Glossary

Five realms. Six realms excluding the realm of Asuras. See also: Six

realms.

Five skandhas. Constituents of the entire psychophysical unit which we mistake for a personality. Skandha is a Sanskrit word meaning "heap", "pile", or "aggregate". The five skandhas are form, feelings, perception, cognition and consciousness. 'Form' belongs to the physical body; 'feelings' to the emotional reactions; and 'perception', 'cognition' and 'consciousness' to the mental realm. The skandhas are general divisions for categorising all phenomena in the conditioned world. Because they include within them all transitory, impermanent phenomena, they are the important tools for understanding the Buddhist doctrine of no self. If one analyses all aspects of what one feels to be one's 'self', one finds that all fall within the scope of the five skandhas.

Four kinds of kindness. Kindness of parents, teachers, Buddhas and the country we live in.

Four Maha Bodhisattvas. The four great Bodhisattvas namely. Manjushri (foremost in wisdom); Samantabhadra (foremost in conduct); Avalokitesvara(foremost in compassion); Ksitigarbha (foremost in vows).