(Skt.; Ch. 阿羅漢) Literally, a "worthy one" or "foe destroyer" (from Skt. arihan). This can be an epithet of one who is "worthy" of offerings, such as a Buddha, but more typically refers to one who has fulfilled the path, destroyed the afflictions, and upon death, will enter nirvāṇa. Thus, it refers to one on the śrāvaka (Ch. 聲聞) path, rather than the bodhisattva (菩薩) path which results in buddhahood, but takes multiple lives. The path to buddhahood, however, is expedited by birth in the Pure Land.
(Skt. bodhi; Ch. 菩提) This is the awareness that arises upon the removal of ignorance. It is the accurate knowledge of a Buddha. Buddha is the past participle of the root budh, to awaken, whereas bodhi is the noun form.
(Skt. manasikāra; Ch. 作意) This simply means the application of the mind, i.e. thinking on or paying attention to something. It does not further denote concentration (samādhi) or absorption (samāpatti), but may serve as a prerequisite to them.
Literally, the fortunate one. A common respectful term of reference for any buddha. The Buddhabhūmisūtraśāstra (佛地經論, T1530) suggests that the implications in the Buddhist case are (1) powerful, (2) blazing, (3) of superior form, (4) renowned, (5) auspicious, and (6) honoured. The typical Chinese translation of the term is 世尊, World-honoured One, which strictly speaking is a translation of the less common lokanātha (literally, Lord of the World), but came to be a standard epithet.
The bhūmis (Skt.; Ch. 地), literally, grounds, typically refers to the ten stages of the bodhisattva path. Each of these stages involves sublime attainments and visions of buddhas. Rather than stages from the start to the end of the bodhisattva path, the source text for these stages, the Daśabhūmika Sūtra, makes clear that the first stage occurs when one is well-along on the bodhisattva path. The first stage, the stage of "joy," is one such stage and is named for the joy one undergoes at having overcome the difficulties of earlier parts of the bodhisattva path. Another important stage is the eighth, the stage of "immovability," at which point a bodhisattva is irreversible. In Pure Land Buddhism, by relying on the power of the Vow of Amitābha Buddha, one instead attains both joy and irreversibility in this life—joy at the knowledge that despite one's karmic obscurations one only has one more life until one can attain buddhahood, and irreversibility because, being embraced by the Buddha's Vow, one can no longer fall back to any other realm but will, without doubt, be born in his Pure Land and there attain nirvāṇa and buddhahood.
(Skt., Ch. 菩提薩埵, abbrv. 菩薩) A being (sattva) who aspires to attain awakening (bodhi). The term thus refers to one on the Mahāyāna 大乘 path to buddhahood, which normally takes countless lives. However, according to the Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, all beings who are born in the Pure Land are "pure bodhisattvas, who are irreversible and are bound to only one more birth." Thus, birth in the Pure Land is regarded as the fastest way to attain full buddhahood.
(Skt.; Ch. 佛) An awakened one, who has fully extinguished all afflictions and has realised the nature of all dharmas. He teaches the Dharma in order to liberate sentient beings from cyclic existence in saṃsāra.
(Skt. buddhatva; Ch. 佛果) The fruit of the bodhisattva path, the attainment of awakening.
(Skt. buddhakṣetra; Ch. 佛刹/佛土/佛國) Also translated as "Buddha-field," this is a world established by the dedication of the merits of a Buddha and the fruition of his vows to establish such a land. This can also simply refer to any world in which a buddha resides. Consequently, every buddha abides in a Buddha-land, but only some are specifically set up by the fruition of vows, such as the land of Amitābha, Sukhāvatī. Since such a land is purified by the activities of a buddha, it is called a Pure Land (Ch. 淨土).
Buddha-nature is both the underlying awakened nature of beings, their mind-ground, which must be cleared of obscurations to be fully realised, and it is their potential to so purify and awaken. All sentient beings are imbued with this potential.
(Skt. citta; Ch. 心) The term citta literally means mind, but even in pre-Buddhist texts it also took on the meaning of an aim or aspiration. In the case of bodhicitta, it implies the aspiration for awakening. In the Tathāgatagarbha tradition, since the mind-essence or mind of thusness is the ground from which the buddhas manifest and with which all beings are endowed, the sense of aspiration takes on a dual meaning of "mind ground" or Buddha-nature and the aspiration—thus the aspiration to attain awakening is an alignment of the aspiring being's unawakened mind with the Buddha-nature to which they seek to awaken.
Javier: I like heart-mind or heartmind, even if it is a bit wieldy, because it shows there was no separation of the center of emotion and thought in India. I have seen "heartmind" in some translations from Chinese as well by some modern translators. But I know this would be an unusual translation. What do you think?
(Skt.; Ch. 法) When capitalised, this refers to the Buddha's teachings or the law of reality. When uncapitalised, it refers to phenomena—things that can be perceived.
(Skt.; Ch. 天/天神/提婆) This refers to a being who lives a long life in a heavenly realm. As they are neither creators nor have an infinite lifespan, they are not necessarily equivalent to the English term "god," but that is the more typical translation. For this reason, I tend to leave the term untranslated. They have successively more purified heavens, subtle bodies, and longer lifespans as they proceed from deva realms of the desire realm (kamaloka), the form realm (rūpaloka), and the formless realm (arūpaloka).
(Skt. sukha; Ch. 極樂) The Sanskrit literally comes from the meaning "having a good (su) axle-hole (kha)," and thus means one is able to act and abide without difficulties or troubles. The Chinese 極樂 is made up of a character which means ultimate 極 and bliss or enjoyment 樂, hence the occasional translation of the term Sukhāvatī in English as "the Land of Ultimate Bliss."
(Skt. aṣṭavijñānāni; Ch. 八識) This is a scheme found in texts such as the Laṅkāvatāra. It explains how our experience of the world is a false projection based upon karmic impressions, which, when purified, can result in buddhahood. The first five (1-5) are the five sense consciousnesses, which arise dependent upon the conditioning of the five sense faculties (sense organs) and five objects. The sixth (6) is the mind consciousness (manovijñāna) that arises based on the condition of the mind faculty and dharmas (mental phenomena). It thus involves thought, reflections, emotions, intentions, and can function while sleeping and produce dreams. The seventh (7) consciousness is the defiled mentation (manas) consciousness (kliṣṭamanovijñāna) and refers to thought that engages in reflection on the imputed idea of a "self" or identities. It mistakes the prior six consciousnesses for real entities, rather than conditioned illusions, and thus further perpetuates ignorance and activities characterised by clinging. The eighth (8) consciousness is the storehouse consciousness (ālayavijñāna) and is a base repository of karmic seeds. Direct knowledge of the storehouse consciousness is not possible while defiled knowledge persists, but with the attainment of buddhahood and purification of defilements, one can directly see and transform it—realising it to be the obscured mind ground. When defiled, these seeds come to fruition in the constant arising of the prior seven consciousnesses and consequently mean that our perception of the world, until fully purified, is always a projection of the mind. When purified, one either speaks of the storehouse consciousness as being transformed, or as the pure consciousness simply being a separate ninth (9) stainless consciousness (amalavijñāna) which continues to exist after the prior eight consciousnesses are eliminated. In schemes which see the storehouse consciousness as transformed, it is that its fundamental nature is stainless, but obscured by illusion—thus all ordinary beings carry with them this seed of purity as their Buddha-nature which is inherently pure, but just can't see it because of extrinsic coverings (like clouds covering the pure blue sky).
The effluents, or outflows (Skt. āsrava; Ch. 漏). These are activities based on ignorance including the effluent of desire, the effluent of existence or becoming, and the effluent of ignorance. These also correspond to three realms.
(Skt. pañcendriya; Ch. 五根) These are five faculties developed through spiritual cultivation. They are the faculty of faith (śraddhendriya; 信根), the faculty of effort (vīryendriya; 精進根), the faculty of mindfulness or recollection (smṛtīndriya; 念根), the faculty of samādhi (meditative concentration) (samādhīndriya; 定根), and the faculty of wisdom (prajñendriya; 慧根).
These are the attainments with which the bhikṣus in the assembly of the Pure Land sūtras are renowned for (Skt. abhijñātābhijñātaiḥ). This refers to the five higher knowledges or five supernormal powers (Skt. pañcābhijñā; Ch. 五神通). These are (1) the divine eye capable of seeing everywhere in the form-realm, (2) the divine ear, capable of hearing everywhere, (3) knowledge of other's minds, (4) knowledge of former existences, and (5) the ability to do as one wills or be anywhere by supernormal power. A set of six adds (6) the power of the extinction of the effluents.
(Skt. aparimita; aprameya; Ch. 無量) Unquantifiable or incalculable. According to the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra, the "life-span (āyuḥpramāṇa) of the buddhas is truly limitless (aparimita). In order to save beings, the Buddhas manifest a long life (dīrgha) or a short life (alpa) [according to the circumstances]." This is signified by the name Amitāyus, or "Infinite Life" which transcends the limits of time.
(Skt. asaṃkhyeya; 無數) Beyond number or reckoning, uncountable. In Buddhist texts, this term also indicates a "high number" and can appear as a length of time, e.g. "an asaṃkhyeya." This is sometimes defined as being a kind of kalpa between the length of a mahākalpa and antarakalpa.
(Skt. avinivartanīya/avaivartika; Ch. 不退/阿惟越致) Simply stated, this is the point on the bodhisattva path at which a bodhisattva no longer backslides and returns to an earlier level or position. There are multiple systems within the sūtras for describing how and when this happens. In the Pure Land scheme, it is the point at which one hears the name of Amitābha and gives rise to faith and believes that they will, indeed, be born in his land. Thereafter they will never be released by the power of Amitābha's vow, but naturally be brought to birth in the Pure Land.
(Skt.; Ch. 劫) An aeon of time. There are a number of kinds of kalpa, and whether it makes sense to estimate even a minor kalpa in years is not clear. For instance, a minor kalpa is often said to not have even passed in the time it takes for a mountain 20,000 metres tall to be finally worn away by a soft cloth wafting over it once in a hundred years. If a minor kalpa is such an inconceivable span, a regular kalpa is twenty times that, and a larger kalpa, or mahākalpa, is eighty regular kalpas. A mahākalpa is divided into a kalpa of creation, abiding, destruction, and annihilation. Each of these is called an immeasurable, or asaṃkhyeya kalpa. Each of the four asaṃkhyeya kalpas is further divided into twenty minor, or antara kalpas, kalpas. Each antara kalpa has its own periods of increase and decrease, with the periods of increase ruled over by four wheel-turning monarchs (cakravartins) in the order iron, copper, silver, and gold. A period of increase sees human life increase until it reaches 84,000 years. When the period of decrease occurs, lifespan decreases until it reaches ten years. Periods of decrease are thus characterised by the five degeneracies. Some kalpas have the appearance of buddhas, and some do not. Our kalpa is called the bhadrakalpa, or good kalpa, and has 1000 Buddhas (see Tathāgataguhya Sūtra (Secrets of the Tathāgata), chapter 5.
(Skt. bodhyaṅga; Ch. 覺支) These are seven limbs of awakening, and are thus thought of as supports upon which awakening is attained. They are: (1) Mindfulness or memory (smṛti), (2) non-negligence (apramāda), (3) investigation of the Darma (dharmavicaya), (4) effort (vīrya), (5) rapture as experienced through meditation due to detachment from the unwholesome (prīti), (6) serenity (praśrabdhi), (7) meditation (samādhi), and (8) equanimity (upekṣā).
(Skt.; Ch. 摩訶薩埵) Literally, "great being." Termed so because they are intent on the benefit and awakening of a "great" many beings, and they are firmly established on the "great" vehicle (i.e. Mahāyāna). It is generally held that a bodhisattva who is a mahāsattva has reached at least the seventh bhūmi. Well-known bodhisattvas, such as Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta are also frequently termed "mahāsattvas."
(Skt.; Ch. 大乘) Meaning "Great Vehicle," this refers to the path to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of a "great" number of beings, hence "great." Those who follow this path are bodhisattvas.
(Skt. nirmita; Ch. 權現) This refers to an appearance created by the formless Buddha as the Dharma-body, for the sake of aiding sentient beings in coming to an understanding of the Dharma in ways that can be understood by them.
(Skt.; Ch. 涅槃) Meaning extinction, this indicates the extinction of suffering. Nirvāṇa is itself not buddhahood, but is often considered its equivalent because upon awakening, a buddha ceases to experience suffering. However, final nirvāṇa (parirnirvāṇa) is essentially equivalent to Buddha-nature and has the qualities of 1. eternity, 2. bliss, 3. self, and 4. purity. This is also considered ultimate nirvāṇa. In the śrāvakayāna, it is held that there is a final emancipation upon the death of an arhat or buddha, but in the Mahāyāna, it is held that ultimately the Buddha neither comes nor goes from or into nirvāṇa. Thus, the Buddha's parinirvāṇa is a display to encourage beings to practice and to realise the impermanence of all compounded things. Most importantly for Pure Land Buddhism, Amitābha Buddha likewise never enters nirvāṇa, but is eternally in nirvāṇa—however for the sake of some beings for whom it is useful to see such a display, he may display entering parinirvāṇa.
Knowledge of all (Skt. sarvajñā; Ch. 一切智), used in the opening praise for the Sanskrit versions of the Pure Land sūtras ("Homage to Omniscience;" Skt. namaḥ sarvajñāya). This is the knowledge possessed by the Buddha (Skt. buddhajñāna; Ch. 佛智). Wonhyo divides it into inconceivable wisdom (不思議智), incalculable wisdom (不可稱智), vast wisdom of the Mahāyāna (大乘廣智), and unequalled, unmatched, highest wisdom (無等無倫最上勝智). These are cognates of the four kinds of purified knowledge (Skt. catvārijñāni; Ch. 四智) in Asaṅgha's Mahāyānasaṅgraha, the untainted counterparts to the eight consciousnesses.
(Skt.; Ch. 般涅槃) Final extinction. This term is used to indicate the passing of a buddha into final extinction after the death of their body, rather than the nirvāṇa they abide in throughout their day to day lives. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra, however, teaches that ultimately the buddhas do not enter into parinirvāṇa, but always abide in Great Nirvāṇa, which is thusness and Buddha-Nature.
(Skt. bala; Ch. 力) This refers to the supernormal powers of a Buddha. There are a few formulations with different enumerations, but the most common is the ten powers. The ten powers are 1. knolwedge of right and wrong, 2. knowledge of one's own and others' karma, 3. knowledge of all dhyānas and samādhis, 4. knowledge of the faculties of sentient beings, 5. knowledge of the inclinations of sentient beings, 6. knowledge of the various karmic seeds of sentient beings, 7. knowledge of the paths pursued by sentient beings, 8. knowledge of past lives, 9. knowledge of where beings will be born and die, and 10. knowledge of the destruction of the effluents.
(Skt. śuddha; Ch. 淨) This, when used in the Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha to characterise the disciples of Amitābha, means that when they are born in the Pure Land, they no longer give rise to defilements or tainted action because the conditions to ripen the karma that causes such actions are not presnt.
The three realms (Skt. traidhātuka or trailokya; Ch. 三界) are the three realms of saṃsāric existence. They are the desire realm (Skt. kāmadhātu; Ch. 欲界), form realm (Skt. rūpadhātu; Ch. 色界), and formless realm (Skt. arūpadhātu; Ch. 無色界). The desire realm includes the world of the four continents (including the human realm), the hells, and six lower deva realms. The form realm is a realm of devas who are free from sensual desires, but not yet free from subtle form. The formless realm is the realm of devas who have neither physical form nor desire and corresponds to the attainment of the four formless dhyānas.
(Skt.; Ch. 三昧) This term means putting together, which refers to the joining of the mind and object of concentration. Such an object could be the breath or a contemplated image of the Buddha. Dhyāna (定) refers to the successively more subtle states of mind, with attendant qualities and fewer defilements. The attainment of equanimity in the fourth dhyāna is characterised as meditative equipoise, or samāpatti (三摩鉢底). Samādhi progresses beyond that and sees the yoking (yoga) of the mind and object without any distraction or wavering. Samādhi, however, can also arise without going through dhyānas. The samādhi of the recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛtisamādhi; 念佛三昧) refers on the one hand to a meditative samādhi in formal practice but ultimately refers to the recognition that the Buddha and oneself are one while retaining a separate individual identity. This is either a spontaneous realisation or conscious recognition marked by recitation or recollection of the Buddha's name.
(Skt.; Ch. 三藐三佛陀) Meaning, perfect and fully awakened one. This refers to fully awakened buddhas. The term is left untranslated because by tradition it is usually left untranslated in Chinese. This has the effect of creating a sense of reverence.
(Skt.; Ch. 僧; 僧伽) This means assembly. It refers to the community of monastics, novices, and laity. On the Mahāyāna level the term ārya saṅgha, or Noble Saṅgha, refers to the community of bodhisattva mahāsattvas.
(Skt. ṣaḍgati; Ch. 六趣) Literally, six destinies. This refers to the six realms that beings are born into based on their karma in saṃsāric existence: 1. Hell, 2. Ghosts, 3. Animals, 4. Asuras, 5. Humans, 6. Devas.
(Skt. kulaputra; Ch. 族姓子; 善男子) A term of address for a listener in the sūtras. While this term originally referred to a son of a noble family, in the Buddhist context it means a disciple of the Buddha—by taking refuge in the Buddha, one enters the Buddha's family.
Literally a hearer or listener (Skt.; Ch. 聲聞). This refers to disciples of the Buddha who hear his voice. In the sūtras, it does not necessarily refer to beings who are not bodhisattvas, simply direct disciples of the Buddha. However, in the scheme of the vehicles (Skt. yāna; Ch. 乘), this can refer specifically to disciples who are engaged in practice for the attainment of arhatship rather than full Buddhahood and as thus placed on the vehicle of the śrāvakas, or śrāvakayāna (Skt.; Ch. 聲聞乘).
(Skt. praṇidhāna; Ch. 願) On the one hand this simply means the aspiration or desire of a being to do something, such as to be born in Sukhāvatī. On the other hand, it refers to a solemnly pledged promise, such as that one will attain buddhahood. When capitalised, Vow, it tends to refer to Amitābha's vows, the 48 of which are enumerated in the longer versions of the Pure Land sūtras.
(Skt. kuśalamūla; Ch. 善根) Good actions that plant karmic seeds that ripen in good results.
(Skt. lokadhātu; Ch. 界) One world in which sentient beings inhabit.
Further terms to be added:
Bodhicitta (I like aspiration for awakening or mind aimed at awakening)
Upaya ("skillful means? or something else?)
Karuṇā (I agree with Jay Garfield that Buddhists should use another term, like care, instead of compassion, which means "suffering-with")
Dependent Arising
Emptiness
dharmas - "phenomena" is not that bad, but maybe we could leave it untranslated, or maybe use "principles" to show that its not necessarily a thing?
Dharma-body (dharmakāya)
śraddhā (faith or trust?) faith has monotheistic connotations for many westerners, maybe trust?
Skandhas (aggregates? heap?)
Form (rūpa) - Great Elements (mahābhūta)
Feeling (vedanā)
Perception (samjñā)
Samskāra - this is the hardest one, you can go with the literal translations like formations, or with the translations that focus on the intentional aspect, like intentions or willing, or with a compound term, like intentional formations or intentional constructs? This is a tough one.
Consciousness (vijñāna)
Hīnayāna (the Inferior Vehicle, Lesser Vehicle, or should we go with the Chinese "smaller"?)
Karma (leave untranslated or use "action"?)
Bhiksu/Bhiksuni (monk? monastic?)
Puṇya (goodness? merit?)
Suchness / Thusness for tathata?
svabhāva (intrinsic nature)
Tathāgata (I like "Transcendent One", since it captures the transcendent idea of "thus gone" without sounding weird, thoughts?)
Pāramitās - perfection? transcendent perfections?
ṣaḍāyatana - I believe "sense field" captures this best
kleśā - ? I'm not a fan of 'defilement' , maybe some other translation, "disease" / "disorder"?
Nivarana - obstacle?
Mindfulness - should probably stick with mindfulness for smrti since its so common of a term now