The third section of the Buddhist canon, Buddha’s teachings that are devoted to human psychology and philosophy

Literally means “heaps;” skandhas are also known as the five aggregates. This reflects the central Buddhist teaching that the individual or illusory self has no permanent soul or essence and is merely an aggregate, or “heap,” of different parts that inevitably disintegrate.

Mindfulness of breathing - part of the First Foundation of Mindfulness 

Not self, insubstantiality, one of the three characteristics of existence

Impermanence, one of the three characteristics of existence. Buddhist teachings emphasize that all conditioned mental and physical phenomena are impermanent – nothing lasts, nothing stays the same.

Enlightened one; someone whose mind is completely free from the defilements; a person who is no longer bound to cyclic existence.

Meditation, cultivation

A mind that is open to the experience of the moment, free of conceptual overlays; first made popular by the Zen teacher Suzuki Roshi.

A Buddhist monk

A Buddhist nun

Enlightenment, awakening

Wisdom-heart or the awakened heart/mind; the aspiration for supreme enlightenment so that all sentient beings may be free from suffering.

One who has taken a vow to become a fully enlightened Buddha; someone known for an unbounded readiness and availability to help all sentient beings.

The tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, India – a fig tree popularly called Pipal (Ficus Religiosa).

Heavenly or sublime abode, the four mind states said to lead to a rebirth in a heavenly realm: lovingkindness (metta), compassion (karuna), appreciative joy (mudita) and equanimity (upekkha).

Fully awakened one; specifically the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni, who lived and taught in India 2,500 years ago; one of the three jewels of refuge (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha)

Often translated as mind, however the fuller translation is heart/mind. In the Pali language, there is no distinction between heart and mind, underscoring the invaluable place that cultivation of the “heart” plays in Dhamma practice.

Generosity is one of  Buddha's first teachings for the cultivation of the Noble Eightfold Path. It loosens the tight grasp of the self because in the act of giving, the attention is on the other.

A collection of 423 verses, spoken by the Buddha, that focuses on the value of ethical conduct and mental training.

The Buddhist doctrine that explains how all mental and physical phenomena arise and pass away depending on causes and conditions.

The Buddha’s teachings, truth, the basic building blocks of reality; one of the three jewels of refuge.

Unsatisfactoriness: of pain, both mental and physical, of change, and endemic to cyclic existence; the first Noble Truth that acknowledges the reality of suffering.

The pattern of conditioned habits that we mistake for a sense of self.

Awakening

Feeling tone; the pleasant, unpleasant or neutral tone that arises with every experience; one of the five aggregates.

One of the three poisons/defilements in the mind, which are the root causes of unsatisfactoriness. It refers to a misperception or misunderstanding of ourselves and the world as it really is. See also delusion (Moha).

Investigation; Interest and inquiry into experience. One of the seven factors of enlightenment

Mental absorption, a state of strong concentration that temporarily suspends the five hindrances.

Spiritual friend. In Early Buddhism, teachers and other students are often referred to as spiritual friends.

Action, deed; the law of cause and effect; intentional action, either wholesome or unwholesome that can bring either pleasant or unpleasant results.

Defilement; unwholesome qualities; a factor of mind that obscures clear seeing; a hindrance to meditation; also known as afflictive emotion.

Compassion; one of the four Brahma-Viharas (sublime abodes)

A technique used in meditation to help direct the mind to the object of meditation.

The five aggregates, which form the raw material for one’s sense of self: form/body, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness

Greed

The auspicious power of wholesome action that brings positive karmic results.

Lovingkindness, goodwill, mindfulness (sati); the quality of noticing, of being aware of what’s happening in the moment; not allowing the mind to be forgetful

Loving kindness, gentle friendship; a practice for generating lovingkindness said to be first taught by the Buddha as an antidote to fear. It helps cultivate our natural capacity for an open and loving heart and is traditionally offered along with other Brahma-vihara meditations that enrich compassion, joy in the happiness of others and equanimity. These practices lead to the development of concentration, fearlessness, happiness and a greater ability to love.

A spiritual path that avoids extremes of self-mortification and self-indulgence, as discovered and taught by the Buddha.

Sati (Pali). Careful attention to mental and physical processes; a key ingredient of meditation; one of the five spiritual faculties; one of the seven factors of enlightenment; an aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path

Delusion (lit.-to be stupified) 

Appreciative or empathetic joy; the cultivation of happiness when seeing someone else’s good fortune or happy circumstances; one of the four Brahma-Viharas (sublime abodes).

Extinction of attachment, hatred and delusion that cause suffering; liberation from cyclic existence.

The ancient language with which the Buddha’s teachings were first recorded in the first century BCE about 400 years after his parinibbana (death). It was not the language that the Buddha spoke.

Wisdom; one of the five spiritual faculties

Complication, proliferation; tendency of the mind to proliferate issues from the sense of “self.”

The qualities of character to be perfected in order to become a Buddha.

Joy. A gladdening of the mind and body. One of the seven factors of enlightenment.

A principle that defines a certain standard of ethical conduct; the foundation of all Buddhist meditation practice.

Uddhacca-kukkucca (Pali). Agitation of the mind; one of the five hindrances to meditation

Truth

Faith, confidence; one of the five spiritual faculties

Concentration; a deep state of meditation; one of the five spiritual faculties; one of the seven factors of enlightenment; an aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path

A term referring to the group of meditation practices that aim at samadhi

Clear comprehension

(lit.-perpetual wandering): moving through worldly suffering; round of rebirth; pursuit of renewed existence; round of rebirths; the ocean of worldly suffering; the state of being governed by the five hindrances.

“to tremble” or “to move in agitation” and is sometimes translated simply as “fear.” It is a special kind of fear, however that is useful and beneficial and that has a positive sense relating to the teachings of the Buddha meaning spiritual urgency.

The community of practitioners of the Buddhist path, or those beings who have attained direct realization of the nature of reality, one of the three jewels of refuge.

Mental or physical formation

Mindfulness; one of the five spiritual faculties; of the seven factors of enlightenment; an aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path.

The four foundations of mindfulness: contemplation of body, feeling, mind and mind-objects, and dhamma–the Buddha’s quintessential teachings on mindfulness

The six perceptual gates through which we experience the world (seeing, hearing, tasting, touching (the body), thinking (the mind) body, mind)

Moral or ethical conduct, virtue, the foundation of Buddhist practice

Vicikiccha (Pali). The kind of doubt that undermines faith; one of the five hindrances to meditation

Action based on kindness, respect, truthfulness, timeliness and wisdom

Thina-middha (Pali), sleepiness; one of the five hindrances to meditation

Happiness, pleasure, ease, bliss

Thread, heard; a discourse by the Buddha or one of his disciples

Literally meaning thirst; refers to craving or desire. 

(Lit. thus gone) an Enlightened person, like the Buddha

Path of the Elders; the form of Buddhism found throughout many parts of Southeast Asia. Vipassana/Insight meditation is a central part of this tradition.

The three jewels of refuge are the Buddha, the Dharma (doctrine) and the Sangha. Practitioners take refuge in the fact that the Buddha found a way to freedom, taught the Dharma as the path to that freedom, and founded the Sangha as the supportive community that follows the way.

The “three baskets” referring to the Suttas (words of the Buddha and other monastics), Vinaya (code of conduct for the monastics) and the Abhidhamma (higher teachings). These three “baskets” make up the Pali Canon. The Suttas and Vinaya are considered “original,” and the Abidhamma is considered a later commentary.

Passaddhi (Pali); Physical and mental calm. One of the seven factors of enlightenment

Equanimity; the ability to maintain a spacious impartiality of mind in the midst of life’s changing conditions; one of the four Brahma-Viharas (sublime abodes); one of the seven factors of enlightenment

Feeling tone; the pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feeling tone that arises with all experience; one of the five aggregates.

Discipline; the rules and regulations governing the conduct of Buddhist monks and nuns

To see clearly; insight into the truth of anicca (impermanence), anatta (not-self), & dukkha (unsatisfactoriness); the simple and direct practice of moment-to-moment mindfulness/awareness. Through careful and sustained observation, the experience of the ever-changing flow of the mind/body process leading to the development of greater equanimity and peace in the face of change and wisdom and compassion increasingly become the guiding principles of our lives.

The physical and mental energy needed for diligent mindfulness practice; the strong, courageous heart of energy. One of the five spiritual faculties; one of the seven factors of enlightenment

The tendency of the mind to cling to concepts at the expense of reality; taking what is impermanent to be permanent, what is dissatisfying to be satisfying, what is selfless to be self

One who is undertaking the spiritual path of awakening; a meditator