User:Ninly/SentientStub

Sandbox

Sentient beings is a technical term in Buddhist discourse. Broadly speaking, it denotes beings constituted by consciousness or, in some contexts, by life itself,^[1] although there is debate even within Buddhist discourse as to what exactly constitutes sentience and how it is to be recognized. While distinctions in usage and potential subdivisions or classes of sentient beings vary from one school, teacher, or thinker to another, it generally refers to beings in contrast with buddhahood. That is, sentient beings are characteristically not awakened in the sense of bodhi, and are thus confined to the death, rebirth, and suffering characteristic of samsara.^[2]

"Those who greatly enlighten illusion are Buddhas; those who are greatly deluded about enlightenment are sentient beings."

—Dōgen^[2]

In Mahayana Buddhism, it is to sentient beings that the Bodhisattva vow of compassion is pledged. Furthermore, in Tibetan Buddhism all beings (including plant life and even inanimate objects or entities considered "spiritual" or "metaphysical" by conventional Western thought) are or may be considered sentient beings and, as such, contain Buddha-nature and the innate potential to attain, or at least pursue, enlightenment.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Classification

Early Buddhist scriptures in the Pali Canon and the conventions of the Tibetan Bhavachakra classify sentient beings into five categories—divinities, humans, animals, tormented spirits, and denizens of hell—although sometimes the classification adds another category of demonic beings between divinities and humans.^[1]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Getz, Daniel A. (2004). "Sentient beings"; cited in Buswell, Robert E. (2004). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Volume 2. New York, USA: Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 0-02-865720-9 (Volume 2): pp.760
^ ^a ^b Kimura, Kiyotaka (1991). The Self in Medieval Japanese Buddhism: Focusing on Dogen; cited in Philosophy East and West; Volume 41, Number 3, July 1991. University of Hawaii Press: pp.327-340. Accessed 22 October 2008.
^ Keiji, Nishitani (ed.)(1976). The Eastern Buddhist. 9.2: p.72. Kyoto: Eastern Buddhist Society; cited in Dumoulin, Henrich (author); Heisig, James (translator); and Knitter, Paul (translator)(2005). Zen Buddhism: A History ~ Volume 2: Japan. With an Introduction by Victor Sogen Hori. Bloomington, Indiana, USA: World Wisdom, Inc. ISBN-10: 0-941532-90-2
^ Muller, Charles A. (1995). "The Key Operative Concepts in Korean Buddhist Syncretic Philosophy: Interpenetration (通達) and Essence-Function (體用) in Wŏnhyo, Chinul and Kihwa" (html). Bulletin of Toyo Gakuen University. Retrieved 2008-10-21. In Buddhism, t'i [體] is regarded as the fundamentally enlightened Buddha-mind that is present in all beings, whereas yung [用] is the manifestation of that mind in actual practice—whether it be a full manifestation (enlightened Buddha) or limited manifestation (ignorant sentient being).
^ Ray, Reginald A. (2000). Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. The World of Tibetan Buddhism. Vol. 1. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc. pp. 26–27. ISBN 1-57062-910-2. Retrieved 2008-10-21. In the traditional Tibetan view...the animate and inanimate phenomena of this world are charged with being, life, and spiritual vitality. These are conceived in terms of various spirits, ancestors, demigods, demons, and so on. One of the ways Tibetans recognize a spirit is through the energy that collects in a perceptual moment. A crescendo of energetic "heat" given off by something indicates a spirit. It is something like when we might say that a rock, a tree, or a cloud formation is "striking" or "dramatic" or "compelling." A rock outcropping that has a strange and arresting shape, that perhaps seems strong and menacing, will indicate the existence of some kind of nonhuman presence. Likewise, a hollow in a grove of trees where a spring flows and the flora are unusually lush and abundant, that has a particularly inviting and nurturing atmosphere, will likewise present itself as the home of a spirit. The unusual behavior of a natural phenomenon or an animal will suggest the same as will the rain that ends a drought or the sudden irruption of an illness.

[Getz-1] Getz, Daniel A. (2004). "Sentient beings"; cited in Buswell, Robert E. (2004). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Volume 2. New York, USA: Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 0-02-865720-9 (Volume 2): pp.760

[Kimura-2] Kimura, Kiyotaka (1991). The Self in Medieval Japanese Buddhism: Focusing on Dogen; cited in Philosophy East and West; Volume 41, Number 3, July 1991. University of Hawaii Press: pp.327-340. Accessed 22 October 2008.

[3] Keiji, Nishitani (ed.)(1976). The Eastern Buddhist. 9.2: p.72. Kyoto: Eastern Buddhist Society; cited in Dumoulin, Henrich (author); Heisig, James (translator); and Knitter, Paul (translator)(2005). Zen Buddhism: A History ~ Volume 2: Japan. With an Introduction by Victor Sogen Hori. Bloomington, Indiana, USA: World Wisdom, Inc. ISBN-10: 0-941532-90-2

[4] Muller, Charles A. (1995). "The Key Operative Concepts in Korean Buddhist Syncretic Philosophy: Interpenetration (通達) and Essence-Function (體用) in Wŏnhyo, Chinul and Kihwa" (html). Bulletin of Toyo Gakuen University. Retrieved 2008-10-21. In Buddhism, t'i [體] is regarded as the fundamentally enlightened Buddha-mind that is present in all beings, whereas yung [用] is the manifestation of that mind in actual practice—whether it be a full manifestation (enlightened Buddha) or limited manifestation (ignorant sentient being).

[5] Ray, Reginald A. (2000). Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. The World of Tibetan Buddhism. Vol. 1. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc. pp. 26–27. ISBN 1-57062-910-2. Retrieved 2008-10-21. In the traditional Tibetan view...the animate and inanimate phenomena of this world are charged with being, life, and spiritual vitality. These are conceived in terms of various spirits, ancestors, demigods, demons, and so on. One of the ways Tibetans recognize a spirit is through the energy that collects in a perceptual moment. A crescendo of energetic "heat" given off by something indicates a spirit. It is something like when we might say that a rock, a tree, or a cloud formation is "striking" or "dramatic" or "compelling." A rock outcropping that has a strange and arresting shape, that perhaps seems strong and menacing, will indicate the existence of some kind of nonhuman presence. Likewise, a hollow in a grove of trees where a spring flows and the flora are unusually lush and abundant, that has a particularly inviting and nurturing atmosphere, will likewise present itself as the home of a spirit. The unusual behavior of a natural phenomenon or an animal will suggest the same as will the rain that ends a drought or the sudden irruption of an illness.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]