Site MapHelpFeedbackKey Terms
Key Terms
(See related pages)


bodhi  Enlightenment. Listen (33.0K)
Dharma  The totality of Buddhist teaching. Listen (40.0K)
Sangha  The community of monks and nuns; lowercased, this term refers to an individual monastic community. Listen (21.0K)
anichcha  This term means impermanence, constant change. Listen (42.0K)
anatta  "No self"; the doctrine that there is no soul or permanent essence in people and things. Listen (35.0K)
dukkha  This term means sorrow, misery, suffering. Listen (41.0K)
nirvana  The release from suffering and rebirth that brings inner peace. Listen (46.0K)
dhyana  "Meditation"; focusing of the mind; sometimes, stages of trance. Listen (42.0K)
samadhi  A state of deep awareness, the result of intensive meditation. Listen (41.0K)
samasara  Constant rebirth and the attendant suffering; the everyday world of change. Listen (47.0K)
arhat  In Theravada, a person who has practiced monastic disciplines and reached nirvana, the ideal. Listen (43.0K)
Tripitaka  The three "baskets,"or collections, of Buddhist texts. Listen (45.0K)
sutra  A sacred text, especially one said to record the words of the Buddha. Listen (42.0K)
stupa  A shrine, usually in the shape of a dome, used to mark Buddhist relics of sacred sites. Listen (49.0K)
karuna  Compassion, empathy. Listen (44.0K)
bodhisattva  "Enlightenment being"; in Mahayana, a person of deep compassion, especially on who does not enter nirvana, but is constantly reborn to help others; a heavenly being of compassion. Listen (27.0K)
trikaya  The three "bodies" of the Buddha--the Dharmakaya (cosmic Buddha nature), the Nirmanakaya (historical Buddhas), and the Sambhogakaya (celestial Buddhas). Listen (23.0K)
Maitreya  A Buddha (or bodhisattva) expected to appear on earth in the future. Listen (42.0K)
Amitabha Buddha  The Buddha of the Western Paradise, a bliss-body Buddha in Mahayana. Listen (48.0K)
Guanyin  A popular bodhisattva of compassion in Mahayana. Listen (43.0K)
shunyata  The Mahayana notion of emptiness, meaning that the universe is empty of permanent reality. Listen (41.0K)
tathata  "Thatness," or "thusness," "suchness"; the uniqueness of each changing moment of reality. Listen (41.0K)
mandala  A circular design containing deities, geometrical forms, symbols and so on that represent totality, the self, or the universe. Listen (41.0K)
satori  In Zen, the enlightened awareness. Listen (41.0K)
koan  In Zen Buddhism, a question that cannot be answered logically; a technique used to test consciousness and bring awakening. Listen (17.0K)
lama  A Tibetan Buddhist teacher; a title of honor often given to all Tibetan monks. Listen (38.0K)
vajra  The "diamond" scepter used in Tibetan and other types of Buddhist ritual, symbolizing compassion. Listen (39.0K)
mudra  A symbolic hand gesture. Listen (39.0K)







MolloyOnline Learning Center

Home > Chapter 4 > Key Terms