# Glossary of Buddhism

Some Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. Below are given a number of important Buddhist terms, short definitions, and the languages in which they appear. In this list, an attempt has been made to organize terms by their original form and give translations and synonyms in other languages along with the definition.
Languages and traditions dealt with here:
* English (Eng.)
* Pāli: Theravada Buddhism
* Sanskrit (or Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit): primarily Mahayana Buddhism
* Bengali (Bgd): Buddhism in Bangladesh
* Sinhala (Sri): Buddhism in Sri Lanka
* Burmese (Bur): Buddhism in Myanmar
* Karen (Kar): Theravada Buddhism
* Khmer: Buddhism in Cambodia
* Mon (Mon): Theravada Buddhism
* Mongolian (Mn): Buddhism in Mongolia
* Shan (Shan): Theravada Buddhism
* Tibetan (Tib): Tibetan Buddhism
* Dzongkha ༼རྫོང་ཁ༽ (Dzo): Buddhism in Bhutan
* Thai: Buddhism in Thailand
* Lao: Buddhism in Laos
* CJKV languages
** Chinese (Cn): Chinese Buddhism
** Cantonese (Hk): Buddhism in Hong Kong
** Japanese (Jp): Buddhism in Japan
** Korean (Ko): Korean Buddhism
** Taiwanese Hokkien (Tw): Buddhism in Taiwan
** Vietnamese (Vi): Buddhism in Vietnam (Mahayana and Theravada)
* Javanese (Jv): Buddhism in Indonesia
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## A

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| abhidhamma A category of scriptures that attempts to use Buddhist teachings to create a systematic, abstract description of all worldly phenomena | abhi is "above" or "about", dhamma is "teaching" Pāli: abhidhamma Sanskrit: abhidharma | Bur: အဘိဓမ္မာ abhidhamma (IPA:) Khmer: អភិធម្ម âphĭthômm Tib: ཆོས་མངོན་པ chos mngon pa Mn: их ном, билиг ухаан; ikh nom, bilig ukhaan Thai: อภิธรรม a-pi-tam 阿毘達磨／阿毗昙 Cn: Āpídámó Jp: Abidatsuma Ko: 아비달마, Abidalma Vi: a-tì-đạt-ma, thắng pháp |
| Avataṃsakasūtra "Garland Scripture" | Sanskrit: Avataṃsakasūtra | 大方廣佛華嚴經 / 華嚴經 |
| Abhidhamma Pitaka The third basket of the Tripitaka canon, the reorganization of all doctrines in a systematic way | Pāli: Abhidhamma-piṭaka Sanskrit: Abhidharma-piṭaka | Bur: အဘိဓမ္မာပိဋကတ် Abidhamma Pitakat (IPA:) Khmer: អភិធម្មបិដក âphĭthômm bĕdâk Mon: အဘိဓဝ်ပိတကတ Thai: อภิธรรมปิฎก a-pi-tam-pi-dok 論藏, 論蔵 Cn: Lùnzàng Jp: Ronzō Ko: 논장, Nonjang Vi: Luận tạng, Tạng luận, tạng thứ ba trong ba tạng là kinh, luật và luận Mn: Илт ном, Ilt nom |
| Abhiniṣkramaṇasūtra | Sanskrit: Abhiniṣkramaṇasūtra | 佛本行集經 |
| acariya, lit. "teacher", One of the two teachers of a novice monk - the other one is called upādhyāya | Pāli: ācariya Sanskrit: ācārya | Bur: ဆရာ saya (IPA:) Shan: ဢႃႇၸရီႉယႃႉ atsariya Thai: อาจารย์ ajahn 阿闍梨 or 阿闍梨耶 Cn: āshélí or āshélíyē Jp: ajari or ajariya Ko: 아사리, asari or 아사리야 asariya Vi: a-xà-lê or a-xà-lê-da or giáo thọ sư |
| Adbhutadharmaparyāyasūtra | Sanskrit: Adbhutadharmaparyāyasūtra | 甚稀有經 or 未曾有經 Cn: Shen xiyou jing |
| Adhigamadharma Realized Dharma | | 證法 |
| adhitthana Determination, to pray, to wish | Pāli: Adhiṭṭhāna Sanskrit: अधिष्ठान | Bur: အဓိဋ္ဌာန် (IPA:) Thai: อธิษฐาน ah-tid-taan 決心 or 決意 Cn: Juéxīn, juéyì Jp: kesshin Ko: 결심, gyeolsim or 결의, gyeolui Vi: nguyện lực |
| Āgama The non-Mahayana divisions of the Sutra Pitaka | Sanskrit: Āgama | Pāli: Āgama (but usually called Nikāya) 阿含 Cn: Āhán Jp: Agon Ko: 아함, Aham Vi: A-hàm |
| Āgamadharma scriptural Dharma | Sanskrit: Āgamadharma | 教法 |
| ahimsa The devotion to non-violence and respect for all forms of life. Practicers of ahimsa are often vegetarians or vegans | Sanskrit: ahiṃsā Pāli: ahiṃsā | Thai: อหิงสา 'ah-hing-sa' 不害 Cn: bù hài Jp: fugai Ko: 불해, bulhae Vi: bất hại |
| Akshobhya | Sanskrit: Akṣobhya | Mn: ᠬᠥᠳᠡᠯᠦᠰᠢ ᠦᠭᠡᠢ᠂ ᠦᠯᠦ ᠬᠥᠳᠡᠯᠦᠭᠴᠢ; Үл Хөдлөгч, Хөдөлшгүй; 阿閦如來 Cn: Āchùrúlái Jp: Ashuku Nyorai Vi: A-súc Như Lai Ködelüsi ügei, Ülü hödelügci |
| akuśalakarmapatha unwholesome courses of action | Sanskrit: akuśalakarmapatha | |
| alayavijnana, see store consciousness | Sanskrit: ālayavijñāna | Tib: ཀུན་གཞི་རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ་ kun gzhi rnam par shes pa 阿賴耶識, 阿頼耶識 Cn: ālàiyēshí Jp: araya-shiki Ko: 아뢰야식, aroeyasik Vi: a-lại-da thức |
| Amitabha Lit. "The Buddha of Infinite Light". The main buddha of the Pure Land school, but is popular in other Mahayana sects as well. The image is of light as the form of wisdom, which has no form. Also interpreted as the Tathagata of Unhindered Light that Penetrates the Ten Quarters by Tan Luan, Shinran and others | Sanskrit: amitābha (lit. "limitless light") and amitāyus (lit. "limitless life") | 阿彌陀 or 阿彌陀佛, 阿弥陀 or 阿弥陀仏 Cn: Ēmítuó or Ēmítuó fó Jp: Amida or Amida-butsu Ko: 아미타, Amita or 아미타불, Amitabul Tw: O͘-mí-tô͘-hu̍t Vi: A-Di-Đà, A-Di-Đà Phật, or Phật A-Di-Đà Tib: འོད་དཔག་མེད། Mn: ᠠᠮᠢᠨᠳᠠᠸᠠ᠂ ᠴᠠᠭᠯᠠᠰᠢ ᠦᠭᠡᠢ ᠭᠡᠷᠡᠯᠲᠦ; Аминдаваа, Цаглашгүй гэрэлт; Amindava, Tsaglasi ügei gereltü |
| Amitābhasūtra | Sanskrit: Amitābhasūtra | 阿彌陀經 |
| Amoghasiddhi | Sanskrit: Amoghasiddhi | Tib: Dön yö drub pa Mn: ᠲᠡᠭᠦᠰ ᠨᠥᠭᠴᠢᠭᠰᠡᠨ᠂ ᠦᠢᠢᠯᠡ ᠪᠦᠲᠦᠭᠡ᠋᠌᠋᠋ᠺᠴᠢ; Төгс Нөгчигсөн, Үйл Бүтээгч; Tegüs nögcigsen, Üyile Bütügegci |
| anagārika A white-clothed student in the Theravada tradition who, for a few months, awaits being considered for sāmaṇera ordination. An anagārika takes the eight precepts, and in some cases, may choose to remain in this position for years to directly support the sangha. | Pāli: anāgarika | Thai: อนาคาริก a-na-ka-rik |
| anapanasati Mindfulness of the breath meditation | Pāli: ānāpānasati Sanskrit: ānāpānasmṛti Bur: အာနာပါန anapana (IPA:) | |
| anatta The principle denial of the soul in any phenomena. See also negative theology. | Pāli: anattā Sanskrit: anātman | Bur: အနတ္တ anatta (IPA:) Shan: ဢၼတ်ႉတႃႉ 無我 Cn: wúwǒ Jp: muga Ko: 무아, mua Tw: bû-ngó͘ Vi: vô ngã |
| anicca Impermanence | Pāli: anicca Sanskrit: anitya | Bur: အနိစ္စ aneissa (IPA:) Shan: ဢၼိၵ်ႈၸႃႉ Thai: อนิจจา anijja 無常 Cn: wúcháng Jp: mujō Ko: 무상, musang Tw: bû-siông Vi: vô thường |
| anitya Impermanence, synonym to anicca | | |
| anuttara Unsurpassing | Pāli: anuttara Sanskrit: anuttara | 阿耨多羅／阿耨多罗 (無上／无上) Cn: Ānòuduōluó ("wǔshàng") Jp: anokutara Ko: 아뇩다라, anyokdara Vi: A-nậu-đà-la (vô thượng) |
| anuttara samyak sambodhi, unsurpassable, complete, perfect enlightenment; unsurpassable, right, and full enlightenment | Pāli: Sanskrit: | Khmer: អនុត្តរសម្មាសម្ពោធិ ânŭttârôsâmméasâmpoŭthĭ Tib:, 阿耨多罗三藐三菩提 (or 無上正等正覺) Cn: ānòuduōluó sānmiǎosānpútí (or wúshàng zhèngděng zhèngjué) Jp: anokutara sanmyakusanbodai Ko: 아뇩다라삼먁삼보리, Anyokdara sammyak sambori Vi: A-nậu-đà-la tam-miệu tam-bồ-đề, Vô-thượng chánh-đẳng chánh-giác, Sáng-suốt giác-ngộ hoàn-toàn |
| arhat, lit. "the Worthy One", A living person who has reached Enlightenment | Pāli: arahat or arahant Sanskrit: arhat or arhant | Bur: ရဟန္တာ yahanda (IPA:) Shan: ရႁၢၼ်းတႃႇ rahanta Tib: དགྲ་ཅོམ་པ་, dgra com pa Mn: архад, arkhad Thai: อรหันต์ uh-ra-hann 阿羅漢 Cn: āluóhàn Jp: arakan Ko: 아라한, arahan Tw: a-lô-hàn Vi: a-la-hán |
| ārūpyarāga | Sanskrit: ārūpyarāga | 無色貪 |
| asura "nongods," | Sanskrit: asura | Thai: อสูร asula 阿修羅 Cn: āxiūluó Jp: ashuran Ko: 아수라, asura Tw: A-siu-lô Vi: A Tu La |
| atman literally "self", sometimes "soul" or "ego". In Buddhism, the predominant teaching is the negating doctrine of anatman, that there is no permanent, persisting atman, and that belief in atman is the prime consequence of ignorance, the foundation of samsara | Pāli: atta Sanskrit: ātman | Bur: အတ္တ atta (IPA:) 我 Cn: wǒ Jp: ga Ko: 아, a Tw: ngó͘ Vi: ngã |
| Avalokitesvara, lit. "One Who Hears the Suffering Cries of the World", The bodhisattva of compassion (see also Guan Yin) | Sanskrit: Avalokiteśvara Bur: လောကနတ် lawka nat (IPA:) | Tib: སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་ spyan ras gzigs Mn: Жанрайсиг, Janraisig 觀世音 or 觀音 Cn: Guānshì Yīn or Guān Yīn Jp: Kanzeon or Kannon Ko: 관세음, Gwanse-eum or 관음, Gwaneum Tw: Koan-sè-im or Koan-im Vi: "Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát", "Quán Thế Âm Bồ Tát' or "Quan Âm" |
| avidya "ignorance" or "delusion" | Sanskrit: avidyā pāli: "avijjā | Pāli: avijjā Bur: အဝိဇ္ဇာ aweizza (IPA:) Shan: ဢဝိၵ်ႉၸႃႇ awitsa ([ʔa wik˥ tsaː˨]) Thai: อวิชชา aa-wit-sha Tib: མ་རིག་པ་ ma rig-pa 無明 Cn: wúmíng Jp: mumyō Ko: 무명, mumyeong Tw: Bû-bêng Vi: vô minh |
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## B

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| bardo, lit. "intermediate state" or "in-between state", According to Tibetan tradition, the state of existence intermediate between two lives | Tib: བར་མ་དོའི་སྲིད་པ་ bar ma do'i srid pa | Sanskrit: antarābhava Mn: зуурд, zuurd 中有,中陰身 Cn: zhongyǒu Jp: chūu Ko: 중유 jungyu or 바르도 bareudo Vi: trung hữu, trung ấm thân, thân trung-ấm |
| bhavacakra/bhavacakka A circular symbolic representation of samsara, also known as Wheel of becoming | Pāli: bhavacakka Sanskrit: bhava-cakra | Bur: ဘဝစက် bawa set (IPA:) Mon: ဘဝစက် Shan: ၽဝႃႉၸၢၵ်ႈ Tib: སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལ Mn: Орчлонгийн хүрдэн, Orchlongiin khurden 有輪 Cn: yǒulún Jp: ariwa Ko: 유륜, yuryun Vi: hữu luân |
| bhante The polite particle used to refer to Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition. Bhante literally means "Venerable Sir." | Pāli | Bur: ဘန္တေ bhante (IPA:) |
| bhava Becoming, being, existing; the 10th link of Pratitya-samutpada | Pāli, Sanskrit: bhava | Bur: ဘဝ bawa (IPA:) Mon: ဘဝ Shan: ၽဝႃႉ Thai: ภาวะ pa-wah 有(十二因緣) Cn: yǒu Jp: u Ko: 유, yu Tw: iú Vi: hữu (thập nhị nhân duyên) |
| bhikkhu/bhikshu, lit. "beggar", A Buddhist monk | Pāli: bhikkhu Sanskrit: bhikṣu | Bur: ဘိက္ခု bheikkhu (IPA:) Shan: ၽိၵ်ႈၶူႇ ([pʰik˧ kʰu˨]) Tib: དགེ་སློང་ dge slong Mn: гэлэн, gelen Thai: ภิกขุ bhikku 比丘 Cn: bǐ qiū Jp: biku Ko: 비구, bigu or 스님 seunim, also 중, jung (pejorative) Tw: pí-khiu Vi: tì-kheo |
| bhikkhuni/bhikshuni A Buddhist nun | from bhikkhu Pāli: bhikkhuni Sanskrit: bhikṣuni | Bur: ဘိက္ခုနီ bheikkhuni (IPA:) Shan: ၽိၵ်ႈၶူႇၼီႇ Kar: ဘံကူနံ or ဖံဝါ "beegoonee" or "hpeewah" Tib: དགེ་སློང་མ་ sde slong ma Mn: гэлэнмаа, gelenmaa Thai: ภิกษุณี bhiksuni 比丘尼 Cn: bǐqiūní Jp: bikuni Ko: 비구니, biguni, 여승 (女僧), yeoseung Tw: pí-khiu-nî Vi: tỉ-khâu-ni, tỉ-khưu-ni or tì-kheo-ni, ni |
| bija, lit. "seed", A metaphor for the origin or cause of things, used in the teachings of the Yogacara school | Sanskrit: bīja | Bur: ဗီဇ biza (IPA:) 種子 Cn: zhŏngzi Jp: shūji Ko: 종자, jongja Vi: chủng tử, hạt giống, hột giống |
| bodhi Awakening or Enlightenment | Pāli, Sanskrit: bodhi | Bur: ဗောဓိ bawdhi (IPA:) Shan: ပေႃးထီႉ ([pɔ˦ tʰi˥]) Thai: โพธิ์ poe Tib: བྱང་ཆུབ byang chub Mn: бодь, bodi Tag: Budhi 菩提 Cn: pútí Jp: bodai Ko: 보리, bori Tw: phô͘-thê Vi: bồ-đề, giác, giác ngộ |
| Bodhisattvapiṭaka "The Bodhisattva Basket" | Sanskrit: Bodhisattvapiṭaka | 菩薩藏經 |
| Bodhi tree The Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) tree under which Gautama reached Enlightenment | from bodhi above | Bur: ဗောဓိညောင် bawdhi nyaung (IPA:) Shan: ၺွင်ႇပေႃးထီႉ 菩提樹 Cn: Pútíshù Jp: Bodaiju Ko: 보리수, Borisu Vi: Bồ-đề thụ, Bồ-đề thọ, cây Bồ-đề |
| Bodhicaryāvatāra "Introduction to the Practice of Enlightenment," written by Śāntideva (685-763) | Sanskrit: Bodhicaryāvatāra | 菩提行經 |
| bodhicitta The motivation of a bodhisattva | Pāli, Sanskrit: bodhicitta | Bur: ဗောဓိစိတ္တ bawdhi seitta (IPA:) Tib: བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་, byang chub kyi sems Mn: бодь сэтгэл, bodi setgel 菩提心 Cn: pútíxīn Jp: bodaishin Ko: 보리심, borisim Tw: phô͘-thê-sim Vi: bồ-đề tâm |
| bodhisattva One with the intention to become a Buddha in order to liberate all other sentient beings from suffering | Pāli: bodhisatta Sanskrit: bodhisattva | Bur: ဗောဓိသတ် bawdhi that (IPA:) Mon: တြုံ လၟောဝ် ကျာ် Thai: โพธิสัตว์ poe-ti-satt Tib: བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ, byang chub sems dpaʼ Mn: бодьсад(ва), bodisad(va) 菩薩 Cn: púsà Jp: bosatsu Ko: 보살, bosal Tw: Phô͘-sat Vi: bồ-tát |
| Boghda Holy, living Buddha, living Boddhisattva. The title of Jebtsundamba Khutuktu; also title used with the names of highest Buddhist masters, e.g. boghda Tsongkhapa, Panchen boghda | Shan: ၽၵ်ႈၵဝႃႇ ([pʰak˧ ka˩ waː˨]) Mn: богд, bogd | Tib: བོག་ད་ bogda |
| Buddha A Buddha; also, the Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama. | from √budh: to awaken Pāli, Sanskrit: buddha | Bur: ဗုဒ္ဓ bodha (IPA:) Shan: ပုၵ်ႉထႃႉ ([puk˥ tʰaː˥]) Tib: སངས་རྒྱས sangs rgyas Mn: бурхан, burhan 佛, 仏, 仏陀 Cn: fó Jp: butsu or hotoke or budda Ko: 불, Bul or 부처, Bucheo Vi: Phật or Bụt |
| buddha nature The uncreated and deathless Buddhic element or principle concealed within all sentient beings to achieve Awakening; the innate (latent) Buddha essence (esp. in the Tathagatagarbha sutras, Tendai/Tiantai, Nichiren thought) | Sanskrit: buddha-dhatu, buddha-svabhāva, "tathagata-dhatu", or tathagatagarbha. | 佛性, 仏性 Cn: fóxìng Jp: busshō Ko: 불성, bulseong Vi: Phật tính, Phật tánh, Cái tánh sáng-suốt giác-ngộ hoàn-toàn |
| Buddhism The religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Gautama Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in ancient India during the 6th or 5th century BCE | from √budh: to awaken Pāli: buddha-sāsana Sanskrit: buddha-sāsana | Bur: ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ boddha batha (IPA:) Shan: ပုၵ်ႉထႃႉၽႃႇသႃႇ Mon: ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ Tib: ནང་བསྟན། Mn: Бурханы Шашин, Burhanii Shashin 佛教, 仏教 Cn: Fójiào Jp: bukkyō Ko: 불교, bulgyo Vi: Phật-giáo |
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## C

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| cetana Volition | Pāli: cetana | Bur: စေတနာ sedana (IPA:) |
| Cetiya A reliquary holding holy objects of veneration | Pāli: cetiya Sanskrit: caitya | Bur: စေတီ zedi (IPA:) Khmer: Mon: စေတဳ setaow Shan: ၸေႇတီႇ tseti Sin: චෛත්‍යය chaithya Thai: เจดีย์ chetiya Tib: མཆོད་རྟེན༏ mchod rten (chorten) 塔 Zh: Ta Vi: Tháp Ko: Tap Jp: 卒塔婆 sotōba |
| chanda intention, interest, desire to act, aspiration | Pāli: chanda Sanskrit: chanda | Tib: འདུན་པ། |

## D

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| dakini A supernatural female with volatile temperament who serves as a muse for spiritual practice. Dakinis are often depicted naked to represent the truth | Sanskrit: ḍākinī | Tibetan: མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ་, Wylie: mkha' 'gro ma Mn: дагина, dagina 空行女, 荼枳尼天 Cn: kong xing mu Jp: Dakini-ten Ko: 다키니 dakini or 공행녀 gonghaengnyeo Vi: không hành nữ |
| Dalai Lama, lit. "the lama with wisdom like an ocean", secular and spiritual leader of Tibet as nominated by the Mongols | Mn: далай, dalai, lit. "ocean" Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་ taa-la'i bla-ma | 達賴喇嘛 Cn: Dálài Lǎma Jp: Darai Rama Ko: 달라이 라마 dalai nama Vi: Đạt Lai Lạt Ma or Đạt-lại Lạt-ma |
| dana Generosity or giving; in Buddhism, it also refers to the practice of cultivating generosity | Pāli, Sanskrit: dāna | Bur: ဒါန dana (IPA:) Mon: ဒါန or ဒါန် ([tàn]) Thai: ทาน taan 布施 Cn: bùshī Jp: fuse Ko: 보시 bosi Vi: bố thí Mn: өглөг |
| deva many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being | Pāli and Sanskrit: deva | Bur: ဒေဝ dewa (IPA:) Khmer: ទេព or preah (ព្រះ) Mn: тэнгэр tenger Mon: ဒေဝတဴ tewetao ([tèwətao]) Shan: တေႇဝႃႇ ([a˨ wɔ˨]) 天 Zh: tiān Ko: cheon Jp: ten Vi: thiên |
| dependent origination, see Pratityasamutpada | Pāli: paṭicca-samuppāda Sanskrit: pratītya-samutpāda | Bur: ပဋိစ္စသမုပ္ပါဒ် padeissa thamopad (IPA:) Tib: rten.cing.'brel.bar.'byung.ba Mn: шүтэн барилдлага shuten barildlaga 因縁, also 緣起, 縁起 Cn: yīnyuan, also yuánqǐ Jp: innen, also engi Ko: 인연 inyeon, also 연기 yeongi Vi: nhân duyên, duyên khởi |
| dhamma/dharma Often refers to the doctrines and teachings of the faith, but it may have broader uses. Also, it is an important technical term meaning something like "phenomenological constituent." This leads to the potential for confusion, puns, and double entendres, as the latter meaning often has negative connotations | from √dhṛ: to hold Pāli: dhamma Sanskrit: dharma | Bur: ဓမ္မ dhamma (IPA:) Mon: ဓဝ် ([thò]) Thai: ธรรมะ tharrma Tibetan: ཆོས་, Wylie: chos Mn: дээдийн ном, deediin nom 法 Cn: fă Jp: hō Ko: beop Vi: pháp |
| dhamma name/dharma name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name traditionally bestowed by a Buddhist monastic, given to newly ordained monks, nuns, and laity during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation ritual in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it may also be called a Sangha name). Dhamma names are usually considered aspirational, not descriptive. | from √dhṛ: to hold Pāli: dhamma Sanskrit: dharma | Bur: ဘွဲ့ (IPA:) Thai: ฉายา Mn: номын нэр, nomyn ner Zh: Traditional: 法名 or 法號 Simplified: 法名 or 法号 Pinyin: fǎmíng or fǎhào Ja: Kanji: 戒名 Rōmaji: kaimyō Ko: Hangeul: 법명 Hanja: 法名 RR: beopmyeong |
| dhammavinaya The dharma and vinaya (roughly "doctrine and discipline") considered together. This term essentially means the whole teachings of Buddhism as taught to monks | | Mn: суртгаал номхотгол, surtgaal nomkhotgol |
| dhammacakka/dharmacakra A symbolic representation of the dharma, also known as the Wheel of Dharma | Sanskrit: dharmacakra Pāli: dhammacakka | Bur: ဓမ္မစကြာ dhamma sekya (IPA:) Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ, Wylie: chos kyi ʼkhor lo Mn: номын хүрдэн, momiin khurden 法輪 Cn: Fǎlún Jp: hōrin Ko: beomnyun Vi: pháp luân |
| Dhammapada a versified Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha | Pāli: dhammapada Sanskrit: dharmapada | Bur: ဓမ္မပဒ dhammapada (IPA:) 法句經 Chinese: 法句经; pinyin: Fǎjù jīng Jp: hokkukyō (shin. 法句経) Ko: beopgugyeong Vi: kinh pháp cú |
| dhammapala/dharmapala A fearsome deity, known as protector of the Dharma | Sanskrit: dharmapāla Pāli: dhammapāla | Tib: ཆོས་སྐྱོང་ chos skyong Mn: догшид, dogshid; хангал, khangal 護法 Cn: hùfǎ Jp: gohō Ko: hobeop Vi: Hộ Pháp |
| Dhyana, see jhana | Pāli: jhāna Sanskrit: dhyāna | Bur: ဈာန် zan (IPA:) Mon: ဇျာန် ([chàn]) Mn: дияан, diyan 禪 or 禪那, 禅 or 禅那 Cn: Chán or Chánnà Jp: Zen or Zenna Ko: Seon Vi: Thiền or Thiền-na |
| Dīpankara Buddha | Pāli: Dīpamkara Sanskrit: Dīpankara | Bur: ဒီပင်္ကရာ dipankara (IPA:) Thai: พระทีปังกรพุทธเจ้า 燃燈佛 Cn: Rándēng Fo Jp: Nentōbutsu Vi: Nhiên-đăng Phật |
| doan In Zen, a term for person sounding the bell that marks the beginning and end of Zazen | Japanese: 堂行 dōan | |
| dokusan A private meeting between a Zen student and the master. It is an important element in Rinzai Zen training, as it provides an opportunity for the student to demonstrate understanding | Japanese: 独参 dokusan | 獨參 Cn: dúcān Ko: dokcham Vi: độc tham |
| dudie official certificate for monks and nuns issued by government | | 度牒 Cn: dùdié Jp: dochō Ko: 도첩, docheop Vi: ?? |
| dukkha Suffering, dissatisfaction, unsatisfactoriness, stress | Pāli: dukkha Sanskrit: duḥkha | Bur: ဒုက္ခ doukkha (IPA:) Shan: တုၵ်ႉၶႃႉ ([tuk˥ kʰaː˥]) Thai: ทุกข์ took Tib: སྡུག་བསྔལ་ sdug bsngal Mn: зовлон, zovlon 苦 Cn: kǔ Jp: ku Ko: go Vi: khổ |
| dveṣa aversion | Sanskrit: dveṣa | 瞋 |
| dzogchen The natural, intrinsic state of every sentient being | Tibetan: རྫོགས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ rdzogs pa chen po | Sanskrit: atiyoga 大究竟 Cn: dàjiūjìng Jp: daikukyō Ko: daegugyeong Vi: đại cứu cánh |
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## F

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| Five Five-Hundred-Year Periods Five sub-divisions of the three periods following the Buddha's passing (三時繫念 Cn: sānshí; Jp: sanji; Vi: tam thời), significant for many Mahayana adherents: Age of enlightenment (解脱堅固 Cn: jiětuō jiāngù; Jp: gedatsu kengo) Age of meditation (禅定堅固 Cn: chándìng jiāngù; Jp: zenjō kengo) These two ages comprise the Former Day of the Law (正法時期 Cn: zhèngfǎ; Jp: shōbō) Age of reading, reciting, and listening (読誦多聞堅固 Cn: sòngduōwén jiāngù; Jp: dokuju tamon kengo) Age of building temples and stupas (多造塔寺堅固 Cn: duōzào tǎsì jiāngù; Jp: tazō tōji kengo) These two ages comprise the Middle Day of the Law (像法時期 Cn: xiàngfǎ; Jp: zōhō) Age of conflict (闘諍堅固 Cn: zhēng jiāngù; Jp: tōjō kengo), an age characterized by unrest, strife, famine, and other natural and human-made disasters. This age corresponds to the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law (末法時期 Cn: mòfǎ; Jp: mappō) when the (historical) Buddha's teachings would lose all power of salvation and perish (白法隠没 Cn: báifǎméi; Jp: byakuhō onmotsu) and a new Buddha would appear to save the people. The three periods and the five five-hundred year periods are described in the Sutra of the Great Assembly (大集 Cn: dàjí; Jp: Daishutu-kyō, Daijuku-kyō, Daijikkyō, or Daishukkyō). | | 五箇五百歲, 五箇五百歳 Cn: 五箇五百歲 wǔ ge wǔbǎi suì Jp: 五箇の五百歳 go no gohyaku sai Vi: ?? |
| Four Noble Truths Truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, stress) (Sanskrit: duḥkhāryasatya; Bur: ဒုက္ခ dokkha; Thai: ทุกข์; 苦諦 Cn: kǔdì; Jp: kutai; Vi: khổ đế; Mn: зовлон, zovlon) Truth of the origin (samudaya) of dukkha (Sanskrit: samudayāryasatya; Bur: သမုဒယ thamodaya; Thai: สมุทัย; 集諦 Cn: jídì; Jp: jittai; Vi: tập khổ đế; Mn: зовлонгийн шалтгаан, zovlongiin shaltgaan) Truth of the cessation (nirodha) of dukkha (Sanskrit: duḥkhanirodhāryasatya; Bur: နိရောဓ niyawdha; Thai: นิโรธ; 滅諦 Cn: mièdì; Jp: mettai; Vi: diệt khổ đế; Mn: гэтлэх, getlekh) The path (marga) that leads out of dukkha (Sanskrit: duḥkhanirodhagāminī pratipad; Bur: မဂ် meg; Thai: มรรค; 道諦 Cn: dàodì; Jp: dōtai; Vi: đạo đế; Mn: мөр, mör) | | Pāli: cattāri ariya-saccāni Sanskrit: चत्वारि आर्यसत्यानि catvāry āryasatyāni Bur: သစ္စာလေးပါး thissa lei ba (IPA:) Khmr: អរិយសច្ចៈទាំង៤ 四諦, 四聖諦, 苦集滅道 Cn: Sìdì Jp: shitai, shishōtai, kujūmetsudō Vi: Tứ diệu đế Thai: อริยสัจ 4 Mn: Хутагтын дөрвөн үнэн, khutagtiin dörvön unen |
| fukudo In Zen, term for person who strikes the han | Japanese: 副堂 fukudō | |
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## G

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| gasshō A position used for greeting, with the palms together and fingers pointing upwards in prayer position; used in various Buddhist traditions, but also used in numerous cultures throughout Asia. It expresses greeting, request, thankfulness, reverence and prayer. Also considered a mudra or inkei of Japanese Shingon. See also: Añjali Mudrā, Namaste, Sampeah and Wai. Shaolin monks use half a gassho using only one arm to greet. In Japan, it is used not only during rituals concerning Buddhism but also as a gesture to appease the opposite party when making apologies or asking for permission or favors. In addition, there are cases where a person greets them during a greeting before and after a meal, which is a custom derived from Buddhism. In Shinto, they clap hands together as hands, but then lower their hands, bow and worship (in Shinto worship, they do not share hands). | Japanese: 合掌 gasshō | Sanskrit: anjali 合掌 Cn: hézhǎng (more common to say 合十 héshí) Vi: hiệp chưởng |
| Gautama Buddha | Pāli: Gotama Sanskrit: Gautama | Bur: ဂေါတမ (IPA:) 瞿曇 悉達多 Jp: Kudon Shiddatta |
| geshe A Tibetan Buddhist academic degree in the Gelug tradition, awarded at the conclusion of lengthy studies often lasting nine years or more | Tibetan: དགེ་ཤེས་ | Mn: гэвш gevsh 格西 |
| gongan, lit. "public case", A meditative method developed in the Chán/Seon/Zen traditions, generally consisting of a problem that defies solution by means of rational thought; see koan | Chinese 公案 gōng-àn | 公案 Jp: kōan Ko: gong'an Tw: kong-àn Vi: công án |
| Guan Yin The bodhisattva of compassion in East Asian Buddhism, with full name being Guan Shi Yin. Guan Yin is considered to be the female form of Avalokiteshvara but has been given many more distinctive characteristics. | Chinese 觀音 Guān Yīn or 觀世音 Guān Shì Yīn | 觀音 or 觀世音 Jp: Kannon or Kanzeon Ko: Gwaneum or Gwanse-eum Tw: Koan-im or Koan-sè-im Vi: Quan Âm or Quan Thế Âm |
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## H

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| han In Zen monasteries, wooden board that is struck announcing sunrise, sunset and the end of the day | Japanese: 板 | |
| Hinayana, lit. "small vehicle", A coinage by the Mahayana for the Buddhist doctrines concerned with the achievement of Nirvana as a Śrāvakabuddha or a Pratyekabuddha, as opposed to a Samyaksambuddha. While sometime thought as derogatory, it means in fact that the Hinayana doctrine is made to save but 1 individual, the one who follows its teachings, just like a 1 place vehicle, while the Mahayana allow the monk to take other people along with him, like a bus or a great plane. | Sanskrit: hīnayāna | Bur: ဟီနယာန hinayana (IPA:) 小乘 Cn: Xiǎoshèng Jp: 小乗 Shōjō Tw: sió-sēng Vi: Tiểu thừa Mn: Бага хөлгөн, Baga hölgön |
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## I

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| Ino, Jp. lit. "bringer of joy to the assembly." Originally from Sanskrit karmadana, lit. bestower of conduct [karma]. In Zen, the supervisor of the meditation hall [sodo]. One of the six senior temple administrators. | Japanese: 維那 | |
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## J

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| Jetavana | | 衹樹給孤獨園 |
| jhana Meditative contemplation; more often associated with śamatha practices than vipaśyana. See also: shamata, samadhi, samapatti | from √dhyā: to think of, to contemplate, meditate on Pāli: jhāna Sanskrit: dhyāna | Bur: ဈာန် zan (IPA:) Mon: ဇျာန် ([chàn]) Thai: ฌาน chaan Sinhala: ජාන jhāna 禪 or 禪那, 禅 or 禅那 Cn: Chán or Chánnà Jp: Zen or Zenna Ko: Seon Tw: Siân Vi: Thiền or Thiền-na Mn: дияан, diyan |
| jisha In Zen, a senior priest's attendant | Japanese: 侍者 jisha | |
| jukai Zen public ordination ceremony wherein a lay student receives certain Buddhist precepts. | Chinese: 受戒, shou jie Korean: 수계, sugye | |
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## K

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| Kakusandha Buddha | Pāli: Kakusandha Sanskrit: Krakkucchanda | Bur: ကကုသန် Kakuthan (IPA:) 拘留孙佛 Zh: Jūliúsūn Fó Vi: Câu-lưu-tôn Phật |
| karma, lit. "action", or more specifically, an action that is driven by intention (cetanā) which leads to future consequences (vipāka). In Buddhist thought, this is a deed done deliberately through body, speech or mind, which leads to residual effects in the present or future. It is a central belief within the Buddhist tradition and is synonymous with causality (cause and effect). | from √kri: to do Sanskrit: karma Pāli: kamma | Bur: ကံ kan (IPA:) or ကြမ္မာ kyamma (IPA:) Mon: ကံ ([kɔm]) Shan: ၵျၢမ်ႇမႃႇ ([kjaːm˨ maː˨]) or ၵၢမ်ႇ ([kaːm˨]) Thai: กรรม gum Tib: ལས, las Mn: үйлийн үр, uiliin ür 業¹, 因果² Cn: ¹yè, comm.: ²yīnguǒ Jp: gō, inga Ko: 업 eob Vi: nghiệp |
| Karmasiddhiprakaraṇa | Sanskrit: Karmasiddhiprakaraṇa | 大乘成業論 |
| Kassapa Buddha | Pāli: Kassapa Sanskrit: Kasyapa | Bur: ကဿပ Kathapa (IPA:) 迦葉佛 Cn: Jiāyè Fó Jp: Kashōbutsu Vi: Ca-diếp Phật |
| kensho In Zen, enlightenment; has the same meaning as satōri, but is customary used for an initial awakening experience | Japanese: 見性 kenshō | 見性 Cn: jiànxìng Tw: kiàn-sèng Vi: kiến tính, kiến tánh |
| khyenpo, also khenpo, An academic degree similar to a doctorate in theology, philosophy, and psychology | Tibetan | |
| khanti patience | Pali: khanti | Bur: ခန္တီ khanti (IPA:) Shan: ၶၼ်ႇထီႇ ([kʰan˨ tʰi˨]) Thai: ขันติ kanti 忍 Cn: rěn, 忍辱 rěnrù, 孱提 chántí Tw: jím Vi: nhẫn (trong lục ba-la-mật) |
| kinhin Zen walking meditation | Japanese: 経行 kinhin or kyōgyō | 經行 Cn: jīngxíng Vi: kinh hành |
| koan A story, question, problem or statement generally inaccessible to rational understanding, yet may be accessible to Intuition | Japanese: 公案 kōan | 公案 Cn: gōng-àn Ko: gong'an Vi: công án |
| kṣaṇa instant | Sanskrit: kṣaṇa | 剎那 Cn: 刹那 chànà Jp: 刹那 setsuna Ko: 찰나 challa Tw: 剎那 chhat-ná Vi: sát na |
| kṣaṇasaṃpad opportune birth, born at a time when either a Buddha is living and teaching on earth or when a Buddha's teaching is available | Sanskrit: kṣaṇasaṃpad | |
| ksanti The practice of exercising patience toward behaviour or situations that might not necessarily deserve it—it is seen as a conscious choice to actively give patience as a gift, rather than being in a state of oppression in which one feels obligated to act in such a way. | Sanskrit: kṣānti | 忍, 忍辱 Cn: rěn, 忍辱 rěnrù, 孱提 chántí Jp: 忍辱 ninniku Tw: jím Vi: nhẫn (trong lục ba-la-mật) |
| Kṣitigarbha "Earth Store," one of the eight great Bodhisattvas. | Sanskrit: Kṣitigarbha | 地藏菩薩 |
| Kṣitigarbhasūtra "The Scripture on Kṣitigarbha" | Sanskrit: Kṣitigarbhasūtra | 地藏菩薩本願經 |
| kleśa afflictions | Sanskrit: kleśa | 煩惱 |
| Koṇāgamana Buddha | Pāli and Sanskrit: Koṇāgamana | Bur: ကောဏာဂုံ Kawnagon (IPA:) 拘那含佛 Zh: Jūnàhán Fó Vi: Câu-na-hàm-mâu-ni Phật |
| Kumbhāṇḍa | Sanskrit: Kumbhāṇḍa Pāli: Kumbhaṇḍa | Thai: กุมภัณฑ์ gum-pan Tib: གྲུལ་བུམ་ (grul bum) 鳩槃荼 or 鳩盤拏 Ko: 구반다 gubanda Zh: Jiū pán tú Jp: kubanda Vi: Cưu bàn trà |
| kuśalakarmapatha wholesome courses of action | Sanskrit: kuśalakarmapatha | |
| kuśalamūla roots of virtue, wholesome faculties; | Sanskrit: kuśalamūla | 善根 |
| kyosaku In Zen, a flattened stick used to strike the shoulders during zazen, to help overcome fatigue or reach satori | Japanese: 警策 kyōsaku, called keisaku in Rinzai | 香板 Cn: xiangban kr: jukbi(죽비) |
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## L

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| lakṣaṇa characteristics, marks | Sanskrit: lakṣaṇa | 相 |
| Lam rim chen mo "Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path" written by Guru Tsongkhapa in 1402 | | 菩提道次廣論 |
| Lalitavistara | Tibetan: Rgya cher rol pa | 方廣大莊嚴經 / 普曜經 |
| lama A Tibetan teacher or master; equivalent to Sanskrit "guru" | Tibetan: བླ་མ་ bla ma | Sanskrit: guru 喇嘛 Cn: lǎma Jp: rama Vi: lạt-ma Mn: лам, lam |
| lineage The official record of the historical descent of dharma teachings from one teacher to another; by extension, may refer to a tradition | | 傳承 |
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## M

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| Mahābodhi Temple - "Temple of the Great Awakening", the great stūpa at Bodhgayā where Shakyamuni Buddha attain enlightenment. | | 大菩提寺 |
| Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophical school, founded by Nagarjuna. Members of this school are called Madhyamikas | Sanskrit: mādhyamika | Tib: དབུ་མ་པ་ dbu ma pa Mn: төв үзэл, töv üzel 中觀宗, 中観派 Cn: Zhōngguānzōng Jp: Chūganha Vi: Trung quán tông |
| mahabhuta four great elements in traditional Buddhist thought | Pāli and Sanskrit: Mahābhūta | Bur: မဟာဘုတ် Mahabhot (IPA:) 四大 |
| mahamudra A method of direct introduction the understanding of sunyata, of samsara and that the two are inseparable | Sanskrit: mahāmudrā | Bur: မဟာမုဒြာ maha modra (IPA:) Tib: ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ་ chag-je chen-po Mn: махамудра, mahamudra 大手印 Cn: dàshŏuyìn Jp: daishuin Vi: đại thủ ấn |
| Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra "Sutra on the Great Perfection of Wisdom" | Sanskrit: Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra | 大般若波羅蜜多經 |
| mahasiddha litt. great spiritual accomplishment. A yogi in Tantric Buddhism, often associated with the highest levels of enlightenment | Sanskrit: mahāsiddha | Bur: မဟာသိဒ္ဒ maha theidda (IPA:) Thai: มหายาน 大成就 Cn: dàchéngjiù Jp: daijōju Vi: đại thành tựu |
| Mahāvadānasūtra | Sanskrit: Mahāvadānasūtra | 大本經 |
| Mahayana, lit. "great vehicle", A major branch of Buddhism practiced in China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Main goal is to achieve buddhahood or samyaksambuddha | Sanskrit: mahāyāna | Bur: မဟာယာန mahayana (IPA:) 大乘 or 大乗 Cn: Dàshèng Jp: Daijō Vi: Đại thừa Mn: Ikh khölgön |
| Maitreya The Buddha of the future epoch | Pāli: Metteyya Sanskrit: Maitreya | Bur: အရိမေတ္တေယျ arimetteya (IPA:) Shan: ဢရီႉမိတ်ႈတေႇယႃႉ ([ʔa˩ ri˥ mit˧ ta˨ jɔ˥]) Tib: བྱམས་པ, byams pa Mn: Майдар, maidar 彌勒 or 彌勒佛, 弥勒 or 弥勒仏 Cn: Mílè or Mílè Fó Jp: Miroku or Miroku-butsu Vi: Di-lặc or Phật Di-lặc |
| makyo In Zen, unpleasant or distracting thoughts or illusions that occur during zazen | Japanese: 魔境 makyō | Vi: ma chướng |
| Māna conceit, arrogance, misconception | Pāli and Sanskrit: Māna | Bur: မာန mana (IPA:) Mon: မာန် man ([màn]) Shan: မႃႇၼႃႉ ([maː˨ naː˥]) 慢 Jp: man |
| manas-vijñāna seventh of the eight counsciousnesses | Sanskrit: manas-vijñāna | 末那識 Cn: Mònàshí |
| mandala a spiritual and ritual symbol representing the Universe | Sanskrit: मण्डल Maṇḍala (lit. "circle") | 曼荼羅 Cn: màntúluó Jp: mandara Vi: mạn-đà-la |
| maṅgala auspiciousness | Sanskrit: maṅgala | 吉祥 |
| mantra Chant used primarily to aid concentration, to reach enlightenment. The best-known Buddhist mantra is possibly Om mani padme hum | Sanskrit: mantra | Thai: มนตร์ moan Mn: маань, тарни; maani, tarni 咒, 真言 Cn: zou Jp: shingon, ju Vi: chân âm, thần chú |
| Mappo The "degenerate" Latter Day of the Law. A time period supposed to begin 2,000 years after Sakyamuni Buddha's passing and last for "10,000 years"; follows the two 1,000-year periods of Former Day of the Law (正法 Cn: zhèngfǎ; Jp: shōbō) and of Middle Day of the Law (像法 Cn: xiàngfǎ; Jp: zōhō). During this degenerate age, chaos will prevail and the people will be unable to attain enlightenment through the word of Sakyamuni Buddha. See the Three periods | Japanese: 末法 mappō | 末法 Cn: mòfǎ Vi: mạt pháp |
| merit | Pāli: puñña Sanskrit: puṇya | Bur: ကုသိုလ် kutho (IPA:) Mon: ကုသဵု or ပိုန် ([pɒn]) Shan: ပုင်ႇၺႃႇ or ၵူႉသူဝ်ႇ ([ku˥ sʰo˨]) or ၵူႉသလႃႉ ([ku˥ sʰa˩ laː˥]) 功徳 Jp: kudoku |
| mettā loving kindness | Pāli: Sanskrit: | Bur: မေတ္တာ myitta (IPA:) Mon: မေတ္တာ ([mètta]) Shan: မိတ်ႈတႃႇ ([mit˧ taː˨]) or မႅတ်ႈတႃႇ ([mɛt˧ taː˨]) Thai: เมตตา metta 慈 Ch: Cí Jp: ji Vi: từ |
| Middle Way The practice of avoidance of extreme views and lifestyle choices | Pāli: majjhimāpaṭipadā Sanskrit: madhyamāpratipad | Bur: မဇ္ဇိမပဋိပဒါ myizima badi bada (IPA:) 中道 Ch: zhōngdào Jp: chūdō Vi: trung đạo Mn: дундаж зам мөр, dundaj zam mör |
| (right) mindfulness The practice whereby a person is intentionally aware of his or her thoughts and actions in the present moment, non-judgmentally. The 7th step of the Noble Eightfold Path | | Pāli: (sammā)-sati Sanskrit: (samyag)-smṛti Bur: သတိ thadi (IPA:) Thai: สัมมาสติ samma-sati 正念 Cn: zhèngniàn Jp: shōnen Vi: chính niệm, chánh niệm |
| moksha Liberation | Sanskrit: mokṣa | Pāli: vimutti Bur: ဝိမုတ္တိ wimouti (IPA:) 解脱 Cn: jiětuō Jp: gedatsu Vi: giải thoát |
| mokugyo A wooden drum carved from one piece, usually in the form of a fish | Japanese: 木魚 mokugyo | 木魚 Cn: mùyú Vi: mõ |
| mondo In Zen, a short dialogue between teacher and student | Japanese: 問答　mondō | 問答 Cn: wèndǎ Vi: |
| mudra lit. "seal", A gesture made with hands and fingers in meditation | Sanskrit: mudrā | Bur: မုဒြာ modra (IPA:) Tib: ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ phyag rgya Mn: чагжаа, chagjaa 手印 Cn: sohyìn (commonly only yìn) Jp: shuin Vi: ấn |
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## N

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| namo An exclamation showing reverence; devotion. Often placed in front of the name of an object of veneration, e.g., a Buddha's name or a sutra (Nam(u) Myōhō Renge Kyō), to express devotion to it. Defined in Sino-Japanese as 帰命 kimyō: to base one's life upon, to devote (or submit) one's life to Derivatives: Namo Amitabha | Pāli: namo Sanskrit: namaḥ or namas Derivatives: Sanskrit: namo-'mitābhāya | Bur: နမော namaw (IPA:) Tib: ཕྱག་འཚལ་(ལོ), chag tsal (lo) Mn: мөргөмү, mörgömü 南無 Cn: nánmó Jp: namu or nam Ko: namu Vi: nam-mô Derivatives: 南無阿弥陀佛 Cn: Nánmó Ēmítuó fó Jp: Namu Amida butsu Ko: Namu Amita Bul Vi: Nam-mô A-di-đà Phật 南無觀世音菩薩 Cn: Nánmó Guán Syr Yín Pū Sá Jp: Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu Ko: Namu Gwan Se Eum Bo Sal Vi: Nam-mô Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát |
| Naraka realm of hell | Pāli: niraya Sanskrit: nāraka | 地獄 Cn: Dìyù |
| nekkhamma renunciation | Pāli: Sanskrit: | Bur: နိက္ခမ neikhama (IPA:) Thai: เนกขัมมะ nekkamma Mn: магад гарахуй, magad garahui 出世 Cn: Chūshì Jp: shusse Vi: xuất thế |
| Nirvana/Nibbana Extinction or extinguishing; ultimate enlightenment in the Buddhist tradition | from niḥ-√vā: to extinguish Pāli: nibbāna Sanskrit: nirvana | Bur: နိဗ္ဗာန် neibban (IPA:) Thai: นิพพาน nípphaan Tib: མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ, mya-ngan-las-'das-pa Mn: нирван, nirvan 涅槃 Cn: Nièpán Jp: Nehan Ko: Yeolban Vi: Niết-bàn |
| Nikaya, lit. "volume", The Buddhist texts in Pāli | Pāli: nikāya | Sanskrit: Āgama Bur: နိကာယ nikaya (IPA:) 部經 Cn: Bùjīng Jp: bukyō Vi: Bộ kinh |
| Noble Eightfold Path Right View (Pāli: sammā-diṭṭhi; Sanskrit: samyag-dṛṣṭi; 正見 Cn: zhèngjiàn; Vi: chính kiến) Right Thought (Pāli: sammā-saṅkappa; Sanskrit: samyak-saṃkalpa; 正思唯 Cn: zhèngsīwéi; Vi: chính tư duy) These 2 constitute the path of Wisdom (Pāli: paññā; Sanskrit: prajñā) Right Speech (Pāli: sammā-vācā; Sanskrit: samyag-vāk; 正語 Cn: zhèngyǔ; Vi: chính ngữ) Right Action (Pāli: sammā-kammanta; Sanskrit: samyak-karmānta; 正業 Cn: zhèngyè; Vi: chính nghiệp) Right Living (Pāli: sammā-ājīva; Sanskrit: samyag-ājīva; 正命 Cn: zhèngmìng; Vi: chính mệnh) These 3 constitute the path of Virtue (Pāli: sīla; Sanskrit: śīla) Right Effort (Pāli: sammā-vāyāma; Sanskrit: samyag-vyāyāma; 正精進 Cn: zhèngjīngjìn; Vi: chính tinh tiến) Right Mindfulness (Pāli: sammā-sati; Sanskrit: samyag-smṛti; 正念 Cn: zhèngniàn; Vi: chính niệm) Right Concentration (Pāli: sammā-samādhi; Sanskrit: samyak-samādhi; 正定 Cn: zhèngdìng; Vi: chính định) The last 3 constitute the path of Concentration (Pāli, Sanskrit: samādhi) | Pāli: aṭṭhāṅgika-magga Sanskrit: aṣṭāṅgika-mārga | Bur: မဂ္ဂင် meggin (IPA:) Thai: อริยมรรค ariya-mak 八正道 Cn: Bāzhèngdào Jp: Hasshōdō Ko: Paljeongdo Vi: Bát chính đạo |
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## O

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| oryoki A set of bowls used in a Zen eating ceremony | Japanese: 応量器 ōryōki | |
| osho A term used to address a monk of the Zen Buddhist tradition. Originally reserved for high-ranking monks, it has since been appropriated for everyday use when addressing any male member of the Zen clergy | Japanese: 和尚 oshō | |
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## P

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| pabbajja, (a layperson) leaving home to join a community of monks and nuns (lit. "to go forth") | Sanskrit: pravrajya Pali: Pabbajja | 出家 Cn: chūjiā Jp: shukke Vi: xuất gia |
| panca skandha The five constituent elements into which an individual is analyzed. They are: "form": Pāli, Sanskrit: rūpa; Bu: ရူပ yupa; 色 Cn: sè; Jp: shiki "sensation": Pāli, Sanskrit: vedanā; Bu: ဝေဒန wedana; 受 Cn: shòu; Jp: ju "cognition": Pāli: saññā; Sanskrit: saṃjñā; Bu: သညာ thinnya; 想 Cn: xiàng; Jp: sō "mental formations": Pāli: saṅkhāra; Sanskrit: saṃskāra; Bu: သင်္ခါရ thinkhaya; 行 Cn: xíng; Jp: gyō "consciousness": Pāli: viññāṇa; Sanskrit: vijñāna; Bu: ဝိညာဉ် winyin; 識 Cn: shí; Jp: shiki | Sanskrit: pañca skandha Pāli: pañca khandha | Bur: ခန္ဒာငါးပါး khanda nga ba (IPA:) Shan: ႁႃႈ ၶၼ်ႇထႃႇ ([haː˧ kʰan˨ tʰaː˨]) 五蘊, 五陰, 五薀 Cn: wǔyùn Jp: go-on, sometimes go-un Vi: ngũ uẩn |
| Panchen Lama The second highest ranking lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. after the Dalai Lama | Tibetan: པན་ཆེན་བླ་མ་ pan-chen bla-ma | Sanskrit: paṇḍitaguru Mn: Банчин Богд, Banchin Bogd 班禪喇嘛 Cn: Bānchán Lǎma Jp: ?? Vi: Ban-thiền Lạt-ma |
| paññā, see prajna | Sanskrit: | Bur: ပညာ pyinnya (IPA:) Mon: ပညာ Shan: ပိင်ႇၺႃႇ Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་ shes rab Mn: билиг, bilig 智慧 or 知恵 or 般若 Cn: Zhìhuì, zhīhuì, bōrě Jp: chie,hannya Vi: bát-nhã |
| paramartha Absolute, as opposed to merely conventional, truth or reality; see also samvrti | Sanskrit: paramārtha | Bur: ပရမတ် paramat (IPA:) Thai: ปรมัตถ์ paramutt 真諦 Jp: shintai |
| paramita, lit. "reaching the other shore," usually rendered in English as "perfection." The Mahayana practices for obtaining enlightenment; giving, ethics, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom | Pāli: pāramī Sanskrit: pāramitā | Bur: ပါရမီ parami (IPA:) Mon: ပါရမဳ Thai: บารมี baramee Mn: барамид, baramid 波羅蜜 or 波羅蜜多 Cn: bōluómì or bōluómìduō Jp: haramitsu or haramita Vi: ba-la-mật or ba-la-mật-đa |
| parinibbana/parinirvana The final nibbana/nirvana | from nibbana/nirvana above Pāli: parinibbāna Sanskrit: parinirvāṇa | Bur: ပရိနိဗ္ဗာန် pareineibban (IPA:) Thai: ปรินิพพาน pari-nippaan 般涅槃 Cn: bōnièpán Jp: hatsunehan Vi: bát-niết-bàn |
| Perfection of Wisdom | from pāramitā ("perfection") above and prajñā/paññā ("wisdom") below Sanskrit: prajñāpāramitā Pāli: paññāparami | Bur: ပညာပါရမီ pyinnya parami (IPA:) Mon: ပညာပါရမဳ Mn: билиг барамид, bilig baramid 般若波羅蜜 or 般若波羅蜜多 Cn: bōrě-bōluómì or bōrě-bōluómìduō Jp: hannya-haramitsu or hannya-haramita Vi: bát-nhã-ba-la-mật or bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa |
| Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch Sermon of the sixth patriarch of Zen Buddhism | | 六祖壇經 |
| Pointing-out instruction The direct introduction to the nature of mind in the lineages of Essence Mahamudra and Dzogchen. A root guru is the master who gives the 'pointing-out instruction' so that the disciple recognizes the nature of mind | Tibetan: ངོ་སྤྲོད་ ngo-sprod | |
| prajna/paññā "wisdom", "insight" | Pāli: paññā Sanskrit: prajñā | Bur: ပညာ pyinnya (IPA:) Thai: ปัญญา pun-ya Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་ shes rab Mn: хөтлөх, khötlökh 般若 Cn: bōrě or bānruò Jp: hannya Vi: bát-nhã |
| pratisaraṇa "reliance" | Sanskrit: pratisaraṇa | 依 |
| pratitya-samutpada "Dependent origination," the view that no phenomenon exists (or comes about) without depending on other phenomena or conditions contingent with it. In English also called "conditioned genesis," "dependent co-arising," "interdependent arising," etc. A famous application of dependent origination is the Twelve Nidana, or 12 inter-dependences (Sanskrit: dvādaśāṅgapratītyasamutpāda; 十二因緣, 十二因縁 Cn: shíàr yīnyuán; Jp: jūni innen; Vi: thập nhị nhân duyên), which are: Ignorance (Pāli: avijjā; Sanskrit: avidyā; 無明 Cn: wúmíng; Jp: mumyō; Vi: vô minh; Mn: мунхрахуй, munhrahui) Ignorance creates Mental Formation (Pāli: saṅkhāra; Sanskrit: saṃskāra; 行 Cn: xíng; Jp: gyō; Vi: hành; Mn: хуран үйлдэхүй, khuran uildehui) Mental Formation creates Consciousness (Pāli: viññāṇa; Sanskrit: vijñāna; 識 Cn: shí; Jp: shiki; Vi: thức; Mn: тийн мэдэхүй, tiin medehui) Consciousness creates Name & Form (Pāli, Sanskrit: nāmarūpa; 名色 Cn: míngsè; Jp: myōshiki; Vi: danh sắc; Mn: нэр өнгө, ner öngö) Name & Form create Sense Gates (Pāli: saḷāyatana; Sanskrit: ṣaḍāyatana; 六入 or 六処 Cn: liùrù; Jp: rokunyū or rokusho; Vi: lục nhập; Mn: төрөн түгэхүй, törön tugehui) Sense Gates create Contact (Pāli: phassa; Sanskrit: sparśa; 觸, 触 Cn: chù; Jp: soku; Vi: xúc; Mn: хүрэлцэхүй, khureltsehui) Contact creates Feeling (Pāli, Sanskrit: vedanā; 受 Cn: shòu; Jp: ju; Vi: thụ; Mn: сэрэхүй, serehui) Feeling creates Craving (Pāli: taṇhā; Sanskrit: tṛṣṇā; 愛 Cn: ài; Jp: ai; Vi: ái; Mn: хурьцахуй, khuritsahui) Craving creates Clinging (Pāli, Sanskrit: upādāna; 取 Cn: qǔ; Jp: shu; Vi: thủ; Mn: авахуй, avahui) Clinging creates Becoming (Pāli, Sanskrit: bhava; 有 Cn: yǒu; Jp: u; Vi: hữu; Mn: сансар, sansar) Becoming creates Birth (Pāli, Sanskrit: jāti; 生 Cn: shēng; Jp: shō; Vi: sinh; Mn: төрөхүй, töröhui ) Birth leads to Aging & Death (Pāli, Sanskrit: jarāmaraṇa; 老死 Cn: láosǐ; Jp: rōshi; Vi: lão tử; Mn: өтлөх үхэхүй, ötlöh uhehui) | Pāli: paṭicca-samuppāda Sanskrit: pratitya-samutpāda | Bur: ပဋိစ္စသမုပ္ပါဒ် padeissa thamopad (IPA:) Tib: རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་ rten cing `brel bar `byung ba Mn: шүтэн барилдлага, shuten barildlaga 緣起 (thought to be an abbreviation for 因緣生起), 縁起 Cn: yuánqǐ Jp: engi Tw: iân-khí Vi: duyên khởi Also called 因緣, 因縁 Cn: yīnyuán Jp: innen Vi: nhân duyên |
| Pratyekabuddha/Paccekabuddha, lit. "a buddha by his own", A buddha who reaches enlightenment on his own | Pāli: paccekabuddha Sanskrit: pratyekabuddha | Bur: ပစ္စေကဗုဒ္ဓါ pyiseka boddha (IPA:) 辟支佛 Cn: Bìzhī Fó Jp: Hyakushibutsu Tw: phek-chi-hu̍t Vi: Bích-chi Phật |
| Pure Land Buddhism A large branch of Mahayana, dominantly in East Asia. The goal of Pure Land Buddhism is to be reborn in the Western sukhavati of Amitabha, either as a real place or within the mind, through the other-power of repeating the Buddha's name, nianfo or nembutsu. | | 净土宗(Ch), 浄土教(Jp) Cn: Jìngtǔ-zōng Jp: Jōdo-kyo Ko: Jeongtojong Tw: Chēng-thó͘-chong Vi: Tịnh độ tông |
| Puruṣa Man (ep. representative of the male gender); human being | Pāli: purisa Sanskrit: puruṣa | Tib: skyes pa 人 Ch: rén Jp: hito |
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## R

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| rebirth The process of continuity of life after death | Pāli: punabbhava Sanskrit: punarbhava | 輪廻 Cn: lunhui Jp: rinne Vi: luân hồi |
| Ratnasambhava | Sanskrit: Ratnasambhava | Tib: རིན་ཆེན་འབྱུང་གནས Rinchen Jung ne Mn: ᠡᠷᠳᠡᠨᠢ ᠭᠠᠷᠬᠣ ᠢᠢᠨ ᠣᠷᠣᠨ᠂ ᠲᠡᠭᠦᠰ ᠡᠷᠳᠡᠨᠢ; Эрдэнэ гарахын орон, Төгс Эрдэнэ; Erdeni garkhu yin oron, Tegüs Erdeni 寶生佛, 宝生如来 Jp: Hōshō Nyorai Vi: Bảo-sanh Như Lai |
| refuge Usually in the form of "take refuge in the Three Jewels" | Pāli: saraṇa Sanskrit: śaraṇa | Bur: သရဏဂုံ tharanagon (IPA:) Mn: аврал, avral Tib: skyabs Thai: สรณะ sorana 歸依 Cn: guīyī Jp: kie Tw: kui-i Vi: quy y |
| Rigpa, the knowledge that ensues from recognizing one's nature | Tibetan: རིག་པ (rig pa) | Sanskrit: विद्या (vidyā) |
| Rinpoche, lit. "precious one", An honorific title for a respected Tibetan lama, such as a tulku | Tibetan: རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, rin-po-che | Mn: римбүчий, rimbuchii 仁波切 Cn: rénbōqiè Jp: リンポチェ rinpoche Vi: ?? |
| Rinzai Zen sect emphasizing koan study; named for master Linji Yixuan | Japanese: 臨済宗 Rinzai-shū | 臨濟宗 Cn: Línjì-zōng Vi: Lâm Tế tông |
| Rohatsu A day traditionally honored as the day of the Buddha's enlightenment. While deep in meditation under a bodhi tree, he attained enlightenment upon seeing the morning star just at dawn; celebrated on the 8th day either of December or of the 12th month of the lunar calendar | Japanese: 臘八 Rōhatsu or Rohachi | |
| roshi, lit. "Master", An honorific given to Zen teachers in the Rinzai and Obaku sects. | Japanese 老師 Rōshi | 禅師 Cn: chan shī (lit., old master) |
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## S

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| sacca truthfulness | Sanskrit: Satya | Burmese: သစ္စာ thissa (IPA:) Khmer: សច្ចា UNGEGN: sâchcha ALA-LC: saccā IPA: Mon: သစ္စ Shan: သဵတ်ႈၸႃႇ Thai: สัจจะ sadja 真 Cn: zhēn Jp: shin Vi: |
| Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra Lotus Sutra | Sanskrit: Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra | 妙法蓮華經 / 法華經 Cn: miàofǎ liánhuá jīng or fǎhuá jīng Jp: 妙法蓮華経 myōhō renge kyō or 法華経 hokekyō Tw: Biāu-hoat Liân-hôa Keng or Hoat-hôa-keng |
| ṣaḍgati "six destinies" | Sanskrit: ṣaḍgati | 六趣 |
| samanera/shramanera A male novice monk, who, after a year or until the ripe age of 20, will be considered for the higher Bhikkhu ordination | Sanskrit: śrāmaṇera | Burmese: (ရှင်)သာမဏေ (shin) thamane (IPA:) Khmer: សាមណេរ UNGEGN: Samônér ALA-LC: Sāmaṇer IPA: Mon: သာမ္မဏဳ ([samənɔe]) Shan: သႃႇမၼေႇ ([sʰaː˨ mne˨]) Thai: สามเณร sama-naen 沙彌 Cn: shāmí Jp: shami Tw: sa-bi Vi: sa-di, chú tiểu |
| samatha Mental stabilization; tranquility meditation. Distinguished from vipassanā meditation | Pāli: samatha Sanskrit: śamatha | Bur: သမထ thamahta (IPA:) Thai: สมถะ samatha 止 Cn: zhǐ or 舍摩他 shěmótā Jp: サマタ samata or シャマタ shamata Vi: ?? |
| samsara The cycle of birth and rebirth; the world as commonly experienced | Pāli, Sanskrit: saṃsāra | Bur: သံသရာ thanthaya (IPA:) Thai: สังสารวัฏ sung-sara-wat Tib: འཁོར་བ khor ba Bur: သံသရာ Mn: орчлон, orchlon 輪迴, 輪廻 Cn: lúnhúi Jp: rinne Tw: lûn-hôe Vi: luân hồi |
| samu Work, conceived as a part of Zen training. | Japanese: 作務 samu | 作務 Cn: zuòwù Vi: ?? |
| samvrti Conventional, as opposed to absolute, truth or reality; see also paramartha | Sanskrit: saṃvriti | Bur: သမ္မုတိ thamudi (IPA:) Thai: สมมุติ sommoot 俗諦 Jp: zokutai |
| sangha The community of Buddhist monks and nuns. Teachers and practitioners. | Sanskrit: saṅgha | Bur: သံဃာ thangha (IPA:) Mon: သဳလ Khmer: សង្ឃ UNGEGN: sângkh ALA-LC: sanggh IPA: Shan: သၢင်ႇၶႃႇ Thai: สงฆ์ song Tib: ཚོགས་ཀ་མཆོག tsog gyu chog Mn: хуврагийн чуулган, khuvragiin chuulgan 僧團 Cn: sēng tuan Jp: sō, sōryō Vi: tăng già |
| Sanlun Buddhist philosophical school based on the Madhyamaka school | Chinese: 三論 sānlùn | 三論宗 Cn: Sānlùnzōng Jp: Sanron-shū Vi: Tam luận tông |
| sanzen A formal interview with a teacher in many traditions of Zen. Similar to dokusan | Japanese | |
| satori Awakening; understanding. A Japanese term for enlightenment | Japanese: 悟り satori | 悟 Cn: wú Vi: ngộ |
| sayadaw Burmese meditation master | Bur: ဆရာတော် sayadaw (IPA:) | |
| seichu In the Zen Buddhist calendar, a period of intensive, formal monastic training. It is typically characterized by week-long Daisesshins and periodic sanzen | Japanese: 制中 seichu | |
| sesshin A Zen retreat where practitioners meditate, eat and work together for several days | Japanese: 接心, 摂心 | 佛七 Cn: fóqī 坐臘/坐腊 Cn: zuòlà |
| shikantaza Soto Zen. "Only concentrated on sitting" is the main practice of the Soto school of Japanese Zen Buddhism | Japanese: 只管打座 | 默照 Cn: mòzhào |
| shunyata Emptiness; see also Nagarjuna | Pāli: suññatā Sanskrit: śūnyatā | Bur: သုည (IPA:) Shan: သုင်ႇၺႃႉ ([sʰuŋ˨ ɲaː˥]) Tib: stong pa nyid Mn: хоосон чанар, khooson chanar 空 Cn: kōng Jp: kū Tw: khong Vi: tính Không |
| Sikhī Buddha Buddha of Knowledge | Pāli: Sikhī Buddha Sanskrit: Śikhīn Buddha | Jp: Shiki Butsu |
| sila "morals", "morality", "ethics": precepts | Pāli: sīla Sanskrit: śīla | Bur: သီလ thila (IPA:) Khmer: សីល UNGEGN: seil ALA-LC: sīl IPA: Mon: သဳ Shan: သီႇလႃႉ Thai: ศีล seen 尸羅, 戒 Cn: jiè Jp: kai Tw: kài Vi: giới Mn: шагшаабад, shagshaabad |
| Sōtō Sect of Zen emphasizing shikantaza as the primary mode of practice; see also Dōgen | Japanese: 曹洞宗 Sōtō-shū | 曹洞宗 Cn: Cáodòng-zōng Vi: Tào Động tông |
| store consciousness The base consciousness (alayavijnana) taught in Yogacara Buddhism | Pāli, Sanskrit: ālayavijñāna | 阿頼耶識 Cn: āyēshí Jp: arayashiki Vi: a-lại-da thức |
| Śrāvastī | Sanskrit: śrāvastī | 舍衛國 |
| sukha happiness; ease; pleasure; bliss | Pāli: sukha Sanskrit: sukha | Bur: သုခ Khmer: សុខ UNGEGN: sŏkh ALA-LC: sukh IPA: Mon: ?? Mn: ?? 樂 Cn: 乐 lè Jp: 楽 raku Tw: 樂 lo̍k Vi: ?? |
| sutra Scripture; originally referred to short aphoristic sayings and collections thereof | from √siv: to sew Sanskrit: sutra Pāli: sutta | Bur: သုတ် thoht (IPA:) Khmer: សូត្រ UNGEGN: sotr ALA-LC: sūtr IPA: Mon: သုတ် ([sɔt]) Mon: သုၵ်ႈ ([sʰuk˧]) Thai: สูตร soothe Mn: судар, sudar 經, 経 Cn: jīng Jp: kyō Tw: keng Vi: kinh |
| Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra | Sanskrit: Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra | 首楞嚴三昧經 |
| Sutra Pitaka The second basket of the Tripiṭaka canon, the collection of all Buddha's teachings | Pāli: Sutta-piṭaka Sanskrit: Sūtra-piṭaka | Bur: သုတ် thoht (IPA:) Mon: သုတ် ([sɔt]) Mon: သုၵ်ႈ ([sʰuk˧]) Mn: Судрын аймаг Sudriin aimag 經藏, 経蔵 Cn: jīngcáng Jp: kyōzō Vi: Kinh tạng |
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## T

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| tangaryō A period of waiting for admission into a Zen monastery at the gate, lasting anywhere from one day to several weeks—depending on the quality of one's sitting. Refers to the room traveling monks stay in when visiting, or await admittance into the sōdō. | Japanese: 旦過寮 | |
| tanha Craving or desire | Pāli: taṇhā Sanskrit: tṛṣṇā | Bur: တဏှာ tahna (IPA:) Khmer: តណ្ហា UNGEGN: tânha ALA-LC: taṇhā IPA: Thai: ตัณหา tunha Mn: хурьцахуй, khuritsahui 愛 Cn: ài Jp: ai Kr: 애 ae Tw: ài Vi: ái |
| Tanto In Zen, one of the main temple leaders, lit."head of the tan." In a Zen temple, the Tanto is one of two officers (with the Godo) in charge monks' training. | Japanese:単頭 | |
| tantra Esoteric religious practices, including yoga, mantra, etc. See also Vajrayana. | Sanskrit: tantra | Mn: тарнийн ёс, дандар, tarniin yos, dandar Cn: 续部 xùbù, 密续 mìxù, 怛特罗 dátèluó Jp: タントラ tantora Vi: đát-đặc-la |
| Tathagata one of the Buddha's ten epithets | Sanskrit: tathāgata; The "Thus-Gone One" | Bur: တထာဂတ tahtagata (IPA:) Khmer: តថាគត UNGEGN: tâthakôt ALA-LC: tathāgat IPA: Thai: ตถาคต tatha-kohd Mn: түүнчлэн ирсэн, tuunchlen irsen 如来 Cn: rúlái Jp: nyorai Tw: Jû-lâi Vi: như lai |
| tathagatagarbha Buddha-nature or the seed of enlightenment | Sanskrit: tathāgatagarbha | 佛性, 仏性 Cn: fóxìng Jp: busshō Also 覚性 Cn: juéxìng Jp: kakushō Vi: giác tính Also 如来藏, 如来蔵 Cn: rúláizàng Jp: nyuoraizō Vi: như lai tạng |
| teisho A presentation by a Zen master during a sesshin. Rather than an explanation or exposition in the traditional sense, it is intended as a demonstration of Zen realisation | Japanese: 提唱 teishō | |
| tenzo In Zen, the head cook for a sesshin. In Zen temples, the officer in charge of the kitchen | Japanese: 典座 tenzo | 典座 Cn: diǎnzuò Vi: điển toạ |
| Tevijja Sutta Discourse of the Three-fold Knowledge | Sanskrit: Tevijjasutta | 三明經 |
| Theravada, lit. "words of the elders", Most popular form of Buddhism in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. | Pāli: theravāda Sanskrit: sthaviravāda | Bur: ထေရဝါဒ hterawada (IPA: or) Khmer: ថេរវាទ UNGEGN: thérôvéat ALA-LC: theravād IPA: Thai: เถรวาท tera-waad 上座部 Cn: shàngzuòbù Jp: jōzabu Vi: Thượng toạ bộ |
| thera or their, lit. "elder", Honorific applied to senior monks and nuns in the Theravada tradition. | Pāli: thera | Bur: ထေရ htera (IPA:) |
| Three Jewels Three things that Buddhists take refuge in: the Buddha, his teachings (Dharma) and the community of realized practitioners (Sangha), and in return look toward for guidance (see also Refuge (Buddhism)) | Pāli: tiratana Sanskrit: triratna | Bur: သရဏဂုံသုံးပါး tharanagon thon ba (IPA:) OR ရတနာသုံးပါး yadana thon ba Khmer: ត្រៃរតនៈ UNGEGN: trairôtâneă ALA-LC: trairatană IPA: Thai: ไตรรัตน์ trai-rut Tib: དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ, dkon mchog gsum Mn: чухаг дээд гурав chuhag deed gurav 三寶 Cn: sānbăo Jp: sanbō Vi: tam bảo |
| Three periods Three divisions of the time following the historical Buddha's passing: the Former (or Early) Day of the Law (正法 Cn: zhèngfǎ; Jp: shōbō), the first thousand years; the Middle Day of the Law (像法 Cn: xiàngfǎ; Jp: zōhō), the second thousand years; and the Latter Day of the Law (末法 Cn: mòfǎ; Jp: mappō), which is to last for 10,000 years. The three periods are significant to Mahayana adherents, particularly those who hold the Lotus Sutra in high regard; e.g., Tiantai (Tendai) and Nichiren Buddhists, who believe that different Buddhist teachings are valid (i.e., able to lead practitioners to enlightenment) in each period due to the different capacity to accept a teaching (機根 Cn: jīgēn; Jp: kikon) of the people born in each respective period. The three periods are further divided into five five-hundred year periods (五五百歳 Cn: wǔ wǔbǎi suì; Jp: go no gohyaku sai), the fifth and last of which was prophesied to be when the Buddhism of Sakyamuni would lose all power of salvation and a new Buddha would appear to save the people. This time period would be characterized by unrest, strife, famine, and other, natural disasters. The three periods and the five five-hundred year periods are described in the Sutra of the Great Assembly (大集経 Cn: dàjí jīng; Jp: Daishutu-kyō, Daijuku-kyō, Daijikkyō, or Daishukkyō). Descriptions of the three periods also appear in other sutras, some of which ascribe different lengths of time to them (although all agree that Mappō will last for 10,000 years). | | 三時 Cn: Sānshí Jp: Sanji Vi: Tam thời |
| Three Poisons or Three Fires The three primary causes of unskillful action that lead to the creation of "negative" karma; the three root kleshas: Attachment (Pāli: lobha; Sanskrit: rāga; Tib.: འདོད་ཆགས་ 'dod chags) Aversion (Pali: doha; Sanskrit: dveṣa; Tib.: ཞེ་སྡང་ zhe sdang; Mn: урин хилэн, urin khilen; 瞋 Cn: chēn; Jp: jin; Vi: sân) Ignorance (Pāli: moha; Sanskrit: moha; Tib.: གཏི་མུག་ gti mug) | Pāli: kilesa (Defilements) Sanskrit: kleśa | Sanskrit: triviṣa Tib: düsum (Wylie: dug gsum) Bur: မီးသုံးပါး mi thon ba (IPA:) Mn: гурван хор, gurvan khor 三毒 Cn: Sāndú Jp: Sandoku Vi: Tam độc |
| Tiantai/Tendai A Mahayana school of China that teaches the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra | Chinese: 天台 tiāntái | 天台宗 Cn: tiāntái zōng Jp: tendai-shū Vi: Thiên Thai tông |
| trailõkya The 3 "regions" of the world: Kamaloka or Kamadhatu: world of desires (Sanskrit, Pāli: kāmaloka, kāmadhātu; Tibetan: འདོད་ཁམས་ `dod khams; Mn: амармагийн орон, amarmagiin oron; 欲界 Cn: yùjiè, Jp: yokkai Vi: dục giới) Rupaloka or Rupadhatu: world of form (Sanskrit: rūpaloka, rūpadhātu; Tibetan: གཟུགས་ཁམས་ gzugs khams; Mn: дүрстийн орон, durstiin oron; 色界 Cn: sèjiè; Jp: shikikai , Vi: sắc giới) Arupaloka or Arupadhatu: world without form or desire (Sanskrit: arūpaloka, arūpadhātu; Tibetan: གཟུགས་མེད་ཁམས་ gzugs med khams; Mn: дүрсгүйн орон, dursquin oron; 無色界 Cn: wú sèjiè, Jp: mushikikai Vi: vô sắc giới) | Sanskrit: triloka | Pāli: tisso dhātuyo Tibetan: ཁམས་གསུམ་ khams gsum Mn: гурван орон, gurvan oron 三界 Cn: sānjiè Jp: sangai Tw: Sam-kài Vi: tam giới |
| trikaya The 3 "bodies" of Buddha: Dharma-kaya (Sanskrit: dharmakāya; 法身 Cn: fǎshēn; Jp: hosshin; Vi: pháp thân) Sambhoga-kaya (Sanskrit: saṃbhogakāya; 報身 Cn: bàoshēn; Jp: hōshin; Vi: báo thân) Nirmana-kaya (Sanskrit: nirmāṇakāya; 應身,化身,応身 Cn: yìngshēn; Jp: ōjin; Vi: ứng thân) | Sanskrit: trikāya | 三身 Cn: sānshēn Jp: sanjin Vi: tam thân |
| Triṃśikā | Sanskrit: Triṃśikā | 唯識三十論頌 |
| Tripitaka The "Three Baskets"; canon containing the sacred texts for Buddhism (Pāli) Vinaya Pitaka (Pāli, Sanskrit: Vinaya-piṭaka; Tib: འདུལ་བའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ `dul ba`i sde snod; Mn: винайн аймаг сав vinain aimag sav; 律藏, 律蔵 Cn: lǜzàng; Jp: Ritsuzō; Vi: Luật tạng) Sutra Pitaka (Pāli: Sutta-piṭaka; Sanskrit: Sūtra-piṭaka; Tib: མདོ་སྡེའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ mdo sde`i sde snod; Mn: судрын аймаг сав sudriin aimag sav; 經藏, 経蔵 Cn: jīngzàng; Jp: Kyōzō; Vi: Kinh tạng) Abhidhamma Pitaka (Pāli: Abhidhamma-piṭaka; Sanskrit: Abhidharma-piṭaka; Tib: མངོན་པའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ mngon pa`i sde snod; Mn: авидармын аймаг сав avidarmiin aimag sav; 論藏, 論蔵 Cn: lùnzàng; Jp: Ronzō; Vi: Luận tạng) | Pāli: tipiṭaka Sanskrit: tripiṭaka | Burmese: တိပိဋက Tipitaka (IPA:) Thai: ไตรปิฎก Traipidok སྡེ་སྣོད་་གསུམ, sde snod gsum Mn: гурван аймаг сав, gurvan aimag sav 三藏, 三蔵 Cn: Sānzàng Jp: Sanzō Ko: Samjang Vi: Tam tạng |
| Triratna/Tiratana, see Three Jewels above | Pāli: tiratana Sanskrit: triratna | Tib: དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ, dkon mchog gsum Mn: гурван эрдэнэ, gurvan erdene |
| triviṣa three poisons | Sanskrit: triviṣa | 三毒 |
| trsna, see tanha above | | |
| tulku A re-incarnated Tibetan teacher | Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་ tulku | Mn: хувилгаан, khuvilgaan 再來人 (轉世再來的藏系師長) Cn: Zài lái rén Jp: keshin Vi: hoá thân |
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## U

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| Udānavarga "Groups of Utterances" | Sanskrit: Udānavarga | 出㬬經 |
| upadana Clinging; the 9th link of Pratitya-Samutpada; the Ninth Twelve Nidanas | Pāli, Sanskrit: upādāna | Bur: ဥပါဒါန် upadan (IPA:) Khmer: ឧបទាន UNGEGN: ŭbâtéan ALA-LC: upadān IPA: Shan: ဢူႉပႃႇတၢၼ်ႇ ([ʔu˥ paː˨ taːn˨]) Thai: อุปาทาน u-pa-taan Tib: ལེན་པ, len pa Mn: авахуй, avahui 取(十二因緣第九支) Cn: qǔ Jp: shu Vi: thủ |
| Upajjhaya spiritual teacher | Pāli: Upajjhaya Sanskrit: upādhyāy | Bur: ဥပဇ္ဇာယ်ဆရာ Upyizesaya (IPA:) |
| upasaka A lay follower of Buddhism | Sanskrit: upāsaka | Bur: ဥပါသကာ upathaka (IPA:) Khmer: ឧបាសក UNGEGN: ŭbasâk ALA-LC: upāsak IPA: Mon: ဥပါသကာ Thai: อุบาสก u-ba-sok 近事男, 優婆塞 Cn: jìnshìnán Jp: ubasoku Vi: cư sĩ |
| upasika A female lay follower | from upasaka above Sanskrit: upāsika | Bur: ဥပါသိကာ upathika (IPA:) Khmer: ឧបាសិកា UNGEGN: ŭbasĕka ALA-LC: upāsikā IPA: Thai: อุบาสิกา u-ba-sika 近事女, 優婆夷 Cn: jìnshìnǚ Jp: ubai Vi: (nữ) cư sĩ |
| upaya Expedient though not necessarily ultimately true. Originally used as a polemical device against other schools - calling them "merely" expedient, lacking in ultimate truth, later used against one's own school to prevent students form forming attachments to doctrines In Mahayana, exemplified by the Lotus Sutra, upaya are the useful means that Buddhas (and Buddhist teachers) use to free beings into enlightenment | Sanskrit: upāya | Bur: ဥပါယ် upe (IPA:) Khmer: ឧបាយ UNGEGN: ŭbay ALA-LC: upāy IPA: Tib: ཐབས, thabs Mn: арга, arga 方便 Cn: fāngbiàn Jp: hōben Vi: phương tiện |
| upekkha equanimity | Pāli: upekkhā Sanskrit: upekṣā | Bur: ဥပက္ခာ upyikkha (IPA:) Khmer: ឧបេក្ខា UNGEGN: ŭbékkha ALA-LC: upekkhā IPA: Thai: อุเบกขา u-bek-kha Tib: བཏང་སྙོམས་, btang snyoms Mn: тэгшид барихуй, tegshid barihui 镇定，沉着, 捨 Cn: Zhèndìng, chénzhuó Jp: sha |
| urna A concave circular dot on the forehead between the eyebrows | Sanskrit: urna | Mn: билгийн мэлмий, bilgiin melmii 白毫 Jp: byakugō Vi: bạch hào |
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## V

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| Vajrayana, The third major branch, alongside Hinayana and Mahayana, according to Tibetan Buddhism's view of itself | Sanskrit: vajrayāna, lit. "diamond vehicle" | Bur: ဝဇိရယာန wazeirayana (IPA:) Thai: วชิรญาณ wachira-yaan Mn: Очирт хөлгөн, ochirt khölgön 金剛乘 Cn: Jīngāng shèng Jp: Kongō jō Vi: Kim cương thừa |
| Vairocana | Sanskrit: वैरोचन | Tib: རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད། rNam-par-snang mdzad Mn: ᠪᠢᠷᠦᠵᠠᠨ᠎ ᠠ᠂ ᠮᠠᠰᠢᠳᠠ ᠭᠡᠢᠢᠭᠦᠯᠦᠨ ᠵᠣᠬᠢᠶᠠᠭᠴᠢ᠂ ᠭᠡᠭᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠭᠡᠷᠡᠯᠲᠦ; Бярузана, Машид Гийгүүлэн Зохиогч, Гэгээн Гэрэлт; Biruzana, Masida Geyigülün Zohiyaghci, Gegegen Gereltü 毗盧遮那佛, 大日如來 Cn: Pílúzhēnàfó Jp: Dainichi Nyorai, Birushana-butsu Vi: Đại Nhật Như Lai |
| Vāsanā habitual tendencies or dispositions | Pāli and Sanskrit: Vāsanā | Bur: ဝါသနာ wathana (IPA:) Khmer: វាសនា UNGEGN: véasânéa ALA-LC: vāsanā IPA: 習気 Jp: jikke |
| Vinaya Pitaka, The first basket of the Tripitaka canon, which deals with the rules of monastic life | Pāli, Sanskrit: vinaya-piṭaka, lit. "discipline basket" | Bur: ဝိနည်းပိဋကတ် wini pitakat (IPA:) Khmer: វិន័យបិដក UNGEGN: vĭnoăy bĕdâk ALA-LC: vinăy piṭak IPA: Mon: ဝိနဲ Shan: ဝီႉၼႄး Thai: วินัย wi-nai Tib: འདུལ་བའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ dul-bai sde-snod Mn: Винайн аймаг сав, vinain aimag sav 律藏 Cn: Lǜzàng Jp: Ritsuzō Vi: Luật tạng |
| vipassana Usually translated as "Insight" meditation, most associated with the Theravāda tradition, but also present in some other traditions such as Tiantai. Often combined with śamatha meditation | from vi-√dṛś: to see apart Pāli: vipassanā Sanskrit: vipaśyanā, vidarśanā | Bur: ဝိပဿနာ wipathana (IPA:) Khmer: វិបស្សនា UNGEGN: vĭbâssânéa ALA-LC: vipassanā IPA: Shan: ဝီႉပၢတ်ႈသၼႃႇ ([wi˥ paːt˧ sʰa˩ naː˨]) Thai: วิปัสสนา wipadsana Tib: ལྷག་མཐོངlhag mthong Mn: үлэмж үзэл, ulemj uzel 觀,観 Cn: guān Jp: kan Vi: quán |
| viriya energy, enthusiastic perseverance | from Pāli: viriya Sanskrit: vīrya, | Khmer: វីរិយ UNGEGN: virĭy ALA-LC: vīriy IPA: Tib: brtson-grus Thai: วิริยะ wiriya 能量 Cn: néngliàng Jp: nōryō Vi: năng-lượng |
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## Y

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| yāna divisions or schools of Buddhism according to their type of practice (lit. "vehicle") | Pāli: yāna Sanskrit: yāna | Khmer: យាន UNGEGN: yéan ALA-LC: yān IPA: 乘 Cn: shèng Jp: jō Vi: thừa |
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## Z

| Definition | Etymology | In other languages |
| zazen Sitting meditation as practiced in the Zen School of Buddhism | Japanese: 坐禅 | 坐禪 Cn: zuòchán Kr: jwaseon Vi: toạ thiền |
| Zen School A branch of Mahayana originating in China that originally emphasizes non-dualism and intuition. Modern monastic forms have a strong emphasis on zazen (Korean) or on zazen combined with militaristic top-down hazing (Japanese) | Japanese: 禅宗 Zen-shu | 禪宗 Cn: Chánzōng Vi: Thiền tông |
| zendo In Zen, a hall where zazen is practiced | Japanese: 禅堂 | 禪堂 Cn: chántáng Vi: thiền đường |
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