Buddhism and Hindu Metaphysics Lecture Notes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering basic philosophy, Hindu metaphysical background, the life of the Buddha, and the core teachings of the Dharma including the Eightfold Path and various Buddhist traditions.

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of reality, or what is real and what is not real.

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy concerned with what constitutes reasonable belief.

Ethics

The branch of philosophy concerned with what is right and wrong.

The Three Jewels

The core of Buddhist practice consisting of the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community).

Trivium

The ancient educational foundation consisting of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

Religio

The Latin root for religion, meaning to "tie" or "bind" into a whole.

Yoga

The Sanskrit equivalent to religion, meaning to join or unify with the ultimate reality.

Brahman

The underlying spiritual reality in Hindu metaphysics that exists behind the world of appearances.

Atman

The Sanskrit word for the soul, which exists in the material bodies of all living things.

Maya

A term meaning "not that," used to describe the seductive and deceitful illusionary material reality.

Immaterial Monism

The metaphysical view that everything which is truly real is made up of a single immaterial substance.

Advaita

A term literally meaning "not-two," used by Hindu philosopher Shankara to describe his philosophy.

Moksha

The goal of enlightenment in Hinduism, described as returning to the ocean of Brahman from which one came.

Siddhartha Gautama

The birth name of the Buddha, born approximately $563$ BC into the Kshatriya caste.

Ashramas

The four stages of Hindu life: student stage, householder stage, retiree stage, and the sanyasa stage.

The Four Sights

The four things Siddhartha saw outside the palace: an elderly man, a sick man, a dead man, and a wandering holy man (sadu).

Hedonism

An approach to life devoted to maximizing pleasure and avoiding pain.

Asceticism

The practice of denying the pleasures of the body in order to purify the soul.

The Middle Way (via media)

The stage of the Buddha's life that sought a balance between hedonism and asceticism.

The Three Poisons

The causes of suffering represented at the center of the Wheel of Samsara: ignorance, greed, and hatred.

Mara

The Buddhist "demon" of illusion who spins the Wheel of Samsara.

Anicca

The mark of existence stating that everything is impermanent and in a state of constant flux.

Anatman

The mark of existence stating that there is no permanent material or immaterial self or soul.

Dukkha

The suffering or dissatisfaction that arises from attachment to impermanent things.

The Five Skandhas

The five aggregates of existence: the body, sensation, perception, the will, and consciousness.

Dependent Origination

The theory that all of existence is conditioned and that all things are caused by other things.

The Four Noble Truths

The Buddha's ethical framework: life involves suffering, suffering is caused by desire, eliminating desire eliminates suffering, and following the Eightfold Path is the method.

Tanha

The Buddhist term for the specific craving or attachment that causes pain in life.

The Noble Eightfold Path

The specific prescriptions for living: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Meditation.

Samadhi

A state of meditative consciousness or absorption where the mind becomes still and one-pointed.

Theravadan Buddhism

A branch of Buddhism found in Sri Lanka and SE Asia that takes a literal/religious interpretation of Nirvana and reincarnation.

Mahayanan Buddhism

A branch meaning "great vehicle" that often views Nirvana as a state of mind achievable in this life.

Bodhisattva

A person who reaches Nirvana but refuses to accept it until all other human beings become enlightened out of compassion.

Nirvana

Freedom from the cycle of reincarnation through the extinction of attachment, hatred, and delusion.