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Anatta
No self; no soul. Insubstantiality; denial of a real or permanent self.
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Gautama
Family name of the Buddha |
Nirodha
Cessation (of suffering). The third Noble Truth. |
Anicca
Impermanence; transience. Instability of all things, including the self.
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Ihara
Dwelling place; monastery. |
Noble
Truths
Four Noble Truths consist of the Buddha’s understanding of the human condition:
(i) what is wrong with life; (ii) why is it wrong; (iii) the good news that
something can be done; (iv) what needs to be done. |
Atta
Self; soul. |
Jataka
Birth story. Accounts of the previous lives of the Buddha.
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Panna
Wisdom. Understanding the trust nature of things. |
Bhikkhu
Fully ordained Buddhist monk. |
Kamma
Action. Intentional actions that affect one’s circumstances in this and
future lives. The Buddha’s insistence that the effect depends on volition
marks the Buddhist treatment of kamma as different from the Hindu understanding
of karma.
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Sakyamuni
Sage of the Shakyas (the tribe of the Buddha). Title of the historical Buddha.
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Bhikkhuni
Fully ordained Buddhist nun. |
Khandas
Heap, Aggregate. The five khandas together make up the ‘person’ (form, feeling,
perception, mental formation and consciousness). |
Samadhi
Meditative absorption. A state of deep meditation. |
Bodhi Tree
The tree (ficus religiosa) under which the Buddha realised Enlightenment.
It is known as the Tree of Wisdom.
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Magga
Path, leading to cessation of suffering. The fourth Noble Truth. |
Samatha
One of the two forms of meditation. |
Bodhisatta
A Wisdom Being. One intent on becoming, or destined to become, a Buddha.
Gotama, before his Enlightenment as the historical Buddha.
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Mahayana
Great Vehicle. One of the two main branches of the Buddhist tradition. The
teachings that spread from India into Tibet, parts of Asia and the Far East.
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Samsara
Everyday life. The continual round of birth, sickness, old age and death
which can be transcended by following the Eightfold Path and Buddhist teaching.
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Buddha
Awakened or Enlightened One.
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Mala
Also, Juzu (Japanese). String of 108 beads used in Buddhist practice (like
a rosary).
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Sanatha
A state of concentrated calmness. |
Dalai
Lama (Tibetan)
Great Ocean. Spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people.
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Metta
Loving-kindness. A pure love which is neither grasping nor possessive. |
Sangha
Community; assembly. Often used for the order of bhikkhus and bhikkunis
in Theravadin countries. In the Mahayana countries. In the Mahayana countries,
the Sangha includes lay devotees and priests, e.g. in Japan. |
Dhamma
Universal law; ultimate truth. The teachings of the Buddha. A key Buddhist
term.
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Mudda
Ritual gesture, as illustrated by the hands of Buddha images. |
Sankhara
Mental/karmic formation. The fourth of the five khandas. |
Dhammapada
Famous scripture of 423 verses.
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Nibbana
Blowing out of the fires of greed, hatred and ignorance, and the state of
secure perfect peace that follows. A key Buddhist term. |
Sanna
Perception. Third of the five khandas. |
Dukkha
Suffering; ill; unsatisfactoriness; imperfection. The nature of existence
according to the first Noble Truth.
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Siddhattha
Wish-fulfilled. The personal name of the historical Buddha. |
Enlightenment
As nibbana, a state of secure, perfect peace that follows complete freedom
from greed, hatred and ignorance. |
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