REL104 Vocab II: Jainism and Buddhism

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, practices, doctrines, and historical concepts in Buddhism and Jainism from REL104.

ajiva

Nonsoul, nonconsciousness; also referred to as "matter" or "karma."

Digambaras

Early Jaina sect with its own sacred scriptures; identified by male mendicants' practice of nudity.

Jina ("Conqueror")

An epithet for the 24 ascetic prophets who conquered the world of desire and suffering and taught the path to eternal happiness; alternatively called Tirthankara.

jiva

Eternal soul/consciousness; all living beings are endowed with jiva.

Mahavira ("Great Hero")

Epithet of the twenty-fourth and final Jina of the present time cycle, born Vardha-mana Jnatrpura in the sixth century BCE.

shramana

A renouncer; one who has given up worldly attachments to pursue spiritual release.

Svetambara

One of the two early sectarian nodes within Jainism; mendicants wear simple white robes.

Tirthankara ("Ford maker")

Epithet for the 24 Jinas who, through their teachings, created a ford across the ocean of samsara.

anatman ("No-soul")

The doctrine that the human person is impermanent, a changing combination of components.

Arhat

A worthy one or saint, someone who has realized the ideal of spiritual pertection.

bhikshu, bhikshuni

An ordained Buddhist monk and nun, respectively.

bodhisattva

In Theravada, a being who is on the way to enlightenment or buddhahood but has not yet achieved it; in Mahayana, a celestial being who forgoes nirvana in order to save others.

Chan/Zen

A tradition centered on the practice of meditation and the teaching that ultimate reality is not expressible in words or logic but must be grasped through direct intuition; see also koan and zazen.

dana

A "giving" ritual, in which Theravada families present gifts of food, at their homes or a temple, to bhikshus who conduct rituals including chanting and merit transfer.

dharma

In Buddhist usage, teaching or truth concerning the ultimate nature of things.

dukkha

The suffering, psychological as well as physical, that characterizes human life.

Hinayana ("Lesser Vehicle")

The pejorative name given by the Mahayana ("Greater Vehicle") school to earlier Indian Buddhist sects, of which Theravada became the most important.

karma

The energy of the individual's past thoughts and actions, good or bad; karma determines rebirth within the "wheel" of samsara, or cycle of rebirth that ends only when parinir-vana is achieved. Good karma is also called "merit."

koan/gongan

A paradoxical thought exercise used in the Chan-Zen tradition to provoke a breakthrough in understanding by forcing students past the limitations of verbal formulations and logic.

lama ("Wise teacher")

A title given to advanced teachers as well as the heads of various Tibetan ordination lineages.

Mahayana ("Greater Vehicle")

The form of Buddhism that emerged around the first century in India and spread first to China and then to Korea and Japan.

mandala

A chart-like representation of cosmic Buddha figures that often serves as a focus of meditation and devotion in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.

mudra

A pose or gesture in artistic representations of Buddha figures; by convention, each mudra has a specific symbolic meaning.

nirvana

The state of bliss associated with final enlightenment; nirvana "with remainder" is the highest level possible in this life, and nirvana "without re-mainder" is the ultimate state. See also parinirvana.

pagoda

A multi-story tower, characteristic of Southeast and East Asian Buddhism, that developed out of the South Asian mound or stupa.

parinirvana

The ultimate pertection of bliss, achievable only on departing this life, as distinct from the nirvana with the "remainder" achievable while one is still in the present existence.

prajna

The spiritual wisdom or insight necessary for enlightenment.

Pure Land

The comfortable realm in the western region of the heavens reserved for those who trust in the merit and grace of its lord, the celestial buddha Amitabha (Amida).

rinpoche

A title of respect for Tibetan teachers or leading monks.

samadhi

A higher state of conscious-ness, achieved through meditation.

sangha

The "congregation" or community of Buddhist monks and nuns. Some forms of Buddhism also refer to the congregation of lay persons as a sangha.

Shakyamuni ("Sage of the Shakya clan")

A title used to refer to the historical figure of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.

shunyata

The emptiness that is held to be ultimately characteristic of all things, stressed especially by Madhya-maka doctrine.

stupa

Originally a hemispherical mound built to contain cremation ashes or a sacred relic; in East Asia the stupa developed into the tower-like pagoda.

sutra

A discourse attributed either to Shakyamuni himsalf or to an important disciple.

Theravada ("Teaching of the Elders")

The dominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

Tripitaka ("Three baskets")

The collection of early sacred writings consisting of discourses attributed to the Buddha, rules of monastic discipline, and treatises on doctrine.

Vaishakha

A Theravada festival held at the full moon around early May, marking Shakyamuni's birth, enlight-enment, and parinirvana.

Vajrayana

The tantric branch of Buddhism that became established in Tibet and the Himalayan region and later spread to Mongolia and eventually back to India.

vinaya

The rules of practice and conduct for monks; a section of the Pali canon.

vipassana ("Insight" or "mindful-ness")

Meditation practiced by Theravada Buddhists.

zazen

Sitting meditation in the Chan-Zen tradition.