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The Lotus Sutra > Glossary of Terms > Flashcards

Glossary of Terms Flashcards

1
Q

anuttara samyaksambodhi

A

Complete, perfect enlightenment

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2
Q

apasmaraka

A

A class of demonic beings

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3
Q

arhat (“one who is worthy”)

A

A saint who has completely eradicated the passions and attained liberation from the cycle of birth and death (samsara); arhatship is the highest of the four stages of spiritual attainment in the Hinayana. Capitalized, the term is an epithet for a buddha.

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4
Q

asura

A

A class of supernatural beings that are in constant conflict with the gods (devas)

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5
Q

Avalokitesvara

A

The name of a great bodhisattva who represents great compassion

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6
Q

Bhagavat (“Blessed One”)

A

A venerable teacher; an epithet of a buddha

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7
Q

birth and death (samsara)

A

The cycle of existence, the continuous round of birth and death through which beings transmigrate; the world of suffering, contrasted with the bliss of nirvana

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8
Q

bodhisattva (“enlightenment being”)

A

The spiritual ideal of the Mahayana, a selfless being with universal compassion who has generated the profound aspiration to achieve enlightenment in order to benefit sentient beings. In the course of their spiritual careers, bodhisattvas engage in the practice of the six perfections and pass through stages of increasingly higher levels of spiritual accomplishment

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9
Q

bodhi tree

A

The tree under which a buddha attains enlightenment

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10
Q

buddhahood

A

The state of becoming or being a buddha; the goal of the bodhisattva path

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11
Q

buddha land

A

A cosmic world or realm in which a particular buddha dwells

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12
Q

Brahma

A

Lord of the saha world

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13
Q

brahman

A

The priestly caste in the Indian caste system; in the Lotus Sutra the term also applies to a class of heavenly beings

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14
Q

Decadent Dharma

A

The last of the three ages of the Dharma, following the age of the Semblance Dharma, in which only the teaching of the Buddha exists but correct practice is no longer possible

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15
Q

dependent origination (pratityasamutpada)

A

The Buddhist Doctrine which holds that all phenomena (dharmas) arise in relation to causes and conditions and in turn are the causes and conditions for the arising of other phenomena. Nothing exists independently of its causes and conditions.

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16
Q

deva

A

A class of supernatural beings; a god or divine being

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17
Q

Devadatta (“God-given”)

A

A cousin of the Buddha who became his disciple but later tried to murder him and assume leadership of the sangha

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18
Q

dharani

A

A powerful verbal incantation or mantra

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19
Q

dharma

A

Any phenomenon, thing, or element; the elements that make up the perceived phenomenal world

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20
Q

Dharma

A

The truth, law; the teachings of the Buddha

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21
Q

Dharma body (dharmakaya)

A

The manifestation of the Buddha as ultimate reality

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22
Q

emptiness (sunyata)

A

The absence of substantiality or inherent existence of the self and all phenomena (dharmas); all dharmas arise only through the dependent origination of causes and conditions (pratityasamutpada). Direct insight into emptiness is the attainment of prajna (transcendental wisdom)

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23
Q

five skandhas

A

The five elements of form, feeling, conception, mental process, and consciousness which comprise the personality and give rise to the mistaken view of a permanent, inherent self

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24
Q

four modes of birth

A

According to Buddhism, the four possible ways that a being may be born, i.e., 1) from a womb, 2) from an egg, 3) from moisture, or 4) through metamorphosis or spontaneous generation

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25
Q

Four Noble Truths

A

The basic doctrine of Buddhism: 1) the truth of suffering, 2) the truth regarding the cause of suffering, 3) the truth regarding the extinction of suffering, and 4) the truth regarding the path to nirvana

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26
Q

gandharva

A

A heavenly musician

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27
Q

garuda

A

A mythological being in the form of a giant bird

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28
Q

Hinayana (“Lesser Vehicle”)

A

A derogatory term applied by Mahayana Buddhists to early schools of Buddhism whose primary soteriological aim is individual salvation. Hinayana followers are grouped into the two categories of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas and there are four stages of spiritual attainment, culminating in arhatship.

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29
Q

Jambudvipa

A

A mythological continent, one of the four continents that surround Mount Sumeru; the world of human beings

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30
Q

kalpa

A

An eon, an immensely long period of time

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31
Q

karma (“action”)

A

Any action of body, speech, or mind (thought), which may be either morally good, bad, or neutral. The concept of karma is connected with the Buddhist theory of transmigration in the cycle of birth and death.

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32
Q

kimnara

A

A class of mythological beings, half bird and half human, that make celestial music

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33
Q

koti

A

A large unit of measurement, said to equal ten million

34
Q

krtya

A

A class of evil beings, sorcerers

35
Q

ksatriya

A

The warrior caste in the Indian caste system; the politically governing or military

36
Q

kumbhanda

A

A class of demonic beings

37
Q

lion’s roar

A

A metaphor for great eloquence in teaching the Dharma

38
Q

Mahayana (“Great Vehicle”)

A

A form of Buddhism that developed in India around 100 B.C.E. and which exalts as its religious ideal the bodhisattva, great beings who aspire to enlightenment on behalf of all sentient beings.

39
Q

mahoraga

A

A class of snake-like mythical beings

40
Q

Maitreya

A

The future Buddha, currently still a bodhisattva

41
Q

Manjusri

A

The bodhisattva who represents great wisdom

42
Q

manusyakrtya

A

A class of human sorcerers

43
Q

Mara

A

The Evil One, the personification of death. The lower-case term mara refers to the afflictions that hinder progress on the path to buddhahood

44
Q

Mount Sumeru

A

In Buddhist cosmology, the highest mountain rising from the center of the world, surrounded by an ocean in which the four continents that comprise the world of human beings are situated

45
Q

nayuta

A

A large unit of numerical measurement, said to be equal to ten million or one hundred billion

46
Q

nirvana

A

Liberation from the cycle of birth and death, a state in which all passions are extinguished and the highest wisdom (prajna) attained; bodhi, enlightenment

47
Q

non-returner (anagamin)

A

The third of the four stages of spiritual attainment in the Hinayana; one who has attained this stage is no longer subject to the rebirth in the realm of desire

48
Q

once-returner (sakrdagamin)

A

The second of the four stages of spiritual attainment in the Hinayana; one who has attained this state is subject to rebirth only once in each of the three realms of the triple world before attaining nirvana

49
Q

parinirvana

A

Complete nirvana

50
Q

prajna

A

Transcendental, liberative wisdom; one of the six perfections

51
Q

pratyekabuddha (“solitary enlightened one”)

A

One of the two kinds of Hinayana followers, along with sravakas, who seek to reach the stage of arhat and attain nirvana. A pratyekabuddha attains liberation through direct observation and understanding of the principle of dependent origination without the guidance of a teacher, and does not teach others.

52
Q

pisaca

A

A class of demonic beings

53
Q

putana

A

A class of demonic beings that cause disease in children

54
Q

raksasa

A

A type of demon. The female form is rakasi

55
Q

saha world

A

The world of endurance, suffering

56
Q

Sakra

A

Lord of the devas

57
Q

Sakyamuni (“Sage of the Sakyas”)

A

The historical Buddha, who lived in India in the fifth century B.C.E. and whose life and teachings form the basis for Buddhism

58
Q

Sakyas

A

The name of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni’s family clan

59
Q

samadhi

A

Mental concentration; a meditative state

60
Q

sangha

A

The Buddhist order, the community of Buddhist followers

61
Q

Semblance Dharma

A

The second of the three ages of the Buddhist Dharma, following the age of the True Dharma, in which the Buddha’s teaching is practiced but enlightenment is no longer possible.

62
Q

sense faculties

A

The sense perceptions that correspond to the six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) - visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental perceptions

63
Q

single vehicle (ekayana)

A

The one buddha vehicle, the Mahayana teaching espoused in the Lotus Sutra that leads to complete enlightenment and attainment of buddhahood, contrasted with the teachings of the two Hinayana vehicles. The single vehicle includes and transcends all three vehicles of the sravaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva paths.

64
Q

six perfections (paramitas)

A

Six qualities perfected by bodhisattvas - 1) giving (dana), 2) integrity or good conduct (sila), 3) perseverance (ksanti), 4) diligence or effort (virya), 5) meditation (dhyana), and 6) wisdom (prajna)

65
Q

skillful means (upaya)

A

The various methods and means used by buddhas and bodhisattvas to guide and teach sentient beings, adapted to their different capacities

66
Q

sramana

A

Mendicant, monk; a Buddhist monk, originally applied to those who maintained an ascetic practice

67
Q

sramanera

A

A novice in the Buddhist sangha

68
Q

sravaka (“auditor”)

A

Originally, a disciple of the Buddha, one of those who heard him expound the teachings directly; later, the term came to refer to one of the two kinds of Hinayana followers, along with pratyekabuddhas, to distinguish them from followers of the Mahayana

69
Q

steam-enterer (srota-apanna)

A

The first of the four stages of spiritual attainment in the Himayana; one who has entered the stream of the Dharma by destroying various wrong views

70
Q

stupa

A

A tope; a structure in which the relics of a buddha are placed

71
Q

Sugata (“Well-gone”)

A

An epithet for a buddha; one who has attained bliss

72
Q

sutra

A

A Buddhist scripture, a discourse of the Buddha

73
Q

Tathagata

A

An epithet for a buddha. It means “one who has gone to (gata) and come from (agata) the truth of suchness (tatha),” i.e., “one who embodies the truth of suchness.”

74
Q

three vehicles

A

The paths of the sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas, respectively.

75
Q

triple world

A

The three realms of samsaric existence in which living beings transmigrate as a result of their karma: 1) the realm of desire (kamadhatu), i.e. the world of ordinary consciousness accompanied by desires; the realm of form (rupadhatu), in which desires have been eliminated but the physical body remains; and the formless realm (arupyadhatu), in which the physical body no longer exists.

76
Q

True Dharma

A

The first of the three ages of the Buddhist Dharma, in which the Buddhist teaching is properly practiced and enlightenment can be attained.

77
Q

two vehicles

A

The two Hinayana paths of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.

78
Q

universal monarch (cakravartin)

A

The ideal king, as conceived of in Indian philosophy

79
Q

yaksa

A

A class of demonic beings

80
Q

yaksakrtya

A

A class of demonic sorcerers

81
Q

yojana

A

An indian unit of distance, roughly equivalent to seven to nine miles, based on the distance the royal army could march in one day

The Lotus Sutra (1 decks)

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