Anapanasati
Definition: Mindfulness of breathing, a common meditation technique
which can lead to joyous, trance-like states known as jhanas. It is
often used in samatha meditation as a means of developing concentration
and calm.
Anatta
Definition: Not-self. This doctrine is unique to Buddhism. During his
enlightenment experience, as he sat under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha
saw there was no such thing as a permanent self or soul. What we
nominally call the self or personality is made up of five factors known
as khandhas (literally 'heaps') none of which, either separately or
together, can be viewed as a permanent self or soul.
Anicca
Definition: Impermanence. Central to Buddhist teaching is the idea that
all things are impermanent. This is the nature of all conditioned
phenomena. Nothing lasts, nothing stays the same. Thus, to cling to
anything will inevitably lead to suffering (dukkha).
Arahant
Definition: Noble one. An arahant is an individual who has realized
Nibbana, brought an end to his own suffering and the cycle of birth and
death.
Bhikkhu
Definition: Monk. A person who has renounced the world in search of
enlightenment. Traditionally, monks followed over 200 rules with
celibacy as an essential requirement. During the Buddha's life time
Bhikkunis (nuns) were also admitted to the Buddhist order (the Sangha)
Bodhicitta
Definition: Enlightenment Mind. Bodhicitta is the desire to win
enlightenment not ultimately for oneself but for the benefit of all
beings. This is a key concept within the Mahayana and Vajrayana
traditions with their emphasis on compassion. Many Buddhists seek to
generate Bodhicitta as a means of developing compassion for all living
beings without exception.
Bodhisattva
Definition: Enlightenment Being. This is a being whose Buddhahood is
assured but who postpones his/her own entry into Nibbana to help all
other sentient beings attain to it first. The Buddha himself was
described as a Bodhisattva in stories of his previous lives. The
Bodhisattva is a very important figure in Mahayana Buddhism where
particular Bodhisattvas are revered. For example, the many armed
Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion.
Buddha
Definition: Enlightened One. This is the term used to describe
Sidhattha Gotama (Siddhartha Gautama). Gotama was not the only Buddha.
There have been Buddhas in the past and there will be Buddhas in the
future. The future Buddha is referred to as Maitreya.
Dama
Definition: The control of the senses
Dalai Lama
Definition: The religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Dalai means
'Great Ocean (of Wisdom)' and Lama means 'spiritual master'. The Dalai
Lama is revered as the manifestation of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva
of Compassion. When a Dalai Lama dies he is reborn and a rigorous
search is made for his reincarnation, based partly based on
instructions left before his death. The present Dalai Lama is the
fourteenth incarnation.
Dhamma
Definition: Doctrine. This refers to all the teachings of the Buddha,
the essence of which is the Four Noble Truths
Dukkha
Definition: Suffering. The first noble truth. This is the starting
point for the Buddhist analysis of the human condition. Suffering
refers to mental, physical and emotional suffering in both their gross
and subtle forms. Importantly, dukkha also refers to the essential
unsatisfactoriness of life. There is happiness in the world but it is
never permanent and all life is prone to old age, sickness and eventual
death.
(The)
Five Hindrances
Definition: Lust, ill-will, anxiety, sloth, doubt. These need to be
absent for the experience of jhanas, rapturous states resulting from
samatha or 'calm' meditation.
Five
Precepts
Definition: These are the essential moral guidelines for lay Buddhists.
Basically, these are abstention from harming other living beings,
sensuous misconduct, false speech, taking what is not given, and taking
intoxicants.
Four
Noble Truths
Definition: These encapsulate the essential teaching of Buddhism: 1.
The Noble Truth of Suffering 2. The Noble Truth of the Origin of
Suffering 3. The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering 4. The
Noble Truth that leads to the Extinction of Suffering.
