# Buddhism Glossary Terms ## expand\_more [### abbot ](/abbot) An abbot or abbess is the title of the superior of a monastery or convent. Some scholars and practitioners have used these titles to apply to the ranking monk or nun of a Buddhist monastic community as well. [### Amitabha ](/amitabha) Amitabha Buddha, called Emituofo in China and Amida in Japan, is the Buddha of “Infinite Light.” This Buddha is the main focus of devotion in the Pure Land school of Chinese Buddhism, and the Pure Land (Shin) and True Pure Land (Jodo Shinshu) schools of... [### arahant ](/arahant) An arahant (Pali) or arhat (Sanskrit) is a “worthy one,” a Buddhist monk who has attained nirvana through living a monastic life in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings, thereby extinguishing all defilements and desires. The arahant represents the model... [### Asalha ](/asalha) The Asalha festival, especially important in the Theravada Buddhist traditions, commemorates the first sermon of the Buddha and his ascent to the second heaven, where he preached the Dharma to his mother. It is celebrated at the beginning of the three... [### Ashvaghosha ](/ashvaghosha) Ashvaghosha (?80-?150 CE) was an Indian philosopher and poet who recorded one of the most well-known literary renditions of the Buddha’s life story in addition to many other works. [### Assayuja ](/assayuja) Assayuja, a day of special importance in Theravada traditions, marks the Buddha’s descent from second heaven, where he had preached the Dharma to his mother. The day also marks the end of the three-month vassa, or rainy season retreat for monastics, in... [### Avalokiteshvara ](/avalokiteshvara) Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva who looks down with compassion upon the suffering of all beings. In East Asia, this bodhisattva came to be popular in female form as Guanyin (China), Kannon (Japan) or Kwan Um (Korea), holding a willow branch and vase... [### Baker-roshi, Richard ](/baker-roshi-richard) Richard Baker was one of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi’s earliest students in the United States. In 1971, Suzuki installed Baker as his successor and leader of the San Francisco Zen Center. Under Baker’s leadership the center and its two branches—Green Gulch (a... [### Beat Zen ](/beat-zen) Beat Zen is a term used to refer to the views of Zen Buddhism made popular to the American public through the Beat poets. Such poets included Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac. [### betsuin ](/betsuin) The Buddhist Churches of America employs this term to refer to the organization’s major temples, such as those in San Jose, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. [### Bhaishajya-guru ](/bhaishajya-guru) Bhaishajya-guru or the Medicine Buddha is the Buddha of the Eastern Pure Land of Azure Radiance, best known for his determination to heal those whose faculties are imperfect. By removing diseases and giving perfect health of body and mind, he vows to... [### bhikkhu ](/bhikkhu) Bhikkhus or Buddhist monks shave their heads and don a special robe to symbolize their renunciation of mundane pursuits. There are normally two levels of monkhood: the samanera, or novice monk, a role which may be assumed either temporarily or as the... [### bhikkhuni ](/bhikkuni) Bhikkhunis are Buddhist nuns. Although the lineage of fully ordained women monastics died out long ago in the Theravada traditions of South Asia, it has been preserved in the Mahayana traditions of East Asia. In fact, there are currently more nuns than... [### bodhi ](/bodhi) The Buddhist Sanskrit term bodhi means enlightenment or awakening. It is a direct awareness or realization of the changing and interdependent nature of reality which is accompanied by the elimination of the defilements and clinging that bind one to the... [### Bodhi Tree ](/bodhi-tree) The Bodhi Tree is the tree under which the Buddha sat in meditation when he reached enlightenment at Bodhgaya. The term is also used to refer to trees that were originally saplings of the Bodhi Tree. [### bodhisattva ](/bodhisattva) A bodhisattva is one who has dedicated his or her life to the attainment of enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. The bodhisattva vows to postpone enlightenment in order to help all sentient beings realize liberation. In some cases, the... [### Bon Odori ](/bon-odori) Bon Odori is the traditional outdoor dance performed during the summer Obon festival in Japan—and in America among the Japanese American population. [### Boorstein, Sylvia ](/boorstein-sylvia) Sylvia Boorstein is a practicing psychotherapist and an active teacher of vipassana at Spirit Rock Center, located north of San Francisco. She also leads an annual retreat at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. As is readily apparent in... [### bowing meditation ](/bowing-meditation) Buddhist meditation sessions often begin and end with bowing, an act considered a sign of respect to the Buddha. Repetitive and mindful bowing is also a form of meditation because it helps to rid the mind of self-centered desires. [### Buddha ](/buddha) Buddha means “awakened one” and specifically refers to Shakyamuni Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama (traditional date, sixth c. BCE), the historical founder of the tradition that became known as Buddhism. All Buddhist traditions agree that there... [### Buddha hall ](/buddha-hall) The Buddha hall is the main sanctuary of a Buddhist temple in which there are images of one or more Buddhas. Major ceremonies take place here. For meditation, however, there will often be a separate chamber away from the clamor of other temple activities. [### Buddha Nature ](/buddha-nature) According to Mahayana Buddhist philosophy, every sentient being possesses Buddha Nature and therefore has the potential to realize enlightenment, regardless of the level of existence it currently occupies. The precise nature of this True Nature is... [### Buddha’s Birthday ](/buddha%E2%80%99s-birthday-0) The anniversary of the birth of Siddhartha Gautama is a major Buddhist celebration, although the date of observance differs in the various traditions. For the Theravada tradition, Visakha (or Vesak) usually falls in May and celebrates simultaneously three... [### Buddha’s Enlightenment Day ](/buddha%E2%80%99s-enlightenment-day) The Buddha’s Enlightenment Day, also called Bodhi Day, is observed in East Asian Mahayana traditions during December. [### Buddhism ](/buddhism-0) Buddhism is a multi-hued tradition of life, thought, and practice that has developed from the teaching and practice of Siddhartha Gautama (6th century BCE) who came to be called the Buddha, the awakened one. The three major streams of the tradition... [### Buddhist Churches of America ](/buddhist-churches-america) The Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) is the institutional name of Jodo Shinshu or “True Pure Land” Buddhism in the U.S. This Buddhism of Japanese immigrants regards the chanting of the name of Amida as the most appropriate form of practice in the... [### Buddhist meditation ](/buddhist-meditation) Buddhist meditation is the practice of quieting the mind and bringing it to full attention, as did the Buddha in the meditative practice that led to his enlightenment or awakening. Cultivating an alert, wakeful consciousness through meditation is... [### Buddhist precepts ](/buddhist-precepts) (also: five precepts; samaya voces' bodhisattva vows) For Buddhists, spiritual progress typically requires the acceptance of an ever-greater number of moral precepts. Upon taking refuge in the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), most Buddhists... [### Buddhist temple ](/buddhist-temple) Buddhist temples differ considerably from one another depending upon culture and particular school, but most are associated with the residence of the sangha of monks. Theravada temples focus on one or more images of Sakyamuni Buddha. In Mahayana and... [### Carus, Paul ](/carus-paul) Paul Carus (1852-1919), a German immigrant, was attracted to Buddhism and made the argument that it could be understood rationally as compatible with science. He edited The Open Court, a journal which investigated religion and science. 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