Glossary
- ARHAT ("Noble one") In Buddhist tradition, especially Theravadin, the Arhat has completed the course of Buddhist practice, and has attained full liberation, or Nirvana. As such the Arhat is no longer subject to rebirth and death. The Mahayana tradition regards the Arhat as a less than perfect ideal, in comparison to that of the Bodhisattva who vows to postpone his own liberation until all sentient beings are delivered. See "BODHISATTVA."
- AVICI KARMA Retribution for any of the five unpardonable sins by rebirth in the Avici hell, one of the eight hot hells, in which suffering continues without termination.
- BHUMI The bhumis (earth, region, plane or level) are the stages of the Bodhisattva's career on his way to enlightenment. The tenth, or highest, bhumi is called "Cloud of Dharma", where the Bodhisattva enters the stage of abhiseka (initiation) and experiences many great samadhis, and many other accomplishments.
- BODHI Enlightenment; function of wisdom.
- BODHISATTVA The role model in the Mahayana tradition. The Bodhisattva is a being who vows to remain in the world life after life, postponing his own full liberation until all other living beings are delivered.
- BUDDHA The Supremely Enlightened One. See 'THREE JEWELS."
- BUDDHA DHARMA The truths and teaching of Buddhism; the Dharma as taught by the Buddha. See "DHARMA."
- BUDDHA-NATURE A term to describe the underlying nature which pervades everything sentient and non-sentient. Actually, it is inexplicable, as it transcends all descriptions and dualities.
- CH'AN (Japanese: zen) The Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word dhyana. Generally, the term refers to the cultivation or experience of meditative states as means for attaining enlightenment. Specifically, the term refers to the school of Chinese Buddhism known as Ch'an. In this context Ch'an also refers to the direct experience of prajna, or insight. Being within the Mahayana tradition, the Ch'an school, while emphasizing meditation, took the Bodhisattva ideal as the realization of Buddhist practice. In Japan, the practice and school became known as Zen.
- DHARMA Dharma has two basic meanings. With an upper case "D, " Dharma means the Buddhist "Law" or "Teaching." With a lower case "d, " dharma simply refers to a thing or object, a physical or mental phenomenon. See 'THREE JEWELS."
- DHARMA BODY (Dharmakaya) One of the three bodies of the Buddha: the body of ultimate truth. See "RETRIBUTION BODY" and "TRANSFORMATION BODY."
- DHYANA A Sanskrit term designating certain states of meditative absorption cultivated by buddhist practitioners as a technique for attaining enlightenment. See "CH'AN"
- HINAYANA The "lesser vehicle" of the sravakas (hearers of Buddha's teaching) and Arhats who strive mainly for their own personal liberation. In contrast, Mahayana, or the "great vehicle, " is the broader teaching of the Bodhisattva who, out of compassion, put his own salvation last and uses all available means to save sentient beings. (Hinayana is sometimes used to refer to Theravada, the form of Buddhism practiced in Southeast Asian countries.)
- HUA-T'OU (Japanese: wato) Literally, the source of words (before they are uttered), a method used in the Ch'an school to arouse the doubt sensation. The practitioner meditates on such baffling questions as: "What is Wu?" "Where am I?" or "Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" He does not rely on experience, logic, or reasoning. Often, these phrases are taken from kung-ans, at other times, they are spontaneously generated by the practitioner. The term "hua-t'ou" is often used interchangeably with "kung-an." See "KUNG-AN."