bhidamma (ah-beed-tam-mah), literally means 'About Dharma'. A collection of highly scholastic documents which explain texts, define technical terms, arrange doctrines in numerical order and give systematic philosophical explations of the Buddha's teachings.
Anatta (ah-nah-tah), No-self. All conditioned things are devoid of a permanent, unchanging self. Everything changes.
Anicca (ah-nee-chah), all conditioned things are impermanent, not stable, non-eternal.
Arahant (a-rah-hant?), Enlightened One; master of thoughts.
Avalokiteshvara (ava-loka-tesh-vra), Bodhisattva of Compassion.
Bhavana (bah-vnah), means 'mental development'; practice.
Bodhisattva (bow-dee-sat-vah), associated with Mahayana Buddist thinking. Bodhi means Enlightenment, Sattva means Being. Refers to one who attains enlightenment not merely for their own sake but for the sake of all beings. May also elect to delay the onset of Nirvana in order to remain among the community and help others reach salvation.
Buddha (buu-dah), teacher, founder of Buddhism.
Buddhism (buu-dizm), philosophy, religion, code of ethics. Means to Enlightenment.
Chela (chee-lah?), pupil of a guru.
Dalai Lama (da-lie lamah), head of Tibetan Buddhism.
Dana (daah-nah), litterally means 'giving' or 'generosity'. Also given to the only meal of the day for Theravadin monks.
Dependent Origination, the process of the cycle of samsaric existence. Also called Conditioned Co-production.
Devas (dey-vah), gods.
Dhamma (daam-mah), or Dharma, the teachings of Buddha, the law, the way, the truth, the principle, reality. A collection of doctrines or teachings which lead directly to the truth/reality. Also seen as a mental object and a state or condition of existance.
Dhammapada (daam-mah-pa-da?), a popular compilation of the Buddha's teaching.
- Not to do evil
- To cultivate good
- To purify one's mind
Dukka, Dukkha (duu-kah), suffering, pain, unhappiness, sorrow, misery, or simply that which is unsatisfactory; the first Noble Truth.
(The) Eight-fold path, the way which leads to the cessation of Dukka:
- 1. 'samma ditthi' or right view/vision.
Coming to know that all is not right, io identify what is wrong and to
replace ignorance with knowledge and insights into the truth.
- 2. 'samma sankappa' or right resolve/aspiration and emotion.
The honest decision to do something to improve [oneself].
- 3. 'samma vada' or right speech.
Elimination of idle chatter, gossip, back-biting , harsh speech and
lying. Talk as if one wanted to change for the better.
- 4. 'samma kammanta' or right action.
Acting with honesty, love, humility.
- 5. 'samma ajiva' or right means of livelihood.
Pursuing a job that will help one develop one's own positive potentials as well as understanding better those around us.
- 6. 'samma vayama' or right effort.
The development the truth and of will power, a power to change.
- 7. 'samma sati' or right mindfulness.
Learning to be constantly and acutely aware of the nature of all
thoughts, words and actions.
- 8. 'samma samadhi' or right meditation or consentration.
To develop a regular practice of meditation and mindfulness.
(The) Four Noble Truths, one of the Buddha's key teachings:
- 1. 'Dukkha' - "The truth of the existence of Dukkha", the concept of continual suffering/unsatisfactoriness.
- 2. 'Tanha' - "The truth of the cause of this dukkha", the concept of craving, clinging and greed.
- 3. 'Nirodha' - "The truth of the ceasation of dukkha", the concept that there is a way out though Nirvana.
- 4. 'Magga' - "The truth of the path which leads to the ceasation of dukkha", the concept that the way out is to follow the noble eight-fold path.
Guru (guu-ruu), spiritual guide
Jatakas (jha-taa-kas), tales of the Buddha's former lives.
Kamma (kah-mah), Pali word meaning 'action', the law of conditionality (cause and effect) in the area of ethics/volitional activity.
Karma (kar-mah), Sanskrit word meaning the same as Kamma.
Karuna (gha-ruu-nah), compassion
Koan (gho-ann), a 'riddle' or technique used in Zen Buddhism
Kusala (ku-sah-la), or Kausalya (kau-sal-yah?), skilfulness.
Lotus Sutra, or Saddharma Pundarika, literally means 'Lotus of the True Law'; final teaching of the Buddha which explains the many paths of Buddhism all constitute aspects of one vehicle, reaching the same overall goal of Bodhisattva. Important Mahayana Scripture.
Lumbini (lumbh-eeni), the place of the Buddha's birth.
Magga (mah-gaa?), litterally means 'path'; refers to the Eightfold path.
Magaddan (ma-gah-dan?), language which the Buddha spoke.
Mahanikai (mah-hah-nee-kai), largest group of Buddist monks in Thailand
Mahayana (Buddism) (mah-hah-yah-nah), meaning 'The Great Way', one of the main branches/phases of Buddism, within which, several schools exist.
Mandala (man-dahl-lah), means 'cycle'; a design used for meditation in Mahayana Buddhism.
Manjushri (man-juush-ree), Bodhisattva of Wisdom.
Mantra (man-trah), 'man' means thought, 'tra' means protection. Repeated word or phrase sung or spoken, often in the form of one key note. Designed to stabilize all thought waves, bringing harmony and complete awareness - where there is no object or subject, only a state of being.
Mara (mah-ra?), Lord of Death.
Merit, reward for good deeds; store of goodness.
Metta (meh-tah), loving kindness / universal friendliness
The Middle Way, according to the Buddha, the proper path of conduct for humans to follow. A path without extremes of any kind - without excessive indulgences or excessive asceticism. It occupies a middle position between the two extreme views of eternalism and nihilism.
Mindfulness, learning to be constantly and acutely aware of the nature of all thoughts, words and actions.
Mitra (my-trah), means 'friend'; term used by the FWBO.
Mondo (mon-doe?), story used in Zen Buddhism.
Mudita (muu-daee-tah), happiness, satisfaction or joy in the successes of others.
Nagasena (nahg-ah-sei-nah?), Buddhism Monk.
Nimitta (nim-ee-tah), literally means 'sign'. Images of objects 'seen' in meditation.
Nibbana (nib-bahn-nah), pali word meaning 'to extinguish'; enlightenment; for the ultimate realization or perfection, freedom from rebirth. Inexpressible as a concept. To blow away the negatives of craving and selfish desires.
Nirvana (near-vah-nah), sanskrit word same as Nibbana
Nirodha (near-road-ah), the third Noble Truth; letting go of suffering.
Pali (bah-lee), literally means 'line', text used in Theravada Buddist writings.
Paranibbana (par-rah-nib-bahn-nah), or Paranirvana, to pass into Nirvana upon death.
Panna (paa-nah), Prajna (pahn-yah), wisdom.
Prana (pra-nah), life-force.
Precepts, rules of behaviour.
Pretas (pret-tahs?), hungry ghosts
Puja (poo-jah), formal worship; act of appreciation shown by offerings/kneeling to acknowledge the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
Refuge, refers to the Three Jewels as refuges in which we can can trust. The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
Sakyamuni (sak-iah-moo-ni?), title given to the Buddha, means 'sage of the Sakya clan'.
Samadhi (sah-mah-dtee), means meditation. The exercises by which a practitioner attains mental concentration and superconcious states. Also means the states of meditation themselves.
Samanara (sah-mah-nar-ah?), means 'child of a Samana' (religious seeker); novice monk.
Samatha (sah-mah-thah), calm, inner peace; form of meditation techique.
Samsara (sahm-sah-rah), repeating cycle of becoming - birth and death. The sphere of conditioned existance.
Sangha (sang-ah), the Buddhist Community or Order.
Sanskrit (sans-krit), ancient language of India. Religious texts of both Hinduism and Buddhism have been written in Sanskrit.
Sati (sah-tee), mindfulness, awareness.
Satipattana (sah-tee-pah-tah-nah), the four foundations of mindfulness:
- Mindfulness of the body
- Mindfulness of feelings
- Mindfulness of the mind
- Mindfulness of reality
Satipattana is also a meditation practice that stresses mindfulness.
Satori (sah-tor-ee), sudden enlightenment found in the Zen tradition.
Siddhatta Gotama (syddt-hah-ta goat-ah-ma?), or Siddhartha Gautama; name of the historical Buddha.
Skandhas (skhan-dahs?), the five ever-changing elements that constitute a person (self):
- Matter - includes our sense organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue; and thoughts, ideas and conceptions.
- Sensations - all sansations we attain from the organs, pleasant and unpleasant.
- Perseptions - and recognition of the arising sansations.
- Mental Formations - volitions, mental acts of will which include intuition, determination abd heedlessness. Also the three poisons: desire, ignorance and avertion.
- Conciousness - creates awareness of a sense object.
Sukka (suu-kha), or Sukha, means happiness, bliss or ease. Opposite of dukkha.
Sutta (su-taa), or Sutra (su-trah), literally means 'thread'; name of the Buddhist Scriptures.
Tamboon (tam-buun), to do good, to make merit.
Tanha (tan-hah), desire, craving, clinging, cause of rebirth.
Tao (T'aaw), means 'The Way'; a Chinese tradition that influensed Zen Buddhism.
Tara (Tar-rah), female Bodhisatta, 'Mother of Compassion'; there are two Taras, Green Tara and White Tara.
Theravada (Buddhism) (tair-rah-vad-da), literally 'The Way of the Elders'. One of the traditions more akin to the original teachings of Buddha. Their texts, the Pali Canon, contains some of the earliest accounts of the Buddha and his teachings.
(The) Three Jewels, or (The) Three Refuges:
- Refuge to the Buddha
- Refuge to the Dhamma
- Refuge to the Sangha
(The) Three Poisons:
- Greed or craving
- Hatred or aversion
- Delusion or ignorance
Upekkah (uu-bay-kah), state of equanimity.
Uposatta (uu-pos-atah?), weekly days of observance based on the lunar cycle.
Vihara (vi-har-ah), Monastic residence.
Vipassana (wee-pah-shon-ah), insight meditation.
Vajrayana (vi-ray-ana), relatively new phase of Buddhism, know as the 'Thunderbolt Way'.
Wai (wye), a gesture of respect to the teacher or Buddha, made by placing the hands together to resemble a lotus bud and then placing the hands before the face.
Wat (watt), an enclosed temple compound for Buddism.
Yama (yah-mah), plane in the Deva realm of existence; also that which destroys pain.
Zen (Buddhism), Japanese for of Buddhism, from the Chinese 'Ch'an' and Sanskrit 'Dhyana' meaning meditation.
