Abhidhamma: (1) In the discourses of the Pali Canon, this term simply means "higher Dhamma," a systematic attempt to define the Buddha's teachings and understand their interrelationships. (2) A later collection of analytical treatises based on lists of categories drawn from the teachings in the discourses, added to the Canon several centuries after the Buddha's life.
Ahimsa: (Pali) Non-harming or not hurting; gentleness to all forms of life.
Ajahn: The Thai word for ‘teacher’; often used as the title of the senior monk or monks at a monastery. This is also spelt ‘achaan’, ‘acharn’ (and several other ways - all derived from the Pali word ‘acariya’).
Amida: The Buddha who is the main object of devotion in the Pure Land School of Chinese Buddhism, and the Jodo and Shin Schools in Japan.
Amida: (Japanese) Amitabha. The Buddha of Infinite Light.
Amitabha: (Sanskrit) The Buddha who is the main object of devotion in the Pure Land School of Chinese Buddhism, and the Jodo and Shin Schools in Japan.
Amitabha: Literally means boundless light. He is the Buddha in the Land of Ultimate Bliss (Pure Land), in which all beings enjoy unbounded happiness. Amitabha has forty-eight great vows to establish and adorn his Pure Land. People who also recite or call upon his name by the time of dying will be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss with the reception by Amitabha.
Anagarika: (Pali/Sanskrit) 'Homeless one'. One who enters the homeless life without formally joining the Sangha.
Ananda: One of the Shakyamuni Buddha's Ten Great Disciples, and the Buddha's cousin. He was first in hearing the Buddha's words. As he had excellent memory, he memorized the Buddha's sermons, which were later recorded as sutras. He was also the cousin of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Anapana-sati: (Pali) 'Mindfulness on In-and-out breathing', is one of the most important exercises for reaching mental concentration and the four absorbtions (jhanas).
Anathapindika: A name given to Sudatta, meant one who gives to the needy. He was a wealthy merchant of Savatthi in ancient India who bought the land from Prince Jeta with as much gold as would cover the ground for the construction of Jetavanna Grove - one of the great monastery or Bodhimandala of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Anatman/Anatta: 'Non-self, Non-ego' impersonality, the Buddhist negation of the Hindu understanding of atman as indestructible core of personal individuality.
Anatta: (Pali) Anatman (Sanskrit) No-soul non-self teaching of Buddhism.
Anittya/Anicca: (Skt./Pali) 'Impermanence', one of the three essential characteristics of existence, along with Anicca and Dukkha.
Anjali: (Pali) To join the palms in a reverential gesture of respect.
Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: (Pali) Supreme perfect enlightenment.
Apaya: (Pali) Realm of destitution. One of the four lower realms of existence, in which beings suffer because of their bad Kamma: hell, the realm of hungry shades, the realm of angry demons, and level of common animals. In the Buddhist cosmology, a person reborn in any of these realms may stay there for long or short periods of time, but never for an eternity. After the bad kamma has worked out, the person will return to the higher realms.
Apsara: Celestial nymph.
Arahat: (Pali) The perfected disciple; one who has completed the discipline required to attain liberation.
Arahant: (Pali) A "worthy one" or "pure one;" a person whose mind is free of defilement and thus is not destined for further rebirth. A title for the Buddha and the highest level of his noble disciples.
Arhat: (Sanskrit) The perfected disciple; one who has completed the discipline required to attain liberation.
Ariya: (Pali) Arya: (Sanskrit) Noble; the noble ones; the elect.
Asava: Effluent; fermentation. Four qualities - sensuality, views, becoming, and ignorance - that "flow out" of the mind and create the flood of the round of death and rebirth.
Asavas: The 'cankers' which obstruct spiritual achievement (e.g. sensual longing, desire for continued separate existence, ignorance).
Ashoka: A Buddhist monarch of 300 B.C., the third emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty, who unified most of India under his rule and fostered the dissemination of Buddhism. It is said that the Third Council was held during his reign. Ashoka set the model for many other rulers who sought to govern in accordance with Buddhist philosophy.
Asura: (Ashura in Sanskrit, Asura in Pali). It is a peculiar path in the Six Paths. They are the enemies of the devas, and are the mightest of all demons. In terms of material enjoyment and psychic power, it is similar to Deva. However, in some aspects, it is even worse than the Human Path. The male Asura is extremely ugly and furious, and they always fight with each other. The female Asura is as beautiful as an angel.
Asubha: (Pali) 'Impurity', loathsomeness, foulness, the perception of Impurity.
Atta: 'Self', Ego, Personality, is in Buddhism a mere conventional expression, and no designation for anything really existing.
Avalokiteshvara: One of the principal Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition; personifies boundless compassion.
Avalokitesvara: In Chinese, Kwan Yin. A Bodhisattva conceived as merciful to those in special need.
Avidya/Avijja: (Pali /Sanskrit) 'Ignorance', nescience, unknowing, synonymous with Delusion: is the primary root of all evil and suffering in the world.
Bhagawan: Epithet of a Buddha, meaning one who has destroyed all obstacles, who is endowed with realizations and who has transcended the world.
Bhakti: (Sanskrit) Devotion to a spiritual ideal.
Bhante: (Pali) Venerable Sir.
Bhavana: 'Mental development', (lit., 'calling into existence, producing) is what in English is generally but rather vaguely known as meditation. (Sanskrit and Pali)
Bhikkhu: (Pali) Alms mendicant; the term for a monk, who lives on alms and abides by training precepts which define a life of renunciation and morality.
Bhikkhuni: (Pali) Nun.
Bhikshu: (Skt.) Monk.
Bhikshuni: (Skt.) Nun.
Blue Cliff Record: This collection of 100 koans with appreciatory verses and commentaries is a key text in the Rinzai school. It was studied by Dogen Zenji, who carried a handwritten copy back to Japan from China.
Bodhi: (Sanskrit and Pali) Enlightenment; the spiritual condition of a Buddha or Bodhisattva.
Bodhicitta: (Sanskrit and Pali) The aspiration to attain full enlightenment in order to enlighten all beings.
Bodhidharma: The twenty-eighth Ch'an patriarch in India and the first in China. He brought Zen to China from India.
Bodhisatta: "A being (striving) for Awakening;" a term used to describe the Buddha before he actually became Buddha, from his first aspiration to Buddhahood until the time of his full Awakening. Sanskrit form: Bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva: One moved by compassionate zeal to aid fellow beings, hence willing to postpone his or her own entrance into Nirvana to this end.
Bodhisattva: One whose 'being' or 'essence' (sattva) is Bodhi.
Bodhi tree: Sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa), under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
Bon-po: (Tibetan) The indigenous religion of Tibet. A form of nature-worship which has affected Tibetan Buddhism.
Bonze: Monk of the Mahayana school, active in China and Japan. Original meaning is the chief monk in a Buddhist monastery, now used for any monk.
Bo-tree: Sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa), under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
Brahma: One of the three major deities of Hinduism, along with Visnu (Vishnu) and Siva (Shiva). Adopted as one of the protective deities of Buddhism.
Brahman: The highest of the Four Castes in ancient India at the time of Shakyamuni. They served Brahma, with offerings; the keepers of the Vedas, i.e. priestly caste.
Brahmana: Usually spelled Brahmin. A member of the highest, namely the priestly, caste.
Brahmin: Name used in the present text for the priestly caste of Hindus. See Brahman.
Buddha: The Illumined One. The main title of the founder of Buddhism after his Enlightenment.
Buddha: fully "enlightened one," a historical person in the Theravada view; one of innumerable beings in Mahayana view because each person is a potential Buddha.
Buddhi: intuitive awareness, true intelligence, that mental faculty capable of profoundest insight.
Buddha Hall: Traditionally, the room or building in a Zen Buddhist monastery in which services are held.
Buddha Rupa: an image of the Buddha.
Butsu: (Japanese) Buddha.
Chaitya: (Sanskrit) (Pali: Cetiya) A tumulus raised over a burial mound. In Buddhism synonymous with Dagoba, Stupa, Tope or Chorten; sometimes used for a hall (for meditation).
Chakra: Dharma wheel
Ch'an: (Chinese) Dhyana or meditation. Japanese: Zen.
Channa: The young Buddha's charioteer and personal attendant.
Chan-shih: (Chinese) Zenji; Zen master (an honorific title).
Chela: (Sanskrit) A disciple or follower of a Guru.
Chenrezig: (Tibetan) Avalokiteshvara. The Buddha of compassion. A male meditational deity embodying fully enlightened compassion.
Citta: Consciousness or knowing.
Compassion: To vibrate in sympathy with others.
Contemplation: Abstract contemplation. There are four levels through which the mind frees itself from all subjects and objective hindrances and reaches a state of absolute indifference and annihilation of thought, perception, and will. See also Meditation.
Cyclic Existence: The cycle of death and rebirth, fraught with suffering and dissatisfaction, that arises from ignorance of the true nature of reality.
Daitokuji: Rinzai Zen monastery in Kyoto, Japan.
Dalai Lama: Head of Tibetan Sangha and the former ruler of Tibet.
Dana: (Sanskrit and Pali) giving assistance physically, mentally or verbally. Gift, Offering or Donation.
Deva: Literally, "shining one". An inhabitant of the heavenly realms.
Devadatta: Buddha's cousin.
Dhamma (Pali) Sanskrit form: Dharma: The Universal Truth; The Teachings and the inner practice of the Teachings of Buddha; Essential quality and factual reality.
Dhammapada: (Dhammapada in Pali, Dharmapada in Sanskrit). A sutra consisting of two sections and 39 chapters, with 423 short verses of the Buddha, teachings given at various times and places. It is regarded as the "original" teaching of the Buddha, which can be used for reference, moral instruction and inspiration.
Dharani: Words or sentences possessing magic power.
Dharma Discourse: Formal talk given by a teacher explicating a koan.
Dharmakaya: Literally, body of the law. In Mahayana thought, one aspect of ultimate reality.
Dhyana: Meditation, concentration. It is the Sanskrit word of which Ch'an and Zen are Chinese and Japanese transliterations.
Dogen Zenji: Founder of the Japanese Soto school of Zen, he established Eiheiji, the principal Soto training monastery of Japan. He is the author of the Shobogenzo.
Dojo: (Japanese) Spot or place of enlightenment of the Buddha under the bodhi tree; one's own place of enlightenment; the training centre.
Dokusan: (Japanese) To go alone; to work alone; Sanzen, the personal interview between the Roshi and student.
Dorje: (Tibetan) The 'thunder-bolt' symbol used in art and ritual magic.
Dosa: (Pali) Hatred, anger, ill will. One of the 'Three poisons', which cause Dukkha.
Dukkha: (Pali) Suffering, stress, pain, misery, sorrow, unhappiness, dissatisfaction with the way things are, a central factor in the human condition, one of the "three marks" of existence.
Eightfold Path: The path that leads to liberation, consisting of right understanding, right aim, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
Emptiness: (Skt. Shunyata) (Pali, Sunyata) The actual way in which all things exist, the absence of the apparent inherent existence of things.
Enlightenment: Complete elimination of all negative aspects of the mind and perfection of all positive qualities.
Five Precepts: or Five Training Rules:
- Undertaking the precept not to kill;
- Undertaking the precept not to steal;
- Undertaking the precept not to be involved in sexual misconduct;
- Undertaking the precept not to have false speech;
- Undertaking the precept not to indulge in intoxicants, that cloud the mind.
Five Khandas (Pali) (Skr. Skandhas): or Five Aggregates, that is, the five components of an intelligent being, 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;
- Perception and/or cognition (Pali, sanna) (Skr, sanjna) - the functioning of mind in distinguishing appearances;
- Volition or Mental Formation (Pali, sankara) (Skr, samskara) - habitual action, i.e., a conditioned response to the object of experience, whether it is good or evil, you like or dislike;
- Consciousness (Pali, vinnana) (Skr, vijnana) - the mental faculty in regard to perception, cognition and experience;
Four Bodhisattva Vows: Chanted daily by Zen students as an expression of their aspiration.
Four Noble Truths:
- Fact of suffering - suffering is a necessary attribute of sentient existence
- Cause of suffering is caused by passions (Cause of Suffering)
- Cessation of suffering or extinction of passion (Effect of Happiness)
- The Path leading to the extinction of passion (Cause of Happiness); i.e. Eightfold Path.
Fugen: One of the great Bodhisattvas. In Japanese, Samantabhadra.
Gassho: (Japanese) To join the palms (in reverence or respect).
Gatha: Verses; poem composed of them.
Geluk: (Tibetan) The virtuous Order. The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded by Lama Tsong Khapa and his disciples in the early fifteenth century.
Genjokoan: Realization of Ultimate Reality or The Way of Everyday Life, one of the key chapters of Dogen Zenji's Shobogenzo. An important Soto Zen text, it subtly explores the relationship between practice and realization.
Gotama: Gotama in Pali, Gautama in Sanskrit. The surname of the Shakya clan into which Shakyamuni was born. Another name for Shakyamuni.
Graduated Path: Teachings outlining the progressive training of the mind leading to enlightenment.
Guru: (Sanskrit) Spiritual teacher and guide.
Hara: The centre of gravity of the body, located in the lower abdomen; the centre of awareness in zazen meditation.
Heart Sutra: A distillation of the vast Prajnaparamita literature, it is chanted daily in Zen monasteries.
Hinayana: "Inferior Vehicle," a pejorative term, coined by a group who called themselves followers of the Mahayana, the "Great Vehicle," to denote the path of practice of those who adhered only to the earliest discourses as the word of the Buddha.
Hoben: (Japanese) Upaya. A means or device.
Hotoke: (Japanese) Buddha.
Hua-Yen: Chinese school of Buddhism founded in the seventh century, which attempted a synthesis of all the major schools, texts, and traditions of the time. The teachings of mutual interdependence and mutual causality are hallmarks of the school.
Hua-Yen Sutra: Last great compendium of Mahayana literature, completed in China in the eighth century, derived from the Sanskrit Avatamsaka Sutra.
Hui Neng: The Sixth Patriarch of Zen (Ch'an) Sect in China.
Idhappaccayata: (Pali) This / that conditionality. This name for the causal principle the Buddha discovered on the night of his Awakening emphasises the point that, for the purposes of ending suffering and stress, the processes of causality can be understood entirely in terms of conditions in the realm of direct experience, with no need to refer to forces operating outside of that realm.
Iddhis: (Pali) Attributes or powers of the mind.
Isipatana: The deer-park near Benares (now called Sarnath) where Buddha gave his first teachings.
Jainism: A religion founded by Nataputta, who was a royal clan of the Nata tribe in ancient India at the time of Shakyamuni. Its basic doctrine is non-materialistic atheism.
Jataka Tales: Stories or legends about Buddha's birth or previous forms of existence.
Je Tzong Khapa: Great 14th centruy Tibetan scholar, teacher and yogi.
Jhana: Mental absorption. A state of strong concentration focused on a single object.
Jikijitsu: (Japanese) Head of training and timer of zazen periods in the Rinzai zendo.
Jijimuge: (Japanese) The doctrine of the Kegon School of the 'unimpeded interdiffusion' of all Ji, things. Apparently the last word in the intellectual understanding of the unity of manifestation.
Jina: Conqueror.
Jiriki: (Japanese) The way of salvation by 'Self-power' or self-effort as distinguished from Tariki, the way of salvation by 'Other-power' or an external Saviour.
Jisha: (Japanese) Head of logistical arrangements in the Rinzai zendo.
Jivatman: The soul, as a separate individual.
Jnana: Wisdom; higher intellect.
Jodo: The Pure Land School of China.
Jodo Shinshu: (Japanese) True Sect of the Pure Land; one of the Pure Land Schools, traced from Shinran Shonin, 1174-1268.
Jukai: (Japanese) The ceremony of becoming a Buddhist.
Ju Lai: in Chinese. He who has fully arrived, the Perfect One. A title of the Buddha.
Kagyu: (Tibetan) The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded in the eleventh century by Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa, and their followers.
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.
Kama: (Sanskrit) Desire of the senses, especially sexual desire. The craving which arises from the false belief in an ego or self separate from the rest of manifestation.
Kamma: (Pali) The principle of causality in moral experience.
Khandha: (Pali) A collection of parts forming a whole. The elements of existence. The components of the so-called 'self', being Rupa, Vedana, Sanna, Sankhara and Vinnana.
Kanjizai: (Japanese) Avalokitesvara; The One Who Perceives the [Essential] Self at rest; the one who perceives the emptiness of perceptions and forms.
Kannon: (Japanese) Kanzeon. Bodhisattva of Compassion.
Kanthaka: The young Buddha's favourite horse.
Kanzeon: (Japanese) Avalokitesvara; The One Who Perceives the Sounds of the World; incarnation of mercy and compassion.
Kapilavatsu: The capital of the Sakya kingdom. The king of Kapilavatsu was Suddhodana, who was the father of Shakyamuni. The present-day Kapilavatsu is in Nepal.
Karma: (Sanskrit), Kamma: (Pali): "action or volitional activities" the cosmic law of cause and effect: every physical or spiritual deed has its long- range consequences as determined by the agent's intention. Sanskrit form: karma.
Karuna: (Sanskrit and Pali) Compassion for all sentient beings.
Kasyapa: Skr. (Kassapa Pali) Main disciple of the Buddha.
Katsu: (Japanese) The shout given by Zen teachers.
Kendo: (Japanese) The way of the swordsman; Japanese fencing.
Kensho: (Japanese) Seeing into one's own nature; first experience of realization and enlightenment.
Ki: (Japanese) Breath; spirit; spiritual strength.
Kie: (Japanese) Taking refuge.
Kinhin: (Japanese) meditative walk; the formal group walk between periods of zazen.
Koan: (Japanese) A paradoxical anecdote or story; used to bring Zen students to realization and to help clarify their enlightenment.
Kondanna: A disciple of Buddha, the earliest convert to his teachings.
Kosala: Kosala in Pali, Kausala in Sanskrit. One of the four great states (i.e., Kosala, Magadha, Vansa and Avanti) in ancient India. The Shakya clan 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.
Koti: A large number.
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.
Kshitigarbha: A Bodhisattva who seeks to save even those in hell. In Chinese, Ti Ts'ang.
Ku: (Japanese) Sky, sunyata, emptiness, the void.
Kundalini: (Sanskrit) Blissful energy dormant within the physical body, aroused through tantric practice and used to generate penetrative insight into the true nature of reality.
Kung-an or Koan: 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.
Kusinara: Kusinara in Pali, Kusinagara in Sanskrit. The village where Shakyamuni Buddha died, and was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Malla.
Kyosaku: (Japanese) Keisaku, cautionary device; the flat, narrow stick carried by the monitor during zazen.
Lakkhana: (Pali) Characteristics. Tri-lakkhana, the three characteristics of existence: change, unsatisfactoriness and not-self.
Lama: (Tibetan) Spiritual teacher or senior monk.
Law of Causal Condition: The fundamental doctrine of Buddhism that all phenomena in the universe are produced by causation. Since all phenomena result from the complicated causes and effects, all existing things in the universe are inter-dependent, i.e., no self nature or existence on its own. Moreover, all phenomena and things are impermanent (i.e. changing constantly). It was to this law that Shakyamuni was awakened when he attained enlightenment.
Law of Cause and Effect: The Law of Cause and Effect treats of the Law of Causal Condition as it relates to an individual.
Law of Dependent Origination: (Paticcasamuppada) It states that all phenomena arise depending upon a number of causal factors. In other words, it exists in condition that the others exist; it has in condition that others have; it extinguishes in condition that others extinguish; it has not in condition that others have not.
Law of Karma: The results of actions, which produce effects that may be either good or bad. It is derived from the Law of Causal Condition (Law of Cause and Effect).
Liberation: The state of complete personal freedom from suffering and its causes (delusion and karma).
Lobha: (Sanskrit and Pali) Covetousness or greed.
Loka: 'World', denotes the three spheres of existence comprising the whole world in Buddhist cosmology.
Loka-Dhamma: (Pali) "Worldly Conditions", eight things are called Worldly Conditions, since they arise in connection with worldly life: Gain and loss, honour and dishonour, happiness and misery, praise and blame.
Lokuttra: (Pali) 'Supermundane', is a term for the four paths and the four fruits of the Sotapatti.
Lotus Sutra: Short name of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, or Saddharma-pundarik-sutra in Sanskrit. It is one of the most important sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. Basically, it states that all sentient beings can attain Buddhahood, and nothing less than this is the appropriate final goal of all Buddhists. It also states that the Buddha is eternal, and the supreme form of Buddhist practice is the way of the Bodhisattva. Lotus flower is used to describe the brightness and pureness of the One Buddha Vehicle.
Lumbini Park: The birthplace of Shakyamuni Buddha, which lay between the state of the Shakyas and the Koliyas.
Madhyamaka: (Sanskrit) The middle way, a system of analysis founded by Nagarjuna, based on the prajnaparamita sutras of Shakyamuni Buddha, and considered to be the supreme presentation of the wisdom of emptiness.
Magadha: One of the four great kingdoms (i.e. Magadha, Kosala, Vansa, and Avanti) in ancient India. The capital of Magadha was Rajagaha. The King of Magadha, Bimbisara, became the follower of Shakyamuni.
Magga: Path, as in The Eight-fold Path (atthangika-magga).
Maha: Great.
Mahakashyapa: (Skt) Mahakassapa (Pali) The Dharma heir and most prominent disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha. The First Patriarch in the Zen Buddhist tradition, he was responsible for convening the first Buddhist council after the death of the Buddha.
Mahamaya: The mother of Shakyamuni. She was the Koliyan Princess and married to Suddhodana. She died seven days after giving birth to Shakyamuni.
Mahasanghika: Literally means the Member of the Great Order, majority, community. During the First Council, when the Sthavira or elder disciples assembled in the cave after the Buddha's death, and the other disciples (called to be Mahasanghika) assembled outside the cave. Both compiled the Tripitaka. However, the former emphasized on the rules of disciplines in the monastic community, while the latter concerned the spread of the spirit of Buddhism in lay community. As sects, the principal division took place in the Second Council.
Mahatma: The highest principle in man; a great sage.
Mahayana: (Skt) The greater vehicle; one of the two major divisions of Buddhism, as in China, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet and Japan.
Maitreya: (Skt), literally means friendly and benevolent. He will be the next Buddha in our world. He is now preaching in Tusita Heaven. He is usually represented as the fat laughing Buddha.
Majjhima-patipada: (Pali) 'Middle Path', is the whole noble eight-fold path which, by avoiding the two extemes of senual lust and self-torment leads to enlightenment and deliverence from suffering.
Makyo: (Japanese) Fantasies, hallucinations, and seemingly real mental or physical experiences that arise during zazen; they are said to be an obstacle to practice.
Mana: 'Conceit', pride, is one of the ten fetters binding one to existence.
Manas: The discriminative and deliberative faculty of mind.
Mandala: Microcosmic diagram, used as a power circle and object of contemplation in the rituals of Tantric Buddhism.
Mangala: (Pali) means in general usage, anything regarded as 'auspicious', lucky or a 'good omen'.
Manjushri: One of the principal Bodhisattvas of the Zen Buddhist tradition. Personifies wisdom and is often represented riding a lion and holding the sword of wisdom, which can cut through delusion. Also known as Monju in Japanese.
Mano: 'Mind', is in the Abhidhamma used as a synonym of vinnana (consciousness) and citta (state of consciousness, mind).
Mantra: (Skt) Sacred word or formula repeated often of only one or two syllables, used in certain Buddhist rituals.
Mara: The personification of evil and temptation.
Marana: Death. Maranussati: 'Recollection of Death'.
Marpa: (Tibet 1012-96) Founder of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a renowned tantric master and translator, and a disciple of Naropa and the guru of Milarepa.
Maya: (Sanskrit) Illusion, popularly used in this sense. Philosophically, the phenomenal universe, being subject to differentiation and impermanence is Maya.
Meditation: The process of becoming deeply acquainted with one's own mind. see Bhavana.
Meditational Deity: A visualized figure, used in meditation, representing a specific aspect of the fully enlightened mind; for example, Tara and Avalokiteshvara.
Merit: Insight, power or energy bestowed on the mind when one performs virtuous actions.
Metta: (Pali) Love in the sense of loving-kindness; goodwill. The first of the four Brahma Viharas. The subject of the famous Metta Sutta.
Metteyya: (Pali) Matriya (Skr.) The name of the Buddha-to-be or next Buddha. A famous Bodhisattva.
Milarepa: (Tibet 1040-1123) Foremost disciple of Marpa, famous for his intense practice, devotion to his guru, attainment of enlightenment in his lifetime, and his many songs of spiritual realization.
Moggalana: One of Buddha's chief disciples, noted for his intellect.
Moha: (Pali) One of the 'Three Fires'. Mental dullness, infatuation, stupidity. The philosophical doctrine of Maya applied to the human mind.
Moksha: Ultimate release or liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Mondo: (Japanese) Questions and answers; short, pithy dialogue between Zen masters and disciples.
Mount Gudhakutra: Vulture Peak, the site of many of Shakyamuni Buddha's recorded discourses and important in Zen as the site of the first transmission from the Buddha to Mahakashyapa.
Mount Meru: The centre of the universe according to Buddhist cosmology.
Mu: (Japanese); does not have; Case One of the Wu Men Kuan, often the first koan of the Zen student.
Mudra: (Sanskrit) Hand gesture, essential element in Buddhist iconography.
Mudita: (Pali) 'Altruistic (or Sympathetic) Joy', is one of the Sublime States.
Muni: A sage.
Myokonin: (Japanese) The Subtly Pure People; a gnostic movement in the Pure Land Tradition.
Nagarjuna: (Sanskrit) The second century AD Indian Buddhist philosopher who propounded the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness.
Nama-rupa: (Pali) (lit. 'name and form'). Mind-and-Body, mentality and corporeality.
Namu Amida Butsu: (Japanese) Veneration to Amitabha Buddha; the Nembutsu; mantra of Pure Land schools.
Nat: The nature spirits of Burma still worshipped in village shrines, comparable to the devatas of Sri Lanka.
Nayuta: A large number.
Nen: (Japanese) Thought; one thought frame.
Nibbana (Pali) Nirvana (Sanskrit): Literally, the "unbinding" of the mind from passion, aversion, and delusion, and from the entire round of death and rebirth. This term also denotes the extinguishing of a fire, it carries connotations of stilling, cooling, and peace.
Nichiren: Japanese Buddhist sect, traced from Nichiren Shonin, 1222-1282.
Nidana: (Pali) The Twelve Nidanas are spokes on the Wheel of Becoming, links in the 'Chain of Causation' or Paticcasamuppada.
Nihonza: (Japanese) Japanese sitting; seiza.
Nirmanakaya: (Sanskrit) The "emanation body"; the form in which the enlightened mind appears in order to benefit ordinary beings. One of the three bodies of a Buddha.
Nirodha: The end to ignorance, which causes suffering; the Third Noble Truth taught by the Buddha.
Nivarana: 'Hindrances', are five qualities which are obstacles to the mind and blind our mental vision. They are: Sensuous Desire, Ill-will, Sloth and Torpor, Restlessness and Worry and Sceptical Doubt.
Obaku Zen: School of Zen brought from China to Japan in 1654 by Yin-Yuan. (Jap. Ingen). Obaku was the teacher of Rinzai, the founder of the Rinzai school of Zen.
Osho: (Japanese) Father, the priest's title.
Pagoda: Typically an east-Asian multistoried memorial structure, ultimately derived from an elaboration of the upper portions of a stupa.
Pali: The canon of texts preserved by the Theravada school and, by extension, the language in which those texts are composed. An early language of Buddhism.
Panna: (Pali) Transcendental wisdom or insight.
Pansil: (Pali) A shortened form of Pancha Sila, the Five Precepts. Training to abstain from the principal forms of immorality.
Paramita: (Sanskrit and Pali) Perfection, ideal virtue.
Parinirvana: Beyond Nirvana, the state into which one who has attained Nirvana passes at death.
Parivarta: (Sanskrit) The Mahayana doctrine of 'turning over' acquired merit for the benefit of others.
Patimokkha: Basic code of monastic discipline, composed of 227 rules for monks and 310 for nuns.
Peepul tree: Sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa), under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
Pitaka: (Pali) Lit: 'basket'. The three Pitakas are the main divisions of the Pali Canon, the Sutta Pitaka or Sermons, the Vinaya Pitaka or Rules of the Order (Sangha), and the Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Prajna: (Sanskrit) Panna (Pali): pure and intuitive "wisdom," one of the aspects under which the goal of Buddhism is known, often personified as feminine.
Prajnaparamita: The 'Wisdom that has gone beyond', a literature compiled in India from the first century B.C.
Prapti: A force maintaining the living equilibrium of the factors composing a personality.
Pratyeka Buddha: (Skr.) One seeking salvation independently of others.
Prayer Wheel: (Tibetan) Wheel or cylinder with written prayers on or in it.
Preta: (Sanskrit) Hungry spirit, a non-human being who experiences intense suffering of hunger, thirst, heat and cold.
Puja: (Sanskrit) A gesture of worship or respect, usually that of raising the hands, palms together, the height of the hands indicating the degree of reverence.
Pure Land: Generally refers to the Paradise of the West, presided over by Amitabha. Also known as the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Other Buddhas have their own Pure Lands, all of which are the adornment of merits and virtues in moral or spiritual cultivation. The Pure-Land Sect whose chief tenet is salvation by faith in Amitabha; it is the popular cult in China and Japan.
Raga: (Pali) Greed; passion; uncontrolled lust of any kind.
Rahula: He was one of the Ten Great Disciples of Shakyamuni. He was the first in esoteric practices and in desire for instruction in the Law. He was also the son of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Raja: King; chief; ruler.
Rajas: (Sanskrit) Restless activity. Passion as passionate anger. One of the 'Three Fires' with Dosa and Moha.
Rajagaha: Rajagaha in Pali, Rajagrha in Sanskrit. The capital of the ancient kingdom of Magadha in India, which was the centres of culture at the time of Shakyamuni. The first monastery called the Bamboo Grove Park was built by the elder Kalanda and King Bimbisara of Magadha in Rajagaha.
Rebirth: The corollary of karma. The doctrine that each individual is born into the world again and again to inherit the effects of his deeds, or rather, that by action in this life the individual creates a fresh personality for himself in order that the results of his actions may be fulfilled in a future life.
Renunciation: The attitude of complete detachment from the experiences of samsara, seeing that there is no true pleasure or satisfaction to be found within it.
Rinzai: (Japanese) The Rinzai Zen Buddhist Sect, traced from Lin-chi, ninth century.
Rishi: A sage (usually a hermit).
Roshi: (Japanese) The Zen master of a monastery who takes the pupil monks in San-Zen and gives them Zen instruction.
Rupa: (Sanskrit and Pali) Body, form. As the physical body and personality, one of the five Skandhas. A Buddha Rupa is a Buddha image.
Sacca: (Pali) 'Truth', conventional and ultimate.
Saddharmapundarika Sutra: 'The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra' (Sanskrit). "Sad" means wonderful, and "Pundarika" means white lotus flower.
Sadhana: (Sanskrit) Method of accomplishment; the step-by-step instructions for practicing the meditations related to a particular meditational deity.
Saddha: Faith, Confidence.
Sakka: The King of the Gods.
Sakkaya: 'Group of Existence'. This word is usually translated by 'Personality.
Sakkaya-Ditthi: 'Personality-belief'. The first of the Ten Fetters.
Sakya: The tribe or clan into which the Buddha was born.
Sakyamuni: The sage of the Sakyas, ie Buddha.
Samadhi: Complete concentration, lit: the (mental) state of being firmly fixed, is the fixing of the mind on a single object.
Samatha: (Pali) 'Tranquillity', is a symtom of samadhi (concentration). It is one of the mental factors in wholesome consciousness.
Samana: (Pali) Sramana in Sanskrit. Contemplative. Literally, a person who abandons the conventional obligations of social life in order to find a way of life more "in tune" (sama) with the ways of nature.
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva: Also called Visvabhadra Bodhisattva, Universally Worthy Bodhisattva. Being one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas, he is the Bodhisattva of Great Conduct, representing the Law. He has Ten Great King Vows, which are the guidelines in practising Buddhism, and cultivating the Buddhist Way. In Japanese, Fugen.
Sambhogakaya: (Sanskrit) The "enjoyment body"; the form in which the enlightened mind appears in order to benefit highly realized bodhisattvas. One of the three bodies of a Buddha.
Sampajanna: 'Clarity of Consciousness', Clear Comprehension. This term is frequently met with in combination with Mindfulness (sati).
Samsara: (Sanskrit and Pali) The world of appearances and endless flux, including all aspects of becoming and death; cycles of birth and rebirth.
Samu: (Japanese) Work service (in the sense of sutra service); meditation in work (traditionally in and about the temple).
Sanbo kyodan: (Japanese) Order of the Three Treasures; the Zen sect traced from Yasutani Hakuun, 1885-1973.
Sangha: (Pali) On the conventional (sammati) level, this term denotes the communities of Buddhist monks and nuns; on the ideal (ariya) level, it denotes those followers of the Buddha, lay or ordained, who have attained at least stream-entry.
Sankhara: A compounded thing.
Sanskrit: The classical Aryan language of ancient India, systematized by scholars. With the exception of a few ancient translations probably from Pali versions, most of the original texts in Buddhism used in China were Sanskrit.
Sariputra: (Skt.) Sariputta (Pali): One of the Buddha's chief disciples.
Sati: (Pali) 'Mindfulness', presence of mind, is one of the 5 spiritual Faculties and Powers, one of the 7 factors of enlightenment, and the 7th link of the 8-fold Path.
Satipatthana: (Pali) 'The Four Foundations of Mindfulness', lit. 'Awareness of Mindfulness', are: Contemplation of the Body, Feeling, Mind-state and Mind-objects.
Satori: (Japanese) A state of consciousness in Zen Buddhism beyond the plane of discrimination and differentiation.
Sattva: Purity and knowledge
Sattvik: Sattvik Man ~ Lives in service of society with no expectation of recognition or reward or any ulterior motive.
Sautrantika: One of the Theravada philosophical schools.
Savatthi: Savatthi in Pali, Sravasti in Sanskrit. The capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kosala, where the famous monastery (Bodhimandala) Jetavanna Grove was located.
Sayadaw: (Burmese) Teacher, or senior monk.
Seiza: (Japanese) Quiet sitting; Japanese sitting; an alternative posture for zazen.
Seiza Shiki: (Japanese) The system of Seiza; physical and mental culture through the practice of seiza.
Semmon Dojo: (Japanese) Special Training Place; a Rinzai Zen temple where monks or nuns are trained.
Sensei: (Japanese) Teacher.
Sentient Being: A being who has not yet reached enlightenment.
Sesshin: (Japanese) To touch, receive, or convey the mind; the Zen retreat, conventionally seven days.
Shakyamuni: Sakayamuni in Sanskrit, Shakyamuni in Pali. The founder of Buddhism. He was born as the Prince of Sakyans, and was called Siddhartha Gautama. At the age of 35, he attained supreme Enlightenment and became the Buddha and was the called Shakyamuni. The word means "capability and kindness".
Shin: The Pure Land School of Japanese Buddhism.
Shobogenzo: The masterwork of Dogen Zenji, this work is made up of ninety-five fascicles on Buddhist subjects and is considered a milestone in Buddhist literature.
Shoken: (Japanese) First view; the first interview between roshi and student.
Shunyata/Sunnata: "Emptiness, void," the ultimate meaning of all things as a result of the three "features of existence," suffering, impermanence, and no-soul.
Siddhartha: Siddhartha in Sanskrit, Siddhartha in Pali. The given name of Shakyamuni when he was born to the King Suddhodana. The name means "wish fulfilled".
Siddhi: (Sanskrit) Powers of the mind not yet developed in the average man.
Sila: (Sanskrit and Pali). The Buddhist code of morality.
Singalovada Sutra: A short sutra about ethics and morality.
Skandha: (Sanskrit) "aggregate," one of the five constituents of the construct called "personality."
Soto Sect: (Japanese) Zen Buddhist Sect; traced from Tung-shan Liang-chieh (Dongshan Liangjie), 840-901.
Sravaka: Hearer; a disciple not yet capable of independent progress.
Srotapanna: A Sanskrit word which means one who has entered the flow, Sotapanna in Pali. He opposes the flow of common people's six dusts and enters the flow of the Sage's Dharma-nature. It comes when the eighty-eight categories of delusions of view are smashed and cut off by means of sixteen hearts. It is called a Way of Liberation, for at that point, delusion is completely severed and liberation is obtained. One who has certified to Srotapanna has seven more births and deaths to undergo.
Stupa: (Sanskrit) Originally, a tumulus or burial mound enshrining relics of a holy person - such as the Buddha - or object associated with his life. Over the centuries this has developed into the tall, spired monuments familiar in temples in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma; and into the pagodas of China, Korea, and Japan.
Subhadra: Subhadra in Sanskrit, Subhadda in Pali. A Brahman of age 120, who became Shakyamuni's disciple shortly before Shakyamuni's death and is therefore known as the last disciple.
Suddhodana: Pure Rice Prince, the father of Shakyamuni, ruled over the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu on the Nepalese border.
Sugati: 'Happy Course of existence'.
Sukha: Pleasant, happy; happiness. pleasure, joy, bliss. It is one of the three feelings (vedana) and may be either bodily or mental.
Sumeru: (Sanskrit). It means wonderful high mountain. It is composed of gold, silver, lapis lazuli and crystal.
Sumi-e: Japanese brush-ink painting associated with Zen practice, characterized by rapid, spontaneous strokes.
Sunna: (Pali) (adj.) Sunnata (noun): Void (ness), empty (emptiness). As a doctrinal term it refers, in Theravada, exclusively to the Annatta doctrine, i.e., the unsubstantiality of all phenonena.
Sunya: (Sanskrit) The void; emptiness; the realm of transitory and relative existence.
Sura: Celestial being who enjoys the highest pleasures to be found in cyclic existence.
Sutra / Sutta: (Sutta in Pali and Sutra in Sanskrit) Lit. 'thread', major category of Buddhist scripture.
Takuhatsu: (Japanese) To show the bowl, the walk taken by monks or nuns through towns near the temple to accept gifts of money or rice.
Tanha: (Pali) Lit. 'thirst': 'Craving' is the chief root of suffering, and of the ever continuing cycle of rebirths.
Tantra: (Sanskrit) Any text from a group of later mystical writings.
Tantrayana: Also called Vajrayana. A school of esoteric Tibetan Buddhism. It emphasizes not only meditation but also the use of symbolic rites, gestures, postures, breathing, incantation, and other secret means.
Tariki: (Japanese) The use of 'Other-Power' for salvation as distinct from Self-Power, Jiriki.
Tathagata: (Pali/Skt.) Literally, "one who has become authentic (tatha-agata)," an epithet used in ancient India for a person who has attained the highest religious goal. In Buddhism, it usually denotes the Buddha, although occasionally it also denotes any of his Arahant disciples.
Tathata: (Sanskrit) 'Thusness' or 'Suchness', used for the ultimate and unconditioned nature of things.
Teisho: (Japanese) To present the shout; the roshi's Dharma talk.
Ten Great Disciples of Skakyamuni Buddha:
- Mahakasyapa in Sanskrit, Mahakassapa in Pali - first in ascetism.
- Ananda - first in having heard the words of Buddha.
- Sariputra in Sanskrit, Sariputta in Pali - first in wisdom.
- Subhuti first in expressing emptiness.
- Purna first in explaining good law.
- Maudgalyayana in Sanskrit, Moggallana in Pali - first in supernatural power.
- Katyayana first in preaching.
- Aniruddha in Sanskrit, Anuruddha in Pali - first in the sharpness of his divine eyes.
- Upali first in taking precepts.
- Rahula first in esoteric practices and in desire for instruction in the law.
Ten Oxherding Pictures: Traditional images that depict the stages of Zen practice.
Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva: These are the ten stages of development of Bodhisattva:
- Pramudita (joy) - joy at having overcome the difficulties and sufferings, now entering on the path to Buddhahood;
- Vimala (purity) - freedom from all possible defilement;
- Prabhakari (enlightenment) - stage of further enlightenment;
- Arcismati (widsom) - stage of glowing wisdom;
- Sudurjaya (no difficulty) - stage of mastering the utmost difficulties;
- Abhimukhi (open way) - the open way of wisdom above definitions of impurity and purity;
- Duramgama (proceeding afar) - getting above ideas of self in order to save others;
- Acala (unperturbed) - attainment of being unperturbed;
- Sadhumati (discriminatory wisdom) - the finest discriminatory wisdom, knowing where and how to save, and possessing the Ten Powers;
- Dharma megha (law cloud) - attainment of the fertilizing powers of law cloud.
Theravada: (Pali) The "Teachings of the Elders" - the only one of the early schools of Buddhism to have survived into the present; currently the dominant form of Buddhism in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma.
Therigatha: One of the books of the Pali Tipitaka meaning " The Verses of the Nuns" and the earliest corpus of poetry by a woman from ancient India.
The Three Jewels: Or the Triple Gem, i.e. the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, which are the three essential components of Buddhism. They are the objects of veneration. Buddhists take refuge in them by pronouncing the threefold refuge formula, thus acknowledging themselves to be Buddhists.
T'ien t'ai: (Japanese: Tendai ) One of the schools of Chinese Buddhism.
Ti-ratana: (Pali) 'Three Jewels' or Three Gems, which by all Buddhist are revered as the most venerable things, they are: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
Ti-sarana: 'Three-fold Refuge', in which every faithful adherent of the Buddha but his/her trust, consisting in the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha.
Tokudo: (Japanese) Ordination as a trainee for the priesthood.
Tope: Buddhist shrine, typically dome-shaped.
Transmission of the Lamp: A record of the lives and sayings of Zen masters from the earliest days to the tenth century, compiled in 1004 by Tao- yuan.
Trikaya: (Sanskrit) The three 'bodies', kaya, or vehicles of manifestation of the Buddha; Dharma-kaya, Sambhoga-kaya and Nirmana-kaya.
Tripitaka: Tripitaka in Sanskrit, Tipitaka in Pali. The three parts of the Pali canon are: Sutra-Pitika (Sanskrit) or Sutta-Pitaka (Pali), or the Sutra Basket, which are the discourses attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha. Vinaya-Pitika (both Sanskrit and Pali), or the Ordinance Basket - containing the rules of monastic life. Abhidharma-Pitika (Sanskrit) or Abhidhamma-Pitaka (Pali), or Shastras, or the Treatise Basket - containing the doctrinal commentaries, philosophical and technical works, such as discourses, discussions, or treatises on the doctrines, etc.
Trishna: (Sanskrit) Thirst for sentient existence; separative desire.
Tsong Khapa, Lama: (1357-1417) Founder of the Geluk tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and revitalizer of many sutra and tantra lineages and the monastic tradition in Tibet.
Tusita Heaven: The fourth devaloka in the Realm of Desire. Its inner department is the Pure Land of Maitreya who like Shakyamuni and all Buddhas is reborn there before descending to earth as the next Buddha in our world.
Twelve Bases: The Six Internal Bases and the Six External Bases are together called the Twelve Bases. Base implies the meaning of germinating and nourishing. All mental activities are germinated and nourished from these Twelve Bases.
Upasaka: (Pali) A Buddhist lay disciple. Feminine form: Upasika.
Upaya: (Sanskrit) A means, device or method; Mahayana terms for practical means to a spiritual end.
Uposatha: ' (Pali) 'Observance Day', a sacred day or ‘sabbath’, occurring every lunar fortnight. On this day, Buddhists reaffirm their Dhamma practice in terms of precepts and meditation.
Urna: (Sanskrit) The jewel or small protuberance between the eyes of a Buddha Rupa or statue representing the 'third eye of spiritual vision'.
Uruvela: A town in Magadha where Shakyamuni attained his enlightenment and Buddhahood in the woods along the Nairanjana river.
Ushnisha: (Sanskrit) The protuberance at the top of the head of a Buddha Rupa representing the flame of supreme enlightenment.
Vaibhasika: One of the Theravada philosophical schools.
Vajra: (Tibetan, dorje.) Diamond-sceptre held by certain meditational deities that represents bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment; adamantine, pure.
Vajrayana: The path of tantra.
Vedana: (Pali) Sense reaction to contact. The seventh link in the twelve nidanas, the chain of causation, producing the craving of thirst for existence.
Venerable: An honorific, title of respect for a Buddhist monk or nun.
Vesak: In Buddhist tradition it is the date not only of the Buddha's birth, but also of his Enlightenment and death. The full moon day of the month corresponding to May in our calendar.
Vihara: (Sanskrit and Pali) A dwelling-place for the Sangha. A retreat or monastery. A state of mind. Hence the Brahma Viharas, the Brahma-like or divine states of mind.
Vijnana: (Sanskrit) Consciousness; the faculty by which one cognizes the phenomenal world.
Vimalakirti: A lay contemporary of the Buddha, whose spiritual attainment is highly regarded. He exemplifies the Mahayana model of fully realized nonmonastic practice. The Vimalakirti Sutra contains his teachings.
Vinnana: (Pali) Consciousness; the faculty by which one cognizes the phenomenal world.
Vinaya: (Pali) The monastic discipline, whose rules and traditions comprise six volumes in printed text.
Vipassana/Vipashyana: (Pali, Vipassana; Vipashyana, Sanskrit) penetrating insight into the three marks of existence ; a term often applied to the practice of meditation in some traditions.
Wat: (Thai) A temple or monastery. Wat Pa, forest monastery.
Wesak or Vesak: A lunar month corresponding to the Western April-May. The Festival at the Full Moon commemorates the Buddha's Birth, Enlightenment and Passing.
Wu: No; does not have; case one of the Wu-men kuan, often the first koan of the Zen student.
Yakka: In popular belief, a kind of ghost, goblin or orge.
Yaksa: The demons in the lower realm, like the Ghost Realm. They are evil, malignant and violent. They live on earth or in air.
Yama: God of the dead; sometimes, death personified.
Yana: a Sanskrit word means vehicle. A term applied to Buddhism as a means by which a practitioner cultivates on the path to enlightenment. The different vehicles correspond to views of spiritual path, that differ as to the basic attitude of the practitioner and the means of making progress on the way. There are categories of one, two, three and five vehicles.
Yasodhara: the wife of Siddhartha Gautama. She later became a nun (Bhikhuni).
Zafu: (Japanese) The cushion used for zazen or sitting meditation.
Zazen: (Japanese) Seated meditation; dhyana; Zen meditation.
Zazenkai: (Japanese) Zazen meeting; a lay Zen group.
Zen: (Japanese) Buddhist school or sect favouring meditation and intuition rather than scripture as a means to enlightenment, which passed from China to Japan in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Zendo: (Japanese) Meditation hall. The space in a monastery in which zazen is practised; it is often set aside exclusively for this purpose.
Zuise: A special empowerment ceremony currently held only at the temples of Eiheiji and Sojiji in Japan by new priests upon reaching the priestly rank.
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