GLOSSARY
Arahant: one who has purified himself of all defilements, and who, on the death of the physical body, will attain Nibbana. He has escaped samsara and will not be reborn.
Attaining Dhamma: a state of absorption in meditation where the mind achieves super insight and knowledge, knowing and seeing according to the truths.
Attainment of Dhammakaya: a state of absorption in meditation where the mind achieves super insight and knowledge, having penetrative insight into the reality of life and the world; seeing and becoming one with one's own inner Body of Enlightenment.
Avijjapaccaya: Ignorance as a Requisite Condition. The word is explained in Paticcasamuppada Sutta (Discourse of Dependent Origination) as "avijja paccaya sankhara" meaning "With Ignorance as a requisite condition, arise Mental Formations."
Bhikkhu: Buddhist monk.
Bodhisatta: a Buddha-to-be; one destined to become a Buddha.
Buddha: 'Awakened One', one who is fully enlightened and who has realized Nibbana without the benefit of a Buddha's teaching in the lifetime in which he attains it. Those who attained enlightenment by following the Buddha's teachings are called Arahants or Arahats.
The name Buddha is a title, not a proper name, meaning 'awakened', thus 'enlightened'. Buddhas appear at vast intervals of time. There are countless numbers of past, present and future Buddhas.
Cetiya: Pali word for pagoda.
Chand Khonnokyoong: (1909–2000), founder of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, one of the world's largest Buddhist temples.
Chao Phraya River: a major river in Thailand which flows through Bangkok and into the Gulf of Thailand.
Defilements (kilesa): mental impurities consisting of greed, hatred, and ignorance; hindrances or contaminants that cause beings to perform undesirable deeds.
Dependent Origination: one of the central concepts in the Buddhist tradition that all things arise in dependence upon multiple causes and conditions, in reliance upon causes and conditions, through the force of causes and conditions.
Dhamma (Skt. Dharma): the truth; the natural condition of things or beings; the law of their existence; the ethical code of righteousness; the whole body of religious doctrines as a system; the Teachings of the Buddha; the eternal truth that the Buddha realized, his verbal expression of that truth, and the phenomena or elements that comprise reality.
Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta: Discourse on the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dhamma, a Buddhist text considered to be a record of the first teaching given by the Buddha after he attained enlightenment.
Dhammakaya: Buddha Nature, Body of Enlightenment; Body of Truth.
Dhammakaya meditation: a profound meditation technique taught by the Great Master Luangpu Wat Paknam.
Dhammakaya Tradition (vijja Dhammakaya): also referred to as Dhammakaya Knowledge, is a method of meditation taught by the Great Master Phramongkolthepmuni, former Abbot of Wat Paknam. According to Dhammakaya Tradition, it has been established that each individual person possesses eighteen transcendental inner bodies, which can be reached through advanced stages of meditative absorption. Once a person reaches the Dhammakaya, the purest of all transcendental bodies, the person achieves the outset of the insight, the knowledge not available through ordinary means, but only through the Dhammakaya.
Dhamma Sphere: A bright clear sphere, the size of an egg yolk, that exists within every human being. It appears at the center of one's body during an advanced stage of meditative absorption.
Dhutanga: Austerity practice to overcome attachment to comfort and luxury. It is aimed at training oneself to live a simple life, free from attachments.
Dhutanga umbrella (klod): an umbrella doubled as a tent under which a dhutanga monk uses as a shelter to practice meditation and to sleep.
Eighteen Elements: consisting of six sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind), six sense objects (visible forms, sound, smell, taste, touch, mental object), and six sense consciousness.
Eightfold Supranormal Knowledge: the mental power of one pure of defilements comprising
insight-knowledge;
mind-made magical power;
supernormal powers;
divine ear;
reading the minds of others;
recollection of past lives;
divine eye;
the knowledge of an end of defilements.
Eight Precepts: codes of moral conduct practiced by Buddhist nuns and devout lay Buddhists, consisting of: not killing living beings; not stealing; not engaging in any sexual activities; not lying; not consuming alcohol and any intoxicating substances; not taking meals between midday and dawn; not indulging in entertainment or shows that impede the quality of mind and not to be immodest in the way of dress or behavior; not indulging in indolent sleeping habits that may lead to sensuality or laziness (such as sleeping on high, soft, luxurious beds). The purposes of the last three rules are to deter any sexual inclination which may impede one's ability to purify the mind.
Equanimity (upekkha): neutral state of mind; learning to accept loss and gain, praise and censure, sorrow and happiness with detachment.
Five Aggregates: consisting of form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. Luangpu simplifies these as "perception, memory, thought, and cognition", which are the four functional faculties of minds.
Five Aspects of Natural Law: the Law that governs all things (Five Niyamas). They include
Biological Law (Bija Niyama), which governs all living things;
Chemical and Physical Law (Utu Niyama), which governs all chemical and physical matters;
Psychic Law (Citta Niyama), which governs the functions of the mind;
Karmic Law (Kamma Niyama), which governs the law of action; and
Nature of Existence Law (Dhamma Niyama), which governs the manifestation of existence or reality.
Knowing how the Five Aspects of Natural Law came into existence reveals the knowledge of how to abolish samsara, the cycle of rebirths. This knowledge leads us to the right practice and eventually helps us overcome defilements and attain Nibbana, thus freeing ourselves from the cycle of rebirths.
Five Hindrances: negative mental states that impede success with meditation and lead away from enlightenment. They consist of sensual desire, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness, and doubt.
Five Niyamas: According to Buddhism, there are five orders or processes (niyamas) which operate in the physical and mental realms: Utu Niyama (physical inorganic order); Bija Niyama (order of germs and seeds); Kamma Niyama (order of act and result); Dhamma Niyama (order of the norm); and Citta Niyama (order of mind or psychic law).
Five Precepts: basic codes of moral conduct practiced by lay Buddhists, consisting of: not killing living beings, not stealing, not committing sexual misconduct, not lying, not consuming alcohol and any intoxicating substances.
Four Noble Truths: the Buddha's first and most important teaching. It explains the reality and nature of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to freedom from suffering.
Great Man, the (mahapuruta): A Buddha or a universal monarch (cakkavatti king); Buddhas and universal monarchs are traditionally regarded as having the Thirty-two Characteristics of the Great Man.
Jhana: meditative absorption; bliss state; a state of serene contemplation attained by meditation; state of trance; a state of meditation where the mind is free from the Five Hindrances (craving, aversion, sloth, agitation and doubt).
Kamma (Skt, Karma): action or deed of body, speech and mind. Every willed action brings future consequences, including future rebirths; the consequences of past deeds largely determine one's general life situation. Under the Law of Kamma, by which all creatures must live, a person bears the consequences of his own actions. Bad actions cause bad consequences and good actions bear good consequences.
Khom: language of the Khmer people (present day Cambodia), highly influenced by Sanskrit and Pali.
Khun Yai: a Thai word for grandmother.
Klong: also spelled "Khlong", a Thai word for canal.
Kuti: the hut or cottage a monk uses for his accommodation.
Luangpor: a Thai word which means Venerable Father, an informal way of addressing a senior monk.
Luangpu: a Thai word which means Venerable Grandfather, an informal way of addressing an elderly senior monk; referring to the Great Master Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), founder of Dhammakaya Meditation.
Luangpu Wat Paknam: Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), founder of Dhammakaya Meditation.
Mahasatipatthana Sutta: The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness.
Mahayana Buddhism: a school of Buddhism practiced in China, Taiwan, Japan, S. Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore.
Mantra: a word or formula repeated silently during meditation to assist concentration of the mind.
Mara: evil, both as a concept and as a personification. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is a supra-natural being responsible for hindering people from performing meritorious deeds. Mara can also mean obstacles for doing good deeds.
Merit: result of good deeds; a positive energy, or good kamma that is created whenever a good deed is performed. Merit is generated in three major ways: charitable giving, observance of moral precepts, and meditation.
Merit Sphere: a transcendental sphere representing merit, that lies within each person; the more merit accumulated, the larger the merit sphere.
Monastic Discipline (Vinaya): the 227 rules of conduct that govern the daily life of a monk as described in the Buddhist book of Discipline.
Mundane merit: merit gained through performance of ordinary good deeds, such as sweeping the temple, helping the poor, making charitable contributions.
Nibbana (Skt, Nirvana): the state of ultimate happiness, the happy condition of enlightenment, the highest spiritual attainment. This is not the sense-based happiness of everyday life; nor is it the concept of happiness as interpreted by Western culture. It is an enduring, transcendental happiness integral to the calmness attained through enlightenment. Once a person has attained Nibbana, he has reached the end of the cycle of rebirths — the final and total release from cyclic existence — never again to be subject to rebirth. Nibbana is a supra-mundane state that cannot be expressed by words and is beyond space and time. This is the state of perfect enlightenment realized by Buddhas and Arahants. Those who have gained this realization no longer accumulate karmic consequences and will no longer be reborn into samsara, the cycle of existence, when they die.
Noble Eightfold Path: the Path to end suffering, consisting of Right View, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Pacceka Buddha: a Buddha who has attained Enlightenment by himself but does not teach others or lead others to Enlightenment; a private Buddha.
Pali: an ancient language used in India, now no longer an active language. The original Buddhist scriptures were written in Pali. Pali texts are used by the Theravada school of Buddhism.
Parami: a Pali word meaning transcendental virtues, perfected virtues, or Perfections. Parami is a spiritual perfection achieved by a Bodhisatta (Buddha to-be) on his path to Buddhahood, or by those who are determined to attain enlightenment. Virtues are practices which must be fulfilled by all aspirants who wish to free themselves from suffering. What distinguishes the Bodhisatta from other aspirants are the degree to which virtues must be cultivated and the length of time they must be pursued.
Patimokkha: the summary of the Monastic Precepts and rules in the Vinaya, recited twice a month in every Buddhist monastery.
Perfections (Param): perfected virtues; transcendental virtues; spiritual perfection. Transcendental virtues cultivated as a way of purification, purifying kamma and helping the aspirant to live an unobstructed life, while reaching the goal of enlightenment.
Precepts (sila): codes of moral conduct observed by Buddhists; moral principles that form the framework of Buddhist ethical conduct and the baseline of one's virtue.
Primary Path: beginning stage of meditative attainment leading to more advanced stages of absorption.
Rains retreat (Vassa): the period of three months during the monsoon season when monks traditionally limit travel outside the temple and focus instead on meditation and scriptural studies.
Requisites, monastic: a monk's eight basic possessions: three robes, a belt, a bowl, a razor, a needle and a water filter.
Right Meditation: The eighth element of the Noble Eightfold Path, the practice of which enables one to attain the Dhammakaya.
Right View: view and wisdom in accordance with the Truths, consisting of the following beliefs: generosity is virtuous; it is necessary to honor those worthy of honor; it is good to be hospitable; actions produce consequences (Law of Kamma); a child has debt of gratitude to his parents; this world and the next exist; there will be afterlife and rebirths; there are heavenly and hell beings; monastics are able to purify themselves of all defilements (to become enlightened).
Samadhi: one-pointedness of mind; meditative practice leading to one-pointed concentration; a state of complete concentration.
Samanera: a Buddhist novice, usually under the age of twenty, who holds Ten Precepts.
Samatha: tranquility meditation; the ability to maintain the focus of attention one-pointedly; the initial practice of meditation that leads the mind to come to a standstill.
Samma arahang: Pali words which mean "The Noble One who has properly attained enlightenment", or "Pure state of mind achieved in a proper way".
Samsara: the cycle of constant rebirth in which all beings are trapped as a result of their intentional deeds (kamma); ocean of birth and death; eternal wandering; the wheel of cyclic existence.
Sangha: the Buddhist monastic community or Order.
Sanskrit: another ancient language used in India; Buddhist scriptures in Sanskrit are translated from the Pali language; Sanskrit texts are used by the Mahayana school of Buddhism.
Seventh Base of the mind: natural home of the mind, located two finger-widths above the navel in the middle of the abdomen.
Siam: former name of Thailand.
Sixfold Superknowledge: the mental powers of one pure of defilements, comprising:
supernormal powers;
divine ear;
reading the minds of others;
recollection of past lives;
divine eye;
the knowledge of an end of defilements.
Somdej: a high-ranking monastic title.
Sphere of Primary Path: the beginning path to liberation which emerged in the form of a sphere as experienced during meditation.
'Stop': stop in this sense means stopping the mind from wandering, or stop doing bad deeds. The key to success in meditation is to still the mind and stop it from wandering.
Sutta (Skt. Sutra): discourse attributed to the Buddha or one of his close disciples.
Sympathetic joy: joy in the accomplishments of others.
Tathagata: the Accomplished One, the supreme man, the superlative man, referring to the Buddha. The exact meaning of this Pali word is "He who has reached or become what is really so, the True", the term the Buddha used to refer to himself after the Awakening.
Ten Precepts: codes of moral conduct practiced by novice monks, consisting of: not killing living beings; not stealing; not engaging in unchaste activities; not lying; not consuming alcohol and any intoxicating substances; not taking meals between midday and dawn; refraining from singing, dancing, playing music, or attending entertainment performances; refraining from wearing perfume, cosmetics and decorative accessories; refraining from indolent sitting and sleeping habits (i.e., sitting on highly cushioned chairs, or sleeping on luxurious, soft beds); and refraining from accepting and dealing with money.
Ten Recollections: ten different ways of relaxing one's minds using the recollection method, namely, the Recollection of the Buddha, Recollection of the Dhamma, Recollection of the Sangha, Recollection of Morality, Recollection of Liberality, Recollection of Deities, Contemplation on Death, Contemplation on Body, Contemplation on Breathing, Contemplation on the Virtue of Nibbana.
Theravada: the oldest form of Buddhism; orthodox school of Buddhism found in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka which is based on Scriptures written in Pali.
Threefold Knowledge: the mental powers of one pure of defilements comprising:
recollection of past lives;
knowledge of the decease and rebirth of beings;
the knowledge of an end of defilements.
Three Marks of Existence: consisting of impermanence, suffering, and non-self.
Tipitaka (Skt, Tripitaka): Buddhist scripture. Tipitaka means the "Three Baskets". They consist of the Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitaka) - rules and regulations of the Order of monks and nuns; the Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka) - discourses concerning social, moral, philosophical and spiritual significance; and the Basket of Ultimate Things (Abhidhamma Pitaka) dealing with psychological and philosophical aspects of the Doctrine, the four ultimate things, i.e., mind (citta), mental properties (cetasika), matter (rupa) and Nibbana.
Transcendental merit: merit acquired through mental cultivation and the practice of meditation, considered to be more potent than mundane merit.
Triple Gem: the highest refuge of Buddhists consisting of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.
Twelve Sense Spheres: consisting of six internal-external (organ-object) pairs of sense bases, i.e., eye and visible objects, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and touch, mind and mental objects.
Twenty-Two Faculties: multiple intra-psychic processes known as 'faculties', 'spiritual faculties', or 'phenomenological faculties'.
Vajrayana: also known as Tibetan Buddhism, the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, Mongolia, Tuva, Bhutan, Kalmykia and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, and India.
Vakkali: one of the arahants who had obtained enlightenment through faith and love for the Buddha.
Vijja: Knowledge gained from the "Eye of Dhamma"; it is the Knowledge that enables one to rid oneself of ignorance.
Vijja Dhammakaya: the Dhammakaya Knowledge; can be equated with Threefold Knowledge, Sixfold Superknowledge and Eightfold Supranormal Knowledge.
Vipassana: insight meditation aimed to discipline the mind while fostering a profound clarity about the nature of reality; the practice of meditation beyond attainment of the still mind that leads the mind to insight. Enlightenment can only be attained through vipassana.
Visuddhimagga: Path of Purification.
Wat: a Thai word for Buddhist temple.
Wat Arun: also called the Temple of Dawn, one of Thailand's best known landmarks. The temple has existed since the seventeenth century.
Wat Mahathat: one of the ten royal temples of the highest class, home of Mahachulalongkorn University, Thailand's oldest higher education institute for Buddhist monks.
Wat Paknam: one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Thailand where the Great Master Phramongkolthepmuni used to be the Abbot.
Wat Phra Chetuphon: also called Wat Pho and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, one of the largest and oldest temples in Thailand.
Wat Suthat: one of the ten royal temples of the highest class.
Wise (pundita): A wise is someone who has wisdom. Being wise is not the same as being educated. A wise can be a person who is highly educated or one with no formal education at all. He or she is righteous and ethical by nature. A wise is someone who possesses the Right View and the ability to separate right from wrong, good from bad. A wise is the complete opposite of a fool.
Wrong View: view that is in contrast with the Truths, for example, having the notion that generosity is not good, parents are not worthy of gratitude, the Law of Kamma does not exist, there is no afterlife and rebirth, heavens and hells do not exist, etc.
