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Nirvana
Meaning "to extinguish" or "to blow out," it refers to the extinction of suffering, impermanence, delusion, and all that keeps the life cycle (samsara) going. Nirvana is the spiritual goal for all Buddhists.
Four Sights
The inspiration to become a monk for Siddhartha the Buddha, the four sights were an old crippled man (old age), a diseased man (illness), a decaying corpse (death), and finally an ascetic that Siddhartha encountered on an unannounced journey outside of the palace.
ascetic
A person who renounces material comforts to live a self-disciplined life, especially in the area of religious devotion.
bodhi tree
The large, sacred fig tree at the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya where Siddhartha the Buddha arrived at enlightenment.
Middle Way
The Buddhist teaching that liberation from samsura comes neither through severe ascetical practices nor through wild indulgences, but in the middle of the spectrum between those two opposites.
sangha
At first just the Buddhist monastic community, later it came to describe the entire community of monks, nuns, and lay persons.
relics
Items of religious devotion, especially a piece of the body or personal items of an important religious figure.
Dharma
From the Sanskrit meaning "uphold," in Hinduism it is that which is in accordance with the laws of the cosmos and of nature such as righteous acts. In Buddhism it is the teachings of the Buddha.
Mahayana Buddhism
Literally the "Great Ox Cart." This branch of Buddhism differs from Theravada Buddhism because it accommodates a greater number of people from all walks of life.
Gupta dynasty
240-550 CE, when the Gupta Empire ruled India with political peace and prosperity.
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