Buddhist Terms Flashcards
anatta
The Universal Truth that the soul is insubstantial, denying a real or permanent self.
Anicca
Impermenance, The idea of instability, nothing being permanent.
Arhat
In Theravada Buddhism, a person who has attained nibbana.
Ascetic
A life free from worldly pleasures (especially sexual activity and consumption of alcohol), often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals.
When the buddha was an ascetic he lived in a forest, slept on a bed of thorns, ate very little and meditated.
He realised he couldn’t meditate properly living this way making himself suffer limiting his ability to become enlightened.
Due to this he lived the middle way in between suffering and luxury
Bodhisattva
A being destined for enlightenment, postponing final attainment of Buddhahood to help others.
Buddha
The enlightened one, an awakened or enlightened person.
Buddhahood
Enlightenment, the fundamental nature of all beings.
Buddha Nature
The fundamental nature of all beings, allowing all to attain Buddhahood.
Buddha rupa
An image of a being that has achieved Buddhahood.
chanting
Singing or intoning as a form of meditation.
compassion
Karuna. Part of the spiritual path, expressing loving kindness.
concentration
Focusing one’s attention, a key aspect of meditation.
consciousness
The awareness of something without or before recognition.
dependent arising
The belief that everything in existence is interconnected and affects each other.
Puja
A devotional ritual. A ceremony involving meditation, prayer, and offerings.
dhamma
Universal law, ultimate truth, the teachings of Buddha.
Dhammapada
A sacred text of the Pali tradition with 426 verses.
dukkha
Suffering, unsatisfactoriness, the nature of life.
The Eightfold Path
The way to wisdom, mental training, and the way of morality.
Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
energy
Relates to making a courageous effort to attain enlightenment.
ethics
Moral conduct, striving to be freed from the cycle of rebirth.
The Five Aggregates
Refers to matter, sense organs, and the objects of their experience.
Form
Sensation - Feelings that arise from our sense organs
Perception
Mental Formation
Consciousness
the Four Noble Truths
Suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, the path to the end of suffering.
Dukkha
Samudaya
Nirodha
Magga
the Four Sights
Gautama’s encounters with illness, old age, death, and a holy man.
gompas
Tibetan monasteries associated with learning.
the Three Poisons
Ignorance, greed, and hate, the three roots of suffering.
intoxicants
Substances that cloud the mind, hindering spiritual progress.
Jataka
Stories about the previous lives of the Buddha.
kamma
Deliberate actions that affect the believer’s circumstances in this and future lives.
Karuna
Compassion or pity, part of the spiritual path.
metta
Loving kindness, a pure love which is not possessive and does not seek to gain.
mantra recitation
Chanting a short sequence of words or syllables repetitively as a form of meditation.
Mahayana
A form of Buddhism focusing on achieving enlightenment for the sake of all beings.
mental formations
Ties a person to good, bad, or neutral actions, producing karmic results.
meditation
A spiritual experience that opens a person up to the highest state of consciousness.
mindfulness of breathing
A form of meditation focusing on breathing, found in Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhism.
monasteries
Buildings that house monks and nuns for spiritual practice.
nibbana
Reaching a state of perfect peace, liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
panna
Insight into the true nature of reality, a key aspect of wisdom.
Parinirvana Day
A day to commemorate the death of the Buddha and his entry into final nirvana.
patience
Tolerance, forbearance, and endurance, a key aspect of the spiritual path.
Pure Land
A form of Buddhism focusing on chanting and seeking rebirth in a pure land.
rebirth
The belief that when a being dies they are reborn. This process depends on kamma, and will continue until nibbana is attained.
retreats
Buddhists may use retreats to remember key moments in the Buddha’s life but also to free themselves from cravings and undertake samatha or vipassana meditation.
samadhi
Meditation
Moments of spiritual experience relating to the highest form of concentration and tranquility.
One of the 3 sections of the 8 fold path
samatha
Concentration and tranquility, a method of meditation and a state of calmness.
shrine
A room containing a statue of the Buddha, candles, and an incense burner for worship.
the six perfections
Guides in Mahayana Buddhism to lead one to enlightenment.
Generosity - The sincere and selfless desire to benefit others with no expectation of reward.
Morality
Patience
Energy
Meditation
Wisdom
sunyata
In Mahayana Buddhism, the absence of an intrinsic nature in all phenomena.
tanha
Craving or desire, causing suffering and unsatisfactoriness.
temple
A structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer.
Theravada
The kind of Buddhism found in Sri Lanka and Thailand, preceding Mahayana.
the Threefold Way
Three divisions of the Eightfold Path into ethics, meditation, and wisdom.
the Three Marks of Existence
Dukkha, anicca, anatta (Suffering, impermanence, no self) truths in Buddhism.
the Three Refuges
Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, the three central pillars of Buddhism.
Tranquility
A state of peace and calm, a key aspect of spiritual practice.
vipassana
Insight into the true nature of things, a form of meditation.
visualisation of phenomena
Imagining an image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, aiming to become one to help others.
Wesak
A Buddhist festival celebrating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death.
Panna
Wisdom, Insight into the true nature of reality, a key aspect of spiritual development.
One of the 6 Perfections
Also one of the 3 sections of the 8 fold path
zazen
The main form of meditation in Zen Buddhism, practiced while sitting cross legged.
What happened in the three watches of the night
He gained knowledge of alll his previous lifes he understood that craving and attachment are the causes of suffering he understood the wheel of Samsara and rebirth
What are the three forms of suffering
Dukkha
Viparinamma
Samkhara
What was key about the Buddhas early life
It was prophecised that he would either be a great leader or a holy manHe could walk and talk from birthHis mother was told in a dream by a white elephant that she would give birth to a holy child
Japanese Funeral Practices
In the Pure Land tradition, coffins are places facing west.
Chant Amitabha Buddha’s name
Read from the Lotus Sutra.
After cremation the bones are picked out with chopsticks.
Alike Tibetan funerals they may keep the body for 49 days and pray every 7 days.
Mala Beads
Prayer beads that are used to count the number of recitations in a mantra
Mandala
An intricate, circle shaped pattern that is used for meditation
Morality (5 Moral Precepts)
Following the 5 moral Precepts.
Mahayana Buddhists try to follow 5 more:
1. Not to talk about others faults.
2. Not to praise oneself or talk badly of others.
3. Not to be stingy.
4. Not to be angry.
5. Not to speak badly of three jewels/refuges.
Sky Burials
Practiced in some areas of Tibet.
Bodies of the deceased are left out in the open to be eaten by birds and wildlife as a final act of Kamma.
Therevada Funeral Practices
Spend limited money in order to donate rest to good causes.
Offer cloth to monks in the monasteries for new robes.
A shrine set up with a picture of the deceased.
Offerings made to Buddha.
Monks perform last rites before the casket is sealed.
Transfer of merit to the deceased.
Stupa
A small building in a monstary that sometimes contain holy relics
