| Some Commom Buddhist Words: (See bottom of page for last minute additions. Spelling of some words may differ because they may be written in Japanese, Chinese, Pali, Sanskrit or Tibetan.) Amida = see Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha Buddha = The Buddha of Fathomless Light. Another name for the Cosmic Buddha. Ananda = A principal disciple of the Buddha, he was also the Buddha's cousin. Anuttara Samyak Sambhodi = Complete, unexcelled Enlightenment, an attribute of the Buddha. Arhat = One who has cleansed his or her heart of all greed, hatred and ignorance. And, knowing the Unborn, Undying, Uncreated and Unchanging in life, becomes completely at one with It at death. Aryas = Sanscript for "Saints" or "Holy Persons." Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva = She/He who hears the cries of the world. Avalokitesvara is the Bodhisattva who exhibits Great Compassion and Mercy. (Kuan-Yin, c.) Bodhi = Understanding, enlightenment, wisdom. Bodhi Mind = The Enlightened mind or the mind that seeks Enlightenment. Bodhi Way = The way to Enlightenment. The path of a Buddhist who is actively seeking Enlightenment. Bodhidharma = The Indian Ancestor who brought Zen teaching to China. Bodhisattva = Enlightened being. Bodhisattva Vow = The fundamental vow of a Bodhisattva to save all sentient things from delusion and suffering. Bosatsu = see Bodhisattva. Brahma = A god. Brahma World = The heaven of Brahma. Buddha = Enlightened One, Awakened One. A person with direct understanding of the Truth. Buddha-dharmas = The attributes perculiar to Buddhas. Buddha Mind = The mind without attachment and discrimination; another name for the Buddha Nature. Buddha Nature = One's own true nature, True Self. Buddha Nature should not be misunderstood as a separate soul. Compassion = Lovng kindness towards all living things, which arises naturally out of meditation. Cosmic Buddha = That which appears in every place and time and in all beings; also called by various other names, such as Vairocana Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Buddha Nature and Lord of the House. It can be revealed through genuine training but cannot be explained as existing or not existing being beyond dualism. Daruma = see Bodhidharma. Deva = Gods; heavenly beings; beings in possession of supernatural powers. A person who, having understood the Truth, leads others to It. Devils = Beings from hell. The personifications of the egocentric self, greed, hate and delusion. Dharma = Law, Truth, the Teachings of the Buddhas. Dharmakaya = The Buddha nature identical with transcendental reality. Dharani = Litany, hymm; a brief Buddhist Scripture similar to the even-shorter Mantras. Dhyana = The state of Tantric concentration, of which four stages are usually distinguished. |
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| Achievement, of whatever kind, is the crown of effort, the diadem of thought. By the aid of self-control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and well-directed thought a man ascends; by the aid of animality, indolence, impurity, corruption, and confusion of thought a man descends. Every thought seed sown or allowed to fall into the mind, and to take root there, produces its own, blossoming sooner or later into act, and bearing its own fruitage of opportunity and circumstance. Good thought bear good fruit, bad thoughts bad fruit. As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking. |
| of the organic world - all things flow; 3) the laws of morality - karma is inexorable; 4) the laws of the Dharma - evil is vanquished and good prevails; 5) the laws of mind - the will to Enlightenment: the intuitive knowledge of the Buddha Nature occurs to all men. Five Precepts = The five basic moral precepts of Buddhism: no killing, no stealing, no lying, no sexual misconduct, no use of drugs or alcohol. Four Elements = Earth, water, fire and wind. Four Kinds of Believers = Monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen. Four Noble Truths = These are: 1) suffering exists, 2) suffering's cause, 3) suffering's end, 4) the Eightfold Path. Four Wisdoms = Charity, tenderness, benevolence and sympathy. Gassho = The Buddhist mudra which expresses gratitude and humility. Great Vehicle = Mahayana Buddhism. Gautama = Shakyamuni Buddha's name prior to Enlightenment. Guru = Spiritual preceptor. Hell = One of the Six Lokas or Worlds. Hinayana = The small vehicle as contrasted with Mahayana or the large vehicle. Division of Buddhism. Kalpa = An aeon. An extremely long period of time. Kannon = see Avalokitesvara Kanzeon Bosatsu = see Avalokitesvara Karma = Action, resulting from cause and its effect. The Law of Cause and Effect; the third of the Five Laws of the Universe. Lesser Vehicle = Hinayana Buddhism. Loka = World. The Six Lokas represent the states of being produced by the three fires of greed, hate and delusion. Lord = Refers to Buddha and that which shows Buddha. Lord of the House = Buddha in each being, Buddha Nature, Cosmic Buddha. That which is not explicable in terms of ex-istence and non-existence or self and other. Another term for Buddha Mind, True Heart. Lotus Blossom = A Buddhist symbol for training, Enlightenment, compassion and purity. Lotus Scripture = A Mahayana Buddhist Scripture which teaches that all living things have the Buddha Nature and can attain Buddhahood. Maha Maya = The mother of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the future Shakyamuni Buddha. She died seven days after His birth. Mahasattva = Great being. Avalokitesvara (Kuan-Yin) is referred to as a Bodhisattva-Mahasattva. Maitreya = Loving One. The Buddha who is to come. He is waiting, as a Bodhisattva, in the Tushita heaven. To realize one's own Buddha Nature is to bring Maitreya here. Mahayana = Large vehicle. One of the two major divisions of Buddhism. See Hinayana. Mandala = A diagram which expresses a religious view of the universe by means of symbols. Manjusri Bodhisattva = Manjusri personifies great wisdom (prajna). Revered as chief of the Bodhisattvas. Mantra = A very short Scripture comprised of a few Sanscript words. Words of power that work wonders. Mara = The personification of all temptations to evil and distractions from training. Merit = Buddhist teaching that positive spiritual good arises from training and keeping of the Precepts. Middle Existence = The time between death and the next rebirth. In traditional Buddhism, it is believed to take a maxi-mum of forty-nine days. |
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| Ease: Sukha = Not so much positive happiness, as absence of suffering, annoyance and friction. Eightfold Path = The way to transcend suffering as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha in the fourth Noble Truth. The eight stages are: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentra-tion. Eight Sufferings = Shakyamuni Buddha said that there were eight basic sufferings in life: birth, old age, sickness, death, parting with what we love, meeting with what we don't like, un-met needs, and the ills of the Five Skandhas. Eight Winds = Profit and loss, defamation and fame, praise and blame, suffering and joy. Shakyamuni Buddha taught that these eight conditions, or "winds," are a natural part of life. Enlightenment = Nirvana. Religious realization or understanding. Five Laws of the Universe = The five laws by which the universe operates are: 1) the laws of the physical world - the world is not answerable to one's personal will; 2) the laws |
| Nyoi Jewel = A jewel capable of removing all suffering. A symbol of the Dharma and the Three Treasures united into one jewel. Om = A word often used as the invocation of a mantra or dharani and also as a mantra by itself. One Mind = A word referring to Nirvana, Buddha Mind and Dharmakaya. One Vehicle = The One Way; the Buddha Path. Paramita = Reaching the other shore. The Paramitas are the qualities that arise from meditation and training and are the signs of Enlightenment. Path = The straight and direct road to Nirvana. Perfections (6) = Givng; morality; patience; vigour; meditation; and wisdom. Prajna = Seeing clearly. The Wisdom that is beyond discriminatory thought that arises naturally from meditation and diligent training. Prajna-paramita = The perfecting of wisdom. Precepts = The ways of living that are in accordance with the Dharma. Pure Land = A Buddha realm. In Mahayana Buddhism, there are countless Buddhas and countless Buddha realms. Pure Land Buddhism = The Mahayana church based on faith in Amitabha Buddha. It arose in fourth century China, never having existed in India. Quietism = A spiritual disease caused by a grave misunderstanding of karma. Roshi = Reverend Zen master. Saha World = This world of delusion, which is full of suffering to be endured. Samadhi = Meditation. Deep state of trance. (Sanskrit for 'Transic Concentration'.) Samsara = This world of life and death. Rebirth, reincarnation; cycle of successive existences. Sangha = The community of those who follow the Buddha's Teaching. Priests, laypeople. Satori = Sudden understanding, Enlightenment. Scripture of Great Wisdom = Sometimes called the Heart (Sutra) Scripture. Main Buddhist prayer. Seal (or Mind Seal) = A term used to refer to the Transmission. Self = Refers to the worldly mind that is dominated by self-interest. Self-existent = An attribute of the Buddha. Sensei = Teacher; sometimes used to address Zen priests in Japan. Sentient = Capable of feeling. Sesshin = Searching of the heart. Seven Treasures = They are: faith, keeping the Precepts, humility, renouncing evil, learning, self-training and self con-trol, and wisdon. Shakyamuni = The 'Sage of the tribe of the Shakyas.' Epithet of the 'historical Buddha.' Shravaka = A "voice-bearer," that is, one who listens to the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama = The given name of Shakyamuni Buddha. Six Paramitas = The six "perfections" or virtues practiced by an Enlightened being: generosity, upholding the Precepts, patience, energetic progress, meditation, and wisdom. Six Realms = The various modes of existence in which rebirth occurs, ranging from the lower realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals, to the higher realms of humans, titans, and gods. Skandha = The five skandha that make-up a human being are: form, feeling, perception, mental formation, and consci-ousness. Stupa = A shrine, usually dome-shapred, built to house the relics of Shakyamuni or other holy persons. Suchness = It is reached when things are seen such as they are, in their bare being, without any distortion. Sumeru = A huge mountain that stands at the center of the world. Sutra = A Buddhist Scripture - claimed to have been spoken by the Buddha. Tathagata = One of the ten titles of the Buddha. Tathagatagarbha = That which holds the Tathagata within himself; i.e. all sentient beings. A synonym for "Buddha na-ture." Three Dharma Seals = The three basic characteristics of existence. They are: 1) impermanence, 2) the inter-connected-ness of all things, and thus the absence of a self or essence in anything, and 3) Nirvana. Three Fires = The Three Hindrances: greed, hate and delusion. Three Jewels = See Three Treasures. Three Poisons = Greed, anger, and ignorance. The sources of all delusion and suffering in the world. |
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| Middle Way = Another term for the Dharma which teaches the middle way between over-indul-gence and asceticism. The way of non-attachment. Mu = No, not, nothing. Immaculacy, Buddha Mind. Mudra = Gestures used in Buddhist ceremonies and iconography. Muni = Sage Nembutsu = To think on Buddha. The repetition of the Buddha's name. Nirvana = That which is realised at the time of Enlightenment. |
| Truths. Three Worlds = The past, present and future worlds. Thus Come One = One of the ten epithets for a Buddha. Upaya = The methods and skills used by a Buddha or Bodhisattva to guide others toward Enlightenment. Way = A synonym for Buddha Mind, True Self. Yama = The king of hell. Zafu = Sitting cushion. Yaksha = A type of demon, one of the eight kinds of non-human beings who protect Buddhism. Yashodhara = Wife of Shakyamuni. Zazen = Sitting meditation. Zen meditation done in the formal seated position. Zen = Meditation. Zendo = Meditation hall. (last minute additions:) Anatta = Term for no-self - that is, no permanent ego or soul that makes a person. Anicca = Impermanence, change, transformation; a characteristic of existence. Bodhichitta = "Awakened mind." The Bodhisattva's aspiration for Enlightenment with the single goal of liberating all living beings from samsara (the continuous cycle of rebirths according to one's karma, its nature is essentially suffer-ing) is called "relative bodhichitta;" "ultimate bodhichitta" is direct insight into the nature of reality. Butsudan = A shelf, altar, or shrine. Dukkha = Term for human suffering, dissatsifaction, anxiety, frustration, and misery. Karuna = Compassion. Maya = Illusion. Rahula = Son born to Siddhartha and Yasodhara. Sunyata = Emptiness; the true nature of all things, according to Buddhist theory. Tanha = Selfish craving for sentient existence from which Buddhists seek release. Tantrism = The belief in the search for spiritual power and ultimate release from the cycle of rebirth by the repetition of mantras and other esoteric rites. |
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| Three Pure Precepts = Cease from evil - Do only good - Do good to others. Three Realms = Three different realms that make up samsara. The cycle of the exis- tence of all beings in the Six Realms takes place within the Three Realms. The Three Realms are: the realm of desire, the realm of form and the realm of formlessness. Three Refuges = I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take ref-uge in the Sangha. All traditions of Buddhism have the Three Refuges as the basis of their teaching. Three Treasures = The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha; they are also referred to as the Three Jewels. Three Wisdoms = 1) Insight into the mortal conditions of self and others in past exis-tences as well as this one, 2) insight into possible future mortal conditions and 3) comprehension of the the wisdom in, and experience of, that wisdom in the Four Noble |
| the World, was looking down from his (her) heaven on the world of suffering beings, and he (she) wept to see that more and more of them were in pain no matter how many he (she) delivered. From the tears streaming down his (her) face two Taras were born, a peaceful white one from the left and a fierce green one from the right. As the quintessence of the miraculous activities of all Buddhas, they gave him(her) courage not to give up striving in his (her) impossible task. Tara is the female companion to Avalokiteshvara, "Mother of Buddhas of all three times," (as expressed in the Tara Tantra) and the compassionate savior of all beings. Tara overcomes unharmonious conditions and destroys external threats and obstructions. She is the ultimate reality, the true body of the Buddhas. She is the immovable source from which the miraculous sa-ing activities emerge. Tara shakes the three worlds, dispels the effects of poison, eliminates conflicts and nightmares, cures diseases, and overcomes ghosts and demons. Tara is the savior from the eight dangers. Just by being called to help, she instantaneously saves the faithful from attacks by: 1) lions and pride; 2) wild elephants and delusions; 3) forest fires and hatred; 4) snakes and envy; 5) robbers and fanatical views; 6) prisons and avarice; 7) floods and lust; and 8) demons and doubts. Her left hand is raised with extended three fingers upward, in the gesture of granting refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha (Teacher), the Dharma (Teaching), and the sangha (Com-munity). Hindu legends tell of Tara's abduction by Soma, the moon-god. A war was fought for her recovery, and after her return she gave birth to Soma's child. Tara means "star" in the Hindu language. This is Tara's most dynamic mani-festation, often artistically rendered as a fluttering liveliness. She is portrayed similar to White Tara with the exception being that her left hand holds a half-closed lotus or water lily flower with long petals often colored blue. Her green body color signifies her association with the Buddha-clan of Amoghasiddhi, the Transcendent Buddha of the north. He trans-mutes the poison of envy and turns it to the positive energy of all-accomplishing wisdom. Like him, Green Tara is a semi-terrific manifestation propitiated in order to overcome obstacles, to save oneself from dangers, and to deal with evil in general. In Tibet she is associated with Bhrkuti, the Nepalese queen of Tibet's first great religious king, Songtsen Gambo (d. 649), and credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and China. In the Lamaeist Tradition, Green Tara is incarnate in all good women. Disclaimer: All articles and images retain the original copyrights of their original owners. |
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| TARA...Tara's name means One Who Saves. Her compassion for living beings and her desire to save them from suffering is said to be stronger than a mother's love for her children. Tara is the Bodhisattva who repre-sents the miraculous activity of all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. Avalokiteshvara, the Lord of |
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| Last Update: 11/30/04 |