RS Buddhism key vocab

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

Historically the Buddha - the enlightened one. An awakened or enlightened person

Buddhahood

Enlightenment.

Buddha-nature

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

Buddha rupa

An image or statue of the historical Buddha or a being believed to have attained Buddhahood

Chanting

Singing or rhythmic repetition of a word, prayer or sound

Compassion (karuna)

Sympathy or concern for the suffering of others

Concentration

Focusing one’s attention

Consciousness

The fifth of the Five Aggregates. Awareness of something without or before recognition (perception).

Craving (tanha)

The ongoing state of desire which causes suffering, grasping at things we want /  enjoy

Dependent arising

Paticcasamupada. The belief that everything in existence is because other things are. The idea that everything is

interconnected and that everyone affects everyone else.

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

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

Energy

One of the six perfections, it relates to making a courageous effort to attain enlightenment.

Enlightenment

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

Ethics

Sila. Moral conduct

The Five Aggregates

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

The five moral precepts

An important part of Buddhist ethics; part of the Eightfold Path (right action). These include: not taking life, not taking things which aren’t freely given, not misusing the sense, not speaking falsehoods, not clouding the mind with intoxicants.

Form

The first of the Five Aggregates. It refers to matter, to the sense organs and the objects of their experience

The Four Noble Truths

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

The Four Sights

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

Generosity

One of the six perfections. The sincere and selfless desire to benefit others with no expectation of reward.

Gompa

Tibetan monasteries associated with learning and studying the dhamma.

Greed

One of the Three Poisons, it is the attachment to material things, sensual desire.

Hate

One of the Three Poisons, it is about wishing others harm, anger, hostility etc.

Ignorance

One of the Three Poisons, it is the inability to see things as they really are.

Intoxicants

Substances that cloud the mind, e.g. alcohol or drugs. The five moral precepts teaches against using these.

Impermanence

Anicca. The idea of instability, nothing being permanent.

Jataka

The Jataka Tales are stories about the previous lives of the Buddha

Kamma

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

Karuna

Compassion or pity. Part of the spiritual path.

Loving kindness

Metta. A pure love which is not possessive and which does not seek to gain.

Mantra recitation

A short sequence of words or syllables chanted repetitively as a form of meditation

Magga

The Eightfold Path. 'The Middle Way' which leads to freedom from suffering (The Fourth Noble Truth).

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.

Malas

Strings of beads used as a prayer aid

Mental formations

The fourth of the Five Aggregates. They refer to mental activities which direct a person to good, bad or morally

neutral actions. They produce good or bad kamma.

Meditation

A spiritual experience that opens a person up to the highest state of consciousness. One of the six perfections

Metta

Loving kindness. A pure love, which is not possessive and which does not seek to gain.

Mindfulness of breathing

A form of meditation found in Theravada, Zen and Tibetan Buddhist. It focuses on the practice of mindful breathing.

Monasteries

Buildings that house monks and nuns. They may also have shrines, Buddha rupas and spaces for study as well as accommodation.

Morality

One of the six perfections. It entails following the five moral precepts

Nibbana

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

of birth, death and rebirth

No fixed self

Anatta No 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.

Panna

Insight into the true nature of reality.

Parinirvana Day

A festival that celebrates the death of the Buddha and his attainment of final nibbana

Paticcasamupada

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.

Patience

One of the six perfections. Tolerance, forbearance, endurance.

Perception

The third of the Five Aggregates. The ability to distinguish between different objects that we experience through our

senses. It enables memory.

Puja

The name given to ceremonies that involve meditation, prayer and offerings.

Pure Land

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

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.

Retreats

Temporarily leaving one’s everyday life and going to special places to aid spiritual development.

Samatha

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

Samudaya

The causes of suffering (the Second Noble Truth).

Sensation

The second of the Five Aggregates. It is about the feelings that arise from our sense organs making contact with

their objects.

Shrine

A room or part of a room which contains a Buddha rupa, candles, incense and other offerings.

Sila

Ethics/moral conduct.

The six perfections

Guides in Mahayana Buddhism to lead one to enlightenment.

Skandhas

The Five Aggregates of form, sensation, perception, mental formation, consciousness. The idea that a person

consists of these five factors.

Suffering

Dukkha. Refers to the unsatisfactoriness of life. Suffering is physical and mental pain.

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.

Temple

A structure or building for religious or spiritual activities, such as meditation. It will usually contain a shrine.

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.

The Three Marks of existence

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

self).

The Three Poisons

Ignorance, greed and hate.

The Three Refuges

Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha.

The Three Universal Truths

Dukkha, anicca, anatta (unsatisfactoriness, impermanence, no self). Also known as the Three Marks of Existence.

Unsatisfactoriness of life

Dukkha. The experience of suffering means that life is unsatisfactory.

Vipassana (insight)

A method of meditation focused on insight into the true nature of things.

Visualisation of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

In Mahayana Buddhism, imagining an image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, focusing on it, on the qualities of a Buddha

and with the aim of becoming one to help others.

Wesak

A Buddhist festival celebrating the Buddha’s birth. For some Buddhists it also celebrates his enlightenment and death.

Wisdom

Insight into the true nature of reality. One of the six perfections and in Mahayana Buddhism, it is the realisation of

sunyata, the ‘emptiness’ of all phenomena.

Zazen

The main form of meditation in Zen Buddhism, practiced to gain insight into the dhamma.

Zen

A Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhist. It focuses on the value of meditation rather than ritual worship.