Sanskrit/Pali Terms Flashcards
anatman/anatta
no-self or no soul, there is no permanent underlying substance (self or soul) in human beings. This makes it radically different from every other religion in India
anitya/anicca
impermanence, all conditioned things are in a constant state of flux
arhant/arhat
someone who has seen the true reality of life, not necessarily Boddhisatva, people far advanced along the path of enlightenment but who may not have reached full Buddhahood; won’t be reborn, someone who is completely enlightened with a teacher (whereas Buddha is fully enlightened without a teacher)
bhiksu/bhikku
monk; ordained men
bhiksuni/bhikkuni
nun; ordained women
bodhisattva/bodhisatta: (Multiple meanings)
someone who has achieved enlightenment but isn’t a Buddha, anyone who is motivated by great compassion to attain buddhahood. A person who is able to reach nibbana but delays doing so in order to help others reach nibbana; previous Buddhas. A person who will become a Buddha. Maitreya is a bodhisattva
cakravartin/cakkavattin
“wheel turning” monarch
Citta
the mind, mental processes
Dana
gift, alms, donation to the sangha- voluntarily giving materials, energy, wisdom (dharma) - reinterpret away from material things; give up selfish interest
dharma/dhamma
teachings of the Buddha while also being a moral duty or code, the law of nature
dharmaraja/dhammaraja
“Dharma king”
duhkha/dukkha
suffering
Dukkha-Dukkha
ordinary suffering - death, illness, aging, unhappiness
Viparinama-dukkha
dukkha produced by change - seasonal change, sadness in transition; metaphor of parenting
Samkhara-dukkha
“conditioned states” - causation
kalpa/kappa
the age a specific Buddha- it’s a very long time. Time between the creation and the reincarnation of the entire universe
Karma/kamma
Everything you do has a result → morally charged: good, bad, neutral. conditioned suffering that leads to your eventual death and rebirth
Mudra
hand gestures that hold significance
nirvana/nibbana:
the final stage of samsara where one reaches enlightenment
Pancasila- 5 precepts
Abstain from killing Abstain from taking what is not given Abstain from sexual misconduct Abstain from false speech Abstain from alcohol/intoxicants
Prabhamandala
“aura of radiant light, signifying transcendent state of fully enlightened people”
Mandala
Sacred geography often a map of universe/ symbolic picture of a universe
pratityasamutpada/paticcasamuppada
“dependent origination”; all things affect everything else; all dharmas are dependent upon other dharmas. Three successive lives schema (past life, present life, future life; this may be too limited according to Buddhadasa) - chain of being → “conditioned genesis” “Cycle of causation”
- Buddhadasa says this could happen in an instant/ many times in life time - different Buddhist thinkers have had different interpretations of it
Samsara
cycle of birth, life of suffering, death, and rebirth (continuous)
Saranam
refuge/shelter. Soteriological act (doctrine related to concepts of salvation or ultimate liberation)
Sangha
“community.” Used to only refer to ordained men and women. Line blurred eventually because definition of ordained men and women changed over time
skandhas/khandhas
“heap” or “aggregate.” The Buddha taught that an individual is a combination of five aggregates of existence, called the Five Skandhas. These are Form (our physical form), Feelings/Sensation, Perception (thoughts), Mental Formations (habits, prejudices, willfulness, faith, desire, etc.), and Consciousness (awareness of or sensitivity to an object)
sramana/samana
seeker, one who performs acts of austerity/ascetic
sutra/sutta
scripture that describes the teachings of the Buddha and his disciples
Stupa
site of a Buddha relic where Buddhists can worship and encounter dharma
Upaya
(“expedient means”) guidance to seek enlightenment. It is proper and allowed to teach the Dharma in any way in order to have it understood, even if incomplete understandings are used. Any activity used in order to help others realize enlightenment.
Vihara
“secluded place in which to walk”- dwellings or refuges for monks during rainy season
