rebirth in a manner that can be understood by uneducated or illiterate people.
Alternate translations for Bhavacakra include the Buddhist wheel of life, wheel of cyclic existence, wheel of becoming, etc.
The Viability of the wheel of life
In this .
Interpreting Indian Teacher Asanga
Asaṅga is one of the most important spiritual figures of Mahayana Buddhism and the founder of the Yogacara school. Asanga is known as the 4th-century founder of the Mind-Only School of Buddhist Philosophy.
The Existence of the Asanga
In this section, we are going to talk about the existence of Asanga. After a short etymological description of the word Asanga itself, we will review his frameworks for Abhidharma, and we will learn about Asaṅga's Disciples finally, .
Depicting the Painting of Machik Labdron and Chod Refuge
This is mid-20th-century painting of Machik Labdron and the Chod refuge field displaying teachers and deities.
Thangka Painting Chart
Depicting the Painting of Machik Labdron and Chod Refuge
N°1 Asanga
Asaṅga was "one of the most important spiritual figures" of Mahayana Buddhism and the "founder of the Yogacara school".
Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the major classical Indian Sanskrit exponents of Mahayana Abhidharma, Vijñanavada (awareness only) thought and Mahayana teachings on the .
Who is Padmasambhava?
For 2,500 years Buddhists have considered with awe the achievement of Siddhartha Gautama. What induces such tremendous respect in them is not just that he gained Enlightenment, but that he did so without a teacher. Contemplating the difficulties that the Buddha had to overcome has given Buddhism a very great appreciation of the value of a spiritual teacher.
As Buddhism developed, and the three yanas unfolded, the role and significance of the spiritual teacher changed. .
The 4 Phases of The Development of Buddhism in India
Buddhism was introduced to Indians by Shakyamuni Buddha who lived in India in the sixth century BCE,
a time of boom of religious and philosophical thought from Greece to China. Born as the crown prince of the great Shakya Kingdom, the youth Siddhartha Gautama was prepared to be a king in accordance
with the wishes of his royal father.
However, at the age of 28 years old, he learned of the deep suffering experienced in life by most .
Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna – The Reviver of Buddhism in Tibet
Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana is a renowned Indian master who went to Tibet in 1042 to help in the revival of Buddhism and established the Kadam tradition. His text Light for the Path was the first lam-rim text.
Pala Empire
The Pala Dynasty was the ruling Dynasty in Bihar and Bengal India, from the 8th to the 12th century. Called the Palas because all their names ended in Pala, "protector".
Atisha is a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along .
The “Corporeality Group” Of Elements
After reading about The Five Groups Of Existence now, there is another question to solve.
what is the Group of Corporeality?
It is the four primary elements and Corporeality derived from them. And what are the four primary elements? They are the Solid Element, the Fluid Element, the Heating Element, the Vibrating Element.
The four elements, or to speak more correctly-the four elementary qualities of matter may be rendered in English as:
Inertia
Cohesion
Radiation
Vibration.
The twenty-four .