Glossary of Terms
Helpful Terms
- Arhat
- One who is free from rebirth through the realization of Nirvana in the fourth and final stage.
- Atman
- (Pali, Atta) Soul, self, ego.
- Bodhisattva
- One who has attained Enlightenment and is on the way to nirvana.
- Bodhi-tree
- The Tree of Wisdom, under which the Buddha attained Enlightenment.
- Buddha
- Awakened One, Enlightened One.
- Dharma
- Truth, teaching, doctrine, nature.
- Dukkha
- Suffering, conflict, emptiness.
- Karma
- Volitional action, deed.
- Mahasanghika
- 'Majority Faction', split with the Theravadins after the first Buddhist Council, more relaxed structure.
- Mahayana
- 'Great Vehicle', a split formed after the second Buddhist Council Buddhism, focused on universal salvation.
- Nirvana
- (Pali, Nibbana) The cessation of suffering and its conditions.
- Theravada
- 'Faction of the Elders', the orthodox and original form of Buddhism.
- Zen
- A form of Buddhism focused on meditation, bringing one into the direct experience of the present (The "Now").
