Buddhist terms and concepts

Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. In this list, the terms are in languages most relevant to their traditions, that is: English for terms that are common to all traditions. Pali for Theravada, Sanskrit for mainstream Mahayana, Tibetan for Vajrayana and Japanese for Zen. A short translation and a link to a (hopefully) more in-depth article is given, as well as the relevant tradition(s).

• acarya - "teacher" (Pali)
• ajahn - "teacher" in the Thai language derived from the (Pali) word acarya. In the Theravada tradition it is generally a title given to a Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni who has been fully ordained for ten rain retreats (10 years).
• alayavijnana - See Store Consciousness.
• anagarika - A white-robed student in the Theravada tradition, who for a few months, awaits being considered for Samanera ordination
• anapanasatti - Mindfulness of the breath meditation
• anicca/anitya - Impermanence (Pali/Sanskrit)
• anatta/anatman - No-self or Non-self (Pali/Sanskrit)
• arahant/arhat - A living person that has reached the Enlightenment (Pali/Sanskrit)
• bhikkhu/bhikshu - A Buddhist monk
• bhikkhuni/bhikshuni - A Buddhist nun
• bodhi - Awakening or Enlightenment
• bodhi tree - The type of tree under which Gautama reached Enlightenment
• bodhisattva - A person with a measure of enlightenment who dedicates his or her life for the liberation of other sentient beings from suffering.
• Buddha - The Awakened being who has taught the Dharma
• dependent origination - See pratitya-samutpada
• dukkha//duhkha - Suffering, unsatisfactoriness, stress
• dharma(dhamma) - Truth, nature of reality
• gassho - a gesture of respect; palms placed together (Japanese)
• kinhin - Zen walking meditation
• koan/gongan - Lit. "Public case." A meditative method developed in the Chan/Seon/Zen traditions, generally consisting of a problem that defies solution by means of rational thought
• kyosaku - stick used to strike zazen practitioners in order to improve concentration (Japanese)
• Jhana/Dhyana] - A state of meditative contemplation. See also: shamata, samadhi, samapatti.(Pali/Sanskrit)
• Lama - A Tibetan teacher, monk or master
• moksha - Liberation or freedom from dukkha
• middle way - The practice of avoidance of extreme views
• nirvana(nibbana) - Unbinding; the deathless liberation from the rounds of rebirth and death
• oryoki - Zen eating ceremony (Japanese)
• paramita - Lit. "reaching the other shore," usually rendered in English as "perfection." The Mahayana practices for obtaining enlightenment
• paranibbana/parinirvana - Final liberation (Pali/Sanskrit)
• pratitya-samutpada - "Dependent origination," "conditioned genesis," etc.
• Purisa - The practicing Buddhist community as a whole; Sangha and laity
• rebirth - The process of continuity of life after death
• Rinpoche - Tibetan teacher
• samanera/shramanera - A male novice monk, who, after a year or until the ripe age of twenty, will be considered for the higher Bhikkhu ordination.
• samatha/shamatha - Mental stabilization; tranquility meditation (Pali/Sanskrit)
• samsara - This world of suffering, seen as temporary and illusory
• sangha - The community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
• Sayadaw - Burmese meditation master
• satori - [J.] Awakening; understanding. A Japanese term for enlightenment
• sensei - [J.] Teacher; Zen teacher
• shunyata - Emptiness
• store consciousness - The base consciousness (alayavijnana) taught in Yogacara Buddhism
• tanha - Craving or desire
• Tathagata - The "Thus-Come One"; One of the Buddha's ten epithets
• tipitaka/tripitaka - The "Three Baskets"; canon containing the sacred texts for Buddhism (Pali)
• Tulku - A re-incarnated Tibetan teacher
• vinaya - The monastic rules of discipline for Buddhist monks & nuns. (Sanskrit, Pali)
• vipassana/vipashana - Insight meditation practiced in the Theravada tradition. In the tipitaka (Pali) it was stressed by the Buddha to be practiced in conjunction with Samatha.
• zazen - Zen meditation (Japanese)

External Links

• See the Digital Dictionary of Buddhism for a list of over 29,000 Buddhist terms, compiled by a professional scholar of Buddhist Studies (log in with the user ID "guest" on the search engine)