Buddhism: Basic Buddhist Dictionary

By http://www.ship.edu

Basic Buddhist Dictionary

Abhidharma pitaka -- higher teachings, philosophy

Alaya-vij–ana -- ÒstoreÓ consciousness (similar to collective unconscious?)

Amitabha -- the Buddha of the Western ÒPure Land."  Also known as Amida.

Ananda -- BuddhaÕs friend, cousin, and favorite disciple, and the monk who remembered the Sutras.

Anatman (anatta) -- not-self, self or ego not ultimately real.

Annitya (anicca) -- change, impermanence of all things, including us.

Arahant -- Worthy one, a name for the Buddha.

Arhat -- a monk who has achieved nirvana.

Asanga -- one of two brothers who lived in India in the 300's ad who developed Yogachara.

Asita -- the astrologer who predicts BuddhaÕs fate

Asuras -- titans or demigods.

Avalokiteshwara  -- boddhisattva of compassion

Avidya (avijja) -- ignorance, delusion.

Bardo -- (Tibet) the period between death and rebirth.

Bhagava -- The blessed one, a name for the Buddha.

Bhikshu -- monk.

Bhikshuni -- nun.

Bodh-gaya -- a town in Bihar where Buddha was enlightened at 35.

Bodhi -- enlightenment, awakening.

Bodhi tree -- the fig tree under which Buddha gained enlightenment.

Bodhicitta -- sanskrit word for 'mind of enlightenment'

Bodhidharma -- monk who brought Buddhism to China.

Bodhisattva -- enlightened being who remains in this existence to help others, a saint.

Brahma -- the supreme deva, who convinced Buddha to teach.

Brahma vihara -- four "sublime states" of the boddhisattva: Maitri, Karuna, Mudita, Upeksa.

Buddha -- The awakened one, the enlightened one.

ChÕan -- Chinese for Zen Buddhism.

Chandaka -- BuddhaÕs squire, who helped him leave his princely life.

Ching-TÕu -- Chinese for Pure Land.

Citta -- basic mind or consciousness

Citta-matra -- mind only, idealism

Dalai Lama -- the leader of Tibetan Buddhists.

Deer Park -- where Buddha gave his first sermon, in Sarnath, near Benares, to the five sadhus.

Dependent origination -- Òone thing leads to another,Ó  all is connected.

Devadatta --  BuddhaÕs ÒevilÓ cousin. "Theodore."

Devas -- gods.

Dhamma -- Pali for dharma.

Dharma (dhamma) --  the teachings of the Buddha.

Dharmakaya -- Buddha-mind, the pervasive essence

Dharmas -- ultimate elements of the universe (not dharma as in teachings!)

Dhyana (chÕan, zen) -- meditation.

Dogen (1200-1253) -- monk who brought Soto Zen to Japan.

Duhkha (dukkha) -- suffering, distress, lack of peace.  First noble truth.

Dzogchen -- Tibetan tantric techniques for rapid enlightenment.

Dvesha (dosha) -- hatred, anger, avoidance.

Eightfold Path -- right view, aspiration, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration.

Five sadhus -- the five ascetics who practiced self-mortification with the Buddha.

Flower Adornment School -- a sect which attempted to consolidate all forms of Buddhism.  Also known as Hua-Yen or Kegon.

Gandharvas -- angelic beings who provide the gods with music.

Gati -- realm.  Used to refer to the six realms (gods, titans, humans, animals, ghosts, and demons)

Gautama (Gotama) -- Buddha's family name.

Hinayana -- southern Buddhism (Òsmall or lesser vehicle or journeyÓ).

Ho-tei -- Japanese name for Pu-tai

Indra -- a major deva, originally the Hindu sky god.

Jodo, Jodoshin -- Japanese for Pure Land.

Kalpa -- millions of years, an eternity.

Kamma -- Pali for karma.

Kanthaka -- BuddhaÕs horse.

Kapilavastu -- Shakyan capital, where Buddha grew up.

Karma (kamma) --  intentional or willed act.

Karuna -- compassion or mercy, the special kindness shown to those who suffer.  One of the four brahma vihara.

Kashinagara -- were Buddha died (near Lumbini), in a grove of sala trees.

Koan -- a very brief story demonstrating the paradoxical nature of dualistic thinking.  Used in Zen meditation.

Kwan Yin , Kwannon -- Chinese and Japanese names for Avalokiteswara.

Lama -- Tibetan tantric master, now often used to refer to any respected monk.

Lumbini Grove -- where Buddha was born, during his motherÕs trip to her parents home.

Madhyamaka -- middle way, negative logic, not this -- not that

Mahakyashapa -- the monk who understood the silent sermon and led the first council.

Mahamaya, or Mayadevi -- BuddhaÕs mother, who died seven days after his birth

Mahaprajapati -- BuddhaÕs aunt and stepmother, founder of Buddhist nuns.

Mahayana -- northern Buddhism (Òlarge or greater vehicle or journeyÓ).

Maitreya -- the future Buddha, who will be born 30,000 years from now.

Maitri -- caring, loving kindness displayed to all you meet.  One of the four brahma   vihara.

Manas -- I-consciousness, mind, intelligence

Mandala -- a complex, circular, symmetrical image used in meditation

Mantra -- a phrase or syllable repeated during meditation

Mara -- a deva associated with death and hindrances to enlightenment. It was Mara who tempted Buddha under the bodhi tree.

Marga -- the path, track.  The eightfold noble path.  Fourth noble truth.

Metta -- Pali for Maitri.

Mudita -- sympathetic joy, being happy for others, without a trace of envy.  One of the four brahma vihara.

Mudra -- symbolic hand positions

Nagarjuna -- monk who developed Madhyamaka in India about 150 ad.

Nagas -- great serpents (or dragons, or water creatures). The king of the Nagas protected Buddha from a storm.

Narakas -- demons (hell beings)

Nibbana -- Pali for nirvana.

Nichiren --  Japanese school popular in west, and the name of its founder.  Emphasizes chanting.

Nirmankaya -- Gotama, the historical Buddha.

Nirodha -- containment of suffering.  Third noble truth.

Nirvana (nibbana) -- liberation, enlightenment, release from samsara.

Pali -- a language related to Sanskrit in which the earliest scriptures were recorded in Sri Lanka.

Pali canon -- see the Tripitaka.

Pancha shila -- five moral precepts:  Avoid killing, or harming any living thing;  Avoid stealing; Avoid sexual irresponsibility;  Avoid lying, or any hurtful speech;  Avoid alcohol and drugs which diminish clarity of consciousness.

Pa––a -- Pali for praj–a

Pitaka -- basket, referring to the Tripitaka or scriptures.

Praj–a (pa––a) -- wisdom.

Praj–a -- goddess of knowledge.  BuddhaÕs mother was considered an incarnation.

Praj–aparamita -- a massive collection of Mahayana texts, including the Heart and Diamond Sutras.

Prateyaka-buddha -- solitary realizer.

Pretas -- hungry ghosts.

Puja -- ceremony in which offerings and other acts of devotion are performed.

Pu-tai -- the laughing buddha, chinese monk, incarnation of Maitreya

Pure Land -- Chinese/Japanese sect, emphasizing worship of Amitabha Buddha.  Ching- T'u, Jodo and Jodoshin.

Rahula -- BuddhaÕs son.

Rinzai Zen -- a Zen sect that makes extensive use of koans.

Rupa -- form, the physical body and senses

Samadhi -- meditation.

Samatha -- Pali for Shamatha.

Sambhogakaya -- Buddha as a deva or god.

Samj–a -- perception

Samsara -- the wheel of cyclic existence, birth-life-suffering-death-rebirth...

Samskara -- mental formations (emotions and impulses)

Samudaya -- arising or root of suffering.  Second noble truth.

Sangha -- the community of monks and nuns.

Sanskrit -- an early language of northern India, modified and used as a religious language by some Buddhists.

Sanzen -- interview with a master in Zen Buddhism

Sati -- Pali for smrti.

Satori -- Zen term for enlightenment.

Shakyamuni -- Sage of the Sakyas, a name for the Buddha.

Shakyas -- a noble clan, ruled an area of southern Nepal.

Shamatha (samatha) -- Òcalm abiding,Ó peacefulness.

Shikantaza -- mindfulness meditation in Zen Buddhism.

Shila (sila) -- morality.

Shravaka -- Òhearer,Ó one who needs the help of others to become enlightened.

Shrota-appana -- Òstream-winnerÓ (only seven more rebirths!).

Shuddodana -- BuddhaÕs father.

Shunyata -- emptiness, lack of inherent existence of Òown nature.Ó

Siddhartha Gautama -- ÒHe who has reached his goal.Ó

Sila -- Pali for shila.

Six realms -- realms of the gods, asuras, humans, animals, pretas, narakas.

Skandhas -- parts of the self.

Smrti (sati) -- mindfulness, meditation.

Son -- Korean for Zen Buddhism.

Soto Zen -- A Zen sect emphasizing Shikantaza meditation

Sthaviravada -- Sanskrit for Theravada, "way of the elders"

Sujata -- the village girl who gave Buddha milk-rice.

Sukhavati -- Sanskrit for Blissful Land, the "Pure Land" of Amitabha.

Sutra (sutta) pitaka -- sacred texts, sayings of the Buddha.

Tantra -- yogic, magico-ritual form.

Taras -- a set of 21 female saviors, born from AvalokiteshwaraÕs tears.  Green Tara and   White Tara are the best known.

Tathagata -- Òthus gone,Ó a name for the Buddha.

Tendai -- see White Lotus School.

Thangka -- a traditional Tibetan painting of a holy being.

The Four Noble Truths:  duhkha, samudaya, nirodha, marga.

Theravada -- Òway of the elders,Ó only surviving form of southern Buddhism.

Three bodies -- nirmankaya, sambhogakaya, dharmakaya.  Three meanings of    "Buddha."

Three fires (or poisons) -- the causes of suffering.

Tipitaka -- Pali for Tripitaka.

Tripitaka (three baskets) -- earliest Buddhist scriptures:  Vinaya pitaka, sutra pitaka,   abhidarma pitaka.

Trishna (tanha) -- thirst, craving, desire.

Upali -- the first person ordained as a monk by the Buddha, a barber, and the monk who  remembered the Vinaya or code of the monks.

Upeksa (upekkha) is equanimity, levelness, or grace.  One of the four brahma vihara.

Vajrayana -- tantric Buddhism (Òthunderbolt vehicleÓ), esp. Tibetan Buddhism.

Vasubandhu -- one of two brothers who lived in India in the 300's ad who developed   Yogachara.

Vedana -- sensation, feeling.

Vij–ana -- consciousness or mind.

Vinaya pitaka -- discipline basket (code of behavior for monks).

Vipaka -- ÒfruitÓ of willed act, the consequences.

Vipashyana (vipassana) -- insight, mindfulness.

White Lotus School -- sect focusing on the Lotus Sutra.  Also known as T'ien T'ai or Tendai.

Yama -- the king of the 21 hells.

Yashodhara -- BuddhaÕs wife, whom he married when they were both 16

Yidam --  mental image of a god or other entity used for meditation

Yogacara (or vij–a–avada) -- school emphasizing primacy of consciousness

Zazen -- sitting meditation in Zen Buddhism

Zen -- a group of Buddhist sects that focus on meditation.  Also known as Ch'an, Son, or Dhyana.

Courtesy to http://www.ship.edu