Chapter 1 - Key Words Flashcards
Buddhism
A religion founded 2,500 years ago
Buddha
An enlightened being, the original Buddha was Siddartha Guatama
The four sights
The four things Siddartha saw when he left the palace for the first time:
Old age
Sickness
Death
A holy man
Jataka
Popular Buddhist tales, where we can find the story of the Buddha
Ascetic
Living a simple and strict life with few pleasures/possessions
Meditation
Practice of calming and focussing the mind
Enlightenment
Gaining true knowledge about God, self or the nature of reality. A state of mind where you cease to exist
Mara
A demon that tempts you spiritually
The three watches of the night
The three realisations the Buddha made in order to reach enlightenment
The 5 ascetics
The Buddha’s first five students; the five monks who followed ascetic practices
Dhamma/dharma
The Buddha’s teachings
Pali
The language of the earliest Buddhist scriptures
Sanskrit
The language used in later Indian texts
Dependent arising
The idea that all things arise in dependence upon conditions
The Tibetan wheel of life
An image that symbolises samsara
Nidanas
The 12 factors that illustrate the process of birth, death and rebirth
Samsara
The repeating cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth
Karma
Reflects your actions; good actions result in happiness, bad actions result in suffering. What goes around comes around
Nirvana
A state of complete enlightenment, happiness and peace
Dukkha
Suffering
Annica
Impermanence, everything changes
Anaya
There is no permanent self or soul
The 5 aggregates (skandhas)
The 5 aspects that make up a person
Samudaya (Tanha)
The cause of suffering (craving)
Magga
The eightfold path
Theravada Buddhism
The school of the elders (traditional)
Mahayana Buddhism
Later Buddhist traditions such as Tibetan
The three poisons
The three things that fuel the cycle of samsara (greed, ignorance and hatred)
The eightfold path
8 aspects that Buddhists practice to achieve enlightenment
Sunyata
Emptiness, nothing has a separate self or soul
Buddha - nature
Everyone has the essence of the Buddha in them
Buddhahood
When someone achieves enlightenment
Arhat
Theravada Buddhism - someone who has become enlightened
Bodhisattva
Mahayana Buddhism - someone who has become enlightened but chooses to remain in the cycle of samsara to help others achieve enlightenment
Amitabha Buddha
The Buddha worshipped by Pure Land Buddhists
Sukhavati
The paradise where the Amitabha Buddha lives and where pure land Buddhists aim to be reborn
Renunciation
Giving up your desires and luxuries
The three refuges
The Buddha
Dhamma (teachings)
Sangha (community)
Sila
Ethics
Cessation
Stopping
Right Action
Not acting in a way to harm others or yourself
Right speech
You should not speak in ways to hurt others
Right livelihood
Buddhists should only get a job which does not harm others but benefits others
Right effort
Buddhists should make an effort to put aside negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. Without effort, the other parts of the path cannot be achieved
Right mindfulness
This is being mindful or aware of yourself and everything around you. You cannot be in control of your life if you are not aware of these things
Right concentration
Right concentration is needed for meditation. Through meditation, the mind can become calm and gain insight, hopefully leading to enlightenment
Right view
Understanding life as it really is. Therefore understanding the dhamma
Right intention
The is the motivation behind your actions. Actions should be motivated by unselfish love for all beings
The 5 aggregates/skandhas
The 5 things that make us a being that are constantly changing, proving there is no self
1) Form - our bodies
2) sensation - our feelings
3) perception - recognition of what things are
4) mental formations - our thoughts
5) consciousness - our awareness of things
