Saṃsāra

Saṃsāra (Sanskrit संसार) is the repeating cycle of birth, life and death (reincarnation) as well as one's actions and consequences in the past, present, and future in Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon, Jainism, Taoism, and Sikhism.

According to these religions, a person's current life is only one of many lives that will be lived—stretching back before birth into past existences and reaching forward beyond death into future incarnations. During the course of each life, the quality of the actions (karma) performed determine the future destiny of each person. The Buddha taught that there is no beginning to this cycle but that it can be ended through perceiving reality. The goal of these religions is to realize this truth, the achievement of which (like ripening of a fruit) is moksha or nirvana (liberation).

Etymology and origin

Saṃsāra is a Sanskrit word, the literal meaning of which is "a wandering through" – in reference to the passage through many states of existence that is involved in the cycle of death and rebirth.

Samsara (2011 film)

Samsara is a 2011 non-narrative documentary film, directed by Ron Fricke and produced by Mark Magidson, who also collaborated on Baraka (1992), a film of a similar vein. Samsara was filmed over five years in 25 countries around the world. It was shot in 70 mm format and output to digital format. The film premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and received a limited release in August 2012.

Synopsis

The official website describes the film, "Expanding on the themes they developed in Baraka (1992) and Chronos (1985), Samsara explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of humanity's spirituality and the human experience. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation."

Production

Samsara is directed by Ron Fricke and produced by Mark Magidson. The pair had collaborated on Baraka (1992) and reunited in 2006 to plan Samsara. They researched locations that would fit the conceptual imagery of samsara, to them "meaning 'birth, death and rebirth' or 'impermanence'". They gathered research from people's works and photo books as well as the Internet and YouTube, resources not available at the time of planning Baraka. They considered using digital cameras but decided to film in 70 mm instead, considering its quality superior. Fricke and Magidson began filming Samsara the following year. Filming lasted for more than four years and took place in 25 countries across five continents. Three years into filming, the pair began assembling the film and editing it. They pursued several pick-up shoots to augment the final product.

Samsara (disambiguation)

Saṃsāra is a religious concept of reincarnation in Hinduism and other Indian religions.

Saṃsāra or Samsaram may also refer to:

Films

Music

Seraph

A seraph (/ˈsɛr.əf/; pl. seraphs or seraphim /ˈsɛr.ə.fɪm/, in the King James Version also seraphims (plural); Hebrew: שָׂרָף śārāf, plural שְׂרָפִים śərāfîm; Latin: seraphim and seraphin (plural), also seraphus (-i, m.);Greek: σεραφείμ serapheím) is a type of celestial or heavenly being in Christianity and Judaism.

Tradition places seraphs in the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy and in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy. A seminal passage in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8) used the term to describe six-winged beings that fly around the Throne of God crying "holy, holy, holy". This throne scene, with its triple invocation of holiness (a formula that came to be known as the Trisagion), profoundly influenced subsequent theology, literature and art. Its influence is frequently seen in works depicting angels, heaven and apotheosis. Seraphs are mentioned as celestial beings in an influential Hellenistic work, the Book of Enoch, and the Book of Revelation.

Seraphim (Nikitin)

Metropolitan Seraphim of Krutitsy and Kolomna (Russian: Серафим, митрополит Крутицкий и Коломенский; born Vladimir Myronovych Nikitin (Russian: Владимир Миронович Никитин); July 2, 1905 - 22 April 1979) is a Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Kolomna and Krutitsy.

Biography

Born in St. Petersburg in the family servant. In 1928 he graduated from the State Institute of Architecture.

During World War II he served in the Soviet Army.

In November 1951 he ordained deacon and then priest in the appointment of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Leningrad. As a member of the building committee of the Leningrad diocese. In 1958 he graduated from the correspondence section of the Leningrad Theological Academy with the title of Candidate of Theology.

June 26, 1962 he was tonsured a monk with the name Seraphim in the Pskov-Caves Monastery, on July 1 of the same year elevated to the rank of Archimandrite.

From 8 to 27 February 1968 a temporary administrator of the diocese of Voronezh.

Seraphim (band)

Seraphim (六翼天使) is a Taiwanese power metal band.

History

Formed in 2001 in the City of Taipei, Taiwan, they recorded their first song "Love Hate" for a demo weeks later, gaining notice and eventually a contract from Magnum Music (Taiwan) in April. Within a month they recorded their first album The Soul That Never Dies (不死魂), which was released in August.

Following the album's release they did a few shows to help promote it, and by November they started writing new material for a second album. In January 2002 they were invited to perform at the Kung-Ming music festival in China. Soon afterwards they began recording their second album, The Equal Spirit (平等精靈). Their debut album also gained a European release through the independent label Arise.

The second album was released in Taiwan on the 10th of September 2002.

After doing one show to promote the album guitarist Dan Chang left the band, and was replaced by Lucas Huang in December. An English version of The Equal Spirit was released on January 2003, and after a European release they participated in Taiwan's Midsummer Night Tour later that year. They released the Chinese Edition of Ai (愛), their third album, by February.