Karma: In Hindu tradition the karma is the record of all actions from all lives, the consequences for which are determined by the intentions of the act, not the consequences of the act. In Yoga, this is the form of practice that emphasizes work.

 (See also: Karma, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Buddha Skt., Pali, lit., Òawakened one.Ó

 1. A person who has achieved the enlightenment that leads to release from the cycle of existence (samsara) and has thereby attained complete liberation (nirvana). The content of his teaching, which is based on the experience of enlightenment, is the four noble truths. A buddha has overcome every kind of craving (trishna); although even he also has pleasant and unpleasant sensations, he is not ruled by them and remains innerly untouched by them. After his death he is not reborn again.

 Two kinds of buddhas are distinguished: the pratyeka-buddha, who is completely enlight ened but does not expound the teaching; and the samyak-sambuddha, who expounds for the wel fare of all beings the teaching that he has discov ered anew. A samyak-sambuddha is omniscient (sarvajnata) and possesses the ten powers of a buddha (dashabala) and the four certainties. The buddha of our age is Shakyamuni. (See also Buddha 2.)

 Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, is not the first and only buddha. Already in the early Hinayana texts, six buddhas who preceded him in earlier epochs are mentioned: Vipashyin (Pali, Vipassi), Shikin (Sikhi), Vishvabhu (Vessabhu), Krakuchchanda (Kakusandha), Konagamana, and Kashyapa (Kassapa). The buddha who will follow Sh?kyamuni in a future age and renew the dharma is Maitreya. Be yond these, one finds indications in the litera ture of thirteen further buddhas, of which the most important is Dipamkara, whose disci ple Shakyamuni was in his previous existence as the ascetic Sumedha. The stories of these leg endary buddhas are contained in the Buddhavamsa, a work from the Khuddaka nikaya.

 2. The historical Buddha. He was born in 563 BCE, the son of a prince of the Shakyas, whose small kingdom in the foothills of the Himalayas lies in present-day Nepal. His first name was Siddhartha, his family name Gauta ma. Hence he is also called Gautama Buddha. (For the story of his life, see Siddhartha Gauta ma.) During his life as a wandering ascetic, he was known as Shakyamuni, the ÒSilent Sage of the Shakyas.Ó In order to distinguish the historical Buddha from the transcendent buddhas (see buddha 3), he is generally called Shakyamuni Buddha or Buddha Shakyamuni.

 3. The Òbuddha principle,Ó which manifests itself in the most various forms. Whereas in Hinayana only the existence of one buddha in every age is accepted (in which case the Buddha is considered an earthly being who teaches hu mans), for the Mahayana there are countless transcendent buddhas. According to the Mahayana teaching of the trikaya, the buddha principle manifests itself in three principal forms, the so-called three bodies (trikaya). In this sense the transcendent buddhas represent embodiments of various aspects of the buddha principle.

 4. A synonym for the absolute, ultimate reality devoid of form, color, and all other propertiesÑbuddha-nature.

From The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen,

By Michael S. Diener, Franz-Karl Erhard, Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber

Translated by Michael H. Kohn

 (See also: Buddha, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Ban T'o

Suddhidanthaka in Sanskrit. Ban T¹o was a disciple of Buddha, and he was very forgetful; for when the Buddha taught him the second sentence of a gatha of a sutra he would forget the first one, and when he was taught the third one he would forget the second one. Ultimately, however, with persistence he became an Arhat.

 (See also: Ban T'o, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Kasaya

The monk¹s robe, or cassock.

 (See also: Kasaya, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Surangama Sutra

Also called Heroic Gate Sutra.

 The "Sutra of the Heroic One" exercised a great influence on the development of Mahayana Buddhism in China (and neighboring countries).

It emphasizes the power of samadhi, through which enlightenment can be attained, and explains the various methods of emptiness meditation through the practice of which everyone ... can realize ... enlightenment Š (Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen.)

 (See also: Surangama Sutra, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

anusaya (anusaya): Obsesssion; underlying tendency. (The etymology of this term means "lying down with"; in actual usage, the related verb (anuseti) means to be obsessed.)

There are seven major obsessions to which the mind returns over and over again:

obsession with sensual passion (kama-raganusaya),

with resistance (patighanusaya),

with views (ditthanusaya),

with uncertainty (vicikicchanusaya),

with conceit (manusaya),

with passion for becoming (bhava-raganusaya), and

with ignorance (avijjanusaya).

Compare: samyojana.

 (See also: Anusaya, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Buddha Nature

The following terms refer to the same thing: Self-Nature, True Nature, Original Nature, Dharma Nature, True Mark, True Mind, True Emptiness, True Thusness, Dharma Body, Original Face, Emptiness, Prajna, Nirvana, etc.

According to the Mahayana view, (buddha-nature) is the true, immutable, and eternal nature of all beings. Since all beings possess buddha-nature, it is possible for them to attain enlightenment and become a buddha, regardless of what level of existence they occupy ...

The answer to the question whether buddha-nature is immanent in beings is an essential determining factor for the association of a given school with Theravada or Mahayana, the two great currents within Buddhism.

In Theravada this notion is unknown; here the potential to become a buddha is not ascribed to every being.

By contrast the Mahayana sees the attainment of buddhahood as the highest goal; it can be attained through the inherent buddha-nature of every being through appropriate spiritual practice. (The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen.)

See also "Dharma Nature."

 (See also: Buddha Nature, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

ajaan, ajahn, achaan, etc.: (Thai). Teacher; mentor. Equivalent to the Pali acariya.

 (See also: Ajaan, , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Delusion (Ignorance)

"Delusion refers to belief in something that contradicts reality. In Buddhism, delusion is ... a lack of awareness of the true nature or Buddha nature of things, or of the true meaning of existence. "

According to the Buddhist outlook, we are deluded by our senses-- among which intellect (discriminating, discursive thought) is included as a sixth sense.

Consciousness, attached to the senses, leads us into error by causing us to take the world of appearances for the world of reality, whereas in fact it is only a limited and fleeting aspect of reality." (The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen.)

 (See also: Delusion (Ignorance) , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Sanskrit

Learned language of India. Canonical texts of Mahayana Buddhism in its Indian stage were written in Sanskrit.

 (See also: Sanskrit, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Citta Mind or heart. the two terms being synonymous in Asian religious philosophy.

 (See also: Citta, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Deva

Lit., "A shining one".

An inhabitant of the heavenly realms, which is characterized by long life, joyous surroundings and blissful states of mind. In the Buddhist tradition, these states are understood to be impermanent, not eternal.

 (See also: Deva, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Four Fruits of the Arhat

See under Arhat entry.

 (See also: Four Fruits of the Arhat, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Vipasyana

Discernment; also, insight, correct perception or view.

 (See also: Vipasyana, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

A Theosophical definition of Buddhism :

Buddhism

The teachings of Gautama the Buddha. Buddhism today is divided into two branches, the Northern and the Southern. The Southern still retains the teachings of the "Buddha's brain," the "eye doctrine," that is to say his outer philosophy for the general world, sometimes inadequately called the doctrine of forms and ceremonies. The Northern still retains his "heart doctrine"  - that which is hid, the inner life, the heart-blood, of the religion: the doctrine of the inner heart of the teaching.

The religious philosophy of the Buddha-Sakyamuni is incomparably nearer to the ancient wisdom, the esoteric philosophy of the archaic ages, than is Christianity. Its main fault today is that teachers later than the Buddha himself carried its doctrines too far along merely formal or exoteric lines; yet, with all that, to this day it remains the purest and holiest of the exoteric religions on earth, and its teachings even exoterically are true  - once they are properly understood. They need but the esoteric key in interpretation of them. As a matter of fact, the same may be said of all the great ancient world religions. Christianity, Brahmanism, Taoism, and others all have the same esoteric wisdom behind the outward veil of the exoteric formal faith. See: exoteric. esoteric

See also: Buddhism , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

Fourfold Assembly

Or the Four Varga (groups) are bhiksu, bhiksuni, upasaka and upasika, i.e. monks, nuns, male and female devotees.

 (See also: Fourfold Assembly, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Samsara

Cycle of rebirths; realms of Birth and Death.

 (See also: Samsara, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Mantra

A syllable, word or verse which has been revealed to a seer in meditation, embodiment in sound of a deity; spell or incantation.

 (See also: Mantra, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Ch'an-Ting

Lit., mind still and quiet: the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit terms Dhyana- Samadhi, meaning deep contemplative practice or yogic absorption.

 (See also: Ch'an-Ting, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Veda

True or sacred knowledge or lore; name of celebrated works which constitute the basis of the first period of the Hindu religion.

 (See also: Veda, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)