Buddhism

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abhidharma

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'advanced doctrine' one of the 3 divisions of the early Buddhist scriptural canon.

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anatman

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no soul, the doctrine implying that the human person is impermanent, a changing combination of components.

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arhat

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a worthy one or saint, someone who has realized the ideal of spiritual perfection in Theravada Buddhism.

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bhikku, bhikkuni

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an ordained buddhist monk and nun respectively.

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bodhisattva

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in theravada, a being who is on the way to enlightenment or buddhahood but has not yet fully entered it. In Mahayana a celestial being who forgoes nirvana to save others.

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dana

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a 'giving' ritual, common in the homes of Theravada families, involving gifts of food to the bhiksus who conduct chanting, and a ceremony for the transfer of merit

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dharma

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in buddhist usage, the teaching or truth of the religion concerning the ultimate order of things

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duhkha

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the suffering that characterizes human life, from both physical and psychological causes

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Hinayana

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'Lesser Vehicle' the description of a group of early Indian Buddhist sects of which the Theravada became the most important

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karma

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the energy of one's past good or bad thoughts and actions; it operates in the 'wheel' or continuing cycle of samsara or rebirth, ended only by nirvana

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Madhyamika

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teaching of the early Mahayana thinker Nagarjuna, termed the 'Middle Way' because of refusal either to affirm or to negate statements about reality

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Mahayana

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'great vehicle', designation of the form of Buddhism that emerged around the first century in northwestern india which spread to china and later japan and korea

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mudra

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a pose or gesture in artistic representations of Buddha figures. Different mudras have conventionalized symbolic meanings

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nirvana

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the state of absolute bliss associated with final enlightenment

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pagoda

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a multistory tower that is characteristic of southeast and east asian buddhism historically developing out of the south asian mound or stupa

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paramita

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a perfection of effort or the like Of early Buddhism 's list of six perfections, Mahayana emphasized the perfection of wisdom

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parinirvana

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the ultimate perfection of bliss. it is achievable only on departing this life, as distinct from nirvana qualified by 'remainder' achievable while one is still in the present existence

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Sakyamuni

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'Sage of the Sakya clan' a title used by Buddhists to refer to the historical figure of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha

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sangha

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the community of buddhist monks and nuns

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stupa

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hemispherical mound built to mark or contain a Buddhist relic. In time, tower-like forms, including southeast and east asian pagodas, were added to or developed out of stupas

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sunyata

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the emptiness that is held to be ultimately characteristic of all things, according to Madhyamika doctrine

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sutra

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a discourse attributed to Sakyamuni or to an important disciple

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thangka

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a tibetan wall hanging portraying either an individual deity or a mandala arrangement of many, and used for meditation

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theravada

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'teaching of the elders' the dominant form of buddhism surviving in Sri lanka and southeast asia

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Tripitaka

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'three baskets', the collection of early buddhist sacred writings in Pali, its three sections contain discourses attributed to the buddha, rules of monastic discipline, and treatises on doctrine

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upaya kausalya

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'skillful means' a strategy used especially by mahayana regarding doctrinal positions as provisional only, in favour of practical results

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Vaisakha (Vesak)

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Theravada Buddhist festival at the full moon around early May, observed as the triple anniversary of Sakyamuni's birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana or passing from this life

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vinaya Pitaka

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the rules of practice and conduct for monks, forming a section of the Pali canon

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vipasyana

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meditation practiced by theravada buddhists in order to gain insight

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Yogacara

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a Mahayana school that interprets the world as the product of consciousness and that practices a meditation technique emptying the mind of objects of consciousness.

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ahimsa

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virtue of non violence

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ajatasatru

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Plotted with Devadatra to kill Bimbisara(his father)

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Alara Kalama

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Siddhartha's first sramana teacher

Taught him the 'sphere of nothingness'

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Ananda

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Buddha's cousin and personal attendant. As well as heading the first council after Buddha's death, he also convinced the Buddha to create the order of nuns

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Anathapindada

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Wealthy merchant who built a monastary in Jetavana for the Buddhists

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Angulimala

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A bandit who tried to kill the Buddha, swayed by his insightfulness

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anitya

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Buddhist doctrine stating that nothing is permanent, one of the 'three marks of existence'

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Ardha-Magahdhi

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language most likely spoken by the Buddha

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Aryans

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'noble ones', migrated to India, overran the Dravidians of the Indus Valley Civilization, created the cast system and introduced 'The Vedas'

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The Vedas

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Pre-buddhism/hinduism scriptures; both religions branched out from the Vedas

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Asoka Maurya

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Devided Buddha and Arhat relics into 84000 stupas

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Asura Realm

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realm of the Titans; god-like beings that caused issues in the earth realm

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Asvaghosa

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Poet who composed the Buddhacarita

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Buddhacarita

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acts of the Buddha

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Avidya

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ignorance