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wu
wu.
1. A Chinese term corresponding to the Sanskrit bodhi, meaning ‘enlightenment’ or ‘awakening’. The same character forms the root of the Japanese term satori. 2. A Chinese term meaning ‘non-being’ or ‘to lack’. In the earliest attempts by Chinese Buddhists to understand Indian Buddhist thought and translate texts, wu was used to mean ‘emptiness’ (śūnyatā), but was later supplanted by the word k'ung. The word wu has been retained to denote the absence of all distinguishing characteristics that would separate phenomena from each other in an ultimate way; as such, it is the negation of all dualities. In this regard, it appears in the compound pen wu, or ‘original nonbeing’, in contraposition to miao yu, or ‘marvellous being’, which complements it by affirming the real existence of separate things within the matrix of Dependent Origination (pratītya-samutpāda). In the famous riddle (kōan) ‘Chao-chou's dog’, a monk asked Chao-chou Ts'ung-shen whether or not a dog had Buddha-nature, to which the master replied, ‘wu’, meaning it has not. This word ‘wu’, then, became the ‘critical phrase’ (Chin., hua-t'ou), and the object of meditation when working with this kōan. |
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DAMIEN KEOWN. "wu." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "wu." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-wu.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "wu." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-wu.html |
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Wu
Wu (Chin., ‘not/non-being’). Key concept in Taoism, denoting the absence of qualities perceivable by the senses, but not ‘non-existent’. It is the basic characteristic of Tao, whose emptiness of attributes does not deprive it of character and effect. To understand the emptiness of character in the Tao which nevertheless is its truth is to be drawn into becoming an expression of the same in one's own life, through active inactivity (wu-wei). Thus wu may also be the word through which the state of that realization is expressed.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Wu." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Wu." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Wu.html JOHN BOWKER. "Wu." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Wu.html |
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Wu
Wu
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Cite this article
"Wu." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Wu." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Wu.html "Wu." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Wu.html |
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WU
WU British vehicle registration for Leeds
• Western Union |
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Cite this article
FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WU." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WU." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-WU.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "WU." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-WU.html |
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