GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS
[In the text of the present booklet all unnecessary terms have been avoided. Whenever a good English equivalent could be found, the foreign expression has been dropped. Nevertheless, the introduction not only of many foreign-sounding names, but also of some of the original terms, was unavoidable.
Now we have to state that the Eastern people, at least those of Hindu culture during the golden age of Buddhism in India, adopted the habit of translating not only terms but also names. A German whose name is Schmied is not called Smith in English, but Buddhists, when translating from Pali into Sanskrit, change Siddhattha into Siddhartha. The reason of this strange custom lies in the fact that Buddhists originally employed the popular speech and did not adopt the use of Sanskrit until about five hundred years after Buddha. Since the most important names and terms, such as Nirvana, Karma and Dharma, have become familiar to us in their Sanskrit form, while their Pali equivalents, Nibbana, Kamma and Dhamma, are little used, it appeared advisable to prefer for some terms the Sanskrit forms, but there are instances in which the Pali, for some reason or other, has been preferred by English authors [e.g., Krisha Gautami is always called Kisagotami], we present here in the Glossary both the Sanskrit and the Pali forms.
Names which have been Anglicised, such as “Brahma, Brahman, Benares, Jain, and karma,” have been preserved in their accepted form. If we adopt the rule of transferring Sanskrit and Pali words in their stemform, as we do in most cases (e.g., Nirvana, atman), we ought to call Brahma “Brahman,” and karma “karman.” But usus est tyrannus. In a popular book it not wise to swim against the stream.
Following the common English usage of saying “Christ,” not “the Christ,” we say in the title “Buddha,” not “the Buddha.”]
Abhinnya, p., Abhijya, skt., supernatural talent. There are six
abhinnyas which Buddha acquired when attaining perfect enlightenment: (1) the celestial eye, or an intuitive insight of the nature of any object in any universe; (2) the celestial ear, or the ability to understand any sound produced in any universe; (3) the power of assuming any shape or form; (4) knowledge of all forms of pre-existence of one’s self and others; (5) intuitive knowledge of the minds of all beings; and (6) knowledge of the finality of the stream of life. - LX.
Aciravati, p. and skt., a river. - XXXIV.
Agni, p. and skt., a god of the Brahmans, the god of fire. - XVI.
Ajatasattu, p., Ajatasatru, skt., the son of king Bimbisara and his
successor to the throne of Magadha. - XXXIX, LXXXVIII.
Alara, p., Arada, skt., a prominent Brahman philosopher. His full name
is Alara Kalama. - IX, XCV.
Ambapali, the courtesan, called “Lady Amra” in Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King.
It is difficult for us to form a proper conception of the social position of courtesans at Buddha’s time in India. This much is sure, that they were not common prostitutes, but ladies of wealth, possessing great influence. Their education was similar to the hetair in Greece, where Aspasia played so prominent a part. Their rank must sometimes have been like that of Madame Pompadour in France at the court of Louis XIV. They rose to prominence, not be birth, but by beauty, education, refinement, and other purely personal accomplishments, and many of them were installed by royal favour. The first paragraphs of Khandhaka VIII of the Mahavagga [Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XVII, pp. 171-172] gives a fair idea of the important role of courtesans in those days. They were not necessarily venal daughters of lust, but, often women of distinction and repute, worldly, but not disrespectable. - XCII, XCIII.
Amitabha, p. and skt., endowed with boundless light, from amita,
infinite, immeasurable, and abha, ray of light, splendour, the bliss of enlightenment. It is a term of later Buddhism and has been personified as Amitabha Buddha, or Amita. The invocation of the all-saving name of Amitabha Buddha is a favourite tenet of the Lotus or Pure Land sect, so popular in China and Japan. Their poetical conception of a paradise in the West is referred to in Chapter LX. Southern Buddhism knows nothing of a personified Amitabha and the Chinese travellers Fa-hien and Hiuen-tsang do not mention it. The oldest allusion to Amita is found in the Amitayus Sutra, translated C.E. 148-170. [See Eitel, Handbook of Chinese Buddhism, pp. 7-9.] - LX.
Ananda, p. and skt., Buddha’s cousin and his favourite disciple. The
Buddhistic St. John (Johannes).- XXIX, XXX, XXXII, XLII, LXI, LXXII, LXXVI, LXXXVIII, XCI, XCIII, XCIV, XCV, XCVI, XCVII.
Anathapindika, p. and skt., (also called Anathapindada in skt.)
literaly “One who gives alms (pinda) to the unprotected or needy (anatha).” A wealthy lay devotee famous for his liberality and donor of the Jetavana vihara. - XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, LVIII.
Annabhara, p. and skt., literally “he who brings food”; name of
Sumana’s slave. - LXXI.
Annyata, p., Ajnyata, skt., literally “knowing”, a cognomen of
Kondannya, the first disciple of Buddha. - XVII.
Anuruddha, a prominent disciple of buddha, known as the great master of
Buddhist metaphysics. He was a cousin of Buddha, being the second son of Amritodana, a brother of Suddhodana. - XXIX, XCVII, XCVIII.
Arahat, p., Arhant, skt., a saint (See also Saint in Index.) - XXXIV.
Arati, dislike, hatred. The opposite of rati. The name of one of
Mara’s daughters. - XI.
Asita, p. and skt., a prophet. - IV.
Assaji, p., Asvajit, skt., one of Buddha’s disciples by whose dignified
demeanour Sariputta is converted. - XXII.
Atman, skt., Atta, p., breath as the principle of life, the soul, self,
the ego. To some of the old Brahman schools the atman constitutes a metaphysical being in man, which is the thinker of his thoughts, the perceiver of his sensations, and the doer of his doings. Buddha denies the existence of an atman in this sense. - IX, LIII.
Balani, or panyca-balani, p. and skt., (the singular is bala, power),
the five moral powers (also called panyca-indriyani), which are:
Faith, energy, memory or recollection, meditation or contemplation, and wisdom or intuition.
Beluva, a village near Vesali. - XCIII.
Benares, the well-known city in India; Anglicised form of Varanasi,
skt., and Baranasi, p. (See Kasi.) - XV, XVIII, XXXVII, LXXXVII.
Bhagavat, p., Bhagavant, skt., the man of merit, worshipful, the
Blessed One. A title of honour given to buddha. - VII, LIX, LXXV.
Bhallika, p. and skt., a merchant. - XIII.
Bharadvaja, p. and skt., name of a Brahman. - XLIX, LXXIV.
Bhavana, p. and skt., meditation. There are five principle
meditations: metta-bhavana, on love; karuna-bhavana, on pity;
mudita-bhavana, on joy; asubha-bhavana, on impurity; and upekha-bhavana, on serenity. [see Rhys Davids’s Buddhism, pp. 170-171.] - LX.
Bhikkhu, p., bhikshu, skt., mendicant, monk, friar; the five bhikkhus,
X, XV, XVI, XVII, XXIX, XXX, XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII,
XXXVIII, XLII, LIX, LX, LXI, LXVI, LXXXIII, XCIII; bhikkhus doffed
their robes, XXXIV; bhikkhus rebuked, XXXVIII; bhikkhus prospered,
LXXXVIII; the sick bhikkhu, LXXXVI
Bhikkhuni, p., bhikshuni, skt., nun. - XXXII, XXXIV.
Bimbisara, p. and skt., the king of Magadha; often honoured with the
cognomen “Sainya,” skt., or “Seniya,” p., i.e., “the warlike or military.” - VIII, XX, XXI, XXX, XXXV, XXXIX, LXXXVIII.
Bodhi, p. and skt., knowledge, wisdom, enlightenment. - LII.
Bodhianga or Bojjhanga, or Satta or Bojjhanga, p., meditation on the
seven kinds of wisom, which are: energy, recolection, contemplation, investigation of scripture, joy, repose, and serenity. - XXXIV.
Bodhisatta, p., Bodhisattva, skt., he whose essence (sattva) is
becoming enlightenment (bodhi). The term denotes (1) one who is about to become a Buddha, but has not yet attained Nirvana; (2) a class of saints who have only once more to be born again to enter into Nirvana; (3) in latter Buddhism any preacher or religious teacher. - IV, VII, VIII, XXVIII, XLI, LXXIII, LXXXIII, LXXXVI, LXXXVII; appearance of, VII; Bodhisattvas, XLVII.
Bodhi-tree, the tree at Buddha-Gaya, species ficus religiosa. - XI.
Brahma, Anglicised form of skt. stem form Brahman (nom. s. Brahma).
The chief God of Brahmanism, the world-soul. See also Sahampati. -
XIV, XXIX, LIX; Brahma, a union with, XLIX; Brahma, face to face,
XLIX; Brahma’s mind, XLIX. Brahmadatta, p. and skt., (etym. given by
Brahma) name of a mythical king of Kashi, skt., or Kasi, p. -
XXXVII, LXXIII, LXXIX, LXXXVII.
Brahman, the priestly caste of the Indians. Anglicised form of Brahmana (p. and skt.). Priests were selected from the Brahman caste, but Brahmans were not necessarily priests; they were farmers, merchants, and often high officials in the service of kings.
Brahmans, the two, XLIX. Buddha, p. and skt., the Awakened One,
the Enlightened One. Buddha is also called Sakyamuni (the Sakya sage), Sakyasimha (the Sakya Lion), Sugata (the Happy One), Satthar nom. Sattha, p.; skt., (the Teacher), Jina (the Conqueror), Bhagavat (the Blessed One), Lokanatha (the Lord of the World), Sarvajnya (the Omniscient One), Dharmaraja (the king of Truth), Tathagata, etc. [See Rhys Davids’s Buddhism p. 28.] Buddha, faith in the, XCI;
Buddha, I am not the first, XCVI; Buddha, not Gotama, LIV; Buddha,
refuge in the, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, LVII, LXXX, LXXXI, LXXXII, XCIX; Buddha replies to the deva, LVIII; Buddha, the sower, LXXIV;
Buddha, the teacher, LXI; Buddha, the three personalities of, XCVIII; Buddha, the truth, LIV, XCVIII; Buddha, truly thou art, LI;
Buddha will arise, another, XCVI; Buddha’s birth, IV; Buddha’s death, XCVII; Buddha’s farewell address, XCVII; consolidation of Buddha’s religion, XXX; Buddhas, the praise of all the, C; Buddhas, the words of immutable, VII.
Channa, p. and skt., prince Siddhatta’s driver. - VI, VII, VIII.
Chunda, p. and skt., the smith of Pava. - XCV.
Dagoba, modernized form of skt., Dhatugarbha, “relic shrine,” (also
called stupa in Northren Buddhism) a mausoleum, tower containing relics, a kenotaph. - XCVII, XCVIII.
Danamati, p. and skt., name of a village. The word means “having a
mind to give.” - LIII.
Deva, p. and skt., any celestial spirit, a god especially of
intermediate rank, angel. - Deva, questions of the, LVIII; Buddha replies to the deva, LVIII; Devas, XVI, XXI, XXXI.
Devadatta (etym. god-given) brother of Yasodhara and Buddha’s brother-
in-law. He tried to found a sect of his own with severer rules than those prescribed by Buddha. He is described undoubtedly with great injustice in the Buddhist cannon and treated as a traitor. [About his sect see Rhy Davids’s Buddhism p. 181-182.] - XXIX, XXXIX, LXXXVI.
Devaputta, p., Devaputra, skt., (etym. Son of a God) one of Buddha’s
disciples. - XCVII
Dhammapada, p., Dharmapada, skt. - XLVIII.
Dharma, skt., Dhamma, p., originally the natural condition of things or
beings, the law of their existence, truth, then religious truth, the law, the ethical code of righteousness, the whole body of religious doctrines as a system, religion. - XII, XIII, XIV, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXII, XXIII, XXVIII, XXXV, XXXVI, XLVIII, LI, LIII, LIV, LVII, LIX, LXI, LXII, LXXXVI, XCVII, XCVIII; let a man take pleasure in the Dharma, LIX; the goodness of the Dharma, XLVIII.
Dharmakaya, skt., the body of the law. - XCVIII.
Dharmaraja, skt., Dhammaraja, p., the king of truth. - VII, XXV, XLVII.
Dighavu, p., Dirghayu, skt., the etymology of the word is “livelong.”
Name of a mythical prince, son of king Dighiti. - XXXVII.
Dighiti, p., Dirgheti, skt., literally “suffer-long.” Name of a
mythical king, father of prince Dighavu. - XXXVII.
Ganges, the well known river of India. - V, XC.
Gavampati, p. and skt., literally “lord of cows,” a friend of Yasa. -
XVIII.
Gaya Kassapa, brother of the great Kassapa of Uruvela. - XIX.
Gotama, p., Gautama, skt., Buddha’s family name. - IV, XV, XVI, XIX,
XX, XXII, XLIX, L, LI, LII, LIV, LXXIV; Gotama denies the existence of the soul, LII; Buddha not Gotama, LIV; Gotama the samana, XCVII;
Gotama Siddhattha, XXXIX, LVI, XCVIII.
Gotami, name of any woman belonging to the Gotama family. Kisa Gotami.
VI, LXXXIV.Hinayana, skt., the small vehicle of salvation. A name invented by Northern Buddhists, in contradistinction to Mahayana, to disignate the spirit of Southern Buddhism. The term is not used among Southern Buddhists.
Hirannyavati, p., Hiranyavati, skt., a river. - XCVI.
Iddhi, p., Riddhi, skt., defined by Eitel as “the dominion of spirit
over matter.” It is the adjusting power to one’s purpose and the adaption to conditions. In popular belief it emplies exemption from the law of gravitation and the power of assuming any shape at will. (See Iddhipada.)
Iddhipada, p., Riddhipada, skt., the mode of attaining the power of
mind over matter, four steps being needed: (1) the will to acquire it, (2) the necessary exertion, (3) the indispensable preparation of the heart, (4) a diligent investigation of the truth. - LX.
Indra, one of the principle Brahman gods. - XLIX, LXXVIII.
Indriyani or pancindriyani, the five organs of the spritual sence.
(See Balani.) Isi, p., Rishi, skt., a prophet or seer, an inspired poet, a hermit having acquired wisdom in saintly retirement, a recluse or anchorite.
Isvara, skt., Issara, p., (lit. independant existence) Lord, Creator,
personal God, a title given to Shiva and other great deities. In Buddhistic scriptures as well in Brahman the skt. Isvara (not the p. Issara) means always a transcendant or extramundane God, a personal God, a deity distinct form, and independant of nature, who is supposed to have created the world out of nothing. - XXIII.
Jain, modernized form of skt. Jaina; an adherent of the Jain-sect which
reveres Vardhamana (Nataputta) as Buddha. (See Jainism.) - XV.
Jainism, a sect, founded by Vardhamana, older than Buddhism and still
extant in India. It is in many respects similar to Buddhism. Buddha’s main objection to the Jains was the habit of their ascetics of going naked. The Jains lay great stress upon ascetic exercises and self-mortification which Buddhists declare to be injurious.
Jambu, p. and skt., a tree. - VII, X.
Jambunada, p. and skt., a town of unknown site. (Also the name of a
mountain and of a lake.)- LXXXI. Jatila, p., “wearing matted hair.” The Jatilas were Brahman ascetics. Buddha converted a tribe of them, and Kassapa, their chief, became one of his most prominent disciples. - XIX, XX.
Jeta, the heir apparent to the kingdom of Savatthi. - XXV.
Jetavana, a vihara. - XXV, XXVI, LVIII, LXXIII, LXXV, LXXXIII, LXXXVII.
Jhana, p., Dhyana, skt., intuition, beatic vision, ecstacy, rapture,
the result of samadhi. Buddha did not recommend trances as means of religious devotion, urging that deliverance can be obtained only by the recognition of the four noble truths and walking on the noble eightfold path, but he did not disturb those who took delight in ecstacies and beatic visions. Buddha’s interpretation of the Dhyana is not losing consciousness but a self-possessed and purposive eradication of egotism. There are four Dhyanas, the first being a state of joy and gladness born of seclusion full of investigation and reflexion; the second one, born of deep tranquillity without reflexion or investigation, the third one brings the destruction of passion, while the fourth one exists in pure equanimity, making an end of sorrow. [See Rhys Davids’s Buddhism pp. 175-176.] In the Fo-Sho-hing-tsang-king, the Dhyana is mentioned twice only: first, III, 12 vv. 960-978, where Arada sets forth the doctrine of the four Dhyanas which is not approved of by Buddha, and secondly, at Buddha’s death; when his mind is said to have passed through all the Dhyanas. - LX, XCVII.
Jina, p. and skt., the Conqueror, an honorary title of Buddha. The
Jains use the term with preference as an appellative of Vardhamana whom they revere as their Buddha. - XV.
Jivaka, p. and skt., physician to king Bimbisara. According to
tradition he was the son of King Bimbisara and the courtesan Salavati. We read in Mahavaga VIII that after his birth he was exposed but saved; then he became a most famous physician and cured Buddha of a troublesome disease contracted by wearing cast off rags. He was an ardent disciple of Buddha and prevailed upon him to allow the Bhikkhus to wear lay robes. - XXX.
Jotikkha, p., name of a householder, son of Subhadda. - XLII.
Kalama, p. and skt., (see Alara).
Kanthaka, prince Siddhatta’s horse. - VIII.
Kapilavatthu, p., Kapilavastu, skt., the capital of the Sakyas, the
birthplace of Buddha. - IV, V, XXV, XXVII, XXIX.
Karma, anglicised form of skt. stem-form karman (nom. s. karma), the p.
of which is kammam. Action, work, the law of action, retribution, results of deeds previously done and the destiny resulting therefrom. Eitel defines karma as “that moral kernel [of any being] which alone survives death and continues in transmigration.” Karma is a well-defined and scientifically exact term. Professor Huxley says, “In the theory of evolution, the tendency of a germ to develop according to a certain specific type, e.g., of the kidney bean seed to grow into a plant having all the characters of Phaseolus vulgaris is its ‘karma.’ It is ‘the last inheritor and the last result’ of all the conditions that have affeced a line of ancestry which goes back for many millions of years to the time when life first appeared on earth.” We read in Anguttara Nikaya, Pancaka Nipata: “My action (karma) is my possession, my action is my inheritance, my action is the womb which bears me, my action is the race to which I am akin [as the kidney-bean to its species], my action is my refuge.” [See the article “Karma and Nirvana” in Buddhism and Its Christian Critics, p. 131 ff.] - IX, XXVIII, XXXIX, XL, XLI, LIII, LX, XC, XCI, XCV.
Kasi, p. and skt., the old and holy name of Benares. - XXXVI, LXXIII.
Kassapa, p., Kasyapa, skt., a name of three brothers, chiefs of
Jatilas, called after their residences, Uruvela, Nadi, and Gaya. The name Kassapa applies mainly to Kassapa of Uruvela, one of the great pillars of the Buddhistic brotherhood, who took at once, after his conversion, a most prominent rank among Buddha’s disciples. [Kassapa of Uruvela is frequently identified with Maha-Kassapa, the same who was president of the council of Rajagaha, but H. Dharmapala states, on the authority of the Angutthara Nikaya, that the two were altogether different persons.] - XIX, XLII, LV, XCVIII.
Khandha, p., Skandha, skt., elements; attributes of being, which are
form, sensation, perception, discrimination, and consciousness. - IX.
Kilesa, p., Klesa, skt., error.
Kisa Gotami, p., Krisha Gautami, skt., the slim or thin Gotami. Name
(1) of a cousin of Buddha, mentioned in Chap. VI, (2) of the heroine in the parable of the mustard seed. - LXXXIV. Koli, a little kingdom in the neighbourhood of Kapilavatthu, the home of Yasodhara. - V.
Kondannya, p., Kaundinya, skt., name of Buddha’s first disciple,
afterwards called Ajnyata Kaundinya in skt., and Annyata Kondannya in p. - XVII.
Kosala, p. and skt., name of a country. - XXIV, XXXIV, XXXVII, XLIX.
Kosambi, p., Kausambi, skt., a city. - XXXVI, XXXVII, LXIX.
Kusinara, p., Kusinagara, skt., a town. - XCV, XCVI, XCVII.
Kutadanta, p. and skt., a Brahman chief in the village Danamati, also
called Khanumat; is mentioned in Spence Hardy’s A Manual of Buddhism, p. 289 and in Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XIX, p. 242.
· LIII.
Licchavi, p. and skt., the name of a princely family. - XCII.
Lumbini, skt., a grove named after a princesss, its owner. - IV.
Magadha, p. and skt., name of a country. - XX, XXI, XXII, XXX, XXXV,
XXXIX, LXXXVIII, XC.
Magga, p., Marga, skt., path; especially used in the Pali phrase “Ariyo
atthangiko maggo,” the noble eightfold path, which consists of: right views, high aims, right speech, upright conduct, a harmless lifvelihood, perseverance in well-doing, intellectual activity, and earnest thought. [See Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XI, pp. 63 and 147.]
Maharaja, the great king. - XXV.
Malla, p. and skt., name of a tribe. - XCV, XCVI, XCVII.
Manasakata, p., Manasakrita, skt., a village in Kosala. - XLIX.
Mandara, p. and skt., a flower of great beauty. - IV.
Mara, p. and skt., the Evil One, the tempter, the destroyer, the god of
lust, sin, and death.- III, IV, VII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV. XXV, XL, XLVII, XLVIII, LIX, LX, LXXXI, XCIV.
Matali, p. and skt., name of a demon in the retinue of Yama. - LXXVIII.
Matanga, p. and skt., literally, of low birth; the Matanga caste
comprises mongrels of the lowest with higher castes. - LXXVI.
Mathura, p. and skt., name of a place. - LXXX.
Maya, p. and skt., Buddha’s mother. (See Maya-devi.) The term “veil
of Maya,” viz., the illusion of self, popularly known through Schopenhauer, does not refer to Buddha’s mother, but to the Vedantic conception of maya. The word means “charm, magic enchantment.”- IV, XXXI.
Maya-devi, also called Maha-Maya, or simply Maya, p. and skt., the wife
of Suddhodana and mother of Buddha. She died in childbed, and Buddha ascends to to heaven to preach to her the good law and gospel of salvation. - IV, XXXI.
Metteyya. p., Maitreya, skt., etymology, “full of kindness”; the name
of the Buddha to come. - XCVI.
Moggallana, p., Maudgalyayana, skt., one of the most prominent
disciples of Buddha, a friend of Sariputta. - XXII, XXVIII.
Muni, skt. and p., a thinker, a sage; especially a religious thinker.
Sakyamuni, the sage of the Sakyas, is Buddha. - VIII, XIX, XXXVII, LIX.
Nadi-Kassapa, p., Nadi-Kasyapa, skt., brother of the great Kassapa of
Uruvela. - XIX.
Nadika, p. and skt., name of a village. - XCI.
Naga, p. and skt., literally serpent. The serpent being regarded as a
superior being, the word denotes a special kind of spiritual beings; a sage, a man of spiritual insight; any superior personality. Naga kings. - IV.
Nalagiri, name of an elephant. - XXXIX.
Nalanda, p. and skt., a village near Rajagaha. - LXXXIX, XC.
Nanda, p., Siddhatta’s halfbrother, son of Pajapati. - XXIX.
Nanda, daughter of a chief of shepherds, also called Sujata. - X.
Nataputta, Jain Prakrit, Jnyataputra, skt., the son of Jnyata.
Patronym of Vardhamana, the founder of Jainism. - LI.
Neranyjara, p., Nairanyjana, skt., name of a river identified by some
with the Nilajan, by others with the Phalgu. - X, XIV, XCIV.
Nidana, p. and skt., cause. The twelve nidanas, forming the chain of
causation which brings about the misery of the world. [See H. Oldenberg’s Buddha, His Life, His Doctrine, and his Order, pp. 224-252]. - XII.
Niggantha, p., Nirgrantha, skt., literally “liberated from bonds”; a
name adopted by the adherents of the Jaina sect. - LI; Nigganthas, give also to the, LI. Nigrodha, p., Nyagrodha, skt., a tree, ficus indica well-known for its air roots. - XIV, XCIV.
Nirmana Kaya, skt., the body of transformation. - XCVIII.
Nirvana, skt., Nibbana, p., extinction, viz., the extinction of self;
according to the Hinayana it is defined as “extinction of illusion,” according to the Mahayana as “attainment of truth.” Nirvana means, according to the latter, enlightenment, the state of mind in which upadana, kilesa, and tanha are extinct, the happy condition of enlightenment, peace and mind, bliss, the glory of righteousness in this life and beyond, the eternal rest of Buddha after death. Buddha himself has refused to decide the problem whether or not Nirvana is a final extinction of personality. When questioned, he indicated by his silent that the solution is not one of those subjects a knowledge of which is indispensable for salvation. - II, III, VI, VII, XII, XIV, XV, XVI, XIX, XX, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXVI, XXVII, XXXI, XXXIV, XLI, XLIII, XLVII, XLIX, LIII, LIV, LV, LIX, LXIX, LXXIV, XCIV, XCVII, XCVIII; where is Nirvana? LIII; Nirvana not a locality, LIII; the city of Nirvana, XLVII; the harvest, Nirvana, LXXIV; the one aim, Nirvana, LV; Samsara and Nirvana, II, III.
Okkaka, p., Ikshvaku, skt., the name of a mythological family from
which the chiefs of the Sakyas claim descent. - IV.
Pabbajja, p., pravrajya, skt., the act of leaving the world for
receiving admittance to the Order. The first step of the Buddhist ordination (See Upasampada.)
Pajapati, p., Prajapati or Maha-Prajapati, skt., the sister of Maya-
devi, second wife of Suddhodana, aunt and fostermother of Buddha. She is also called by her husband’s name Gotami (feminine form of Gotama). - IV, XXIX, XXXII, XXXVII.
Pajjota, p., Pradyota, skt., name of a king of Ujjeni. - XXX.
Pakati, p., Prakriti, skt., name of a girl of low caste. - LXXVI.
Paramita, p. and skt., perfection, or virtue. The six paramitas are:
almsgiving, morality, patience, zeal or energy, meditation, and wisdom.
Paribbajaka, p., Parivrajaka, skt., a sect belonging to the Tirthika
school. - XXXV.
Pasenadi, p., Prasenajit, skt., also called Pasenit, king of Kosala,
residing at Savatthi. - XXIV, XXV.
Pataliputra, skt., Pataliputta, p., also called Pataligama, a city on
the Ganges north of Rajagaha and belonging to the kingdom of Magadha, the frontier station against Vriji (Vajji), the present Patna. Buddha is reported to have predicted the future greatness of the place, which is an important passage for determining the time in which the account of Buddha’s sojourn in Pataliputra was written. It is still uncertain, however, when Patna became the important center which it is now. It was the capital of the country when Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleucus Nicator, at the end of the third century BCE, visited India. He gave in his book a detailed description of the city.- XC; Pataliputra, three dangers hang over, XC.
Patimokkha, p., Pratimoksha, skt., literally “disburdenment.” It is
the Buddhist confession. Rhys Davids says, “that is almost certainly dates from the fifth century BCE. Since that time - during a period that is of nearly two thousand and three hundred years - it has been regularly repeated, twice in each month, in formal meetings of the stricter members of the Order. It occupies, therefore, a unique position in the literary history of the world; and no rules for moral conduct have been for so long a time as these in constant practical use, except only those laid down in the Old Testament and in the works of Confucius.” - XXXV.
Pava, p. and skt., a village where Buddha took his last meal. - XCV.
Pokkharasati, p., Paushkarasati, skt., a Brahman Philosopher. - XLIX.
Pubbarama, p., Purvarama, skt., the Eastern Garden. - XXXIV.
Pukkusa, p., Pukkasha or Pukkasa, skt., name of a low caste. - XCV.
Punnyaji, p., Punyajit, skt., a friend of Yasa. - XVIII.
Raga, pleasure, desire or lust; a synonym of rati. The name of one of
Mara’s daughters. - XI.
Rahula, p. and skt., the son of Buddha, was admitted to the fraternity
while still a boy. Buddha gave him a lesson in truthfulness [see Chapter LVI]. He is always named among the prominent disciples of Buddha and is revered as the patron saint of novices. - V, XXVIII, XXIX, LVI. Rainy season (see Vassa). - XVII, XCIII.
Raja, p. and skt., nominative form of the stem rajan, a king.
Rajagaha, p., Rajagriha, skt., the capital of Magadha and residence of
king Bimbisara. - VIII, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXVI, XXX, XXXV, XXXIX, XLII, L, LXXXVIII, XCVIII. Ratana, p., ratna, skt., “jewel.”
Rati, love, liking, a synonym of raga. The name of one of Mara’s
daughters. - XI.
Sahampati, occurs only in the phrase “Brahma Sahampati,” a name
frequently used in Buddhist scriptures the meaning of which is obscure. Burnouf renders it Seigneur des etres patients; Eitel, Lord of the inhabitable parts of all universes; H. Kern maintains that it is synonymous with Sikhin, which is a common term for Agni.
Sakka, p., Sakra, skt., Lord; a cognomen of Indra. - XXI.
Sakya, p. and skt., the name of a royal race in the northern frontiers
of Magadha. - IV, V, VIII.
Sakyamuni, p. and skt., the Sakya sage; a cognomen of Buddha. - VIII,
IX, X, XI, XIX, XX, XXII, XXVII, XLII, XLIX, L, LXI, LXXVI, LXXXIV, XCVIII.
Sala, p. and skt., a tree, vatica robusta; sala-grove, XCVII; sala-
trees, XCVI.
Samadhi, p. and skt., trance, abstraction, self-control, Rhys Davids
says (Buddhism p. 177): “Buddhism has not been able to escape from the natural results of the wonder with which abnormal nervous states have always been regarded during the infancy of science..But it must be added, to its credit, that the most ancient Buddhism despises dreams and visions; and that the doctrine of Samadhi is of small practical importance compared with the doctrine of the noble eightfold path.” Ernest Eitel says (Handbook of Chinese Buddhism, p. 140): “The term Samadhi is sometimes used ethically, when it desigantes moral self-deliverance from passion and vice.”
Samana, p., Sramana, skt., an scsetic; one who lives under the vow,
VIII, XI, XIII, XVIII, XXII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLII, LII, LVI, LXIX,
LXXI, LXXIV, LXXV, LXXXIII, XC; the Samana Gotama, LII; the vision of a samana, VII.
Sambhoga-Kaya, skt., the body of Bliss. - XCVIII.
Sammappadhana, p., Samyakpradhana, skt., right effort, exertion,
struggle. There are four great efforts to overcome sin, which are:
(1) Mastery over the passions so as to prevent bad qualities from rising; (2) suppression of sinful thoughts to put away bad qualities which have arisen; (3) meditation on the seven kinds of wisdom (Bojjhanyga) in order to produce goodness not previously existing; and (4) fixed attention or the exertion of preventing the mind from wandering, so as to increase the goodness which exists. [See the Mahapandhana-Sutta in the Digha-Mikaya. Compare Buddhist Birth Stories, p. 89, and Rhys Davids’s Buddhism, pp. 172-173].
Samsara, p. and skt., the ocean of birth and death, transiency,
worldliness, the restlessness of a worldly life, the agitation of selfishness, the vanity fair of life. - II, III, LX, XC.
Sangha, p. and skt., the brotherhood of Buddha’s disciples, the
Buddhist church. An assembly of at least four has the power to hear confession, to grant absolution, to admit persons to the priesthood, etc. The sangha forms the third constituent of the Tiratana or three jewels in which refuge is taken. - XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIX, XXXII, XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII, LI, LVII, LXI, XCVII, XCVIII; sangha may be expected to prosper, LXXXVIII.
Sanyjaya, p. and skt., a wandering ascetic and chief of that sect to
which Sariputta and Moggallana belonged before their conversion. - XXII.
Sankhara, p., Samskara, skt., confection, conformation, disposition.
It is the formative element in the karma as it has taken shape in bodily existence. - LIII.
Sariputta, p., Sariputra, skt., one of the princeple disciples of
Buddha; the Buddhistic St. Peter. - XXII, XXIV, XXV, XXVIII, XXIX, XXXVII, XL, XLII, LXXXV, LXXXIX; Sariputta’s faith, LXXXV, LXXXIX.
Savaka, p., Sravaka, skt., he who has heard the voice (viz., of
Buddha), a pupil, a beginner. The name is used to designate (1) all personal disciples of Buddha, the foremost among whom are called Maha-savakas, and (2) an elementary degree of saintship. A savaka is he who is superficial yet in practice and comprehension, being compared to a hare crossing the stream of Samsara by swimming on the surface. [See Handbook of Chinese Buddhism by Ernest Eitel, p. 157.] - LX.
Sati-patthana, p., Smrityupasthana, skt., meditation; explained as
“fixing the attention.” The four objects of earnest meditation are:
(1) the impurity of the body, (2) the evils arising from sensation, (3) ideas or the impermanence of existence, and (4) reason and character, or the permanency of the dharma. (Rhys Davids’s Buddhism, p. 172.) The term is different from “bhavana,” although translated by the same English word. (Sacred Books of the East, vol. XI, p. 62-211).
Savatthi, p., Sravasti, skt., capital of Northern Kosala. It has been
identified by General Cunningham with the ruins of Sahet-Mahet in Oudh and was situated on the river Rapti, northwest of Magadha. - XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXXIV, XXXVII, LXX, LXXV, LXXXV, LXXXVII.
Seniya, p., Sainya, skt., military, warlike, an honorary title given
to Bimbisara the king of Magadha. - XX, XXI, XXX, XXXV.
Siddhattha, p., Siddhartha, skt., Buddha’s proper name. Etymology, “He
who has reached his goal.”- IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, XV, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXXIX, LVI. Sigala, p., Srigala, skt., literally, “jackal”; name of a Brahman converted by Buddha. - L.
Simha, skt., Siha, p., literally, “lion.” Name of a general, an
adherent of the Niggantha sect, converted by Buddha. - LI; Simha, a soldier, LI; Simha’s question concerning annihilation, LI.
Soma, p. and skt., derived from the root su, to press in a winepress;
not as, according to Eitel, Chinese scholars propose from “elhilarate (su) and mind (mana).” Name of a plant and of its juice, which is intoxicating and is used at Brahmanical festivals; the Soma drink is identified with the moon and personified as a deity. - XLIX.
Subahu, p. and skt., a friend of Yasa. - XVIII.
Subhadda, p., Subhadra, skt., name of a samana. Subhadda, Buddha’s
last convert, must not be confounded with another man of the same name who caused dissension soon after Buddha’s death. - XLII, XCVII.
Suddhodana, p. and skt., Buddha’s father. The word means “possessing
pure rice.” Buddhists always represent him as a king, but Oldenberg declares that this does not appear in the oldest records, and speaks of him as “a great and wealthy land-owner.” (See his Buddha, pp. 99 and 416-417). - IV, V, VIII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXXI.
Sumana, p. and skt., name of a house-holder. - LXXI.
Suprabuddha, father of Devadatta. - XXXIX.
Sutta, p., sutra, skt., literally “thread,” any essay, or guide of a
religious character. Tanha, p., Trishna, skt., thirst; the word denotes generally all intence desire, cleaving and clinging with passion. The name of one of Mara’s daughters. - XI.
Tapussa, p. and skt., a merchant. - XIII.
Tarukkha, p., Tarukshya, skt., name of a Brahman philosopher. - XLIX.
Tathagata, p. and skt., generally explained as “the Perfect One.” The
highest attribute of Buddha, VII, IX, X, XIV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX,
XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXV, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXII, XXXIII,
XXXIV, XXXIX, XLII, XLIV, XLVII, XLVIII, XLIX, L, LI, LII, LIII, LV,
LIX, LX, LXIV, LXXIV, LXXVII, LXXVIII, LXXX, LXXXV, LXXXVI, LXXXVII,
XC, XCIII, XCIV, XCV, XCVI, XCVII, XCVIII; robe of the Tathagata,
XLVII; soldiers of the Tathagata, XLVII; the law of the body of the
Tathagata, XCVIII; Tathagatas are only preachers, XLVIII.
Tiratana, p., Triratna, skt., the three jewels of the holy trinity of
the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, a doctrine peculiar to Northern Buddhism. (See Trikaya.)
Titthiya, p., Tirthika, skt., a religious school of India in Buddha’s
time. - XXXV.
Trikaya, the three bodies or personalities of Buddha, the Dharmakaya,
the Sambhoga-kaya, and the Nirmana-kaya. - XCVIII.
Uddaka, p., Udraka, skt., a Brahman philosopher. - IX.
Ujjeni, p., Ujjayini, skt., name of a city. - XXX.
Upadana, p. and skt., desire, a grasping state of mind. One of the
nidanas. Upagutta, p., Upagupta, skt., name of a Buddhist monk. - LXXX.
Upaka, p. and skt., name of a man, a Jain, who met Buddha, but was not
converted by him. - XV.
Upali, p. and skt., a prominent disciple of Buddha. Before his
conversion he was accoring to the Buddhistic tradition, court-barber to the king of the Sakyas. - XXIX, XXXVII, XCVIII.
Upasampada, p. and skt., admittance to the Buddhist brotherhood,
ordination. (See Pabbajja.) Upavattana, p., Upavartana, skt., a grove in Kusinagara. The word means a rambling-place, a gymnasium.
· XCVI, XCVII.
Uposatha, p., Upavasatha, skt., the Buddhist sabbath. Rhys Davids
says, “The Uposatha days are the four days in the lunar month when the moon is full, or new, or half way between the two. It is the fourteenth day from the new moon (in short months) and the fifteenth day from the full moon (in long months), and the eigth day from each of these. The corresponding Sanskrit word is Upavasatha, the fast-day previous to the offering of the intoxicating soma, connected with the worship of the moon. Instead of worshipping the moon, the Buddhists were to keep the fast-day by special observance of the moral precepts; one of many instances in which Gotama spiritualised existing words and customs.” - XXXV, XXXVI; observe the Uposatha of Sabbath, XXXV.
Uruvela, p., Urubilva, skt., a place south of Patna on the banks of the
Neranjara river, now Buddha Gaya. The residence of Kassapa, the chief of the Jatilas. - X, XIX, XX, LXXXII.
Vajji, p., Vriji, skt., name of a people living in the neighborhood of
Magadha, XLII, LXXXVIII; assemblies of the Vajji, LXXXVIII.
Varana, p. and skt., a tree; Crataeva Roxburghii. - LXVII.
Vardhamana, skt., Vaddhamana, Jaina Prakrit, proper name of the founder
of Jainism. Also called Jnyataputra in skt., and Nataputta in Jaina Prakrit.
Varuna, p. and skt., a Brahman deity, the god of heaven and regent of
the sea; one of the guardians of the world. - XLIX.
Vasavadatta, p. and skt., a courtesan of Mathura. - LXXX.
Vasettha, p., Vasishtha, skt., name of a Brahman. - XLIX.
Vassa, p., Varsha, skt., rain, rainy season. During the rainy season
of Northern India, which falls in the months from June to October, the samanas could not wander about, but had to stay in one place. It was the time in which the disciples gathered around their master, listening to his instructions. Thus it became the festive time of the year, Buddhists come together and live in temporary huts, holding religious meetings in the open air, reading the Pitakas and enjoying the Jitakas, legends and parables of Buddhism. [See Rhys Davids’s Buddhism, p. 57.]
Vassakara, p., Varshakara, skt., literally “rain-maker.” Name of a
Brahman, the prime minister of the king of Magadha. - LXXXVIII.
Vedas, XVI, XLIX, LXIX; I know all the Vedas, LIII.
Veluvana, p., Venuvana, skt., a bamboo-grove at Rajagaha, XXI,XXVI;
Veluvana vihara, XXXIX.
Vesali, p., Vaisali, skt., a great city of India, north of Patna. - LI,
XCII, XCIII, XCIV.
Vihara, p. and skt., residence of Buddhist monks or priests; a Buddhist
convent or monastery; a Buddhist temple. - XX, XXIV, XXV, XXXIV, XXXV, XXXIX, LVI, LXXXVI, XCVI.
Vimala, p. and skt., (etymology, the spotless), name of a friend of
Yasa. - XVIII.
Vinaya, XVII.
Visakha, p. and skt., a wealthy matron of Savatthi, one of Buddha’s
most distinguished woman lay-disciples. Says Oldenberg, Buddha, p. 167: “Every one invites Visakha to sacrificial ceremonies and banquets, and has the dishes offered to her first; a quest like her brings luck to the house.” - XXXIV; eight boons of Visakha, XXXIV; gladness of Visakha, XXXIV.
Yama, p. and skt., also called Yama-raja, death, the god of death. -
LXXXIII.
Yasa, p., Yasas, skt., the noble youth of Benares, son of a wealthy man
and one of Buddha’s earliest converts. - XVIII.
Yasodhara, p. and skt., wife of prince Gotama Siddhattha before he
became Buddha. She became one of the first of Buddhist nuns. [See Jataka, 87-90; Commentary on Dhammapada, vv. 168,169; Bigandet’s The Life or Legend of Gotama, 156-168; Spence Hardy’s A Manual of Buddhism, 198-204; Beal’s The Romantic History of Buddha from the Chinese Sanskrit, pp. 360-364; Buddhist Birth Stories, 127.] - V, XXVIII, XXIX, XXXII, XXXIX, LVI.
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- Written by: Paul Carus