glossary¶

this is a temporary glossary
these are not alphabetical or in the order they appear in sutras
these are being sorted sequentially for simplified understanding
this site has a site wide glossary
example put the cursor over all caps words: DUKKHA
after this glossary is complete add these to the built in glossary

Duality¶

Duality is where we create a false division in phenomena based on two extremes, such as good or bad, true or false, pure or impure, etc.

terminology required for the sutras mentioned on this site¶

Tathagata (Skt.)¶

One of the ten honorifics of a buddha.
"One who has thus come, one who has thus gone."
A buddha is always in "suchness" — just the way it is.
see thus come

Thus-Come One¶

(tathagata in Sanskrit) $I % . One of the ten honorifics of a buddha, meaning one who has come from the truth.
The Sanskrit compound tathagata, however, can be interpreted as "thus gone one" as well, meaning one who has gone to nirvana.
Integrating the two meanings, a tathagata refers to one who neither comes nor goes and who is always in suchness - just the way it is.

Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi¶

unsurpassed complete enlightenment

Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi (Skt.)

1 # 3 BE#E#|. Anuttara means unsurpassed; samyak-sambodhi means right and comprehensive understanding, specifically, complete enlightenment. Anuttara- samyak-sambodhi or unsurpassed complete enlightenment is the state of a buddha.

Sentient beings¶

All living beings with sentience; beings who have awareness.
They include devas (celestial or heavenly beings), asuras (powerful like devas but more aggressive and jealous than devas), human beings, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings.
The Buddhadharma teaches that all sentient beings are trapped in samsara due to ignorance and delusion, however, they all have buddha nature and therefore the potential to become buddhas.

bard robot: diamond sutra
polysemy is when a word is overloaded or has overlapping unrelated meanings take note when this occurs

Determining the exact origin of the Diamond Sutra is a complex topic with some uncertainty. Here's what we know:

Language and Tradition:

The original text was likely composed in Sanskrit, the liturgical language of early Buddhism.
It belongs to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, specifically the Prajnaparamita branch focused on "Perfection of Wisdom" teachings.

Timeline and Location:

Estimated Composition: Most scholars place the composition of the Diamond Sutra somewhere between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE.
Earliest Existing Sanskrit Version: The earliest known fragmented Sanskrit manuscript dates back to the 3rd-4th centuries CE.
First Chinese Translation: The first known Chinese translation appeared in the early 5th century CE.

Specific Origin:

Pinpointing the exact location of the sutra's origin within India is still debated. Some theories suggest it originated in northwestern India, while others point to southern regions.
Attributing authorship to a specific individual is also difficult, as Mahayana texts often circulated anonymously and evolved through oral transmission before being written down.

Unconditioned Dharma¶

chapter 7 no attainment no teaching

The world as perceived by unenlightened people is conditioned, changing and relative, which leads to suffering.

The enlightened beings are able to transcend conditioned existence and arrive at the unconditioned shore, which is to attain nirvana.

To understand the unconditioned dharma is to realize nirvana.

Saints and sages are distinguished by the different levels of their realizations of the unconditioned dharma.

Trichiliocosm T ¼ F #4r . In Buddhist cosmology, a small¶

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world has Mount Sumeru at the center and the ring of iron mountains encircling the small world. Between Mount Sumeru and the iron mountains are seven mountains (continents) and eight oceans with each mountain and ocean interlacing each other. A thousand of these small worlds form a small chiliocosm; a thousand of these small chiliocosms form a medium chiliocosm; and a thousand of these medium chiliocosms form a great chiliocosm t TW% , or a tri-chiliocosm.

Seven jewels¶

chapter 8

According to The Amitabha Sutra

gold
silver
lapis lazuli
crystal
cornelian
tridacna
rubies
red pearls
agate or emerald

Shrotapanna¶

chapter 9

(Skt.) 11 BE Wi or stream-enterer A in. The first stage of arhathood. Having realized the emptiness of the ego-self and ended the false views of the triple world, a stream-enterer will undergo a maximum of seven rebirths as a human and seven rebirths as a heavenly being alternately in order to eradicate all the afflictions of the triple world.

Sakridagamin¶

chapter 9

(Skt.) i BE a or once-returner - fE * . The second stage of arhathood. A once-returner (literally one who goes and comes one more time) has not completely eradicated the afflictions in the realm of desire and thus has to undergo one more human rebirth.

Anagamin¶

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(Skt.) K/5 a or non-returner 1s. The third stage of arhathood. A non-returner (literally one who is not returning) has eradicated all the afflictions in the realm of desire and thus will never be born in that realm again.

Arhat¶

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(Skt.) If SEA. A Buddhist saint who has realized the empti- ness of the ego-self and eradicated all afflictions of the triple world, and therefore is no longer subject to rebirth.

Samadhi¶

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(Skt.) = Ik. A highly concentrated state of mind achieved by meditation, characterized by unwavering focus, lucidity and clarity, stillness, bliss, or all of the above.

Aranya¶

chapter 9

(Skt.) 5f 5/5 . A place of stillness, particularly implying a place without any contention. Later in Buddhism, an aranya refers to a quiet place, usually in a forest, where Buddhist monks or nuns gather to live and practice without any contention.

mindfulness practice¶

Mindfulness is a state of mind. To practice mindfulness means that the mind is conscientious, clear and lucid. Thoughts of greed and anger are quickly detected and renounced, and eventually, only righteous thoughts arise.

The mind thinks of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, and the precepts; the mind is filled with compassion; the mind is not deluded and misguided.

By practice in right mindfulness, we eventually have a complete understanding of the Dharma, are willing to do all good without a sense of the "self" doing the deed, or the "other" benefiting from the deed, finally reaching enlightenment.

Thirty-two good marks¶

chapter 13

The thirty-two good marks

are distinctive bodily characteristics of a great being, particularly a buddha or a wheel-turning sage king (see footnote 48 for more on wheel-turning sage king). As lay people, those endowed with the thirty-two good marks will be wheel-turning sage kings. If they renounce home life to practice the Dharma, they will achieve enlightenment and become buddhas. Although there are different sets of the thirty-two good marks given in the sutras, all these good marks are said to be effects resulted by upholding pure precepts and performing wholesome deeds.

buddha eyes¶

chapter 18

The physical eye, deva eye, wisdom eye, dharma eye, and buddha eye W All BIE A bId.

According to the Mahaprajnaparamita Shastra (translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva), the physical eye can see what is close to us but not what is far away; can see what is in front of us but not what is behind; can see in the daytime but not in the nighttime.

To go beyond these limitations of the physical eye, the deva eye is needed.

Those who have the deva eye can see near and far, what is in the front and back, and during the daytime and the nighttime.

Although seeing through the appearance of what is dependently arising, they have not seen the empty nature of all beings and phenomena yet.

It is only those with the wisdom eye who can see the truth of emptiness, and with this wisdom of emptiness, they relinquish all attachments.

But because of immersing in emptiness, they have not yet developed expedient means to liberate sentient beings, which requires the dharma eye to do so.

In addition to emptiness, those who have the dharma eye realize the worldly truth and thus establish all dharmas according to conditions.

Consequently, they use expedient means in accordance with the needs of sentient beings to help them on the path to buddhahood.

To perfect the application of expedient means to liberate all sentient beings, the buddha eye is indispensable.

Buddhas with their buddha eyes see through all beings and phenomena, their differences as well as their common nature.

Put it in another way, the buddha eye clearly sees the ultimate truth of middle way reality.