Chapter 7: Buddhism

Amitabha/Amida

(Lit. "Boundless Light"): A Buddha of the Mahayana pantheon who presides over the Western Paradise and is worshiped by Pure Land Buddhists. Calling his name with sincerity at the hour of death is sufficient to be reborn in the Pure Land.

Vajrayana

(Lit. "Diamond/Thunderbolt Vehicle"): Form of Buddhism characterized by Tantric practices, which became dominant in Tibet and later spread to Mongolia and India.

Theravada

(Lit. "Doctrine of the Elders") The only surviving branch of the non-Mahayana Buddhist groups. It is the dominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is characterized by the pursuit of nirvana.

Bodhisattva

(Lit. "Enlightenment Being"): In Theravada, one who is committed to the attainment of Buddhahood; in Mahayana, one who strives for the fullest form of Buddhahood and for the liberation of all beings. Bodhisattvas may be earthly of transcendent.

Mahayana

(Lit. "Great Vehicle"): Form of Buddhism that emerged in the first century BCE and spread from northern India to China and Japan. It is characterized by the ideal of the bodhisattva, one who strives to bring all beings to nirvana.

Maitreya

(Lit. "Loving One"): The next teaching Buddha after Shakyanumi Buddha to appear in this world system, generally depicted as a heroic figure in a stately seated posture. In China, he began to be depicted in the form of the monk Budai/Pu-tai, a bald, fat and jolly figure often referred to as the Laughing Buddha.

Guanyin/Kuan-yin

(Lit. "One who regards the Call"): Chinese form of the Mahayana transcendent Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara. The Dalai Lama of Tibet are regarded as living incarnations of Avalokiteshvara.

Shakyamuni

(Lit. "Sage of the Shakya Clan"): Title used by the Buddhists to refer to Siddhartha Guatama, the historical Buddha, who lived between the sixth and third centuries BCE, attained nirvana at the age of thirty-five, and preached until his death at the age of eighty.

Dharma Chakra

(Lit. "The Wheel of the Law"): A wheel with eight spokes, used to symbolize aspects of the Buddha's teachings, such as the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The wheel also symbolizes the spread and development of Buddhist teachings through time.

Triptaka

(Lit. "Three Baskets"): Collection of early Buddhist writings, written in Pali, and forming the canon for Theravada Buddhists. The Sutra section contains teachings attributed to the Buddha, the Vinaya contains rules of monastic discipline, and the Abhidharma contains philosophical and doctrinal arguments.

Arhat

(Lit. "Worthy Ones"): In Theravada, one who has attained the ideal of spiritual perfection; in Mahayana, still regarded as an inferior attainment to the type of Buddhahood, for which the bodhisattva strives.

Bhikku

(Sanskrit: Bhikshu): A fully ordained Buddhist monk and member of the Sangha. Monks conduct their lives in accord with the rules laid out in the Vinaya Pitaka.

Bhikkhuni

A fully ordained Buddhist nun. Nuns, whose numbers are extremely small compared to monks, are subject to stricter regulations than monks.

Ulambana

Also called Ancestor Day, offerings are made to departed ancestors. In Mahayana Buddhist countries, food offerings are made to alleviate the suffering of ghosts, who normally inhabit the lower, hellish realms but briefly visit the human realm around this time.

Three Refuges/Jewels

Buddhists take refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the Buddha's teachings), and the Sangha (the Buddhist community of ordained men and women, which in its broader connotations may also include layperson).

Pagoda

Term used to designate Buddhist stupas or temples in East and Southeast Asia. The word derives from dagoba, the Sri Lankan term for a stupa. Pagodas in Myanmar may be either solid structures housing relics or temples for Buddhist deities. In China and Japan, they are characterized by multiple tiers of roofs, which developed from the honorific motif of placing umbrellas atop most stupas.

Buddhacarita

The first complete life story of the Buddha, composed in verse by Ashvaghosha in the second century CE.

Shakyamuni Buddha

The historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. In most Buddhist traditions, he is not the first and only Buddha, but is regarded as the teaching Buddha of the current epoch.

Origin/Cause

The major cause of duhkha is the insatiable craving, desire, or thirst for sensual gratification. Because of the impermanent and transient nature of the world, our sensual gratifications pass, and we find ourselves once again in the grip of craving.

Cessation/Ending

The means of ending our duhkha is by ending the craving that causes it. This ending of craving, which is an ending of the condition of ignorance at its root, is described as nirvana.

Almsgiving

Traditional early morning procession by the Sangha to seek food. Laypersons are expected to put edible food in the alms bowls of the Sangha members. Such charitable alsmgiving (dana) provides the laity with an opportunity to gain merit (punya). In turn, the Sangha members chant prayers of blessing.

Vesak (Vasihakha)

Celebrated in Theravada countries on the full-moon day in May. It was inaugurated by Ashoka to commemorate the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana. Monks perform special pujas (worship rituals) and present teachings on Dharma to large crowds.

Sangha Day

Celebrated on the full moon of Magh (February / March). It commemorates a spontaneous gathering of the Sangha to receive the Buddha's teachings. The laity gather for processions at Buddhist monasteries and listen to talks on the Dharma to gain merit.

Ordination

Ceremony in which one is officially accepted into the Sangha, in the lower ordination one first becomes a novice, and through the higher ordination one becomes a full-fledged monk or non. Mahayana Buddhism includes a further ordination, in which one takes the bodhisattva vow.

Guanyin's (Kuan-yin's) Birthday

Commemorates the goddess who embodies the compassion of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Devotees make pilgrimages to Guanyin's shrines.

Path

Often called the Noble Eightfold Path, it is prescribed in Buddhism as a means of attaining the goal of nirvana. The Noble Eightfold Path is so called because it consists of eight aspects or dimensions of life that need to be cultivated.

Buddha Images

Often following the fixed iconographic prescriptions, the Buddha is arguably the most depicted human in the world. In statues and paintings, he if often portrayed atop a lotus flower in a variety of traditional poses or gestures (mudra).

Uposatha

One of the most important observances in Theravada Buddhism. On every quarter moon, lay Buddhists may gather at the monastery, listen to religious discourses, and spend the day in fasting and meditation. They may reaffirm their adherence to various rules of moral discipline (shila). On full and new moon days, the Sangha gathers to hear the recitation of the monastic disciplinary code (pratimoksha), and members confess their faults.

Stupa

Originally a funerary mound. Stupas contain relics or sacred texts or are purely symbolic representations of states of consciousness and the awakened mind. They serve as focal points for veneration or meditation.

Kushingara

Present-day Kasia, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India; the place where the Buddha entered parinirvana (further nirvana). Once a great pilgrimage site, the stupa reputed to have held his remains was destroyed before the seventh century.

Dalai Lama

("Ocean [of Wisdom] Lama"): Title and rulership of Tibet bestowed on a high lama of the Gelug Order of Tibetan Buddhism in the sixteenth century. The current Dalai Lama, who was selected as a child through a complicated search and testing procedure, is regarded as the fourteenth incarnation.

The 4 Nobles Truths

1) Sorrow/Suffering (Duhkha; Pali; Dukkha) 2) Origin/Cause 3) Cessation/Ending 4) Path (Marga)

Vihara

A Buddhist residence for monks. In Sri Lanka and Thailand it refers to a large prayer or meditation hall that houses a Buddha image. The Indian state Bihar derives its name from vihara.

Lotus Sutra

A Mahayana text, fully formed by the third century; forms the basis of Tiantai and Nichiren Buddhism. It promulgates doctrines on the value of faith and the possibility of universal liberation, because all beings share in the Buddha nature, which is transcendental.

Bardo Thodol

A Vajrayana text, also known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It contains instructions about the after-death stage, prior to rebirth. Individuals familiar with its teachings may, even after death, attain liberation, which is thought to be possible right up to the moment of rebirth.

Lotus

A kind of water lily. Symbol of the Buddha nature within all beings, which emerges undefiled from the muddy depths of wordly existence (samsara). In iconographic depictions, it is frequently used as the seat or throne of the Buddha.

Lama

A religious master. The term is often used as a polite form of address for any Tibetan monk. The honorific title Rinpoche (highly precious) is applied to highly attained teachers or monks.

Kathina Ceremony

A ritual in which the laity present new robes and other necessities to members of the Sangha, held near the end of the rainy season retreat.

Mantra

A sacred utterance. It is a syllable, word, or phrase used as an aid in meditation or in ritual activities. A well-known mantra is: Om mani padme hum, in which om and hum correspond to cosmic vibrations and mani padme (the jewel in the lotus) may refer to the combination of wisdom and compassion that characterizes Buddha-consciousness.

Pure Land

A school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by faith in the compassion of the Buddha Amitabha. Adherents hope to be reborn in Amitabha's Pure Land, also known as the Western Paradise.

Bodhidharma

A semilegendary Indian meditation master who founded the Chan school of Buddhism in China in the sixth century; connected in legend to the martial art kung-fu.

Sorrow/Suffering

All living, sentient beings experience suffering, a condition rooted in the physical realities of old age, sickness, and death and in emotional feelings of sadness and despondency.

Padmasambhava

Eighth-century missionary, schooled in the Tantras, he emphasized elaborate rituals and magical practices, establishing the Vajrayana form of Buddhism in Tibet.

Asanga

Fifth/sixth-century Buddhist philosopher who, together with his brother, Vasubandhu, is credited with founding the Mahayana School of Yogachara Buddhism.

Death Rituals

In Theravada countries, Buddhist monks are asked to preside over cremation rites. They chant from Buddhist scriptures and transfer merit to the deceased. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Tibetan Book of the Dead is read aloud.

Lumbini

In present-day Nepal; the traditional birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, marked nearby by a stone column erected by the emperor Ashoka; near Kapilavastu, capital of the ancient Shakya Kingdom.

Bodh-gaya

In the state of Bihar, India. The Mahabodhi temple located there reputedly marks the spot where Siddhartha Gautama attained Buddhahood. A descendent of the Bodhi tree under which Siddhartha meditated is the focal point of pilgrimage.

Earth-Touching Posture

In these images the Buddha is seated cross-legged with his left hand in his lap and the right hand reaching down to touch the earth. This posture represents the episode in his quest for enlightenment when he defeats the temptations of the demon Mara, in which he reached down to ask the earth to testify to his victory.

Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma

In this mudra, the Buddha's index finger and thumb of each hand touch at their tips to form two circles. This pose symbolizes the Buddha's teaching of the Four Noble Truths during the First Sermon at Sarnath, which began the turning of the Wheel (chakra) of his Teachings (dharma).

Meditation (dhyana) Posture

In this posture, the Buddha is generally seated cross-legged with one or both hands in his lap, palms facing upward The right palm is generally placed above the left. On occasion, particularly with images of Amitabha Buddha, the palms may curl and meet at the knuckles and thumb tips.

Mandala

Intricate two- or three- dimensional constructions representing realms of consciousness; used as a focus in Mahayana or Vajrayana meditation.

Ashoka

King of the Mauryan dynasty who ruled much of the Indian subcontinent from 273 to 236 BCE. After a bloody campaign for which he felt great remorse, he converted to Buddhism. He helped to establish Buddhism throughout his empire and to spread it to neighboring countries, such as Sri Lanka.

Zen

Known as Chan (Ch'an) in China. A Mahayana Buddhist tradition that emphasizes mediation in the attainment of nirvana. In Japan, two main schools of Zen emerged the Rinzai and the Soto.

Sarnath

Located near the sacred Hindu city of Banaras. A large stupa marks the spot where the Buddha delivered his First Sermon, an event traditionally understood as setting in motion of the wheel of the Dharma.

Smriti

Mindfulness, the main form of Buddhist meditation. Proper mindfulness is one of the items of the Noble Eightfold Path. Smriti is based on developing an unbroken awareness of sensory perceptions and the processes within consciousness. Deep calm (shamatha) and penetrating insight (vipashyana) may thus be developed.

14th Dalai Lama

Most widely known contemporary Buddhist leader, Tenzin Gyatso, a Nobel laureate for peace and spiritual head of the Tibetan government in exile.

Nagarjuna

Second/third-century-CE Buddhist philosopher and founder of the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) school. He taught that the ultimate characteristic of all things is emptiness (shunyata).

Punya

Spiritual merit, wholesome karma generated through generosity, virtue, and meditative realizations. it is believed to result in better rebirths, and may also be mentally transferred to other beings in need.

Kanjur and Tanjur

The canon of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kanjur consists of 92 volumes containing teachings attributed to the Buddha. The Tanjur fills 226 volumes of commentary of the Kanjur.

The Thirty-Two Major Signs

These were likely derived from preexisting notions of auspicious physical attributes that characterized a deity or an extraordinary person, and were applied to the Buddha. They include an erect posture, long fingers and toes that are webbed, a lion-like chest, long arms descending to below the knees, a thousand-spoked wheel on the soles of his feet, a protuberance on the crown of the head, and a curl between the eyebrows. In addition, some texts sometimes mention eighty minor signs.

Buddhist New Year

Three-day celebration in Theravada countries beginning on the first full moon in April. TIbetan Buddhists celebrate it in February, and Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese Buddhists celebrate it on the second new moon after the winter solstice.

Other Postures

Two other common postures are the fear-not and boon-granting postures. In the former, the Buddha's elbow is bent and his fingertips pointing upward, and the shoulder level as if to say, "Stop." It is a call to bring an end to fear and the sources of unskillful action. In the latter, the open palm faces forward with fingertips downward, as if offering devotees some form of charitable giving (dana).