The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (269 page)

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Authors: John Bowker

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Ash Wednesday
.
So-called because of the practice of marking with
ash
the foreheads of clergy and people at the beginning of
Lent
.
Asmi-m
na
(P
li, ‘pride of “I am”’). In Buddhism, self-pride, egoism, conceit; considered to be a major obstacle to moral and spiritual development at any stage along the path to
nirv
na
. One of the ten fetters (
saññojana
) and an important factor in Buddhist teaching on no-self (
anatta
), it is combated specifically by meditation on impermanence (
anicca
).
Asmita
(Skt., ‘I am-ness’). The error in Hinduism of supposing that the immediately experienced self is the true self: it is one of four kinds of error or ignorance (
avidy
), to be overcome in
yoga
. The others are
r
ga
(attachment),
dve
a
(aversion, which indicates that one is still involved, albeit by a feeling of revulsion), and
abhinive
a
(love of material and physical life).

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