A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its second week.

A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).

Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.

A wealthy merchant in the town of Śrāvastī, famous for his generosity to the poor, who became a patron of the Buddha Śākyamuni. He bought Prince Jeta’s Grove (Skt. Jetavana), to be the Buddha’s first monastery, a place where the monks could stay during the monsoon.

A being in the interval between death in one life and birth in the next.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its eleventh week.

The embryo in the second week of gestation.

According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its tenth week.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its thirty-eighth week.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

One of the pleasure groves in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods.

An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13.

Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.

A city in ancient India, located on the Campā River. It was the capital of the Aṅga state, which was located east of Magadha.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its fifth week.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

The name of the twenty thousand channels on the front of the body.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-fourth week.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-second week.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-sixth week.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

Consciousness, the fifth of the five skandhas, generally classified into the five sensory consciousnesses and mental consciousness.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-seventh week.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twelfth week.

A type of “possessor,” or demon.

A cosmic period of time, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world system appears, exists, and disappears. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser eons. In the course of one great eon, the universe takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion; during the next twenty it remains; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction; and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of empty stasis. A fortunate, or good, eon (bhadrakalpa) refers to any eon in which more than one buddha appears.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

One of the abodes of hell beings.

A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its thirty-eighth week.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twelfth and thirteenth week.

Feeling, the second of the five skandhas, generally classified into three types: pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral.

The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-ninth week.

The fourth of the five skandhas, often rendered as “formations,” “karmic formations,” or “volitional formations.” These are the very subtle karmic tendencies that shape an individual’s saṃsāric experience.