AN ABBREVIATED GLOSSARY

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

(Note: This is a work in progress, needless to say! However, thanks to friends at Turtle Hill, a much more
extensive glossary can be found at the following address : www.turtlehill.org)

B
BODHICITTA "Awakened heart/mind." The union of three supreme qualities - love, compassion, and wisdom - which naturally express themselves as the wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Also called "Buddha mind," bodhicitta constitutes the essential experience of the Buddha nature as well as the very means of realizing it. It is the true nature of the mind.

BODHISATTVA , or "Awakened being." Bodhisatvas are dedicated toward a single goal, of freeing all sentient beings from suffering. Spared from automatic rebirth as a result of achieving enlightenment in a previous life, Boddhisatvas voluntarily return only to serve.

BUDDHA Awakened One. Title applied to the prince of the Sakya clan, Siddharta Gautama upon reaching perfect enlightenment. In everyday talk it is used as the name of the founder of Buddhism. 'Buddha' is the primary title of those who have entirely awakened to the Dharma, and especially those who awaken to it during an era when the Dharma is not presently manifest, and so function as the means for the introduction of the blessings of the Dharma into the world. In the cosmic vision of millions of world systems to be found in Mahayana scriptures, 'buddhas' refer to other buddhas who exist simultaneously throughout the universe, as well as the past and future buddhas of this world.

D
DHARMA. "That which subsists or supports." The teachings of the Buddha (buddhadharma) and the underlying meaning of the teachings. That truth upon which all Buddhist practices, scriptures, and philosophy have a foundation.
(See http://www.turtlehill.org/glos/d.html for an expanded definition)

E
EIGHTFOLD PATH Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path prescribed eight steps by which a person can achieve liberation from suffering. This is the path by which one ceases to desire happiness through experieince and thereby ceases to suffer. The eight stages are:

1. Right View
2. Right Intention (Resolve)
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action (Conduct)
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

F
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS - The foundation of the Buddhist teachings (dharma):
1. Suffering. Unenlightened lives are plagued by emotional suffering characterized by clinging and aversion.Our suffering is caused by ignorance - a basic misperception of the nature of reality. Due to
this ignorance, we misperceive that self and others solidly exist, the causes of clinging and aversion.
2. The Cause of Suffering. Our suffering is caused by ignorance - a basic misperception of the nature of reality caused by ignorance of our own true wisdom-nature.
3. Cessation of Suffering. Ending one's own suffering is possible.
4. The Path. The way out of suffering is the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Realization, Right Speech, Right Activity, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

 

  

K
KARMA Action, or deed. One of the most important principles in Buddhist thought, 1. any act or deed; 2) the law of cause and effect; 3) consequence or "fruit of action" or "after effect" which sooner or later returns upon the doer. Selfish, hateful acts will bring suffering. Benevolent actions will bring loving reactions.

Karma is a neutral, self-sustaining law of the inner cosmos, much as gravity is an impersonal law of the outer cosmos. Karma is threefold: 1) accumulated actions (sum of all karmas of this life and past lives); 2) actions begun; 3) in motion or ‘thrown karma’ (karma bearing fruit and shaping the events and conditions of the current life, including the nature of one's bodies, personal tendencies and associations); and karma being made added in this life by thoughts, words and actions, or in the inner worlds between lives. Some karma bears fruit in the current life, other is stored for future births.

L
LAMA By strict definition, a lama is a teacher, though this is a very modest description for those lamas who have realized the mind's true nature.

M
MAHAYANA The Big Vehicle. A main limb of Buddhism that spreads into many different branches. Mahayana emphasizes working, studying and practicing meditation for the benefit of all sentient beings. A universal love leads to freedom from the sufferings of the world. The Buddhist begins to arouse the wish to release all beings from suffering. .

N
NYINGMA(PA). The Nyingma School was established in Tibet in the mid-eighth century by Padmasambhava and two other great founders of Tibetan Buddhism and has been passed down for over 1,000 years in an unbroken lineage to the present time. Through its profound practices and swift techniques, we can reveal our own inherent Buddha nature in this lifetime. Emphasizing both meditation and study, Nygma is one of the fastest paths to enlightenment in Buddhism.

NGONDRO The embodiment of the essence of all the teachings found in Tibetan Buddhism. In Ngondro, all basic meditation techniques are incorporated in a condensed form. It has been used in Tibet for over a thousand years, where it was first introduced by Padmasambhava.

P
PADAMASAMBHAVA, or Guru Rinpoche, is recognized as the founder of Buddhism in Tibet and the principal guru and deity of the Nyingma school. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest masters in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Rinpoche lived in the 8th century.

V
VAJRAYANA Tantric Buddhism. The Tibetan branch of Mahayana Buddhism utilizing a wide variety of sklfull means including mantra and visualization of deities giving great emphasis to the role of the guru. One of the means Tibetan Buddhists use to gain freedom is meditation on sublime thoughts and pictures or mandalas. While Vajrayana springs from the Mahayana traditions, it has become distinctive enough to be regarded now as a separate branch unto itself. The word "vajra" means both "thunderbolt" and "diamond." The texts upon which this branch is based are known as tantras, so this form of Buddhism is also called Tantric Buddhism. Unlike other forms of Buddhism, the Tantrayana is largely esoteric. Tantras are often written in a kind of code so that their meaning is not apparent to non- initiates. One can neither study nor practice it effectively without a qualified teacher, who offers oral instructions, and confers ritual baptisms (abhisheka) that give people a special grace or power by which they can put the teachings into practice. Tantric Buddhism is the main form of Buddhism in Tibet.