A
akusala: unwholesome, unskillfulness
anapanasati: mindfulness of breathing
anatta: not-self
anicca: impermanence; inconstancy
Arahant: Liberated one
atta: (Skt. atman) refers to a self
avihinsa: non-violence, non-cruelty; kindness to the weak
avijja: ignorance or delusion
ayatana: sphere of perception or sense in general, object of thought, sense-organ
B
bhavana: meditation, cultivation of wisdom and virtue, insight
bhavanga: (Pali, “ground of becoming”) is the most fundamental aspect of mind in Theravada Buddhism. (The term does not occur in the Nikayas, though the Theravada tradition identifies it with one that does; the phenomenon described as “luminous mind.”)
bhikku: monk
bhikkuni: nun
bodhi: to awake, become aware, notice, know or understand
bodhicitta: awakened heart-mind
Bodhisatta: (Skt. Bodhisattva) A future Buddha
Buddha: an Enlightened being “Awakened”
Buddho: one who is awakened to the truth
Budu saranai: May the peace and blessings of the Buddha be with you
C
citta: mind, consciousness
D
dana: ‘foodgiving’, generosity, offering
Dhamma: (Skt. dharma) liberating law discovered by the Buddha, summed up in the Four Noble Truths, the Truth, Reality, natural law, all physical and mental phenomena
dosa: aversion
dukkha: unsatisfactoriness, suffering, pain, distress, discontent, stress, the impermanence of all phenomena
E
ehipassiko: The Dharma welcomes all beings to put it to the test and to experience it for themselves.
J
jara: old; decayed; decrepit
Jāti: (Pāli word for “birth”) refers to the arising of a new living entity in saṃsāra.
jhana: (Skt. dhyana) meditative absorption, a state of strong concentration.
K
kalyana mitta: lovely friend (Sometimes interpreted as spiritual friend)
kamma: (Skt. karma): (lit.-action) The law of cause and effect; intentional acts
karuna: compassion
kasina: Spherical or disc shaped mental visual object of meditation
khanda: (Skt. skandha): Five aggregates which form the raw material for one’s sense of self: form/body, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness
khanti: patience, tolerance, endurance, forebearance
kilesa: (defilements) greed, aversion, delusion
kusala: wholesome, skillful, of good merit
L
lobha: greed
M
magga: path
metta: Lovingkindness, good will
moha: (lit.-to be stupified) delusion
N
nibbana: (Skt. nirvana): the cessation of suffering, enlightenment, liberation
nibbida: Disenchantment; aversion; disgust; weariness. The skillful turning-away of the mind from the conditioned samsaric world towards the unconditioned, the transcendent; Nibbana.
nikāya: a word of meaning “collection” of discourses (used to describe groupings of discourses according to theme, length, or other categories. For example, the Sutta Piṭaka is broken up into five nikāyas)
nirodha: cessation, extinction, as in third noble truth concerned with the cessation of suffering (dukkha)
nissarana: way out or exit; release, escape, abandon, freedom, liberation
O
opanayiko: referring inwardly; to be brought inward. An epithet for the Dhamma
P
pahāna: ‘overcoming’, abandoning. There are 5 kinds of overcoming: 1 overcoming by repression vikkhambhana-pahāna i.e. the temporary suspension of the 5 hindrances nīvarana during the absorptions, 2 overcoming by the opposite tadanga-pahāna 3 overcoming by destruction samuccheda-pahāna 4 overcoming by tranquillization patipassaddhi-pahāna 5 overcoming by escape nissarana-pahāna
pañña: wisdom
papañca: Complication, proliferation; tendency of the mind to proliferate issues from the sense of “self.”
paramattha: absolute or ultimate reality
parami: perfections, virtues necessary for the realization of Awakening
passaddhi: calmness,tranquility, repose and serenity.
pranayama: a Sanskrit word meaning “extension of the breath” or more accurately, “extension of the life force”.
piti: Rapture or happiness, bliss
S
sacca: truth
saddha: faith, confidence (Lit.-to place one’s heart on)
samadhi: concentration; meditative absorption; a deep state of meditation
Samatha: A term referring to the group of meditation practices that aim at samadhi
sampajañña: clearly know
samsára: (lit.-perpetual wandering) ocean of worldly suffering; round of rebirth; pursuit of renewed existence
samvega: spiritual urgency
sangha: the community of Buddhist monks & nuns; recently: “the community of followers on the Buddhist path.”
sankara (Skt. samskara): concoctions; fabrications
sati: mindfulness, awareness
sati sampajañña: mindfully clearly know
sila: moral conduct; precept; virtue; moral restraint
sukha: happiness; pleasure; ease; bliss
suñña: void (ness), empty (emptiness)
sutta: (lit. thread; Skt. sutra) discourse of the Buddha or one of his leading disciples
T
tanha: (lit. thirst) craving
Tathagata: (Lit. thus gone) an Enlightened person
Theravada: (Doctrine of the elders)- school of Buddhism that draws its inspiration from the Pali Canon, or Tipitaka, the oldest surviving record of the Buddha’s teachings. Has been the predominant religion of southeast Asia (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Burma)
Tipitaka: (Literally Three baskets)- The Pali Canon- has Three divisions:
1. Sutta Pitaka- discourses of the Buddha, (Five collections-nikayas- 10,000 suttas)
2. Abhidhamma Pitaka- treatises offering systematic treatment of topics in the suttas
3. Vinaya Pitaka- rules for ordained monks and nuns
U
upāsaka/upāsikā: Buddhist lay men are called upāsaka and lay women upāsikā. Both words are derived from ‘to sit close’ (upāsati) and ‘to attend to’ (upāsana) Monks.
upekkha: equanimity
Upādāna: the Pāli word for “clinging,” “attachment” or “grasping”, although the literal meaning is “fuel.”
V
Vipallāsa: perversions or distortions
Vipassana: literally, “to see clearly”; insight; insight into the truth of anicca (impermanence), anatta (not-self), & dukkha (unstatisfactoriness), to see things as they really are
viriya: effort; persistence; energy
