The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1169 page)

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

(Skt., ‘knowing’).
Hinduism
In the early period, jñ
na was practical
knowledge
or skill (e.g. of a warrior or farmer). But jñ
na was rapidly extended to include all spiritual knowledge, and knowledge of the way to approach
Brahman
or God. More technically, jñ
na is the cognitive episode or event in which knowledge can occur.
Buddhism
(P
li, ñ
a). According to Buddhists, perception and reason cannot be totally relied upon since they are conditioned and distorted by our subjective attitudes—likes (
ruci
), dislikes (
aruci
), desire (
chanda
), fear (
bhaya
), ill will (
dosa
), and delusion (
moha
). Consequently, true knowledge (
aññ
) can only come about as a result of eliminating unwholesome mental and psychological factors. Buddhism prescribes a programme for eliminating these factors: training in morality (
la
), concentration (
sam
dhi
), and understanding (
prajña
). In terms of Buddhist doctrine, the true object of knowledge is to be found in the
Four Noble Truths
and the law of causation (
paticca-samupp
da
). On this basis, one can attain higher states of knowledge, but only if one's mind is purified of five impediments (pañcan
vara