The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (219 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Anussava
(P
li),
Anu
rava
(Skt., ‘that which has been heard or reported’). Tradition: according to early Buddhism, that which is passed on by word of mouth from one person to another and from one generation to another. In the
Nik
yas
it is chiefly used with reference to the
brahmans
who appealed to tradition as sacrosanct, believing their own
Vedas
to be divine revelation and the exclusive source of all knowledge and truth. However, Buddhism maintained that the claim for any doctrine or teaching to represent knowledge or truth cannot rest exclusively on the fact that it is part of or belongs to tradition. In order for a body of teaching to be regarded as valid knowledge three criteria need to be met: the teacher or transmitter of the doctrine must be observed as someone who is free of attachment (
r
ga
), hate (
dosa
), and delusion (
moha
); the meaning of the teaching should be tested by the pupil independently of the teacher; and the teaching has to be tested in practice.
Anuttaravim
na
.
The five heavens of the Jains. The detail of how ten great ascetics attained these heavens is found in
Anuttor-opap
daka-da
a-anga
(see A
GA).

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