[First Page][Previous Page] [Next Page][Last Page]Entering The Tao of Sudden Enlightenment (& The Tsung Ching Record) by Ch'an Master Ta-Chu Hui-Hai
Translated by Dharma Master Lok To
Edited By Dr. Frank G. French
Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada, 1995
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]
Amitabha or Amida Buddha The Buddha of limitless light, endless life and boundless wisdom. Lord of the Western Paradise or Pure Land (Sukhavati in Sanskrit). Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi The incomparable, complete and perfect Enlightenment as experienced by the Buddhas. Arya An individual ennobled by his or her continuing effort on the path to Enlightenment. Asamkheya One of the four stages of the periodic manifestation of a universe. Bhadanta "Most virtuous"; honorific title applied to a Buddha.
Bhutatathata The true character of reality. The real as thus, always or eternally so. True Suchness.
Bodhi Perfect knowledge or wisdom by which a person becomes a Buddha. The enlightened intellect.
Bodhisattva One who is on the way to the attainment of the six paramitas, the four great vows, the four all-embracing virtues, etc. One who aspires to Supreme Enlightenment and Buddhahood for himself and all beings.
Buddha A fully enlightened person who has achieved perfect knowledge of the truth and thereby is liberated from all existence.
Buddhadharma Lit., Teaching of Enlightenment. Originally applied to designate the teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha; supplanted by the term "Buddhism" in its later historical development.
Ch'an The Chinese word for Dhyana (Sanskrit) meaning absorption meditation. A sect of Chinese Buddhism founded by Bodhidharma, a learned monk from India, the 28th Patriarch. The aim of this sect is Sudden Enlightenment and the direct pointing at the mind for the perception of Self-Nature and the attainment of Buddhahood.
Chiliocosm Universes multiplied countless times.
Dana Charity or giving, including the bestowing of the truth on others. First of the paramitas.
Deva Denizen of another realm; any personal deity; a heaven-dweller such as Indra, Tara, etc.
Devakanya Goddess in general attendance on the regents of the sun and moon.
Dharani A monosyllabic chant used in devotional practice to support concentration.
Dharma Lit., that which upholds. Dharma has no exact equivalent in English. It can mean variously the Buddha's teaching, the law of the universe, the nature of things, any and all phenomena, the real and unreal, etc. Understood as the perfect teaching of the Enlightened One, it constitutes the second of the Three Jewels and the Three Refuges.
Dharmakaya Lit., body of the Law. In Mahayana thought, the ultimate body of Buddhahood; absolute being, the ground, absolute knowledge. The ultimate body of Buddha, which is formless and without attributes. The cosmic body of the Buddha; the essence of all beings.
Dharmadhatu Lit., the Dharma element or realm wherever the principles of the Buddha's teaching are operative; phenomena and noumenon and their underlying nature.
Dhyana Absorption meditation. In Buddhist practice there are different levels, according to its depth.
Four fruitions The four levels of attainment on the way to Buddhahood.
Hua T'ou The reality prior to the arising of thought.
Kalpa An immeasurably long epoch, including the creation, duration and dissolution of a universe.
Karma Volition, volitional or intentional activity. Always followed by its result or fruit.
Ksana An inconceivably short mind-moment.
Mahayana Lit., Great Vehicle. The special characteristics of Mahayana Buddhism are the emphasis on the Bodhisattva Ideal, the accession of the Buddha to a superhuman status, and the development of extensive philosophical inquiry to counter Brahminic and other scholarly arguments, as well as the development of elaborate devotional practice.
Maitreya The future Buddha; having completed the Bodhisattva-career, Maitreya is awaiting, in Tushita Heaven, his final manifestation.
Nirmanakaya The Body of Transformation by which the Buddhas appear in the world of phenomena for the benefit of sentient beings.
Nirvana The state of emancipation from suffering by means of practice; the goal of all Buddhists; it cannot be described, but has to be experienced.
Paramita Transcendental virtue; perfection of virtue. In Bodhisattva practice, the means to traverse Samsara. The practice of perfecting the six virtues ferries the practitioner across the sea of suffering to Enlightenment, or the other shore The paramitas are as follows: charity, moral conduct, patience, energy, contemplation and wisdom.
Parinirvana The Buddha's final Nirvana, entered by him at the time of death.
Prajna True or transcendental wisdom. Last of the paramitas. One of the highest attainments of Buddhist practice.
Precious Three The Three Jewels or the Triple Gem: the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha.
Sala Or Salavana, the grove of sat (teak) trees near Kusinagara, the place of the Buddha's death.
Sambhogakaya The Body of Bliss, assumed by Buddhas when teaching Mahayana sutras to particular Bodhisattvas. The celestial aspect of the Buddhas.
Samsara The ceaseless cycle of birth and death with its concomitant suffering.
Sangha Community of Buddhist ordained monks, nuns and novices.
Sastra Commentary; the commentaries constitute one of the three parts of the Buddhist canonical scriptures.
Siddham Blessed, endowed with supernatural faculties. Hsi-ta Chinese. This same term refers to the Sanskrit alphabet also and is, likewise, transliterated as Hsi-ta in Chinese.
Sravaka Lit., hearer; vehicle or stage of practice at which the practitioner is dependent on the word of the teacher rather than developing his own practice.
Sumeru Lit., exalted, excellent; name of a mountain often referred to by the Buddha.
Sutra Lit., a thread; that which, like a thread, runs though or connects everything; in the Buddhist context it refers to the Buddha's discourses.
Tao Chinese term meaning the Way. It covers the practice, path, doctrine, truth, self-nature or the ultimate.
Tathagata "Thus gone" or "the one who has found the truth"; frequently used by the Buddha with reference to himself or other Buddhas.
Ting Contemplation of our original nature, which is Uncreate Mind; concentration in dhyana.
Tripitaka Sanskrit term meaning "Three Baskets". Buddhism consisting of three sections: 1. Buddha's discourses (Sutras), 2. Rules of Discipline (Vinaya), 3. Commentaries (Sastras).
Tsung Chinese term for a school or a sect; sometimes used to mean the Ch'an school.
Upasaka Lay disciple (male), who formally receives the five precepts or rules of conduct for the laity.
Veda True or sacred knowledge or lore; name of celebrated works which constitute the basis of the first period of the Hindu religion.
Vinaya Rules of discipline for monks, nuns and novices as incorporated in Buddhist canonical scriptures.
Wisdom-Eye One of the five kinds of eyes of a Bodhisattva.
Yana Sanskrit term, commonly translated as vehicle; means spiritual vehicle, path or career.
[First Page][Previous Page] [Next Page][Last Page]