Interfaith Speakers Bureau Vocabulary List for Buddhism

• Abhidharma: collection of Buddhist sacred texts which consists of commentaries and explanations of the sutras by Buddhist masters

• Arhat: Buddhist saint free from desires, anger, and ignorance; one who has attained nirvana

• Bodhisattva path: the practice of the Six Perfections which leads to the liberation of not only oneself, but also an immeasurable number of other sentient beings

• Bodhisattva: someone who sets his or her goal to become a Buddha and to liberate countless sentient beings

• Buddha: the founder of Buddhism, “The Enlightened One”

• Buddha’s birthday: one of the most important holy days for a Buddhist, also known as “Vesak Day”, celebrated on April 8th or May 15th on the lunar calendar

• Buddhahood: the state of ultimate enlightenment

• Buddhist: someone who practices Buddhism

• Dalai Lama: historically the spiritual and political leader of Tibet; Dalai means “ocean (of wisdom)”; Lama means “teacher” and “guru”

• Dependent Origination: all phenomena we observe in this world arise from a certain set of causal conditions, having no inherent, permanent existence

• Dharma: Buddha’s teachings

• Emptiness: because of dependent origination and impermanence, all things have no intrinsic, unchanging characteristics

• The Five Precepts for laity: no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying / improper speech, and no intoxicants (including alcohol)

• Four Noble Truths: 1. All human beings suffer in the course of their lives; 2. The causes of all suffering are from our mind (in particular, greed, anger, and ignorance) and actions so generated; 3. The complete extinction of suffering (nirvana) is attainable by everyone; 4. The path to nirvana is by following the Noble Eightfold Path

• Impermanence: since each causal condition is changing every moment, all things are impermanent

• Karma: our actions; there are three kinds: mental, verbal, and physical karma

• Mahayana Buddhism: more liberal in its interpretation of the precepts, with many more Mahayana scriptures which elaborate on the bodhisattva way and the practice of Six Perfections

© 2009 ING. All rights reserved. August 2009 Page 1 • Meditation: methods of disciplining the mind, which helps calm the mind and clear it of unwanted thoughts so that the mind can have an unbiased perception of reality

• Monastic precepts: numbering from 250 to 500, they are very extensive and cover all aspects of a Buddhist monk and nun’s life, including proper conduct, eating, dressing, walking, living abode, possession, etc.

• Monk: a Buddhist who is ordained and observes the strict monastic precepts; monks observe celibacy, have no personal wealth, and are devoted to the study, practice, and teaching of Buddhism; “bhiksu” (male) or “bhiksuni” (female) in Sanskrit

• Nagarjuna: a noted Buddhist master (150-250 CE) whose numerous works influenced Mahayana Buddhism greatly

• Nagasena: a noted Buddhist master (~150 BCE) whose advice to King Menander of India (King Milinda in Pali) is a famous Buddhist work

• Nirvana: the complete extinction of suffering; ultimate peace and bliss

• The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought (or intention), right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right samadhi (meditation)

• Panchen Lama: the second highest ranking lama in Tibetan Buddhism next to the Dalai Lama

• Pratyekabuddhas: people who attain nirvana during a time when Buddhist teachings are not available in their region, by mindful observation of the environment and the people, and realizing the impermanence and emptiness of all phenomena

• The Principle of Causality: all actions (karma) we perform, beneficial or harmful, have influences on other sentient beings; in due time, beneficial actions will bring blessings to the doer; whereas, harmful actions will bring suffering to the doer

• Pure Land Buddhism: a school of the Mahayana tradition, followers single-mindedly chant the Buddha’s name to attain purity of mind and to be reborn in a Pure Land free from suffering

• Sangha: Buddhist monastic community

• The Six Perfections: perfection of charity, morality, tolerance, diligence, meditation, and wisdom; necessary practice to become a Buddha; perfection of charity means to achieve the “Triple Emptiness”

• The Sutras: Buddhist scriptures which are Buddha’s words

• Theraveda Buddhism: “the elders”; more closely in line with the way of life during Buddha’s time, it focuses on the practice of the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Paths; becoming an araht and the attainment of nirvana

• The Three Learnings: morality, meditation, and wisdom; the three pillars of Buddhist cultivation

• Tripitaka: three Collections of sacred texts (Sutras, Vinaya, Abhidharma)

• Triple Emptiness: emptiness of the giver (self, the ego); emptiness of the receiver; and emptiness of the goods given

• Vajrayana: a school of the Mahayana tradition; to many Westerners, it is synonymous with Tibetan Buddhism because it is the only form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet

• Vinaya: collection of Buddhist sacred texts which consist of monastic and lay precepts and ethic codes

• The Vinaya School: a school of Buddhism devoted exclusively to the studying of Buddhist moral regulations

• Wisdom: the ability to see the truth and to act in accordance with the truth

• Zen Buddhism: a school of the Mahayana tradition that emphasizes meditation to directly realize the mind of the Buddha

ING is a non-profit, educational organization founded in 1993 that promotes religious literacy and mutual respect through on-site presentations and interfaith dialogues to schools, community agencies, and other institutions. To learn more about ING and to schedule a presentation or interfaith speakers panel, visit www.ing.org/schedule, email [email protected], or call ING at 408.296.7312.