Pali Buddhist

Asoka (Sanskrit). A celebrated Indian king of the Morya dynasty which reigned at Magadha. There were two Asokas in reality, according to the chronicles of Northern Buddhism, though the first Asoka - the grand father of the second, named by Prof. Max Muller the "Constantine of India", was better known by his name of Chandragupta.

It is the former who was called, Piadasi (Pali) "the beautiful", and Devanam-piya "the beloved of the gods", and also Kalasoka; while the name of his grandson was Dharmasoká - the Asoka of the good law- - on account of his devotion to Buddhism. Moreover, according to the same source, the second Asoka had never followed the Brahmanical faith, but was a Buddhist born.

 It was his grandsire who had been first converted to the new faith, after which he had a number of edicts inscribed on pillars and rocks, a custom followed also by his grandson. But it was the second Asoka who was the most zealous supporter of Buddhism; he, who maintained in his palace from 60 to 70,000 monks and priests, who erected 84,000 totes and stupas throughout India, reigned 36 years, and sent missions to Ceylon, and throughout the world.

The inscriptions of various edicts published by him display most noble ethical sentiments, especially the edict at Allahahad, on the so-called "Asoka’s column ", in the Fort. The sentiments are lofty and poetical, breathing tenderness for animals as well as men, and a lofty view of a king’s mission with regard to his people, that might be followed with great success in the present age of cruel wars and barbarous vivisection.

(See also: Asoka , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

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Abhidhamma (Pali) (from abhi towards, with intensified meaning + dhamma law, religion, duty from the verbal root dhri to hold fast, preserve, sustain)

The supreme dhamma or law as expounded in the third and last portion of the Pali Tipitaka (Sanskrit Tripitaka) or "three baskets" of the canonical books of the Southern School of Buddhism. The Abhidamma-pitaka, which deals with profound metaphysical themes, is believed to be the source from which the Mahayana and Hinayana got their fundamental doctrines.

Abhidamma (Sanskrit abhidharma) is defined by Buddhaghosha as "that higher law (dharma) which goes beyond (abhi) the popular or common law."

(See also: Abhidhamma , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

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Anatta (Pali) (from an not + atta self, soul)

Non-self, nonegoity; a Buddhist doctrine postulating that there is no unchanging, permanent self (atta, Sanskrit atman) in the human being, in contrast to the Upanishad view that the atman or inner essence of a human being is identic with Brahman, the Supreme, which pervades and is the universe. While Gautama Buddha stresses the nonreality of self, regarding as continuous only its attributes (the five khandas; Sanskrit skandhas) which return at rebirth, there is scriptural testimony in both Southern and Northern Schools that the Buddha recognized a fundamental selfhood in the human constitution (cf ET 108-10).

In the Dhammapada, one of the most respected texts of the Southern Buddhists, we read: "The self is the master of the self (atta hi attano natho)

, for who else could be its master?" (12:160); in the Mahaparinibbana-sutta (2:33, 35): attadipa attasarana, "be ye as those who have the self (atta) as their light (diva, also translated as island); be ye as those who have the self (atta) as their refuge (sarana)

" (cf RK Dh. 12, 45). Also we find Nagarjuna stating in his commentary on the Prajna-paramita: "Sometimes the Tathagata taught that the Atman verily exists, and yet at other times he taught that the Atman does not exist" (Chinese recension of Yuan Chung).

(See also: Anatta , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

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Selfishness Making the gratification of the personal self or ego the paramount aim in conduct; a disregard of the interests of others. While individualism is a necessary stage in evolution, yet humanity on the upward arc of evolution is on the road towards realization of the essential unity of all selves. Hence selfishness is our greatest obstacle in spiritual unfolding or development.

It is not its grosser manifestations that are most harmful, but the subtler forms in which it may wear the mask of the virtues. It is overcome by aspiration towards the source of our being, by recognizing the barrenness and futility of self-seeking and its destructive results, and by the cultivation of that primal instinct of altruism which is at the heart of every being.

What is here called selfishness corresponds in the minds of Buddhist philosophers and scholars to the ideas they disputed grouped about the word atman. They never intended to deny the fundamental meaning of atman or selfhood, and yet this misconception of ancient Buddhist teaching has brought about the false idea that Gautama Buddha and his followers taught that man has no essential self or selfhood. Because selfishness was popularly considered the permanent soulhood in man, the doctrine of anatma (in Pali, anatta) was strongly and continuously taught.

The deduction shows clearly that even in India at the time of the Buddha, selfhood in its popular sense of concentration on the lower self and its interests was as popular and widespread as today. It is a paradox that in selflessness is found the noblest and highest emanation of self-expression of the atman or spiritual self in man.

(See also: Selfishness , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

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Sutra (Sanskrit) [from siv to sew]

A string, thread; the sutras are strings of rules or aphorisms written in serve form, composed in terse and symbolic language with the obvious intention of their being committed to memory. This was a favorite form among the Hindus, as among all ancient peoples, of imbodying and transmitting rules of ancient religious and philosophic thought.

There are sutras written upon almost every subject, but the sutras commonly signify those connected with the Vedas, of which there are three kinds: the Kalpa-sutras (rules of ritual); the grihya-sutras (domestic rules) treating of ordinary family rites such as marriage, birth, name-giving, etc.; and the Samayacharika-sutras which treat of customs and temporal duties. The Kalpa-sutras belong to the class of writings called Srutis (heard or revealed); while the other two types of sutras belong to the Smritis (remembered), carried traditionally from generation to generation by word of mouth.

In Buddhist writings, the Sutras are the second division of sacred works, generally known under the equivalent Pali term Suttas.

(See also: Sutra , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

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Sutta-pitaka (Pali) [from sutta (Sanskrit sutra) dialogue, originally a thread + pitaka basket]

The third section of the Buddhist canon (the Tripita or Three Baskets) treating on the dialogs (suttas) of the Buddha and his disciples, especially those in the style of discourses and narratives.

(See also: Sutta-pitaka , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

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Samma Sambuddha (Pali). A title of the Lord Buddha, the "Lord of meekness and resignation"; it means "perfect illumination ".

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Pratyeka-yana (Sanskrit) [from prati towards, for + eka one + yana vehicle, path]

The path of each one for himself, or the personal vehicle or ego, equivalent to the Pali pachcheka. Fully self-conscious being cannot ever be achieved by following the path for oneself, but solely by following the amrita-yana (immortal vehicle) or the path of self-consciousness in immortality, the spiritual path to a nirvana of high degree, the secret path as taught by the heart doctrine. The pratyeka-yana is the pathway of the personality, the vegetative or material path to a nirvana of a low degree, the open path, as taught by the eye doctrine. These two terms describe two kinds of advancement towards more spiritual things, and the two ultimate goals thereof: the amrita-yana of the Buddhas of Compassion, and the pratyeka-yana of the Pratyeka Buddhas.

Although advancing steadily in spirituality and upwards towards a lower nirvana, and therefore evolving on a path which is not only not harmful to humanity and others, but in a sense is even passively beneficial, the Pratyeka Buddha, precisely because his thoughts are involved in spiritual freedom and benefits for himself, is really enwrapped in a spiritual selfishness; and hence in the intuitive, albeit popular, consideration of Northern Buddhism is called by such names as the Solitary or the Rhinoceros -- applied in contrast to the Buddhas of Compassion, whose entire effort is to merge the individual into the universal, to expand their sympathies to include all that is, to follow the path of immortality (amrita), which is self-identification without loss of individuality with all that is.

When the sacrifice of the lower personal and inferior self, with all its hoard of selfish thought and impulses, for the sake of bringing into full and unfettered activity the ineffable glorious faculties and powers and functions of the higher nature -- not for the purpose of selfish personal advancement, but in order to become a helper of all that is -- the consequence is that as time passes, the disciple so living and dedicating himself finds himself becoming the very incarnation of his inner divinity. He becomes, as it were, a man-god on earth. This, however, is not the objective, for holding such an objective as the goal to be attained would be in itself a proof that selfishness still abides in the nature.

Abstractly, of course, pratyeka-yana can be used for sorcerers and the path of the Brothers of the Shadow, but such is not usual. Obviously the path of sorcery is a pratyeka path in the strictly logical sense. The path of the sorcerers is called the left-hand path, the path of darkness or of the shadows, the downward path, and is sometimes described by the term pratyeka-yana.

Actually, the path of the shadows and the path towards the light stretch in opposite directions; yet the ultimate goal of both is a nirvana. The path upwards, whether of the amrita or of the pratyeka, leads to the nirvana of spirit -- the amrita ultimately being far higher than that of the pratyeka; whereas the downward path of the Brothers of the Shadow leads also to a nirvana, but to enchainment in the avichi-nirvana of absolute matter for that hierarchy.

(See also: Pratyeka-yana , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

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Mahatma. Lit., "great soul". An adept of the highest order. Exalted beings who, having attained to the mastery over their lower principles are thus living unimpeded by the "man of flesh", and are in possession of knowledge and power commensurate with the stage they have reached in their spiritual evolution. Called in Pali Rahats and Arhats.

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Ganinnanse. A Singhalese priest who has not yet been ordained - from gana, an assemblage or brotherhood. The higher ordained priests "are called terunnanse from the Pali théro, an elder"(Hardy).

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Samkhara (Pali). "Tendencies of mind" (See" Skandhas").

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Samma Sambuddha (Pali). The recollection of all of one’s past incarnations; a yoga phenomenon.

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Tanha (Pali). The thirst for life. Desire to live and clinging to life on this earth. This clinging is that which causes rebirth or reincarnation.

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Pali (paali, paa.li): The canon of texts (see Tipitaka) preserved by the Theravada school and, by extension, the language in which those texts are composed.

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

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bhava (bhava): Becoming. States of being that develop first in the mind and can then be experienced as internal worlds and/or as worlds on an external level. There are three levels of becoming: on the sensual level, the level of form, and the level of formlessness.

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

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sugato (sugato): Well-faring; going (or gone) to a good destination. An epithet for the Buddha.

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

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raga (raaga): Lust; greed. See lobha.

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

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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.

See sangha, parisa, upasampada.

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

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run-of-the-mill person: See puthujjana.

 (See also: Run-of-the-mill person , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

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upadana (upaadaana): Clinging; attachment; sustenance for becoming and birth - attachment to sensuality, to views, to precepts and practices, and to theories of the self.

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

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satipatthana (satipa.t.thaana): Foundation of mindfulness; frame of reference - body, feelings, mind, and mental events, viewed in and of themselves as they occur.

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

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brahma (brahma, brahmaa): "Great One" - an inhabitant of the non-sensual heavens of form or formlessness.

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

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