Buddhism Study Guide

(n.) “no-self”: the idea that there is no permanent, transcendent personhood or soul

(n.) in Theravada Buddhism, a person who has achieved enlightenment in imitation of the Buddha

(n.) the constant human tendency to grasp and hold onto objects, people, or circumstances and to expect (or futilely try to make) them be permanent

(n.) a Buddhist male renunciate, a monk, esp. in Theravada contexts

(n.) a Buddhist female renunciate, a nun, esp. in Theravada contexts

(n.) the tree under which Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment, thus becoming the Buddha

(n.) in Mahayana traditions, a being who has achieved enlightenment but remained in the world to teach and spread the Buddhist message

(n.) a vow undertaken in Mahayana Buddhism, to seek full enlightenment but then not enter into nirvana until every sentient being in the world has been saved from samsara

(n.) a being who has ‘woken up’ to the reality of the world, and become enlightened

(n.) title of the ‘historical Buddha,’ Siddhartha Gautama

(n.) title of the most prominent of Tibetan tulkus, head of the Gelukpa monastic order and de facto head of the Tibetan political system

(n.) suffering or dissatisfaction, identified by Buddhists as the result of attachment

• (n.) the set of religious practices articulated in the Buddha’s first post-enlightenment sermon:
• Right Understanding, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Attitude, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration

(n.) the achievement of properly understanding the nature of the world

(n.) distilled formulation of the fundamental insights attributed to the Buddha about suffering and how to bring about its cessation

(n.) stories about the Buddha in his lives prior to the life in which he attained enlightenment

(n.) a Tibetan title for a teacher

• (adj./n.) the branch of Buddhism that spread to Tibet, China, Korea, Japan; recognizes the
• possibility of lots of Buddhas in lots of universes; asks its adherents to take the
• ‘bodhisattva vow’

(n.) the cultivation of insight, awareness, and mental stillness, primarily undertaken by Buddhist monks and nuns

(n.) the positive karma acquired by performing virtuous deeds that benefit other people or the Dharma; can be held for oneself or transferred to another

(n.) the escape from samsara: the absolute extinction of suffering and its causes

(n.) a language, derived from Sanskrit, used in Theravada Buddhism

(n.) the oldest of the Buddhist canons of literature; includes the Pali vinaya and a broad variety of teachings attributed directly to the Buddha or his direct followers

(n.) a physical remnant of the body of the Buddha or of a prominent Buddhist; most famously, the tooth of the Buddha, venerated in the Sri Lankan city of Kandy

(n.) the community of Buddhist monks and nuns

(n.) “sage of the Shakya clan”: a common title used for the Buddha

(n.) the name of the Buddha while he was still a prince, prior to his renunciation

(n.) a text attributed to the Buddha (though many seem to have been written far later)

(n.) a large semi-spherical mound covering a Buddhist relic (or related sacred object, such as a statue or text), worshipped by walking around the base clockwise

(n.) a Tibetan Buddhist text understood to have been hidden in the ground and then ‘discovered’ at the time when it is needed; a revealed ‘new’ scripture

• (adj.) the “way of the elders”: the form of Buddhism practiced in Southeast Asia; ritual life focused around the historical Buddha; monks/nuns aspire to become arhats rather
• than bodhisattvas

(n.) the three great “assets” of Buddhism: The Buddha, The Dharma, the Sangha

(n.) a Tibetan teacher who purposefully reincarnates in order to continue his teaching life after life

(n.) the ‘code of discipline’: the comprehensive list of rules for Buddhist monks and nuns