Buddhism Vocab S-Z

Front 1

Samadhi

Back 1

The lower of the two stages of buddhist meditation. consists primarily of quieting the mind.

Front 2

Sangha

Back 2

Strictly speaking, all Buddhists. In practice, the term tends to refer only to ordained Buddhist monks and nuns.

Front 3

Satori

Back 3

Zen term for awakening or enlightenment, consciousness of the Buddha mind, of sunyata

Front 4

Shakyamuni

Back 4

“sage of the Shakyas,” one of the titles applied to Gautama Siddhartha as an historical personage.

Front 5

Siddhartha

Back 5

“goal attainer,” personal name given to the prince of the Shakyas who became the Buddha Gautama.

Front 6

Skandhas

Back 6

“heaps,” ”clusters,” the five impermanent aggregates (form, feeling, conception, karmic dispositions, and consciousness); by their collocation, they give rise to the mistaken sense of “self”

Front 7

Skillful Means

Back 7

A term common to all forms of Buddhism, especially in Mahayana . The concept that an advanced Buddhist sage can use actions which appear wrong or immoral to lead disciples to the greater good of a religious life.

Front 8

Sky Burial

Back 8

The Tibetan Buddhist belief that leaving a dead person out to be devoured by birds is an act which will give the deceased good karma in their next life.

Front 9

Soto

Back 9

The second of the great schools of Zen. Unlike Rinzai, Soto Zen tends to eliminate use of the koan and concentrates on “just sitting.”

Front 10

Sramanas

Back 10

A religious movement which broke away from the prevailing Brahmanic school for Hinduism. It is from the Sramanas that both Buddhism and Jainism developed.

Front 11

Sunyata

Back 11

The Mahayana concept that ultimately nothing has any existence in itself

Front 12

Sutra

Back 12

The second of the divisions of the Tripitika. The sermons and stories of the Buddha.

Front 13

Tanha

Back 13

“thirst,” desire or craving, the impetus to clinging and becoming-and thus the cause of rebirth; Sanskrit: trishna.

Front 14

Tantra

Back 14

A form of religious practice common to both Buddhism and Hinduism which places major emphasis on elaborate rituals performed by the individual practitioner.

Front 15

Tara

Back 15

female protective divinity, consort of Dhyani Buddhas and rulers of Tantric Buddhism

Front 16

Tathagata

Back 16

“the thus-come (or gone) one,” a deliberately non descriptive self-reference used by the Buddha: “the one who did that” demonstrable but indescribable

Front 17

Tendai

Back 17

rationalist and eclectic schools, favoring the Lotus Sutra, but accepting and harmonizing many levels of Buddhism as manifestations for the Trikaya.

Front 18

Thanga

Back 18

A Tibetan wall hanging that portrays either a deity or a mandala and is used for meditation.

Front 19

Theravada

Back 19

“the way of the elders” The oldest form of institutional Buddhism, Theravada places emphasis on meditation and a disciplined way of life. The predominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Front 20

Three Marks of Existence

Back 20

The fundamental philosophical basis of Buddhism which says that 1) the material world is constantly changing, 2) human life is ultimately unsatisfying, 3) there is no permanent human soul that moves from one life to another.

Front 21

Three Refuges

Back 21

The act of publicly declaring one’s allegiance to the Buddha, his Teaching, and the Buddhist Order.

Front 22

Trikaya

Back 22

The “Triple Body” of Buddha reality: the absolute (Dharma) Body, the Bliss or Enjoyment Body, and the Transformed-to-human or Condescension Body

Front 23

Tripitaka

Back 23

“three baskets,” early Buddhist scripture in the Pali language; the Vinaya (monastic rules), Sutta (discourses), and the Abhidhamma (supplementary doctrines)

Front 24

Trsna

Back 24

The Buddhist idea that all unhappiness comes from desire “thirst” or greed for possessions.

Front 25

Tulku

Back 25

The reborn head of a monastic lineage in Tibet. The Dalai Lama is the tulku best known in the West.

Front 26

Twilight Language

Back 26

In Vajrayana Buddhism, a deliberately obscure way of writing designed to protect its teachings from unauthorized practitioners. Twilight language can only be interpreted through the guidance of a guru or teacher.

Front 27

Upanishads

Back 27

A series of philosophical writings first expounded near the end of the Vedic Period (800-400 B.C.E.) A number of ideas found in the Upanishads are paralleled in Buddhist and Jain literature.

Front 28

Upaya

Back 28

skill-in-means” compassion in action, the complement of prajna; in Tantric Buddhism, the male consort in symbolic coupling

Front 29

Vajrayna

Back 29

The third and latest of the major divisions of Buddhism, Vajrayana places a great deal of emphasis on ritualism. Once much more widespread than at present, Vajrayana is currently practiced mostly in Tibet.

Front 30

Vinaya

Back 30

The first of the divisions of the Tripitika, the Vinaya deals with the rules governing monks and nuns in Buddhism.

Front 31

Vipasyana

Back 31

The second and higher level of Buddhist meditation designed to lead the practitioner to Enlightenment.

Front 32

Yidam

Back 32

In Tibetan Buddhism, a personal deity who plays a central part in the practitioner’s meditative and ritual life.

Front 33

Zen

Back 33

A school for Mahayana Buddhism which places its emphasis on meditative exercises rather than scriptural study. Found predominantly in China, Korea, and Japan, in recent years Zen has been very influential in America and Europe.