Glossary of Buddhism

Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. Below are given a number of important Buddhist terms, short definitions, and the languages in which they appear. In this list, an attempt has been made to organize terms by their original form and give translations and synonyms in other languages along with the definition.

Languages and traditions dealt with here:

Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Definition Etymology In other languages
abhidhamma A category of scriptures that attempts to use Buddhist teachings to create a systematic, abstract description of all worldly phenomena
  • abhi is "above" or "about", dhamma is "teaching"
  • Pāli: abhidhamma
  • Sanskrit: abhidharma
  • Bur: အဘိဓမ္မာ abhidhamma (IPA: [əbḭdəmà])
  • Tib: chos mngon pa
  • Mn: их ном, билиг ухаан; ikh nom, bilig ukhaan
  • Thai: อภิธรรม a-pi-tam
  • 阿毘達磨／阿毗昙
    • Cn: Āpídámó
    • Jp: Abidatsuma
    • Ko: 아비달마, Abidalma
    • Vi: a-tì-đạt-ma
Abhidhamma Pitaka The third basket of the Tripitaka canon, the reorganization of all doctrines in a systematic way
  • Pāli: Abhidhamma-piṭaka
  • Sanskrit: Abhidharma-piṭaka
  • Bur: အဘိဓမ္မာပိဋကတ် Abidhamma Pitakat (IPA: [əbḭdamà pḭdəɡaʔ])
  • Mon: အဘိဓဝ်ပိတကတ ([əpʰìʔtʰò pɔeʔtəkɔt])
  • Thai: อภิธรรมปิฎก a-pi-tam-pi-dok
  • 論藏, 論蔵
    • Cn: Lùnzàng
    • Jp: Ronzō
    • Ko: 논장, Nonjang
    • Vi: Luận tạng, Tạng luận, tạng thứ ba trong ba tạng là kinh, luật và luận
  • Mn: Илт ном, Ilt nom
acariya, lit. "teacher", One of the two teachers of a novice monk - the other one is called upādhyāya
  • Pāli: ācariya[1]
  • Sanskrit: ācārya
  • Bur: ဆရာ saya (IPA: [sʰəjà])
  • Shan: ဢႃႇၸရီႉယႃႉ atsariya ([ʔaː˨ tsa˩ ri˥ jaː˥])
  • Thai: อาจารย์ ajahn
  • 阿闍梨 or 阿闍梨耶
    • Cn: āshélí or āshélíyē
    • Jp: ajari or ajariya
    • Ko: 아사리, asari or 아사리야 asariya
    • Vi: a-xà-lê or a-xà-lê-da
adhitthana Determination, to pray, to wish
  • Pāli: Adhiṭṭhāna
  • Sanskrit:
  • Bur: အဓိဋ္ဌာန် (IPA: [ədeiʔtʰàɴ])
  • Thai: อธิษฐาน ah-tid-taan
  • 決心 or 決意
    • Cn: Juéxīn, juéyì
    • Jp: kesshin
    • Ko: 결심, gyeolsim or 결의, gyeolui
    • Vi:
Agama The non-Mahayana divisions of the Sutra Pitaka
  • Sanskrit: Āgama
  • Pāli: Āgama (but usually called Nikāya)
  • 阿含
    • Cn: Āhán
    • Jp: Agon
    • Ko: 아함, Aham
    • Vi: A-hàm
ahimsa The devotion to non-violence and respect for all forms of life. Practicers of ahimsa are often vegetarians or vegans
  • Sanskrit: ahiṃsā
  • Pāli: ahiṃsā
  • Thai: อหิงสา 'ah-hing-sa'
  • 不害
    • Cn: bù hài
    • Jp: fugai
    • Ko: 불해, bulhae
    • Vi: bất hại
Akshobhya
  • Sanskrit: Akṣobhya
  • Mn: ᠬᠥᠳᠡᠯᠦᠰᠢ ᠦᠭᠡᠢ᠂ ᠦᠯᠦ ᠬᠥᠳᠡᠯᠦᠭᠴᠢ;
    Үл Хөдлөгч, Хөдөлшгүй;

Ködelüsi ügei, Ülü hödelügci
alayavijnana, see store consciousness
  • Sanskrit: ālayavijñāna
  • Tib: ཀུན་གཞི་རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ་
    kun gzhi rnam par shes pa
  • 阿賴耶識, 阿頼耶識
    • Cn: ālàiyēshí
    • Jp: araya-shiki
    • Ko: 아뢰야식, aroeyasik
    • Vi: a-lại-da thức
Amitabha Lit. "The Buddha of Infinite Light". The main buddha of the Pure Land school, but is popular in other Mahayana sects as well. The image is of light as the form of wisdom, which has no form. Also interpreted as the Tathagata of Unhindered Light that Penetrates the Ten Quarters by Tan Luan, Shinran and others
  • Sanskrit: amitābha (lit. "limitless light") and amitāyus (lit. "limitless life")
  • 阿彌陀 or 阿彌陀佛, 阿弥陀 or 阿弥陀仏
    • Cn: Ēmítuó or Ēmítuó fó
    • Jp: Amida or Amida-butsu
    • Ko: 아미타, Amita or 아미타불, Amitabul
    • Vi: A-Di-Đà, A-Di-Đà Phật, or Phật A-Di-Đà
  • Tib: འོད་དཔག་མེད།
  • Mn: ᠠᠮᠢᠨᠳᠠᠸᠠ᠂ ᠴᠠᠭᠯᠠᠰᠢ ᠦᠭᠡᠢ ᠭᠡᠷᠡᠯᠲᠦ;
    Аминдаваа, Цаглашгүй гэрэлт;
    Amindava, Tsaglasi ügei gereltü
Amoghasiddhi
  • Sanskrit: Amoghasiddhi
  • Tib: Dön yö drub pa
  • Mn: ᠲᠡᠭᠦᠰ ᠨᠥᠭᠴᠢᠭᠰᠡᠨ᠂ ᠦᠢᠢᠯᠡ ᠪᠦᠲᠦᠭᠡ᠋᠌᠋᠋ᠺᠴᠢ;
    Төгс Нөгчигсөн, Үйл Бүтээгч;
    Tegüs nögcigsen, Üyile Bütügegci
anagarika A white-robed student in the Theravada tradition who, for a few months, awaits being considered for Samaneras ordination
  • Pāli: anāgarika
  • Thai: อนาคาริก a-na-ka-rik
anapanasati Mindfulness of the breath meditation
  • Pāli: ānāpānasati
  • Sanskrit: ānāpānasmṛti
  • Bur: အာနာပါန anapana (IPA: [ànàpàna̰])
anatta The principle denial of the soul in any phenomena. See also negative theology.
  • Pāli: anattā
  • Sanskrit: anātman
  • Bur: အနတ္တ anatta (IPA: [ənaʔta̰])
  • Shan: ဢၼတ်ႉတႃႉ ([ʔa˩ nat˥ taː˥])
  • 無我
    • Cn: wúwǒ
    • Jp: muga
    • Ko: 무아, mua
    • Vi: vô ngã
anicca Impermanence
  • Pāli: anicca
  • Sanskrit: anitya
  • Bur: အနိစ္စ aneissa (IPA: [əneiʔsa̰])
  • Shan: ဢၼိၵ်ႈၸႃႉ ([ʔa˩ nik˧ tsaː˥])
  • 無常
    • Cn: wúcháng
    • Jp: mujō
    • Ko: 무상, musang
    • Vi: vô thường
anuttara Unsurpassing
  • Pāli: anuttara
  • Sanskrit: anuttara
  • 阿耨多羅／阿耨多罗 (無上／无上)
    • Cn: Ānòuduōluó ("wǔshàng")
    • Jp: ?
    • Ko: 아뇩다라, anyokdara
    • Vi: A-nậu-đà-la (vô thượng)
    • Fi: Ylittämätön
arhat, lit. "the Worthy One", A living person who has reached Enlightenment
  • Pāli: arahat or arahant
  • Sanskrit: arhat or arhant
  • Bur: ရဟန္တာ yahanda (IPA: [jaháɴdà])
  • Shan: ရႁၢၼ်းတႃႇ rahanta ([ra˩ haːn˦ taː˨])
  • Tib: དགྲ་ཅོམ་པ་, dgra com pa
  • Mn: архад, arkhad
  • 阿羅漢
    • Cn: āluóhàn
    • Jp: arakan
    • Ko: 아라한, arahan
    • Vi: a-la-hán
anuttara samyak sambodhi,
  • Pāli:
  • Sanskrit:
  • Tib: ,
  • Thai: อรหันต์ uh-ra-hann
  • 阿耨多罗三藐三菩提
    • Cn:
    • Jp:
    • Ko: 아뇩다라삼먁삼보리, Anyokdara sammyak sambori
    • Vi: A-nậu-đà-la tam-miệu tam-bồ-đề, Vô-thượng chánh-đẳng chánh-giác, Sáng-suốt giác-ngộ hoàn-toàn
atman literally "self", sometimes "soul" or "ego". In Buddhism, the predominant teaching is the negating doctrine of anatman, that there is no permanent, persisting atman, and that belief in atman is the prime consequence of ignorance, the foundation of samsara
  • Pāli: atta
  • Sanskrit: ātman
  • Bur: အတ္တ atta (IPA: [aʔta̰])
  • 我
    • Cn: wǒ
    • Jp: ga
    • Ko: 아, a
    • Vi: ngã
Avalokitesvara, lit. "One Who Hears the Suffering Cries of the World", The bodhisattva of compassion (see also Guan Yin)
  • Sanskrit: Avalokiteśvara
  • Bur: လောကနတ် lawka nat (IPA: [lɔ́ka̰ naʔ])
  • Tib: སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་ spyan ras gzigs
  • Mn: Жанрайсиг, Janraisig
  • 觀世音 or 觀音
    • Cn: Guānshì Yīn or Guān Yīn
    • Jp: Kanzeon or Kannon
    • Ko: 관세음, Gwanse-eum or 관음, Gwaneum
    • Vi: "Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát" , "Quán Thế Âm Bồ Tát' or "Quan Âm"
avidya "ignorance" or "delusion"
  • Sanskrit: avidyā
  • Pāli: avijjā
  • Bur: အဝိဇ္ဇာ aweizza (IPA: [əweiʔ zà])
  • Shan: ဢဝိၵ်ႉၸႃႇ awitsa ([ʔa wik˥ tsaː˨])
  • Thai: อวิชชา aa-wit-sha
  • Tib: མ་རིག་པ་ ma rig-pa
  • 無明
    • Cn: wúmíng
    • Jp: mumyō
    • Ko: 무명, mumyeong
    • Vi: vô minh
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

B

Definition Etymology In other languages
bardo, lit. "intermediate state" or "in-between state", According to Tibetan tradition, the state of existence intermediate between two lives
  • Tib: བར་མ་དོའི་སྲིད་པ་ bar ma do'i srid pa
  • Sanskrit: antarābhava
  • Mn: зуурд, zuurd
  • 中有,中陰身
    • Cn: zhongyǒu
    • Jp: chūu
    • Ko: 중유 jungyu or 바르도 bareudo
    • Vi: trung hữu, trung ấm thân, thân trung-ấm
bhavacakra/bhavacakka A circular symbolic representation of samsara, also known as Wheel of becoming
  • Pāli: bhavacakka
  • Sanskrit: bhava-cakra
  • Bur: ဘဝစက် bawa set (IPA: [bəwa̰ sɛʔ])
  • Mon: ဘဝစက် ([həwɛ̀ʔ cɛk])
  • Shan: ၽဝႃႉၸၢၵ်ႈ ([pʰa˩ waː˥ tsaːk˧])
  • Tib: སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལ
  • Mn: Орчлонгийн хүрдэн, Orchlongiin khurden
  • 有輪
    • Cn: yǒulún
    • Jp: ??
    • Ko: 유륜, yuryun
    • Vi: hữu luân
bhante The polite particle used to refer to Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition. Bhante literally means "Venerable Sir."
  • Pāli
  • Bur: ဘန္တေ bhante (IPA: [bàɴdè])
bhava Becoming, being, existing; the 10th link of Pratitya-samutpada
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: bhava
  • Bur: ဘဝ bawa (IPA: [bəwa̰])
  • Mon: ဘဝ ([həwɛ̀ʔ])
  • Shan: ၽဝႃႉ ([pʰa˩ waː˥])
  • Thai: ภาวะ pa-wah
  • 有(十二因緣)
    • Cn: yǒu
    • Jp: u
    • Ko: 유, yu
    • Vi: hữu (thập nhị nhân duyên)
bhikkhu/bhikshu, lit. "beggar", A Buddhist monk
  • Pāli: bhikkhu
  • Sanskrit: bhikṣu
  • Bur: ဘိက္ခု bheikkhu (IPA: [beiʔkʰù])
  • Shan: ၽိၵ်ႈၶူႇ ([pʰik˧ kʰu˨])
  • Tib: དགེ་སློང་ dge slong
  • Mn: гэлэн, gelen
  • Thai: ภิกขุ bhikku
  • 比丘
    • Cn: bǐ qiū
    • Jp: biku
    • Ko: 비구, bigu or 스님 seunim, also 중, jung (pejorative)
    • Vi: tỉ-khâu, tỉ-khưu or tì-kheo, tăng
bhikkhuni/bhikshuni A Buddhist nun
  • from bhikkhu
  • Pāli: bhikkhuni
  • Sanskrit: bhikṣuni
  • Bur: ဘိက္ခုနီ bheikkhuni (IPA: [beiʔkʰùnì])
  • Shan: ၽိၵ်ႈၶူႇၼီႇ ([pʰik˧ kʰu˨ ni˨])
  • Tib: དགེ་སློང་མ་ sde slong ma
  • Mn: гэлэнмаа, gelenmaa
  • Thai: ภิกษุณี bhiksuni
  • 比丘尼
    • Cn: bǐqiūní"
    • Jp: bikuni
    • Ko: 비구니, biguni, 여승 (女僧), yeoseung
    • Vi: tỉ-khâu-ni, tỉ-khưu-ni or tì-kheo-ni, ni
bija, lit. "seed", A metaphor for the origin or cause of things, used in the teachings of the Yogacara school
  • Sanskrit: bīja
  • Bur: ဗီဇ biza (IPA: [bì za̰])
  • 種子
    • Cn: zhŏngzi
    • Jp: shuuji
    • Ko: 종자, jongja
    • Vi: chủng tử, hạt giống, hột giống
bodhi Awakening or Enlightenment
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: bodhi
  • Bur: ဗောဓိ bawdhi (IPA: [bɔ́dḭ])
  • Shan: ပေႃးထီႉ ([pɔ˦ tʰi˥])
  • Thai: โพธิ์ poe
  • Tib: བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་ byang chub
  • Mn: бодь, bodi
  • 菩提
    • Cn: pútí
    • Jp: bodai
    • Ko: 보리, bori
    • Vi: bồ-đề, giác, giác ngộ
Bodhi tree The Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) tree under which Gautama reached Enlightenment
  • Bur: ဗောဓိညောင် bawdhi nyaung (IPA: [bɔ́ dḭ ɲàuɴ])
  • Shan: ၺွင်ႇပေႃးထီႉ ([ɲɔŋ˨ pɔ˦ tʰi˥])
  • 菩提樹
    • Cn: Pútíshù
    • Jp: Bodaiju
    • Ko: 보리수, Borisu
    • Vi: Bồ-đề thụ, Bồ-đề thọ, cây Bồ-đề
bodhicitta The motivation of a bodhisattva
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: bodhicitta
  • Bur: ဗောဓိစိတ္တ bawdhi seitta (IPA: [bɔ́dḭ seiʔ da̰])
  • Tib: བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་, phyang chub kyi sems
  • Mn: бодь сэтгэл, bodi setgel
  • 菩提心
    • Cn: pútíxīn
    • Jp: bodaishin
    • Ko: 보리심, borisim
    • Vi: bồ-đề tâm
bodhisattva One with the intention to become a Buddha in order to liberate all other sentient beings from suffering
  • Pāli: bodhisatta
  • Sanskrit: bodhisattva
  • Bur: ဗောဓိသတ် bawdhi that (IPA: [bɔ́ dḭ θaʔ])
  • Mon: တြုံ လၟောဝ် ကျာ် ([kraoh kəmo caik])
  • Thai: โพธิสัตว์ poe-ti-satt
  • Tib: བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ, phyang chub kyi sems pa
  • Mn: бодьсад(ва), bodisad(va)
  • 菩薩
    • Cn: púsà
    • Jp: bosatsu
    • Ko: 보살, bosal
    • Vi: bồ-tát
Boghda Holy, living Buddha, living Boddhisattva. The title of Jebtsundamba Khutuktu; also title used with the names of highest Buddhist masters, e.g. boghda Tsongkhapa, Panchen boghda
  • Shan: ၽၵ်ႈၵဝႃႇ ([pʰak˧ ka˩ waː˨])
  • Mn: богд, bogd
  • Tib: བོག་ད་ bogda
Buddha A Buddha; also, the Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama.
  • from √budh: to awaken
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: buddha
  • Bur: ဗုဒ္ဓ bodha (IPA: [bouʔda̰])
  • Shan: ပုၵ်ႉထႃႉ ([puk˥ tʰaː˥])
  • Tib: སངས་རྒྱས sans rgjay
  • Mn: бурхан, burhan
  • 佛, 仏
    • Cn: fó
    • Jp: butsu or hotoke
    • Ko: 불, Bul or 부처, Bucheo
    • Vi: Phật or Bụt
buddha nature The uncreated and deathless Buddhic element or principle concealed within all sentient beings to achieve Awakening; the innate (latent) Buddha essence (esp. in the Tathagatagarbha sutras, Tendai/Tiantai, Nichiren thought)
  • Sanskrit: buddha-dhatu, buddha-svabhāva, "tathagata-dhatu", or tathagatagarbha.
  • 佛性, 仏性
    • Cn: fóxìng
    • Jp: busshō
    • Ko: 불성, bulseong
    • Vi: Phật tính, Phật tánh, Cái tánh sáng-suốt giác-ngộ hoàn-toàn
Buddhism
  • from √budh: to awaken
  • Pāli, Sanskrit:
  • Bur: ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ boddha batha (IPA: [bouʔda̰ bàðà])
  • Shan: ပုၵ်ႉထႃႉၽႃႇသႃႇ ([puk˥ tʰaː˥ pʰaː˨ sʰaː˨])
  • Mon: ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ ([pùttʰɛ̀ʔ pʰɛ̀asa])
  • Tib: ནང་བསྟན།
  • Mn: Бурханы Шашин, Burhanii Shashin
  • 佛教, 仏教
    • Cn: Fójiào
    • Jp: bukkyō
    • Ko: 불교, bulgyo
    • Vi: Phật-giáo
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

C

Definition Etymology In other languages
cetana Volition
  • Pali: cetana
  • Bur: စေတနာ sedana (IPA: [sèdənà])
Cetiya A reliquary holding holy objects of veneration
  • Pali: cetiya
  • Sanskrit: caitya
  • Bur: စေတီ zedi (IPA: [zèdi])
  • Khm:
  • Mon: စေတဳ setaow ([cetɔe])
  • Shan: ၸေႇတီႇ tseti ([tse˨ ti˨])
  • Sin: චෛත්‍යයය chedi
  • Thai: เจดีย์ chedi
  • Tib: མཆོད་རྟེན༏ mchod rten (chorten)
  • 塔
    • Zh: Ta
    • Vi: Tháp
    • Ko: Tap
    • Jp: 卒塔婆 sotōba

D

Definition Etymology In other languages
dakini A supernatural female with volatile temperament who serves as a muse for spiritual practice. Dakinis are often depicted naked to represent the truth
  • Sanskrit: ḍākinī
  • Tib: མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ་ mkha` `gro ma
  • Mn: дагина, dagina
  • 空行女
    • Cn: khong xing mu
    • Jp: ??
    • Ko: 다키니 dakini or 공행녀 gonghaengnyeo
    • Vi: không hành nữ
Dalai Lama, lit. "the lama with wisdom like an ocean", secular and spiritual leader of Tibet as nominated by the Mongols
  • Mn: далай, dalai, lit. "ocean"
  • Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་ taa-la'i bla-ma
  • 達賴喇嘛
    • Cn: Dálài Lǎma
    • Jp: Darai Rama
    • Ko: 달라이 라마 dalai rama
    • Vi: Đạt Lai Lạt Ma or Đạt-lại Lạt-ma
dana Generosity or giving; in Buddhism, it also refers to the practice of cultivating generosity
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: dāna
  • Bur: ဒါန dana (IPA: [dàna̰])
  • Mon: ဒါန ([tɛ̀anɛ̀ʔ]) or ဒါန် ([tàn])
  • Thai: ทาน taan
  • 布施
    • Cn: bùshī
    • Jp: fuse
    • Ko: 보시 bosi
    • Vi: bố thí
  • Mn: өглөг
deva many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being
  • Pāli and Sanskrit: deva
  • Bur: ဒေဝ dewa (IPA: [dèwa̰])
  • Khmer: ទេព or preah (ព្រះ)
  • Mn: тэнгэр tenger
  • Mon: ဒေဝတဴ tewetao ([tèwətao])
  • Shan: တေႇဝႃႇ ([a˨ wɔ˨])
  • 天
    • Zh: tiān
    • Ko: cheon
    • Jp: ten
    • Vi: thiên
dependent origination, see Pratityasamutpada
  • Pāli: paṭicca-samuppāda
  • Sanskrit: pratītya-samutpāda
  • Bur: ပဋိစ္စသမုပ္ပါဒ် padeissa thamopad (IPA: [pədeiʔsa̰ θəmouʔpaʔ])
  • Tib: rten.cing.'brel.bar.'byung.ba
  • Mn: шүтэн барилдлага shuten barildlaga
  • 因縁, also 緣起, 縁起
    • Cn: yīnyuan, also yuánqǐ
    • Jp: innen, also engi
    • Ko: 인연 inyeon, also 연기 yeongi
    • Vi: nhân duyên, duyên khởi
dhamma/dharma Often refers to the doctrines and teachings of the faith, but it may have broader uses. Also, it is an important technical term meaning something like "phenomenological constituent." This leads to the potential for confusion, puns, and double entendres, as the latter meaning often has negative connotations
  • from √dhṛ: to hold
  • Pāli: dhamma
  • Sanskrit: dharma
  • Bur: ဓမ္မ dhamma (IPA: [dəma̰])
  • Mon: ဓဝ် ([thò])
  • Thai: ธรรมะ tam-ma
  • Tib: ཆོས་, choi
  • Mn: дээдийн ном, deediin nom
  • 法
    • Cn: fă
    • Jp: hō
    • Ko: beop
    • Vi: pháp
dhammavinaya The dharma and vinaya (roughly "doctrine and discipline") considered together. This term essentially means the whole teachings of Buddhism as taught to monks
  • Mn: суртгаал номхотгол, surtgaal nomkhotgol
dhammacakka/dharmacakra A symbolic representation of the dharma, also known as the Wheel of Dharma
  • Sanskrit: dharmacakra
  • Pāli: dhammacakka
  • Bur: ဓမ္မစကြာ dhamma sekya (IPA: [dəməsɛʔtɕà])
  • Tib: ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ, chai gyi khorlo
  • Mn: номын хүрдэн, momiin khurden
  • 法輪
    • Cn: Fǎlún
    • Jp: hōrin
    • Ko: beopryun
    • Vi: pháp luân
Dhammapada a versified Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha
  • Pāli: Dhammapada
  • Sanskrit: Dharmapada
  • Bur: ဓမ္မပဒ Dhammapada (IPA: [dəma̰pəda̰])
  • 法句經
    • Cn: Fǎ jù jīng (sc. 法句经)
    • Jp: Hō-ku kei (shin. 法句経)
    • Ko:
    • Vi: Kinh Pháp Cú
dhammapala/dharmapala A fearsome deity, known as protector of the Dharma
  • Sanskrit: dharmapāla
  • Pāli: dhammapāla
  • Tib: chos-kyong
  • Mn: догшид, dogshid; хангал, khangal
  • 護法
    • Cn: hùfǎ
    • Jp: gohou
    • Ko: hobeop
    • Vi: Hộ Pháp
Dhyana, see jhana
  • Pāli: jhāna
  • Sanskrit: dhyāna
  • Bur: ဈာန် zan (IPA: [zàɴ])
  • Mon: ဇျာန် ([chàn])
  • Mn: дияан, diyan
  • 禪 or 禪那, 禅 or 禅那
    • Cn: Chán or Chánnà
    • Jp: Zen or Zenna
    • Ko: Seon
    • Vi: Thiền or Thiền-na
Dīpankara Buddha
  • Pāli: Dīpamkara
  • Sanskrit: Dīpankara
  • Bur: ဒီပင်္ကရာ dipankara (IPA: [dìpɪ̀ɴkəɹà])
  • Thai: พระทีปังกรพุทธเจ้า
  • 燃燈佛
    • Zh: Rándēng Fo
doan In Zen, a term for person sounding the bell that marks the beginning and end of Zazen
  • Japanese: 堂行
dokusan A private interview between a Zen student and the master. It is an important element in Rinzai Zen training, as it provides an opportunity for the student to demonstrate understanding
  • Japanese: 独参 dokusan
  • 獨參
    • Cn: dúcān
    • Ko: dokcham
    • Vi: độc tham
dukkha Suffering, dissatisfaction, stress
  • Pāli: dukkha
  • Sanskrit: duḥkha
  • Bur: ဒုက္ခ doukkha (IPA: [douʔkʰa̰])
  • Shan: တုၵ်ႉၶႃႉ ([tuk˥ kʰaː˥])
  • Thai: ทุกข์ took
  • Tib: སྡུག་བསྔལ་ sdug bsngal
  • Mn: зовлон, zovlon
  • 苦
    • Cn: kǔ
    • Jp: ku
    • Ko: go
    • Vi: khổ
dzogchen The natural, intrinsic state of every sentient being
  • Tibetan: རྫོགས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ rdzogs pa chen po
  • Sanskrit: atiyoga
  • 大究竟
    • Cn: dàjiūjìng
    • Jp: daikukyou
    • Ko: daegugyeong
    • Vi: đại cứu cánh
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F

Definition Etymology In other languages
Five Five-Hundred-Year Periods Five sub-divisions of the three periods following the Buddha's passing (三時繫念 Cn: sānshí; Jp: sanji; Vi: tam thời), significant for many Mahayana adherents:
  1. Age of enlightenment (解脱堅固 Cn: jiětuō jiāngù; Jp: gedatsu kengo)
  2. Age of meditation (禅定堅固 Cn: chándìng jiāngù; Jp: zenjō kengo)
    These two ages comprise the Former Day of the Law (正法時期 Cn: zhèngfǎ; Jp: shōbō)
  3. Age of reading, reciting, and listening (読誦多聞堅固 Cn: sòngduōwén jiāngù; Jp: dokuju tamon kengo)
  4. Age of building temples and stupas (多造塔寺堅固 Cn: duōzào tǎsì jiāngù; Jp: tazō tōji kengo)
    These two ages comprise the Middle Day of the Law (像法時期 Cn: xiàngfǎ; Jp: zōhō)
  5. Age of conflict (闘諍堅固 Cn: zhēng jiāngù; Jp: tōjō kengo), an age characterized by unrest, strife, famine, and other natural and human-made disasters.
    This age corresponds to the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law (末法時期 Cn: mòfǎ; Jp: mappō) when the (historical) Buddha's teachings would lose all power of salvation and perish (白法隠没 Cn: báifǎméi; Jp: byakuhō onmotsu) and a new Buddha would appear to save the people.
  • The three periods and the five five-hundred year periods are described in the Sutra of the Great Assembly (大集 Cn: dàjí; Jp: Daishutu-kyō, Daijuku-kyō, Daijikkyō, or Daishukkyō).
  • 五箇五百歲, 五箇五百歳
    • Cn: 五箇五百歲 wǔ ge wǔbǎi suì
    • Jp: 五箇の五百歳 go no gohyaku sai
    • Vi: ??
Four Noble Truths
  1. Suffering: Dukkha (Sanskrit: duḥkhāryasatya; Bur: ဒုက္ခ dokkha; Thai: ทุกข์; 苦諦 Cn: kǔdì; Jp: kutai; Vi: khổ đế; Mn: зовлон, zovlon)
  2. Attachment (desire): Samudaya (Sanskrit: samudayāryasatya; Bur: သမုဒယ thamodaya; Thai: สมุทัย; 集諦 Cn: jídì; Jp: jittai; Vi: tập khổ đế; ; Mn: зовлонгийн шалтгаан, zovlongiin shaltgaan)
  3. Elimination of attachment (desire): Nirodha (Sanskrit: duḥkhanirodhāryasatya; Bur: နိရောဓ niyawdha; Thai: นิโรธ; 滅諦 Cn: mièdì; Jp: mettai; Vi: diệt khổ đế; Mn: гэтлэх, getlekh)
  4. The path that leads out of suffering: Magga (Sanskrit: duḥkhanirodhagāminī pratipad; Bur: မဂ် meg; Thai: มรรค; 道諦 Cn: dàodì; Jp: dōtai; Vi: đạo đế; Mn: мөр, mör)
  • Pāli: cattāri ariya-saccāni
  • Sanskrit: चत्वारि आर्यसत्यानि catvāry āryasatyāni
  • Bur: သစ္စာလေးပါး thissa lei ba (IPA: [θɪʔsà lé bá])
  • Khmr: អរិយសច្ចៈទាំង៤
  • 四聖諦
    • Cn: Sìdì
    • Jp: Shitai
    • Vi: Tứ diệu đế
  • Mn: Хутагтын дөрвөн үнэн, khutagtiin dörvön unen
fukudo In Zen, term for person who strikes the han
  • Japanese: 副堂
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G

Definition Etymology In other languages
gassho A position used for greeting, with the palms together and fingers pointing upwards in prayer position; used in various Buddhist traditions, but also used in numerous cultures throughout Asia. It expresses greeting, request, thankfulness, reverence and prayer. Also considered a mudra or inkei of Japanese Shingon. See also: Añjali Mudrā, Namaste and Wai.
  • Sanskrit: anjali
  • 合掌
    • Cn: hézhǎng (more common to say 合十 héshí)
    • Vi: hiệp chưởng
Gautama Buddha
  • Pāli: Gotama
  • Sanskrit: Gautama
  • Bur: ဂေါတမ (IPA: [ɡɔ́dəma̰])
geshe A Tibetan Buddhist academic degree in the Gelug tradition, awarded at the conclusion of lengthy studies often lasting nine years or more
  • Tibetan: དགེ་ཤེས་
  • Mn: гэвш gevsh
  • 格西
gongan, lit. "public case", A meditative method developed in the Chán/Seon/Zen traditions, generally consisting of a problem that defies solution by means of rational thought; see koan
  • Chinese 公案 gōng-àn
  • 公案
    • Jp: kōan
    • Ko: gong'an
    • Vi: công án
Guan Yin The bodhisattva of compassion in East Asian Buddhism, with full name being Guan Shi Yin. Guan Yin is considered to be the female form of Avalokiteshvara but has been given many more distinctive characteristics.
  • Chinese 觀音 Guān Yīn or 觀世音 Guān Shì Yīn
  • 觀音 or 觀世音
    • Jp: Kannon or Kanzeon
    • Ko: Gwaneum or Gwanse-eum
    • Vi: Quan Âm or Quan Thế Âm
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H

Definition Etymology In other languages
han In Zen monasteries, wooden board that is struck announcing sunrise, sunset and the end of the day
  • Japanese: 板
Hinayana, lit. "inferior vehicle", A coinage by the Mahayana for the Buddhist doctrines concerned with the achievement of Nirvana as a Śrāvakabuddha or a Pratyekabuddha, as opposed to a Samyaksambuddha
  • Sanskrit: hīnayāna
  • Bur: ဟီနယာန hinayana (IPA: [hḭna̰jàna̰])
  • 小乘 or 小乗, 二乘
    • Cn: Xiǎoshèng
    • Jp: Shōjō
    • Vi: Tiểu thừa
  • Mn: Бага хөлгөн, Baga hölgön
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I

Definition Etymology In other languages
Ino, Jp. lit. "bringer of joy to the assembly." Originally from Sanskrit karmadana, lit. bestower of conduct [karma]. In Zen, the supervisor of the meditation hall [sodo]. One of the six senior temple administrators.
  • Japanese: 維那
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[1]

J

Definition Etymology In other languages
jhana Meditative contemplation; more often associated with śamatha practices than vipaśyana. See also: shamata, samadhi, samapatti
  • from √dhyā: to think of, to contemplate, meditate on
  • Pāli: jhāna
  • Sanskrit: dhyāna
  • Bur: ဈာန် zan (IPA: [zàɴ])
  • Mon: ဇျာန် ([chàn])
  • Thai: ฌาน chaan
  • 禪 or 禪那, 禅 or 禅那
  • Sinhala: ජාන jhāna
    • Cn: Chán or Chánnà
    • Jp: Zen or Zenna
    • Ko: Seon
    • Vi: Thiền or Thiền-na
  • Mn: дияан, diyan
jisha In Zen, a senior priest's attendant
  • Japanese: 侍者 jisha
jukai Zen public ordination ceremony wherein a lay student receives certain Buddhist precepts.
  • Chinese: 受戒, shou jie
  • Korean: 수계, sugye
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

K

Definition Etymology In other languages
Kakusandha Buddha
  • Pāli: Kakusandha
  • Sanskrit: Krakkucchanda
  • Bur: ကကုသန် Kakuthan (IPA: [ka̰kṵθàɴ])
  • 拘留孙佛
    • Zh: Jūliúsūn Fó
karma, lit. "action", The law of cause and effect in Buddhism
  • from √kri: to do
  • Sanskrit: karma
  • Pāli: kamma
  • Bur: ကံ kan (IPA: [kàɴ]) or ကြမ္မာ kyamma (IPA: [tɕəmà])
  • Mon: ကံ ([kɔm])
  • Shan: ၵျၢမ်ႇမႃႇ ([kjaːm˨ maː˨]) or ၵၢမ်ႇ ([kaːm˨])
  • Thai: กรรม gum
  • Tib: ལས, lai
  • Mn: үйлийн үр, uiliin ür
  • 業¹, 因果²
    • Cn: ¹yè, comm.: ²yīnguǒ
    • Jp: gō, inga
    • Ko: 업 eob
    • Vi: nghiệp
Kassapa Buddha
  • Pāli: Kassapa

Sanskrit: Kasyapa
  • Bur: ကဿပ Kathapa (IPA: [kaʔθəpa̰])
  • 迦葉佛
    • Zh: Jiāyè Fó
kensho In Zen, enlightenment; has the same meaning as satōri, but is customary used for an initial awakening experience
  • Japanese: 見性 kenshō
  • 見性
    • Cn: jiànxìng
    • Vi: kiến tính
khyenpo, also khenpo, An academic degree similar to a doctorate in theology, philosophy, and psychology
  • Tibetan
khanti patience
  • Bur: ခန္တီ khanti (IPA: [kʰàɴ dì])
  • Shan: ၶၼ်ႇထီႇ ([kʰan˨ tʰi˨])
  • Thai: ขันติ kanti
  • 耐心
    • Cn: Nàixīn
    • Vi:
kinhin Zen walking meditation
  • Japanese: 経行 kinhin or kyōgyō
  • 經行
    • Cn: jīngxíng
    • Vi: ??
koan A story, question, problem or statement generally inaccessible to rational understanding, yet may be accessible to Intuition
  • Japanese: 公案 kōan
  • 公案
    • Cn: gōng-àn
    • Ko: gong'an
    • Vi: công án
ksanti The practice of exercising patience toward behaviour or situations that might not necessarily deserve it—it is seen as a conscious choice to actively give patience as a gift, rather than being in a state of oppression in which one feels obligated to act in such a way.
  • Sanskrit
Koṇāgamana Buddha
  • Pāli and Sanskrit: Koṇāgamana
  • Bur: ကောဏာဂုံ Kawnagon (IPA: [kɔ́nəɡòuɴ])
  • 拘那含佛
    • Zh: Jūnàhán Fó
kyosaku In Zen, a flattened stick used to strike the shoulders during zazen, to help overcome fatigue or reach satori
  • Japanese: 警策 kyōsaku, called keisaku in Rinzai
  • 香板
    • Cn: xiangban
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L

Definition Etymology In other languages
lama A Tibetan teacher or master; equivalent to Sanskrit "guru"
  • Tibetan: བླ་མ་ lama
  • Sanskrit: guru
  • 喇嘛
    • Cn: lǎma
    • Jp: rama
    • Vi: lạt-ma
  • Mn: лам, lam
lineage The official record of the historical descent of dharma teachings from one teacher to another; by extension, may refer to a tradition
  • 傳承
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M

Definition Etymology In other languages
Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophical school, founded by Nagarjuna. Members of this school are called Madhyamikas
  • Sanskrit: mādhyamika
  • Tib: དབུ་མ་པ་ dbu ma pa
  • Mn: төв үзэл, töv üzel
  • 中觀宗
    • Cn: Zhōngguānzōng
    • Jp: ??
    • Vi: Trung quán tông
mahabhuta four great elements in traditional Buddhist thought
  • Pāli and Sanskrit: Mahābhūta
  • Bur: မဟာဘုတ် Mahabhot (IPA: [məhà bouʔ])
mahamudra A method of direct introduction the understanding of sunyata, of samsara and that the two are inseparable
  • Sanskrit: mahāmudrā
  • Bur: မဟာမုဒြာ maha modra (IPA: [məhà mouʔdɹà])
  • Tib: ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ་ chag-je chen-po
  • Mn: махамудра, mahamudra
  • 大手印
    • Cn: dàshŏuyìn
    • Jp: daisyuin
    • Vi: đại thủ ấn
mahasiddha litt. great spiritual accomplishment. A yogi in Tantric Buddhism, often associated with the highest levels of enlightenment
  • Sanskrit: mahāsiddha
  • Bur: မဟာသိဒ္ဒ maha theidda (IPA: [məhà θeiʔda̰])
  • Thai: มหายาน
  • 大成就
    • Cn: dàchéngjiù
    • Jp: daijōjyu
    • Vi: đại thành tựu
Mahayana, lit. "great vehicle", A major branch of Buddhism practiced in China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Main goal is to achieve buddhahood or samyaksambuddha
  • Sanskrit: mahāyāna
  • Bur: မဟာယာန mahayana (IPA: [məhàjàna̰])
  • 大乘 or 大乗
    • Cn: Dàshèng
    • Jp: Daijō
    • Vi: Đại thừa
  • Mn: Ikh khölgön
Maitreya The Buddha of the future epoch
  • Pāli: Metteyya
  • Sanskrit: Maitreya
  • Bur: အရိမေတ္တေယျ arimetteya (IPA: [əɹḭmèdja̰])
  • Shan: ဢရီႉမိတ်ႈတေႇယႃႉ ([ʔa˩ ri˥ mit˧ ta˨ jɔ˥])
  • Tib: བྱམས་པ, byams pa
  • Mn: Майдар, maidar
  • 彌勒 or 彌勒佛, 弥勒 or 弥勒仏
    • Cn: Mílè or Mílè Fó
    • Jp: Miroku or Miroku-butsu
    • Vi: Di-lặc or Phật Di-lặc
makyo In Zen, unpleasant or distracting thoughts or illusions that occur during zazen
  • Japanese: 魔境 makyō
Māna conceit, arrogance, misconception
  • Pāli and Sanskrit: Māna
  • Bur: မာန mana (IPA: [màna̰])
  • Mon: မာန် man ([màn])
  • Shan: မႃႇၼႃႉ ([maː˨ naː˥])
mantra Chant used primarily to aid concentration, to reach enlightenment. The best-known Buddhist mantra is possibly Om mani padme hum
  • Sanskrit: mantra
  • Thai: มนตร์ moan
  • Mn: маань, тарни; maani, tarni
  • 咒
    • Cn: zou
    • Jp: shingon
    • Vi: chân âm
Mappo The "degenerate" Latter Day of the Law. A time period supposed to begin 2,000 years after Sakyamuni Buddha's passing and last for "10,000 years"; follows the two 1,000-year periods of Former Day of the Law (正法 Cn: zhèngfǎ; Jp: shōbō) and of Middle Day of the Law (像法 Cn: xiàngfǎ; Jp: zōhō). During this degenerate age, chaos will prevail and the people will be unable to attain enlightenment through the word of Sakyamuni Buddha. See the Three periods
  • Japanese: 末法 mappō
  • 末法
    • Cn: mòfǎ
    • Vi: ??
merit
  • Pāli: puñña
  • Sanskrit: puṇya
  • Bur: ကုသိုလ် kutho (IPA: [kṵðò])
  • Mon: ကုသဵု ([kaoʔsɒ]) or ပိုန် ([pɒn])
  • Shan: ပုင်ႇၺႃႇ ([puŋ˨ ɲaː˨]) or ၵူႉသူဝ်ႇ ([ku˥ sʰo˨]) or ၵူႉသလႃႉ ([ku˥ sʰa˩ laː˥])
metta loving kindness
  • Pāli:
  • Sanskrit:
  • Bur: မေတ္တာ myitta (IPA: [mjɪʔtà])
  • Mon: မေတ္တာ ([mètta])
  • Shan: မိတ်ႈတႃႇ ([mit˧ taː˨]) or မႅတ်ႈတႃႇ ([mɛt˧ taː˨])
  • Thai: เมตตา metta
  • 慈
    • Ch: Cí
    • Jp: ji
    • Vi:
Middle way The practice of avoidance of extreme views and lifestyle choices
  • Pāli: majjhimāpaṭipadā
  • Sanskrit: madhyamāpratipad
  • Bur: မဇ္ဇိမပဋိပဒါ myizima badi bada (IPA: [mjɪʔzḭma̰ bədḭ bədà])
  • 中道
    • Ch: zhōngdào
    • Jp: chūdō
    • Vi: trung đạo
  • Mn: дундаж зам мөр, dundaj zam mör
(right) mindfulness The practice whereby a person is intentionally aware of his or her thoughts and actions in the present moment, non-judgmentally. The 7th step of the Noble Eightfold Path
  • Pāli: (sammā)-sati
  • Sanskrit: (samyag)-smṛti
  • Bur: သတိ thadi (IPA: [ðadḭ])
  • Thai: สัมมาสติ samma-sati
  • 正念
    • Cn: zhèngniàn
    • Jp: syōnen
    • Vi: chính niệm
moksha Liberation
  • Sanskrit: mokṣa
  • Pāli: vimutti
  • Bur: ဝိမုတ္တိ wimouti (IPA: [wḭmouʔtḭ])
  • 解脱
    • Cn: jiětuō
    • Jp: gedatsu
    • Vi: giải thoát
mokugyo A wooden drum carved from one piece, usually in the form of a fish
  • Japanese: 木魚 mokugyo
  • 木魚
    • Cn: mùyú
    • Vi: mõ
mondo In Zen, a short dialogue between teacher and student
  • Japanese: 問答　mondō
  • 問答
    • Cn: wèndǎ
    • Vi: ??
mudra lit. "seal", A gesture made with hands and fingers in meditation
  • Sanskrit: mudrā
  • Bur: မုဒြာ modra (IPA: [mouʔdɹà])
  • Tib: ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ phyag rgya
  • Mn: чагжаа, chagjaa
  • 手印
    • Cn: sohyìn (commonly only yìn)
    • Jp: syuin
    • Vi: ấn
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

N

Definition Etymology In other languages
namo An exclamation showing reverence; devotion. Often placed in front of the name of an object of veneration, e.g., a Buddha's name or a sutra (Nam(u) Myōhō Renge Kyō), to express devotion to it. Defined in Sino-Japanese as 帰命 kimyō: to base one's life upon, to devote (or submit) one's life to

Derivatives:

  • Namo Amitabha
  • Pāli: namo
  • Sanskrit: namaḥ or namas

Derivatives:

  • Sanskrit: namo-'mitābhāya
  • Bur: နမော namaw (IPA: [nəmɔ́])
  • Tib: ཕྱག་འཚལ་(ལོ), chag tsal (lo)
  • Mn: мөргөмү, mörgömü
  • 南無
    • Cn: nánmó
    • Jp: namu or nam
    • Ko: namu
    • Vi: nam-mô

Derivatives:

  • 南無阿弥陀佛
    • Cn: Nánmó Ēmítuó fó
    • Jp: Namu Amida butsu
    • Ko: Namu Amita Bul
    • Vi: Nam-mô A-di-đà Phật
  • 南無觀世音菩薩
    • Cn: Nánmó Guán Syr Yín Pū Sá
    • Jp: Namu Kanzeon Butsu
    • Ko: Namu Gwan Se Eum Bo Sal
    • Vi: Nam-mô Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát
nekkhamma renunciation
  • Pāli:
  • Sanskrit:
  • Bur: နိက္ခမ neikhama (IPA: [neiʔkʰəma̰])
  • Thai: เนกขัมมะ nekkamma
  • Mn: магад гарахуй, magad garahui
  • 出世
    • Cn: Chūshì
    • Jp: syusse
    • Vi:
Nibbana/Nirvana Extinction or extinguishing; ultimate enlightenment in the Buddhist tradition
  • from niḥ-√vā: to extinguish
  • Pāli: nibbāna
  • Sanskrit: nirvana
  • Bur: နိဗ္ဗာန် neibban (IPA: [neiʔbàɴ])
  • Thai: นิพพาน nípphaan
  • Tib: མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ, mya-ngan-las-'das-pa
  • Mn: нирван, nirvan
  • 涅槃
    • Cn: Nièpán
    • Jp: Nehan
    • Ko: Yeolban
    • Vi: Niết-bàn
Nikaya, lit. "volume", The Buddhist texts in Pāli
  • Pāli: nikāya
  • Sanskrit: Āgama
  • Bur: နိကာယ nikaya (IPA: [nḭkəja̰])
  • 部經
    • Cn: Bùjīng
    • Jp: ??
    • Vi: Bộ kinh
Noble Eightfold Path
  1. Right View (Pāli: sammā-diṭṭhi; Sanskrit: samyag-dṛṣṭi; 正見 Cn: zhèngjiàn; Vi: chính kiến)
  2. Right Thought (Pāli: sammā-saṅkappa; Sanskrit: samyak-saṃkalpa; 正思唯 Cn: zhèngsīwéi; Vi: chính tư duy)
    These 2 constitute the path of Wisdom (Pāli: paññā; Sanskrit: prajñā)
  3. Right Speech (Pāli: sammā-vācā; Sanskrit: samyag-vāk; 正語 Cn: zhèngyǔ; Vi: chính ngữ)
  4. Right Action (Pāli: sammā-kammanta; Sanskrit: samyak-karmānta; 正業 Cn: zhèngyè; Vi: chính nghiệp)
  5. Right Living (Pāli: sammā-ājīva; Sanskrit: samyag-ājīva; 正命 Cn: zhèngmìng; Vi: chính mệnh)
    These 3 constitute the path of Virtue (Pāli: sīla; Sanskrit: śīla)
  6. Right Effort (Pāli: sammā-vāyāma; Sanskrit: samyag-vyāyāma; 正精進 Cn: zhèngjīngjìn; Vi: chính tinh tiến)
  7. Right Mindfulness (Pāli: sammā-sati; Sanskrit: samyag-smṛti; 正念 Cn: zhèngniàn; Vi: chính niệm)
  8. Right Concentration (Pāli: sammā-samādhi; Sanskrit: samyak-samādhi; 正定 Cn: zhèngdìng; Vi: chính định)
    The last 3 constitute the path of Concentration (Pāli, Sanskrit: samādhi)
  • Pāli: aṭṭhāṅgika-magga
  • Sanskrit: aṣṭāṅgika-mārga
  • Bur: မဂ္ဂင် meggin (IPA: [mɛʔɡɪ̀ɴ])
  • Thai: อริยมรรค ariya-mak
  • 八正道
    • Cn: Bāzhèngdào
    • Jp: Hasshōdō
    • Ko: Paljeongdo
    • Vi: Bát chính đạo
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

O

Definition Etymology In other languages
oryoki A set of bowls used in a Zen eating ceremony
  • Japanese: 応量器 ōryōki
osho A term used to address a monk of the Zen Buddhist tradition. Originally reserved for high ranking monks, it has since been appropriated for everyday use when addressing any male member of the Zen clergy
  • Japanese: 和尚 oshō
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

P

Definition Etymology In other languages
panca skandha The five constituent elements into which an individual is analyzed. They are:
  1. "form": Pāli, Sanskrit: rūpa; Bu: ရူပ yupa; 色 Cn: sè; Jp: shiki
  2. "sensation": Pāli, Sanskrit: vedanā; Bu: ဝေဒန wedana; 受 Cn: shòu; Jp: ju
  3. "cognition": Pāli: saññā; Sanskrit: saṃjñā; Bu: သညာ thinnya; 想 Cn: xiàng; Jp: sō
  4. "mental formations": Pāli: saṅkhāra; Sanskrit: saṃskāra; Bu: သင်္ခါရ thinkhaya; 行 Cn: xíng; Jp: gyō
  5. "consciousness": Pāli: viññāṇa; Sanskrit: vijñāna; Bu: ဝိညာဉ် winyin; 識 Cn: shí; Jp: shiki
  • Sanskrit: pañca skandha
  • Pāli: pañca khandha
  • Bur: ခန္ဒာငါးပါး khanda nga ba (IPA: [kʰàɴdà ŋá bá])
  • Shan: ႁႃႈ ၶၼ်ႇထႃႇ ([haː˧ kʰan˨ tʰaː˨])
  • 五蘊, 五陰, 五薀
    • Cn: wǔyùn
    • Jp: go-on, sometimes go-un
    • Vi: ngũ uẩn
Panchen Lama The second highest ranking lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. after the Dalai Lama
  • Tibetan: པན་ཆེན་བླ་མ་ pan-chen bla-ma
  • Sanskrit: paṇḍitaguru
  • Mn: Банчин Богд, Banchin Bogd
  • 班禪喇嘛
    • Cn: Bānchán Lǎma
    • Jp: ??
    • Vi: Ban-thiền Lạt-ma
paññā, see prajna
  • Sanskrit:
  • Bur: ပညာ pyinnya (IPA: [pjɪ̀ɴɲà])
  • Mon: ပညာ ([pɔnɲa])
  • Shan: ပိင်ႇၺႃႇ ([piŋ˨ ɲaː˨])
  • Tibetan: shes rab
  • Mn: билиг, bilig
  • 智慧 or 知恵 or 般若
    • Cn: Zhìhuì, zhīhuì, bōrě
    • Jp: chie,hannya
    • Vi:
paramartha Absolute, as opposed to merely conventional, truth or reality; see also samvrti
  • Sanskrit: paramārtha
  • Bur: ပရမတ် paramat (IPA: [pəɹəmaʔ])
  • Thai: ปรมัตถ์ paramutt
paramita, lit. "reaching the other shore," usually rendered in English as "perfection." The Mahayana practices for obtaining enlightenment; giving, ethics, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom
  • Pāli: pāramī
  • Sanskrit: pāramitā
  • Bur: ပါရမီ parami (IPA: [pàɹəmì])
  • Mon: ပါရမဳ ([parəmɔe])
  • Thai: บารมี baramee
  • Mn: барамид, baramid
  • 波羅蜜 or 波羅蜜多
    • Cn: bōluómì or bōluómìduō
    • Jp: haramitsu or haramita
    • Vi: ba-la-mật or ba-la-mật-đa
parinibbana/parinirvana The final nibbana/nirvana
  • from nibbana/nirvana above
  • Pāli: parinibbāna
  • Sanskrit: parinirvāṇa
  • Bur: ပရိနိဗ္ဗာန် pareineibban (IPA: [pəɹeiʔneiʔbàɴ])
  • Thai: ปรินิพพาน pari-nippaan
  • 般涅槃
    • Cn: bōnièpán
    • Jp: hatsunehan
    • Vi: bát-niết-bàn
Perfection of Wisdom
  • Bur: ပညာပါရမီ pyinnya parami (IPA: [pjɪ̀ɴɲà pàɹəmì])
  • Mon: ပညာပါရမဳ ([pɔnɲa parəmɔe])
  • Mn: билиг барамид, bilig baramid
  • 般若波羅蜜 or 般若波羅蜜多
    • Cn: bōrě-bōluómì or bōrě-bōluómìduō
    • Jp: hannya-haramitsu or hannya-haramita
    • Vi: bát-nhã-ba-la-mật or bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa
Pointing-out instruction The direct introduction to the nature of mind in the lineages of Essence Mahamudra and Dzogchen. A root guru is the master who gives the 'pointing-out instruction' so that the disciple recognizes the nature of mind
  • Tibetan: ངོ་སྤྲོད་ ngo-sprod
prajna/paññā "wisdom", "insight"
  • Pāli: paññā
  • Sanskrit: prajñā
  • Bur: ပညာ pyinnya (IPA: [pjɪ̀ɴɲà])
  • Thai: ปัญญา pun-ya
  • Mn: хөтлөх, khötlökh
  • 般若
    • Cn: bōrě or bānruò
    • Jp: hannya
    • Vi: bát-nhã
pratitya-samutpada "Dependent origination," the view that no phenomenon exists (or comes about) without depending on other phenomena or conditions around it. In English also called "conditioned genesis," "dependent co-arising," "interdependent arising," etc.

A famous application of dependent origination is the Twelve Nidana, or 12 inter-dependences (Sanskrit: dvādaśāṅgapratītyasamutpāda; 十二因緣, 十二因縁 Cn: shíàr yīnyuán; Jp: jūni innen; Vi: thập nhị nhân duyên), which are:

  1. Ignorance (Pāli: avijjā; Sanskrit: avidyā; 無明 Cn: wúmíng; Jp: mumyō; Vi: vô minh; Mn: мунхрахуй, munhrahui)
  2. Ignorance creates Mental Formation (Pāli: saṅkhāra; Sanskrit: saṃskāra; 行 Cn: xíng; Jp: gyō; Vi: hành; Mn: хуран үйлдэхүй, khuran uildehui)
  3. Mental Formation creates Consciousness (Pāli: viññāṇa; Sanskrit: vijñāna; 識 Cn: shí; Jp: shiki; Vi: thức; Mn: тийн мэдэхүй, tiin medehui)
  4. Consciousness creates Name & Form (Pāli, Sanskrit: nāmarūpa; 名色 Cn: míngsè; Jp: myōshiki; Vi: danh sắc; Mn: нэр өнгө, ner öngö)
  5. Name & Form create Sense Gates (Pāli: saḷāyatana; Sanskrit: ṣaḍāyatana; 六入 or 六処 Cn: liùrù; Jp: rokunyū or rokusho; Vi: lục căn; Mn: төрөн түгэхүй, törön tugehui)
  6. Sense Gates create Contact (Pāli: phassa; Sanskrit: sparśa; 觸, 触 Cn: chù; Jp: soku; Vi: xúc; Mn: хүрэлцэхүй, khureltsehui)
  7. Contact creates Feeling (Pāli, Sanskrit: vedanā; 受 Cn: shòu; Jp: ju; Vi: thụ; Mn: сэрэхүй, serehui)
  8. Feeling creates Craving (Pāli: taṇhā; Sanskrit: tṛṣṇā; 愛 Cn: ài; Jp: ai; Vi: ái; Mn: хурьцахуй, khuritsahui)
  9. Craving creates Clinging (Pāli, Sanskrit: upādāna; 取 Cn: qǔ; Jp: shu; Vi: thủ; Mn: авахуй, avahui)
  10. Clinging creates Becoming (Pāli, Sanskrit: bhava; 有 Cn: yǒu; Jp: u; Vi: hữu; Mn: сансар, sansar)
  11. Becoming creates Birth (Pāli, Sanskrit: jāti; 生 Cn: shēng; Jp: shō; Vi: sinh; Mn: төрөхүй, töröhui )
  12. Birth leads to Aging & Death (Pāli, Sanskrit: jarāmaraṇa; 老死 Cn: láosǐ; Jp: rōshi; Vi: lão tử; Mn: өтлөх үхэхүй, ötlöh uhehui)
  • Pāli: paṭicca-samuppāda
  • Sanskrit: pratitya-samutpāda
  • Bur: ပဋိစ္စသမုပ္ပါဒ် padeissa thamopad (IPA: [pədeiʔsa̰ θəmouʔpaʔ])
  • Tib: རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་ rten cing `brel bar `byung ba
  • Mn: шүтэн барилдлага, shuten barildlaga
  • 緣起 (thought to be an abbreviation for 因緣生起), 縁起
    • Cn: yuánqǐ
    • Jp: engi
    • Vi: duyên khởi
  • Also called 因緣, 因縁
    • Cn: yīnyuán
    • Jp: innen
    • Vi: nhân duyên
Pratyekabuddha/Paccekabuddha, lit. "a buddha by his own", A buddha who reaches enlightenment on his own
  • Pāli: paccekabuddha
  • Sanskrit: pratyekabuddha
  • Bur: ပစ္စေကဗုဒ္ဓါ pyiseka boddha (IPA: [pjɪʔsèka̰ bouʔdà])
  • 辟支佛
    • Cn: Bìzhī Fó
    • Jp: Hyakushibutsu
    • Vi: Bích-chi Phật
Pure Land Buddhism A large branch of Mahayana, dominantly in East Asia. The goal of Pure Land Buddhism is to be reborn in the Western sukhavati of Amitabha, either as a real place or within the mind, through the other-power of repeating the Buddha's name, nianfo or nembutsu.
  • 净土宗(Ch), 浄土教(Jp)
    • Cn: Jìngtǔ-zōng
    • Jp: Jōdo-kyo
    • Ko: Jeongtojong
    • Vi: Tịnh độ tông
purisa The practicing Buddhist community as a whole; sangha and laity
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

R

Definition Etymology In other languages
rebirth The process of continuity of life after death
  • Pāli: punabbhava
  • Sanskrit: punarbhava
  • 輪廻
    • Cn: lunhui
    • Jp: rinne
    • Vi: luân hồi
Ratnasambhava
  • Sanskrit: Ratnasambhava
  • Tib: རིན་ཆེན་འབྱུང་གནས Rinchen Jung ne
  • Mn: ᠡᠷᠳᠡᠨᠢ ᠭᠠᠷᠬᠣ ᠢᠢᠨ ᠣᠷᠣᠨ᠂ ᠲᠡᠭᠦᠰ ᠡᠷᠳᠡᠨᠢ;
    Эрдэнэ гарахын орон, Төгс Эрдэнэ;
    Erdeni garkhu yin oron, Tegüs Erdeni
refuge Usually in the form of "take refuge in the Three Jewels"
  • Pāli: saraṇa
  • Sanskrit: śaraṇa
  • Bur: သရဏဂုံ tharanagon (IPA: [θəɹənəɡòuɴ])
  • Mn: аврал, avral
  • Tib: skyabs
  • Thai: สรณะ sorana
  • 歸依
    • Cn: guīyī
    • Jp: kie
    • Vi: quy y
Rinpoche, lit. "precious one", An honorific title for a respected Tibetan lama, such as a tulku
  • Tibetan: རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, rin-po-che
  • Mn: римбүчий, rimbuchii
  • 仁波切
    • Cn: rénbōqiē
    • Jp: ??
    • Vi: ??
Rinzai Zen sect emphasizing koan study; named for master Linji
  • Japanese: 臨済宗 Rinzai-shū
  • 臨濟宗
    • Cn: Línjì-zōng
    • Vi: Lâm Tế tông
Rohatsu A day traditionally honored as the day of the Buddha's enlightenment. While deep in meditation under a bodhi tree, he attained enlightenment upon seeing the morning star just at dawn; celebrated on the 8th day either of December or of the 12th month of the lunar calendar
  • Japanese: 臘八 Rōhatsu or Rohachi
roshi, lit. "Master", An honorific given to Zen teachers in the Rinzai and Obaku sects.
  • Japanese 老師 Rōshi
  • 禅師
    • Cn: '’chan shī (lit., old master)
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

S

Definition Etymology In other languages
sacca truthfulness
  • Sanskrit: Satya
  • Bur: သစ္စာ thissa (IPA: [θɪʔ sà])
  • Mon: သစ္စ ([sɔtcɛʔ])
  • Shan: သဵတ်ႈၸႃႇ ([sʰet˧ tsaː˨])
  • Thai: สัจจะ sadja
  • 真
    • Cn: zhēn
    • Jp: shin
    • Vi:
samanera/shramanera A male novice monk, who, after a year or until the ripe age of 20, will be considered for the higher Bhikkhu ordination
  • Sanskrit: śrāmaṇera
  • Bur: (ရှင်)သာမဏေ (shin) thamane (IPA: [(ʃɪ̀ɴ) θàmənè])
  • Mon: သာမ္မဏဳ ([samənɔe])
  • Shan: သႃႇမၼေႇ ([sʰaː˨ mne˨])
  • Thai: สามเณร sama-naen
  • 沙彌
    • Cn: shāmí
    • Jp: shami
    • Vi: ??
samatha Mental stabilization; tranquility meditation. Distinguished from vipassana meditation
  • Pāli: samatha
  • Sanskrit: śamatha
  • Bur: သမထ thamahta (IPA: [θəmətʰa̰])
  • Thai: สมถะ samatha
  • 舍摩他
    • Cn: shěmótā
    • Jp: ??
    • Vi: ??
samsara The cycle of birth and rebirth; the world as commonly experienced
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: saṃsāra
  • Bur: သံသရာ thanthaya (IPA: [θàɴðəjà])
  • Thai: สังสารวัฏ sung-sara-wat
  • Tib: འཁོར་བ khor ba
  • Bur: သံသရာ
  • Mn: орчлон, orchlon
  • 輪迴, 輪廻
    • Cn: lúnhúi
    • Jp: rinne
    • Vi: luân hồi
samu Work, conceived as a part of Zen training.[2]
  • Japanese: 作務 samu
  • 作務
    • Cn: zuòwù
    • Vi: ??
samvrti Conventional, as opposed to absolute, truth or reality; see also paramartha
  • Sanskrit: saṃvrti
  • Bur: သမ္မုတိ thamudi (IPA: [θəmṵdḭ])
  • Thai: สมมุติ sommoot
sangha The community of Buddhist monks and nuns. Teachers and practitioners.
  • Sanskrit: saṅgha
  • Bur: သံဃာ thangha (IPA: [θàɴɡà])
  • Mon: သဳလ ([sɛŋ])
  • Shan: သၢင်ႇၶႃႇ ([sʰaːŋ˨ kʰaː˨])
  • Thai: สงฆ์ song
  • Tib: ཚོགས་ཀ་མཆོག tsog gyu chog
  • Mn: хуврагийн чуулган, khuvragiin chuulgan
  • 僧團
    • Cn: sēng tuan
    • Jp: sō, sōryō
    • Vi: tăng già
Sanlun Buddhist philosophical school based on the Madhyamaka school
  • Chinese: 三論 sānlùn
  • 三論宗
    • Cn: Sānlùnzōng
    • Jp: Sanron-shū
    • Vi: Tam luận tông
sanzen A formal interview with a teacher in many traditions of Zen. Similar to dokusan
  • Japanese
satori Awakening; understanding. A Japanese term for enlightenment
  • Japanese: 悟り satori
  • 悟
    • Cn: wú
    • Vi: ngộ
sayadaw Burmese meditation master
  • Bur: ဆရာတော် sayadaw (IPA: [sʰəjàdɔ̀])
seichu In the Zen Buddhist calendar, a period of intensive, formal monastic training. It is typically characterized by week-long Daisesshins and periodic sanzen
  • Japanese: 制中 seichu
sesshin A Zen retreat where practitioners meditate, eat and work together for several days
  • Japanese: 接心, 摂心
  • 佛七
    • Cn: '’fóqī
  • 坐臘/坐腊
    • Cn: zuòlà
shikantaza Soto Zen. "Only concentrated on sitting" is the main practice of the Soto school of Japanese Zen Buddhism
  • Japanese: 只管打座
  • 默照
    • Cn: mòzhào
shunyata Emptiness; see also Nagarjuna
  • Pāli: suññatā
  • Sanskrit: śūnyatā
  • Bur: သုည ' (IPA: [θòuɴɲa̰])
  • Shan: သုင်ႇၺႃႉ ([sʰuŋ˨ ɲaː˥])
  • Tib: stong pa nyid
  • Mn: хоосон чанар, khooson chanar
  • 空
    • Cn: kōng
    • Jp: kū
    • Vi: tính Không
sila "morals", "morality", "ethics": precepts
  • Pāli: sīla
  • Sanskrit: śīla
  • Bur: သီလ thila (IPA: [θìla̰])
  • Mon: သဳ ([sɔelaʔ])
  • Shan: သီႇလႃႉ ([sʰi˨ laː˥])
  • Thai: ศีล seen
  • 尸羅,戒
    • Cn: jiè
    • Jp: kai
    • Vi: giới
  • Mn: шагшаабад, shagshaabad
Sōtō Sect of Zen emphasizing shikantaza as the primary mode of practice; see also Dogen
  • Japanese: 曹洞宗 Sōtō-shū
  • 曹洞宗
    • Cn: Cáodòng-zōng
    • Vi: Tào Ðộng tông
store consciousness The base consciousness (alayavijnana) taught in Yogacara Buddhism
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: ālayavijñāna
  • 阿頼耶識
    • Cn: āyēshí
    • Jp: arayashiki
    • Vi: a-lại-da thức
sutra Scripture; originally referred to short aphoristic sayings and collections thereof
  • from √siv: to sew
  • Sanskrit: sutra
  • Pāli: sutta
  • Bur: သုတ် thoht (IPA: [θouʔ])
  • Mon: သုတ် ([sɔt])
  • Mon: သုၵ်ႈ ([sʰuk˧])
  • Thai: สูตร soothe
  • Mn: судар, sudar
  • 經, 経
    • Cn: jīng
    • Jp: kyō
    • Vi: kinh
Sutra Pitaka The second basket of the Tripitaka canon, the collection of all Buddha's teachings
  • Pāli: Sutta-piṭaka
  • Sanskrit: Sūtra-piṭaka
  • Bur: သုတ် thoht (IPA: [θouʔ])
  • Mon: သုတ် ([sɔt])
  • Mon: သုၵ်ႈ ([sʰuk˧])
  • Mn: Судрын аймаг Sudriin aimag
  • 經藏, 経蔵
    • Cn: jīngcáng
    • Jp: kyōzō
    • Vi: Kinh tạng
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

T

Definition Etymology In other languages
tangaryō A period of waiting for admission into a Zen monastery at the gate, lasting anywhere from one day to several weeks—depending on the quality of one's sitting. Refers to the room traveling monks stay in when visiting, or await admittance into the sōdō.
  • Japanese: 旦過寮　
tanha Craving or desire
  • Pāli: taṇhā
  • Sanskrit: tṛṣṇā
  • Bur: တဏှာ tahna (IPA: [tən̥à])
  • Thai: ตัณหา tunha
  • Mn: хурьцахуй, khuritsahui
  • 愛
    • Cn: ài
    • Jp: ai
    • Kr: 애 ae
    • Vi: ái
Tanto In Zen, one of the main temple leaders, lit."head of the tan." In a Zen temple, the Tanto is one of two officers (with the Godo) in charge monks' training.[2]
  • Japanese:単頭
tantra Esoteric religious practices, including yoga, mantra, etc. See also Vajrayana.
  • Sanskrit: tantra
  • Mn: тарнийн ёс, дандар, tarniin yos, dandar
  • 續部,怛特羅
    • Cn: dátèluó
    • Jp: ??
    • Vi: đát-đặc-la
Tathagata one of the Buddha's ten epithets
  • Sanskrit: tathāgata; The "Thus-Gone One"
  • Bur: တထာဂတ tahtagata (IPA: [ta̰tʰàɡəta̰])
  • Thai: ตถาคต tatha-kohd
  • Mn: түүнчлэн ирсэн, tuunchlen irsen
  • 如来
    • Cn: rúlái
    • Jp: nyorai
    • Vi: như lai
tathagatagarbha Buddha-nature or the seed of enlightenment
  • Sanskrit: tathāgatagarbha
  • 佛性, 仏性
    • Cn: fóxìng
    • Jp: busshō
  • Also 覚性
    • Cn: juéxìng
    • Jp: kakushō
    • Vi: giác tính
  • Also 如来藏, 如来蔵
    • Cn: rúláizàng
    • Jp: nyuoraizō
    • Vi: như lai tạng
teisho A presentation by a Zen master during a sesshin. Rather than an explanation or exposition in the traditional sense, it is intended as a demonstration of Zen realisation
  • Japanese: 提唱 teishō
tenzo In Zen, the head cook for a sesshin. In Zen temples, the officer in charge of the kitchen
  • Japanese: 典座 tenzo
  • 典座
    • Cn: diǎnzuò
    • Vi: điển toạ
Theravada, lit. "words of the elders", Most popular form of Buddhism in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.
  • Pāli: theravāda
  • Sanskrit: sthaviravāda
  • Bur: ထေရဝါဒ hterawada (IPA: [tʰèɹa̰wàda̰] or [tʰèja̰wàda̰])
  • Thai: เถรวาท tera-waad
  • 上座部
    • Cn: shàngzuòbù
    • Jp: jōzabu
    • Vi: Thượng toạ bộ
thera or theri, lit. "elder", Honorific applied to senior monks and nuns in the Theravada tradition.
  • Pāli: thera
  • Bur: ထေရ htera (IPA: [tʰèɹa̰])
Three Jewels Three things that Buddhists take refuge in: the Buddha, his teachings (Dharma) and the community of realized practitioners (Sangha), and in return look toward for guidance (see also Refuge (Buddhism))
  • Pāli: tiratana
  • Sanskrit: triratna
  • Bur: သရဏဂုံသုံးပါး tharanagon thon ba (IPA: [θəɹənəɡòuɴ θóuɴ bá]) OR ရတနာသုံးပါး yadana thon ba ([jədənà θóuɴ bá)])
  • Thai: ไตรรัตน์ trai-rut
  • Tib: དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ, dkon mchog gsum
  • Mn: чухаг дээд гурав chuhag deed gurav
  • 三寶
    • Cn: sānbăo
    • Jp: sanbō
    • Vi: tam bảo
Three periods
  • Three divisions of the time following the historical Buddha's passing: the Former (or Early) Day of the Law (正法 Cn: zhèngfǎ; Jp: shōbō), the first thousand years; the Middle Day of the Law (像法 Cn: xiàngfǎ; Jp: zōhō), the second thousand years; and the Latter Day of the Law (末法 Cn: mòfǎ; Jp: mappō), which is to last for 10,000 years.
  • The three periods are significant to Mahayana adherents, particularly those who hold the Lotus Sutra in high regard; e.g., Tiantai (Tendai) and Nichiren Buddhists, who believe that different Buddhist teachings are valid (i.e., able to lead practitioners to enlightenment) in each period due to the different capacity to accept a teaching (機根 Cn: jīgēn; Jp: kikon) of the people born in each respective period.
  • The three periods are further divided into five five-hundred year periods (五五百歳 Cn: wǔ wǔbǎi suì; Jp: go no gohyaku sai), the fifth and last of which was prophesied to be when the Buddhism of Sakyamuni would lose all power of salvation and a new Buddha would appear to save the people. This time period would be characterized by unrest, strife, famine, and other, natural disasters.
  • The three periods and the five five-hundred year periods are described in the Sutra of the Great Assembly (大集経 Cn: dàjí jīng; Jp: Daishutu-kyō, Daijuku-kyō, Daijikkyō, or Daishukkyō). Descriptions of the three periods also appear in other sutras, some of which ascribe different lengths of time to them (although all agree that Mappō will last for 10,000 years).
  • 三時
    • Cn: Sānshí
    • Jp: Sanji
    • Vi: Tam thời
Three Poisons or Three Fires
The three primary causes of unskillful action that lead to the creation of "negative" karma; the three root kleshas:
  1. Attachment (Pāli: lobha; Sanskrit: rāga; Tib.: འདོད་ཆགས་ 'dod chags)
  2. Aversion (Pali: doha; Sanskrit: dveṣa; Tib.: ཞེ་སྡང་ zhe sdang; Mn: урин хилэн, urin khilen; 瞋 Cn: chēn; Jp: jin; Vi: sân)
  3. Ignorance (Pāli: moha; Sanskrit: moha; Tib.: གཏི་མུག་ gti mug)
  • Pāli: kilesa (Defilements)
  • Sanskrit: kleśa
  • Sanskit: triviṣa
  • Tib: düsum (Wylie: dug gsum)
  • Bur: မီးသုံးပါး mi thon ba (IPA: [mí θóuɴ bá])
  • Mn: гурван хор, gurvan khor
  • 三毒
    • Cn: Sāndú
    • Jp: Sandoku
    • Vi: Tam độc
Tiantai/Tendai A Mahayana school of China that teaches the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra
  • Chinese: 天台 tiāntái
  • 天台宗
    • Cn: tiāntái zōng
    • Jp: tendai-shū
    • Vi: Thiên Thai tông
trailõkya The 3 "regions" of the world:
  1. Kamaloka or Kamadhatu: world of desires (Sanskrit, Pāli: kāmaloka, kāmadhātu; Tibetan: འདོད་ཁམས་ `dod khams; Mn: амармагийн орон, amarmagiin oron; 欲界 Cn: yùjiè, Jp: yokkai Vi: dục giới)
  2. Rupaloka or Rupadhatu: world of form (Sanskrit: rūpaloka, rūpadhātu; Tibetan: གཟུགས་ཁམས་ gzugs khams; Mn: дүрстийн орон, durstiin oron; 色界 Cn: sèjiè; Jp: shikikai , Vi: sắc giới)
  3. Arupaloka or Arupadhatu: world without form or desire (Sanskrit: arūpaloka, arūpadhātu; Tibetan: གཟུགས་མེད་ཁམས་ gzugs med khams; Mn: дүрсгүйн орон, dursquin oron; 無色界 Cn: wú sèjiè, Jp: mushikikai Vi: vô sắc giới)
  • Sanskrit: triloka
  • Pāli: tisso dhātuyo
  • Tibetan: ཁམས་གསུམ་ khams gsum
  • Mn: гурван орон, gurvan oron
  • 三界
    • Cn: sānjiè
    • Jp: sangai
    • Vi: tam giới
trikaya The 3 "bodies" of Buddha:
  • Dharma-kaya (Sanskrit: dharmakāya; 法身 Cn: fǎshēn; Jp: hosshin; Vi: pháp thân)
  • Sambhoga-kaya (Sanskrit: saṃbhogakāya; 報身 Cn: bàoshēn; Jp: hōshin; Vi: báo thân)
  • Nirmana-kaya (Sanskrit: nirmāṇakāya; 應身,化身,応身 Cn: yìngshēn; Jp: ōjin; Vi: ứng thân)
  • Sanskrit: trikāya
  • 三身
    • Cn: sānshēn
    • Jp: sanjin
    • Vi: tam thân
Tripitaka The "Three Baskets"; canon containing the sacred texts for Buddhism (Pāli)
  • Vinaya Pitaka (Pāli, Sanskrit: Vinaya-piṭaka; Tib: འདུལ་བའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ `dul ba`i sde snod; Mn: винайн аймаг сав vinain aimag sav; 律藏, 律蔵 Cn: lǜzàng; Jp: Ritsuzō; Vi: Luật tạng)
  • Sutra Pitaka (Pāli: Sutta-piṭaka; Sanskrit: Sūtra-piṭaka; Tib: མདོ་སྡེའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ mdo sde`i sde snod; Mn: судрын аймаг сав sudriin aimag sav; 經藏, 経蔵 Cn: jīngzàng; Jp: Kyōzō; Vi: Kinh tạng)
  • Abhidhamma Pitaka (Pāli: Abhidhamma-piṭaka; Sanskrit: Abhidharma-piṭaka; Tib: མངོན་པའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ mngon pa`i sde snod; Mn: авидармын аймаг сав avidarmiin aimag sav; 論藏, 論蔵 Cn: lùnzàng; Jp: Ronzō; Vi: Luận tạng)
  • Pāli: tipiṭaka
  • Sanskrit: tripiṭaka
  • Burmese: တိပိဋက Tipitaka (IPA: [tḭpḭtəka̰])
  • Thai: ไตรปิฎก Traipidok
  • སྡེ་སྣོད་་གསུམ, sde snod gsum
  • Mn: гурван аймаг сав, gurvan aimag sav
  • 三藏, 三蔵
    • Cn: Sānzàng
    • Jp: Sanzō
    • Ko: Samjang
    • Vi: Tam tạng
Triratna/Tiratana, see Three Jewels above
  • Pāli: tiratana
  • Sanskrit: triratna
  • Tib: དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ, dkon mchog gsum
  • Mn: гурван эрдэнэ, gurvan erdene
trsna, see tanha above
tulku A re-incarnated Tibetan teacher
  • Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་ tulku
  • Mn: хувилгаан, khuvilgaan
  • 再來人 (轉世再來的藏系師長)
    • Cn: Zài lái rén
    • Jp: keshin
    • Vi: hoá thân
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

U

Definition Etymology In other languages
upadana Clinging; the 9th link of Pratitya-Samutpada; the Ninth Twelve Nidanas
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: upādāna
  • Bur: ဥပါဒါန် upadan (IPA: [ṵpàdàɴ])
  • Shan: ဢူႉပႃႇတၢၼ်ႇ ([ʔu˥ paː˨ taːn˨])
  • Thai: อุปาทาน u-pa-taan
  • Tib: ལེན་པ, len pa
  • Mn: авахуй, avahui
  • 取(十二因緣第九支)
    • Cn: qǔ
    • Jp: shu
    • Vi: thủ
Upajjhaya spiritual teacher
  • Pāli: Upajjhaya
  • Sanskrit: upādhyāy
  • Bur: ဥပဇ္ဇာယ်ဆရာ Upyizesaya (IPA: [ṵ pjɪʔzèsʰajà])
upasaka A lay follower of Buddhism
  • Sanskrit: upāsaka
  • Bur: ဥပါသကာ upathaka (IPA: [ṵpàθəkà])
  • Mon: ဥပါသကာ ([ʊʔpasəka])
  • Thai: อุบาสก u-ba-sok
  • 近事男,優婆塞
    • Cn: jìnshìnán
    • Jp: ??
    • Vi: cận sự nam
upasika A female lay follower
  • from upasaka above
  • Sanskrit: upāsika
  • Bur: ဥပါသိကာ upathika (IPA: [ṵpàθḭkà])
  • Thai: อุบาสิกา u-ba-sika
  • 近事女,優婆夷
    • Cn: jìnshìnǚ
    • Jp: ??
    • Vi: cận sự nữ
upaya Expedient though not necessarily ultimately true. Originally used as a polemical device against other schools - calling them "merely" expedient, lacking in ultimate truth, later used against ones own school to prevent students form forming attachments to doctrines

In Mahayana, exemplified by the Lotus Sutra, upaya are the useful means that Buddhas (and Buddhist teachers) use to free beings into enlightenment
  • Sanskrit: upāya
  • Bur: ဥပါယ် upe (IPA: [ṵ pè])
  • Tib: ཐབས, thabs
  • Mn: арга, arga
  • 方便
    • Cn: fāngbiàn
    • Jp: hōben
    • Vi: phương tiện
upekkha equanimity
  • Pāli: upekkhā
  • Sanskrit: upekṣā
  • Bur: ဥပက္ခာ upyikkha (IPA: [ṵpjɪʔkʰà])
  • Thai: อุเบกขา u-bek-kha
  • Tib: བཏང་སྙོམས་, btang snyoms
  • Mn: тэгшид барихуй, tegshid barihui
  • 镇定，沉着
    • Cn: Zhèndìng, chénzhuó
urna A concave circular dot on the forehead between the eyebrows
  • Sanskrit: urna
 Mn: билгийн мэлмий, bilgiin melmii
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

V

Definition Etymology In other languages
Vajrayana, The third major branch, alongside Hinayana and Mahayana, according to Tibetan Buddhism's view of itself
  • Sanskrit: vajrayāna, lit. "diamond vehicle"
  • Bur: ဝဇိရယာန wazeirayana (IPA: [wəzeiɹa̰ jàna̰])
  • Thai: วชิรญาณ wachira-yaan
  • Mn: Очирт хөлгөн, ochirt khölgön
  • 金剛乘
    • Cn: Jīngāng shèng
    • Jp: Kongō jō
    • Vi: Kim cương thừa
Vairocana,
  • Sanskrit: वैरोचन
  • Tib: རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད། rNam-par-snang mdzad
  • Mn: ᠪᠢᠷᠦᠵᠠᠨ᠎ ᠠ᠂ ᠮᠠᠰᠢᠳᠠ ᠋᠋ᠭᠡᠢᠢᠭᠦᠯᠦᠨ ᠵᠣᠬᠢᠶᠠᠭᠴᠢ᠂ ᠭᠡᠭᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠭᠡᠷᠡᠯᠲᠦ;
    Бярузана, Машид Гийгүүлэн Зохиогч, Гэгээн Гэрэлт;
    Biruzana, Masida Geyigülün Zohiyaghci, Gegegen Gereltü
Vāsanā habitual tendencies or dispositions
  • Pāli and Sanskrit: Vāsanā
  • Bur: ဝါသနာ wathana (IPA: [wàðanà])
Vinaya Pitaka, The first basket of the Tripitaka canon, which deals with the rules of monastic life
  • Pāli, Sanskrit: vinaya-piṭaka, lit. "discipline basket"
  • Bur: ဝိနည်းပိဋကတ် wini pitakat (IPA: [wḭní pḭdəɡaʔ])
  • Mon: ဝိနဲ ([wìʔnòa])
  • Shan: ဝီႉၼႄး ([wi˥˩ ɛ˦])
  • Thai: วินัย wi-nai
  • Tib: འདུལ་བའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ dul-bai sde-snod
  • Mn: Винайн аймаг сав, vinain aimag sav
  • 律藏
    • Cn: Lǜzàng
    • Jp: Ritsuzō
    • Vi: Luật tạng
vipassana Usually translated as "Insight" meditation, most associated with the Theravāda tradition, but also present in some other traditions such as Tiantai. Often combined with śamatha meditation
  • from vi-√dṛś: to see apart
  • Pāli: vipassanā
  • Sanskrit: vipaśyanā, vidarśanā
  • Bur: ဝိပဿနာ wipathana (IPA: [wḭpaʔθanà])
  • Shan: ဝီႉပၢတ်ႈသၼႃႇ ([wi˥ paːt˧ sʰa˩ naː˨])
  • Thai: วิปัสสนา wipadsana
  • Tib: ལྷག་མཐོངlhag mthong
  • Mn: үлэмж үзэл, ulemj uzel
  • 觀,観
    • Cn: guān
    • Jp: kan
    • Vi: quán
viriya energy, enthusiastic perseverance
  • from
  • Pāli: viriya
  • Sanskrit: vīrya,
  • Tib: brtson-grus
  • Thai: วิริยะ wiriya
  • 能量
    • Cn: néngliàng
    • Jp: nōryō
    • Vi: năng-lượng
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Z

Definition Etymology In other languages
zazen Sitting meditation as practiced in the Zen School of Buddhism
  • Japanese: 坐禅
  • 坐禪
    • Cn: zuòchán
    • Kr: jwaseon
    • Vi: toạ thiền
Zen School A branch of Mahayana originating in China that originally emphasizes non-dualism and intuition. Modern monastic forms have a strong emphasis on zazen (Korean) or on zazen combined with militaristic top-down hazing (Japanese)
  • Japanese: 禅宗 Zen-shu
  • 禪宗
    • Cn: Chánzōng
    • Vi: Thiền tông
zendo In Zen, a hall where zazen is practiced
  • Japanese: 禅堂
  • 禪堂
    • Cn: chántáng
    • Vi: thiền đường
Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

See also

References

  1. ^ Leighton / Okumura (1996). Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community. Albany, NY: SUNY. pp. 214. ISBN 0-7914-2710-2. 
  2. ^ Leighton/ Okumura (1996). Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community. Albany: SUNY. pp. 231. ISBN 0-7914-2710-2. 

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