Rels 204 Buddhism Key Terms

Question 1

Amitabha

Answer 1

heavenly Buddha who presides over the Pure Land Buddha realm

Question 2

arhat

Answer 2

(Pali: arahant) “worthy one,” a perfected saint who has reached nirvana and will be released from samsara at death.

Question 3

Ashoka

Answer 3

great Buddhist king in India (r. ca. 272-236 B.C.E.), the “second founder” of Buddhism

Question 4

bhikku, bhikkuni

Answer 4

Pali terms for Buddhist monk and nun (Sanskrit, bhikshu, bhikshuni)

Question 5

Birthday of the Buddha

Answer 5

joyful festival usually celebrated in May (in April in Japan). See also Vesakha

Question 6

Bodh Gaya

Answer 6

The place where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment

Question 7

Bodhisattva

Answer 7

being who is intent on becoming fully enlightened; in Mahayana Buddhism, one who reaches enlightenment but vows to continue rebirths in samsara to assist others.

Question 8

Buddha

Answer 8

“Enlightened one”; Siddhartha Gautama (ca. 536-483 B.C.E.) became the Buddha for our present age

Question 9

Chan

Answer 9

school of meditation Buddhism in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan (Zen in Japan), influential in the arts

Question 10

Dalai Lama

Answer 10

head of the Geluk Tibetan Buddhist school, traditionally recognized as spiritual and political leader of Tibetans; the current Dalai Lama (b. 1935) is the fourteenth.

Question 11

dependent co-arising (pratiya-samutpada)

Answer 11

central Buddhist teaching that everything is conditioned by something else, that all reality is interdependent

Question 12

Dharma

Answer 12

in Buddhist usage, the truth; the teaching of the Buddha

Question 13

dharmas

Answer 13

the most basic constituents of all phenomena

Question 14

Dukkha

Answer 14

“sorrow,” characteristic of all conditioned reality as stated in the First Noble Truth of Buddhism

Question 15

Eightfold path

Answer 15

the fundamental path toward nirvana as taught by the Buddha, involving eight interrelated practices: right views, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Question 16

emptiness

Answer 16

See shunyata (“emptiness,” Mahayana Buddhist teaching that all things are devoid of any substantial or independent reality

Question 17

First Council of Buddhism

Answer 17

held at Rajagriha shortly after the Buddha’s parinirvana, where, according to tradition, the Buddha’s sayings were recited and compiled

Question 18

Five Precepts

Answer 18

the basic Buddhist moral precepts: to refrain from destroying life, from taking what is not given, from wrongful sexual behaviour, from wrongful speech, and from drugs and liquor.

Question 19

Four Noble Truths

Answer 19

basic teachings presented in the Buddha’s first sermon: the truths of sorrow, of the cause of sorrow, of the overcoming of sorrow, and of the path to follow.

Question 20

Four Sights

Answer 20

sickness, old age, death, and a wandering hermit; seeing these motivated Siddhartha Gautama to seek enlightenment.

Question 21

Hinayana

Answer 21

See Theravada - “lesser vehicle,” a pejorative term that Mahayana Buddhists applied to the early Buddhist sects.

Question 22

Huayan

Answer 22

A Chinese school of Mahayana Buddhism based on the Garland Sutra

Question 23

impermanence

Answer 23

basic Buddhist doctrine that change is characteristic of everything that arise

Question 24

karma

Answer 24

“action,” law that all deeds and thoughts, according to one’s intentions, will have set consequences, including rebirth

Question 25

Karuna

Answer 25

Buddhist ideal of compassion

Question 26

lama

Answer 26

"master" or spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism

Question 27

Lotus Sutra

Answer 27

important early scripture of Mahayana Buddhism

Question 28

Madhyamika

Answer 28

early school of Mahayana Buddhism that emphasized shunyata (emptiness)

Question 29

Mahavairochana

Answer 29

the great sun Buddha

Question 30

Mahayana

Answer 30

the "great vehicle," form of Buddhism that arose in India beginning in the second century B.C.E. and eventually spread to East Asia

Question 31

mandala

Answer 31

painting of cosmic Buddhas or a symbolic cosmos, used especially in Vajrayana Buddhist ritual and meditation

Question 32

mantra

Answer 32

powerful sacred words, formula, or verse chanted as a focus for meditation and devotion

Question 33

mudra

Answer 33

hand gesture or pose with symbolic meaning

Question 34

Nagarjuna

Answer 34

important philosopher (ca.150-250 C.E.) of the Madhyamika school of Buddhism

Question 35

nirvana

Answer 35

"blowing out" the fires of life, liberation from suffering and rebirth, the spiritual goal of Buddhist practice

Question 36

no-self (an-atman)

Answer 36

the basic Buddhist doctrine that there is no permanent, absolute self

Question 37

ordination

Answer 37

See upasampada (ordination) important Buddhist ritual marking the beginning of life as a monk or nun.

Question 38

parinirvana

Answer 38

full nirvana; complete liberation attained at the death of a Buddha

Question 39

Pure Land

Answer 39

Mahayana school of Buddhism focusing on worship of Amitabha Buddha, with hope of rebirth in the Pure Land Buddha realm

Question 40

Rain Retreat (Vassa)

Answer 40

important three-month time of study and discipline for Theravada Buddhist monks and nuns, when lay people also make offering and perform service for the monastics

Question 41

rebirth

Answer 41

belief that after a person's death, the accumulated karma will cause another rebirth to take place

Question 42

samsara

Answer 42

the rebirth cycle of existence

Question 43

sangha

Answer 43

the communities of Buddhist monks and nuns

Question 44

Shakyamuni

Answer 44

a title of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha: the wise one of the Shakya clan

Question 45

shunyata

Answer 45

"emptiness," Mahayana Buddhist teaching that all things are devoid of any substantial or independent reality

Question 46

skandhas

Answer 46

"heaps" or aggregates; the Buddhist teaching that a person is really a changing process in five aggregates: physical matter, sensations, perceptual activities, impulses to action, and bits of consciousness

Question 47

stupa

Answer 47

memorial Buddhist shrine or reliquary

Question 48

Tantrism

Answer 48

See Vajrayana (Diamon Vehicle), the Tantric tradition of Buddhism especially in Tibet and Japan, using initiation, rituals, imagination, and sexual symbolism as spiritual practices leading toward liberation

Question 49

Tathagata

Answer 49

title for the Buddha meaning the "Thus Come one," that is, the perfected one.

Question 50

Theravada

Answer 50

"teaching of the elders," term for the early Buddhist tradition and practice still followed in South and Southeast Asia. Theravada is generally used in place of the term Hinayana, "lesser vehicle," a pejorative term that Mahayana Buddhists applied to the early Buddhist sects.

Question 51

Three Body Teaching

Answer 51

Mahayana teaching of three dimensions of Buddha: Dharma Body (universal Buddha essence), Bliss Body (heavenly Buddhas), and Transformation Body (human manifestations of Buddha)

Question 52

Three Refuges

Answer 52

the ritual formula, "I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha"

Question 53

Tiantai (Tendai in Japan)

Answer 53

a school of Mahayana Buddhism in China and Japan, based on the Lotus Sutra

Question 54

Tripitaka

Answer 54

(Pali: Tipitaka) the scriptures of the Pali Canon of Buddhism, meaning "Three Baskets; they include the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutra Pitaka, and the Abhidharma Pitaka

Question 55

upasampada

Answer 55

ordination, important Buddhist ritual marking the beginning of life as a monk or nun

Question 56

uposatha

Answer 56

fortnightly Buddhist holy day when temple meetings for teaching, ritual, and meditation are held

Question 57

Vajrayana

Answer 57

Diamond Vehicle, the Tantric tradition of Buddhism especially in Tibet and Japan, using initiation, rituals, imagination, and sexual symbolism as spiritual practices leading toward liberation

Question 58

Vesakha

Answer 58

in Theravada communities, a grand festival in May celebrating the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana

Question 59

Vinaya

Answer 59

texts containing rules for Buddhist monastic life and discipline

Question 60

vipassana

Answer 60

central Buddhist meditation practice focusing on calming the mind and seeing true reality

Question 61

Zen

Answer 61

See Chan - school of meditation in Buddhism in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan (called Zen in Japan), influential in the arts.

Question 62

Ullambana

Answer 62

All Souls' Day, important in China and Japan