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Luminous mind is a Buddhist term which appears only rarely in the Pali Canon, but is common in the Mahayana sūtras and central to the Buddhist tantras. It is variously translated as "brightly shining mind", or "mind of clear light" while the related term luminosity is also translated as "clear light" or "luminosity" in Tibetan Buddhist contexts or, "purity" in East Asian contexts.
Mahāyāna is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in ancient India and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna sūtras and their emphasis on the bodhisattva path and Prajñāpāramitā. Vajrayāna or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna which makes use of numerous tantric methods Vajrayānists consider to help achieve Buddhahood.
References
- ↑ "Peter Harvey | University of Sunderland - Academia.edu".
- ↑ 2nd edition preface, page xv
- ↑ Article title [ bare URL PDF ]
- ↑ Harvey, Peter (13 September 2013). The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvana in Early Buddhism. Routledge. ISBN 9781136783364 – via Google Books.
- 1 2 Peter Harvey Biography, Academia, University of Sunderland
- ↑ Peter Harvey, Secular Buddhist Association
- ↑ "Peter Harvey - University of Sunderland - Academia.edu". sunderland.academia.edu.
- ↑ An Introduction to Buddhism, p7
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