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Is "Heavenly King" an accurate English translation for 天王?

The Chinese have long used the word 天 to translate the Sanskrit word deva, in names of such devas as 多聞天 and 辯才天. This means that 天 is not a mythological location, but a mythological species. However, ...
Vun-Hugh Vaw's user avatar
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1 answer
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What is the pronunciation of 行 in the meaning 'saṃskāra'?

One of the meanings of 行 is saṃskāra, 'formations', one of the five Buddhist skandhas. What is the pronunciation of 行 in this meaning? The question is motivated by Kroll's Student's Dictionary of ...
Alexander Z.'s user avatar
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1 answer
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What does 流通 mean as a metaphor for Nirvāṇa?

In the 890th sūtra of the Saṃyuktāgama, at the end of the sūtra, the text transmits a number of metaphors, such as "the deathless" (不死) and "the island" (洲渚). One of these terms is ...
Caoimhghin's user avatar
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1 answer
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How to parse 轉所依識?

From the Lankavatara Sutra: sūkṣmamabhivijñānaparāvṛttikuśalānāṃ Bodhiruci: 能轉一切微細識 Śikṣānanda: 能以妙慧轉所依識 Suzuki: to cause a revulsion in the depth of the mind fittingly by means of an exquisite ...
Tenzin Dorje's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
138 views

Distinguishing a verb from a substantive (执着)

In the Lankavatara Sutra, it says: 能舍一切我见执着. Red Pine translates: "who eliminate attachment to a self." Suzuki translates: "to keep themselves properly away from ego centered notions.&...
Tenzin Dorje's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the original quote of “To be calm is the highest achievement of the self"?

This is allegedly a "Zen proverb": “To be calm is the highest achievement of the self” I tried to look for it by searching on Google, but I could not find the original. What is the original text ...
Flux's user avatar
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Where would one find a library of Chinese classics that have never been translated into English?

Suppose an English-speaking software developer and data scientist were interested in finding ancient Chinese writings that have never before been translated into English. Suppose a developer desired ...
faster keystrokes's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
121 views

Usage of 何 in Buddhist Hybrid Chinese

This is from T263, the Lotus Sūtra, eight groups of 4 characters: 如來所詔 常以知時 為其眾生 而行智慧 || 以何方便 而受道法 何因令獲 從佛經教 Does 何, particularly in 以何方便, mean that there is a question being asked here? Or is it ...
Caoimhghin's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
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方便: a "skillful means" of translating upāya or not?

In Chinese Buddhism, 方便 is used to translate the word/concept Upāya. Was 方便 an existing Chinese word that already meant "convenient" (or something else) and then given this technical meaning for ...
Stumpy Joe Pete's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
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Usage of 行 as "walk" in Literary Chinese

In Buddhist Hybrid (Literary?) Chinese, 行 occupies several functions, including "to walk", "volitional fabrication" (as a translation of the Sanskrit/Pāli: saṃskāra/saṅkhāra), "[religious] practice", ...
Caoimhghin's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
176 views

Any formula for final sentences in 長爪梵志請問經 (Dirghanakha-sutra)?

The two closing phrases of 長爪梵志請問經(Dirghanakhasutra) in Taisho's Tripitaka go as follows: 皆大歡喜。信受奉行 1) Although I haven't read all the texts of the Taisho'c compendium, the phrases are likely to be ...
Manjusri's user avatar
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