Buddhism definitions

• Anicca

  Teaching of impermanence. Everything is always changing.
• Anatta

  Teaching that there is no-self
• Dukkha

  Life is unsatisfactory. Birth, sickness, old age, death are all unsatisfactory for humans. Anything conditioned is unsatisfactory.
• Lakshanas

  The collective term for the 3 universal truths.
• Samudaya

  Second noble truth = suffering is caused by tanha (attachment).
• Nirodha

  Suffering can end - 3rd noble truth.
• Magga/8 fold path

  Fourth noble truth - the path to the end of suffering.
• Skandhas/aggregates


  The five parts of a human that are always changing showing there is no fixed self.
• Pratitya samutpada

  The law of conditionality. Everything in the universe is caused. Many causes are linked in a 'web'.
• Sunyata

  Mahayana concept that all things are empty. Made up of different parts with no essence of their own.
• Renunciation


  When a Theravada monk promises to give up the world and lead a life free of the three poisons/tanha.
• Tanha

  Craving
• Buddha


  The 'awakened one'. An enlightened being who has abandoned the three poisons.
• Buddhahood

  Highest level of enlightenment in Mahayana Buddhism. Unlocking Buddha nature and wishing peace for all beings.
• Tathagatagarbha

  Mahayana doctrine stating all sentient beings have potential to reach Buddhahood.
• Enlightenment

  A mind free from suffering.
• Nirvana


  A mind permanently free from suffering.
• Parinirvana (Mahayana)

  When the Buddha died and was no longer reborn.
• Arhat

  Theravada term for someone who has destroyed the three poisons through the 8 fold path. Only monks can achieve this.
• Bodhisattva

  Enlightened being in nirvana who delays parinirvana to help free others from suffering.
• Ahimsa

  Non-harm to all living things.
• Metta

  Loving kindness to all living things. One of the four Brahma viharas.
• Mudita


  Sympathetic joy. One of the four Brahma viharas.
• Karuna

  Compassion. One of the four Brahma viharas.
• Upekkha


  Peace. One of the four Brahma viharas.
• Dhammapada

  A collection of the sayings of the Buddha.
• Dana

  Giving, e.g., to the Monks alms bowls.
• Punna

  Making merit, e.g., dana (giving).
• Pancha Sila

  Five guidelines for living a good life.
• Six Paramitas

  6 perfections practiced in Mahayana Buddhism to become a Bodhisattva: wisdom, patience, etc.
• Samsaric cycle

  The continual cycle of death, birth, and rebirth.
• World of samsara

  World of suffering where creatures are continuously reborn.
• Karma

  Action.
• Rebirth


  Being reborn as a result of past circumstances.
• Meditation


  Focusing the mind to achieve concentration, clarity, positive emotions, and perception.
• Samatha

  Calming meditation focusing on one thing, e.g., kasina, breathing. Usually used before Vipassana meditation.
• Metta Bhavana

  Loving kindness meditation to cultivate loving kindness towards all beings.
• Vipassana

  Practiced by Theravada Buddhists to concentrate on the body or its sensations.
• Brahmavihara

  The four sublime states: metta, karuna, mudita, and upekha.
• Vassa

  Rainy season before Kathina festival.