Buddhism

Question 0

bodhicitta

Answer 0

“The awakened mind or heart.” In Mahayana it is the wise intention to enlighten all beings.

Question 1

anatman

Answer 1

No independent self or soul.

Question 2

bodhisattva

Answer 2

“The awakened being.” One on the verge of awakening. In Mahayana it refers to an adept who has made the vow to remain in samsara until all being are free.

Question 3

Buddha

Answer 3

“The awakened One.” A fully enlightened being.

Question 4

Cha’an/Zen

Answer 4

Respectively, the Chinese and Japanese names for the “meditation” school of Buddhism that values meditative experience far and above doctrine.

Question 5

dharma

Answer 5

“That which upholds.” In the Buddhist context it refers to Buddhist teaching or Buddhism as a religious tradition.

Question 6

Interdependent Origination “pratityasamutpada”

Answer 6

“Arising on the ground of a preceding cause.” The realization that our sense of “self” arises spontaneously in response to a set of conditions. These conditions are born of a vast network of relationships that are inextricably linked to all phenomena. All things are the result of antecedent causes and our sense of independent existence is merely an illusion.

Question 7

karma

Answer 7

Action or cause. The law of causation.

Question 8

lama

Answer 8

Tibetan word for teacher. But usually a degree or title reserved for one who has completed a three-year retreat.

Question 9

Mahayana

Answer 9

“Greater vehicle” Characterized by emphasizing the bodhisattva path and developing between 100bce–100 ce.

Question 10

mandala

Answer 10

“Circle” Typically circular cosmological diagram used for tantric meditation.

Question 11

mantra

Answer 11

Sacred sounds or syllables used as a focus for meditation, as an invocation of a deity or as a protective spell.

Question 12

Middle Way

Answer 12

The Buddha’s teaching on avoiding extremes, that is systematized by the eightfold path.

Question 13

nirvana

Answer 13

“Blowing out” The ultimate goal of Buddhist practice and refers to the final liberation from the suffering of samsara.

Question 14

parinirvana

Answer 14

“Supreme release.” Refers to the death of a fully enlightened being.

Question 15

prajna

Answer 15

Wisdom

Question 16

samadhi

Answer 16

“Hold together” A profound state of meditative trance.

Question 17

sangha

Answer 17

Sanskrit/Pali “assemblage or community of Buddhists.”

Question 18

shunyata

Answer 18

“Emptiness”. This asserts that all phenomenon, even the momentary components of experiential reality, are devoid of ontological, independent, intrinsic existence. As with the teaching on interdependent origination, it stresses the relational underpinnings of each and every component of existence.

Question 19

skandha

Answer 19

“Heaps or bundles”. Five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness) that give rise to a false sense of identity through apprehending them as an integrated and autonomous whole.

Question 20

stupa

Answer 20

“Heap”. Reliquary mounds in which the remains or personal objects of Buddhist masters are buried and venerated.

Question 21

sutra

Answer 21

“A thread.” Verses of text or scripture.

Question 22

Tathagatha

Answer 22

The thusgone one or the Buddha.

Question 23

Tathagatha-garba

Answer 23

The Womb Matrix of the Buddhas. The inner Buddha or the potentiality for awakening found in all beings.

Question 24

Theravada

Answer 24

Pali “the way of the Elders.” Established in 240bce at the Mahavihara in Sri Lanka, the earliest existent school of Buddhism that is predominant in SE Asia.

Question 25

tulku

Answer 25

(Tibetan) a reincarnate lama or Tibetan teacher who often provides indications to his disciples before his death as to where he will next be reborn. Ritualized modes of testing the child are employed to ensure that he or she is the reincarnation of the lama, usually involving identifying the personal items of the lama from a group of similar objects.

Question 26

upaya

Answer 26

“Expedient means.” Skillful means was developed into a form of Buddhist practice that encourages imaginatively applying wisdom to whatever circumstances one is in to assist in easing suffering or cultivating insight.

Question 27

Vajrayana

Answer 27

The diamond or thunderbolt (vajra) vehicle. A kind of Esoteric Buddhism based on tantric teachings that mostly date back to the 7th century ce. A more dangerous but quicker means of achieving enlightenment.