Ancient Buddhists
Ancient Buddhists
Does anyone know what term Buddhists used to refer to themselves during the ancient and medieval time periods? I imagine that "Buddhist" must be a relatively recent term coined by Westerners during the Colonial era.
- tiltbillings
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Re: Ancient Buddhists
I am sure it was not Buddha-wallahs.
I haven't a clue, but Buddha-sasana, is a way of referring to the Buddha's teachings; Dhammika, a follower of the Dhamma, but my guess is that some one will have answer.
I haven't a clue, but Buddha-sasana, is a way of referring to the Buddha's teachings; Dhammika, a follower of the Dhamma, but my guess is that some one will have answer.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12
This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
Re: Ancient Buddhists
I recollect that the term "dhammika" is in the tipitaka and refers to one who practices the Dhamma.
Other terms: "savaka" or "hearer". Originally used for the Buddha's chief disciples but a wider usage was adopted later. Other ancient terms which I think became the names of ancient schools are Savakavadin and Vibhangavadin. If memory serves me well, a vibhangavadin was one who responded after careful analysis of a question or one who's path is analysis.
kind regards
Ben
Other terms: "savaka" or "hearer". Originally used for the Buddha's chief disciples but a wider usage was adopted later. Other ancient terms which I think became the names of ancient schools are Savakavadin and Vibhangavadin. If memory serves me well, a vibhangavadin was one who responded after careful analysis of a question or one who's path is analysis.
kind regards
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
Re: Ancient Buddhists
Yes, both "Buddhist" and "Buddhism" are modern terms.dcs wrote:Does anyone know what term Buddhists used to refer to themselves during the ancient and medieval time periods? I imagine that "Buddhist" must be a relatively recent term coined by Westerners during the Colonial era.
In Pāli the term most frequently used to refer to the Buddhist religion is sāsana, meaning the "doctrine" or "teaching" (lit. "message"), or Buddhasāsana, meaning the "doctrine/teaching of the Buddha."
In Chinese the term for the Buddhist religion is fo jiao (佛教), meaning the "teaching of the Buddha."
In Tibetan the term for the Buddhist religion is nang pa'i chos, meaning the "dharma of the insiders," and a Buddhist is called a nang pa, meaning "insider."
All of these terms (i.e. sāsana, fo jiao, nang pa'i chos) are commonly translated into English as "Buddhism."
All the best,
Geoff
Re: Ancient Buddhists
In the Pali text we find that those who follow a teacher, can be called sons and daughters of that teacher. So we sometimes find Buddhists called Buddhaputta (son of Buddha).
Mettāya,
Kåre
Kåre
- Cittasanto
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Re: Ancient Buddhists
Kare has it to my readings also, but I also remember (not the pali) sons/daughters of the sakiyan, but I think both may of been interchangeable. the Buddha also refered to his disciples as his children though.
on another note Ajahn Chah also was given a prophesy of "not having a wife but 100's of children" before he was ordained! he did apparently wonder how this was possible.
on another note Ajahn Chah also was given a prophesy of "not having a wife but 100's of children" before he was ordained! he did apparently wonder how this was possible.
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.
He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
- ancientbuddhism
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Re: Ancient Buddhists
As for the °ism there is 'doctrine and discipline' (dhammavinaye), and another descriptor for a follower of such is ‘appamatto vihassati’ (DN.16) for one who ‘vigilantly abides’ in dhammavinaya.
“I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854
Secure your own mask before assisting others. – NORTHWEST AIRLINES (Pre-Flight Instruction)
A Handful of Leaves
Secure your own mask before assisting others. – NORTHWEST AIRLINES (Pre-Flight Instruction)
A Handful of Leaves
Re: Ancient Buddhists
These days in Thailand it is common to refer to dedicated Buddhists as "Buddha-māmaka" though I am not sure how old this Pali term is.
Bhikkhu Gavesako
Kiṃkusalagavesī anuttaraṃ santivarapadaṃ pariyesamāno... (MN 26)
Access to Insight - Theravada texts
Ancient Buddhist Texts - Translations and history of Pali texts
Dhammatalks.org - Sutta translations
Kiṃkusalagavesī anuttaraṃ santivarapadaṃ pariyesamāno... (MN 26)
Access to Insight - Theravada texts
Ancient Buddhist Texts - Translations and history of Pali texts
Dhammatalks.org - Sutta translations
Re: Ancient Buddhists
But I have to admit that when I first saw the heading "Ancient Buddhists", I thought it was something about us Buddhists who are approaching 70 ...
Mettāya,
Kåre
Kåre
Re: Ancient Buddhists
Kare wrote:But I have to admit that when I first saw the heading "Ancient Buddhists", I thought it was something about us Buddhists who are approaching 70 ...
- Monkey Mind
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Re: Ancient Buddhists
What about this term upasaka or upasika? I see it used sometimes, but I don't know the origin.
"As I am, so are others;
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed.
Sutta Nipāta 3.710
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed.
Sutta Nipāta 3.710
Re: Ancient Buddhists
upásaka: lit. 'sitting close by', i.e. a 'lay adherent', is any lay follower who is filled with faith and has taken refuge in the Buddha, his doctrine and his community of noble disciples (A. VIII, 25). His virtue is regarded as pure if he observes the 5 Precepts (pañca-síla; s. sikkhápada). He should avoid the following wrong ways of livelihood: trading in arms, in living beings, meat, alcohol and poison (A. V, 177). See also A. VIII, 75.Monkey Mind wrote:What about this term upasaka or upasika? I see it used sometimes, but I don't know the origin.
upásiká: 'female adherent';
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Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.
- BB
- BB
Re: Ancient Buddhists
Samana, or Śramaṇasdcs wrote:Does anyone know what term Buddhists used to refer to themselves during the ancient and medieval time periods? I imagine that "Buddhist" must be a relatively recent term coined by Westerners during the Colonial era.
Buddha was not the first Śramaṇa. His father, King Śuddhodana, while Siddhārtha was still a householder, feared that he would become a Śramaṇa. Śramaṇa's were a certain type of ascetics around at the time who shaved their heads and renounced the household life. They typically engaged in austerities, and meditation. Mahavira and Gotama the Buddha were both Śramaṇa contemporaries.
"Mahāvīra, the 24th Jina, and Gautama Buddha were leaders of their śramaṇa orders. According to Jain literature and the Buddhist Pali Canon, there were also some other śramaṇa leaders at that time." - quote from article below
The Buddha later realized that the sort of austerities they practiced had no benefit, and began his own path, up until his enlightenment. From this point on, his views/position greatly differed with the other Śramaṇa orders.
---
From Article:
Śramaṇa movement
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Several śramaṇa movements are known to have existed before the 6th century BCE dating back to Indus valley civilization.
Samkhya and Yoga are two early and very important philosophies that follow the Sramana philosophy and which had their origins in the Indus Valley period of about 3000-2000 BCE. Yoga is probably the most important Sramana practice to date, which follows the Samkhya philosophy of liberating oneself from the grip of Prakriti (nature) through individual effort. Elaborate processes are outlined in Yoga to achieve individual liberation through breathing techniques (Pranayama), physical postures (Asanas) and meditations (Dhyana). Patanjali's Yoga sutra is one product (school) of this philosophy. Other Yogic schools and the Tantra traditions are also important derivatives and branches of the Sramana practices.
The movement later received a boost during the times of Mahavira and Buddha when Vedic ritualism had become the dominant tradition in certain parts of India. Śramaṇas adopted a path alternate to the Vedic rituals to achieve liberation, while renouncing household life. They typically engage in three types of activities: austerities, meditation, and associated theories (or views). As spiritual authorities, at times śramaṇa were at variance with traditional Brahmin authority, and they often recruited members from Brahmin communities themselves, such as Cānakya and Śāriputra[3].
Mahāvīra, the 24th Jina, and Gautama Buddha were leaders of their śramaṇa orders. According to Jain literature and the Buddhist Pali Canon, there were also some other śramaṇa leaders at that time. ...
- retrofuturist
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Re: Ancient Buddhists
Greetings,
Metta,
Retro.
For this reason I used to call my Buddhist work colleague who sat next to me "Upásika".bodom wrote:upásaka: lit. 'sitting close by',
Metta,
Retro.
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."