Glossary
Of Pāli Terms Used
This chapter is part of Vipassanā in Jhāna: A Personal Narrative and Practical Guide, by Gary Buck.
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Glossary
abhidhamma: Sometimes called the higher dhamma. It is a set of very detailed analyses, and explanations of the processes of mind. It was compiled soon after the death of the Buddha, and constitutes one part of the Pāli Cannon, the ancient Buddhist Theravāda scriptures.
Abhidhammattha Sangaha: A summary of the Abhidhamma, written in Sri Lanka by Ācariya Anuruddha, some time about the 12th century.
ānāpāna-sati: Mindfulness of breathing; probably the most common type of Buddhist meditation, and the one used by the Buddha himself to attain enlightenment.
anattā: Not-self. Ego-less-ness. One of the three characteristics of all existence, along with anicca (constant change) and dukkha (misery, unsatisfactoriness).
anicca: Change. Everything is changing, nothing remains constant. One of the three characteristics of all existence, along with anatā (no substantial essence, not-self) and dukkha (misery, unsatisfactoriness).
appanā samādhi: Full jhāna; or jhāna as the term is used in the Sutta Piṭaka. The mind in the Fine Material Sphere of consciousness, according to the Abhidhamma. Sometimes referred to as “sutta jhāna.”
appanā-vipassanā: A term sometimes used to describe the practice of vipassanā while in appanā samādhi, or full jhāna.
arūpa: Four states of consciousness that take entirely mental, or non-material, objects of meditation. They are very much like extensions of the fourth jhāna. In English they are called, infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness and neither-perception-nor-nonpercption.
bhāvanā: Mental development. Meditation.
bhāvanā maya paññā: An expression from the Pāli scriptures that means ‘wisdom that is acquired through personal experience’. Wisdom, or knowledge, is classified as of three types: what we have heard, what we have understood through reason, and what we have understood through experience. Only the wisdom that arises through personal experience can liberate one.
bhikkhu: A buddhist monk.
brahmavihāra: Literally, the abode of the gods. This refers to four pure states of mind: mettā (loving kindness), karunā (compassion), mudita (joy at others’ good fortune) and upekkhā (equanimity).
dāna: Donations, charity; especially giving donations to enable others to practice dhamma,
dhamma: The Buddha’s teaching. The law of nature.
dōsa: Hatred, aversion. One of the three states that underlie all unwholesome mind moments. The others are lōbha (greed), and mōha (delusion).
dukkha: Misery; suffering; unsatisfactoriness.
ehipassiko: An expression meaning, “try it and see for yourself.” The Buddha said that this is one of the important qualities of the dhamma.
ekaggatā: Concentration, one-pointedness of mind. A synonym for samādhi.
jhāna: An elevated state of consciousness, called the Fine-Material Sphere (rūpa loka), with intense concentration and feelings of bliss and calm well-being. There are four jhānas with increasing levels of concentration and refinement, characterized by what are called “jhāna factors,” namely the most salient mental characteristics of each state. The first jhāna has vitakka (thought conception), vicāra (discursive thought), pīti (joy), sukha (bliss), and ekaggatā (concentration); the second jhāna has pīti (joy), sukha (bliss), and ekaggatā (concentration); the third jhāna has sukha (bliss), and ekaggatā (concentration); the fourth jhāna has equanimity (upekkhā) and ekaggatā (concentration).
Kālāma Sutta: A famous sutta in the Pāli Cannon in which the Buddha exhorts his followers not to accept any teaching unless they have verified it by personal experience.
kalyāṇa-mitta: A good friend; namely a meditation guide.
kamma: Literally, action; any action. However, it is usually used to describe actions of mind (most notably, volition) that leave a residue which then has later effects on one’s life. This is the original meaning of this term. The English use of the word, usually given as “karma,” is used to describe the results of our actions, which is actually a misunderstanding of the original concept.
khaṇika samādhi: Momentary concentration. When the mind is concentrated for short periods, with normal sense-sphere consciousness, but is concentrated long enough to begin the practice of meditation.
karuṇā: Compassion. One of the brahmavihāra, those four pure, or divine, states of mind: the others are mettā (loving kindness), mudita (joy at others’ good fortune) and upekkhā (equanimity).
lōbha: Greed. Craving. One of the three states that underlie all unwholesome mind moments. The others are dōsa (aversion) and mōha (delusion).
mettā: Loving kindness. One of the brahmavihārā, four pure, or divine, states of mind: the others are karuṇā (compassion), mudita (joy at others’ good fortune) and upekkhā (equanimity).
mōha: Delusion. Ignorance. One of the three states that underlie all unwholesome mind moments. The others are lōbha (greed), and dōsa (aversion).
muditā: Joy at others’ good fortune. One of the brahmavihārā, four pure, or divine, states of mind: the others are mettā (loving kindness), karuṇā (compassion), and upekkhā (equanimity).
nāmarupa: Literally “name and form”; the term refers to mind and body, or the totality of the person. The best English translation is “mind and matter.”
nibbāna: Enlightenment; the supreme state.
nikāya: Volume. This usually refers to the four oldest volumes in the Sutta Piṭaka, part of the Pāli Canon. The four are: the Dīgha Nikāya, the Majjhima Nikāya, the Saṃyutta Nikāya, and the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
nimitta: A small mental image, that is used as an object of meditation to concentrate the mind. This may appear naturally as the mind becomes more concentrated, or it may be artificially created by memorizing a small disk-shaped object.
nīvaraṇa: The hindrances, which are the mental states that prevent the mind from good concentration, especially jhāna. There are five hindrances: sense desire (kāmacchanda), aversion (vyāpāda), sloth-and-torpor (thīna-middha), restlessness-and-worry (uddhacca-kukkucca) and doubt (vicikiccha).
Pāli Canon: The oldest set of written teaching of the Buddha. The canon has three parts: the Sutta Piṭaka, with hundrds of suttas attributed to the Buddha; the Vinaya Piṭaka, three volumes of rules for monks, supplemented by discussion of doctrine and illustrative stories. And the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, extensive and detailed analysis of mind and matter. The Pāli Canon was composed in the centuries after the Buddha’s death, and maintained in an oral tradition for many centuries. It was first written down around the 1st century BCE, at the Fourth Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka.
pañca khandhā: The five aggregates that compose the totality of a human being—material body (rupa), consciousness (viññāṇa), cognition (saññā), feeling (vedanā) and reactions (saṅkhāra). Taken all together, these are often referred to as nāmarūpa, which translates as “mind and matter.”
paññā: Wisdom. Understanding the nature of reality.
pārami: Spiritual qualities that, when perfected, lead to sainthood. There are ten pārami, which are: generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, effort, forbearance, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness and equanimity. These are developed over many lives of practice. In popular discourse, the term ‘good pārami’ is an expression used to describe someone who takes readily to the Buddha’s teaching.
pīti: Intensely pleasant bodily sensation.
samādhi: Concentration. One-pointedness of mind.
samādhi-samāpannassa vipassanā: A Pāli expression meaning the vipassanā practiced while in jhāna. (samādhi-samāpanna means “having entered jhāna”).
samatha-bhāvanā: Meditation focused on developing concentration, by attaining states of jhāna. In the ancient commentaries (e.g. The Visuddhimagga) this is contrasted with vipassanā-bhāvanā, meditation to attain wisdom and liberation.
sammā-samādhi: Right Concentration. One of the steps of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, the path to liberation. Scholars agree that this refers to states of jhāna. Sammā- samādhi (Right Concentration), along with sammā-vāyāma (Right Effort) and sammā- sati (Right Awareness) form that part of the Eightfold Path that relates to the practice of meditation; namely the bhāvanā section of the path.
sammā-sati: Right Awareness. One of the steps of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, the path to liberation. Sammā- sati (Right Awareness) along with Sammā-vāyāma (Right Effort) and Sammā- samādhi (Right Concentration) form that part of the Eightfold Path that relates to the practice of meditation; namely the bhāvanā section of the path.
sammā-vāyāma: Right Effort. One of the steps of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, the path to liberation. Sammā-vāyāma (Right Effort) along with Sammā- samādhi (Right Concentration) and sammā- sati (Right Awareness) form that part of the Eightfold Path that relates to the practice of meditation; namely the bhāvanā section of the path. .
samādhi: Concentration of mind. One of the three main parts of the Buddha’s path, along with sīla morality and paññā wisdom.
samsāra: The cycle of birth and death, in which each life is followed by another. The situation in which each life arises is determined by mind moments created in previous lives.
saṃyojana: Fetters, states of mind that prevent a person from attaining enlightenment. There are ten fetters in total. The first five fetters prevent a person from attaining the first stage of liberation, the first taste of nibbāna. These five are: personality belief (sakkāya-diṭṭhi), doubt about the teaching (vicikicchā), attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa), sensual desire (kāmacchando), and ill will (vyāpādo).
saṅgha: The order of Buddhist monks, established by the Buddha during his lifetime.
saṅkhāra: The reactions of the mind. One of the four components of mind. These mental processes that determine the moral value of our thoughts, words and deeds. The most notable ones are lōbha (craving), dōsa (aversion) and mōha (delusion). These are considered unwholesome and must be avoided. Any states of mind that are not based on one of these three are, by definition, wholesome states of mind.
saññā: The cognitive processes of the mind. That part of the mind that evaluates the object of consciousness.
sati: Awareness. Mindfulness.
Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness. A famous sutta from the Pāli Cannon, that provides much of the theoretical basis for the practice of vipassanā meditation.
sāsana: The Buddha’s dispensation. The period of time during which the Buddha’s teaching remains available to the world. The current sāsana is that of Gotama Buddha. This is traditionally expected to last 5,000 years. Furthermore, in Theravāda countries, traditionally it was expected that there would be a revival of interest in the Buddha’s teaching at the half-way point of the sāsana, 2,500 years after the Buddha’s death, or about the middle of the twentieth century. Currently we are just past that mid-point, and we can see that here has indeed been a considerable revival, and one that is still growing today. Indeed, we are very fortunate to be part of it.
sīla: Morality. Good conduct.
sukha: A very intense type of pleasant feeling.
sukkhavipassanā: Dry insight; the practice of vipassanā without attaining jhāna.
Sutta Piṭaka: That part of the Pāli Canon that contains the discourses of the Buddha. It consists of four volumes: the Dīgha Nikāya, the Majjhima Nikāya, the Saṃyutta Nikāya, and the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
Theravāda: Literally, The Way of the Elders. It is the most ancient school of Buddhism, based on the writings found in the Pāli Cannon, which is the oldest record of the teachings of the historical Buddha.
upacāra samādhi: Access concentration. Sometimes called neighborhood concentration. The level of concentration necessary for entering jhāna.
upāya-kosalla: literally means “skill in means” or skillfulness in choosing the best teaching method, and is usually used to describe the Buddha’s ability to choose the most effective way to help others understand the dhamma, depending on their capacities and level of understanding.
upekkhā: Equanimity. A pure, balanced, non-reactive state of mind.
vedanā: Feeling. Bodily sensation.
vedanānupassanā: Meditation that takes bodily sensation (vedanā) as the object of meditation.
vedanā-paccayā tanhā: A famous expression in Pāli, that means that it is reaction to feelings, or bodily sensations (vedanā) that leads to craving and aversion, and hence suffering.
vicāra: Discursive thinking. One of the two components of inner speech: vitakka is the arising of thought, which may or may not, lead to vicāra, discursive thinking or rolling in thought.
viññāṇa: Consciousness. There are six types of consciousness: consciousness of the five physical sense inputs, sight, sound, taste, touch, smell; as well as consciousness of mental contents.
vipassanā: Insight. Often used to refer the practice of meditation designed to develop wisdom, or insight into the nature of reality.
vipassanā-bhāvanā: Meditation to develop insight, or liberating wisdom. In the ancient commentaries (e.g. The Visuddhimagga) this is contrasted with samatha-bhāvanā, meditation focused on developing concentration, by attaining states of jhāna.
Visuddhimagga: Literally, The Path to Enlightenment. A very famous and very authoritative ancient text written by a fourth century monk in Sri Lanka, Buddhaghosa. This describes the Buddha’s path for monks in great detail. Buddhaghosa is famous for being the first to make a distinction between two types of meditation, samatha-bhāvanā, meditation focused on developing concentration by attaining states of jhāna, and vipassanā--bhāvanā, meditation to attain wisdom and liberation. He claimed these were separate and distinct paths.
vitakka: Thought conception. One of the two components of inner speech: vitakka is the arising of thought, which may or may not, lead to vicāra, discursive thinking, or rolling in thought.
yathābhūta: As it is; in accord with reality; in accord with the way things really are.
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