Buddhism Full Flashcards

1
Q

Anatta

A

Not self

No fixed self, no soul; the Universal Truth that the soul is insubstantial; that people change in the course of their lives; denial of a real or permanent self.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Anicca

A

Impermanence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Dukkha

A

Suffering

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Arhat

A

Perfect person

In Theravada Buddhism this is a term for a person who has attained nibbana

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Ascetic

A

A life free from worldly pleasures (especially sexual activity and consumption of alcohol), often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Bodhisattva

A

A concept in Mahayana Buddhism. A being destined for enlightenment, who postpones final attainment of Buddhahood in order to help living beings.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Buddha

A
  • Historically the Buddha - the enlightened one.

- An awakened or enlightened person.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Buddhahood

A

Enlightenment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Buddha-nature

A

In Mahayana Buddhism this refers to the fundamental nature of all beings, which means that all beings can attain Buddhahood

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Buddha rupa

A

An image of a being that has achieved Buddhahood.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Chanting

A

Singing or intoning

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Compassion

A

Karuna; pity; part of the spiritual path.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Concentration

A

Focusing one’s attention.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Consciousness

A

The fifth of the Five Aggregates. Awareness of something without or before recognition (perception).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Dependant arising

A

The idea that everything is dependant in something else.

Paticcasamupada

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Devotional ritual

A

Puja. A ceremony that involves meditation, prayer and offerings.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Dhamma

A

Universal law; ultimate truth; the teachings of Buddha. Spelt in Sanskrit as dharma

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Dhammapada

A

A sacred text of the Pali tradition with 426 verses.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

The Eightfold Path

A

The fourth Noble Truth. Magga. The Middle Way. The way to wisdom; mental training and the way of morality. Eight stages to be practised simultaneously.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Energy

A

One of the six perfections, it relates to making a courageous effort to attain enlightenment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Enlightenment

A

Wisdom or understanding enabling clarity of perception; this allows a Buddhist to be freed from the cycle of rebirth.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

The Five Aggregates

A

form, sensation, perception, mental formation, consciousness

The idea that one’s being is composed of these five factors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

The five moral precepts

A
  • To not kill any living being
  • refrain from stealing
  • refrain from wrongful sexual activity
  • refrain from lying
  • refrain from taking drugs and alcohol that cloud the mind.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Form

A

The first of the Five Aggregates. It refers to matter, to the sense organs and the objects of their experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

The Four Noble Truths

A

Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha, Magga (suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, the path to the end of suffering).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

The Four Sights

A

Gautama’s four encounters with illness, old age, death and a holy man.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Generosity

A

One of the six perfections. The sincere and selfless desire to benefit others with no expectation of reward.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Greed

A

One of the Three Poisons, it is the attachment to material things, sensual desire.

The cause of suffering

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Hate

A

One of the Three Poisons, it is about wishing others harm, anger, hostility etc.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Ignorance

A

One of the Three Poisons, it is the inability to see things as they really are.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Impermanence

A

Anicca. The idea of instability, nothing being permanent.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Jataka

A

The Jataka Tales are stories about the previous lives of the Buddha.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Kamma

A

Literally ‘action’. Deliberate actions that affect the believer’s circumstances in this and future lives; cause and effect.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Karma

A

The Sanskrit form of kamma. Literally ‘action’. Actions that determine what happens in your next life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Karuna

A

Compassion or pity. Part of the spiritual path.

36
Q

Loving kindness

A

Metta. A pure love which is not possessive and which does not seek to gain.

37
Q

Magga

A

The Eightfold Path. ‘The Middle Way’ which leads to freedom from suffering (The Fourth Noble Truth).

38
Q

Mantra recitation

A

A short sequence of words or syllables chanted repetitively as a form of meditation.

39
Q

Mahayana

A

A form of Buddhism which includes both the lay and monastic communities. Literally “Greater Vehicle”, it focuses on achieving enlightenment for the sake of all beings. It is the Buddhism of China, Tibet and Japan.

40
Q

Malas

A

Strings of beads, used as a prayer aid.

41
Q

Mental formations

A

The fourth of the Five Aggregates. They refer to mental activities which direct a person to good, bad or morally neutral actions. They produce good or bad kamma.

42
Q

Meditation

A

A spiritual experience that opens a person up to the highest state of consciousness. One of the six perfections

43
Q

Metta

A

Loving kindness. A pure love, which is not possessive and which does not seek to gain.

44
Q

Mindfulness of breathing

A

A form of meditation found in Theravada, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. It entails focusing on breathing, both inhalation and exhalation.

45
Q

Monasteries

A

Viharas. Buildings that house monks and nuns.

46
Q

Morality

A

One of the six perfections. It entails following the five moral precepts

47
Q

Nibbana

A

Literally ‘blowing’ out. To reach a state of perfect peace where the individual experiences liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

48
Q

Nirvana

A

The Sanskrit form of nibbana

49
Q

No fixed self

A

Anatta No self, no soul; the Universal Truth that the soul is insubstantial; that people change In the course of their lives; denial of a real or permanent self.

50
Q

Panna

A

Insight into the true nature of reality.

51
Q

Parinirvana Day

A

A festival in Mahayana Buddhism that celebrates the death of the Buddha and his attainment of final nibbana. It is most often celebrated on 15th February.

52
Q

Paticcasamupada

A

The concept of dependent arising. The belief that everything in existence is because other things are. The idea that everything is interconnected and that everyone affects everyone else

53
Q

Patience

A

One of the six perfections. Tolerance, forbearance, endurance.

54
Q

Perception

A

The third of the Five Aggregates. The ability to distinguish between different objects that we experience through our senses. It enables memory.

55
Q

Puja

A

The name given to ceremonies that involve meditation, prayer and offerings. Devotional ritual.

56
Q

Pure Land

A

This is the dominant form of Buddhism in Japan and focuses on chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha.

57
Q

Rebirth

A

This refers to the belief that when a person dies he / she is reborn and that this process of death and rebirth continues until nibbana is attained.

58
Q

Retreats

A

Temporarily leaving one’s everyday life and going to special places to aid spiritual development.

59
Q

Samadhi

A

Meditation, the spiritual experience leading to the highest form of consciousness.

60
Q

Samatha

A

Concentration and tranquility. A method of meditation; a state of calmness.

61
Q

Samudaya

A

The causes of suffering (the Second Noble Truth).

62
Q

Sensation

A

The second of the Five Aggregates. It is about the feelings that arise from our sense organs making contact with their objects.

63
Q

Shrine

A

A room or part of a room which contains a statue of the Buddha (or Bodhissatva in Mahayana Buddhism), candles and an incense burner.

64
Q

Sila (in brackets)

A

Ethics/moral conduct.

65
Q

The six perfections

A

Guides in Mahayana Buddhism to lead one to enlightenment.

66
Q

Skandhas

A

The Five Aggregates of form, sensation, perception, mental formation, consciousness. The idea that a person consists of these five factors.

67
Q

Suffering

A

Dukkha. Refers to the unsatisfactoriness of life. Suffering is physical and mental pain.

68
Q

Sunyata

A

Literally ‘emptiness’. In Mahayana Buddhism, it refers to the absence of an intrinsic nature (or identity) in all phenomena.

69
Q

Tanha

A

Craving/desire, which causes suffering. The attempt to grasp at the things we enjoy.

70
Q

Temple

A

A structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer.

71
Q

Theravada

A

The kind of Buddhism found in Sri Lanka and Thailand. It came before Mahayana.

72
Q

The Threefold Way

A

A term that refers to three divisions of the Eightfold Path into ethics, meditation and wisdom.

73
Q

The Three Marks of existence

A

Sometimes known as the Three Universal Truths: dukkha, anicca, anatta (unsatisfactoriness, impermanence, no self).

74
Q

The Three Poisons

A

Ignorance, greed and hate.

75
Q

The Three Refuges

A

Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha

76
Q

The Three Universal Truths

A

Dukkha, anicca, anatta (unsatisfactoriness, impermanence, no self). Also known as the Three Marks of Existence

77
Q

Tranquillity

A

A state of peace and calm.

78
Q

Unsatisfactoriness of life

A

Dukkha. The experience of suffering means that life is unsatisfactory.

79
Q

Viharas

A

Monasteries. Buildings that house monks and nuns.

80
Q

Vipassana

A

Insight into the true nature of things; meditation.

81
Q

Visualisation of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

A

In Mahayana Buddhism, imagining an image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, focusing on it, on the qualities of a Buddha and with the aim of becoming one to help others.

82
Q

Wesak

A

A Buddhist festival celebrating the Buddha’s birth. For some Buddhists it also celebrates his enlightenment and death.

83
Q

Wisdom

A

Insight into the true nature of reality. One of the six perfections and in Mahayana Buddhism, it is the realisation of sunyata, the ‘emptiness’ of all phenomena.

84
Q

Zazen

A

This is the main form of meditation in Zen Buddhism and is practised while sitting cross-legged.

85
Q

Zen

A

A Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism. It focuses on the value of meditation and intuition rather than ritual worship and study of the scriptures.