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2017
Among the Indic Buddhist texts which carry a conspicuous planetary theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī, a short magical ritual text which enjoyed great popularity in North India, Central Asia and Tibet throughout the latter half of the first millennium; traces of the practice can still be found among the Newar Buddhists in Nepal in the present day. In this paper, I first examine the historical transmission of this text, followed by a comparison with astral materials found in other Buddhist and non-Buddhist sources, with the aim to understand how the cosmos was envisioned by the early Buddhist writers and the symbolic meaning the planets represent.
Pacific World, 3rd ser.
The Transmission of the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī and Other Buddhist Planetary Astral Texts2018 •
Among the Indic Buddhist texts that carry a conspicuous planetary theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī, a short ritual text that enjoyed great popularity in North India, Central Asia, and Tibet throughout the latter half of the first millennium. Traces of the practice can still be found among the Newar Buddhists in Nepal to the present day. This paper first examines the historical transmission of this text, followed by a comparison with the astral materials found in other Buddhist and non- Buddhist sources, with the aim to understand how the cosmos was envisioned by the early Buddhist writers and what the motivation behind such astral practice was.
Historia Scientiarum
2015 The Transmission of Buddhist Astral Science from India to East Asia - The Central Asian Connections2015 •
Among the bodies of auxiliary knowledge Buddhist missionaries brought to East Asia which had a lasting impact to the local cultures was the astral science. It comprises a broad range of related subjects such as cosmology, astronomy, metrology, calendrics, astrology and the worship of astral deities. The great interest in the subject is evinced by the fact that detailed accounts of these subjects found their way into a number of key Sanskrit Mahāyāna texts, as well as their Chinese translations such as the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna, the Mahāsaṃnipātasūtra and Amoghavajra's Xiuyao jing. A comparison of the early Indian astral science and its East Asian version however reveals some key differences. In this paper, I will examine these differences and influences which may be attributed to Central Asian and other non-Indian sources.
History of Science in South Asia
Vedic Astral Lore and Planetary Science in the Gārgīyajyotiṣa2019 •
Among the sixty-four aṅgas of the large recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (also known as the Gargasaṃhitā), celestial omens and planetary science (including astrology and narrative) occupy the greatest portion of the text. Some of these materials are widely cited later on in works such as Varāhamihira's Bṛhatsaṃhitā as well as Buddhist works such as the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna and Amoghavajra's Xiuyao jing, and are considered some of the oldest sources of early, pre-siddhāntic Indian astral science. In this paper, I shall highlight some of the unique characteristics of the unedited chapters of the work where such materials are found, with focus on the planetary science and the methods of time-reckoning.
Synopsis The knowledge of illumination was singled out in the extraordinary Buddhist funerary cult during the early Christian period (1st-3rd century AD). In the history of art and literature a pair of anagrammatic magic words ‗Amitabha' and ‗Tejaprabha' linked to Buddha of immense light and infinite life actually spells out what the mysterious new culture actually wants. Esoteric Buddhist cult in South Asia avidly seeks the natural order of the planetary deities protecting and steering the departed to reach radiant everlasting life. Personified classical planets that express themselves with different qualities in the signs of the zodiac surround human beings facing infinity. In addition to the luminaries Sun (Surya) and Moon (Chanda), the foremost in the order of importance are — Mercury (Budha) the psychopomp, Saturn (Shani) the father of destiny and time, Venus (Sri/Lakshmi), Earth (Demeter/Hariti) and Pluto (Mara, Dharmaraja/Yama), followed by Mars the forceful lance bearer, Jupiter (Guru) the priest/teacher, and Neptune (Varun). Eventually the gleaming perpetual beings flash right up into the firmament of heaven, which is Uranus the Sky called Vasuki. The motivation of the dizzying array of planetary deities and the function of the zodiac
Acta Orientalia Hung. Vol. 76, Issue 1
Astral Cult in the Encompassing Mind: Rethinking the 'Stellar Magic Circle' from Khara-Khoto2023 •
A rare painting with unique subject matter among extant Tangut cultural heritage, the so-called astral maṇḍala (more accurately, Grahamātṛkā-maṇḍala) from Khara-khoto deserves focused academic attention. Now in the collection of Hermitage, this painting broadens the horizons of research from multiple perspectives, including the history of astrology, Tangut culture, Esoteric Buddhism, and ritual studies. Introduced into Tangut Buddhism likely via Tibet, the Grahamātṛka-maṇḍala contributed to the construction of both a new iconographical system and a new pantheon of astral deities. The painting provides important visual details that gradually reveal a complete series of liturgies based on the Tangut astral cult, from the maṇḍala construction to fire ritual with offerings and visualization. Therefore, it helps to demonstrate astrological knowledge and religious practices prevalent in the Tangut period but previously overlooked by modern researchers. The Tangut people learned with an encompassing mind and became skilled at new teachings, methods, and practices through transcultural communications with India and Tibet. They actively combined this learning with the existing Chinese astrological and religious traditions in the Héxī region. Key words: Tangut (Xīxià); Khara-khoto; astral cult; Grahamātṛkā-maṇḍala; homa ritual; transcultural communications. https://akjournals.com/view/journals/062/76/1/article-p47.xml
This essay introduces the earliest known representations of planets and other stellar deities in East and Central Asian Buddhist art, especially in China. The five biggest planets, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, were observed and named at an early stage in China. However, their anthropomorphic representations became popular only after the arrival of Buddhism. It is likely that Western traditions regarding their appearance were transmitted through India. In Buddhist sutras the planets are often described as paying homage to the Buddha and listening to his teachings, and this is how many paintings represent them. A Chinese painting from Dunhuang shows a seated Buddha (the Buddha of the Blazing Light) on a chariot surrounded by the planets, represented as human figures with their attributes. Such representation of this Buddha was always associated with the planets. This essay introduces later Chinese paintings as well as a hitherto misidentified Uygur example of this representation, and points out that the iconography of the planets remained remarkably constant in East Asian art. The essay also includes relevant sections of sutras, as these determined the iconographic method for showing the planets up to recent times in China, Japan and Korea. From Culture & Cosmos, Volume 10 no 1 and 2 (Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2006), special double, issue on The Worship of Stars in Japanese Religious Practice Volume 10 was a collaboration with the The Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, guest edited by Lucia Dolce.
Berliner Indologische Studien/Berlin Indological Studies, Vol. 23, pp. 143-156
Solar Symbolism in Early Buddhist Literature2017 •
Solar metaphors largely permeate the early Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist literature. In such texts, the Buddha is often designated by the epithet ādicca- or ādityabandhu, or “relative/brother/kinsman of the Sun.” In this paper, I present a few textual examples to define precisely how the Buddha is said to relate to the Sun, in one aspect or another.
This study examines the planetary icons found in East Asian art, arguing that they should be divided into three sets: Indian, zoomorphic and Iranian-Mesopotamian. It is demonstrated that the Indian icons are earlier representations of the navagraha directly from India. The latter two are identified as coming from an Iranian source. The Iranian-Mesopotamian icons are further discussed in relation to parallels found in the Picatrix, the Latin translation of an Arabic manual of astral magic. The roles of these icons within the magical traditions of Buddhism and Daoism are identified. It is proven that such astral magic was also imported from Near Eastern sources.
Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines
Empty Iridescent Spheres. Notes on the Metaphysics of Light in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Tantric Sources2022 •
One of the features of the second dissemination of Buddhist teachings in Tibet, after the eleventh century, was the emergence of a new esoteric religious literature with a progressive development of yogic practices and ideas that considered light as an essential principle. Over time, a metaphysics of light took form that strongly characterized yogic theory and praxis. IThrough a comparative analysis the religious dialogue that emerged at the beginning of the Renaissance period in Tibet will be examined. Although it is difficult to trace the direct influences and contacts between the Kālacakra yogins, the Rnying ma early exponents and the later Bon Rdzogs chen authors, there is evidence that many ideas, lexicon, yoga techniques and interpretations were circulating among them in a fluid way, suggesting an intense interaction that created nets of influences during a period of Tibetan history that preceded the later organization and consolidation of the monastic systems.
2017 •
The cosmological and mythological background to Buddhist teachings, from Theravada and Sarvastivada sources.
Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal
Allocation of Total Congestion Cost and load participation to Generators for a PoolCo Market in Deregulated Power System2021 •
arXiv: Numerical Analysis
Second order difference approximation for a class of Riesz space fractional advection-dispersion equations with delay2018 •
2013 •
arXiv: Instrumentation and Detectors
Development of an IMS Type Device for Volatile Organic Compunds Detection: Simulation and Comparision of the Ion Distributions2009 •
The Interpreters' Newsletter
English as a Lingua Franca in telephone interpreting : Representations and Linguistic Justice2017 •
Estudios pedagógicos (Valdivia)
Enseñanza de 'temas controversiales' en la asignatura de historia y ciencias sociales desde la perspectiva de los profesores2015 •
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Efficacy and Safety of Artemether-Lumefantrine in the Treatment of Acute, Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria: A Pooled Analysis2011 •
Energy & Fuels
Development of Cigarette Carbonaceous Hydrochar/ZIF-67-Based Fluids for CO2 Capture from a Gas Stream in a Packed Column: Mass-Transfer Performance Evaluation2020 •
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Energy-per-Bit Limits in Plasmonic Integrated Photodetectors2013 •
Movimento (ESEFID/UFRGS)
Elementos Para a Compreensão Da Estética Do Taekwondo2013 •
Nature Genetics
Genome sequence of the hot pepper provides insights into the evolution of pungency in Capsicum species2014 •
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology
Basic science fellowships for foreign faculty scholars1983 •
Journal of Applied Microbiology
Characterization of the Enterobacteriaceae isolated from an artisanal Italian ewe's cheese (Pecorino Abruzzese)2006 •
2015 •
2021 •
Spanish Journal of Soil Science
Land degradation and sand dynamics in a steppe region (Nâama, south-western Algeria)2017 •
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe)
Un cercueil antique en plomb découvert à Évreux (Eure) : Étude pluridisciplinaire2013 •
Springer eBooks
Comparison of Algorithms for Recognition of Cylindrical Features in a Voxel-Based Approach for Tolerance Inspection2019 •
The Pharma Innovation Journal
Transdermal Drug Delivery System: A Review2012 •