Outline of Buddhism
|
![]() |

The following outline is provided as an overview of, and topical guide to, Buddhism:
Contents
- 1 The Buddha
- 2 Branches of Buddhism
- 3 Buddhist scriptures and texts
- 4 History of Buddhism
- 5 Basic concepts
- 5.1 Four Noble Truths (Cattāri ariyasaccāni • Catvāri āryasatyāni)
- 5.1.1 1. The Noble Truth of Suffering (Dukkha ariya sacca)
- 5.1.2 2. The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering (Dukkha samudaya ariya sacca)
- 5.1.3 3. The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Dukkha nirodha ariya sacca)
- 5.1.4 4. The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering (Dukkha nirodha gāminī paṭipadā ariya sacca)
- 5.2 Three Marks of Existence (Tilakkhaṇa • Trilakṣaṇa)
- 5.3 Middle way (early teachings)
- 5.4 Dependent Origination (Paticcasamuppāda • Pratītyasamutpāda)
- 5.5 Emptiness
- 5.6 Karma (Kamma)
- 5.7 Rebirth (Punabbhava • Punarbhava)
- 5.8 Eight Worldly Concerns
- 5.9 Two truths
- 5.1 Four Noble Truths (Cattāri ariyasaccāni • Catvāri āryasatyāni)
- 6 Abhidharma topics
- 7 Other concepts
- 7.1 Obstacles to Enlightenment
- 7.2 Two Kinds of Happiness (Sukha)
- 7.3 Two Kinds of Bhava
- 7.4 Two Guardians of the World (Sukka lokapala)
- 7.5 Three Conceits
- 7.6 Three Standpoints
- 7.7 Three Primary Aims
- 7.8 Three Divisions of the Dharma
- 7.9 Four Kinds of Nutriment
- 7.10 Four Kinds of Acquisitions (Upadhi)
- 7.11 Great fruits of the contemplative life (Maha-Phala)
- 7.12 Concepts unique to Mahayana and Vajrayana
- 8 Buddhist practices
- 8.1 Three Jewels (Tiratana • Triratna)
- 8.2 Buddhist devotion
- 8.3 Moral discipline and precepts (Sīla • Śīla)
- 8.4 Three Resolutions
- 8.5 Three Pillars of Dharma
- 8.6 Threefold Training (Sikkhā)
- 8.7 Five Qualities
- 8.8 Five Powers of a Trainee
- 8.9 Five Things that lead to Awakening
- 8.10 Five Subjects for Contemplation
- 8.11 Gradual training (Anupubbikathā)
- 8.12 Seven Good Qualities (Satta saddhammā)
- 8.13 Ten Meritorious Deeds (Dasa Punnakiriya vatthu)
- 8.14 Perfections (Pāramī • Pāramitā)
- 8.15 States Pertaining to Enlightenment (Bodhipakkhiyādhammā • Bodhipakṣa dharma)
- 8.15.1 Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Cattāro satipaṭṭhānā • Smṛtyupasthāna)
- 8.15.2 Four Right Exertions (Cattārimāni sammappadhānāni • Samyak-pradhāna)
- 8.15.3 Four Bases for Spiritual Power (Iddhipāda • Ṛddhipāda)
- 8.15.4 Five Spiritual Faculties (Pañca indriya)
- 8.15.5 Five Strengths (Pañca bala)
- 8.15.6 Seven Factors of Enlightenment (Satta sambojjhaṅgā • Sapta bodhyanga)
- 8.15.7 Noble Eightfold Path (Ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo • Ārya 'ṣṭāṅga mārgaḥ)
- 8.16 Buddhist meditation
- 8.17 Other practices
- 9 Attainment of Enlightenment
- 10 Major figures of Buddhism
- 11 Buddhist pilgrimage
- 12 Notes
- 13 References
The Buddha
- Tathāgata — meaning "Thus Come One" and "Thus Gone One" simultaneously, the epithet the Buddha uses most often to refer to himself; occasionally it is used as a general designation for a person who has reached the highest attainment
- The Four Sights — observations that affected Prince Siddhartha deeply and made him realize the sufferings of all beings, and compelled him to begin his spiritual journey
- An old man
- A sick man
- A corpse
- An ascetic
- Qualities of the Buddha
- Abandonment of all defilements (kilesa — principally greed, hatred and delusion) together with their residual impressions (vasana)
- All defilements have been abandoned totally — all defilements have been destroyed with none remaining
- All defilements have been abandoned completely — each defilement has been destroyed at the root, without residue
- All defilements have been abandoned finally — no defilement can ever arise again in the future
- Acquisition of all virtues
- Great Wisdom (Mahapaññā)
- Extensiveness of range — understanding the totality of existent phenomena
- Profundity of view — understanding the precise mode of existence of each phenomenon
- Great Compassion (Maha-karuṇā)
- Great Wisdom (Mahapaññā)
- Abandonment of all defilements (kilesa — principally greed, hatred and delusion) together with their residual impressions (vasana)
- Physical characteristics of the Buddha
- Buddha footprint
- Buddha statue (Buddharupa)
- Iconography of Gautama Buddha in Laos and Thailand
- Miracles of Gautama Buddha
- List of places where Gautama Buddha stayed
- Colours of Buddha's aura (prabashvara)
- Sapphire blue (nila)
- Golden yellow (pita)
- Crimson (lohita)
- White (odata)
- Scarlet (manjesta)
- Family of Gautama Buddha
- Śuddhodana (father)
- Māyā (mother)
- Yasodharā (wife)
- Rāhula (son)
- Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (foster mother)
- Nanda (half-brother)
- Ānanda (cousin)
- Anuruddha (cousin)
- Devadatta (cousin)
- Teachers of the Bodhisatta Gotama
- Āḷāra Kālāma — taught Gautama the Jhanic Stage of nothingness
- Uddaka Rāmaputta — taught Gautama the Jhanic Stage of neither perception nor non-perception
Branches of Buddhism
Schools of Buddhism
Timeline: Development and propagation of Buddhist traditions (ca. 450 BCE – ca. 1300 CE) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
450 BCE[note 1] | 250 BCE | 100 CE | 500 CE | 700 CE | 800 CE | 1200 CE[note 2] | |||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Oral and textual traditions of India |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Oral tradition | Early Buddhist Texts | Mahayana sutras | Tantras (aka Vajrayana) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
India |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Southeast Asia |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Transmissions of Early Buddhist Texts and Mahayana Sutras via the silk road to northern China, and via the ocean to Vietnam and southern China. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Chan |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Thiền, Seon | |||||||||||||||||||||
Zen | |||||||||||||||||||||
Tiantai / Pure Land |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Tendai |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Tibet/Himalayas |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
450 BCE | 250 BCE | 100 CE | 500 CE | 700 CE | 800 CE | 1200 CE | |||||||||||||||
|
Theravāda
Theravada — literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", it is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India. It is relatively conservative, and generally closer to early Buddhism,[2] and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (now about 70% of the population[3]) and most of continental Southeast Asia.
- Bangladesh:
- Burma:
- Thudhamma Nikaya
- Vipassana tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw
- Shwekyin Nikaya
- Dvaya Nikaya or Dvara Nikaya
- Thudhamma Nikaya
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Sri Lanka:
- Thailand:
Mahāyāna
Mahayana — literally the "Great Vehicle", it is the largest school of Buddhism, and originated in India. The term is also used for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. According to the teachings of Mahāyāna traditions, "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of seeking complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, also called "Bodhisattvayāna", or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle."[4][5]
- Madhyamaka
- Prāsangika
- Svatantrika
- Sanlun (Three Treatise school)
- Maha-Madhyamaka (Jonangpa)
- Yogācāra
- Cittamatra in Tibet
- Wei-Shi (Consciousness-only school) or Faxiang (Dharma-character school)
- Tathagatagarbha
- Daśabhūmikā (absorbed into Huayan)
- Huayan (Avataṃsaka)
- Chán / Zen / Seon / Thien
- Pure Land (Amidism)
- Tiantai (Lotus Sutra School)
- Nichiren
Vajrayāna

- Tibetan Buddhism
- Nyingma
- Bön
- Kadam
- Sakya
- Jonang
- Gelug
- Kagyu:
- Shangpa Kagyu
- Marpa Kagyu:
- Rechung Kagyu
- Dagpo Kagyu:
- Karma Kagyu (or Kamtshang Kagyu)
- Tsalpa Kagyu
- Baram Kagyu
- Pagtru Kagyu (or Phagmo Drugpa Kagyu):
- Rime movement (ecumenical movement)
- Japanese Mikkyo
Early Buddhist schools
- Mahāsāṃghika
- Ekavyahārikas (during Aśoka)
- Golulaka (during Aśoka)
- Bahuśrutīya (late third century BCE)
- Prajñaptivāda (late third century BCE)
- Caitika (mid-first century BCE)
- Cetiyavāda
- Sthaviravāda
- Pudgalavāda ('Personalist') (c. 280 BCE)
- Vatsīputrīya (during Aśoka) later name: Saṃmitīya
- Dharmottarīya
- Bhadrayānīya
- Sannāgarika
- Vibhajjavāda (prior to 240 BCE; during Aśoka)
- Theravāda (c. 240 BCE)
- Mahīśāsaka (after 232 BCE)
- Dharmaguptaka (after 232 BCE)
- Sarvāstivāda (c. 237 BCE)
- Kāśyapīya (after 232 BCE)
- Sautrāntika (between 50 BCE and c. 100 CE)
- Mūlasarvāstivāda (3rd and 4th centuries)
- Vaibhashika
- Pudgalavāda ('Personalist') (c. 280 BCE)
Buddhist modernism
Buddhist scriptures and texts
Theravada texts
- Pāli Canon (Tipitaka)
- Vinaya Pitaka — Basket of Discipline
- Suttavibhanga
- Patimokkha — Buddhist Monastic Code
- Khandhaka
- Mahāvagga
- Cullavagga
- Parivara
- Suttavibhanga
- Sutta Pitaka — Basket of Discourses
- Digha Nikaya — the Long Discourses
- Brahmajala Sutta — Discourse on the Net of Perfect Wisdom
- Samaññaphala Sutta — The Fruit of Contemplative Life Discourse
- Kevatta Sutta
- Mahaparinibbana Sutta — The Last Days of the Buddha
- Mahasatipatthana Sutta — The Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness
- Aggañña Sutta
- Sigalovada Sutta
- Majjhima Nikaya — the Middle-length Discourses
- Sammaditthi Sutta — Discourse on Right View
- Satipatthana Sutta — The Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness
- Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta
- Anapanasati Sutta — Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing
- Samyutta Nikaya — the Connected Discourses
- Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta — Setting Rolling the Wheel of Truth (Buddha's first discourse)
- Anattalakkhana Sutta — The Nonself Characteristic (Buddha's second discourse)
- Fire Sermon — Buddha's third discourse
- Anguttara Nikaya — the Numerical Discourses
- Dighajanu Sutta
- Dona Sutta
- Kalama Sutta
- Upajjhatthana Sutta — Subjects for Contemplation
- Khuddaka Nikaya — the Minor Collection
- Khuddakapatha
- Mangala Sutta
- Ratana Sutta
- Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta — The Hymn of Universal Love
- Dhammapada — The Path of Truth
- Udana — Inspired utterances
- Itivuttaka
- Suttanipata
- Uraga Vagga
- Cula Vagga
- Maha Vagga
- Atthaka Vagga
- Parayana Vagga
- Vimanavatthu
- Petavatthu
- Theragatha — Verses of the Elder Monks
- Therigatha — Verses of the Elder Nuns
- Jataka tales — Buddha's former lives
- Niddesa
- Patisambhidamagga — Path of discrimination
- Apadana
- Buddhavamsa
- Cariyapitaka
- Nettipakarana
- Petakopadesa
- Milindapanha
- Khuddakapatha
- Digha Nikaya — the Long Discourses
- Abhidhamma Pitaka — Basket of Ultimate Doctrine
- Vinaya Pitaka — Basket of Discipline
- Anupitaka — non-canonical or extra-canonical Pāli literature
- Commentaries — commentaries on the Tipitaka
- Subcommentaries — commentaries on the commentaries on the Tipitaka
- Visuddhimagga — The Path of Purification, considered the most important Theravada text outside of the Tipitaka canon of scriptures
- Vimuttimagga — The Path of Freedom, manual of meditation
- Abhidhammattha Sangaha — A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma
Mahayana texts
- Mahayana sutras
- Angulimaliya Sutra
- Brahmajala Sutra
- Innumerable Meanings Sutra
- Lalitavistara Sutra
- Lankavatara Sutra
- Lotus Sutra
- Perfection of Wisdom sutras (Prajñāpāramitā)
- Ten Stages Sutra
- Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra
- Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment
- Platform Sutra
- Amitabha Sutra
- Avatamsaka Sutra
- Contemplation Sutra
- Infinite Life Sutra
- Mahaparinirvana Sutra
- Mahasamnipata Sutra
- Sanghata Sutra
- Shurangama Sutra
- Sutra of Forty-Two Sections
- Sutra of Golden Light
- Sutra of The Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva
- Āgamas
- Chinese Buddhist canon
Vajrayana texts
- Buddhist Tantras
- Nyingma Gyubum
- Tibetan Buddhist canon
- Terma (hidden treasure) literature
History of Buddhism
- Timeline of Buddhism
- Early Buddhism
- Pre-sectarian Buddhism
- Buddhist councils
- World Buddhist Forum, 2006
- Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
- History of Buddhism in India
- Greco-Buddhism
- Buddhism and the Roman world
- Buddhist crisis
Basic concepts
Four Noble Truths (Cattāri ariyasaccāni • Catvāri āryasatyāni)
1. The Noble Truth of Suffering (Dukkha ariya sacca)
- Suffering (dukkha • duḥkha) — to be fully understood (pariññeyya)
- Dukkha as intrinsic suffering, as bodily or mental pain (dukkha-dukkha)
- Dukkha due to change (vipariṇāma-dukkha)
- Association with the unpleasant (appiyehi sampayogo)
- Separation from the pleasant (piyehi vippayogo)
- Not to get what one wants (yampicchaṃ na labhati tampi)
- Dukkha of conditioned formations (saṅkhāra-dukkha)
- Five aggregates of clinging (pañcupādānakkhandha)
- material form (rūpa)
- feeling (vedanā)
- perception (saññā • samjñā)
- mental formations (saṅkhāra • samskāra)
- consciousness (viññāṇa • vijñāna)
- Five aggregates of clinging (pañcupādānakkhandha)
2. The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering (Dukkha samudaya ariya sacca)
3. The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Dukkha nirodha ariya sacca)
- Nirvana (Nibbāna • Nirvāṇa) (nirodha) — to be realized (sacchikātabba)
- Nibbāna element with residue remaining (sa-upādisesa nibbānadhātu • sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa)
- Nibbāna element with no residue remaining (anupādisesa nibbānadhātu • nir-upadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa) — Parinirvana (parinibbāna • parinirvāṇa)
4. The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering (Dukkha nirodha gāminī paṭipadā ariya sacca)
- Noble Eightfold Path (Ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo • Ārya 'ṣṭāṅga mārgaḥ) — to be developed (bhāvetabba)
- Right view
- Right intention
- Right speech
- Right action
- Right livelihood
- Right effort
- Right mindfulness
- Right concentration
Three Marks of Existence (Tilakkhaṇa • Trilakṣaṇa)
- Impermanence (anicca • anitya)
- Suffering (dukkha • duḥkha)
- Nonself (anattā • anātman)
Middle way (early teachings)
- Middle way (majjhimā paṭipadā • madhyamā-pratipad) — the Buddhist path of non-extremism
- Avoiding the extreme of sensual indulgence (kāmesu kāma-sukha-allika)
- Avoiding the extreme of self-mortification (atta-kilamatha)
Dependent Origination (Paticcasamuppāda • Pratītyasamutpāda)
Specific Conditionality (Idappaccayatā)
When this is, that is. From the arising of this comes the arising of that. When this isn't, that isn't. From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that. |
Imasmiṃ sati, idaṃ hoti. Imass’ uppādā, idaṃ uppajjati. Imasmiṃ asati, idaṃ na hoti. Imassa nirodhā, idhaṃ nirujjhati. |
Twelve Links (Nidāna)
Former life
- Ignorance (avijjā • avidyā)
- Not knowing suffering
- Not knowing the origin of suffering
- Not knowing the cessation of suffering
- Not knowing the way leading to the cessation of suffering
- Volitional formations (saṅkhāra • saṃskāra)
- Bodily formation
- Verbal formation
- Mental formation
Current life
- Consciousness (viññāṇa • vijñāna)
- Eye-consciousness
- Ear-consciousness
- Nose-consciousness
- Tongue-consciousness
- Body-consciousness
- Mind-consciousness
- Name and form (nāmarūpa)
- Name (nāma)
- Feeling (vedanā)
- Perception (saññā • samjñā)
- Volition (cetanā)
- Contact (phassa)
- Attention (manasikāra)
- Form (rūpa)
- Name (nāma)
- Six sense bases (saḷāyatana • ṣaḍāyatana)
- Eye-base
- Ear-base
- Nose-base
- Tongue-base
- Body-base
- Mind-base
- Contact (phassa • sparśa)
- Eye-contact
- Ear-contact
- Nose-contact
- Tongue-contact
- Body-contact
- Mind-contact
- Feeling (vedanā)
- Feeling born of eye-contact
- Feeling born of ear-contact
- Feeling born of nose-contact
- Feeling born of tongue-contact
- Feeling born of body-contact
- Feeling born of mind-contact
- Craving (taṇhā • tṛṣṇā)
- Craving for forms
- Craving for sounds
- Craving for odors
- Craving for flavors
- Craving for tangibles
- Craving for mind-objects
- Clinging (upādāna)
- Clinging to sensual pleasures (kāmupādāna)
- Clinging to views (diṭṭhupādāna)
- Clinging to rituals and observances (sīlabbatupādāna)
- Clinging to a doctrine of self (attavādupādāna)
- Becoming (bhava)
- Sense-sphere becoming
- Fine-material becoming
- Immaterial becoming
Future life
- Birth (jāti)
- Old age and death (jarāmaraṇa)
Emptiness
- Emptiness (suññatā • śūnyatā)
Karma (Kamma)
- Definition — volitional action, considered particularly as a moral force capable of producing, for the agent, results that correspond to the ethical quality of the action; thus good karma produces happiness, and bad karma produces suffering
- Result of karma (vipāka)
- Intention (cetanā)
- Wholesome intention (kusala)
- Unwholesome intention (akusala)
- Three doors of action (kammadvara)
- Roots (mula)
- Courses of action (kammapatha)
- Unwholesome
- Bodily
- Destroying life
- Taking what is not given
- Wrong conduct in regard to sense pleasures
- Verbal
- False speech
- Slanderous speech
- Harsh speech
- Idle chatter
- Mental
- Covetousness
- Ill will
- Wrong view
- Bodily
- Wholesome
- Bodily
- Abstaining from destroying life
- Abstaining from taking what is not given
- Abstaining from wrong conduct in regard to sense pleasures
- Verbal
- Abstaining from false speech
- Abstaining from slanderous speech
- Abstaining from harsh speech
- Abstaining from idle chatter
- Mental
- Being free from covetousness
- Being free from ill will
- Holding right view
- Bodily
- Unwholesome
- Function
- Reproductive kamma (janaka kamma) — that which produces mental aggregates and material aggregates at the moment of conception
- Supportive kamma (upatthambhaka kamma) — that which comes near the Reproductive Kamma and supports it
- Obstructive kamma (upapiḍaka kamma) — that which tends to weaken, interrupt and retard the fruition of the Reproductive Kamma
- Destructive kamma (upaghātaka kamma) — that which not only obstructs but also destroys the whole force of the Reproductive Kamma
- Order to take effect
- Weighty kamma (garuka kamma) — that which produces its results in this life or in the next for certain
- Five heinous crimes, causing rebirth in hell immediately after death (ānantarika-kamma)
- Proximate kamma (āsanna kamma) — that which one does or remembers immediately before the dying moment
- Habitual kamma (āciṇṇa kamma) — that which one habitually performs and recollects and for which one has a great liking
- Reserve kamma (kaṭattā kamma) — refers to all actions that are done once and soon forgotten
- Weighty kamma (garuka kamma) — that which produces its results in this life or in the next for certain
- Time of taking effect
- Immediately effective kamma (diţţhadhammavedaniya kamma)
- Subsequently effective kamma (upapajjavedaniya kamma)
- Indefinitely effective kamma (aṗarāpariyavedaniya kamma)
- Defunct kamma (ahosi kamma)
- Place of taking effect
- Immoral (akusala) kamma pertaining to the sense-sphere (kamavacara)
- Moral (kusala) kamma pertaining to the sense-sphere (kamavacara)
- Moral kamma pertaining to the form-sphere (rupavacara)
- Moral kamma pertaining to the formless-sphere (arupavacara)
- Niyama Dhammas
- Utu Niyama — Physical Inorganic Order (seasonal changes and climate), the natural law pertaining to physical objects and changes in the natural environment, such as the weather; the way flowers bloom in the day and fold up at night; the way soil, water and nutrients help a tree to grow; and the way things disintegrate and decompose. This perspective emphasizes the changes brought about by heat or temperature
- Bīja Niyama — Physical Organic Order (laws of heredity), the natural law pertaining to heredity, which is best described in the adage, “as the seed, so the fruit”
- Citta Niyama — Order of Mind and Psychic Law (will of mind), the natural law pertaining to the workings of the mind, the process of cognition of sense objects and the mental reactions to them
- Kamma Niyama — Order of Acts and Results (consequences of one's actions), the natural law pertaining to human behavior, the process of the generation of action and its results. In essence, this is summarized in the words, “good deeds bring good results, bad deeds bring bad results”
- Dhamma Niyama — Order of the Norm (nature's tendency to produce a perfect type), the natural law governing the relationship and interdependence of all things: the way all things arise, exist and then cease. All conditions are subject to change, are in a state of affliction and are not self: this is the Norm
Rebirth (Punabbhava • Punarbhava)
- Saṃsāra — Lit., the "wandering," the round of rebirths without discoverable beginning, sustained by ignorance and craving
- Sentient beings (satta • sattva)
Buddhist cosmology

- Six realms
- Heaven (sagga)
- Tusita — one of the six deva-worlds of the kāmadhātu
- Tāvatiṃsa — the fifth of the heavens of the kāmadhātu, and the highest of the heavens that maintains a physical connection with the rest of the world
- Four Heavenly Kings
- Demigod realm (asura)
- Human realm (mānusatta)
- Hungry Ghost realm (peta • preta)
- Animal realm
- Hell (niraya • naraka)
- Avīci — the lowest level of the hell realm
- Heaven (sagga)
- Three planes of existence (tiloka • triloka)
- World of desire (kāmaloka)
- World of form (rūpaloka)
- World of formlessness (arūpaloka)
- Ten spiritual realms
- Buddhahood
- Bodhisattva — Bodhisattvahood
- Pratyekabuddha — Realization
- Sāvakabuddha — Learning
- Deva — Heaven
- Asura — Paranoid jealousy
- Human beings in Buddhism — Humanity
- Animals in Buddhism — Animality
- Preta — Hunger
- Naraka — Hell
Eight Worldly Concerns
- Eight worldly concerns referenced in discussions of Equanimity (upekkhā, upekṣhā)
They are:
- hope for happiness and fear of suffering,
- hope for fame and fear of insignificance,
- hope for praise and fear of blame,
- hope for gain and fear of loss;
Two truths
- Two truths doctrine
- Conventional truth (sammutisacca • saṃvṛtisatya)
- Ultimate truth (paramatthasacca • paramārthasatya)
Abhidharma topics
Five Aggregates (Pañca khandha • Pañca-skandha)
- Form (rūpa)
- Four Great Elements (mahābhūta)
- Earth element (paṭhavī-dhātu)
- Water (or liquid) element (āpo-dhātu)
- Fire (or heat) element (tejo-dhātu)
- Air (or wind) element (vāyo-dhātu)
- Four Great Elements (mahābhūta)
- Feeling (vedanā)
- Pleasant feeling (sukha)
- Painful feeling (dukkha • duḥkha)
- Neither-painful-nor-pleasant (neutral) feeling (adukkham-asukhā)
- Perception (saññā • samjñā)
- Mental formations (saṅkhāra • samskāra) — see below
- Consciousness (viññāṇa • vijñāna)
Sense bases (Āyatana)
- Six sense bases (saḷāyatana • ṣaḍāyatana)
Six Great Elements (Dhātu)
- Earth element (paṭhavī-dhātu)
- Water (or liquid) element (āpo-dhātu)
- Fire element (tejo-dhātu)
- Air (or wind) element (vāyo-dhātu)
- Space element (ākāsa-dhātu)
- Consciousness element (viññāṇa-dhātu)
Faculties (Indriya)
- Six sensory faculties
- Eye/vision faculty (cakkh-undriya)
- Ear/hearing faculty (sot-indriya)
- Nose/smell faculty (ghān-indriya)
- Tongue/taste faculty (jivh-indriya)
- Body/sensibility faculty (kāy-indriya)
- Mind faculty (man-indriya)
- Three physical faculties
- Femininity (itth-indriya)
- Masculinity (puris-indriya)
- Life or vitality (jīvit-indriya)
- Five feeling faculties
- Physical pleasure (sukh-indriya)
- Physical pain (dukkh-indriya)
- Mental joy (somanasa-indriya)
- Mental grief (domanass-indriya)
- Indifference (upekh-indriya)
- Five spiritual faculties
- Faith (saddh-indriya)
- Energy (viriy-indriya)
- Mindfulness (sat-indriya)
- Concentration (samādhi-indriya)
- Wisdom (paññ-indriya)
- Three final-knowledge faculties
- Thinking "I shall know the unknown" (anaññāta-ñassāmīt-indriya)
- Gnosis (aññ-indriya)
- One who knows (aññātā-vindriya)
Formations (Saṅkhāra • Saṃskāra)
Mental Factors (Cetasika • Caitasika )
Mind and Consciousness
- Citta — Mind, mindset, or state of mind
- Cetasika — Mental factors
- Manas — Mind, general thinking faculty
- Vijñāna (viññāṇa)
- Mindstream (citta-saṃtāna) — the moment-to-moment continuity of consciousness
- Bhavanga — the most fundamental aspect of mind in Theravada
- Luminous mind (pabhassara citta)
- Consciousness-only (vijñapti-mātratā)
- Eight Consciousnesses (aṣṭavijñāna)
- Conceptual Proliferation (papañca • prapañca) — the deluded conceptualization of the world through the use of ever-expanding language and concepts
- Monkey mind — unsettled, restless mind
Higher Knowledge (Abhiñña • Abhijña)
- Six types of higher knowledges (chalabhiñña)
- Supernormal powers (iddhi)
- Multiplying the body into many and into one again
- Appearing and vanishing at will
- Passing through solid objects as if space
- Ability to rise and sink in the ground as if in water
- Walking on water as if land
- Flying through the skies
- Touching anything at any distance (even the moon or sun)
- Traveling to other worlds (like the world of Brahma) with or without the body
- Divine ear (dibba-sota), that is, clairaudience
- Mind-penetrating knowledge (ceto-pariya-ñāṇa), that is, telepathy
- Remembering one's former abodes (pubbe-nivāsanussati), that is, recalling one's own past lives
- Divine eye (dibba-cakkhu), that is, knowing others' karmic destinations
- Extinction of mental intoxicants (āsavakkhaya), upon which arahantship follows
- Supernormal powers (iddhi)
- Three knowledges (tevijja)
- Remembering one's former abodes (pubbe-nivāsanussati)
- Divine eye (dibba-cakkhu)
- Extinction of mental intoxicants (āsavakkhaya)
Other concepts
Obstacles to Enlightenment
- Taints (āsava)
- Sensual desire (kāmāsava)
- Becoming (bhavāsava)
- Wrong view (diṭṭhāsava)
- Ignorance (avijjāsava)
- Defilements (kilesa • kleśā)
- Three poisons
- Greed (attachment) (lobha • rāga)
- Hatred (aversion) (dosa • dvesha)
- Delusion (ignorance) (moha)
- Round of defilements (kilesa-vaṭṭa)
- Three poisons
- Four perversions of view, thought and perception (vipallasa)
- Taking what is impermanent (anicca • anitya) to be permanent (nicca • nitya)
- Taking what is suffering (dukkha • duḥkha) to be happiness (sukha)
- Taking what is nonself (anattā • anātman) to be self (attā • ātman)
- Taking what is not beautiful (asubha) to be beautiful (subha)
- Five hindrances (pañca nīvaraṇā) — the main inner impediments to the development of concentration and insight
- Sensual desire (kāmacchanda) — craving for pleasure to the senses
- Ill-will (vyāpāda) — feelings of malice directed toward others
- Sloth and torpor (thīna-middha) — half-hearted action with little or no concentration
- Restlessness and remorse (uddhacca-kukkucca) — the inability to calm the mind
- Doubt (vicikicchā) — lack of conviction or trust
- Latent tendencies (anusaya)
- Sensual passion (kāma-rāga)
- Resistance (patigha)
- Views (diṭṭhi)
- Doubt (vicikicchā)
- Conceit (māna)
- Craving for continued existence (bhavarāga)
- Ignorance (avijjā • avidyā)
- Ten Fetters (saṃyojana)
- Identity view (sakkāyadiṭṭhi) — the view of a truly existent self either as identical with the five aggregates, or as existing in some relation to them
- Eternity-belief (sassata-diṭṭhi)
- Annihilation-belief (uccheda-diṭṭhi)
- Doubt (vicikicchā) — doubt about the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Saṅgha, or the training
- Wrong grasp of rules and observances (sīlabbata-parāmāsa) — the belief that mere external observances, particularly religious rituals and ascetic practices, can lead to liberation
- Sensual lust (kāmacchando)
- Ill will (vyāpādo)
- Desire for existence in the form realm (rūparāgo)
- Desire for existence in the formless realm (arūparāgo)
- Conceit (māna)
- Restlessness (uddhacca)
- Ignorance (avijjā • avidyā)
- Identity view (sakkāyadiṭṭhi) — the view of a truly existent self either as identical with the five aggregates, or as existing in some relation to them
Two Kinds of Happiness (Sukha)
- Bodily happiness (kayasukha)
- Mental happiness (cittasukha)
Two Kinds of Bhava
- Kamma Bhava — kammas caused by four Upadanas
- Upapatti Bhava — rebirth bhava
Two Guardians of the World (Sukka lokapala)
- Shame at doing evil (hiri)
- Fear of the results of wrongdoing (ottappa)
Three Conceits
- "I am better"
- "I am equal"
- "I am worse"
Three Standpoints
- Gratification (assāda)
- Danger (ādinava)
- Escape (nissaraṇa)
Three Primary Aims
- Welfare and happiness directly visible in this present life, attained by fulfilling one's moral commitments and social responsibilities (diṭṭha-dhamma-hitasukha)
- Welfare and happiness pertaining to the next life, attained by engaging in meritorious deeds (samparāyika-hitasukha)
- The ultimate good or supreme goal, Nibbāna, final release from the cycle of rebirths, attained by developing the Noble Eightfold Path (paramattha)
Three Divisions of the Dharma
- Study (pariyatti)
- Practice (paṭipatti)
- Realization (pativedha)
Four Kinds of Nutriment
- Physical food [either gross or subtle] (kabalinkaro)
- Contact (phasso dutiyo)
- Mental volition (manosancetana)
- Consciousness (viññāṇa • vijñāna)
Four Kinds of Acquisitions (Upadhi)
- The Five Aggregates (khandha • skandha)
- Defilements (kilesa • kleśā)
- Volitional formations (saṅkhāra • saṃskāra)
- Sensual pleasures (kāmacchanda)
Great fruits of the contemplative life (Maha-Phala)
- Equanimity (upekkhā, upekṣhā)
- Fearlessness (nibbhaya)
- Freedom from unhappiness & suffering (asukhacaadukkha)
- Meditative Absorption (samādhi)
- Out-of-body experience (manomaya)
- Clairaudience (dibba-sota)
- Intuition and mental telepathy (ceto-pariya-ñána)
- Recollection of past lives (patisandhi)
- Clairvoyance (dibba-cakkhu)
- The Ending of Mental Fermentations (samatha)
Concepts unique to Mahayana and Vajrayana
- Bardo — Intermediate state
- Shinay bardo — the Bardo of This Life
- Milam bardo — the Bardo of Dream
- Samten bardo — the Bardo of Meditation
- Chikkhai bardo — the Bardo of Dying
- Chönyid bardo — the Bardo of Dharmata
- Sidpai bardo — the Bardo of Existence
- Bodhicitta — the wish to attain Buddhahood
- Bodhisattva — name given to anyone who has generated bodhicitta
- Buddha-nature — immortal potency or element within the purest depths of the mind, present in all sentient beings, for awakening and becoming a Buddha
- Dzogchen — the natural, primordial state or natural condition of every sentient being
- Eternal Buddha
- Lung (Tibetan Buddhism)
- Pure land
- Rainbow body — a body not made of flesh, but consists of pure light, an astral body
- Svabhava — Intrinsic nature
- Tathātā/Dharmatā — Thusness
- Dharmadhatu — Realm of Truth
- Terma
- Three Vajras
- Three Roots
- Lama
- Iṣṭadevatā — Yidam
- Dakini/Dharmapala
- Trikaya
- Upāya — Skillful means
Buddhist practices
Three Jewels (Tiratana • Triratna)
- Buddha — Gautama Buddha, the Blessed One, the Awakened One, the Teacher
- Accomplished (arahaṃ • arhat)
- Fully enlightened (sammā-sambuddho • samyak-saṃbuddha)
- Perfect in true knowledge and conduct (vijjā-caraṇa sampanno • vidyā-caraṇa-saṃpanna)
- Sublime (sugato • sugata)
- Knower of the world (lokavidū • loka-vid)
- Incomparable leader of persons to be tamed (anuttaro purisa-damma-sārathi • puruṣa-damya-sārathi)
- Teacher of gods and humans (satthā deva-manussānaṃ • śāsta deva-manuṣyāṇaṃ)
- The Enlightened One (buddho)
- The Blessed One (bhagavā • bhagavat)
- Dhamma (Dharma) — the cosmic principle of truth, lawfulness, and virtue discovered, fathomed, and taught by the Buddha; the Buddha's teaching as an expression of that principle; the teaching that leads to enlightenment and liberation
- Well expounded by the Blessed One (svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo • svākhyāta)
- Directly visible (sandiṭṭhiko • sāṃdṛṣṭika)
- Immediate (akāliko • akālika)
- Inviting one to come and see (ehi-passiko • ehipaśyika)
- Worthy of application (opanayiko • avapraṇayika)
- To be personally experienced by the wise (paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhi • pratyātmaṃ veditavyo vijñaiḥ)
- Saṅgha (Saṃgha) — the spiritual community, which is twofold (1) the monastic Saṅgha, the order of monks and nuns; and (2) the noble Saṅgha, the spiritual community of noble disciples who have reached the stages of world-transcending realization
- Practicing the good way (supaṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho)
- Practicing the straight way (ujupaṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho)
- Practicing the true way (ñāyapaṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho)
- Practicing the proper way (sāmīcipaṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho)
- Worthy of gifts (āhuṇeyyo)
- Worthy of hospitality (pāhuṇeyyo)
- Worthy of offerings (dakkhiṇeyyo)
- Worthy of reverential salutation (añjalikaraṇīyo)
- The unsurpassed field of merit for the world (anuttaraṃ puññākkhettaṃ lokassā)
Buddhist devotion

- Taking refuge in the Triple Gem
- Worship (pūjā) — see also: Abhisheka
- Offerings
- Prostration (panipāta • namas-kara)
- Chanting
- Mantra
- Om mani padme hum
- Namo Amituofo
- Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō
- Buddho
- Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa — Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Fully Self-enlightened One
- Mantra
Moral discipline and precepts (Sīla • Śīla)
- Five Precepts (pañca-sīlāni • pañca-śīlāni)
- Abstaining from taking life (pāṇātipātā veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from taking what is not given (adinnādānā veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from sexual misconduct (kāmesu micchācāra veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from false speech (musāvāda veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from drinks and drugs that cause heedlessness (surā-meraya-majja-pamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī)
- Eight Precepts (aṭṭhasīla)
- Abstaining from taking life (both human and non-human)
- Abstaining from taking what is not given (stealing)
- Abstaining from all sexual activity
- Abstaining from telling lies
- Abstaining from using intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness
- Abstaining from eating at the wrong time (the right time is eating once, after sunrise, before noon)
- Abstaining from singing, dancing, playing music, attending entertainment performances, wearing perfume, and using cosmetics and garlands (decorative accessories)
- Abstaining from luxurious places for sitting or sleeping
- Ten Precepts (dasasīla)
- Abstaining from killing living things
- Abstaining from stealing
- Abstaining from un-chastity (sensuality, sexuality, lust)
- Abstaining from lying
- Abstaining from taking intoxicants
- Abstaining from taking food at inappropriate times (after noon)
- Abstaining from singing, dancing, playing music or attending entertainment programs (performances)
- Abstaining from wearing perfume, cosmetics and garland (decorative accessories)
- Abstaining from sitting on high chairs and sleeping on luxurious, soft beds
- Abstaining from accepting money
- Sixteen Precepts
- Three Treasures
- Taking refuge in the Buddha
- Taking refuge in the Dharma
- Taking refuge in the Sangha
- Three Pure Precepts
- Not Creating Evil
- Practicing Good
- Actualizing Good For Others
- Ten Grave Precepts
- Affirm life; Do not kill
- Be giving; Do not steal
- Honor the body; Do not misuse sexuality
- Manifest truth; Do not lie
- Proceed clearly; Do not cloud the mind
- See the perfection; Do not speak of others errors and faults
- Realize self and other as one; Do not elevate the self and blame others
- Give generously; Do not be withholding
- Actualize harmony; Do not be angry
- Experience the intimacy of things; Do not defile the Three Treasures
- Three Treasures
- Vinaya
- Pātimokkha (Pratimoksha) — the code of monastic rules binding on members of the Buddhist monastic order
- Parajika (defeats) — four rules entailing expulsion from the sangha for life
- Sexual intercourse, that is, any voluntary sexual interaction between a bhikkhu and a living being, except for mouth-to-mouth intercourse which falls under the sanghadisesa
- Stealing, that is, the robbery of anything worth more than 1/24 troy ounce of gold (as determined by local law.)
- Intentionally bringing about the death of a human being, even if it is still an embryo — whether by killing the person, arranging for an assassin to kill the person, inciting the person to die, or describing the advantages of death
- Deliberately lying to another person that one has attained a superior human state, such as claiming to be an arahant when one knows one is not, or claiming to have attained one of the jhanas when one knows one hasn't
- Sanghadisesa — thirteen rules requiring an initial and subsequent meeting of the sangha (communal meetings)
- Aniyata — two indefinite rules where a monk is accused of having committed an offence with a woman in a screened (enclosed) or private place by a lay person
- Nissaggiya pacittiya — thirty rules entailing "confession with forfeiture"
- Pacittiya — ninety-two rules entailing confession
- Patidesaniya — four violations which must be verbally acknowledged
- Sekhiyavatta — seventy-five rules of training, which are mainly about the deportment of a monk
- Sāruppa — proper behavior
- Bhojanapatisamyutta — food
- Dhammadesanāpatisamyutta — teaching dhamma
- Pakinnaka — miscellaneous
- Adhikarana-samatha — seven rules for settlement of legal processes that concern monks only
- Parajika (defeats) — four rules entailing expulsion from the sangha for life
- Pātimokkha (Pratimoksha) — the code of monastic rules binding on members of the Buddhist monastic order
- Bodhisattva vows
- Samaya — a set of vows or precepts given to initiates of an esoteric Vajrayana Buddhist order
- Ascetic practices (dhutanga) — a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism
Three Resolutions
- To abstain from all evil (sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṃ)
- To cultivate the good (kusalassa upasampadā)
- To purify one's mind (sacittapariyodapanaṃ)
Three Pillars of Dharma
- Generosity (dāna)
- Morality (sīla • śīla)
- Meditation (bhāvanā)
Threefold Training (Sikkhā)
- The training in the higher moral discipline (adhisīla-sikkhā) — morality (sīla • śīla)
- The training in the higher mind (adhicitta-sikkhā) — concentration (samādhi)
- The training in the higher wisdom (adhipaññā-sikkhā) — wisdom (paññā • prajñā)
Five Qualities
- Faith (saddhā • śraddhā)
- Morality (sīla • śīla)
- Learning (suta)
- Generosity (cāga)
- Wisdom (paññā • prajñā)
Five Powers of a Trainee
- Faith (saddhā • śraddhā)
- Conscience (hiri) — an innate sense of shame over moral transgression
- Concern (ottappa) — moral dread, fear of the results of wrongdoing
- Energy (viriya • vīrya)
- Wisdom (paññā • prajñā)
Five Things that lead to Awakening
- Admirable friendship (kalyāṇa-mittatā • kalyāṇa-mitratā)
- Morality (sīla • śīla)
- Hearing the Dhamma
- Exertion (viriya • vīrya)
- Awareness of impermanence (anicca-ñāṇa)
Five Subjects for Contemplation
- I am subject to ageing, I am not exempt from ageing
- I am subject to illness, I am not exempt from illness
- I am subject to death, I am not exempt from death
- There will be change and separation from all that I hold dear and near to me
- I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, I am born of my actions, I am related to my actions and I have my actions as refuge; whatever I do, good or evil, of that I will be the heir
Gradual training (Anupubbikathā)
- Generosity (dāna)
- Virtue (sīla • śīla)
- Heaven (sagga)
- Danger of sensual pleasure (kāmānaṃ ādīnava)
- Renunciation (nekkhamma)
- The Four Noble Truths (cattāri ariyasaccāni • catvāri āryasatyāni)
Seven Good Qualities (Satta saddhammā)
- Faith (saddhā • śraddhā)
- Conscience (hiri)
- Moral dread (ottappa)
- Learning (suta)
- Energy (viriya • vīrya)
- Mindfulness (sati • smṛti)
- Wisdom (paññā • prajñā)
Ten Meritorious Deeds (Dasa Punnakiriya vatthu)
- Generosity (dāna)
- Morality (sīla • śīla)
- Meditation (bhāvanā)
- Paying due respect to those who are worthy of it (apacayana)
- Helping others perform good deeds (veyyavacca)
- Sharing of merit after doing some good deed (anumodana)
- Rejoicing in the merits of others (pattanumodana)
- Teaching the Dhamma (dhammadesana)
- Listening to the Dhamma (dhammassavana)
- Straightening one's own views
Perfections (Pāramī • Pāramitā)
Ten Theravada Pāramīs (Dasa pāramiyo)
- Generosity (dāna)
- Morality (sīla)
- Renunciation (nekkhamma)
- Wisdom (paññā)
- Energy (viriya)
- Patience (khanti)
- Truthfulness (sacca)
- Determination (adhiṭṭhāna)
- Loving-kindness (mettā)
- Equanimity (upekkhā)
Six Mahayana Pāramitās
- Generosity (dāna)
- Morality (śīla)
- Patience (kṣanti)
- Energy (vīrya)
- Concentration (dhyāna)
- Wisdom (prajñā)
States Pertaining to Enlightenment (Bodhipakkhiyādhammā • Bodhipakṣa dharma)
Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Cattāro satipaṭṭhānā • Smṛtyupasthāna)
- Contemplation of the body (kāyagatāsati • kāyasmṛti)
- Mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati • ānāpānasmṛti)
- Contemplation of the body (kāyanupassana) — first tetrad
- Breathing a long breath
- Breathing a short breath
- Experiencing the whole (breath-) body (awareness of the beginning, middle, and end of the breath)
- Tranquilizing the bodily formation
- Contemplation of feelings (vedanānupassana) — second tetrad
- Experiencing rapture
- Experiencing bliss
- Experiencing the mental formation
- Tranquilizing the mental formation
- Contemplation of the mind (cittanupassana) — third tetrad
- Experiencing the mind
- Gladdening the mind
- Concentrating the mind
- Liberating the mind
- Contemplation of Dhammas (dhammānupassana) — fourth tetrad
- Contemplating impermanence (aniccānupassī)
- Contemplating fading away (virāgānupassī)
- Contemplating cessation (nirodhānupassī)
- Contemplating relinquishment (paṭinissaggānupassī)
- Contemplation of the body (kāyanupassana) — first tetrad
- Postures
- Clear comprehension (sampajañña • samprajaña)
- Clear comprehension of the purpose of one's action (sātthaka)
- Clear comprehension of the suitability of one's means to the achievement of one's purpose (sappāya)
- Clear comprehension of the domain, that is, not abandoning the subject of meditation during one's daily routine (gocara)
- Clear comprehension of reality, the awareness that behind one's activities there is no abiding self (asammoha)
- Reflections on repulsiveness of the body, meditation on the thirty-two body parts (patikulamanasikara)
- Reflections on the material elements (mahābhūta)
- Cemetery contemplations (asubha)
- Swollen or bloated corpse
- Corpse brownish black or purplish blue with decay
- Festering or suppurated corpse
- Corpse splattered half or fissured from decay
- Corpse gnawed by animals such as wild dogs and foxes
- Corpse scattered in parts, hands, legs, head and body being dispersed
- Corpse cut and thrown away in parts after killing
- Bleeding corpse, i.e. with red blood oozing out
- Corpse infested with and eaten by worms
- Remains of a corpse in a heap of bones, i.e. skeleton
- Mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati • ānāpānasmṛti)
- Contemplation of feelings (vedanāsati • vedanāsmṛti)
- Pleasant feeling
- Worldly pleasant feeling
- Spiritual pleasant feeling
- Painful feeling
- Worldly painful feeling
- Spiritual painful feeling
- Neither-pleasant-nor-painful (neutral) feeling
- Worldly neutral feeling
- Spiritual neutral feeling
- Pleasant feeling
- Contemplation of consciousness (cittasati • cittasmṛti)
- With lust (sarāgaṃ) or without lust (vītarāgaṃ)
- With hate (sadosaṃ) or without hate (vītadosaṃ)
- With delusion (samohaṃ) or without delusion (vītamohaṃ)
- Contracted (saṅkhittaṃ) or scattered (vikkhittaṃ)
- Lofty (mahaggataṃ) or not lofty (amahaggataṃ)
- Surpassable (sa-uttaraṃ) or unsurpassed (anuttaraṃ)
- Quieted (samāhitaṃ) or not quieted (asamāhitaṃ)
- Released (vimuttaṃ) or not released (avimuttaṃ)
- Contemplation of mental objects (dhammāsati • dharmasmṛti)
Four Right Exertions (Cattārimāni sammappadhānāni • Samyak-pradhāna)
- Exertion for the non-arising (anuppādāya) of unskillful states
- Exertion for the abandoning (pahānāya) of unskillful states
- Exertion for the arising (uppādāya) of skillful states
- Exertion for the sustaining (ṭhitiyā) of skillful states
Four Bases for Spiritual Power (Iddhipāda • Ṛddhipāda)
Four bases of miraculous power
- Concentration due to desire (chanda)
- Concentration due to energy (viriya • vīrya)
- Concentration due to mind (citta)
- Concentration due to investigation (vīmaṃsā)
Five Spiritual Faculties (Pañca indriya)
- Faith (saddhā • śraddhā) — faith in the Buddha's awakening
- Energy (viriya • vīrya) — exertion towards the Four Right Efforts
- Mindfulness (sati • smṛti) — focusing on the four satipatthana
- Concentration (samādhi) — achieving the four jhānas
- Wisdom (paññā • prajñā) — discerning the Four Noble Truths
Five Strengths (Pañca bala)
- Faith (saddhā • śraddhā) — controls doubt
- Energy (viriya • vīrya) — controls laziness
- Mindfulness (sati • smṛti) — controls heedlessness
- Concentration (samādhi) — controls distraction
- Wisdom (paññā • prajñā) — controls ignorance
Seven Factors of Enlightenment (Satta sambojjhaṅgā • Sapta bodhyanga)
Seven Factors of Enlightenment
Neutral
- Mindfulness (sati • smṛti)
Arousing
- Investigation of doctrine (dhamma vicaya • dharma-vicaya)
- Energy (viriya • vīrya)
- Rapture (pīti • prīti)
Calming
- Tranquillity (passaddhi)
- Concentration (samādhi)
- Equanimity (upekkhā • upekṣā)
Noble Eightfold Path (Ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo • Ārya 'ṣṭāṅga mārgaḥ)
Wisdom (Paññākkhandha)

- Right view (sammā-diṭṭhi • samyag-dṛṣṭi)
- Mundane right view
- Supramundane right view
- Right view that accords with the Four Noble Truths (saccanulomika sammā-diṭṭhi)
- Study
- Reflection
- Meditation
- Right view that penetrates the Four Noble Truths (saccapativedha sammā-diṭṭhi)
- Right view that accords with the Four Noble Truths (saccanulomika sammā-diṭṭhi)
- Right intention (sammā-saṅkappa • samyak-saṃkalpa)
- The intention of renunciation (nekkhamma-sankappa)
- The intention of non-ill will (abyapada-sankappa)
- The intention of harmlessness (avihimsa-sankappa)
Moral discipline (Sīlakkhandha)
- Right speech (sammā-vācā • samyag-vāc)
- Abstaining from false speech (musāvāda veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from slanderous speech (pisunaya vacaya veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from harsh speech (pharusaya vacaya veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from verbal abuse
- Abstaining from insults
- Abstaining from sarcasm
- Abstaining from idle chatter (samphappalāpa veramaṇī)
- Right action (sammā-kammanta • samyak-karmānta)
- Abstaining from the taking of life (pāṇātipātā veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from homicide
- Abstaining from animal slaughter
- Abstaining from deliberately harming or torturing another being
- Abstaining from taking what is not given (adinnādānā veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from stealing
- Abstaining from robbery
- Abstaining from snatching
- Abstaining from fraudulence
- Abstaining from deceitfulness
- Abstaining from sexual misconduct (kāmesu micchācāra veramaṇī)
- Abstaining from adultery
- Abstaining from sexual harassment
- Abstaining from rape
- Abstaining from the taking of life (pāṇātipātā veramaṇī)
- Right livelihood (sammā-ājīva • samyag-ājīva)
- Abstaining from dealing in weapons
- Abstaining from dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution)
- Abstaining from dealing in meat production and butchery
- Abstaining from dealing in poisons
- Abstaining from dealing in intoxicants
- Abstaining from deceit
- Abstaining from treachery
- Abstaining from soothsaying
- Abstaining from trickery
- Abstaining from usury
Concentration (Samādhikkhandha)
- Right effort (sammā-vāyāma • samyag-vyāyāma)
- The effort to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states (samvarappadhana)
- Wise attention (yoniso manasikara)
- Restraint of the sense faculties (indriya-samvara)
- The effort to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen (pahanappadhana)
- Overcoming the Five hindrances
- The effort to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen (bhavanappadhana)
- Seven Factors of Enlightenment (satta sambojjhaṅgā • sapta bodhyanga)
- Mindfulness (sati)
- Investigation of doctrine (dhamma vicaya)
- Energy (viriya • vīrya)
- Rapture (pīti)
- Tranquillity (passaddhi)
- Concentration (samādhi)
- Equanimity (upekkha)
- Seven Factors of Enlightenment (satta sambojjhaṅgā • sapta bodhyanga)
- The effort to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen (anurakkhanappadhana)
- The effort to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states (samvarappadhana)
- Right mindfulness (sammā-sati • samyak-smṛti)
- Contemplation of the body (kāyanupassana)
- Contemplation of feeling (vedanānupassana)
- Contemplation of states of mind (cittanupassana)
- Contemplation of phenomena (dhammānupassana)
- Right concentration (sammā-samādhi • samyak-samādhi)
- Four jhānas
- First jhāna (pathamajjhana)
- Second jhāna (dutiyajjhana)
- Third jhāna (tatiyajjhana)
- Fourth jhāna (catutthajjhana)
- Four jhānas
Acquired factors
- Right knowledge (sammā-ñāṇa)
- Right liberation (sammā-vimutti)
Buddhist meditation
Theravada meditation practices
Tranquillity/Serenity/Calm (Samatha • Śamatha)
- Place of work (kammaṭṭhāna)
- Ten Kasinas
- Earth kasina (pathavikasinam)
- Water kasina (apokasinam)
- Fire kasina (tejokasinam)
- Wind kasina (vayokasinam)
- Brownish or deep purplish blue kasina (nilakasinam)
- Yellow kasina (pitakasinam)
- Red kasina (lohitakasinam)
- White kasina (odatakasinam)
- Light kasina (alokakasinam)
- Open air-space, sky kasina (akasakasinam)
- Ten reflections on repulsiveness (asubas)
- A swollen or bloated corpse (uddhumatakam)
- A corpse brownish black or purplish blue with decay (vinilakam)
- A festering or suppurated corpse (vipubbakam)
- A corpse splattered half or fissured from decay (vicchiddakam)
- A corpse gnawed by animals such as wild dogs and foxes (vikkhayittakam)
- A corpse scattered in parts, hands, legs, head and body being dispersed (vikkhitakam)
- A corpse cut and thrown away in parts after killing (hatavikkhittakam)
- A bleeding corpse, i.e. with red blood oozing out (lohitakam)
- A corpse infested with and eaten by worms (puluvakam)
- Remains of a corpse in a heap of bones, i.e. skeleton (atthikam)
- Ten Recollections (anussati • anusmriti)
- Buddhānussati (Buddhanusmrti) — Recollection of the Buddha — fixing the mind with attentiveness and reflecting repeatedly on the glorious virtues and attributes of Buddha
- Dhammānussati (Dharmanusmrti) — Recollection of the Dhamma — reflecting with serious attentiveness repeatedly on the virtues and qualities of Buddha's teachings and his doctrine
- Saṅghānussati (Sanghanusmrti) — Recollection of the Saṅgha — fixing the mind strongly and repeatedly upon the rare attributes and sanctity of the Sangha
- Sīlānussati — Recollection of virtue — reflecting seriously and repeatedly on the purification of one's own morality or sīla
- Cāgānussati — Recollection of generosity — reflecting repeatedly on the mind's purity in the noble act of one's own dāna, charitableness and liberality
- Devatānussati — Recollection of deities — reflecting with serious and repeated attention on one's own complete possession of the qualities of absolute faith (saddhā), morality (sīla), learning (suta), liberality (cāga) and wisdom (paññā) just as the devas have, to enable one to be reborn in the world of devas
- Maraṇānussati — Mindfulness of death — reflecting repeatedly on the inevitability of death
- Kāyagatāsati — Mindfulness of the body — reflecting earnestly and repeatedly on the impurity of the body which is composed of the detestable 32 constituents such as hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, etc.
- Ānāpānasati — Mindfulness of breathing — repeated reflection on the inhaled and exhaled breath
- Upasamānussati — Recollection of peace — reflecting repeatedly with serious attentiveness on the supreme spiritual blissful state of Nirvana
- Four Divine Abidings (brahmavihāra)
- Loving-kindness (mettā • maitrī)
- Compassion (karuṇā)
- Sympathetic joy (muditā)
- Equanimity (upekkhā • upekṣā)
- Four formless jhānas (arūpajhāna)
- Base of the infinity of space (ākāsānañcāyatana)
- Base of the infinity of consciousness (viññāṇañcāyatana)
- Base of nothingness (ākiñcaññāyatana)
- Base of neither-perception-nor-nonperception (nevasaññānāsaññāyatana)
- Perception of disgust of food (aharepatikulasanna)
- Four Great Elements (mahābhūta)
- Earth element (paṭhavī-dhātu)
- Water (or liquid) element (āpo-dhātu)
- Fire element (tejo-dhātu)
- Air (or wind) element (vāyo-dhātu)
- Ten Kasinas
Concentration (Samādhi)
- Sign (nimitta)
- Learning sign (uggahanimitta)
- Counterpart sign (paṭibhāganimitta)
- Momentary concentration (khaṇikasamādhi)
- Preliminary concentration (parikammasamādhi)
- Neighbourhood concentration (upacārasamādhi)
- Nine attainments (samāpatti)
- Attainment concentration (appanāsamādhi)
- Jhāna (Dhyāna) — states of deep meditative concentration marked by the one-pointed fixation of the mind upon its object
- Four form jhānas (rūpajhāna)
- First jhāna (pathamajjhana)
- applied thought (vittaka)
- sustained thought (vicāra)
- rapture (pīti)
- bliss (sukha)
- one-pointedness (ekaggata)
- Second jhāna (dutiyajjhana)
- rapture (pīti)
- bliss (sukha)
- one-pointedness (ekaggata)
- Third jhāna (tatiyajjhana)
- bliss (sukha)
- one-pointedness (ekaggata)
- Fourth jhāna (catutthajjhana)
- one-pointedness (ekaggata)
- equanimity (upekkhā • upekṣā)
- First jhāna (pathamajjhana)
- Four formless jhānas (arūpajhāna)
- Base of the infinity of space (ākāsānañcāyatana)
- Base of the infinity of consciousness (viññāṇañcāyatana)
- Base of nothingness (ākiñcaññāyatana)
- Base of neither-perception-nor-nonperception (nevasaññānāsaññāyatana)
- Four form jhānas (rūpajhāna)
- Jhāna (Dhyāna) — states of deep meditative concentration marked by the one-pointed fixation of the mind upon its object
- Cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha-samāpatti)
- Attainment concentration (appanāsamādhi)
Insight meditation (Vipassanā • Vipaśyanā)
- Insight knowledge (vipassanā-ñāṇa)
- Vipassana jhanas
- Eighteen kinds of insight
- Contemplation on impermanence (aniccanupassana) overcomes the wrong idea of permanence
- Contemplation on unsatisfactoriness (dukkhanupassana) overcomes the wrong idea of real happiness
- Contemplation on non-self (anattanupassana) overcomes the wrong idea of self
- Contemplation on disenchantment (revulsion) (nibbidanupassana) overcomes affection
- Contemplation on dispassion (fading away) (viraganupassana) overcomes greed
- Contemplation on cessation (nirodhanupassana) overcomes the arising
- Contemplation on giving up (patinissagganupassana) overcomes attachment
- Contemplation on dissolution (khayanupassana) overcomes the wrong idea of something compact
- Contemplation on disappearance (vayanupassana) overcomes kamma-accumulation
- Contemplation on changeablenes (viparinamanupassana) overcomes the wrong idea of something immutable
- Contemplation on the signless (animittanupassana) overcomes the conditions of rebirth
- Contemplation on the desireless (appanihitanupassana) overcomes longing
- Contemplation on emptiness (suññatanupassana) overcomes clinging
- Higher wisdom and insight (adhipaññadhamma vipassana) overcomes the wrong idea of something substantial
- True eye of knowledge (yathabhuta ñanadassana) overcomes clinging to delusion
- Contemplation on misery (adinavanupassana) overcomes clinging to desire
- Reflecting contemplation (patisankhanupassana) overcomes thoughtlessness
- Contemplation on the standstill of existence (vivattanupassana) overcomes being entangled in fetters
- Sixteen Stages of Vipassanā Knowledge
- Knowledge to distinguish mental and physical states (namarupa pariccheda ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of the cause-and-effect relationship between mental and physical states (paccaya pariggaha ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of mental and physical processes as impermanent, unsatisfactory and nonself (sammasana ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of arising and passing away (udayabbaya ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of the dissolution of formations (bhanga ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of the fearful nature of mental and physical states (bhaya ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of mental and physical states as unsatisfactory (adinava ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of disenchantment (nibbida ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of the desire to abandon the worldly state (muncitukamayata ñāṇa)
- Knowledge which investigates the path to deliverance and instills a decision to practice further (patisankha ñāṇa)
- Knowledge which regards mental and physical states with equanimity (sankharupekha ñāṇa)
- Knowledge which conforms to the Four Noble Truths (anuloma ñāṇa)
- Knowledge of deliverance from the worldly condition (gotrabhu ñāṇa)
- Knowledge by which defilements are abandoned and are overcome by destruction (magga ñāṇa)
- Knowledge which realizes the fruit of the path and has nibbana as object (phala ñāṇa)
- Knowledge which reviews the defilements still remaining (paccavekkhana ñāṇa)
Zen meditation practices
- Zazen
- Concentration
- Kōan — a story, dialogue, question, or statement in Zen, containing aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, yet may be accessible to intuition
- Shikantaza — just sitting
Vajrayana meditation practices
- Tonglen
- Tantra
- Margaphala
- Ngöndro — Four thoughts which turn the mind towards Dharma
- The freedoms and advantages of precious human rebirth
- The truth of impermanence and change
- The workings of karma
- The suffering of living beings within Samsara
Other practices
- Ahimsa — Non-violence
- Appamada — Heedfulness
- Chöd — advanced spiritual practice and discipline arising from confluences of Bonpo, Mahasidda, Nyingmapa traditions and now practiced throughout the schools of Tibetan Buddhism
- Merit
- Paritta — Protection
- Samvega and pasada
- Simran
Attainment of Enlightenment
General
- Nirvana (Nibbāna • Nirvāṇa) — the final goal of the Buddha's teaching; the unconditioned state beyond the round of rebirths, to be attained by the destruction of the defilements; Full Enlightenment or Awakening, the complete cessation of suffering
- Parinirvana (Parinibbāna • Parinirvāṇa) — final passing away of an enlightened person
- Bodhi — the awakening attained by the Buddha and his accomplished disciples, referring to insight into the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path
- Types of Buddha
- Sammāsambuddha (Samyak-saṃbuddha) — one who, by his own efforts, attains Nirvana, having rediscovered the Noble Eightfold Path after it has been lost to humanity, and makes this Path known to others
- Paccekabuddha (Pratyekabuddha) — "a lone Buddha", a self-awakened Buddha, but one who lacks the ability to spread the Dhamma to others
- Sāvakabuddha (Śrāvakabuddha) — enlightened 'disciple of a Buddha'. Usual being named Arhat
Theravada
- Four stages of enlightenment (see also: Ariya-puggala — Noble Ones)
- Sotāpanna — Stream-enterer (first stage of enlightenment) — one who has "opened the eye of the Dhamma", and is guaranteed enlightenment after no more than seven successive rebirths, having eradicated the first three fetters
- The four factors leading to stream-entry
- Association with superior persons
- Hearing the true Dhamma
- Careful attention
- Practice in accordance with the Dhamma
- The four factors of a stream-enterer
- Possessing confirmed confidence in the Buddha
- Possessing confirmed confidence in the Dhamma
- Possessing confirmed confidence in the Sangha
- Possessing moral virtues dear to the noble ones
- The four factors leading to stream-entry
- Sakadagami — Once-returner (second stage of enlightenment) — will be reborn into the human world once more, before attaining enlightenment, having eradicated the first three fetters and attenuated greed, hatred, and delusion
- Anāgāmi — Non-returner (third stage of enlightenment) — does not come back into human existence, or any lower world, after death, but is reborn in the "Pure Abodes", where he will attain Nirvāṇa, having eradicated the first five fetters
- Arahant — "Worthy One", (see also: Arhat), a fully enlightened human being who has abandoned all ten fetters, and who upon decease (Parinibbāna) will not be reborn in any world, having wholly abandoned saṃsāra
- Sotāpanna — Stream-enterer (first stage of enlightenment) — one who has "opened the eye of the Dhamma", and is guaranteed enlightenment after no more than seven successive rebirths, having eradicated the first three fetters
Mahayana
- Bodhisattva — one who has generated bodhicitta, the spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood
- Bodhisattva Bhumis — stages of enlightenment through which a bodhisattva passes
Zen
- Satori — a Japanese Buddhist term for "enlightenment", which translates as a flash of sudden awareness, or individual enlightenment
- Kensho — "Seeing one's nature"
Major figures of Buddhism
See: List of Buddhists
Buddhist pilgrimage
- The Four Main Sites
- Lumbini — Buddha's birthplace
- Bodh Gaya — Buddha's place of Enlightenment
- Sarnath — Place of Buddha's first discourse
- Kushinagar — Place of Buddha's final passing away
- Four Additional Sites
- Other Sites
- Later Sites
Notes
- ↑ Cousins, L.S. (1996); Buswell (2003), Vol. I, p. 82; and, Keown & Prebish (2004), p. 107. See also, Gombrich (1988/2002), p. 32: “…[T]he best we can say is that [the Buddha] was probably Enlightened between 550 and 450, more likely later rather than earlier."
- ↑ Williams (2000, pp. 6-7) writes: "As a matter of fact Buddhism in mainland India itself had all but ceased to exist by the thirteenth century CE, although by that time it had spread to Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia." [1] (Originally 1958), "Chronology," p. xxix: "c. 1000-1200: Buddhism disappears as [an] organized religious force in India." See also, Robinson & Johnson (1970/1982), pp. 100-1, 108 Fig. 1; and, Harvey (1990/2007), pp. 139-40.
References
- ↑ Embree 1988.
- ↑ Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism, p1. Oxford University Press, 1998.
- ↑ "The World Factbook: Sri Lanka". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 2006-08-12..
- ↑ Keown, Damien (2003), A Dictionary of Buddhism: p. 38
- ↑ "The Mahayana, 'Great Vehicle' or 'Great Carriage' (for carrying all beings to nirvana), is also, and perhaps more correctly and accurately, known as the Bodhisattvayana, the bodhisattva's vehicle." - Warder, A.K. (3rd edn. 1999). Indian Buddhism: p.338
This article includes content from Outline of Buddhism on Wikipedia (view authors). License under CC BY-SA 3.0. | ![]() |