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Sailendra

(Encyclopedia)Sailendra sīlĕnˈdrä [key], name of a dynasty in Indonesia and SE Asia. The dynasty appeared in central Java in the 7th cent. and had consolidated its position by the mid-8th cent. The Sailendras, ...

Buddhist literature

(Encyclopedia)Buddhist literature. During his lifetime the Buddha taught not in Vedic Sanskrit, which had become unintelligible to the people, but in his own NE Indian dialect; he also encouraged his monks to propa...

Milarepa

(Encyclopedia)Milarepa mĭlärˈəpə [key], 1040–1143, saint and poet of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the second patriarch of the Kargyupa sect, the first being Milarepa's guru Marpa (1012–97), who studied under N...

mantra

(Encyclopedia)mantra mănˈtrə, mŭn– [key], in Hinduism and Buddhism, mystic words used in ritual and meditation. A mantra is believed to be the sound form of reality, having the power to bring into being the r...

Hallaj, Hussein ibn Mansur al-

(Encyclopedia)Hallaj, Hussein ibn Mansur al- ho͞osānˈ ĭbn mänso͝orˈ [key], 857–922, Arabic-speaking Persian Muslim mystic and poet popularly known among Muslims as “the martyr of mystical love.” Born a...

Chu Hsi

(Encyclopedia)Chu Hsi jo͞o shē [key], 1130–1200, Chinese philosopher of Neo-Confucianism. While borrowing heavily from Buddhism, his new metaphysics reinvigorated Confucianism. According to Chu Hsi, the normati...

Xigazê

(Encyclopedia)Xigazê or Shigatse both: shēgäˈtsĕ [key], town, S central Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is in the center of a small, heavily populated alluvial plain near the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) Ri...

Soka Gakkai

(Encyclopedia)Soka Gakkai sōˈkä gäkˈkī [key] [Jap.,=Value Creation Society], Japan-based independent lay Buddhist movement. A theological offshoot of Nichiren Buddhism, it was founded (1930) as the Soka Kyoik...

Shinto

(Encyclopedia)Shinto shĭnˈtō [key], ancient native religion of Japan still practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism. In its present form Shinto is characterized less by religiou...

Taoism

(Encyclopedia)Taoism däuˈĭzəm [key], refers both to a Chinese system of thought and to one of the four major religions of China (with Confucianism, Buddhism, and Chinese popular religion). Religious Taoism a...