A Buddhist Compendium

    This is a resource for Buddhism.  Here you will find information regarding various terms used in all areas of Buddhism.  Everything from the most basic to the more obscure should be found here.
    If you think something should be here that isn't, please contact the Webmistress.   Meanwhile try one of these: A Buddhist Glossary or A Glossary of Pali and Buddhist Terms.

A BCDE FGHI JKLM N O P Q RS TUV W X Y Z


Atmabhavadi-parityagah: part of the Sevenfold Puja: self-surrender; inner sacrifice of the physical self and its pleasures for the broader fulfilment of all humanity
Atman: the Divine Self (originally Hindu)
Anatta: not-self; because everything is impermanent, there can be no lasting sense of personality
Anicca: non-permanence; the thought that nothing exists in the same state for more than a moment in time and that to believe otherwise is illusory
Arhat: a fully enlightened Buddhist saint who will not be reborn again into the realm of suffering (Sanskrit)
Ascetism: complete denial of the body and its desires.  The buddha tried this extreme before discovering The Middle Path

Bhikkhu-sangha: a sangha made up solely of monks
Bhikkhuni-sanga: a sangha made up solely of nuns
Bodhi: the tree under which the buddha is said to have become enlightened
Bodhichitta: noble or awakened heart, present in all beings; the aspiration to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings (Sanskrit)
Bodhisattva: one committed to the path of compassion (Sanskrit)
Buddha: the Awakened One; this is a term for a state of being rather than strictly the name of a person
The Buddha: the Awakened One; usually refers to Siddharta Gautama, a prince born around 563 BCE and who founded Buddhism after reaching enlightenment
Buddhism: someone who practices the Dharma; non-orthodox form of Vedic\Aryan teaching founded by the Buddha or enlightened one

Chi: Energy; life-force, see also Ki (China)
Chedi: is a domed edifice, often quite tall, under which relics of the Buddha or revered religious teachers are buried.  See Stupa (Thai)
Circumambulating: walking clockwise around a sacred site, thereby creating good karma or merit (English)
Citta: state of conciousness

Daimoku: literally "title," that is, the title of the Lotus Sutra, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (Japan)
Dana: generosity or the act of giving (Sanskrit)
Devaputra Mara: The mara of seeking pleasure
Dharma: cosmic law, secular law; the teaching of the Buddha; the way, the general state of affairs.  A central concept in Buddhism
Dharma brat: a child raised by Buddhists
Dharma bum: A western follower of Buddhism and the Bohemian lifestyle ; a phrase coined by Jack Kerouac from the book of the same name
Dokusan: a private meeting between student and Master in the seclusion of the Master's room; a key element in Rinzai Zen
Dukkha: sorrow and suffering stemming from the blindness to non-permanence and the lack of true understanding of its reality.

The Eightfold Way: the means of escaping samsara through Right Understanding, Right Purpose, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Endeavor, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration
The Eightfold Path: See the Eightfold Way
Enlightenment: realization; an Awakening to Truth; seeing into the true nature of things

The Four Noble Truths:

Geshe: title generally conferred in the Tibetan Geluk tradition on those who have successfully completed many years of monastic education and have thus attained a high degree of doctrinal learning; roughly the equivalant to the Western Doctor of Divinity (Tibet)
Ghanta: a bell; symbolic for two distinct principles - impermanence and wisdom
Gohonzon: the mandala that serves as the object of devotion in Nichiren Buddhism and the embodiment of the law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (Japan)
Gongyo: the daily practice of reciting portions of the Lotus Sutra and chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo before the Gohonzon in Nichiren Buddhism (Japan)

Han: wooden board used in Zen monastaries that is struck as a call to meditation (Japan)
Hara: belly or gut, which is a person's spiritual center (Japan)
Hinayana: literally "Small Vehicle," the northern Buddhist term for the Southern Buddhism of Southeast Asia, often emphasizing individual liberation and the Buddha's rules for monks and nuns.  The preferred term for this school is "Theravada" (Sanskrit)

Inka: a seal of enlightenment; a Master's official confirmation that a student has completed training

Jew-Bu: a slang term for a Jew that practices Buddhism (USA)

Karma: the Buddhist universal law of cause and effect
Keisaku: the "awakening stick" used in some Zen schools as a means to relieve muscle tension and dispel sleepiness (Japan)
Kensho: seeing into one's self nature (Japan)
Ki: energy; life-force.  See also Chi (Japan)
Klesha Mara: The mara of using emotions for escape
Koan: a riddle used studied to snap the seeker out of old ways of thinking and thus gain enlightenment (Japan)
Kung-an: (Chinese) See Koan

Lamaism: a school of Buddhism derived from Vajrayana Buddhism.  It is essentially a monastic style of Buddhism practised mainly in Nepal and Tibet
Linga: symbolic of the phallus, see also Vajra
Lotus Sutra: a teaching text of the buddha
Lung-gompa: Literally "breath/air-meditation," running monks of Tibet renowned for their ability to cover vast distances at a very fast pace for several days and nights without stopping (Tibet)

Mahayana: "Great Vehicle," The Northern Buddhism of China, Korea and Japan (Sanskrit)
Maitri: loving kindness; unconditional friendliness (Sanskrit)
Makyo: a mysterious apparition, particularly a vision or dream arising out of meditation (Japan)
Mala: a string of beads, often 108 in number, used to count the repititions of the recitation of mantras, certain chants, and the name of Buddha (Sanskrit)
Mandala: magic circle; a geometric diagram which represents the Buddhist cosmos in two or three dimensions that can be used in meditation and visualization (Sanskrit)
Mantra: a sequence of mystic syllables, sometimes a single syllable, which may or may not possess intelligible meaning; spiritual or empowered speech.  When written it may also be used as a charm (Sanskrit)
Mara: sin; the opposite of Right Action
Meditation:  A devotional exercise of or leading to contemplation; a contemplative discourse on a religious or philosophical subject
Metta: loving-kindness: the sincere wish for being to be happy and safe (Pali)
The Middle Path: temperance; not following either extreme but somewhere in between; the erasure of duality
Moksha: pursuit of liberation (Sanskrit)
Mondo: a dialogue about Buddhism or an existential problem among Masters or between Master and student (Japan)
Monkey Mind: the constant background chatter-thoughts of the undisciplined mind
Mu: nothing (Japan)
Mudra: symbolic hand gesture, usually used in Buddhist art and meditation
Mushin: no-mind, or detatchment of mind; complete freedom from dualistic thinking


Naga: a mystical serpent that according to the holy scripts sheltered the Buddha while he was meditating.
Nembutsu: recitation of the Buddha's name, especially by reciting "Namu Amida Butsu" ("homage to Buddha Amitabha" for rebirth in his Pure Land (Japan)
Nirvana: the goal of Buddhism; freedom from Karma; extinction of all craving; the realizatoin of the true nature of the mind

Padma: a lotus; sybolic for the family of buddhas and divine birth, also symbolizes th female principle or the female genitals.  Buddhists regard the lotus as a flower of divine origin since it reproduces from its own 'womb' rather than in the soil, and the padma symbol is sen as a pledge of salvation.
Papa-desana: part of the Sevenfold Puja; confession of sins; coming to terms with one's own shortcomings
Paramita: transcendant actions; Six guidelines for peace.  They are: generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and prajna
Parinamana: part of the Sevenfold Puja; transfer of merit; the merit earned in punyanumodana may be given over to help ease the sufferings and misfortunes of others who are less fortunate
Prajna: intuitive wisdom, insight into emptiness or the true nature of reality
Pranayama: yogic excercises that control and regulate the breathing (Sanskrit)
Puja: worship; Buddhist ritual; devotional practice (Sanskrit)
Punyanumodana: part of the Sevenfold Puja; rejoicing in merit; taking delight in good deeds, whether those of oneself or others

Rinzai: a school of Zen where a koan is examined while sitting in order to deepen insight and enlightenment
Root Guru: one's primary teacher in the Tibetan tradition
Roshi: a venerable Zen teacher, wheter a monk or a layperson, woman or man (Japan)
Rupa: an image of the buddha

Sadhana: invocation of the dieties, part of Lamaist Buddhism
Samadhi: collected concentration in which subject is no different from object; absorption, bliss
Sangha: community of disciples within a monastic order (Sanskrit)
Satori: Zen term for enlightenment, sometimes synonymous with kensho (Japan)
Sem: discursive thoughts, "Monkey Mind"; a stream of chatter that is always reinforcing an image of ourselves (Tibet)
The Sevenfold Puja: seven devotional aspirations consisting of (1)puja (2) vandana, (3)sarana-gamana, (4) papa-desana, (5) punyanumodana, (6) parinamana, and (7) atmabhavadi-parityagah
Shikantaza: precisely sitting or meditating, with no supporting techniques such as counting breaths
Shunyata: emptyness or void, without essence; basic openness; a key notion of Buddhism
Skandha Mara: The mara of clinging to self during chaos
Soto: a school of Zen that prefers zazen as awakening itself to the already realized koan
Sunyata: see Shunyata
Samsara: the cycle of rebirth that can be escaped by practicing the Eightfold Path
Sarana-gamana: part of the Sevenfold Puja; seeking refuge
Stupa: Monastic complex or monument.  The design of the stupa is said to follow that suggested by the buddha when he folded his robe and laid it on the ground to represent the base, placed his begging bowl upside down on th robe to emulate the central chamber of the reliquary, and stood his umbrella on top to depict the spire
Sutra: "thread," short, tightly worded sentence; religious text (Sanskrit)

Tantra: "stream" or "strand," medieval yogic and ritualistic Indian texts; refers to the ultimate wisdom said to embrace all human experience through the practice of perfection.  (Sanskrit)
Tao: the Way; the source of reality; the truth; the ultimate principle
Tara: a female Buddha and meditational deity; she is considered to be the goddess of universal compassion who represents virtuous and enlightened activity
Teisho: a formal dharma talk by a Zen master (Japan)
Tonglen: The practice of sending and receiving; breathing in pain and sending out pleasure (Tibet)
Triratna: the three aspects of Buddhism; buddha, dharma and sangha

Ubhatosangha: "Twin community," a sangha made up of both monks and nuns
UU-Bu: a slang term for a Unitarian Universalist that practices Buddhism (USA)

Vajra: club-like implrement made by Tvastar, the divine builder; a significant symbol in Buddhism associated with lightning.  Also linked with Shiva
Vandana: part of the Sevenfold Puja; obeisance

Wat: Thai Buddhist temple or monastery. In most cases it is not just one building, but a collection of buildings, shrines, and monuments within a courtyard that is enclosed by a wall  (Thai)

Yab-yum: "mother-father," a mudra depicting the balance of male and female
Yama Mara: The mara of the fear of death
Ye tang che: the experience of losing/giving up all hope (Tibet)

Zafu: traditional, round, kapok-stuffed cushion to sit on during meditation
Zazen: sitting meditation (Japan)
Zendo: a meditation hall (Japan)


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