Buddhist Cosmology

Buddhist Cosmology PDF

Author: Akira Sadakata

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This extensively researched and illustrated volume offers Western readers a rare introduction to Buddhism's complex and fascinating views about the structure of the universe. The book begins by clearly explaining classical cosmology, with its symmetrical, India-centered universe and multitudinous heavens and hells, and illuminates the cosmos's relation to the human concerns of karma, transmigration, and enlightenment. It moves on to discuss the Mahayana conception of the universe as a lotus flower containing uncountable realms, each with its own buddha. Then, examining changes in the notions of hell and the gods, the author traces Buddhism's gradual shift from a religion to a mythology. Throughout, treatment of Buddhism's historical, geographical, and doctrinal origins complements detailed cosmological descriptions. Finally, the author shows us how this ancient philosophy resembles the modern scientific view of the cosmos, and how even today it can help us lead more fulfilling lives.

Buddhist Cosmology

Buddhist Cosmology PDF

Author: W. Randolph Kloetzli

Publisher:

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 9788120804630

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Disagreements concerning the nature and extent of the universe constitute a focus of theological debate which permeates buddhism at every level. While there have been numerous attempts to catalogue the details of the Buddhist cosmologies, none has attempted a general interpretation of their underlying intention. This work attempts to begin the process of interpreting the major phases of Buddhist Cosmological speculation by seeing in them various dramas of salvation tailored to the philosophical and theological predilections of their respective traditions. To a large extent, this interpretation relies on an examination of continuities between the Buddhist cosmologies and those of the hellenistic world as a whole. In the course of this study, two major cosmological traditions emerge; those which rely on metaphors of time and those which rely on metaphors of time and those which rely on metaphors of space. The former are associated with the Hinayana and the latter with the Mahayana forms of Buddhism. Each draws on images of motion and light to articulate its vision of the drama of salvation.

Buddhist Cosmology

Buddhist Cosmology PDF

Author: Nagendra Kr Singh

Publisher: Global Vision Publishing Ho

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This Book Is A Historical Study Of The Buddhist Cosmosbuddhist Cosmology Which Was Formulated In Its Perfect Form By The Mahayana Schoolmahayana School Of The Yogacaryasyoga×Aryas At The End Of The Kushan Periodkushan Period. The Essence Of This Concept Did Not Exceed The Main Channel Of Mahayana Thought And Amounted To The Idea Of An Inner Metalogical Unity Of Sa±Sara And Niravana, And Forms The Psycho-Cosmic System Which May Be Termed The Buddhist Cosmos . The Buddhist Cosmosbuddhist Cosmic Model Has Constructed On The Principle Of The Psychocosmogrampsycho-Cosmogram Which Is A Visual And Symbolic Representation Of Cosmic Forces As Psychic Processes. It Is Based On Two Basic Principles Of Buddhismbuddhism: The Concepts Of The Wheel Of Becoming (Bhavabhava-Cakra) Which Turns In The Endless Round Of Birth And Death, And Of The Wheel Of The Doctrine (Dharma-Cakra) By Following Which One May Attain Release From The Never-Ending Round Of Transmigration.