- Fa Yun
- Fa Yun (A.D. 467-529) was a great Dharma master of the Satyasiddhi School, also a scholar of the
Nirvana School. He wrote a commentary on Lotus Sutra, which is generally
accepted by Japanese Buddhism later.
- First Council
- Also known as 500 Council, Theravada Council", The First
Compilation, etc. The assembly of 500 leading Bhikhus gathered for 3 months after the
Buddha's death to compile the Buddhist sutras. It was held at Cave of the Seven Leaves near Rajagaha.
In the assembly, Ananda recited the
Sutta-pitaka, Upali recited the Rules of Disciplines of the Order, i.e.,
Vinaya-pitaka, and Kassapa recited the Abhidhamma. Thus, the Tripitaka was adopted as a unity of
doctrines and opinions within the religious order, and also an orthodox
teaching for the Buddhists to follow.
- Five Basic Afflications
- The five fundamental conditions of the passions and delusions:
- wrong view, which are common to the Trailokya
- clinging or attachment in the Desire
Realm
- clinging or attachment in the Form Realm
- clinging or attachment in the Formless
Realm
- the state of unenlightenment or ignorance in Trailokya, which is the root-cause of all
distressful delusion.
- Five Bhikshus
- The first five of Buddha's converts:
in Pali (P)
|
in Sanskrit (S)
|
|
Ajnata-Kaundinya |
Ajnata-Kondanna |
 |
Bhadrika |
Bhaddiya |
 |
Asvajit |
Assagi |
 |
Vaspa |
Vappa |
 |
Mahanaman |
Mahanama |
 |
They followed Shakyamuni to practice
asceticism, but left him when he abandoned such practices. Later, when
Shakyamuni attained Buddhahood, his first sermon was preached in Deer Park to these men, who became his
first disciples.
- Five Categories of Untranslated Terms
- Chinese T"ang Dynasty Master of the Tripitaka Hsuan-Tsang established five
categories of words which should be left untranslated
- the esoteric
- words having multiple meanings
- words for things not existing in China
- words not translated in accord with already established precedent
- words left untranslated in order to give rise to wholesomeness and respect
- Five Commandments
- See Five Precepts.
- Five Eyes
- There are five kinds of eyes or vision
- human eye - it is our flesh eye, an organ to see an
object with limitation, for instance, in darkness, with obstruction.
- devine eye - it can see in darkness and in distance,
attainable by men in dhyana (concentration/meditation).
- wisdom eye - the eye of Arhat and Two
Vehicles i.e. the sound-hearers (Sravaka) and the Enlightened to Conditions
(Praetyka-Buddha). It can see the false
and empty nature of all phenomena.
- dharma eye - the eye of Bodhisattva. It can see all the dharmas in the world and beyond the world.
- buddha eye - the eye of Buddha or omniscience. It can see all that
four previous eyes can see.
- Five Forms of Decaying
- When the devas are dying, there are five symptoms:
1. the flowers around the crown
2. the clothes being dirty
3. having unpleasant smell in the body
4. sweating in armpit
5. Being unhappy in seat
- Five Messengers
- They are five messengers of Manjusri:
1. Kesini
2. Upakesini
3. Citra
4. Vasumati
5. Akarsani
- Five Offences
- The five rebellious acts or deadly sins:
(1) parricide, i.e., killing father
(2) matricide, i.e., killing mother
(3) killing an arhat
(4) shedding the blood of a Buddha
(5) destroying the harmony of the sangha, or fraternity.
- Five Precepts
- Or Five Commandments for layman
(1) No killing
(2) No stealing
(3) No sexual misconduct/adultery
(4) No lying
(5) No intoxicant
It is essential for the rebirth in human realms.
- Five Skandhas
- Or Five Aggregates, that is, the five components of an intelligent beings,
or psychological analysis of the mind:
- Matter or Form (rupa) - the physical form responded to the five organs of
senses, i.e., eye, ear, nose, tongue and body
- Sensation or Feeling (vedana) - the feeling in reception of physical
things by the senses through the mind
- Recognition or Conception (sanjna) - the functioning of mind in
distinguishing and formulating the concept
- Volition or Mental Formation (samskara) - habitual action, i.e., a
conditioned response to the object of experience, whether it is good or
evil, you like or dislike
- Consciousness (vijnana) - the mental faculty in regard to perception,
cognition and experience
- Five Vehicles
- Pancayana in Sanskrit. The Five Vehicles conveying the karma-reward
which differs according to the vehicle:
- Human Vehicle - rebirth among human conveyed by observing the Five Commandments (Five
Precepts)
- Deva Vehicle - among the devas by the Ten
Forms of Good Actions (Ten
Wholesomeness)
- "Sound-Hearing" Arhat - among the
sravakas by the Four Noble Truths
- "Enlightened by Conditions" Arhat - among
the pratyeka-buddhas by the Twelve
Nidanas
- Bodhisattva - among the Bodhisattvas
by the Six Paramita
- Five Wisdoms
-
- Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of Dharma Realm
- derived from amala-vijanana, i.e. pure consciousness (or mind).
- Wisdom of the Great Round Mirror
- derived from alaya-vijanana, (8th consciousness) reflecting
all things.
- Wisdom in regard to all things equally and universally
- derived from manovijanana (7th consciousness).
- Wisdom of profound insight, or discrimination, for exposition and doubt
- destruction
- derived from the mind consciousness (6th consciousness).
- Wisdom of perfecting the double work of self welfare and the welfare of
others
- derived from the five senses (1st to 5th consciousness).
- Flower Adornment Sutra
- One of the most important sutra in
Buddhism, particularly Mahayana Buddhism.
There are many volumes in the Sutra. It describes the entire Buddha Realm which is, of course, not easy to
visualize. See also Avatamsaka Sutra.
- Foremost Paramita
- It refers to the perfect principle of Middle
Way. It is neither birth nor death, without dwelling in Nirvana. It is the substance of everything
beyond words and conceptual thinking.
- Four Aspects (of Buddhist Dharma)
- (1) the teaching
(2) the principle
(3) the practice
(4) the fruit/reward/result
- Four Castes
- The class system in ancient India:
- Brahman - the highest caste,
- Kshatriyas (royal families) - the warrior,
- Vaishyas (ordinary citizen),
- Sudras (slaves).
- Four Fearlessness
- There are four kinds of fearlessness, of which there are two groups:
- Buddha's fearlessness arises from
- his omniscience
- perfection of character
- overcoming opposition
- ending of suffering
- Bodhisattva's fearlessness arises from
- powers of memory
- power of moral diagnosis and application of the remedy
- power of ratiocination
- power of solving doubts
- Four Fruition
- Also called the "Four Fruits", the "Four Rewards", or the "Four Phala".
These are four grades of arhatship, namely:
- Srota-apanna (Srota-apanna in
Sanskrit, Sota-panna in Pali) : has entered the stream of holy living; the
first stage of the arhat, that of a Sravaka
- Sakrdagamin (Sakrdagamin in Sanskrit,
Sakadagamin in Pali) : comes to be born once more; the second grade of
arhatship involving only one birth
- Anagamin: will not be reborn in this world (i.e. Six Paths), but in the Form Realm or Formless Realm, where he will attain to
Nirvana
- Arhat: enters Nirvana. All Karma of reincarnation is destroyed. He also reaches a
state of no longer learning. He is the highest Saint in Hinayana in contrast with the Bodhisattva as the Saint in Mahayana
- Four Great Bodhisattva
- They represent the four major characters of Bodhisattva:
- Manjusri - Universal Great Wisdom
Bodhisattva
- Samantabhadra - Universal Worthy
Great Conduct Bodhisattva
- Ksitigarbha - Earth Treasury King
Great Vow Bodhisattva
- Avalokitesvara - Guan Shr Yin Great
Compassion Bodhisattva
- Four Great Elements
- All matters are formed and are composed by four conditioned causes :
(1) earth, which is characterized by solidity and durability
(2) water, which is characterized by liquid/fluid and moisture
(3) fire, which is characterized by energy and warmth
(4) wind, which is characterized by gas/air movement
- Four Great Vows
- Vow to take across the numberless living beings.
- Vow to cut off the endless afflictions.
- Vow to study the countless Dharma doors.
- Vow to realize the supreme Buddha Way.
- Four Holy Realms
- They are Sravaka, Praetyka-Buddha, Bodhisattva, and Buddha.
- Four Immeasurable Minds
- See Four Unlimited Minds.
- Four Marks
- A mark is a notion of form. In Diamond Sutra, it states that people
attach to the Four Marks which hinder them from Buddhahood. Conversely,
those who see all marks as no mark are Buddhas. The Four Marks are
- a mark of self
- a mark of others
- a mark of sentient being
- a mark of life
- Four Noble Truths
- It is the primary and fundamental doctrines of Shakyamuni
- Doctrine of Suffering - suffering is a necessary attribute of sentient
existence (Effect of Suffering)
- Doctrine of Accumulation - accumulation of suffering is caused by passions
(Cause of Suffering)
- Doctrine of Extinction - extinction of passion (Effect of Happiness)
- Doctrine of Path - Path leading to the extinction of passion (Cause of
Happiness); i.e. Eightfold Path.
The first two are considered to be related to this life, and the last two to
the life outside and beyond this world.
The Four Noble Truths were first preached to Shakyamuni's five former ascetic
companions.
- Four Phala
- See Four Fruition.
- Four Reliance (to learning Buddhist Dharma)
- The four standards of Right Dharma which buddhist should rely on or abide
by:
- to abide by the Dharma, not the person
- to abide by the sutras of ultimate truth, not the sutras of incomplete
truth
- to abide by the meaning, not the word
- to abide by the wisdom, not the consciousness
- Four Seals
- They are:
- All phenomena are impermanent.
- All Dharma are not-self.
- The eternity is Nirvana.
- All sensations are suffering.
- Four Sects of Hinayana
- From the time of Ashoka, there were
four principal schools out of the Eighteen sects
of Hinayana, namely Mahasanghika, Sthavirah, Mulasarvastivadah and Sammatiyah.
- Four Unlimited Mind
- The mind of Bodhisattva:
1. Kindness
2. Compassion
3. Delight
4. Renunciation
- Four Virtues
- The four Nirvana virtues:
(1) Eternity or permanence
(2) Joy
(3) Personality
(4) Purity
These four important virtues are affirmed by the sutra in the transcendental
or nirvana-realm.
- Four Ways (of learning Buddhist Dharma)
- (1) Belief/faith
(2) Interpretation/discernment
(3) Practice/performance
(4) Verification/assurance
These are the cyclic process in learning a truth.
- Fourfold Assembly
- Or the Four Varga (groups) are bhiksu, bhiksuni, upasaka and upasika,
i.e. monks, nuns, male and female devotees.
- Fundamental Face
- Also known as Fundamentally Unborn. A common term used in Chan practice.
It is actually the fundamental mind, considered to be the Buddha's Dharma
Body. It is the form of the fundamental truth, so called True Suchness or Bhutaththata.
- Gatha
- Ancient Indian verse.
- Giving
- See charity.
- Gokulika
- See Kaukkutikah.
- Good Roots
- There are eleven kinds of good roots:
- faith
- shame
- remorse
- absence of greed
- absence of hatred
- absence of stupidity
- vigor
- transquility
- non-laxity
- non-harming
- renunciation
These are eleven good Dharmas of the fifty one Dharmas belonging to the heart.
- Gotama
- Gotama in Pali, Gautama in Sanskrit. The surname of the Shakya clan into which Shakyamuni was born. Another name for
Shakyamuni.
- Gui Ji
- Gui Ji (A.D. 632-682) was a great Dharma master of the Dharmalaksana School. His writing on the
Lotus Sutra was so remarkable that was generally accepted and interpreted by
other great Dharma masters.
- Haimavatah
- One of the Hinayana School, a
subdivision of Sthaviradin. It was a
school of the snow mountains, a schismatic philosophical school.
- Hau Tou
- Intense concentration on a question-word which defies any answer and
allows no answer at all. Literally, it refers to the source of word before it
is uttered. It is a method used in Ch'an Sect
to arouse the doubt. The practitioner meditates on questions as who is
reciting the Buddha's name?. He does not rely on experience or reasoning.
Sometimes, it is also known as Kung-an.
- Heavenly Eye
- See Devine Eye.
- Hetavadinah
- Another name of Sarvastivadah.
- Hinayana
- Also called Small Vehicle or Liberated Vehicle, which refers to Sravaka and Praetyka-Buddha. It is a school of Buddhism,
popular in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, hence also known as Southern Buddhism,
in contrast with Northern Buddhism or Mahayana, the form mainly prevalent from
Nepal to Japan.
Hinayana is sometimes described as self-benefiting, and Mahayana as self-benefiting for the benefit of others.
Another difference is that Pali is the general literary language in Hinayana
while Sanskrit of Mahayana. See also
Theravada.
Hinayana is nearer to the original teaching of the Buddha. For further
details, please refer to Section 3-A A Glimpse in the Scope of Buddhism
in Vol. 1 No. 4 of Buddhist Door.
- Hsu Yun
- A great Ch'an master in China. He died in
1959 at the age of 120.
- Hua-yen School
- It is based on the Avatamsaka Sutra
and was founded by Tu Shun in China.
- Hui Neng
- The Sixth Patriarch of Zen (Ch'an) Sect in China.
- Ignorance
- Sanskrit word is Avidya. Literally, it means darkness without
illumination. Actually it refers to illusion without englightenment, i.e.,
the illusory phenomena for realities. Avidya is the first or the last of the
Twelve Nidanas. Ignorance, karma and desire are the three forces that cause
reincarnation.
- Jainism
- A religion founded by Nataputta, who was a royal clan of the Nata tribe in
ancient India at the time of Shakyamuni.
Similar to Buddhism, its basic doctrine is non-materialistic atheism.
- Jataka
- The sutra to narrate the birth stories
of Shakyamuni in present life, past lives,
and effects related to the past lives and the present lives.
- Jetavaniyah
- Or Jetiyasailah, school of the dwellers on Mount Jeta, which is a sub
division of the Sthavirah, one of the Hinayana sect.
Also known as Caitya-vandana, who paid reverence to or worship a stupa. Caitya is a religious monument or stupa
in which the relics of the Buddha or other reverend sages are placed. This
sect held that the Buddha's discourse was transcendent, his enlightenment was
already determined when he was born, that he could violate the natural laws,
and could be reborn wherever he wished (in his previous lives as a Bodhisattva).
- Jetavanna Grove
- A famous monastery Bodhimandala of Shakyamuni Buddha, where he spoke of many sutras. It was located in Savatthi, the capital of savatthi. The land was bought by a wealthy
merchant Anathapindika with as much gold
as would cover the ground, and the houses were built by Prince Jeta for the
Buddha and his followers.
- Ji Zang
- Ji Zang (A.D. 549-623) was a great Dharma master of Madhyamika, who wrote
five books regarding the Lotus Sutra.
- Jie Huan
- He was a great Dharma master in Sung Dynasty. Practicing in Chan School, he used the concept of Chan to interpret the Lotus Sutra.
- Jnanagupta
- He translated the Lotus Sutra in A.D. 601, jointly with Dharmagupta.
- Kalpa
- Kalpa in Sanskrit, Kappa in Pali. It is a fabulous period of four
hundred and thirty two million years of mortals, measuring the duration of
world. It is the period of time between other creation and recreation of a
world or universe.
The four kalpas of formation, existence, destruction and emptiness as a
complete period, is called maha kalpa or great kalpas. Each great
kalpa is subdivided into four asamkhyeya-kalpas or kalpas. Each of the
four kalpas is subdivided into twenty antara-kalpas, or small kalpas.
There are different distinctions and illustrations of kalpas. In general, a
small kalpa is represented as 16,800,000 years, a kalpa as 336,000,000 years
and a mahakalpa is 1,334,000,000 years.
- Kapilavatsu
- The capital of Shakya kingdom. The
king of Kapilavatsu was Suddhodana, who was the father of Shakyamuni. The present-day Kapilavatsu
is in Nepal.
- Karma
- Karman in Sanskrit, Kamma in Pali. It means action, deed, moral duty,
effect. Karma is moral action which causes future retribution, and either
good or evil transmigration. It is also moral kernal in each being which
survive death for further rebirth.
- Kasyapiya
- One of the Hinayana sect, a
subdivision of Sarvastivadah.
- Kaukkutikah (Gokulika)
- One of the Hinayana sect. A branch of
Mahasanghikah. They held that there is no
hapiness whatsoever in the world, just suffering.
- King Bimblisara
- The king of Magadha, one of the four
great kingdoms in ancient India. He was devoted in Buddhism, and was
converted to the follower of Shakyamuni
Buddha. He was the one who built Bamboo
Grove Park in Rajagaha, the first
Bodhi mandala in Buddhism.
- Koan
- A Japanese term taken from the Chinese Kung-an.
- Koliya
- The royal clan to which the mother of Shakyamuni, Maya belonged. The kings of
the Koliya and Shakya were brothers, and
the families were inter-married. Indeed, Yasodhara, the wife of Shakyamuni,
was also a princess of Koliya royal house.
- Kosala
- Kosala in Pali, Kausala in Sanskrit. One of the four great states (i.e.,
Kosala, Magadha, Vansa & Avanti) in ancient
India. The Shakya tribe to which Shakyamuni belonged was under the power and
influence of Kosala. The capital of Kosala was Savatthi where the famous
monastery (Bodhi-mandala) Jetavanna Grove was located.
- Ksatriya
- Ksatriya in Sanskrit, Khattiya in Pali. The second of the four
Indian Castes at the time of Shakyamuni, they were the royal caste, the
noble landlord, the warriors and the ruling castes.
- Ksitigarbha
- Earth Store Bodhisattva. He is now the guardian of the earth.
Depicted with the alarum staff with its six rings, he is accredited with power
over the hells and is devoted to the saving of all creatures between the Nirvana of Shakyamuni and the advent of Maitreya. He vows that while the hell is not
empty, he will not attain Buddhahood. As his vow is the greatest, he is also
known as The Great Vow Bodhisattva.
- Kung-an
- In Zen, it is a word, or a phrase, or a
story couched in irrational language which cannot be solved by intellectual
processes, but whose meaning must burst on the mind directly. Kung-an is used
as an exercise in breaking the false thoughts, developing the deep intuition,
and achieving a state of awareness.
- Kushala
- Sanskrit word. It means good Karma.
- Kusinara
- Kusinara in Pali, Kusinagara in Sanskrit. The village where Shakyamuni died, and the capital of the
ancient kingdom of Malla.