Buddhism Beliefs: Key Terms Flashcards
Ascetic
A life free from worldly pleasures, and involves giving up of material possessions. This form of life often has the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals.
Buddha
Historically the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama)
An awakened or enlightened person
Dukkha
Suffering. Belief that all life includes suffering and unsatisfactoriness; one of the Three Marks of Existence.
Enlightenment
A state of wisdom that enables total clarity and understanding of the truths of existence; achieving this, also known as Buddhahood, allows a being to be freed from the cycle of rebirth.
The Four Sights
Teaching from the Jataka Tales about Siddhartha Gautama’s experience of illness, old age, death and a holy man. They led him to give up his life of luxury, to follow an ascetic lifestyle, in search of the truth about suffering.
Greed
One of the Three Poisons; the attachment to material things, and the ongoing selfish desire for more.
Hate
One of the Three Poisons; a feeling of intense dislike, anger, wishing others harm.
Ignorance
One of the Three Poisons; the inability to see things as they really are. It is like a veil that prevents us seeing/understanding the truth of dukkha, anicca and anatta.
Nibbana/Nirvana
Literally ‘blowing’ out. The belief that individuals can achieve a state of perfect peace where they experience liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
The Three Poisons
Causes of dukkha that affect all beings: represented by a snake, a pig and a cockerel.
Craving (tahna)
The ongoing state of desire which causes suffering; grasping at things we enjoy/want.
Dhamma (Dharma)
The teachings of the Buddha; these are the ultimate truth. Can also refer to following the Buddhist path.
The Four Noble Truths
An important part of the Buddha’s teachings found in the Pali Canon, explaining the truth about existence. These include: suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, the path to the end of suffering.
- The Eightfold Path (magga)
The fourth Noble Truth. Known as ‘The Middle Way,’ it includes the way to wisdom; mental training and the way of morality. Eight stages to be practised simultaneously.
The Threefold Way
The three divisions of the Eightfold Path: ethics, meditation and wisdom.
Dhammapada
A source of wisdom and authority; part of the Pali Canon that includes some of the most famous teachings of the Buddha, including the Eightfold Path.
Anatta
Belief that there is no fixed self/no soul; one of the Three Marks of Existence.
Anicca
Impermanence. Belief that nothing is permanent; one of the Three Marks of Existence.
Arhat
A perfected person. In Theravada Buddhism this is a term for a person who has become enlightened
Bodhisattva
In Mahayana Buddhism this is a being destined for enlightenment, who postpones their final escape from samsara in order to help living beings.
Buddhahood
Reaching enlightenment.
Buddha-nature
In Mahayana Buddhism this refers to the fundamental nature of all beings, which means that all beings can become enlightened/reach Buddhahood.
Consciousness
The fifth of the Five Aggregates; the state of being aware of something/your surroundings before or without perception.
Dependent arising (Paticcasamupada)
The belief that everything exists because other things do; everything is interconnected and everyone affects everyone else.
The Five Aggregates (skandhas)
The belief that human beings are composed of five factors - form, sensation, perception, mental formation, consciousness.
Form
The first of the Five Aggregates; matter, physical experiences through the sense organs.
Rebirth
This refers to the belief that when a being dies they are reborn. This process depends on kamma, and will continue until liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth is attained.
Kamma (Karma)
Literally ‘action.’ The belief in cause and effect, intentions and actions will affect the future.
Mahayana
Literally “Greater Vehicle”; this school of Buddhism focuses on achieving enlightenment for the sake of all beings (Bodhisattva). It is the main school of Buddhism in China, Tibet and Japan.
Mental formations
The fourth of the Five Aggregates; mental activities which lead a person to actions and produce kamma (karma).
Perception
The third of the Five Aggregates. The ability to distinguish between different objects that we experience through our senses; it also enables memory.
Pure Land
This is the dominant form of Buddhism in Japan and focuses on chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha.
Sensation
The second of the Five Aggregates; the feelings that arise from our sense organs making contact with objects.
Sunyata
The second of the Five Aggregates; the feelings that arise from our sense organs making contact with objects.
Theravada
The school of Buddhism mainly found in Sri Lanka and Thailand; it is an older tradition than Mahayana.
The Three Marks of Existence
The belief that all life involves/is marked by these three features; sometimes known as the Three Universal Truths. The three are: dukkha, anicca, anatta.
