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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abhidharma
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'advanced doctrine' one of the 3 divisions of the early Buddhist scriptural canon.
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anatman
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no soul, the doctrine implying that the human person is impermanent, a changing combination of components.
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arhat
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a worthy one or saint, someone who has realized the ideal of spiritual perfection in Theravada Buddhism.
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bhiksu, bhiksuni
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an ordained buddhist monk and nun respectively.
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bodhisattva
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in theravada, a being who is on the way to enlightenment or buddhahood but has not yet fully entered it. In Mahayana a celestial being who forgoes nirvana to save others.
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Chan/Zen
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A tradition involving meditative practice and the teaching that ultimate reality is not expressible in words or logic, but is to be grasped through direct intuition, either gradual or sudden.
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dana
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a 'giving' ritual, common in the homes of Theravada families, involving gifts of food to the bhiksus who conduct chanting, and a ceremony for the transfer of merit
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dharma
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in buddhist usage, the teaching or truth of the religion concerning the ultimate order of things
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duhkha
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the suffering that characterizes human life, from both physical and psychological causes
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Gohonzon
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the Nichiren sect's calligraphic scroll containing the words, 'Homage to the Locus sutra', which this Japanese sect repeats as a mantra
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gongan/koan
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a paradoxical thought exercise in the Chan/zen tradition that is aimed at impressing on the disciple that religious insight goes beyond the limitations of verbal formulations and logic
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Hinayana
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'Lesser Vehicle' the description of a group of early Indian Buddhist sects of which the Theravada became the most important
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jiriki
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Japanese for 'self-power', a description of the Zen emphasis on achievement of insight through meditation
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Kanjur
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the tibetan scriptural collection of texts called tantras. The corresponding Tibetan collection of traditional commentaries is termed Tanjur
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karma
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the energy of one's past good or bad thoughts and actions; it operates in the 'wheel' or continuing cycle of samsara or rebirth, ended only by nirvana
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lama
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title meaning 'wise teacher', given to heads of different tibetan ordination lineages
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Madhyamika
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teaching of the early Mahayana thinker Nagarjuna, termed the 'Middle Way' because of refusal either to affirm or to negate statements about reality
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Mahayana
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'great vehicle', designation of the form of Buddhism that emerged around the first century in northwestern india which spread to china and later japan and korea
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mandala
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a chart-like representation of cosmic buddha figures often serving as a focus of mahayana or vajrayana meditation and devotion
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mudra
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a pose or gesture in artistic representations of Buddha figures. Different mudras have conventionalized symbolic meanings
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nembutsu
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japanese term for the recitation of praise to the celestial buddha Amida in Pure Land
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nikaya
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a division, such as of the samgha or of a textual like discourses attributed to the buddha
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nirvana
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the state of absolute bliss associated with final enlightenment
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pagoda
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a multistory tower that is characteristic of southeast and east asian buddhism historically developing out of the south asian mound or stupa
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paramita
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a perfection of effort or the like Of early Buddhism 's list of six perfections, Mahayana emphasized the perfection of wisdom
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parinirvana
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the ultimate perfection of bliss. it is achievable only on departing this life, as distinct from nirvana qualified by 'remainder' achievable while one is still in the present existence
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paritta
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a collection of chants used for blessing
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prajna
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spiritual wisdom or insight necessary for enlightenment
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Pure Land
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the comfortable realm in the western region of the heavens for those who trust in the merit and grace of its lord, the celestial buddha Amitabha or amida
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rinpoche
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title of respect for tibetan teachers or leading monks
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Sakyamuni
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'Sage of the Sakya clan' a title used by Buddhists to refer to the historical figure of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
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samgha
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the community of buddhist monks and nuns
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satori
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japanese for spiritual enlightenment in the Zen tradition
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skandhas
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the shifting, fluid components that make up personality
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stupa
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hemispherical mound built to mark or contain a Buddhist relic. In time, tower-like forms, including southeast and east asian pagodas, were added to or developed out of stupas
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sunyata
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the emptiness that is held to be ultimately characteristic of all things, according to Madhyamika doctrine
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sutra
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a discourse attributed to Sakyamuni or to an important disciple
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tariki
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japanese for 'other power' a description of Pure Land's reliance on the grace and compassion of the celestial buddha Amida
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tathagata
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one who has 'gone thus', that is, fulfilled the pattern of a buddha
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tathata
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'suchness' or ultimate reality Yogacara thought holds it to be the only proper focus of consciousness, as distinct from the false objects derived from the 'storehouse consciousness' or alaya-vijnana
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thangka
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a tibetan wall hanging portraying either an individual deity or a mandala arrangement of many, and used for meditation
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theravada
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'teaching of the elders' the dominant form of buddhism surviving in Sri lanka and southeast asia
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Tripitaka
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'three baskets', the collection of early buddhist sacred writings in Pali, its three sections contain discourses attributed to the buddha, rules of monastic discipline, and treatises on doctrine
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upaya
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'skillful means' a strategy used especially by mahayana regarding doctrinal positions as provisional only, in favour of practical results
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Vaisakha (Vesak)
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Theravada Buddhist festival at the full moon around early May, observed as the triple anniversary of Sakyamuni's birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana or passing from this life
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Vajrayana
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the tantric branch of buddhism that became established in Tibet, spreading later also to mongolia and now india
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vihara
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a dwelling or abode, the term used for monasteries and temples in parts of the Theravada world. In thai usage, the term for a temple complex is wat
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vinaya
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the rules of practice and conduct for monks, forming a section of the Pali canon
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vipasyana
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meditation practiced by theravada buddhists in order to gain insight
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Yogacara
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a Mahayana school that interprets the world as the product of consciousness and that practices a meditation technique emptying the mind of objects of consciousness.
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