Induction

The term agnostic was fittingly coined by the 19th-century British scientist Thomas H. Huxley, who believed that only material phenomena were objects of exact knowledge. He made up the word from the prefix a-, meaning “without, not,” as in amoral, and the noun Gnostic. Gnostic is related to the Greek word gn?, “knowledge,” which was used by early Christian writers to mean “higher, esoteric knowledge of spiritual things”; hence, Gnostic referred to those with such knowledge. In coining the term agnostic, Huxley was considering as “Gnostics” a group of his fellow intellectuals—“ists,” as he called them— who had eagerly embraced various doctrines or theories that explained the world to their satisfaction. Because he was a “man without a rag of a label to cover himself with,” Huxley coined the term agnostic for himself, its first published use being in 1870.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Skanda (Buddhism) 韋陀菩薩心咒 20/3/2014; saw at 20/3/2014; dreamed 7/11/2014

"Om Veda Tin Da Maha Tin Da Svaha"

據說韋馱原型是婆羅門教大自在天的兒子,天兵元帥室建陀。
韋馱原為四大天王中,南方增長天王手下八神將之一。
四大部洲中,北俱盧洲人不持佛法,而韋馱天曾親受如來咐囑,統領東勝神洲、西牛賀洲、南瞻部洲,三洲護持佛法之事項,護祐僧侶、居士,故稱「三洲感應」,號稱「三洲感應護法韋馱尊天菩薩」。
一些漢傳佛教寺院中,建有護法殿,專門供奉韋馱天。漢化韋馱天為穿戴盔甲的少年武將形象,手持法器金剛杵,或雙手合十將杵擱置肘間(表示該寺為十方叢林,接待寺),或以杵拄地(表示該寺為非接待寺)。通常置於天王殿大肚彌勒佛像背後,臉朝向大雄寶殿。
唐密傳承的韋陀菩薩護世真言Om Veda Tin Da Maha Tin Da Svaha,在日本佛教東密方面,亦有極少數阿闍梨有傳授此陀羅尼。
修持此真言可得到韋陀菩薩的護佑,降伏內心魔外天魔及一切巫術邪法,與西密的韋陀菩薩降魔心咒功德相同,並駕齊驅。
Skanda, also known as Wei Tuo, is a Mahayana bodhisattva regarded as a devoted guardian of Buddhist monasteries who guards the Buddhist teachings. He is also sometimes called in the Chinese tradition "Hufa Weituo Zuntian Pusa", meaning "Honored Dharma Protector Skanda Bodhisattva", because he is the leader of the twenty-four celestial guardian deities mentioned in the Golden Light Sutra.
In Chinese temples, Skanda faces the statue of the Buddha in the main shrine. In others, he is on the far right of the main shrine, whereas on the left is his counterpart, Sangharama (personified as the historical general Guan Yu). In Chinese sutras, his image is found at the end of the sutra, a reminder of his vow to protect and preserve the teachings.
According to legends, Skanda was the son of a virtuous king who had complete faith in Buddha's teachings. When the Buddha entered nirvana, the Buddha instructed Skanda to guard the Dharma. It was his duty to protect members of the sangha when they are disturbed by Mara, the tempter, and also to resolve conflicts amongst members of the sangha. A few days after the Buddha's passing and cremation, evil demons robbed his relics. Skanda's vow of protecting the faith and Dharma was proven when he managed to defeat the evil demons and returned the relics.
韋馱天(梵文:Skanda),佛教的知名護法神,為執金剛神之一。韋馱天的形象,一般是古代身披盔甲、手持寶杵(降魔杵)的武士。統領東,西,南三洲巡遊護法事宜,保護出家人,護持佛法,故也有人將韋馱天的形象,印在佛經與佛教典籍的末頁,以此希望得到韋馱天的護持。佛滅度後,相傳有羅剎將釋迦牟尼佛的舍利子搶回去供奉,多虧善於行走的韋馱奮力追奪回來。
(From Wikipedia維基百科)