Key concepts and terms in Buddhist thought
25 cards · religion
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| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Dukkha | Suffering or unsatisfactoriness; the First Noble Truth Not just pain, but the pervasive unsatisfactoriness of conditioned life. |
| Samudaya | Origin of suffering is craving; the Second Noble Truth Craving for sensual pleasures, existence, and non-existence fuels dukkha. |
| Nirodha | Cessation of suffering is possible; the Third Noble Truth Also called nibbana; the fading away and ending of craving. |
| Magga | The path leading to cessation; the Fourth Noble Truth This is the Noble Eightfold Path of training in ethics, meditation, wisdom. |
| Right View | Understanding of the Four Noble Truths Seeing reality accurately, including karma and rebirth. |
| Right Intention | Renunciation, goodwill, harmlessness Also called right resolve; aims at non-ill will and non-cruelty. |
| Right Speech | No lying, divisive, harsh, or idle talk Speak truthfully, harmoniously, kindly, and purposefully. |
| Right Action | No killing, stealing, or sexual misconduct Ethical conduct of body guided by precepts. |
| Right Livelihood | Earning a living without harm Avoid trades that injure beings or corrupt the mind. |
| Right Effort | Cultivate wholesome states; abandon unwholesome ones The four right efforts: prevent, abandon, develop, maintain. |
| Right Mindfulness | Mindful awareness of body, feelings, mind, dhammas The four foundations of mindfulness structure the practice. |
| Right Concentration | Meditative absorption leading to jhāna Stabilizes the mind in deep, focused states of samadhi. |
| Impermanence | All conditioned phenomena arise and pass away Anicca is one of the three marks of existence. |
| Non-self | No permanent, independent self exists Anatta denies an unchanging soul or essence in persons or things. |
| Karma | Intentional action shaping future results Volitional acts bear consequences across lives; not fate or predestination. |
| Dharma | The Buddha’s teaching and the law of reality One of the Three Jewels; refuge in the teaching that leads to liberation. |
| Samsara | Cycle of rebirth bound by ignorance and craving Cyclic existence continues until nirvana ends the causes. |
| Nirvana | Liberation by extinguishing craving and suffering Nibbana means “blowing out” of greed, hatred, and delusion. |
| Dependent Origination | Phenomena arise through interdependent conditions Pratityasamutpada; illustrated by the twelve links of arising. |
| Five Aggregates | Form, feeling, perception, formations, consciousness Skandhas analyze the person; each is impermanent and not-self. |
| Bodhisattva | One who seeks awakening for the benefit of all beings Central in Mahayana; takes vows to aid all beings to liberation. |
| Emptiness | Lack of inherent, independent existence in phenomena Śūnyatā; because things arise dependently, nothing exists by itself. |
| Theravada | Early school emphasizing arahant ideal and Pali Canon Predominant in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia; uses Pali scriptures. |
| Mahayana | Great Vehicle centered on the bodhisattva path Emphasizes emptiness, compassion, and universal buddhahood. |
| Vajrayana | Tantric vehicle using mantra, mudra, and visualization Associated with Tibetan Buddhism; esoteric methods and guru yoga. |