States of woe: the three realms of existence characterized by extreme discomfort and delusion--i.e., hell-states, animal-birth and the hungry ghosts, or pretas.
bhikkhu (bhikkhu): A Buddhist monk; a man who has given up the householder's life to live a life of heightened virtue (see sila) in accordance with the Vinaya in general, and the Patimokkha rules in particular.
The practice of generosity or charity: one of the Paramitas as well as one of the All- Embracing Virtues, where it means, in the latter, giving others what they want just to lead them towards the truth.
Ki: The energy of the spirit. This is not the soul or the ego, it is only energy. It is also activity, and the energy of the cosmos and everything within the cosmos, especially in living things.
Avidya: In Hinduism this is one of the conditions involved in samsara and reincarnation, meaning ignorance. This is ignorance of spiritual perception, not book knowledge. The origin of tanha (craving) is avidya (ignorance), where tanha is what keeps the living in the cycle of samsara. We can see this reflected in the third noble truth, where the source of greed is illusion, and in order to overcome illusion we must overcome avidya, ignorance.
Term related to the Buddhist metaphysics of time. Each of the periodic manifestations and dissolutions of universes which go on eternally has four parts, called asamkhiya kalpas.
Extended mantra used in esoteric branch of Buddhism to focus and expand the mind. Its words, or sounds, should not communicate any recognizable meaning.
