-
Alms:
In
Buddhism, the offering of food to monks on their daily rounds and the
donation
of goods and money to the monasteries.
-
Amida
Butsu:
Japanese version of Amitabha Buddha. See Amitabha
-
Amitabha:
The Bodhisattva whose name means "Budha of Boundless Light" and who
dwells
in the paradise called the Pure Land. He is also the founder of this
sect
of Buddhism.
-
Arhat:
A Buddhist monk who is free from all illusions and who has achieved
personal
enlightenment. This term is used primarily in Theravada Buddhism.
-
Atman:
Hindu idea of a soul - the individual consciousness that was reborn
again
and again.
-
Avalokiteshvara:
Bodhisattva of Compassion. Compassion and Wisdom represent the two main
concepts of Mahayana Buddhism. See Manjushri.
-
Bardo:
A human soul between the stages of after-death and rebirth.
-
Bardo
Thodol:
The Tibetan name for the Book of the Dead.
-
Bhikkhu:
A fully ordained monk who has left his home and renounced all his
possessions
in order to follow the Way of the Buddha
-
Bikkhu:
See Bhikkhu
-
Bikshu:
See Bhikkhu
-
Bodhisattva:
A being in the final stages of attaining Buddhahood, who has vowed to
help
all sentient beings achieve Nirvana, or enlightenment, before he
himself
achieves it.
-
Bo
Tree:
The tree beneath which the meditating Gautama sat before he achieved
enlightenment.
-
Bodhi
Tree:
See Bo Tree
-
Bodhidharma:
The legendary monk who brought Buddhism from India to China in the
sixth
century C.E.
-
Brahman:
the Ultimate Reality. Similar to a Supreme Being.
-
Buddha:
Enlightened One
-
Buddha-nature:
The nature innate in every sentient being. The potential for attaining
Buddhahood.
-
Butsu-dan:
Japanese Buddhist household altar.
-
Chaitya:
An assembly hall for monks.
-
Ch'an:
Forms of Mahayana Buddhism in China. Japanese version is called Zen.
See
also Zen
-
Cuanda:
Blacksmith that gave a meal to Buddha, causing him to become ill.
-
Dharma:
The ultimate law, or doctrine, as taught by Buddha, which consists of
the
Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
-
Dhyana:
A state of mind achieved through higher meditation.
-
Dukkha:
Suffering, emptiness, impermanence.
-
Hinayana:
Literally, "small vehicle." A term used by the Mahayanists to describe
earlier orthodox sects of Buddhism (Theravada School). Their scriptures
are written in Pali, an ancient Indian language. See also Theravada and
Vajrayana
-
Karma:
Literally, "deed." A concept that binds its followers to an endless
cycle
of birth, death, and rebirth and, according to one's deeds in life,
determines
the condition of one's rebirth.
-
Koan:
A
riddle, tale, or short statement used by Zen masters to bring their
students
to sudden insight.
-
Lama:
Literally,
"superior one." A Buddhist monk of Tibet.
-
Mahayana:
Literally, "great vehicle." One of the three major forms of Buddhism,
Mahayana
is considered the more liberal and practical. Its scriptures are
written
in Sanskrit. See also Theravada and Vajrayana.
-
Maitreya:
Literally, "Friendly One." The Bodhisattva who embodies the virtues of
wisdom and eloquence.
-
Manjushri:
Bodhisattva of Wisdom. Wisdom (prajna) is, along with Compassion,
represents
the two main concepts of Mahayana Buddhism. See Prajna and
Avalokiteshvara.
-
Mandala:
A painting or tapestry with images of Buddha, bodhisattvas, and other
images.
Used as a focus of meditation for monks and as an object of worship for
many.
-
Mantra:
Ritual sound, word, or phrase used to evoke a certain religious
effect.
-
Mara:
The
personification of evil. The god of death.
-
Maya:
Queen
Maya, mother of Buddha.
-
Moksha:
Literally, "release." An idea originally developed from Upanishadic
teachers.
By leading a highly spiritual life (or several lives), a soul could be
reunited with Brahman, the Ultimate Reality.
-
Mudra:
Hand gestures often depicted on statues of the Buddha. The gestures
symbolize
different meaning (meditation, etc).
-
Namu
Amida Butsa:
Literally, "Praise to the Buddha Amitabha". In Japanese Pure Land sect,
this is the phrase used to call on Amitabha Buddha. See Nembutsu
-
Nirvana:
Literally, "extinction." The ultimateM#<2 goal of Buddhists,
characterized
as the extinction of both craving and the separate "ego." The state of
peace and quietude attained by extinguishing all illusions.
-
Nembutsu:
Short form of "Namu Amida Butsa". See Namu Amida Butsa
-
Parinirvana:
Death of the Buddha.
-
Prajna:
Literally, Wisdom. This term represents the wisdom obtained during
enlightenment,
and one of the key insight is emptiness.
-
Prajna-Paramita
Sutra: Collection of 40 Mahayana sutras dealing with Prajna and
its attainment.
-
Pure
Land:
A sect of Mahayana Buddhism founded by Amitabha Buddha. The Pure Land
is
a paradise in the "west" where people can go when they die. People must
call on Amitabha to enter this paradise. See Namu Amidha Butsu
-
Rahula
-
Literally, "fetter" or
"impediment."
-
Son of Siddhartha
-
Rajah:
Chief or king
-
Sakyamuni
-
Sage of the
Sakyas
-
Another name of the
Buddha
-
Samsara:
The continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (reincarnation)
-
Sangha:
An organized assembly of Buddhist monks.
-
Shuddhodana:
King Shuddhodana, father of Buddha.
-
Siddhartha
-
He whose aim is
accomplished
-
Birth name of the
Buddha
-
Skandhas:
Five elements each individual is composed of.
-
Stupa:
A dome, or pagoda, in which sacred relics are deposited.
-
Sunyata:
Emptiness; The belief that all phenomena are dependent on and caused by
other phenomena, thus without intrinsic essense.
-
Sutra:
Literally, "thread" or "string." A scripture containing the teachings
of
Buddha.
-
Sutta:
See Sutra
-
Theravada:
Literally, "School of the Elders." Aso known as Hinayana. One of the
three
major forms of Buddhism, Theravada is considered to be the original and
orthodox form of Buddhism. See also Hinayana and Vajrayana.
-
Tipitaka:
Literally, "Three Baskets." According to Buddhist belief, the
scriptures
were stored in three baskets, dividing Buddha's teachings into the code
of discipline for monks, his sermons and discourses, and the higher
doctrine
(Buddhist philosophy and psychology)
-
Upasaka:
Followers of Buddhism that believed in Buddha's teachings, but did not
follow the strict rule of the Sangha.
-
Urna:
A
mark on the Buddha's forehead, between his eyebrows, that signifies his
great intuition.
-
Ushanisha:
A protuberance atop Buddha's head that signifies his great wisdom.
-
Vajrayana:
Literally, "diamond vehicle." One of the three major forms of Buddhism,
Vajrayana is popular in Tibet. See also Theravada and Mahayana
-
Vihara:
Cave dwellings for monks.
-
Yasodhara:
Wife of Buddha
-
Zen:
Forms
of Mahayana Buddhism in Japan. Chinese version is called Ch'an. See
also
Ch'an
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