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Glossary

by
Tan Ajahn Anand Akincano

Divine abiding

·         See brahmavihara.

Dosa

·         Anger; aversion; hatred (see kilesa)

Dukkha / dukkham

·         Literally, 'that which is hard to bear'. The term dukkha encompasses not only the unsatisfactoriness that arises as a consequence of existence (including all forms of mental and physical suffering), but also the tension that arises due to the impermanent and selfless nature of experience, hence even happiness is dukkha because it cannot be sustained. Ultimately it refers to the inherent stressful and unsustainable nature of existence itself. Dukkha is one of the Three Characteristics of all conditioned phenomena.

Ekaggata

·         Unified consciousness without subject-object duality (see jhana).

Enlightenment

·        The ultimate goal of Buddhist training and practice. Many words and phrases express this transcendent experience of Awakening, for example:

Vimutti - freedom or liberation i.e. from the mental defilements of greed, hatred and delusion; Nibbana - literally, 'extinguished' i.e. the fires of greed, hatred and delusion have gone out; The Deathless or Unconditioned, that is, the heart is free from the conditions that bind it to conventional reality. Enlightenment is traditionally defined in terms of the abandoning of ten underlying defilements of heart and mind that fetter or bind it to the cycle of death and rebirth and the suffering experienced therein (see samsara). These Ten Fetters are abandoned in four successive stages referred to as magga­phala - path and fruit.

Magga refers to the practice of developing virtue, samadhi and wisdom in levels of increasing refinement, where these Ten Fetters are gradually uprooted. The experience of phala marks the point where their abandoning is irreversible or complete. Sotapatti-magga is the practice-path 'Entering the Stream' of enlightenment. Sotapatti-phala - the Fruit of Stream-entry - is the experience of having abandoned the first three Fetters ­1. Personality view; 2. Attachment to precepts and practices; 3. Doubt regarding the possibility of, and the practices that lead to enlightenment. Sakadagami-magga is known as the Path of Once-return because with the experience of the fruit of this stage, Sakadagami-phala, the Fetters of 4. Desire and 5. Aversion are irreversibly weakened resulting in human rebirth only once more. These Fetters of desire and aversion are further weakened with the practice of Anagami-magga and fully abandoned with the realisation of Anagami-phala - the Fruit of No-return - where, completely transcending desire and aversion, there is no return to birth in human or in any other physical form. With the final stage of the transcendent path ­Arahatta-magga - .the most subtle defilements of all concerning attachment to the purified heart and to existence itself, whether material or immaterial, are irreversibly weakened and with the realisation of Arahatta-phala, these final five Fetters of 6. Attachment to existence in rupa-jhana; 7. Attachment to existence in arupa-jhana; 8. Restlessness; 9. Conceit and 10. Ignorance are finally abandoned and the ultimate goal of Vimutti or Nibbana is experienced. The Arahant has totally eradicated the mental defilements (kilesa) that bind the heart to the cycle of death and rebirth. As such, the Arahant has transcended birth, death and the suffering inherent in existence.

 Enlightenment Factors

·         See bodhi-pakkhiya dhammas

Five aggregates

·         (Khandhas): The focuses of self-identity i.e. the material and mental constituents of experience which are identified with and attached to as one's self; 1. The physical body; 2. Feelings; 3. Memories and perceptions; 4. Thoughts and moods; 5. Consciousness.

Five hindrances

·         (nivarana): The psychological and emotional impediments to samadhi: 1. Desire; 2. Aversion; 3. Sloth & torpor; 4. Restlessness & agitation; 5. Doubt.

Four Foundations of Mindfulness

·         See mindfulness.

Four Noble Truths

·         (ariya sacca): In the teaching on the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha presents spiritual practice as a reflection upon and a response to the reality of suffering and stress. The First Noble Truth (dukkha sacca) points towards the suffering inherent in existence and encourages deep contemplation on the themes of old age, sickness, death and how sorrow and grief are always waiting in the shadow of joy and happiness. The Second Noble Truth (samudaya sacca) points to the cause of suffering _ craving and attachment, especially towards existence itself. The Third Noble Truth (nirodha sacca) is the understanding and realisation that with the complete cessation of craving, suffering ceases. On the highest level this refers to the experience of Nibbana. The Fourth Noble Truth is the path of practice that leads to the realisation of Nibbana (magga sacca) and is the practical consequence of a theoretical understanding of the first three Noble Truths, that is, through seeing suffering and its cause, and supported by the possibility of liberation, one seeks the way to freedom by developing the heart in virtue, samadhi and wisdom.

Four requisites         

·         (paccaya): The basic supports of life - food, shelter, clothing· and medicine.

Gotrabhu nana

·         Knowledge of 'crossing over' i.e. from delusion to enlightenment; the heart 'sees' Nibbana for the first time and· from that moment onwards, realises that enlightenment is inevitable.

Jhana

·         Advanced stages of samadhi otherwise known as 'absorption samadhi'. There are four levels of jhana, each more refined and profound that the one which preceded it. In the Buddhist scriptures the First Jhana is described in terms of five concomitant mental or jhana factors: I. Vitakka - initial application of mind i.e. the act of applying or 'lifting' awareness onto the meditation object; 2 Vicara - sustained application of mind i.e. the act of continued, unwavering focus upon the meditation object; 3. Piti - spiritual rapture; 4. Sukha - profound bliss; deep, non-sensual happiness and contentment; 5. Ekaggata - unified consciousness without subject-object duality.

The refinement of the succeeding Second to Fourth Jhanas are expressed in terms of the gradual abandoning or disappearance of the first four jhana factors thus: In Second Jhana vitakka and vicara disappear; in Third Jhana piti falls away; in Fourth Jhana sukha is abandoned, leaving only unified awareness in a state of perfect equanimity.

Kalyanajana

·         A virtuous or noble person.

Kamma

·         (Sanskrit = karma): Literally, 'action'. Kamma refers to those intentional actions of body, speech and mind that express a moral choice. The most important feature of kamma is its capacity to produce results directly corresponding to the ethical quality of the action that precipitated them. Whenever we perform a volitional action, this volition leaves an 'imprint' on the mental continuum (citta) where it remains as a stored-up potency. When this stored-up potency meets with conditions favourable for its maturation, it 'ripens', producing results that will either, determine one's experience of happiness and suffering in the present lifetime or, at the time· of death, determine rebirth into another existence with whatever experience of joy or grief this future life may entail.

All living beings, by their intentional acts of body, speech and mind, create habits, tendencies and inclinations that lead on to a type of existence, or mode of being, in conformity with the nature of these habits, tendencies and inclinations. In other words, all living beings, through their actions of body, speech and especially mind, determine the conditions of their existence, acquiring the characteristics of devas, humans, animals and all other kinds of sentient life.

Kammatthana

·         Literally, 'the basis of (spiritual) practice' i.e. the methods and practice of meditation, this being the main occupation of one living a contemplative, religious life. Kammatthana is of two complementary and overlapping types; samatha or 'tranquility' meditation and vipassana or 'insight' meditation. Samatha kammatthana refers to the various methods or techniques of meditation that are aimed at calming and stilling the ceaseless flow of thoughts, moods and mental activity. There are numerous methods (forty in all) including mindfulness of breathing, the recollection of the Buddha the meditation on the repulsiveness of the body or on its thirty-two parts and the contemplation of death. In the practice of mindfulness of breathing, all the inward focus of the mind is directed towards maintaining continuous awareness of the flow of in- and out- breathing to the exclusion of all other sensory experience, including thoughts, moods and memories.

The recollection of the Buddha is usually simplified to the recitation of the mantra, 'Buddho'. The meditator focuses all their attention on silently repeating 'Buddho, Buddho, Buddho' to the exclusion of all other mental and physical distractions. The meditation .on the repulsiveness of the body is to suppress lustful tendencies and initially proceeds by visualising the unattractive aspects of the body - the internal organs saliva, mucus, excrement etc. - until the mind becomes absorbed into this theme to the exclusion of all other preoccupations.

The contemplation of the thirty-two parts of the body is carried out in a similar way but the aim of this meditation is to see the body as a mere conglomeration of impersonal parts and elements, which are ultimately without any abiding essence, self or soul.

The contemplation of death proceeds by recollecting the inevitability and universality of old age, sickness and death. Frequent contemplation of this theme far from creating a state of depressed apathy, inspires feelings of disenchantment with the world, which helps to direct the energies of body and mind towards living a life that will be for the genuine welfare and happiness of oneself and others. Eventually, through the practice of this or any of the other methods of samatha meditation, the energy of the mind will converge as a natural consequence of sustained inward focus and the state known as samadhi will arise.

Broadly speaking, vipassana kammatthana, or 'insight meditation', involves the contemplation of the Three Characteristics of impermanence, suffering and not-self. However, at the most advanced stage, these are not exercises in discursive thinking, but rather, a non-discursive, inward directing of the mind's energy towards contemplating the body, feelings, mind-states and ultimately, the mind itself. Such an investigation is empowered through the practice of samadhi and indeed, it is only insight developed with and through the practice of samadhi that has the power to illuminate the essential reality of body and mind and so free the heart from greed, hatred and delusion.

Karuna

·         Compassion (see brahmavihara).

Kayagata

·         Mindfulness 'focused on the body': A meditation practice that includes maintaining a constant awareness of the movements and postures of the body as well as contemplating its various parts (see kammatthana).

Kayasankara   

·         Literally, the ‘bodily formation’ i.e. physical body.

Khandhas

·         See Five Aggregates.

Khanika samadhi

·         A technical meditation term used to describe a momentary state of focused awareness (see samadhi).

Kilesas

·         Mental defilements. The kilesas are the negative emotional and psychological forces deep within the hearts of all beings in samsara and are the consequence of ignorance, craving and attachment as well as the conditioning cause for the future arising of these defilements, thus binding the heart even more tightly to this continuous cycle of suffering. The insidiousness of the kilesas is due to the fact that, in the eyes of the world, their varied manifestations are often viewed as positive, beneficial or even as sublime, spiritual forces e.g. righteous anger, pride and sexual lust. Therefore, the kilesas corrupt and distort the very thoughts and perceptions of beings which, in turn, pervert all actions of body and speech, so creating a restless and troubled world driven by the power of greed, hatred and delusion.

Krooba Ajahn

·         (Thai) A title of great reverence reserved for an eminent teacher or meditation master and which often implies the realisation of enlightenment.

Luang Por / Pu

·         (Thai) Venerable or Reverend Father/Grandfather; a term of respect and affection reserved for senior/very senior monks.

Magga

·         Path or Way (see Enlightenment and Four Noble Truths).  

Magga samangi

·         The unification of the Noble Eightfold Path in the heart. The experience of magga samangi precedes realisation of the stages of enlightenment (see Enlightenment). Magga samangi describes the consummation of the practice of sila, samadhi and panna, where the karmic force of these perfected qualities is enough to uproot the defilements of ignorance, craving and attachment, permanently and irreversibly transforming the heart.

Mahapurisa

·         The Great Being; an epithet of the Buddha.

Mara

·         The demonic personification of the negative emotional and psychological forces that oppose the development of virtue, samadhi and wisdom.

Marananussati

·         The contemplation or recollection of death (see kammatthana).

Meditation

·         See kammatthana.

Metta

·         Loving kindness (see brahmavihara).

Mindfulness

·         (sati): The mental act of recollection or constant awareness. When used as a method of developing samadhi and wisdom, this unbroken stream of awareness is focused on four areas, also known as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (satipatthana):

1. The body, including its internal-external constituents, postures and movements;

2. The primary feelings or reactions towards sensory experience i.e. pleasant, unpleasant or indifferent;

3. The state of the mind i.e. liberated or unliberated, focused or unfocused enlightened or unenlightened etc;

4. The qualities or states that affect the mind such as greed, hatred and delusion, the hindrances to deep meditation and the wholesome states that condition the mind towards enlightenment such as happiness, energy, samadhi etc.

Moha

·         Delusion (see kilesa).

Mudita

·         Appreciation; joy at the success of others (see brahmavihara).

Nibbana

·         (Sanskrit = Nirvana): A transcendent state of Ultimate Peace; literally, 'Extinguished' i.e. the fires of greed, hatred and delusion (see Enlightenment).

Nimitta

·         A vivid mental sign, image or vision that may arise during the course of deep meditation. Samadhi nimitta are of two different types representing different stages in the development of a meditation object:

1. Uggaha nimitta are mental images that arIse In the preliminary stages of meditation and although they may be extremely vivid, their appearance cannot be controlled. The nature of the uggaha nimitta depends upon the meditation object and can be a ball of light in the case of mindfulness of breathing, a body part or a decomposing corpse in the case of asubha meditation or a physical sensation of warmth In the case of loving kindness meditation. However, the uggaha nimitta is purely a mental phenomenon arising as a natural consequence of samadhi directed towards a particular theme.

2. Patibhaga nimitta are 'fixed mental Images In the sense that that c~n be maintained in mind even with the eyes open and are as vivid as the real thing. The arising of these patibhaga nimitta imply proficiency in upacara samadhi and can be used ~s either an expedient for jhana or - because they can be mampula~ed i.e. expanded, enlarged, reduced or vanished - as a foundatIOn for developing insight.

Due to the unusual nature of these nimitta, they can become a source of unwholesome fascination and ultimately distraction from the worry of developing wisdom and consequently, teachers of meditation always recommend caution and restraint when dealing with such phenomena.

Nine Insight Knowledges

·         (Vipassananana): Nine stages of progressively deepening insight Into Impermanence, suffering and not-self. These Insights have the effect of 'turning the heart away from the world' (see samvega) and are developed with and through the practice of samadhi. However, the arising of these Nine Insight Knowledges does not necessarily imply realisation of the stages of enlightenment.

Noble Eightfold Path

·         The path of practice explained in terms of eight ideal or perfected qualities of body, speech and mind, the combined strength of which, bring the heart to enlightenment. These eight qualities are divided in three areas: The factors of Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood represent the perfection of virtue. and moral discipline; Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Samadhi represent the perfection of meditation; and finally, Right View and Right Intention represent the consummation of wisdom.  

Noble Ones

·         (Ariya Puggala; Ariyajana): Those who have realised any of the stages of enlightenment beginning with Stream-entry (see Enlightenment).

Pali

·         The scriptural language of Theravada Buddhism.

Parami

·         Spiritual maturity. This maturity refers to the inner strength or consummation of ten sublime virtues: 1.Generosity; 2. Moral discipline; 3. Renunciation; 4. Wisdom; 5. Heroic effort; 6: Patient endurance; 7. Truthfulness; 8.Resolution; 9. Loving kindness; 10. Equanimity.

Parinibbana

·         Final or Complete Nibbana. With the realisation of enlightenment, the heart of a Buddha or an Arahant is completely free from rebirth-creating kamma i.e. actions of body, speech and mind motivated by the defilements of greed, hatred and delusion. However, the physical body is a consequence of past kamma that must be endured until it reaches its natural end i.e. physical death. Parinibbana is the term used in reference to the passing away of a Buddha or an Arahant who, 'like birds crossing the sky, leave no tracks behind'.

Pariyatti

·         The study of the Buddha's Teachings; the Dhamma as practical theory.

Paticcasamuppada

·         Dependant origination; the conditional arising and ceasing of all phenomena. Paticcasamuppada is a metaphysical statement of how the suffering inherent in existence, from birth to death and from death to rebirth, is a consequence of ignorance, craving and attachment and how, with the cessation of these defilements, Nibbana is realised and existence along with suffering naturally comes to an end.

Piti

·         Spiritual rapture; feelings of deep, non-sensual bliss that arise when the mind is focused on a wholesome object, usually in deep meditation.

Raga

·         Sensual lust (see kilesa).

Rains retreat

·         Every year from July to October - the time of the Asian rainy­season - there is a compulsory monastic retreat. A monk's seniority is determined by the number of these retreats he has completed.

Right Effort

·         (samma vayamo): Acts of willpower or mental resolve. There are four Right Efforts:

1. The effort to prevent unarisen negative mental states from arising;

2. The effort to abandon negative mental states that have already arisen;

3. The effort to cultivate positive mental states that have not yet arisen;

4. The effort to further develop and bring to perfection the positive states of mind that have already arisen.

Samadhi

·         Concentrated or focused awareness. Samadhi refers to both the process of focusing awareness unwaveringly upon a single sensation or mind-object (see kammatthana), and the resultant state of such concentrated attention. In this state, because the mind has become so still and concentrated, it possesses the purity and power to illuminate and clarify the essential reality of anything it focuses on. This is analogous to a microscope which, due to the power of its inward focus, clearly reveals that which lies hidden and beyond the scope of normal vision.

Samana

·         A seeker of ultimate peace; a renunciant who has made a deep commitment to spiritual practice.

Samatha kammatthana

·         The methods and practice of tranquillity meditation (see kammatthana ).

Samsara

·         The cycle of birth, old age and death encompassing every realm of existence, even those of devas and brahma gods. The Journey of a being in samsara is fuelled by their volitional act of body, speech and thought. Such acts, under the defiling influence of ignorance, craving and attachment, only perpetuate the cycle and the suffering experienced therein. However, when these volitional acts are purified by the practice and perfection of sila, samadhi and panna, the power of defilement is broken and samsara comes to an end.

Samudaya

·         The Second Noble Truth; the cause of suffering i.e. tanha or craving (see Four Noble Truths).      

Samvega

·         The emotional counterpart to the insight or realisation that all conditions are subject to the Three Characteristics of impermanence, suffering and not-self (see anicca - dukkha - anatta). The various attempts to translate samvega as 'disenchantment', 'spiritual sadness' or 'profound 'sobriety', fail to capture the full depth of an emotion that is only really accessible to one who has experienced deep meditation and the wisdom that is the fruit of these profound states. It can be said that samvega provides the emotional impetus to compassion as it is only through the feeling of 'sober sadness' at the folly of those who live in ignorance or denial of these Three Characteristics that one is moved to urgently act, 'trembling for the welfare of all living beings'.

Sangha

·         The ordained communities of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis i.e. nuns and monks. When speaking of the wider community of 'Buddhists' i.e. including laywomen and laymen, the Buddha used the term 'parisa' meaning 'assembly'.

Sangho

·         A meditation mantra which, through constant mental repetition, can bring the mind to samadhi (see kammatthana).

Sankhara

·         Conditioned phenomena; that which is created from the coming together of various conditions. Although, by definition, sankhara includes both physical and mental phenomena, it is usually used in reference to the fourth of the Five Aggregates i.e. thoughts, moods and mental states (see Five Aggregates).

Sanna

·         Memory and perception. Sanna is the discriminative faculty of mind that labels and ascribes meaning to experience. However, due to the corrupting influence of ignorance, experience is always interpreted in terms of craving and attachment, that is, in terms of likes and dislikes or desire and aversion. Consequently, one's very perception of reality is distorted from the outset and acting, speaking and thinking on the basis of these defiled memories and perceptions only reinforces their reality and entrenches the heart deeper in delusion.

Satipatthana

·         The Four Foundations or Focuses of Mindfulness (see mindfulness).

Savaka Sangha

·         Those who heard the Dhamma directly from the Buddha and, through diligent practice, realised enlightenment. By extension, one who has realised any of the stages of enlightenment beginning with Stream-entry (see Enlightenment).

Sense bases, six

·         The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body (including the brain) and mind

Sense objects, six

·         Forms, sounds, odours, flavours, physical sensations and mind­ objects i.e. thoughts and moods etc.

Seven Factors of Enlightenment

·         Seven profound mental qualities, the development of which, condition the heart towards enlightenment: 1. Mindfulness; 2. Investigation of Truth; 3. Energy; 4. Spiritual rapture; 5. Tranquility; 6. Samadhi; 7. Equanimity.

Sila

·         Ethically principled conduct of body, speech and mind, including the precepts and internal discipline necessary to maintain such standards of behaviour.

Tadanga vimutti

·         Temporary liberation of the heart through insight into Impermanence, suffering and not-self. The liberating insight which produces this experience has not yet reached the level of 'path and fruit' (see Enlightenment), but is profound enough that the heart is temporarily released from the Five Hindrances.

Tanha

·         Craving; the Second Noble Truth (see Four Noble Truths). Literally, 'Teaching of the Elders'; the dominant form of Buddhism found in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Three Characteristics

·         (ti-lakkhana): Impermanence, suffering and not-self (see. anicca - dukkha - anatta).

Triple Gem

·         The Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.  

Upacara samadhi

·         A technical meditation term used to describe a concentrated or' focused state of awareness that is 'on the point of samadhi (see samadhi).

Upadana

·         Clinging, attachment; especially to the view of a permanent self or soul.

Upekkha

·         Equanimity; perfect mental and emotional balance through non-attachment; skilfully recognising the limits of one's ability and letting go (see brahmavihara).

Vicara

·         Sustained application of mind i.e. the act of continued unwavering focus upon a meditation object (see jhana).  

Vimutti

·         Freedom; liberation (see Enlightenment).

Vipassana

·         Literally, 'clear-seeing'; insight and the methods of contemplation or investigation that lead to such profound knowledge.

Vipassana kammatthana

·         The methods and practice of insight meditation (see kammatthana).

Vision of Dhamma

·         (Dhammacakkhu): A term synonymous with the realisation of the first stage of enlightenment or Sotapatti-phala (see Enlightenment).

Vitakka

·         Initial application of mind i.e. the act of applying or 'lifting' awareness onto a meditation object (see jhana).

Wat Nong Pah Pong

·         (Thai) A forest monastery in northeast Thailand founded by Venerable Ajahn Chah.

Wisdom

·         (panna): Insight into impermanence, suffering and not-self. On a basic level wisdom can refer to knowledge and understanding gained through studying and memorising the teachings of the Buddha(suttamayapanna). The practical efficacy of wisdom on this level can be determined by the extent to which, by reflecting on these teachings, the suffering and problems of life can be endured and reduced (cintamayapanna). However, The highest level of wisdom is much more that mere book-learning and mindful reflection. The perfection of wisdom is non­verbal, non-discursive insight arising in the heart which, through the empowerment of deep samadhi, sees body and mind in terms of the Three Characteristics (bhavanamayapanna). Only this type of discernment can provide the inner strength to permanently uproot ignorance, craving and attachment and result in liberation from the binding fetters of samsara.

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