Zhenren
Zhenren ( Chinese 真人 , Pinyin Zhēnrén - "true man") denotes an ideal of Daoism and Buddhism .
In Buddhism, the term refers to an arhat .
In Daoism, a zhenren has attained the truth , exists in union with the universe, and realizes the Dao . This state has been equated with the concept of enlightenment , since the true human being is completely free from concepts, imaginations and limitations and so is in the absolute freedom and emptiness of the Dao.
For the first time in the history of Chinese philosophy , the term Daoist saint ( 聖人 , Shèngrén ) appeared in Daodejing , where it denotes the enlightened ruler. In the Zhuangzi this concept is taken up and called Zhenren, the term is described in the 6th book, chapter 1 of the Zhuangzi. Accordingly, a Zhenren is free from any individual perspective, free from likes and dislikes, integrated into the natural processes of life (see Wu wei ) and freed from any fear of death. In other terms, the Zhenren is also called Zhiren ("Completely Realized Man") or Shenren ("Spiritual Man") in Zhuangzi.
Also the Huainanzi uses the term Zhenren, it says, the true man is not born and does not die, was empty and yet fulfilled. In later Taoist writings the Zhenren stands above the immortal ( Xian ) and below a deity . The term has been used for important historical figures and Daoist masters since the Tang Dynasty . However, Zhuangzi was already called Nanhua Zhenren, the true man of Nanhua, which is why Zhuangzi's work is also called Nanhua Zhenjing, "The True Book of Nanhua".
literature
- Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber : The Lexicon of Taoism. Basic concepts and teaching systems. Masters and Schools. Literature and art. Meditative practices of mysticism and history of wisdom from its beginnings until today . Goldmann, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-442-12644-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives:眞 人, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism.