Buddhism: practices Flashcards
Temple
a place where Buddhists come together to study, meditate, and worship
Shrine
an area with a statue or image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. It provides a focal point for meditation and devotion.
Symbolic offerings:
- Light (candles) - wisdom and enlightenment
- Flowers - impermanence
- Incense - purity
Stupa (pagoda)
a tiered tower or mound-like structure that sometimes contains remains or relics of an important Buddhist (e.g., Buddha’s ashes).
Monastery
a place where a community of Buddhist monks or nuns lives.
Death
when kammic energy leaves one body and is reborn in another; a transition from one life to the next.
Theravada funerals
inexpensive, simple ceremonies. Money is donated to worthy causes to transfer merit to the deceased. Shrines may show a portrait, monks may attend, and cremation is common.
Tibetan funerals
may involve a sky burial, where a body is left in a high place as a gift to the vultures (impermanence, non-attachment). However, cremation is more common nowadays. Ceremonies involve prayers and offering yak-butter lamps to symbolise wisdom and light of knowledge and the eradication of darkness or ignorance
Japanese Pure Land funerals
the coffin is processed while Amitabha’s name is chanted. The head is then place facing west, towards Sukhavati. Relatives may gather to pick out bones from the ashes with chopsticks to honour the deceased.
Festivals
traditional times that allow Buddhists to celebrate important events in the history of Buddhism
Wesak
a Theravada festival that celebrates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing away.
Celebrations include:
- Lighting up of homes with candles, lamps or lanterns
- The making of offerings and giving of gifts at local monastery
- Worshipping and meditating at their local temple
Parinirvana day
a Mahayana festival that commemorates the Buddha’s passing away.
Buddhists may:
- Read and study the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, a scripture on the Buddha’s last days
- Meditate or study at home or at a temple
- Go on a retreat and meditate
- Go on a pilgrimage to places such as Kushinagar, where the Buddha is thought to have died
Types of Buddhist worship
- Rituals and ceremonies carried out in groups
- Private worship at home
- Making offerings
- Meditation
- Chanting sacred texts, such as the three refuges, reflecting that these used to be passed on orally
- Reciting mantras, such as “Om mani padme hum”, perhaps using a mala
Meditation
the spiritual practice of calming and focusing the mind, and reflecting deeply on specific teachings to develop an insight into the nature of reality
Samatha meditation
a type of meditation that involves the ‘mindful’ use of breath to focus the attention, helping buddhists calm their mind and develop deeper concentration. Kasinas may be used as an alternative focus of attention.
Vipassana meditation
a type of meditation that focuses on developing understanding of the nature of reality. It is called ‘insight meditation’. The meditator may change their focus between different objects, emotions and experiences.
Enlightenment
A state of spiritual wisdom which arises from understanding the nature of reality
Gompa
a hall or building where Tibetan Buddhists meditate
Kamma (karma)
the idea that skilful actions motivated by generosity, compassion and understanding result in happiness and unskilful actions motivated by craving, hatred and ignorance end in suffering
Karuna
compassion - feeling concerned for the suffering of other people and wanting to relieve their suffering. It is also one of the four sublime states
Mantra
a short sequence of sacred syllables
Mala
108 prayer beads used to count the number of recitations of a mantra
Metta
loving-kindness - showing a benevolent, kind, friendly attitude towards other people. It is one of the four sublime states taught by the Buddha and reduces the tendency to act out of negative emotions.
Puja
an act of worship
Retreat
A period of time spent away from everyday life in order to focus on meditation. For example, Vassa is an annual Theravada retreat taken during the wet season where monks dedicate more time to meditation and study.
Rupa
statue of the Buddha
Visualisation
Practices that allow Buddhists to connect with the spiritual qualities of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. They may visualise a Buddha or Bodhisattva or use Thangkas or Mandalas.
Thangka
a detailed painting of a Buddha or Bodhisattva
The Five Moral Precepts
A Buddhist ethical code that purifies the mind of greed, hatred, and ignorance.
- To abstain from taking life
- To abstain from taking what is not freely given
- To abstain from misuse of the senses or sexual misconduct
- To abstain from wrong speech
- To abstain from intoxicants that cloud the mind
Mandala
An intricate, colourful circle-shaped pattern. It is a sacred diagram that represents Buddhist principles or teachings that may symbolise the universe, paradise etc.
The Six Perfections
Six qualities Mahayana Buddhists try to develop in order to become a Bodhisattva
- Generosity - give freely without expecting anything in return (e.g. material goods, Dhamma)
- Morality - Following the five precepts willingly and adding further rules
- Patience - tolerance, endurance, compassion
- Energy - putting effort and enthusiasm into their study of the Dhamma and looking after their health
- Meditation - developing concentration and awareness for wisdom
- Wisdom - developing a full understanding of the nature of reality
The Four Sublime States
- metta - loving-kindness
- karuna - compassion
- mudita - sympathetic joy (being happy for others)
- upekkha - equanimity (being calm and composed)
Meditation quotes
“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh
“From meditation springs wisdom. From lack of meditation, loss of wisdom.”
- The Dhammapada
The Five Moral Precepts quotes
“If one, longing for sexual pleasure, achieves it, yes, he’s enraptured at heart” + “But if for that person…the pleasures diminish, he’s shattered”
- Pali Canon
“All tremble at violence; all fear death… one should not kill nor cause to kill.”
- Dhammapada
“By not harming living beings one is called noble.”
- Dhammapada
Metta + Karuna quotes
“The key to a happier and more successful society is the growth of compassion”
- Dalai Lama
“Just as a mother would protect with her life her own son, so should one cultivate an unbound mind towards all beings.”
- Pali Canon
Kamma quotes
“The time and effort required to keep the shrine clean… is a skilful activity to focus one’s mind in the spiritual practices.”
- Lama Choedak Rinpoche
“To be selfish, greedy and unwilling to help the needy gives rise to future starvation and clothlessness.”
- The Buddha
The Six Perfections quotes
“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”
- The Buddha
“If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.”
- The Dhammapada