Pāramitā (Sanskrit) or Parami (Pāli): "Perfection" or "Transcendent". In Buddhism, the Paramitas refer to the perfection or culmination of certain practices. These practices are cultivated by Bodhisattvas for crossing from sensuous life (Samsara) to Enlightenment (Nirvana). In Theravada Buddhism, the Ten Perfections (Paramis) are; (original terms in Pali) dāna parami : generosity, giving of oneself sila parami : virtue, morality, proper conduct < ...

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Paramita:

Refers to the six practices, the perfection of which ferries one beyond the sea of suffering and mortality to Nirvana.

The six Paramitas are the following:

(1)  Dana, charity or giving, including the bestowing of truth on others;

(2)  Sila, keeping the discipline;

(3)  Ksanti, patience under suffering and insult;

(4)  Virya, zeal and progress;

(5)  Dhyana, meditation or contemplation;

(6)  Prajna, wisdom, the power to discern reality or truth. It is the perfection of the last one -- Prajna -- that ferries sentient beings across the ocean of Samsara (the sea of incarnate life) to the shores of Nirvana.

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

Paramita: Literally "perfections"; Mahayana Buddhism notes 10 perfections of the ideal bodhisattva: giving (dana), morality (sila), patience (ksanti), vigor (virya), contemplation (dhyana), wisdom (prajna), means-to-ends ability (upaya), resolution (pranidhana), strength (bala), and knowledge (jnana).

 (See also: Paramita, Eastern Philosophy, Body Mind and Soul)

Bodhi (Pāli and Sanskrit. Lit. awakening) is a title given in Buddhism to the specific awakening experience attained by the Indian spiritual teacher Gautama Buddha and his disciples. It is sometimes described as complete and perfect sanity, or awareness of the true nature of the universe. After attainment, it is believed one is freed from the cycle of Samsāra: birth, suffering, death and rebirth. Bodhi is most commonly translated into English as enlightenment, though this translation is problematic, since enlightenment ...

Including:

• Bodhi - Modes of Enlightenment
• Bodhi - Pacceka-Bodhi Pratyeka
• Bodhi - Sammā-Sambodhi supreme Buddha
• Bodhi - Quotes

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Compassion: Cultivating Positive Emotions

All major traditions in the world agree that negative emotions cause both physical and mental suffering. To be happy and free of suffering we need to cultivate positive attributes like compassion, generosity and loving-kindness. Buddhism acknowledges that outer circumstances are often beyond our control.

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There are a great variety of Buddhist texts. Buddhists place varying value on them: attitudes range from worship of the text itself, to dismissal of some texts as falsification of the ineffable truth. They therefore cannot be called "scripture" in the sense of other religions. The texts can be categorized in a number of ways, but the most fundamental division is that between canonical and non-canonical texts. The former, also called the Sutras (Sanskrit) or Suttas (Pali), are held to be, literally or metaphoricall ...

Including:

• Buddhist texts - Canonical texts
• Buddhist texts - Non-canonical texts
• Buddhist texts - Texts of the Nikaya Schools
• Buddhist texts - Sutta
• Buddhist texts - Abhidharma
• Buddhist texts - Non-canonical texts
• Buddhist texts - Mahayana texts
• Buddhist texts - Perfection of Wisdom Texts
• Buddhist texts - Saddharma-pundarika
• Buddhist texts - Pure Land Sutras
• Buddhist texts - The Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra
• Buddhist texts - Samadhi Sutras
• Buddhist texts - Confession Sutras
• Buddhist texts - The Avatamsaka Sutra
• Buddhist texts - Third Turning Sutras
• Buddhist texts - Tathagatagarbha class sutras
• Buddhist texts - Collected Sutras
• Buddhist texts - Transmigration Sutras
• Buddhist texts - Discipline Sutras
• Buddhist texts - Sutras Devoted to Individual Figures
• Buddhist texts - Proto-Mahayana Sutras
• Buddhist texts - Non-canonical texts
• Buddhist texts - References
• Buddhist texts - Vajrayana Texts
• Buddhist texts - Buddhist tantras
• Buddhist texts - Other products of the Vajrayana literature

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Dana is a Sanskrit and Pali word meaning generosity or giving. In Buddhism, it also refers to the practice of cultivating generosity. Ultimately, the practice culminates in one of the Perfections (paramitas): the Perfection of Giving (dana-paramita). This can be characterized by unattached and unconditional generosity, giving and letting go. Category: Buddhist terms Other related archivesBuddhism, Buddhist terms, Pali, Sanskrit, par

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In the Indian religions Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, nirvāna (from the Sanskrit निर्वाण, Pali: Nibbāna -- Chinese: 涅槃; Pinyin: niè pán), literally "extinction" and/or "extinguishing", is the culmination of the yogi's pursuit of liberation. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, described the Dharma as "... a raft used to cross the river. Only a fool would carry the raft around after he had already reached the other shore of liberation." Hinduism and Jainism also use the word nirvana to describe the state of moksha, and it is spoken of in several Hin ...

Including:

• Nirvana - Nirvana in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra
• Nirvana - Quotations

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According to Indian and Tibetan legend, King Suchandra (Tib. Dawa Sangpo) of the northeastern Indian Kingdom of Shambhala was the one who requested teaching from the Buddha that would allow him to practice the dharma without renouncing his worldly enjoyments and responsibilities. In response to his request, the Buddha gave the first Kalachakra root tantra in Amravati, a small town in Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India, supposedly emanating at the same time he was also delivering the Prajna Paramita sutras at Vulture Peak Mountain. Along with King Suchandra, 96 minor kings and emissaries from Shambhal ...

Including:

• Suchandra - Links

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Perfection of Wisdom is a translation of the Sanskrit term prajñā pāramitā (Hanzi. 般若波羅蜜多, Pinyin. bān ruò bō luó mì duō, Jp. hannya-haramita), which is one of the aspects of a bodhisattva's personality called the paramitas. The Perfection of Wisdom Sutras or Prajñāparamitā Sutras are a genre of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures dealing with the subject of the Perfection of Wisdom. The term Prajñāparamitā alone never refers to a specific text, but always to the class of ...

Including:

• Perfection of Wisdom - History
• Perfection of Wisdom - Teachings
• Perfection of Wisdom - Selected English translations of Perfection of Wisdom sutras

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Tanha (Sanskrit: Trsna), translates as desire, craving, thirst, want, longing, yearning. As with many Buddhist terms, they have no direct translation into English. We therefore have to use several terms to try and fully describe the original meaning. Tanha is link eight in the twelve linked chain of Dependent Origination Pratitya-samutpada. Tanha is also a constituent part of Samudaya the second of the Four Noble Truths. Buddhist teachings, describe the craving for sense objects which provide pleasant feeling, or craving for se ...

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Patience is the ability and willingness to endure a task that takes a long time, especially one that is boring. It also means not easily getting angry or not showing anger in situations of human communication where the other is unreasonable. Impatience is an opposite of patience. Patience is described as a virtue in religion or spiritual practices. It is highlighted in the Bible and Qur'an in the story of Job. However, it is not one of the traditional Biblical three theological virtues nor one of the four cardinal virtue ...

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Prajñā (Sanskrit; Pali: paññā; Tibetan: shes rab, Chinese: 般若, buo re) meaning "wisdom," "cognitive acuity;" or "know-how" -- but especially the Buddhist wisdom that is based on a realization of dependent origination, not-self, emptiness, etc. Prajñā is the wisdom that is able to extinguish afflictions and bring about enlightenment. The Prajñā-pāramitā Sutras, such as the Heart Sutra, describe it as supreme, highest, incomparable, unequalled, and unsurpassed. It is spoken of as the principal ...

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Vīrya (Pali: viriya; Tibetan: brtson 'grus) is a Sanskrit word which can be translated into English as "effort," "vigor," "diligence," and "zeal." In Buddhism, Vīrya is one of the five controlling faculties (indriya), one of the five powers (bala), one of the six or tenparamitas, one of the seven factors of enlightenment (bodhyaṅga) and is identical with right effort of the Noble Eightfold ...

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Avidya, pronounced avidyā, is a Sanskrit word meaning Ignorance, delusion, unlearned, unwise. It is used extensively in Buddhist and Hindu texts, including the Upanishads. Avidya - Buddhist concept. Avidya plays a key role in Buddhism and Buddhist doctrine and is the primary cause of suffering in Samsara. Avidya is one of the Three Fires. Avidya is the first spoke on the Wheel of Life. Avidya is the first link of Pratitya-Samutpada. As one of the T ...

Including:

• Avidya - Buddhist concept
• Avidya - From one to six aspects
• Avidya - In Advaita Vedanta
• Avidya - Adi Shankara on avidya

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Bodhi (Pāli and Sanskrit. Lit. awakening) is a title given in Buddhism to the specific awakening experience attained by the Indian spiritual teacher Gautama Buddha and his disciples. It is sometimes described as complete and perfect sanity, or awareness of the true nature of the universe. After attainment, it is believed one is freed from the cycle of Samsāra: birth, suffering, death and rebirth. Bodhi is most commonly translated into English as enlightenment, though this translation is problematic, since enlightenment ...

Including:

• Bodhi - Modes of Enlightenment
• Bodhi - Sāvaka-Bodhi Arhat
• Bodhi - Pacceka-Bodhi Pratyeka
• Bodhi - Sammā-Sambodhi supreme Buddha
• Bodhi - Quotes

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Mahāyāna (literally "great vehicle"; from the Indian language of Sanskrit. Chinese: 大乘, Dàshèng; Japanese: 大乗, Daijō; Vietnamese: Đại Thừa; Korean:대승, Dae-seung) is one of the major branches of Buddhism. (See Yana for the classification of Buddhism into vehicles, and Schools of Buddhism for further information.) Mahayana originated in the Indian subcontinent, and some of the areas in which it is practiced today are India, China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. From Mahayana d ...

Including:

• Mahayana - Doctrine
• Mahayana - Universalism
• Mahayana - Enlightened wisdom
• Mahayana - Compassion
• Mahayana - Salvation
• Mahayana - Headline text
• Mahayana - Origins
• Mahayana - Epigraphical evidence
• Mahayana - Scriptures
• Mahayana - The 4th Buddhist Council
• Mahayana - Expansion 1st c.CE–10th c.CE
• Mahayana - Bibliography
• Mahayana - Older works

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Mahakala (a bahuvrihi of Sanskrit maha "great" and kāla "black") is a Dharmapala ("protector of dharma") in Vajrayana (Tibetan and Japanese Buddhism). In Japanese Buddhism, Mahakala (Daikoku), belongs to the fourth hierarchy of deities (tenbu). Mahakala's typical blackness symbolizes his all-embracing, comprehensive nature, because it is the hue into which all other colors merge; it absorbs and dissolves them. Just as all colors disappear in black, so do all names and forms melt into that of Mahakala. Blac ...

Including:

• Mahakala - The Six-Armed Shadbhuja Mahakala mGon po phyag drug pa
• Mahakala - The Four-Armed Chatur-bhuja Mahakala mGon po phyag bzhi pa
• Mahakala - The White Mahakala Skt. Shad-bhuja Sita Mahakala; Tib. mGon po yid bzhin nor bu

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In Buddhist thought, a bodhisattva (Chinese: 菩萨; Pinyin: púsà; Japanese: bosatsu) is a being who is dedicated to assisting all sentient beings achieve complete Buddhahood. Conventionally, the term is applied to hypothetical beings with a high degree of enlightenment. Bodhisattva literally means a "wisdom ("bodhi") being ("sattva")" in Sanskrit. Bodhisattva - Bodhisattvas in Theravada Buddhism. In Th ...

Including:

• Bodhisattva - Bodhisattvas in Theravada Buddhism
• Bodhisattva - Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism
• Bodhisattva - Partial list of bodhisattvas

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Kumārajīva (Mandarin Chinese 鳩摩羅什 Jiumoluoshi; also Kiu-kiu-lo, Kiu-mo-lo-che, Kiu-mo-to-tche-po, Tang-cheu) was a Kuchean Buddhist monk and scholar whose father was originally from an Indian noble family, and whose mother was a princess. He first studied teachings of the Sarvastivada schools, later studied under Buddhasvāmin, and finally became a Mahayāna adherent, studying the Madhyamika doctrine of Nagarjuna. He is mostly remembered for the prolific translation of Buddhist texts in to ...

Including:

• Kumarajiva - Forebearance
• Kumarajiva - Childhood and Education
• Kumarajiva - China
• Kumarajiva - Legacy

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