BhavacakraThe bhavacakra (Sanskrit: भवचक्र; Pāli: bhavacakka; Tibetan: སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ, Wylie: srid pa'i 'khor lo) is a symbolic representation of saṃsāra (or cyclic existence). It is found on the outside walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibetan region, to help non Buddhists understand Buddhist teachings. It is used in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. Bhavachakra, "wheel of life," consists of the words bhava and cakra. bhava (भव) means "being, worldly existence, becoming, birth, being, production, origin".
PratītyasamutpādaPratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद, Pāli: paṭiccasamuppāda), commonly translated as dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a key doctrine in Buddhism shared by all schools of Buddhism. It states that all dharmas (phenomena) arise in dependence upon other dharmas: "if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist". The basic principle is that all things (dharmas, phenomena, principles) arise in dependence upon other things.
VaibhāṣikaSarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika (सर्वास्तिवाद-वैभाषिक) or simply Vaibhāṣika (वैभाषिक) is an ancient Buddhist tradition of Abhidharma (scholastic Buddhist philosophy), which was very influential in north India, especially Kashmir. In various texts, they referred to their tradition as Yuktavāda (the doctrine of logic), and another name for them was Hetuvāda. The Vaibhāṣika school was an influential subgroup of the larger Sarvāstivāda school.
Buddhist meditationBuddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā ("mental development") and jhāna/dhyāna (mental training resulting in a calm and luminous mind). Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward liberation from defilements (kleshas) and clinging and craving (upādāna), also called awakening, which results in the attainment of Nirvana, and includes a variety of meditation techniques, most notably anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing).
RūpaRūpa (रूप) means "form". As it relates to any kind of basic object, it has more specific meanings in the context of Indic religions. According to the Monier-Williams Dictionary (2006), rūpa is defined as: any outward appearance or phenomenon or colour (often pl.), form, shape, figure RV. &c &c ... to assume a form ; often ifc. = " having the form or appearance or colour of ", " formed or composed of ", " consisting of ", " like to " ....
NamarupaNāmarūpa (नामरूप) is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: nāma is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while rūpa refers to the physical. Nāmarūpa is a dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name (nāma) and form (rūpa)". Nama (name) and Rupa (form) is the simple worldly identity of any form by a name both of which are considered temporal and not true identity with the nameless and formless ‘reality’ or ‘Absolute’ in Hinduism that has manifested as maya.
Dhyana in BuddhismIn the oldest texts of Buddhism, dhyāna (ध्यान) or jhāna (𑀛𑀸𑀦) is a component of the training of the mind (bhavana), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" the defilements, and leading to a "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhā-sati-parisuddhi)." Dhyāna may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, in combination with several related practices which together lead to perfected mindfulness and detachment.
SparśaSparśa (Sanskrit; Pali: phassa) is a Sanskrit/Indian term that is translated as "contact", "touching", "sensation", "sense impression", etc. It is defined as the coming together of three factors: the sense organ, the sense object, and sense consciousness (vijnana). For example, contact (sparsha) is said to occur at the coming together of the eye organ, a visual object, and the visual sense consciousness. Sparśa is identified within the Buddhist teachings as: One of the seven universal mental factors in the Theravada Abhidharma.
JñānaIn Indian philosophy and religions, (, ˈdʑɲaːnɐ) is "knowledge". The idea of jñāna centers on a cognitive event which is recognized when experienced. It is knowledge inseparable from the total experience of reality, especially the total or divine reality (Brahman). The root ज्ञा- jñā- is cognate to Slavic znati, English know, as well as to the Greek γνώ- (as in γνῶσις gnosis) and Lithuanian žinoti. Its antonym is अज्ञान ajñāna "ignorance".
Nirvana (Buddhism)Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, ; Pali: ) is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activity of the grasping mind and its related unease. Nirvana is the goal of many Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriological release from worldly suffering and rebirths in saṃsāra. Nirvana is part of the Third Truth on "cessation of dukkha" in the Four Noble Truths, and the "summum bonum of Buddhism and goal of the Eightfold Path.
