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The Upanishads (; ) are a collection of texts which contain some of the central philosophical concepts of Hinduism, some of which are shared with Buddhism and Jainism. The Upanishads are considered by Hindus to contain utterances (''śruti'') concerning the nature of ultimate reality (''brahman'') and describing the character of and path to human salvation (''mokṣa'' or ''mukti''). The Upanishads are commonly referred to as ''Vedānta'', variously interpreted to mean either the "last chapters, parts of the Veda" or "the object, the highest purpose of the Veda".〔Max Muller, (The Upanishads ), Part 1, Oxford University Press, page LXXXVI footnote 1〕 The concepts of Brahman (Ultimate Reality) and Ātman (Soul, Self) are central ideas in all the Upanishads,〔 and "Know your Ātman" their thematic focus.〔〔 The Upanishads are the foundation of Hindu philosophical thought and its diverse traditions.〔〔Wiman Dissanayake (1993), Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice (Editors: Thomas P. Kasulis et al), State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791410806, page 39; Quote: "The Upanishads form the foundations of Hindu philosophical thought and the central theme of the Upanishads is the identity of Atman and Brahman, or the inner self and the cosmic self."; Michael McDowell and Nathan Brown (2009), World Religions, Penguin, ISBN 978-1592578467, pages 208-210〕 Of the Vedic corpus, they alone are widely known, and the central ideas of the Upanishads are at the spiritual core of Hindus.〔Wendy Doniger (1990), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226618470, pages 2-3; Quote: "The Upanishads supply the basis of later Hindu philosophy; they alone of the Vedic corpus are widely known and quoted by most well-educated Hindus, and their central ideas have also become a part of the spiritual arsenal of rank-and-file Hindus."〕〔Patrick Olivelle (2014), The Early Upanisads, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195352429, page 3; Quote: "Even though theoretically the whole of vedic corpus is accepted as revealed truth (), in reality it is the Upanishads that have continued to influence the life and thought of the various religious traditions that we have come to call Hindu. Upanishads are the scriptures par excellence of Hinduism".〕 More than 200 Upanishads are known, of which the first dozen or so are the oldest and most important and are referred to as the principal or main (''mukhya'') Upanishads.〔〔E Easwaran (2007), The Upanishads, ISBN 978-1586380212, pages 298-299〕 The ''mukhya'' Upanishads are found mostly in the concluding part of the ''Brahmanas'' and ''Aranyakas'' and were, for centuries, memorized by each generation and passed down verbally. The early Upanishads all predate the Common Era, some in all likelihood pre-Buddhist (6th century BCE),〔 down to the Maurya period. Of the remainder, some 95 Upanishads are part of the Muktika canon, composed from about the start of common era through medieval Hinduism. New Upanishads, beyond the 108 in the Muktika canon, continued to being composed through the early modern and modern era, though often dealing with subjects which are unconnected to the Vedas. Along with the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahmasutra, the ''mukhya'' Upanishads (known collectively as the ''Prasthanatrayi''), provide a foundation for the several later schools of Vedanta, among them, two influential monistic schools of Hinduism. With the translation of the Upanishads in the early 19th century they also started to attract attention from a western audience. Schopenhauer was deeply impressed by the Upanishads and called it "the production of the highest human wisdom". The 19th century transcendentalists noted the influence of the Upanishads in western philosophy.〔(Neria H. Hebbar, ''Influence of Upanishads in the West'', Boloji.com ). Retrieved on: 2012-03-02.〕 ==Etymology== The Sanskrit term ' (u = at, pa = foot, nishat =sitting down) translates to "sitting at the foot/feet of", referring to the student sitting down near the teacher while receiving esoteric knowledge. Monier-Williams' ''Sanskrit Dictionary'' adds that, "According to native authorities Upanishad means 'setting to rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit.'" Shri Adi Shankara explains in his commentary on the and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that the word means ''Ātmavidyā'', that is, "knowledge of the Self", or ''Brahmavidyā'' "knowledge of Brahma". Other dictionary meanings include "esoteric doctrine" and "secret doctrine". The word appears in the verses of many Upanishads, such as the fourth verse of the 13th volume in first chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad. Max Muller as well as Paul Deussen translate the word ''Upanishad'' in these verses as "secret doctrine",〔Max Muller, (Chandogya Upanishad 1.13.4 ), The Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, page 22〕〔Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, page 85〕 Robert Hume translates it as "mystic meaning",〔Robert Hume, (Chandogya Upanishad 1.13.4 ), Oxford University Press, page 190〕 while Patrick Olivelle translates it as "hidden connections".〔Patrick Olivelle (2014), The Early Upanishads, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195124354, page 185〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「upanishads」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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