Library: Eastern Religions by Credo Reference: Buddhism

Religious People

Arhat
From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
In Buddhism, one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence, has achieved nirvana, and will not be reborn.
Asoka (BCE 272 - 232): Topic Page
Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty; grandson of Chandragupta. One of the greatest rulers of ancient India, he brought nearly all India, together with Baluchistan and Afghanistan, under one sway for the first time in history.
Bodhisattva
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
in early Buddhism the term used to refer to the Buddha before he attained supreme enlightenment; more generally, any being destined for enlightenment or intent on enlightenment.
Buddha: Topic Page
Religion and philosophy founded in India c.525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. There are over 300 million Buddhists worldwide.
Dalai Lama: Topic Page
Dalai Lama is the title given to the one who enjoys the highest spiritual rank in Lamaism, a Tibetan form of Buddhism introduced into Tibet in the seventh century A.D.
Milarepa (1040 - 1123)
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Saint and poet of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the second patriarch of the Kargyupa sect, the first being Milarepa's guru Marpa (1012–97), who studied under Naropa, the Bengali master of Tantra, at Nalanda.
Sangha: Topic Page
In Buddhism, the monastic orders, one of the Three Treasures, or Three Refuges, of Buddhism (the other two are Buddha and the teaching, or dharma).
Tenzin Gyatso (1935 - ): Topic Page
Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th and current Dalai Lama of Tibet, former head of the Tibetan government in exile, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and recognized spiritual leader of Tibet.

Sacred Literature

Abhidharma
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
schools of Buddhist philosophy. Early Buddhism analyzed experience into 5 skandhas or aggregates, and alternatively into 18 dhatus or elements.
sūtra
From The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism
In Sanskrit, lit. “aphorism,” but in a Buddhist context translated as “discourse,” “sermon,” or “scripture”; a sermon said to be delivered by the Buddha or delivered with his sanction.
Sutra-pitaka
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Second part of the Tripitaka (three baskets), a collections of Buddhist scriptures in the Pali tradition. The Sūtra-pitaka consists primarily of discourses by the Buddha, often in response to questions from specific individuals.
Tripitaka
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
The canonical texts of Theravāda Buddhism, divided into three parts: the Vinaya-pitaka, containing the rules governing the monastic community.
Vinyasa-pitaka
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encycloepdia
Buddhist scripture; the first and oldest part of the Tripitaka, the canon of the Buddha's teachings. The Vinaya-pitaka covers the rules that should govern monks and nuns in the running of monasteries.

Sects & Divisions

Madhyamika
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Philosophical school of Mahayana Buddhism, based on the teaching of "emptiness" (see sunyata) and named for its adherence to the "middle path" between the views of existence or eternalism and nonexistence or nihilism.
Mahayana
From The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism
In Sanskrit, “great vehicle”; a term, originally of self-appellation, which is used historically to refer to a movement that began some four centuries after the Buddha’s death, marked by the composition of texts that purported to be his words.
Nichiren Buddhism
From The Macmillan Encyclopedia
A popular Japanese Buddhist school named after its founder, a 13th-century monk and prophet.
Pure Land Buddhism: Topic Page
Or Amidism, devotional sect of Mahayana Buddhism in China and Japan, centering on worship of the Buddha Amitabha.
Shingon Buddhism
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Japanese school of esoteric Buddhism, one of the main Buddhist traditions of Japan. It emphasizes the gradual path to enlightenment through meditation and reflection.
Tendai Buddhism
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Japanese form of the Chinese T'ien T'ai school of Buddhism, introduced to Japan by Japanese monk Saichō (767-822), posthumously known as Dengyō Daishi, in 805. Tendai teaches of the Buddha nature within everyone which can be individually realized through ethical behaviour and discipline.
Theravada Buddhism: Topic Page
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
One of the two major forms of Buddhism, common in Southeast Asia (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar); the other is the later Mahāyāna.
Tibetan Buddhism: Topic Page
Form of Buddhism prevailing in the Tibet region of China, Bhutan, the state of Sikkim in India, Mongolia, and parts of Siberia and SW China.
Yogacara
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Philosophical school of Mahayana Buddhism, also known as the Vijnanavada or Consciousness School.
Zen Buddhism: Topic Page
Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin. Ch'an, Jap. Zen) derives from the Sanskrit dhyana [meditation].

Significant Places

India: Topic Page
Country in southern Asia, bounded to the north by China, Nepal, and Bhutan; east by Myanmar and Bangladesh; northwest by Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Stupa: Topic Page
Buddhist monument in tumulus, or mound, form, often containing relics. The words tope and dagoba are synonymous, though the latter properly refers only to a Sinhalese Buddhist stupa.
Tibet: Topic Page
Tibetan Bodyul, Mandarin Xizang, autonomous region (1994 est. pop. 2,300,000), c.471,700 sq mi (1,221,700 sq km), SW China.