Buddhist
Terms
Bodhisattva. Literally, an awakened being, one who
has attained Nirvana but remains in the world so that he or she can
help others to awaken. Some of the better-known bodhisattvas are Avalokitesvara,
the bodhisattva of infinite compassion, and Amida Buddha, the bodhisattva
of the Pure Land.
Buddha.
It means 'one who is awake' in the sense of having 'woken up to reality'.
Dharmakaya.
Dhyana. Meditation. Clearing the mind so that it directly
perceives the emptiness of the phenomenal world.
Enlightenment.
Hinayana. Literally, the lesser vehicle. The only surviving
school of Hinayana is Theravada, the Buddhism of Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Cambodia, and other countries of Southeast Asia. The highest ideal of
the Theravadins is the arhat, one who has attained personal liberation.
The collected texts of the Theravadins are incorporated in the Pali
Canon.
Koan. A question given to a Zen student by a master
during an interview. The student goes over the question in his or her
mind while meditating. The koan system of a series of interviews with
the master is a means of testing the student to find his or her state
of mind and to lead the student to awakening. With a clear mind a koan
can be answered in an instant; with a muddled mind it might take years.
Examples: "Does a dog have buddha-nature?" "What is the
sound of one hand clapping?"
Mahayana. Literally, the greater vehicle. A general
term applied to forms of Buddhism that arose in India around 100 BCE-100
CE. The Buddhisms of Central Asia, Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea are
Mahayana. It is characterized by the emphasis on sunyata (emptiness)
and the belief in bodhisattvas, awakened ones who forgo entry into Nirvana
to give aid to the suffering world. Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism.
Nirvana. Being in the state of sunyata (emptiness).
The Pali Canon. The collected works of the Theravadin school.
It is written in Pali, an ancient language of India related to Sanskrit.
According to tradition the canon was standardized at the First Council
of Buddhism, which met shortly after the passing away of the Buddha
to preserve his teachings. The canon was originally transmitted orally
and later committed to writing. It consists of three parts and is therefore
known as the Tripitaka, or three baskets. The three parts of the Tripitaka
are the Vinaya, rules of conduct for monks and nuns; the Sutras, the
teachings of the Buddha; and the Abhidharma, commentaries and analysis.
Samsara. The cycle of birth, suffering, and death.
As long as a being is alive, he or she is participating in samsara.
Sangha means community. This term usually refers to
a Buddhist community of monks. It can also mean the community of Buddhist
supporters in a given region, or the whole world community.
Sanskrit. The classic language of India, which originated
around the second millennium BCE. It is part of the Indo-European group
of languages and is related to Latin, Persian, and the modern languages
of Europe and India, including English. Many of the texts of Mahayana
Buddhism were originally written in Sanskrit and later translated into
such languages as Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese. Familiar Sanskrit
terms: nirvana, samsara, sunyata, dhyana, and boddhisattva.
Satori. The Zen experience of sudden awakening.
skandhas.
Sunyata. Literally, emptiness. When we examine the
sensory phenomena we find that they cannot be grasped or delineated.
They are empty of self-being. This is neither nihilism nor a denial
of the sensory realm; rather, emptiness is the interdependence of all
phenomena. For example, a pencil cannot be taken out of its surroundings,
or exist, without someone perceiving it. The pencil is empty of self-being.
Its existence is dependent on the existence of everything else. This
interdependence is known as pratityasamutpada.
Sutra. Diamond Sutra, Heart
Sutra and Lankavatara Sutra
Tao.
Zen is a form of Buddhism that developed as a distinct
line in China around the sixth century CE. It emphasizes direct perception
under the guidance of a teacher and deemphasizes the study of Buddhist
literature. The word Zen is derived from the Sanskrit term dhyana (meditation).
In Chinese dhyana became ts'o-ch'an, which became zazen in Japanese
or just zen. The practice of Zen spread from China to Korea, Japan,
and Vietnam. In the twentieth century it made its way into America and
the rest of the world.
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