Buddha-natureIn Buddhist philosophy, Buddha-nature is the potential for any sentient beings to become a Buddha. It is a common English translation for several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including tathata ("suchness") but most notably tathāgatagarbha and buddhadhātu. Tathāgatagarbha means "the womb" or "embryo" (garbha) of the "thus-gone" (tathāgata), or "containing a tathāgata", while buddhadhātu literally means "Buddha-realm" or "Buddha-substrate". Buddha-nature has a wide range of (sometimes conflicting) meanings in Indian and later East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist literature.
Guifeng ZongmiGuifeng Zongmi () (780–1 February 841) was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan Buddhism. He wrote a number of works on the contemporary situation of Tang Buddhism, which also discussed Taoism and Confucianism. He also wrote critical analyses of Chan and Huayan, as well as numerous scriptural exegeses. Zongmi was deeply interested in both the practical and doctrinal aspects of Buddhism.
ZuowangZuowang () is a classic Daoist meditation technique, described as "a state of deep trance or intense absorption, during which no trace of ego-identity is felt and only the underlying cosmic current of the Dao is perceived as real." According to Louis Komjathy, this is one term for Daoist apophatic meditation, which also goes by various other names in Daoist literature, such as "quiet sitting" (靜坐 jìngzuò), "guarding the one" (守一 shǒuyī), "fasting the heartmind" (心齋 xīnzhāi), and "embracing simplicity" (抱朴 bàopǔ).
Japanese tea ceremonyThe Japanese tea ceremony (known as 'The Way of Tea' or 茶の湯) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of 抹茶, powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called 点前. While in Europe it is known as the "tea ceremony", it is seldom ceremonial in its practice. Most often tea is served to family, friends, and associates; religious and ceremonial connotations are overstated in European places.
KamalaśīlaKamalaśīla (Skt. Kamalaśīla; Tib. པདྨའི་ངང་ཚུལ་, Pemé Ngang Tsul; Wyl. pad+ma'i ngang tshul) (c. 740-795) was an Indian Buddhist of Nalanda Mahavihara who accompanied Śāntarakṣita (725–788) to Tibet at the request of Trisong Detsen. He is considered one of the most important Madhyamaka authors of late Indian Buddhism although little is known about his life aside from details left in Tibetan sources. Tibetan sources refer to him, Santaraksita and Jñānagarbha as rang rgyud shar gsum meaning the “three eastern Svātantrikas” indicating their origins from Eastern India.
Four stages of awakeningThe four stages of awakening in Early Buddhism and Theravada are four progressive stages culminating in full awakening (Bodhi) as an Arahant. These four stages are Sotāpanna (stream-enterer), Sakadāgāmi (once-returner), Anāgāmi (non-returner), and Arahant. The oldest Buddhist texts portray the Buddha as referring to people who are at one of these four stages as noble people (ariya-puggala) and the community of such persons as the noble sangha (ariya-sangha).
Svatantrika–Prasaṅgika distinctionThe Svātantrika–Prāsaṅgika distinction is a doctrinal distinction made within Tibetan Buddhism between two stances regarding the use of logic and the meaning of conventional truth within the presentation of Madhyamaka. Svātantrika is a category of Madhyamaka viewpoints attributed primarily to the 6th-century Indian scholar Bhāviveka. Bhāviveka criticised Buddhapalita’s abstinence from syllogistic reasoning in his commentary on Nāgārjuna.
TrikayaThe Trikāya doctrine (त्रिकाय, lit. "three bodies"; , ) is a fundamental doctrine within Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism that delineates the multidimensional nature of a Buddha's existence. This concept posits that a Buddha has three distinct bodies or aspects, each representing a different facet of enlightenment. The first body is the Dharmakaya, often referred to as the "Dharma body" or ultimate reality. This embodies the essence of enlightenment itself, encompassing concepts like emptiness, Buddha nature, and pure existence beyond material and spiritual forms.
MendicantA mendicant (from mendicans, "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many instances members have taken a vow of poverty, in order that all their time and energy could be expended on practicing their respective faith, preaching and serving society. Mendicancy is a form of asceticism, especially in Western Christianity.
XuanxueXuanxue (), sometimes called Neo-Daoism (Neo-Taoism), is a metaphysical post-classical Chinese philosophy from the Six Dynasties (222-589), bringing together Taoist and Confucian beliefs through revision and discussion. The movement found its scriptural support both in Taoist and drastically reinterpreted Confucian sources. Xuanxue, or "Mystic Learning", came to reign supreme in cultural circles, especially at Jiankang during the period of division. The concept represented the more abstract, unworldly, and idealistic tendency in early medieval Chinese thought.
