Glossary-Buddhist words

 Glossary 

1. arhat
   A person who has achieved enlightenment following the Buddha’s teaching.
2. Buddha
   The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, after his enlightenment. It is a title that means the enlightened or awakened one.
3. Dhamma (Dharma)
   Dhamma is a Buddhist doctrine about the nature of existence and includes the teachings of the Buddha.
4. Doctrine
   A set of beliefs or teachings held by religion or within a particular subject.
5. dukkha
   Suffering; illness; dissatisfaction; imperfection. An unavoidable fact of existence according to the First Noble Truth.
6. enlightenment
   The realization of the truth about life. In Buddhism, it releases a person from the cycle of rebirth.
7. five Khandas (or skandhas)
   The five components or aggregates that make an individual self - body, perception, conception, volition, and consciousness.
8. intrinsic
   A natural part that belongs within someone or something.
9. karma (Kamma)
   Actions, and the consequences of actions. An important concept in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism.
10. Mahayana sutras
    Sacred Buddhist scriptures.
11. meditation
    Thinking quietly as a spiritual or religious exercise. Connection of the mind and soul with the Divine using breathing and other techniques. In Buddhism, using one of a set of techniques or exercises for calming the mind, developing positive emotions, and understanding the way things are.
12. metta
    The Buddhist term for loving-kindness. A pure love that is neither grasping nor possessive.
13. Nibbana (also spelled nirvana)
    The state when Buddhists have achieved understanding and have broken free from the cycle of samsara. Can be called Nirvana.
14. Noble Eightfold Path
    The teachings of the Buddha that can lead to the end of suffering: 1 - Right Views; 2 - Right Thinking; 3 - Right Speech; 4 - Right Action; 5 - Right Livelihood; 6 - Right Effort; 7 - Right Mindfulness; 8 - Right Meditation.
15. Pali canon
    The collection of scriptures preserved in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.
16. Paticcasamupada (Pratityasamutpada)
    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.
17. principle of conditionality
    All things are inter-related, nothing is independent. Also known as paticcasamupada, dependent origination or dependent arising
18. samsara
    In Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, this is the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
19. Sangha
    The Buddhist community of practitioners usually used to mean the community of monks.
20. sentient
    A term used to refer to creatures that are conscious and able to experience pleasure and pain.
21. Three Marks of Existence
    In Buddhism, these are impermanence (anicca), dissatisfaction or suffering (dukkha), and non-self (anatta). They are characteristics shared by all humans.
22. Three Refuges
    The three most important features of the Buddhist life recited as an expression of belief and commitment: I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Sangha, I take refuge in the dhamma (teaching).