Terminology concordance for the whole work

The concordance lists key terms that recur throughout the work, giving Chinese, Sanskrit (Skt.), Pāli, and English forms with brief explanations. Each chapter gives a term in transliteration at its first appearance, and readers can return to the concordance for a fuller explanation. Entries are added as writing proceeds.

Where the Sanskrit and Pāli forms are identical, the Pāli column reads "same." Differences in emphasis between Buddhist and Brahmanical usage are stated in the explanation.

1. Documents and scriptures

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
吠陀 veda — Veda(s) The basic scriptures of Brahmanism, divided into four collections
梨俱吠陀 Ṛgveda — Rigveda The oldest collection, containing 1,028 hymns
娑摩吠陀 Sāmaveda — Samaveda Verses set to music for chanting, mostly taken from the Rigveda
夜柔吠陀 Yajurveda — Yajurveda Sacrificial formulas and instructions for performing rites
阿闼婆吠陀 Atharvaveda — Atharvaveda Spells and rites to avert calamity, along with speculative hymns
本集 saṃhitā same Saṃhitā The layer of Vedic hymns and spells
梵书 brāhmaṇa same Brāhmaṇa Prose explanations of sacrifice; note that the Sanskrit form is identical to the word for "Brahmin"
森林书 āraṇyaka same Āraṇyaka Texts on the internalization of sacrifice and practice in seclusion
奥义书 upaniṣad same Upaniṣad The concluding Vedic texts, examining Brahman, the self, and liberation
吠檀多 vedānta same Vedānta "The end of the Veda," referring to the Upaniṣads; later also the name of a philosophical school

2. Society and caste

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
种姓（瓦尔纳） varṇa vaṇṇa varna / class The theoretical model of four major classes
世袭群体（迦提） jāti jāti caste / birth-group Actual hereditary occupational groups, which developed later
婆罗门 brāhmaṇa brāhmaṇa Brahmin The priestly caste
刹帝利 kṣatriya khattiya Kshatriya The caste of warriors and rulers, into which the Buddha was born
吠舍 vaiśya vessa Vaishya The caste of farmers, herders, artisans, and merchants
首陀罗 śūdra sudda Shudra The caste of servants
沙门 śramaṇa samaṇa renunciant / ascetic A movement of renunciation and religious practice opposed to mainstream sacrifice
出离（出家） pravrajyā pabbajjā going forth Leaving home to enter a life of religious practice
雅利安 ārya ariya Aryan / noble A self-designation meaning "noble"; in Buddhism, ariya came to refer to a spiritually noble person
渡津者（祖师） tīrthaṅkara titthaṃkara ford-maker A teacher of liberation revered in Jainism
活命派（邪命外道） ājīvika ājīvika Ājīvika An ascetic school founded by Makkhali that taught fatalism

3. Core religious and philosophical concepts

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
祭祀 yajña yañña sacrifice Fire offerings and sacrificial rites central to Vedic religion
天则／宇宙秩序 ṛta — cosmic order The early Vedic conception of order, later incorporated into dharma
原人 puruṣa purisa Cosmic Man The being sacrificed to generate all existence in the Puruṣa hymn
梵（终极实在） brahman brahman Brahman Ultimate reality in the Upaniṣads; distinguish it from "Brahmin," a priest
我／自我 ātman attan (attā) self The permanent self in the Upaniṣads; Buddhism teaches non-self
知／智 jñāna ñāṇa knowledge The way of directly knowing the truth, central to liberation in the Upaniṣads
无明 avidyā avijjā ignorance Mistaking the changing body and mind for a permanent self; the root of rebirth
不害 ahiṃsā ahiṃsā non-harming The central ethic of Jainism and also a general Indian principle
苦行 tapas tapa / tapo austerity Self-mortification to exhaust karma and pursue religious practice
命（灵魂） jīva jīva soul / life-monad In Jainism, the substantial soul of a sentient being
漏 āsrava āsava influx / taint In Jainism, the influx of karmic matter; in Buddhism, the taints of defilement
定命 niyati niyati destiny / fate The central concept of Ājīvika fatalism
顺世论 lokāyata lokāyata materialism The materialist and annihilationist tradition, also called Cārvāka
断见 ucchedavāda ucchedavāda annihilationism Annihilation after death; one of the two extremes avoided by the Buddha
常见 śāśvatavāda sassatavāda eternalism The existence of a permanent entity; one of the two extremes avoided by the Buddha
业 karman kamma karma Actions and their consequences
轮回 saṃsāra same cycle of rebirth The continuity of birth and death
解脱 mokṣa; (Buddhist) vimukti vimutti liberation Release from rebirth; Buddhism more often uses vimutti or nirvāṇa
涅槃 nirvāṇa nibbāna nirvana The state in which defilements are extinguished and one is released from rebirth
般涅槃 parinirvāṇa parinibbāna final nirvana The final passing away of a Buddha or arhat at death
觉悟（菩提） bodhi bodhi awakening The awakening realized by the Buddha
中道 madhyamā pratipad majjhimā paṭipadā middle way The path of practice apart from the extremes of pain and pleasure

4. Personal titles and institutions

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
佛陀 buddha buddha Buddha / awakened one An awakened one; originally Gautama, and also anyone who has realized awakening
释迦牟尼 Śākyamuni Sakyamuni Śākyamuni "Sage of the Śākya clan," an honorific for the Buddha
如来 tathāgata tathāgata Tathāgata "One who has thus come / gone," the Buddha's designation for himself
魔 Māra Māra Māra A being who disrupts religious practice and represents death and desire
僧伽 saṃgha saṅgha sangha / order The community of those who have renounced household life for religious practice
结集（合诵） saṃgīti saṅgīti communal recitation The sangha's collective recitation and establishment of the canonical texts
诵者 bhāṇaka bhāṇaka reciter A monk responsible for memorizing and reciting a particular collection of discourses
部族共和 gaṇa（-saṅgha） gaṇa（-saṅgha） clan oligarchy A clan polity in which aristocrats deliberate and elect leaders, such as the Śākyas
窣堵波（塔） stūpa thūpa stupa A structure in the shape of an inverted bowl that houses relics

5. Core categories of the early teachings

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
苦 duḥkha dukkha suffering / unsatisfactoriness Includes suffering as pain, suffering through change, and the suffering of conditioned existence
四谛 catvāri āryasatyāni cattāri ariyasaccāni four noble truths Suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path
渴爱 tṛṣṇā taṇhā craving The cause of suffering; divided into craving for sensual pleasure, for existence, and for non-existence
八正道 āryāṣṭāṅga-mārga ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga noble eightfold path The path to the cessation of suffering, encompassed by virtue, concentration, and wisdom
三学 śīla-samādhi-prajñā sīla-samādhi-paññā the threefold training Virtue, concentration, and wisdom
缘起 pratītya-samutpāda paṭicca-samuppāda dependent origination Everything arises dependent on conditions; nothing exists independently and permanently
无常 anitya anicca impermanence All conditioned phenomena change and decay
无我 anātman anattā non-self No permanent, autonomous self exists within or outside body and mind
无记 avyākṛta avyākata undeclared Questions the Buddha set aside without answering because they do not aid liberation
取 upādāna upādāna clinging Grasping at the five aggregates and other objects
五蕴 pañca-skandha pañca-khandha five aggregates Form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness
色 rūpa rūpa form / matter The material body and what is derived from the four great elements
受 vedanā vedanā feeling The three feelings of pain, pleasure, and neutrality
想 saṃjñā saññā perception Apprehending features, recognizing, and naming
行 saṃskāra saṅkhāra formations / volition Volitional activities and mental factors, with intention at their core
识 vijñāna viññāṇa consciousness Awareness that discerns an object
我慢 asmi-māna asmimāna the conceit "I am" The latent illusion "I am," rather than an observed existing entity
戏论 prapañca papañca conceptual proliferation Once concepts develop, they multiply and become endlessly entangled
无为 asaṃskṛta asaṅkhata unconditioned What is not constructed and does not depend on conditional arising, such as nirvāṇa
出世间 lokottara lokuttara supramundane The level beyond worldly phenomena
有余／无余涅槃 sopadhiśeṣa／nirupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa saupādisesa／anupādisesa-nibbāna nibbana with / without remainder The nirvāṇa of an arhat while alive and after death
三相 tri-lakṣaṇa ti-lakkhaṇa three characteristics Impermanence, suffering, and non-self; the early threefold general assessment
法印（三法印） dharma-mudrā — dharma-seal A later category of doctrinal classification in the northern traditions, not an early self-designation
究竟法 paramārtha-dharma paramattha-dhamma ultimate reality / real dharma Dharmas that Abhidharma regards as ultimately real
方便（善巧方便） upāya(-kauśalya) upāya skillful means Methods of teaching adapted to the individual

6. The sangha and monastic discipline

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
比丘 bhikṣu bhikkhu monk A fully ordained male monastic
比丘尼 bhikṣuṇī bhikkhunī nun A fully ordained female monastic
律 vinaya vinaya monastic discipline The collective rules governing the sangha
波罗提木叉 prātimokṣa pātimokkha code of rules The complete code of precepts, recited at the observance assembly
布萨 upoṣadha uposatha observance day The fortnightly gathering for reciting precepts and confessing offenses
自恣 pravāraṇā pavāraṇā invitation Inviting others to point out one's offenses at the end of the rains retreat
具足戒（受具） upasaṃpadā upasampadā higher ordination Formally becoming a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī
羯磨 (saṅgha-)karman (saṅgha-)kamma formal act A formal act through which the sangha conducts business according to procedure
结界 sīmā sīmā boundary The delimited area within which formal sangha acts are performed
波罗夷 pārājika pārājika defeat / expulsion The four fundamental grave offenses, incurring expulsion
僧残 saṃghāvaśeṣa saṅghādisesa offence needing the sangha Offenses of the next degree of gravity that require action by the sangha
犍度 skandhaka khandhaka section (of Vinaya) The sections of the Vinaya dealing with institutions and procedures
雨安居 varṣā vassa rains retreat A three-month residence in one place during the rainy season
四众 catasraḥ parṣadaḥ catasso parisā fourfold assembly Monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen
二部僧受戒 — ubhatosaṅghe upasampadā dual-sangha ordination A nun's higher ordination must be conferred by both the community of nuns and the community of monks

7. Texts and transmission

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
结集（合诵） saṃgīti saṅgīti communal recitation The sangha's collective recitation and establishment of the canonical texts
三藏 tripiṭaka tipiṭaka three baskets The three divisions of discourses, monastic discipline, and systematic doctrine
阿毗达磨（论藏） abhidharma abhidhamma higher doctrine Later treatises specific to each school
尼柯耶 nikāya nikāya collection The five major collections of the Pāli Sutta Piṭaka
阿含 āgama āgama Āgama The corresponding discourse collections preserved in Chinese translation
十事 daśa vastūni dasa vatthūni ten points The ten relaxed disciplinary practices disputed at Vaiśālī
论母 mātṛkā mātikā matrix / list Lists of categories that supplied the framework of the Abhidharma Piṭaka and were the source of Abhidharma

8. Schools

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
上座部 sthavira thera Sthavira / elders One of the two branches of the fundamental split, the lineage of the "elders"
大众部 mahāsāṃghika mahāsaṅghika Mahāsāṃghika One of the two branches of the fundamental split, the lineage of the "majority"
部派 nikāya nikāya school / fraternity A lineage of ordination together with a doctrinal tendency; not necessarily a schism
破僧 saṃghabheda saṅghabheda schism Monastics within the same boundary conducting sangha acts separately; a grave disciplinary offense
说一切有部 sarvāstivāda sabbatthivāda Sarvāstivāda A major school of the Sthavira lineage, holding that the three times all exist
大天五事 (Mahādeva) pañca vastūni — five points of Mahādeva Five claims that lower the status of the arhat
补特伽罗 pudgala puggala person The person posited by the Vātsīputrīyas as "neither identical with nor separate from the aggregates"
正量部 sāṃmitīya sammitiya Saṃmitīya The largest branch of the Vātsīputrīyas, once highly influential in India
不可说 avaktavya avattabba inexpressible / indeterminate The person's relation to the aggregates is neither identity nor separation
分别说部 vibhajyavāda vibhajjavāda Vibhajyavāda A branch of the Sthaviras from which Theravāda arose
经量部 sautrāntika — Sautrāntika A school that relies on discourses rather than treatises, holds that only the present is real, and teaches a theory of seeds
法藏部 dharmaguptaka dhammaguttika Dharmaguptaka The school that transmitted the Four-Part Vinaya, the basis of ordination in Chinese Buddhism
说出世部 lokottaravāda lokuttaravāda Lokottaravāda A branch of the Mahāsāṃghikas that holds the Buddha's body to be transcendent and supramundane

9. Abhidharma and the philosophy of the early schools

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
法（构成义） dharma dhamma dharma / factor The smallest real constituent remaining when analysis is carried to its limit
自性（法体） svabhāva sabhāva own-nature The nature or intrinsic being of a dharma
作用 kāritra — activity / function The function a dharma performs in the present moment
刹那 kṣaṇa khaṇa moment An extremely brief instant
实有／假有 dravya-sat／prajñapti-sat dabba-sat／paññatti-sat substantial / nominal existence What is real at the limit of analysis, as against what exists through designation
三世实有 sarvāstitva — the three times all exist The intrinsic being of a dharma exists in the past, present, and future
五位七十五法 — — seventy-five dharmas The Sarvāstivāda classification of all dharmas into five groups totaling seventy-five kinds
毗婆沙师 vaibhāṣika — Vaibhāṣika The Kashmiri orthodoxy that takes the Mahāvibhāṣā as its standard
无表色 avijñapti-rūpa — unmanifest matter Subtle matter produced by karma that continues to preserve karmic efficacy
得 prāpti patti possession A real dharma that attaches a particular dharma to the continuum of a particular sentient being
心不相应行 citta-viprayukta-saṃskāra citta-vippayutta-saṅkhāra dissociated formations Conditioned "forces" that are neither matter nor mind, such as possession, the life faculty, and the four characteristics
种子 bīja bīja seed A functional state in which karma has left an impression on the mental continuum, carrying a potential that awaits maturation
熏习 vāsanā vāsanā perfuming Actions leaving habitual tendencies and planting seeds in a continuum
行相 ākāra ākāra aspect / image The form in which an object appears in consciousness; Sautrāntikas infer external objects on that basis
有分（心） bhavāṅga bhavaṅga life-continuum The underlying current of consciousness posited in Theravāda, bearing the maturation of karma and maintaining continuity within a life
异熟 vipāka vipāka karmic result The result brought about when karma matures
有为 saṃskṛta saṅkhata conditioned Dharmas that depend on conditions and undergo arising, cessation, and change
心 citta citta mind / consciousness The principal consciousness that discerns in a single moment
心所 caitta / caitasika cetasika mental factor The various mental functions that arise together with consciousness in association with it
心路（过程） — citta-vīthi cognitive process The Theravāda sequence of mental moments in which cognition unfolds in a fixed order
二谛 saṃvṛti / paramārtha-satya sammuti / paramattha-sacca two truths Conventional truth, concerning nominal designation, and ultimate truth, concerning what is ultimate

10. Other Indian philosophical schools and debate

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
正理派 nyāya — Nyāya A Brahmanical realist school emphasizing logic and epistemology
胜论派 vaiśeṣika — Vaiśeṣika A realist school of categories and atoms
数论 sāṃkhya — Sāṃkhya A dualism of puruṣa and prakṛti with twenty-five principles
弥曼差 mīmāṃsā — Mīmāṃsā A school upholding Vedic revelation, the eternity of sound, and sacrifice
极微 paramāṇu paramāṇu atom The smallest indivisible unit of matter
论义 vāda vāda formal debate The institution of public debate, involving patronage and reputation
因明（量论） hetuvidyā / pramāṇa — logic / epistemology The study of argument and the means of knowledge

11. Mahāyāna

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
大乘 mahāyāna — Mahāyāna The "great vehicle," the tradition of the bodhisattva path
声闻乘（小乘） śrāvakayāna（hīnayāna） — Śrāvakayāna The śrāvaka path to liberation; "Hīnayāna" is a Mahāyāna term of disparagement, not a neutral designation
菩萨 bodhisattva bodhisatta bodhisattva One who vows to become a Buddha and follows the bodhisattva path
般若波罗蜜多 prajñāpāramitā — perfection of wisdom Central to Mahāyāna; also the corpus of Perfection of Wisdom sūtras
佛语（佛说） buddhavacana buddhavacana word of the Buddha Redefined in Mahāyāna as "whatever is well spoken is spoken by the Buddha"
法身 dharmakāya dhammakāya dharma-body The Buddha's permanent body of dharma-nature, on the basis of which Mahāyāna says "the Buddha still teaches"
空 śūnyatā suññatā emptiness The absence of own-nature in all dharmas
一乘 ekayāna — one vehicle The three vehicles ultimately return to the single Buddha vehicle, as in the Lotus Sūtra
法界 dharmadhātu dhammadhātu dharma-realm The totality of mutual inclusion at successive levels described in Huayan
不二 advaya — non-duality The absence of a division between birth-and-death and nirvāṇa, and other such pairs, as in the Vimalakīrti Sūtra
念佛 buddhānusmṛti buddhānussati recollection of the Buddha Remembering the Buddha or reciting the Buddha's name; a Pure Land practice
阿罗汉 arhat arahant arhat The highest śrāvaka attainment, ending defilements and birth-and-death
菩提心 bodhicitta — mind of awakening The resolve to attain Buddhahood in order to liberate sentient beings
波罗蜜（度） pāramitā pāramī perfection The six or ten perfections cultivated by bodhisattvas
慈悲 karuṇā (compassion) karuṇā compassion The compassion in a bodhisattva's joint practice of compassion and wisdom
十地 daśabhūmi — ten stages The ten stages of bodhisattva practice
三转法轮 tri-parivarta dharmacakra — three turnings of the wheel A Mahāyāna doctrinal classification: the first turning is for śrāvakas, the second teaches perfection of wisdom, and the third teaches consciousness-only
判教 — — doctrinal classification Ranking teachings as higher or lower and determining whether their meaning is definitive

12. Madhyamaka

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
中观 madhyamaka — Madhyamaka The tradition of Nāgārjuna, using emptiness to refute own-nature and maintain the middle way
四句 catuṣkoṭi catukkoṭi tetralemma The refutation of all four alternatives: existence, non-existence, both, and neither
归谬 prasaṅga — reductio Accepting an opponent's assumptions and deriving an absurdity to refute them
四颠倒 catur-viparyāsa cattāro vipallāsā four inversions Mistaking the impermanent, suffering, non-self, and impure for the permanent, pleasurable, self, and pure
自续派 svātantrika — Svātantrika The position that Madhyamaka should use independent arguments and allow own-characteristics conventionally, associated with Bhāviveka
应成派 prāsaṅgika — Prāsaṅgika The position that Madhyamaka should use only reductio and establish no thesis, associated with Buddhapālita and Candrakīrti
自相 svalakṣaṇa salakkhaṇa own-characteristic A thing's intrinsically established characteristic; Prāsaṅgika rejects it even conventionally
拒斥 — — rejection Refusing to accept a proposition without committing to its negation; written ⊣A, alongside assertion ⊢A (Essay 18, Chapter 3)
纯遮 prasajya-pratiṣedha — pure negation Negating without positing: it only rejects and commits to no complementary class, as in saying that a turtle's hair does not exist
有立之遮 paryudāsa — implicative negation Negating an alternative within assertion and committing to the complementary class, as in saying that someone is not a brahmin
独立别异 — — independent difference (≠*) Difference between separate entities, each standing without depending on the other; contrasted with numerical difference ≠ at the level of designation
分别 vikalpa; viśeṣa(ṇa) vikappa; visesa conceptual construction; distinction The Chinese term covers two senses: the mind's construction (vikalpa, as in nondiscriminating wisdom) and a difference between two things (viśeṣa, as in verse 25.19); the two must be kept apart (5.6, Section 1)

13. Yogācāra and consciousness-only

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
瑜伽行派 yogācāra — Yogācāra The consciousness-only school in the tradition of Asaṅga and Vasubandhu
唯识 vijñaptimātratā — consciousness-only All phenomena are appearances of consciousness, with no independently existing external reality
阿赖耶识 ālaya-vijñāna — storehouse consciousness The "store consciousness," which contains karmic seeds and is the basis of the other consciousnesses
末那识 manas-vijñāna — manas-consciousness The seventh consciousness, which takes storehouse consciousness as "self" and is the root of self-grasping
三性 trisvabhāva — three natures The imagined, dependent, and consummate natures
遍计所执性 parikalpita-svabhāva — imagined nature Falsely taking dependently arisen things to possess a fixed own-nature
依他起性 paratantra-svabhāva — dependent nature The actual, illusion-like condition of dharmas arising dependent on conditions
圆成实性 pariniṣpanna-svabhāva — consummate nature The true emptiness of dharmas, seen after grasping at the imagined nature is removed
转依 āśraya-parāvṛtti — transformation of the basis The complete transformation of the fundamental basis, storehouse consciousness, when practice matures
三身 trikāya — three bodies The collective term for the dharma-body, enjoyment body, and emanation body
报身 saṃbhogakāya — enjoyment body The Buddha body seen by bodhisattvas in a pure land, brought about by the merit of practice
化身 nirmāṇakāya — emanation body A Buddha body manifested in the world according to the needs of beings; the historical Gautama is often placed in this category
无住涅槃 apratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa — non-abiding nirvāṇa The bodhisattva abides in neither birth-and-death nor nirvāṇa, remaining in the world through compassion and wisdom
烦恼障 kleśāvaraṇa — afflictive obstruction The barrier of defilements that obstructs liberation
所知障 jñeyāvaraṇa — cognitive obstruction The subtle barrier of ignorance that obstructs omniscience, or Buddhahood
自证分 svasaṃvedana — self-cognition Consciousness's immediate awareness of its own activity; a key element in Yogācāra arguments

14. Tathāgata-garbha and buddha-nature

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
如来藏 tathāgata-garbha — tathāgata-garbha Garbha suggests both a womb and containment: the awakening nature inherent in sentient beings, covered by defilements
佛性 buddhadhātu / buddhatā — buddha-nature The inherent basis on which all sentient beings can become Buddhas
自性清净心 prakṛti-pariśuddha-citta — naturally pure mind The mind's original purity; defilements are adventitious coverings, not its essence
客尘烦恼 āgantuka-kleśa — adventitious defilement Extrinsic defilements that cover and stain the pure mind and can be removed
本觉 — — original awakening In the Chinese tathāgata-garbha tradition, the state in which sentient beings are originally already awakened
始觉 — — actualized awakening Awakening actually realized and manifested in practice, contrasted with original awakening
一乘（如来藏义） ekayāna — one vehicle The basis on which the tathāgata-garbha tradition says everyone can become a Buddha

15. Late Indian Buddhism and epistemology

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
量（认识工具） pramāṇa — valid cognition The standard for determining whether cognition is valid; a central concept for Dignāga and Dharmakīrti
现量 pratyakṣa — direct perception Immediate perception without inference
比量 anumāna — inference Inference on the basis of a sign; the three-part argument of thesis, reason, and example
共相 sāmānya-lakṣaṇa — universal What words and concepts refer to, rather than an object of direct perception; for Dharmakīrti, it operates only through exclusion
遮诠 apoha — exclusion / apoha For Dharmakīrti, word meaning is established by "excluding non-X," rather than referring to a positive entity
金刚乘 vajrayāna — Vajrayāna A branch of Mahāyāna that pursues rapid attainment through tantric practices
密续 tantra — tantra Esoteric texts containing rites, visualizations, hand gestures, and mantras
坛城 maṇḍala — maṇḍala A diagram of the cosmic arrangement of Buddhas and bodhisattvas; central to tantric practice
咒（真言） mantra — mantra Sounds with specific effects, central to esoteric practice
那烂陀 Nālandā — Nālandā India's most important institution of Mahāyāna learning from the fifth to the twelfth century CE

16. Theravāda Buddhism

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
南传上座部 — theravāda Theravāda The Sthavira tradition whose scriptural language is Pāli, in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
巴利语 — pāli Pāli The language of Theravāda scriptures, close to Middle Indo-Aryan dialects
止禅 śamatha samatha calm-abiding / serenity An approach to meditation aimed at concentration and absorption
观禅（内观） vipaśyanā vipassanā insight Contemplating impermanence, suffering, and non-self as they are to develop insight knowledge
安止定 — appanā-samādhi absorption A state of concentration in which the mind is wholly absorbed in the meditation sign
近行定 — upacāra-samādhi access concentration Concentration close to absorption but not yet fully entering it
禅相 — nimitta (paṭibhāga-nimitta) meditation sign An image that appears in the mind during serenity practice; the "counterpart sign" marks absorption
业处 — kammaṭṭhāna meditation object The object of meditation; there are forty meditation objects
七清净 — satta-visuddhi seven stages of purification The seven stages of purification from virtue to wisdom in the Visuddhimagga
十六观智 — soḷasa-vipassanā-ñāṇa sixteen insight knowledges The sixteen steps of insight knowledge from its beginnings to path and fruition in the Visuddhimagga system
十观染 — vipassanupakkilesa ten corruptions of insight Experiences during insight practice, such as light and rapture, that can be mistaken for attainment
纯观行者 — sukkha-vipassaka dry insight practitioner One who can attain fruition by practicing insight directly without first developing absorption
旧注 — (Sinhala) aṭṭhakathā old commentaries The Sinhala commentaries preserved at the Mahāvihāra before Buddhaghosa and later translated into Pāli

17. Chinese Buddhism

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
格义 — — matching concepts The early practice of explaining Buddhist terms through comparisons with indigenous Chinese concepts, including those of Laozi and Zhuangzi
理 — — principle / noumenon The ontological level in Huayan and Chan contexts, contrasted with phenomena
事 — — phenomena / thing The phenomenal level, as in "the non-obstruction of principle and phenomena" and "the non-obstruction of phenomena with phenomena"
圆融 — — interpenetration Huayan's mutual inclusion of all dharmas without obstruction
性宗／相宗 — — nature school / character school The Chinese distinction between Madhyamaka, concerning the emptiness of nature, and Yogācāra, concerning the characteristics of dharmas
顿悟／渐修 — — sudden awakening / gradual cultivation The Chan dispute over whether awakening is sudden or requires gradual practice
公案 — — kōan / gong'an Cases of questions and answers in Chan that cannot be resolved through logic and are used to break conceptual discrimination
话头 — — keyword / kōan phrase The central phrase examined in the Chan practice of investigating a phrase, such as "no" or "the dog's buddha-nature"
神佛分离 — — shinbutsu bunri The policy in Meiji Japan that forcibly separated Shinto and Buddhism from 1868 onward
人间佛教 — — humanistic Buddhism A twentieth-century approach to reform in Chinese Buddhism, represented by Taixu and Yinshun

18. Tibetan Buddhism

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
大手印 mahāmudrā — mahāmudrā The highest view in the Kagyü school: the mind's nature is originally pure, and freedom from grasping is liberation
大圆满 (atiyoga / rdzogs chen) — Dzogchen / Great Perfection The highest view and practice in the Nyingma school, directly pointing to the bare awareness of original awakening
本觉（大圆满义） rigpa (Tib.) — rigpa / awareness The bare awareness described in Dzogchen, originally pure and unobscured
伏藏 (gter ma) — treasure text Esoteric texts said to have been hidden by Padmasambhava and later discovered by treasure revealers
掘藏师 (gter ston) — treasure revealer An accomplished practitioner who discovers treasure texts, a distinctive feature of the Nyingma tradition
转世活佛 (sprul sku) — tulku A person recognized as the rebirth of an accomplished practitioner; an institution distinctive to Tibetan Buddhism
自空见 (rang stong) — self-emptiness The Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka approach: all dharmas, including tathāgata-garbha, are empty of own-nature
他空见 (gzhan stong) — other-emptiness The view of Jonang and related traditions that ultimate reality, or buddha-nature, is empty of adventitious defilements but not empty of itself
前弘期／后弘期 — — early / later diffusion The two phases of Buddhism's transmission to Tibet, in the seventh to ninth centuries and from the tenth century onward
桑耶辩论 — — Samye debate (792–794 CE) The public debate at the Tibetan court between Chinese Chan and Indian Madhyamaka

19. Modern Buddhism

Chinese Sanskrit Pāli English Brief explanation
佛教现代主义 — — Buddhist modernism The movement since the nineteenth century to reshape Buddhism through reason, science, and the removal of myth
入世佛教 — — engaged Buddhism A contemporary movement combining Buddhist practice with social action
批判佛教 — — critical Buddhism The position of Japanese scholars such as Matsumoto Shirō and Hakamaya Noriaki that tathāgata-garbha is not orthodox Buddhism
佛教学（现代学术） — — Buddhist Studies The academic field that studies Buddhism through historical, linguistic, and philological methods