Key Words Flashcards
Anatta
The Buddhist belief in ‘not self’, that there is no permanent self/soul or essence to a person
Annica
The Buddhist belief in impermanence, all things are in a constant state of flux and change.
Buddha
The enlightened one’, the title used to refer to Siddhartha Gautama to indicate the impact of his enlightenment experience.
Dukkha
Translated as suffering, a dissatisfactory state of all things.
Eightfold path
It is made up of 8 elements that all Buddhists should cultivate in life. A way of overcoming craving and ignorance.
Zen Buddhism
Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism. It focuses on the value of meditation and intuition rather than ritual worship and study of the scriptures.
Mahayana Buddhism
The great vehicle’, is an overall term for the many varieties of Buddhism practised in Tibet, China, Japan, Vietnam and Korea. This form of Buddhism reflects the practical orientation of Buddhism.
Three Jewels
Three Jewels The Buddha, The Dharma and The Sangha: all Buddhists ‘take refuge’ in
Middle Way
Buddhists should avoid extreme views and practices.
Sangha
The community of Buddhist believers, often used to refer to the monastic community
Theravada Buddhism
‘The way of the Elders’, is a form of Buddhism followed mainly in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. This form of Buddhism purports to maintain the tradition of the early Buddhist disciples.
Nirvana
Sanskrit word for the end of suffering, awakening to the truth, and perfection of virtue: resulting in the liberation from samsara (conditioned existence).
3 poisons
Three things that cause suffering in the world and keep people in the cycle of life and death: Ignorance, greed and hate.
The Four Noble Truths
The four central teachings of Buddhism about the causes of suffering and how to end suffering via The Eightfold Path.
The Four Sights
Disease, Old Age, Death & The Holy Man: these four sights triggered Buddha’s spiritual journey and made him renounce (give up) his life as a prince
Dharma
The teachings of the Buddha. Sometimes refers to ‘cosmic law and order’, or the Buddhist path.
Mudras
Symbolic hand gestures used in Tibetan worship or on Buddha rupas.
Sanskrit
The ancient Indian language in which Mahayana scriptures were recorded.
Sangha
The community of followers and practitioners of the Buddha’s path and teaching. Sometimes used to refer specifically to Buddhist monastics.
Pali Canon
The canon of texts preserved by the Theravada school and, by extension, the language in which those texts are composed.
Stupa
Monument containing relics of the Buddha or important Buddhist teachers
The 5 moral precepts
To not kill any living being, refrain from stealing, refrain from wrongful sexual activity, refrain from lying, and refrain from taking drugs and alcohol that cloud the mind.
Enlightenment
Wisdom or understanding enabling clarity of perception; this allows a Buddhist to be freed from the cycle of rebirth
Dhammapada
A sacred text of the Pali tradition with 426 verses.
Ascetic
A life free from worldly pleasures (especially sexual activity and consumption of alcohol), often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals.
Samatha
Concentration and tranquillity. A method of meditation; a state of calmness
Zazen
This is the main form of meditation in Zen Buddhism and is practised while sitting cross-legged.
Mantra
A statement or slogan repeated frequently: chanted in meditation or as an internal monologue.
Rebirth
This refers to the belief that when a person dies he / she is reborn and that this process of death and rebirth continues until nirvana is attained.
Wat
Thai Buddhist temple.
