Saṃsāra, in being nothing but afflicted; its opposite is “purification” (vyavadāna).

The fivefold basic grouping of the components out of which the world and the personal self are formed.

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.

One of the twelve branches of Buddhist scriptures.

An optional set of thirteen practices that monastics can adopt in order to cultivate greater detachment. They consist of 1) wearing patched robes made from discarded cloth rather than from cloth donated by laypeople; 2) wearing only three robes; 3) going for alms; 4) not omitting any house while on the alms round, rather than begging only at those houses known to provide good food; 5) eating only what can be eaten in one sitting; 6) eating only food received in the alms bowl, rather than more elaborate meals presented to the Saṅgha; 7) refusing more food after indicating one has eaten enough; 8) dwelling in the forest; 9) dwelling at the root of a tree; 10) dwelling in the open air, using only a tent made from one’s robes as shelter; 11) dwelling in a charnel ground; 12) satisfaction with whatever dwelling one has; and 13) sleeping in a sitting position without ever lying down.

The king of Magadha and a great patron of the Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s, and his father, King Mahāpadma, named him “Essence of Gold” after mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (“Goldie”). Accounts of Bimbisāra’s youth and life can be found in The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1, Pravrajyāvastu).

King Śreṇya Bimbisāra first met with the Buddha early on, when the latter was the wandering mendicant known as Gautama. Impressed by his conduct, Bimbisāra offered to take Gautama into his court, but Gautama refused, and Bimbisāra wished him success in his quest for awakening and asked him to visit his palace after he had achieved his goal. One account of this episode can be found in the sixteenth chapter of The Play in Full (Toh 95, Lalitavistara). There are other accounts where the two meet earlier on in childhood; several episodes can be found, for example, in The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340, Karmaśataka). Later, after the Buddha’s awakening, Bimbisāra became one of his most famous patrons and donated to the saṅgha the Bamboo Grove, Veṇuvana, at the outskirts of the capital of Magadha, Rājagṛha, where he built residences for the monks. Bimbisāra was imprisoned and killed by his own son, the prince Ajātaśatru, who, influenced by Devadatta, sought to usurp his father’s throne.

One of the twelve branches of Buddhist scriptures.

One of the eight hot hells.

A thus-gone one of the past.

A member of the Indian priestly caste.

One of the eight hot hells.

A prince living in the past at the time of the buddha Merugandha.

The forest, located outside of Vārāṇasī where the Buddha first taught the Dharma.

A cousin of Buddha Śākyamuni who broke with him and established his own community. His tradition was still continuing during the first millennium ᴄᴇ. He is portrayed as engendering evil schemes against the Buddha and even succeeding in wounding him. He is usually identified with wicked beings in accounts of previous lifetimes.

A formula invoking a particular deity for a particular purpose; dhāraṇīs are longer than most mantras, and their applications are more specialized.

One of the twelve branches of Buddhist scriptures.

Right view, intention, speech, actions, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

Eighteen special features of a buddha’s behavior, realization, activity, and wisdom that are not shared by other beings. They are generally listed as: (1) he never makes a mistake, (2) he is never boisterous, (3) he never forgets, (4) his concentration never falters, (5) he has no notion of distinctness, (6) his equanimity is not due to lack of consideration, (7) his motivation never falters, (8) his endeavor never fails, (9) his mindfulness never falters, (10) he never abandons his concentration, (11) his insight (prajñā) never decreases, (12) his liberation never fails, (13) all his physical actions are preceded and followed by wisdom (jñāna), (14) all his verbal actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (15) all his mental actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (16) his wisdom and vision perceive the past without attachment or hindrance, (17) his wisdom and vision perceive the future without attachment or hindrance, and (18) his wisdom and vision perceive the present without attachment or hindrance.

One way of describing experience and the world in terms of eighteen elements (eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and touch, mind and mental objects, to which the six consciousnesses are added).

A monk. Interlocutor of the Buddha in the Questions of Pūrṇa sūtra.

Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.

Name of a demon who lived in the past.

A thus-gone one of the past.

One of the twelve branches of Buddhist scriptures.

One of the eight hot hells.

Faith, mindfulness, diligence, concentration, and insight.

Divine sight, divine hearing, knowledge of the minds of others, remembrance of past lives, and ability to perform miracles. See “six higher perceptions,” the same list with the addition of “ability to destroy mental defilements,” which can only be attained by Buddhist practitioners.

Faith, mindfulness, diligence, concentration, and insight. Similar to the five faculties but differing in that they cannot be shaken by adverse conditions.

One of the twelve branches of Buddhist scriptures.

One of the twelve branches of Buddhist scriptures.

A fundamental practice of Buddhist meditation: the close application of mindfulness to the body, feelings, mind, and phenomena.

Determination, discernment, diligence, and concentration.

The four levels of concentration of beings residing in the form realm.

Fearlessness in declaring that one has (1) awakened, (2) ceased all illusions, (3) taught the obstacles to awakening, and (4) shown the way to liberation.

Four types of relinquishment consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

A thus-gone one of the past.

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.

Name of Buddha Śākyamuni in a past life, when he was a merchant practicing bodhisattva conduct.

One of the eight hot hells.

Name of Buddha Śākyamuni in a past life, when he was a prince practicing bodhisattva conduct.

The second lowest of the six heavens of the desire realm, located on top of Mount Sumeru in the Buddhist cosmology.

One of the eight hot hells.

One of the eight hot hells.

One of the twelve branches of Buddhist scriptures.

A king who lived in the past.

A grove or forest within the Veṇuvana near Rājagṛha, where Buddha Śākyamuni spent several monsoon retreats and delivered many Great Vehicle teachings. In other texts it is known as the Kalandakanivāsa or °nivāpa, the dwelling place or feeding ground of kalandaka‍—crows or other birds according to Tibetan renderings, but some Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest flying squirrels.

One of the members of a group of four monks described in the Vinaya as followers of Devadatta that attempted to create a schism in the Buddhist saṅgha.