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Māyā
Māyā.
1. The mother of Gotama who became the Buddha. She died within a few days of his birth. Later accounts (e.g. Buddhacarita) recount many miracles, including a virgin birth. 2. (Skt., ‘supernatural power’). In the early Vedic literature, māyā generally means supernatural power or magic. It also carries the connotation of deceit or trickery. In the Bhagavad-gītā, māyā is the power to bring things into apparent form. In Advaita Vedānta philosophy, Gauḍapāda used the term māyā for the power of the apparent creation of the world as well as the world so created. Śaṅkara extended the term by associating it with avidyā (ignorance). For Śaṅkara, avidyā, ignorance of the Ultimate Reality (Brahman) produces the illusory world of name and form, or māyā, through superimposition. It is usually misleading to translate māyā as ‘illusion’. Nevertheless, soteriologically the power of māyā is wisely treated as such; and in later Hinduism, māyā as Cosmic Illusion is sometimes personified and identified with the great goddess Durgā. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, māyā means a delusion or an illusion such as that produced by a magician. The phenomenal world is illusory, māyā, with the Mādhyamaka arguing that the separate dharmas themselves are conditioned and have no being of their own, and the Yogācāra/Vijñānavāda school regarding the dharmas as merely ideas or representations. Among Sikhs, the teaching of the Gurūs is that māyā is a real part of God's creation. However, the attractions of māyā (i.e., wealth, physical love, etc.) are also, in the end, delusory and cannot accompany a person beyond death. |
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JOHN BOWKER. "Māyā." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Māyā." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-My.html JOHN BOWKER. "Māyā." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-My.html |
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Maya
Maya An American Indian people of Yucatán and Central America who still maintain aspects of their ancient culture, which developed over an extensive area and reached its peak in the 4th–8th centuries, a period distinguished by a spectacular flowering of art and learning. Remains include stone temples built on pyramids and ornamented with sculptures. Among the most striking of the Maya achievements are a system of pictorial writing and a calendar system, more accurate than the Julian, that was still in use at the time of the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. The unexplained collapse of the early Mayan civilization with a population of as many as 16 million took place c.900–1500 but at least four million descendants still speak the Mayan language.
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"Maya." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Maya." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Maya.html "Maya." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Maya.html |
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Maya
Maya ♀ Latinate version of May or a respelled form of the name of the Roman goddess Maia, influenced by the common English name May. The goddess Maia was one of the Pleiades, the daughters of Atlas and Pleione; she was the mother by Jupiter of Mercury. Her name seems to be derived from the root mai- ‘great’, seen also in Latin maior ‘larger’. In the case of the American writer Maya Angelou (b. 1928 as Marguerite Johnson), Maya is a nickname which she acquired in early childhood as a result of her younger brother's referring to her as ‘mya sista’.
Variant: Maia. |
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Maya." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Maya." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Maya.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Maya." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Maya.html |
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Maya
MayaA term used in Hinduism to denote the illusory nature of the world or empirical reality. It is to be distinguished from delusion, since it implies that there is something present, although not what it seems to be. According to the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, the divine infinity of Brahman (impersonal absolute) or Brahma (creative God) is real and is present in empirical reality but is veiled by the illusory power of maya. |
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"Maya." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Maya." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403802996.html "Maya." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403802996.html |
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Māyā
Māyā. Also known as Mahāmāyā, the mother of the Buddha. When the Buddha was conceived she dreamt that a white elephant entered her womb, a very auspicious omen. She died seven days after giving birth and was reborn in the Tuṣita heaven. Her husband, Śuddhodana, then married her sister Mahāprajāpatī.
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DAMIEN KEOWN. "Māyā." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "Māyā." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-My.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "Māyā." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-My.html |
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maya
ma·ya / ˈmīə; ˈmäyə/ • n. Hinduism the supernatural power wielded by gods and demons to produce illusions. ∎ Hinduism the power by which the universe becomes manifest. ∎ Hinduism & Buddhism the illusion or appearance of the phenomenal world. |
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"maya." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "maya." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-maya005.html "maya." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-maya005.html |
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maya
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"maya." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "maya." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-maya.html "maya." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-maya.html |
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Maya
Ma·ya / ˈmīə/ • n. (pl. same or Ma·yas) 1. a member of a an American Indian people of Yucatán and adjacent areas. 2. the Mayan language of this people. • adj. of or relating to this people or their language. |
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"Maya." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Maya." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-maya.html "Maya." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-maya.html |
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maya
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "maya." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "maya." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-maya.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "maya." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-maya.html |
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Maya
Maya •abaya, betrayer, conveyor, Eritrea, flayer, Freya, gainsayer, layer, Malaya, Marbella, Maya, Mayer, Nouméa, obeyer, payer, player, portrayer, prayer, preyer, purveyor, slayer, sprayer, stayer, strayer, surveyor, waylayer, weigher
•tracklayer • bricklayer • minelayer
•record-player • taxpayer • ratepayer
•naysayer • soothsayer • crocheter
•acquire, admire, afire, applier, aspire, attire, ayah, backfire, barbwire, bemire, briar, buyer, byre, choir, conspire, crier, cryer, defier, denier, desire, dire, drier, dryer, dyer, enquire, entire, esquire, expire, fire, flyer, friar, fryer, Gaia, gyre, hellfire, hire, hiya, ire, Isaiah, jambalaya, Jeremiah, Josiah, Kintyre, latria, liar, lyre, Maia, Maya, Mayer, messiah, mire, misfire, Nehemiah, Obadiah, papaya, pariah, peripeteia, perspire, playa, Praia, prior, pyre, quire, replier, scryer, shire, shyer, sire, skyer, Sophia, spire, squire, supplier, Surabaya, suspire, tier, tire, transpire, trier, tumble-dryer, tyre, Uriah, via, wire, Zechariah, Zedekiah, Zephaniah
•homebuyer
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"Maya." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Maya." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Maya.html "Maya." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Maya.html |
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