Buddhist and Christian Beliefs Lecture Notes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, beliefs, and teachings from both Buddhist and Christian traditions as presented in the lecture notes.

Anatta

No fixed self, no soul; the Universal Truth that the soul is insubstantial; that people change in the course of their lives; denial of a real or permanent self.

Anicca

Impermanence, instability, not permanent.

Arhat

A perfected person. In Theravada Buddhism this is a term for a person who has attained nibbana.

Ascetic

A life free from worldly pleasures (especially sexual activity and consumption of alcohol), often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals.

Bodhisattva

A concept in Mahayana Buddhism. A being destined for enlightenment, who postpones final attainment of Buddhahood in order to help living beings.

Buddha

An awakened or enlightened person. “The” Buddha is Siddhartha Gauthama.

Buddhahood

Enlightenment.

Buddha-nature

In Mahayana Buddhism this refers to the fundamental nature of all beings, which means that all beings can attain Buddhahood.

Dhamma

Universal law; ultimate truth; the teachings of Buddha. Spelt in Sanskrit as dharma.

Dhammapada

A sacred text of the Pali tradition with $426$ verses.

Dukkha

Suffering; ill; everything leads to suffering; unsatisfactoriness.

The Eightfold Path/ Magga/ The Middle Way

The fourth Noble Truth. The way to wisdom; mental training and the way of morality. Eight stages to be practised simultaneously.

Enlightenment

Wisdom or understanding enabling clarity of perception; this allows a Buddhist to be freed from the cycle of rebirth.

Ethics/Sila

Moral conduct. One of the Threefold Way of the Eightfold Path.

Five Aggregates/Skandhas

The five skandhas of form, sensation, perception, mental formation, consciousness. The idea that one’s being is composed of these five factors.

Four Noble Truths

Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha, Magga (suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, the path to the end of suffering).

Four Sights

Gautama’s four encounters with illness, old age, death and a holy man.

Jataka Tales

Stories about the previous and last lives of the Buddha.

Kamma/Karma

Literally 'action'. Deliberate actions that affect the believer's circumstances in this and future lives; cause and effect.

Mahayana

A form of Buddhism which includes both the lay and monastic communities. Literally “Greater Vehicle”, it focuses on achieving enlightenment for the sake of all beings. It is the Buddhism of China, Tibet and Japan.

Nibbana/ Nirvana

Literally ‘blowing’ out. To reach a state of perfect peace where the individual experiences liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

Panna

Wisdom - Insight into the true nature of reality. One of the Threefold Way of the Eightfold Path.

Paticcasamuppada

The concept of dependent arising. The belief that everything in existence is because other things are. The idea that everything is interconnected and that everyone affects everyone else.

Pure Land

The dominant form of Buddhism in Japan and focuses on chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha.

Samadhi/Meditation

The spiritual experience leading to the highest form of consciousness. One of the Threefold Way of the Eightfold Path.

Samatha

Concentration and tranquillity. A method of meditation; a state of calmness.

Samsara/rebirth

The cycle of 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 nibbana is attained.

Samudaya

The causes of suffering (the Second Noble Truth).

Sunyata

Literally ‘emptiness’. In Mahayana Buddhism, it refers to the absence of an intrinsic nature (or identity) in all phenomena.

Tanha

Craving/desire, which causes suffering. The attempt to grasp at the things we enjoy.

Theravada

The kind of Buddhism found in Sri Lanka and Thailand. It came before Mahayana.

The Threefold Way

A term that refers to three divisions of the Eightfold Path into ethics, meditation and wisdom.

Three Marks of existence

Sometimes known as the Three Universal Truths: dukkha, anicca, anatta (unsatisfactoriness, impermanence, no self).

Three Poisons

Ignorance, greed and hate. The poisons keep us trapped in the cycle of samsara.

Three Refuges

Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha.

Ascension

Going or being taken up; the event $40$ days after the resurrection when Jesus returned to glory in heaven.

Atonement

Making amends or payment for a wrong. The belief that reconciliation between God and humanity was brought about by the death of Jesus as a sacrifice.

Bible

Source of wisdom and authority; a holy book containing both the Old and New Testaments.

Catholic

The tradition within the Christian Church which is led by the Pope; also called the Roman Catholic Church.

Christ

Literally means 'Anointed One' in Greek; the Hebrew equivalent is Messiah. The leader promised by God to the Jews; Christians believe Jesus to be the Christ.

Creation

Bringing the world into existence; the belief that the world is God’s loving creation.

Crucifixion

The death of Jesus; a form of the death penalty used by the Romans.

Evil

The opposite of good; a cause of suffering and against the will of God.

The Father

The first Person of the Trinity, the belief in God as creator and sustainer of the universe.

Grace

The unconditional and generous love that God shows to people who do not deserve it.

Heaven

Belief that after death Christians can enter a state of being with God for eternity.

Hell

Belief in a place of eternal suffering, or a state after death of being in separation from God.

Holy Spirit

The third Person of the Trinity; believed to be present with believers since Pentecost and active on earth.

Incarnation

Literally 'in flesh', or 'enfleshed;' belief that God took on human form in the person of Jesus.

Jesus

Believed by Christians to be the Son of God, he was a first century Jewish teacher living and travelling in Palestine/Israel.

Judgement

The belief that God will decide whether each person should receive eternal life or eternal punishment based on their earthly life.

Just

Fair or equal treatment, a state of justice. Belief about the nature of God as treating all people justly.

Law

Rules or commands which must be followed; the law of God is revealed in the Bible.

Lord’s Prayer

The prayer taught to the disciples by Jesus; also known as the 'Our Father' and widely said by Christians in both church services and privately.

Omnipotent

The belief that God is ‘all powerful’.

The Oneness of God

The belief that God is one singular divine being (who can be manifest in the Three Persons of the Trinity).

Original sin

Belief that human nature is flawed, and that we all have the tendency to sin; traditional belief held by some Christians that this came from Adam & Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit as recorded in Genesis $3$.

Protestant

Christian denominations in which authority is generally based on the Bible, rather than Church tradition/teaching (e.g., Anglican, Methodist, Baptist).

Resurrection

Being raised from the dead; the event $3$ days after the crucifixion when it is believed that God raised Jesus from the dead; also refers to form of afterlife.

Salvation

Being saved; belief that through God’s grace, Jesus’ death and resurrection brought about salvation for humanity and saving of the soul.

Sin

Behaviour which is against God's laws and wishes/against Christian principles of morality.

The Son

The second Person of the Trinity; Jesus believed to be God incarnate.

Son of God

A title used for Jesus; the second Person of the Trinity. Shows the special relationship between Jesus and God.

Suffering

An effect of evil; undergoing pain and hardship.

Trinity

The belief that God as One includes God also being manifest in three Persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Word

John $1$ describes God creating the world through his eternal Word, linked to Jesus who 'was made flesh and dwelt among us'.