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Appendix 1
GLOSSARY OF UNTRANSLATED PĀ I
This glossary contains the Pali terms left untranslated in the text. They
have been left untranslated because the English translation has, in some
way or other, been considered awkward or inadequate, if not misleading.
The definitions have been kept as concise as at all possible, and refer to
the meaning of the terms as they are used in the text of this book: according to the Theravāda tradition. For more extensive explanations, the
reader is referred to the text itself, where most of the terms are, at some
time or other, discussed. (An asterisk indicates which of the terms are
discussed in the text itself.)
Some of the terms in this glossary do have an adequate translation, but
have been retained in the Pali when in compounds, as in for example,
‘ān·āpāna jhāna’, rather than ‘in&out-breath jhāna’, for obvious reasons.
Abhidhamma: third of what are called the Three Baskets (Tipi aka) of the
Pali Texts; practical teachings of The Buddha that deal with only ultimate
reality, necessary for vipassanā meditation. (cf. sutta)
ān·āpāna:* in&out-breath; subject for samatha meditation and later vipassanā. (cf. samatha)
Arahant:* woman or man who has eradicated all defilements; at his or her
death (Parinibbāna) there is no further rebirth. (cf. kamma, Parinibbāna)
Bhante: Venerable Sir.
bhava ga:* continuity of identical type of consciousnesses, broken only
when a mental process occurs; the object is that of near-death consciousness in past-life. (cf. Abhidhamma)
bhikkhu/bhikkhunī: Buddhist monk/nun; bhikkhu with two hundred and
twenty-seven main precepts, and hundreds of lesser precepts to observe;
Theravāda bhikkhunī lineage broken.
Bodhisatta:* a person who has vowed to become a Buddha; the ideal in
Mahāyāna tradition; she or he is a Bodhisatta for innumerable lives prior
to his enlightenment, after which he is a Buddha, until He in that life attains Parinibbāna. (cf. Buddha, Parinibbāna)
brahmā:* inhabitant of one of twenty in thirty-one realms very much
higher than human realm; invisible to human eye, visible in light of concentration. (cf. deva, peta)
Buddha:* one fully enlightened without a teacher, who has by Himself rediscovered and teaches the Four Noble Truths; being also an Arahant,
there is at His death (Parinibbāna) no further rebirth. (cf. Arahant, Bodhisatta,
Paccekabuddha, Parinibbāna)
284 K n o w i n g a n d S e e i n g ( R e v i s e d E d i t i o n I I )
deva: inhabitant of realm just above human realm; invisible to humaneye, visible in light of concentration. (cf. brahmā, peta)
Dhamma:* (capitalized) the Teachings of The Buddha; the Noble Truth.
dhamma:* (uncapitalized) thing, phenomenon; state; object solely of the
mind.
jhāna:* eight increasingly advanced and subtle states of concentration on
a specific object, with mind aware and increasingly pure. (cf. samatha)
kalāpa:* small particle, cluster of elements; smallest unit of materiality
seen in conventional reality; invisible to physical eye, visible to mind’s
eye.
kamma:* (Sanskrit: karma) action; potency from volition that makes good
actions produce good results, and bad actions produce bad results.
kasi a:* meditation object that represents a quality in conventional reality, e.g. earth, colour, space and light; used for samatha meditation. (cf.
samatha)
Mahāyāna: ‘Buddhist tradition’ prevalent in China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, and Bhutan, and Tibet. (The majority of the listeners at these talks were Mahāyāna monks and nuns.) (cf. Theravāda)
Mahāthera: bhikkhu of twenty years standing or more. (cf. bhikkhu)
Nibbāna:* (Sanskrit: Nirvana) final enlightenment; the cessation element;
an ultimate reality; attained after discerning and surpassing the ultimate
realities of mentality-materiality; it is seen after the vipassanā knowledges have matured; it is non-self and uniquely permanent and peaceful:
not a place.
nimitta:* sign; image upon which yogi concentrates; mind-born, depending on perception and level of concentration. (cf. kasi a)
• parikamma-nimitta: preparatory sign in meditation.
• uggaha-nimitta: taken-up sign; image that is exact mental replica of
object of meditation.
• pa ibhāga-nimitta: purified and clear version of uggaha-nimitta; appears at stable perception and concentration.
Paccekabuddha: a man enlightened without a teacher, who has by Himself discovered the Four Noble Truths, but does not teach. (cf. Buddha)
Pali (Pā i): ancient Indian language spoken by The Buddha; alive only as
records of the Buddha’s Teachings, otherwise dead.
pāramī: (pāra = other shore = Nibbāna; mī = reach) ten pāramī (see Question 4.1, p.141); qualities developed with Nibbāna as aim.
parikamma-nimitta: see nimitta
Parinibbāna: death of a Buddha, a Paccekabuddha, and any other Arahant, after which there is no further rebirth, no more materiality, and no
more mentality. (cf. Arahant, Nibbāna)
A1 - Glossary of Untranslated Pali Terms 285
pātibhāga-nimitta: see nimitta
peta: inhabitant of realm lower than human realm, but higher than ani-
mals; invisible to human eye; visible in light of concentration.
rūpa/arūpa:* materiality/immateriality.
samatha:* serenity; practice of concentrating on a single object to develop
higher and higher states of concentration, whereby the mind becomes
increasingly serene. (cf. jhāna, vipassanā)
Sa gha: multitude, assembly; bhikkhus of past, present and future, worldwide, as a group; separate group of bhikkhus, e.g. bhikkhus in one monastery. (cf. bhikkhu)
sīla: for laity the five/eight precepts, for bhikkhus two hundred and
twenty-seven main precepts. (cf. bhikkhu)
sutta: single discourse (thread, guideline) in second basket of what is
called the Three Baskets (Tipi aka) of Pali Texts; teachings of The Buddha
on a general and conventional level. (cf. Abhidhamma)
Tathāgata: one who has gone thus; epithet used by The Buddha when
referring to Himself.
Theravāda: ‘Buddhist tradition’ prevalent in Sri-Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia. (The Most Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya
Sayadaw is a Theravāda monk.) (cf. Mahāyāna)
uggaha-nimitta: see nimitta
vipassanā: insight, discernment of natural characteristics of materiality
and mentality, causes and results, in ultimate reality, and their general
characteristics of impermanence, suffering, and non-self. (cf. Abhidhamma, Arahant, Nibbāna)
Visuddhi·Magga (Purification Path): authoritative and extensive instruction manual on meditation, compiled from ancient, orthodox Sinhalese
translations of the even earlier Pali Commentaries (predominantly ‘The
Ancients’ (Porā ā), dating back to the time of The Buddha and the First
Council), as well as later Sinhalese Commentaries, and translated back
into Pali by Indian scholar monk Venerable Buddhaghosa (approx. 500
A.C.).