GLOSSARY
Terms are from
Sanskrit unless stated otherwise.
Agamas.
Generic term applied to a collection of traditional doctrines and
precepts, The sutras of Theravada (Hinayana) are referred to at
times as the Agamas.
Anuttara
Samayak Sambodhi. The incomparably, completely and fully
awakened mind; it is the attribute of buddhas.
Arhat:
The one who has achieved Nirvana: A Saint in the Theravada
tradition. The stage is preceded by three others, 1. Stream Winner,
2. Once-Returner, 3. Non-Returner, 4. Arhat.
Arya. Any
individual ennobled by his/her own continuing effort on the path to
enlightenment.
Asamkhyia
(kalpa). 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.
Avalokitesvara.The name is a compound of Ishwara,
meaning Lord, and avalokita, looked upon or seen, and is usually
translated as the Lord Who Observes (the cries of the world); the
Buddhist embodiment of compassion as formulated in the Mahayana
Dharma; the most important Bodhisattva of the Mahayana pantheon,
second only to the Buddha.
Avatansaka or
Avatamsaka (Sutra). One of the 5 key texts of the Mahayana
canon. Its principal doctrine is that of the law-nature
(Dharma-dhatu) of the universe. In modern terms it means that all
objects and energies are under the law of causation, on account of
which they are co-existent and interdependent.
Bhikshu.
Religious mendicant; Buddhist fully ordained monk. Bhikshuni is the
equivalent term designating a woman.
Bodhi.
Perfect wisdom or insight knowledge by means of which a person
becomes buddha.
Brahmajala. Or Indra's net, characterized by holding a
luminous gem in every one of its eyes. (Hindu mythology).
Dharani.
Extended mantra used in esoteric branch of Buddhism to focus and
expand the mind. Its words, or sounds, should not communicate any
recognizable meaning.
Dharma-dhatu. The Law-doctrine that is the reality
behind being and non-being. It is interpenetrative and
all-inclusive, just as the rotation of the earth holds both night
and day.
Dharma-kaya. The first of the three forms of the
Buddha: The Self--Nature or Void aspect. The real being in his true
nature, indescribable and absolute.
Five
Fundamental Conditions of Passions and Delusions: 1. Wrong views
which are common to triloka; 2. Clinging or attachment in the desire
realm; 3. Clinging or attachment in the form realm; 4. Clinging or
attachment in the formless realm which is still mortal; 5. The state
of unenlightenment which is the root-cause of all distressful
delusion.
Four Fruits
of the Arhat. See under Arhat entry.
Hinayana.
Lit., a small vehicle; designates Buddhist tradition of southeast
Asia; replaced by the term Theravada.
Kalpa.
Periodic manifestations and dissolutions of universes which go on
eternally. Great kalpas consist of four asamkhiya kalpas
corresponding to childhood, maturity, old age and the death of the
universe.
Lotus
Sutra. Or Saddharma-pundarika, Dharma Flower, or "The Lotus of
the True Law." The sutra is the basis for the Lotus sect (T'ien-t'ai
in Chinese). Among the sutras of the Mahayana canon.
Mahayana.
Lit., great vehicle; the dominant Buddhist tradition of China.
Special characteristics of Mahayana are 1. Emphasis on bodhisattva
ideal, 2. The accession of the Buddha to a superhuman status, 3. The
development of extensive philosophical inquiry to counter
Brahmanical and other scholarly argument, 4. The development of
elaborate devotional practice.
Middle
Vehicle. Also called Middle Doctrine School or Madhyamika; one
of the two main schools of Mahayana thought; it upholds the Void as
the only really real or independent, unconditioned
Reality.
Nirvana
Sutra. The last of the sutras in the Mahayana canon. It
emphasizes the importance of Buddha-nature, which is the same as
Self-Nature.
Paramita.
Perfected virtue, of which there are six, namely: 1. Dana:
Generosity; charity. 2. Shila: Morality; harmony. 3. Kshanti:
Patience; tolerance of insults. 4. Virya: Valor; vigor in practice.
5. Dhyana: Contemplation; meditation. 6. Prajna: Essential wisdom;
awareness as such, beyond the duality of subject and
object.
Pratyeka-Buddha. Self-enlightened being who attained
without a teacher; attained individual unwilling or unable to
teach.
Saddharma-pundarika. See entry under Lotus
Sutra.
Saha-lokadhatu or Saha world; this world to be
endured, this earth.
Sanskrit.
Learned language of India. Canonical texts of Mahayana Buddhism in
its Indian stage were written in Sanskrit.
Skandhas.
As taught by the Buddha, the skandhas are the components of the
human so-called entity that is constantly changing. They are: 1.
Name/form; 2. Feeling; 3. Conception; 4. Impulse; 5.
Consciousness.
Small
Vehicle. See entry under Hinayana.
Sramana.
Lit. laborer; applied to those who wholeheartedly practice toward
enlightenment; root word of the designation for novice
monk.
Sravaka.
Lit. hearer; it originally referred to those who paid devoted
attention to the spoken words of the Buddha; today it is more often
applied to an ardent teacher of Buddhist texts; an individual still
needing guidance in Dharma.
Tao.
Chinese term meaning the way. In Buddhist terminology it may be
applied to practice, to Self-nature or to the Ultimate.
Tathagata. Thus gone; term frequently used by the
Buddha in reference to himself.
T'ien
T'ai. Chinese name designating a school of Buddhism in that
country; the Lotus Sutra is the school's textual foundation. The
T'ien T'ai doctrine speaks of the threefold Truth, the three being
three in-one. These are: 1. All things are of the Void; 2.
Phenomenal existences of all kinds are only temporary productions
and so only the Void; 3. As everything involves everything else, all
is one, and something of everything involves everything else, all is
one, and something of everything is the basis of its being, this
something being the Buddha-nature. The school emphasizes Buddhist
philosophy.
The ten
Directions. North, South, East, West, N-E, N-W, S-E, S-W, Zenith
and Nadir.
Theravada. Lit., the School of the Elders; one of the
two main forms of Buddhism known in the world today; practiced
chiefly in south-east Asia; has the Pali Canon for textual
foundation.
Triloka or
Trailoka. The three realms: World of sensuous desire; form;
formless world of pure spirit.
Tripitaka. Lit., three baskets: The earliest Buddhist
canonical text consisting of three sections: 1. Buddha's discourses
(sutras), 2. Rules of Discipline (Vinaya), 3. Analytical and
explanatory texts or commentaries (Sastras); usually referred to as
the Pali canon.
Upasaka.
Buddhist lay disciple (man), who formally received five precepts or
rules of conduct. Upasika is the equivalent term designating
woman.
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