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  Term Meaning

1  Ahimsa The term meaning non-harm or nonviolence. 

2  Ashram A spiritual community.

3  Atman The spiritual essence of all individual human beings. 

4  Avatar An earthly embodiment of a deity.

5  Bhagavad gita A spiritual classic in Hinduism that is a conversation between Arjuna and

Krishna preserved in the Mahabharata 

6  Bhakti yoga The spiritual discipline of devotion to a deity or guru. 

7  Bhakti Devotion to a deity or guru.

8  Brahma God of creation.

9  Brahman The spiritual essence of the universe.

10  Brahmin Member of the priestly caste in Hinduism.

11  Caste One of the major social classes sanctioned by Hinduism

12  Devi "Goddess"; the Divine Feminine, also called the Great Mother.

13  Dhyana Meditation or the experience of the mind focused only on the object of 

concentration.

14  Durga "Awe-inspiring,""distant"; a goddess that is a form of Devi.

15  Guru Spiritual leader.

16  Hatha yoga The spiritual discipline of postures and bodily exercises.

17  Jnana yoga The spiritual discipline of knowledge and insight.

18  Kali A form of Devi; a goddess associated with destruction and rebirth.

19  Karma yoga The spiritual discipline of selfless action.

20  Karma The moral law of cause and effect that determines the direction of rebirth

21  Krishna A god associated with divine playfulness; a form of Vishnu.

22  Kundalini yoga The spiritual discipline of moving energy up through the chakras.

23  Mantra A short sacred phrase, often chanted or used in meditation.24  Maya "Illusion."

25  Moksha "Liberation" from personal limitation, egotism, and rebirth.

26  Puja Offerings and ritual in honor of deity.

27  Raja yoga The "royal" discipline of meditation.

28  Rama A god and mythical king; a form of Vishnu.

29  Samadhi A state of complete inner peace resulting from meditation.

30  Samsara The everyday world of change and suffering, leading to rebirth.

31  Sannyasin A wandering holy man.

32  Shiva A god associated with destruction and rebirth.

33  Trimurti "Three forms" of the divine; the three gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

34  Upanishads Written meditations on the spiritual essence of the universe and the self.35  Vedas Four collections of ancient prayers and rituals included in Hindu sacred

scripture.

36  Vishnu A god associated with preservation and love.

37  Yoga A spiritual discipline; a method for perfecting one's union with the divine.

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Term Meaning

1  Amitabha Buddha The Buddha of the Western Paradise, a bliss-body Buddha in Mahayana. 

2  Anatta "No self"; the doctrine that there is no soul or permanent essence in people andthings. 

3  Anichcha This term means impermanence, constant change. 

4  Arhat In Theravada, a person who has practiced monastic disciplines and reached

nirvana, the ideal. 

5  Bodhi Enlightenment. 

6  Bodhisattva "Enlightenment being"; in Mahayana, a person of deep compassion, especially

one who does not enter nirvana, but is constantly reborn to help others; a

heavenly being of compassion. 

7  Dharma The totality of Buddhist teaching. 

8  Dhyana "Meditation"; focusing of the mind; sometimes, stages of trance.

9  Dukkha This term means sorrow, misery, suffering.10  Guanyin A popular bodhisattva of compassion in Mahayana.

11  Karuna Compassion, empathy.

12  Koan In Zen Buddhism, a question that cannot be answered logically; a technique used

to test consciousness and bring awakening.

13  Lama A Tibetan Buddhist teacher; a title of honor often given to all Tibetan monks.

14  Maitreya A Buddha (or bodhisattva) expected to appear on earth in the future.

15  Mandala A circular design containing deities, geometrical forms, symbols and so on that

represent totality, the self, or the universe.

16  Mudra A symbolic hand gesture.

17  Nirvana The release from suffering and rebirth that brings inner peace.

18  Samadhi A state of deep awareness, the result of intensive meditation.19  Samasara Constant rebirth and the attendant suffering; the everyday world of change.

20  Sangha The community of monks and nuns; lowercased, this term refers to an individual

monastic community.

21  Satori In Zen, the enlightened awareness.

22  Shunyata The Mahayana notion of emptiness, meaning that the universe is empty of 

permanent reality.

23  Stupa A shrine, usually in the shape of a dome, used to mark Buddhist relics of sacred

sites.

24  Sutra A sacred text, especially one said to record the words of the Buddha.

25  Tathata "Thatness," or "thusness," "suchness"; the uniqueness of each changing moment

of reality.26  Trikaya The three "bodies" of the Buddha—the Dharmakaya (cosmic Buddha nature),

the Nirmanakaya (historical Buddhas), and the Sambhogakaya (celestial

Buddhas).

27  Tripitaka The three "baskets," or collections, of Buddhist texts.

28  Vajra The "diamond" scepter used in Tibetan and other types of Buddhist ritual,

symbolizing compassion.

KEYTERMS FOR BUDDHISM

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Jainsm & Sikhism

Term Meaning

1 Adi Granth "Original collection"; the primary scripture of the Sikhs.

2 Ajiva Matter without soul or life.

3 Digambara "Clothed in sky"; a member of the Jain sect in which monks ideally do not

wear clothing.

4 Gurdwara A Sikh temple.

5 Hylozoism The belief that all physical matter has life and feeling.

6 Japji A poem by Guru Nanak that begins the Adi Granth; the poem is recited daily

by pious Sikhs.

7 Jina "Conqueror"; the Jain term for a perfected person who will not be reborn.

8 Jiva Spirit, soul, which enlivens matter.

9 Puja In Jainism, ritual in honor of the tirthankara.

10 Sallekhana "Holy Death"; death by self-starvation, valued in Jainism as a noble end of a

long life of virtue and detachment.

11 Shvetambara "Clothed in white"; a member of the Jain sect in which monks and nunswhere white clothing.

12 Sikh "Disciple"; a follower of the Sikh religion.

13 Sthanakavasi "Building person"; a member of the Jain sect, that rejects the use of statues

and temples.

14 Terapanthi A member of the newest Jain sect.

15 Tirthankara "Crossing maker"; in Jainism, one of the twenty-four ideal human beings of 

the past, Mahavira being the most recent.