Sanskrit/Pali Terms

Question 1

anatman/anatta

Answer 1

no-self or no soul, there is no permanent underlying substance (self or soul) in human beings. This makes it radically different from every other religion in India

Question 2

anitya/anicca

Answer 2

impermanence, all conditioned things are in a constant state of flux

Question 3

arhant/arhat

Answer 3

someone who has seen the true reality of life, not necessarily Boddhisatva, people far advanced along the path of enlightenment but who may not have reached full Buddhahood; won’t be reborn, someone who is completely enlightened with a teacher (whereas Buddha is fully enlightened without a teacher)

Question 4

bhiksu/bhikku

Answer 4

monk; ordained men

Question 5

bhiksuni/bhikkuni

Answer 5

nun; ordained women

Question 6

bodhisattva/bodhisatta: (Multiple meanings)

Answer 6

someone who has achieved enlightenment but isn’t a Buddha, anyone who is motivated by great compassion to attain buddhahood. A person who is able to reach nibbana but delays doing so in order to help others reach nibbana; previous Buddhas. A person who will become a Buddha. Maitreya is a bodhisattva

Question 7

cakravartin/cakkavattin

Answer 7

“wheel turning” monarch

Question 8

Citta

Answer 8

the mind, mental processes

Question 9

Dana

Answer 9

gift, alms, donation to the sangha- voluntarily giving materials, energy, wisdom (dharma) - reinterpret away from material things; give up selfish interest

Question 10

dharma/dhamma

Answer 10

teachings of the Buddha while also being a moral duty or code, the law of nature

Question 11

dharmaraja/dhammaraja

Answer 11

“Dharma king”

Question 12

duhkha/dukkha

Answer 12

suffering

Question 13

Dukkha-Dukkha

Answer 13

ordinary suffering - death, illness, aging, unhappiness

Question 14

Viparinama-dukkha

Answer 14

dukkha produced by change - seasonal change, sadness in transition; metaphor of parenting

Question 15

Samkhara-dukkha

Answer 15

“conditioned states” - causation

Question 16

kalpa/kappa

Answer 16

the age a specific Buddha- it’s a very long time. Time between the creation and the reincarnation of the entire universe

Question 17

Karma/kamma

Answer 17

Everything you do has a result → morally charged: good, bad, neutral. conditioned suffering that leads to your eventual death and rebirth

Question 18

Mudra

Answer 18

hand gestures that hold significance

Question 19

nirvana/nibbana:

Answer 19

the final stage of samsara where one reaches enlightenment

Question 20

Pancasila- 5 precepts

Answer 20

Abstain from killing
Abstain from taking what is not given
Abstain from sexual misconduct
Abstain from false speech
Abstain from alcohol/intoxicants

Question 21

Prabhamandala

Answer 21

“aura of radiant light, signifying transcendent state of fully enlightened people”

Question 22

Mandala

Answer 22

Sacred geography often a map of universe/ symbolic picture of a universe

Question 23

pratityasamutpada/paticcasamuppada

Answer 23

“dependent origination”; all things affect everything else; all dharmas are dependent upon other dharmas. Three successive lives schema (past life, present life, future life; this may be too limited according to Buddhadasa) - chain of being → “conditioned genesis” “Cycle of causation”

- Buddhadasa says this could happen in an instant/ many times in life time
- different Buddhist thinkers have had different interpretations of it

Question 24

Samsara

Answer 24

cycle of birth, life of suffering, death, and rebirth (continuous)

Question 25

Saranam

Answer 25

refuge/shelter. Soteriological act (doctrine related to concepts of salvation or ultimate liberation)

Question 26

Sangha

Answer 26

“community.” Used to only refer to ordained men and women. Line blurred eventually because definition of ordained men and women changed over time

Question 27

skandhas/khandhas

Answer 27

“heap” or “aggregate.” The Buddha taught that an individual is a combination of five aggregates of existence, called the Five Skandhas. These are Form (our physical form), Feelings/Sensation, Perception (thoughts), Mental Formations (habits, prejudices, willfulness, faith, desire, etc.), and Consciousness (awareness of or sensitivity to an object)

Question 28

sramana/samana

Answer 28

seeker, one who performs acts of austerity/ascetic

Question 29

sutra/sutta

Answer 29

scripture that describes the teachings of the Buddha and his disciples

Question 30

Stupa

Answer 30

site of a Buddha relic where Buddhists can worship and encounter dharma

Question 31

Upaya

Answer 31

(“expedient means”) guidance to seek enlightenment. It is proper and allowed to teach the Dharma in any way in order to have it understood, even if incomplete understandings are used. Any activity used in order to help others realize enlightenment.

Question 32

Vihara

Answer 32

“secluded place in which to walk”- dwellings or refuges for monks during rainy season