Pāli and Sanskrit forms often name related concepts, but spelling and translation are not the whole meaning. Read each term in its textual or living context.
63 terms
- Abhidhamma / Abhidharma
- Systematic analysis
Bodies of Buddhist analytical teaching. Texts and systems differ by school. Systematic analysis of experience and doctrine; collections and interpretations differ between schools.
Read in context ↗ - Anāpānasati
- Mindfulness of breathing
A Buddhist contemplative framework, not forced breath control. Mindfulness of breathing in Pāli.
Read in context ↗ - Anattā / anātman
- Not-self
Experience is not appropriately grasped as a permanent, independent self. Not-self: the questioning of a permanent, independent self in experience.
Read in context ↗ - Anicca / anitya
- Impermanence
The changing character of conditioned phenomena. Impermanence; conditioned things are subject to change.
Read in context ↗ - Arahant / arhat
- Worthy one
A liberated practitioner in early and Theravāda accounts. One who has realised liberation; the term’s place in the path varies by tradition.
Read in context ↗ - Aṣṭamaṅgala
- A set of eight auspicious emblems; forms and explanations vary by tradition.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Bhavacakra
- Wheel of Life or Wheel of Existence: a visual teaching about saṃsāra.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Bhūmisparśa
- Earth-touching: a gesture associated with Śākyamuni’s awakening.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Bodhi
- Awakening
Transformative understanding; not simply a pleasant mood. Awakening.
Read in context ↗ - Bodhicitta
- Mind of awakening
The aspiration for awakening for the welfare of beings. The aspiration to full awakening for the benefit of beings.
Read in context ↗ - Bodhisattva
- Being oriented to awakening
Used in several contexts; central to Mahāyāna paths and sacred figures. A being on the path to Buddhahood; usage differs across Buddhist contexts.
Read in context ↗ - Brahmavihāra
- Divine abode
Goodwill, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity. One of the four qualities of goodwill, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity.
Read in context ↗ - Buddha
- Awakened one
A title; Śākyamuni is the historical Buddha of this era in traditional accounts. An awakened one; a title, not the historical teacher’s family name.
Read in context ↗ - Chán / Zen
- Meditation traditions
Related East Asian Buddhist lineages, not simply an aesthetic. Related East Asian Buddhist traditions; names connected historically with dhyāna.
Read in context ↗ - Chatra
- A parasol; one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols in a common Tibetan set.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Dāna
- Giving
Generosity and material or other support. Generosity or giving, an important aspect of Buddhist life.
Read in context ↗ - Dhamma / Dharma
- Teaching; phenomena
Its meaning depends on context; not always the same as its Hindu usages. Teaching, truth, practice or phenomena, depending on the context.
Read in context ↗ - Dharmacakra
- The Dharma wheel, representing the teaching; eight spokes commonly evoke the Eightfold Path.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Dhyāna / jhāna
- Meditative cultivation or absorption
Related words whose technical use varies by tradition. Meditative absorption in Buddhist contexts; definitions and training approaches vary.
Read in context ↗ - Dorje
- The Tibetan term for vajra, a ritual implement.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Dukkha / duḥkha
- Suffering or unsatisfactoriness
Includes pain and the insecurity of clinging to conditioned experience. Suffering, stress or unsatisfactoriness; no single English term covers every use.
Read in context ↗ - Kamma / karma
- Intentional action
Action of body, speech or mind; not a synonym for fate. Intentional action and its ethical significance.
Read in context ↗ - Karuṇā
- Compassion
Concern for suffering and its relief. Compassion: a wish for relief from suffering.
Read in context ↗ - Khandha / skandha
- Aggregate
One of five groups used to analyse experience. An aggregate; one of five aspects used in analysing experience.
Read in context ↗ - Kleśa / kilesa
- Affliction or defilement
Mental qualities such as greed, hatred and delusion. Afflictive or defiling mental qualities, such as greed, hatred and delusion.
Read in context ↗ - Kōan
- A case used in Zen training
Not merely a riddle solved through cleverness. A case or expression used within particular Zen teaching and practice settings.
Read in context ↗ - Mahāyāna
- Great Vehicle
A diverse Buddhist family giving central importance to the bodhisattva path. The “Great Vehicle”: a diverse family of Buddhist traditions emphasising the bodhisattva path.
Read in context ↗ - Maṇḍala
- Sacred arrangement
A ritual and contemplative form interpreted in a specific tradition. A sacred arrangement used in specific ritual and contemplative traditions.
Read in context ↗ - Mantra
- Sacred formula
Meaning and permission to practise depend on context and lineage. A sacred utterance or formula; use and practice requirements depend on the tradition.
Read in context ↗ - Mettā / maitrī
- Goodwill
Wishing wellbeing without demanding possession or return. Goodwill or loving-kindness.
Read in context ↗ - Muditā
- Appreciative joy
Gladness in others’ wellbeing. Appreciative joy in the happiness and good fortune of others.
Read in context ↗ - Mudrā
- Gesture or seal
A term with visual and ritual meanings, dependent on context. A gesture or seal; hand gestures can communicate meaning in Buddhist art and ritual.
Read in context ↗ - Nembutsu / nianfo
- Buddha recollection or recitation
Important in Pure Land communities; meanings and emphases vary. Japanese and Chinese terms for recollection of the Buddha, often through name-recitation.
Read in context ↗ - Nibbāna / nirvāṇa
- Liberation
The Buddhist goal of release; not an eternal soul merging with God. Liberation; its description requires the context of a particular Buddhist teaching.
Read in context ↗ - Pāli
- A canonical language
The principal scriptural language of Theravāda. A language in which the Theravāda canon is preserved; not simply another name for Sanskrit.
Read in context ↗ - Pāramitā / pāramī
- Perfection
A quality cultivated on a path; lists differ across traditions. A perfection or far-reaching quality cultivated on the path.
Read in context ↗ - Parinirvāṇa
- Final passing of an awakened one
Commonly used for the Buddha’s final passing. Final nirvāṇa; associated with the Buddha’s final passing.
Read in context ↗ - Paṭicca-samuppāda
- Dependent origination
The conditioned arising and cessation of suffering. Dependent origination or dependent arising.
Read in context ↗ - Prajñā / paññā
- Wisdom
Discerning understanding in a Buddhist path. Wisdom or discernment.
Read in context ↗ - Prajñāpāramitā
- Perfection of wisdom
A Mahāyāna teaching and textual family.
- Samādhi
- Collectedness or concentration
A technical term interpreted differently across traditions. Concentration or collectedness; not necessarily equivalent to liberation.
Read in context ↗ - Samatha / śamatha
- Tranquillity
Cultivation of steadiness, often considered with insight. Calm or tranquillity cultivation.
Read in context ↗ - Saṃsāra
- Cycle of rebirth
The traditional field of repeated conditioned existence and suffering. The cycle of birth and death sustained by ignorance and craving in traditional Buddhist teaching.
Read in context ↗ - Saṅgha
- Community
May mean ordained or noble community, or a broader modern practice group. Monastic or noble community; sometimes a broader practice community in modern usage.
Read in context ↗ - Sati / smṛti
- Mindfulness or recollection
More than bare attention when understood within its ethical path. Mindfulness, with a sense of remembering or keeping in mind.
Read in context ↗ - Satipaṭṭhāna
- Establishing mindfulness
Body, feeling, mind and dhammas in early Buddhist teaching. Establishments or foundations of mindfulness.
Read in context ↗ - Śīla / sīla
- Ethical conduct
Training in conduct that supports the path. Ethical conduct or discipline.
Read in context ↗ - Stūpa
- A sacred monument associated with relics, remembrance and pilgrimage.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Śūnyatā
- Emptiness
Lack of independent intrinsic existence; not meaninglessness. Emptiness; the meaning depends on textual and philosophical context.
Read in context ↗ - Sutta / sūtra
- Discourse
A scriptural genre; authority and collections differ. A discourse or scripture; terminology reflects language and tradition.
Read in context ↗ - Taijitu
- A Chinese diagram associated with taiji; the familiar yin–yang design is one form.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Taṇhā / tṛṣṇā
- Craving or thirst, central to the account of suffering’s origin.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Theravāda
- Way of the Elders
A living Buddhist tradition giving central place to the Pāli canon. “Teaching of the elders”: a major living Buddhist tradition.
Read in context ↗ - Tipiṭaka / Tripiṭaka
- “Three baskets”, a term for scriptural collections; canons differ.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Upāya
- Skillful means, especially important in Mahāyāna teaching.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Upekkhā / upekṣā
- Equanimity
Steadiness and impartiality, not apathy. Equanimity: balanced care, not indifference.
Read in context ↗ - Vajra
- A ritual implement whose name evokes thunderbolt and diamond.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Vajrayāna
- Diamond or Vajra Vehicle
Esoteric Buddhist traditions with transmitted ritual and practice. Esoteric Buddhist approaches rooted in Mahāyāna aims and particular transmissions.
Read in context ↗ - Vedanā
- Feeling tone
Pleasant, unpleasant or neutral; not the whole of an emotion. Pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feeling tone; not the whole range of emotion.
Read in context ↗ - Vinaya
- Monastic discipline
Textual and practical systems of ordained community life. Monastic discipline and the texts that preserve it.
Read in context ↗ - Vipassanā / vipaśyanā
- Insight
Clear seeing; specific meditation methods vary. Insight or clear seeing; methods and interpretations vary.
Read in context ↗ - Yin and yang
- Relational tendencies within Chinese thought; not an original emblem or universal doctrine of Buddhism.
Read the linked guide to explore this term in context.
Read in context ↗ - Zazen
- Seated meditation
A central practice in Zen, taught differently across communities. Seated meditation in Japanese Zen contexts.
Read in context ↗