Lokapāla, Sanskrit, Pāli, and Tibetan for "guardian of the world", has different uses depending on whether it is found in a Hindu or Buddhist context. In Hinduism, lokapāla refers to the Guardians of the Directions associated with the eight, nine and ten cardinal directions. In Buddhism, lokapāla refers to the Four Heavenly Kings, and to other protector spirits, whereas the Guardians of the Directions are referred to as dikpāla.
The Huayan school of Buddhism is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based primarily on the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra as well as on the works of Huayan patriarchs, like Zhiyan (602–668), Fazang (643–712), Chengguan (738–839), Zongmi (780–841) and Li Tongxuan (635–730).
Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. Tiantai Buddhism emphasizes the "One Vehicle" (Ekayāna) doctrine derived from the Lotus Sūtra as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy, particularly as articulated in the works of the 4th patriarch Zhiyi. Brook Ziporyn, professor of ancient and medieval Chinese religion and philosophy, states that Tiantai Buddhism is "the earliest attempt at a thoroughgoing Sinitic reworking of the Indian Buddhist tradition." According to Paul Swanson, scholar of Buddhist studies, Tiantai Buddhism grew to become "one of the most influential Buddhist traditions in China and Japan."
The Buddhāvataṃsaka-nāma-mahāvaipulya-sūtra is one of the most influential Mahāyāna sutras of East Asian Buddhism. It is often referred to in short as the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. In Classical Sanskrit, avataṃsaka means garland, wreath, or any circular ornament, such as an earring. Thus, the title may be rendered in English as A Garland of Buddhas, Buddha Ornaments, or Buddha’s Garland. In Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, the term avataṃsaka means “a great number,” “a multitude,” or “a collection.” This is matched by the Tibetan title of the sutra, which is A Multitude of Buddhas.
The Sautrāntika or Sutravadin were an early Buddhist school generally believed to be descended from the Sthavira nikāya by way of their immediate parent school, the Sarvāstivādins. While they are identified as a unique doctrinal tendency, they were part of the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya lineage of monastic ordination.
Xuyun or Hsu Yun was a renowned Chinese Chan Buddhist master and an influential Buddhist teacher of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Hsuan Hua, also known as An Tzu, Tu Lun and Master Hua by his Western disciples, was a Chinese monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the late 20th century.
The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is an international Buddhist community and monastery founded by Hsuan Hua, an important figure in Western Buddhism. It is one of the first Chan Buddhist temples in the United States, and one of the largest Buddhist communities in the Western Hemisphere.
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra is a Mahayana Buddhist sutra that has been especially influential on Korean Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism. It was particularly important for Zen/Chan Buddhism. The doctrinal outlook of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra is that of Buddha-nature, Yogacara thought, and esoteric Buddhism.
The Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma is a Mahāyāna Buddhist framework for classifying and understanding the teachings of the Buddhist sutras and the teachings of the Buddha in general. This classification system first appears in the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra and in the works of the Yogācāra school. This classification system later became prevalent in various modified forms in Tibetan Buddhism as well as in East Asian Buddhism.
The Dharma Realm Buddhist Association is an international, non-profit Buddhist organization founded by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua in 1959 to bring the orthodox teachings of the Buddha to the entire world. DRBA has branch monasteries in many countries and cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Vancouver, as well as in Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia.
Developing Virtue Secondary School is a private Buddhist school located in the town of Talmage, California, and the first Buddhist high school founded in the United States.
Dharmadhatu is the 'dimension', 'realm' or 'sphere' (dhātu) of the Dharma or Absolute Reality.
Fazang (643–712) was a Chinese Buddhist scholar, translator, and religious leader of the Tang dynasty. He was the third patriarch of the Huayan school of East Asian Buddhism, a key figure at the Chinese Imperial Court, and an influential Chinese Buddhist philosopher. Some scholars see him as the main figure in or even de facto founder of the Huayan school. Fazang's ancestors came from the Central Asian region of Sogdia, a major center for Silk Road trade, but he was born in the Tang capital of Chang'an, where his family had become culturally Chinese.
In Buddhism, a sotāpanna (Pali), srotāpanna, "stream-enterer", "stream-winner", or "stream-entrant" is a person who has seen the Dharma and thereby has dropped the first three fetters that bind a being to a possible rebirth in one of the three lower realms, namely self-view (sakkāya-ditthi), clinging to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa), and skeptical indecision (Vicikitsa).
The Shurangama or Śūraṅgama mantra is a dhāraṇī or long mantra of Buddhist practice in East Asia. Although relatively unknown in modern Tibet, there are several Śūraṅgama Mantra texts in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. It has strong associations with the Chinese Chan Buddhist tradition.
In Buddhist tradition, Vipassī (Pāli) is the twenty-second of twenty-eight Buddhas described in Chapter 27 of the Buddhavaṃsa. The Buddhavamsa is a Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and the twenty-seven Buddhas who preceded him. It is the fourteenth book of the Khuddaka Nikāya, which in turn is part of the Sutta Piṭaka. The Sutta Piṭaka is one of three pitakas which together constitute the Tripiṭaka, or Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism.
Ronald B. Epstein is an American scholar and translator, specializing in Mahayana Buddhism. He is also a Buddhist practitioner and community activist.
Martin J. Verhoeven is an American scholar, translator, and former Buddhist monk. He is a senior disciple of Hsuan Hua, and currently serves as dean of academics at Dharma Realm Buddhist University. He has previously served as adjunct professor at the Graduate Theological Union and as a lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley. He is best known for completing a three steps one bow pilgrimage with companion Heng Sure. During this pilgrimage Verhoeven and Heng Sure bowed from South Pasadena to Ukiah, California, a distance of 800 miles, over the course of two years and six months.
