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jects and energies are under the law of causation,
and, thus, they are co-existent and interdependent. back
Bhikshu: Religious mendicant; fully ordained Budd-
hist monk. Bhikshuni is the equivalent female term.
Bodhi: Perfect wisdom or insight; knowledge by
means of which a person becomes a Buddha. back
Brahmajala: Or Indra s net, characterized as hold-
ing a luminous gem in every one of its eyes (Hindu
mythology). back
Dharani: Extended mantra used in the esoteric
branch of Buddhism to focus and expand the mind.
Its words, or sounds, should not communicate any
recognizable meaning. back
Dharmadhatu: The Law-doctrine that is the reality
behind being and non-being. It is interpenetrative
and all-inclusive, just as the rotation of the earth en-
compasses both night and day. back
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Dharmakaya: The first of the three forms of Buddha;
i.e., the Self-Nature, or Void aspect. The Real Being
in his True Nature, indescribable and absolute. back
Five Fundamental Conditions of Passion and
Delusion: 1) wrong views, which are common to the
Triloka; 2) clinging, or attachment, in the desire realm;
3) clinging, or attachment, in the form realm;
4) clinging, or attachment, in the formless realm,
which is still mortal; 5) The state of unenlightenment,
which is the root-cause of all distressful delusion. back
Four Fruits of the Arhat: See Arhat. back
Hinayana: Lit., Lesser Vehicle; designates the Budd-
hist tradition of Southeast Asia; replaced by the term
Theravada. back
Kalpa: Periodic manifestations and dissolutions of
universes, which go on eternally. Great kalpas con-
sist of four asamkheya kalpas corresponding to the
childhood, maturity, old age and the death of the
universe. back
Lesser Vehicle: See Hinayana. back
Lotus Sutra: Saddharma-pundarika, Dharma Flower,
or The Lotus of the True Law. This Sutra is the basis
for the Lotus Sect (T ien-T ai in Chinese). It is
among the chief sutras of the Mahayana canon. back
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Mahayana: Lit., Great Vehicle; the dominant Budd-
hist tradition of China. Special characteristics of
Mahayana are as follows: 1) emphasis on the Bodhi-
sattva ideal; 2) the accession of the Buddha to a
superhuman status; 3) the development of extensive
philosophical inquiry to counter Brahmanical and
other scholarly argument; 4) the development of
elaborate devotional practice. back
Middle Vehicle: The Vehicle of the pratyekabuddha,
who attains his enlightenment alone, independently
of a teacher, with the goal of attaining enlightenment
and his own salvation rather than that of others as is
the goal of a Bodhisattva. back
Middle Way: See T ien T ai. back
Nirvana Sutra: The last of the sutras in the Maha-
yana canon. It emphasizes the importance of Buddha-
Nature, which is the same as Self-Nature. back
.Paramita: Perfected virtue, of which there are six,
namely: 1) Dana: generosity, charity; 2) Sila: moral-
ity, harmony; 3) Ksanti: patience, tolerance of insults;
4) Virya: Valor, vigor in practice; 5) Dhyana: con-
templation, meditation; 6) Prajna: essential wisdom,
awareness, as such, beyond the duality of subject
and object. back
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Pratyekabuddha: Self-enlightened being who has
attained without a teacher; attained individual un-
willing or unable to teach. back
Saddharma-pundarika: See Lotus Sutra. back
Sahalokadhatu: Saha World; this world to be endur-
ed; this earth. back
Sanskrit: The learned classical language of India.
The canonical texts of Mahayana Buddhism in its
Indian stage were written in Sanskrit. back
Skandhas: As taught by the Buddha, the five skan-
dhas are the components of the so-called human
entity, that is constantly changing. They are as
follows: 1) Name/form; 2) Feeling; 3) Conception;
4) Volition; 5) Consciousness. back
Sramana: Lit., laborer; applied to those who whole-
heartedly practice toward Enlightenment; root word
of the designation for a novice monk. back
Sravaka: Lit., hearer; it originally refers to those
who paid devoted attention to the spoken words of
Buddha; today it is more often applied to practice;
an individual still needing guidance in Dharma. back
Sunyata: A fundamental Buddhist concept, various-
ly translated as non-substantiality, emptiness, void-
ness, etc. The concept that entities have no fixed or
independent nature. back
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Tao: Chinese term meaning the Way. In Buddhist
terminology it may be applied to practice, to the
Self-nature or to the Ultimate. back
Tathagata: The Thus-Gone One, a term frequently
used by the Buddha in reference to himself. back
T ien T ai: Chinese name designating a school of
Buddhism in that country; the Lotus Sutra is the
school s textual foundation. The T ien T ai doctrine
speaks of a threefold Truth, the three being three-in-
one. These are: 1) Phenomena are produced by var-
ious causes, and thus their essence is devoid of any
permanent existence; that is, they are empty;
2) Nevertheless, they do have a real, if only tem-
porary, immediate, illusory existence; 3) Since pheno-
mena are, thus, a blending of both ultimate empti-
ness (voidness) and temporary (impermanent, illus-
ory) existence, they should be seen as occupying a pos-
ition midway between the two poles (the Middle Way).
The school emphasizes Buddhist philosophy. back
The Ten Directions: North, South, East, West;
Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest; Zenith
and Nadir. back
Triloka, or Trailoka: The Three Realms: the World
of Sensuous Desire; the World of Form; the World
of Formlessness. back
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Tripitaka: Lit., three baskets; the earliest Buddhist
canonical text, consisting of three sections:
1) Buddha s discourses (sutras), 2) Rules of Discip-
line (Vinaya), 3) Analytical and explanatory texts, or
commentaries (sastras); usually referred to together
as the Pali Canon. back
Upasaka: Buddhist lay disciple (man), who has form-
ally received five precepts, or rules of conduct. Upas-
ika is the equivalent term designating a woman. back
Transfer-of-Merit Vow (Parinamana)
For All Donors
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