1. Many of the definitions herein are taken from The Teaching Company's "Buddhism";
    12 cassettes, 2 course guide books (CG1, CG2), and 2 transcript books (TB1 & TB2);
    all authored by Professor Malcolm David Eckel. © 2001 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership.

2. Symbols:  

    Unless noted, all definitions are from The Teaching Company's "Buddhism" or Prof. Eckel. 
   {JBY opinion—or where, I think, Spinozism concurs or differs with Buddhism; or, Spinozism's world view.}
     W<definition from WikipediA>W  
     R<definition from Robison and Johnson>R:page number 
     S<definition from Strong>S:page number 
 

ahimsa
W<Ahimsa is a religious concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life. Ahimsa is Sanskrit for avoid- ance of himsa, or injury. It is interpreted most often as meaning peace and reverence toward all sentient beings.>W 

From Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 4, 2004]. 

 Sanskrit Ahimsa (“noninjury”), the fundamental ethical virtue of the Jains of India, highly respected throughout the centuries by Hindus and Buddhists as well. In modern times, Mahatma Gandhi, the famous spiritual and political leader, developed his theory of passive resistance as a means of bringing about political change on the principle of ahimsa.  {'non-injury' (non-frivolous injury) to animate and inanimate things—pantheism}.
 

"future Buddha" "Buddha-to-be (literally "awakening being"). In Buddhism, an individual who attains awakening (bodhi) but opts to defer nirvana (see below) in order to assist others in their spiritual quests, thus epitomizing the ideal of the Buddhist path according to the Mahayana tradition. 

S<bodhisattva (Pali: bodhisatta) Anyone who has taken a vow to become a Buddha, who will attain that goal, and who, in the meantime, compassionately engages in assisting others; more specifically, the Buddha Gautama before his enlightenment.>S:357 
 

"bodhisattva" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 27, 2004]. 

(Sanskrit), Pali Bodhisatta (“one whose essence is bodhi [enlightenment]”) in Buddhism, the historical Buddha, Gautama, prior to his Enlightenment; also, other individuals who are destined to become buddhas in this or in another life. 

In Mahayana Buddhism the decision of the bodhisattva to postpone his own final entrance into Nirvana in order to alleviate the suffering of others is given special valuation. The ideal of the bodhisattva supplants the earlier, Theravada goal of the arhat, or disciple, who perfects himself by following the Buddha's teachings, and of the pratyeka buddha, or self-enlightened Buddha, both of whom are criticized by Mahayana as concerned solely with their own personal salvation. The bodhisattva concept elevates the virtue of compassion (karuna) to equality with wisdom (prajna). The bodhisattva exercises his compassion by transferring his own merit to his devotees.
 

The bodhisattva path is the "mind of awakening," or bodhicitta. 

The most important single concept to express the bodhisattva ideal is the concept of the  bodhicitta, a concept that I would translate as the "mind of enlightenment," or you might say the "mind that seeks enlightenment."
 

     Kshatriya: a member of the Hindu royal and warrior class above the Vaisyas and below the Brahmans.

     Shudra: a Hindu of the lowest caste, that of the workers. 
  
    Vaisya: a member of the Hindu mercantile and professional class, above the Shudras and below the           Kshatriyas.
 
2. Also, <Brahma.> (in Hinduism) the supreme being, the primal source and ultimate goal of all     beings; atman. [The word brahma originally meant "prayer." Here it refers to the power or reality that lies      behind the prayer.]  S<Brahma. The creator god in Hindu-Buddhist mythology.>S:357
 

Britannica   

A religion, originated in India by Buddha (Gautama - Gau-ta-ma (gô'tuh muh, gou'-) also [Gotama] n. 1. BUDDHA (def. 1).Also called <Gau'tama Bud'dha.>) and later spreading to China, Burma, Japan, Tibet, and parts of SE Asia, holding that life is full of suffering caused by desire and that the way to end this suffering is through Enlightenment that enables one to halt the endless sequence of births and deaths to which one is otherwise subject.

The World's Major Religions and Belief Systems: 

Buddhism has 307 million followers. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (Enlightened One), in southern Nepal in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. The Buddha achieved enlightenment through mediation and gathered a community of monks to carry on his teachings. Buddhism teaches that meditation and the practice of good religious and moral behavior can lead to Nirvana, the state of enlightenment, although before achieving Nirvana one is subject to repeated lifetimes that are good or bad depending on one's actions (karma). The doctrines of the Buddha describe temporal life as featuring "four noble truths": Existence is a realm of suffering; desire, along with the belief in the importance of one's self, causes suffering; achievement of Nirvana ends suffering; and Nirvana is attained only by meditation and by following the path of righteousness in action, thought, and attitude.
 


---


Buddha [Awaken {Enlightened} One - from 'bodhi' awakening]
{Equivalent to Spinoza's G-D—Deus}
1. Also called <Gautama.> (Prince Siddhattha or Siddhartha) 566? -c480 B. C., Indian     religious leader: founder of Buddhism.
2. any of a series of teachers in Buddhism, bringing enlightenment and wisdom     {understanding},     of whom Gautama was the last.
3. (sometimes l.c.) a Buddhist who has attained full prajna, or Enlightenment; Arhat.
4. a representation of Buddha.
5. ... we are already Buddhas, if we understand that the nature of ourselves is no different     from the nature of the Buddha. L12:III:A2.
 
[1675-85; < Skt: awakened (budh- awaken, notice, understand +  -ta ptp. suffix)]
 
[buddha] Sanskrit,
"awakened one." In Buddhism, one who has attained awakening and nirvanna by his own means. There have been many buddhas—the most recent of which was Siddhartha Gautama—and there will be many more buddhas to come. Used as a title ("the Buddha"), the term refers to Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism.
 

In Buddhism, dharma is the doctrine, the universal truth common to all individuals at all times, proclaimed by the Buddha. Dharma, the Buddha, and the sangha (community of believers) make up the triratna, or “three jewels,” to which Buddhists go for refuge. In Buddhist metaphysics the term in the plural (dharmas) is used to describe the interrelated elements that make up the empirical world. TB1181{5}

dharma  Sanskrit, "truth," "order." "righteousness," duty," "justice." The term is used in both Hinduism and Buddhism; as a proper noun ("the Dharma"), it refers to the "truth" about human existence discovered and taught by the Buddha.

S>Dharma (Pali: Dhamma) The Theravada Teaching of the Buddha, Truth, Law, Doctrine; a basic element of reality (in the latter sense, usually written dharma). The word has many meanings, but they mostly revolve around the notion of anything that is fundamentally true or real.>S:358 {For the Mahayana, dharmas are not real.}
 
 

dialectic:
1. pertaining to or of the nature of logical argumentation.
2. DIALECTAL. n. di-a-lec-tal (die uh lek'tl) adj. 1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a dialect.     [1825-35] Derived words —di a-lec'tal-ly, adv.
    Usage. In linguistics DIALECTAL, not DIALECTICAL, is the term more commonly used to denote regional      or social language variation.
3. the art or practice of debate or conversation by which the truth of a theory or opinion is     arrived at logically.
4. logical argumentation.
5. HEGELIAN DIALECTIC. Hege'lian dialec'tic n. 1. an interpretive method in which some assertible      proposition (thesis) is necessarily opposed by an equally assertible and apparently contradictory      proposition (antithesis), the contradiction being reconciled on a higher level of truth by a third proposition      (synthesis). [1855-60]
6. <dialectics> (often used with a sing. v.) the arguments or bases of dialectical materialism,
    including the elevation of matter over mind and a constantly changing reality with a material
    basis.
7. the juxtaposition or interaction of conflicting ideas, forces, etc.

[1350-1400; ME (< AF) < L dialectica < Gk dialektiké (téchne) argumentative (art), fem. of dialektikós. See DIALECT, - IC]
 

discursive: .
1. passing aimlessly from one subject to another; digressive; rambling.
2. proceeding by reasoning or argument rather than intuition.

[1590-1600; < ML discursivus. See DISCOURSE, - IVE]
dis-course (n. dis'kôrs, -kohrs, dis kôrs', -kohrs'; v. dis kôrs', -kohrs') n., v. <-coursed, -cours-ing> n.
1. communication of thought by words; talk; conversation.
2. a formal discussion of a subject in speech or writing, as a treatise or sermon.
3. any unit of connected speech or writing longer than a sentence. v.i.
4. to communicate thoughts orally; talk; converse.
5. to treat of a subject formally in speech or writing. v.t.
6. Archaic. to utter or give forth (musical sounds).
[1325-75; ME discours < ML discursus (sp. by influence of ME cours course), LL: conversation, L: running to and fro = discur (rere) to run about (dis- DIS -1 + currere to run) + -sus for -tus suffix of v. action]
Derived words —dis-cours'er, n.
 

{Think of 'emptiness' as a mind empty of false subjective thoughts; but instead, filled with (true) subjective and objective thoughts—with understanding. See Britannica—pure consciousness. I dislike the word 'emptiness' because 'EMPTINESS of all thought' implies a robot—no joy, no sorrow, no understanding. Perhaps it is a translation-into-English problem?} 

1. The absence of identity {permanence, perishableness} in things {, including the individual Self, because      things are constantly changing, aggregate}, a fundamental teaching of Mahayana Buddhism. 

See Scope of Lecture 12 and JBY comment. 
      
{Think of 'emptiness' as 'understanding' in order to better understand the teaching. Understanding that things   constantly change, helps understand momentary events and thus brings peace-of-mind.}
 

From Spinozistic Glossary and Index—Organic: 

Scripture and Spinoza declare (Posit) that G-D is ONE to establish that EVERYTHING is bound into one grand ORGANIC interdependence; from this intuition, by deduction, "in working clothes", logically flows the Golden Rule "love your neighbor..." and enlightened self-interest. The Golden Rule says that you are your brother's keeper; by analogy, as your heart is your lung's keeper, and your lung is your heart's keeper—the interdependence of the parts for the life of the organism, G-D.  
Spinoza's Religion, Law of Organisms.
 

eschatology
1. any system of religious doctrines concerning last or final matters, as death, judgment, or an     afterlife.
2. the branch of theology dealing with such matters.

[1835-45; < Gk éschato (s) last + - LOGY]
 

epiphany
1. an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.
2. (cap.) a Christian festival, observed on Jan. 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to     the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth Day.
3. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into reality or the essential meaning of something,     often initiated by some simple, commonplace occurrence.
4. a literary work or section of a work presenting such a moment of revelation and insight.

[1275-1325; ME < LL epiphania < LGk epipháneia, Gk: apparition = epiphane-, s. of epiphanés appearing, manifest, der. of epiphaínesthai to come into view, appear (epi- EPI- + phaínesthai to appear) + -ia - Y 3]
 

A. The Four Noble Truths are: 

1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)  L5:TB1:81, .  

2. The truth of the arising of suffering S<unsatisfactoriness>S:358 L6:I 
 
3. The truth of the cessation of suffering (also known as nirvana) L6:II 

4. The Noble Truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering. L6:III
  

gnostic
1. pertaining to knowledge.
2. possessing knowledge, esp. esoteric knowledge of spiritual matters.
3. (cap.) pertaining to or characteristic of the Gnostics. n. 4. (cap.) a member of any of certain     heretical early Christian mystical sects that claimed that matter was evil and denied that     Christ had a natural corporeal existence.

[1555-65; < LL Gnostici (pl.) < Gk gnostikós (sing.) pertaining to knowledge = gnost (ós), v. adj. of gignóskein to KNOW + -ikos - IC]
 

hermeneutics
1. the art or science of interpretation, esp. of the Scriptures.
2. the branch of theology that deals with the principles of Biblical exegesis.

[1730-40]

The World's Major Religions and Belief Systems: 

A religion with 648 million followers (as of 1996), Hinduism developed from indigenous religions of India in combination with Aryan religions brought to India c. 1500 B.C. and codified in the Veda and the Upanishads, the sacred scriptures of Hinduism. Hinduism is a term used to broadly describe a vast array of sects to which most Indians belong. Although many Hindu reject the caste system -- in which people are born into a particular subgroup that determines their religious, social, and work-related duties -- it is widely accepted and classifies society at large into four groups: the Brahmins or priests, the rulers and warriors, the farmers and merchants, and the peasants and laborers. The goals of Hinduism are release from repeated reincarnation through the practice of yoga, adherence to Vedic scriptures, and devotion to a personal guru. Various deities are worshipped at shrines; the divine trinity, representing the cyclical nature of the universe, are Brahms the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer.

Idolatry takes the infinite as finite—a gross error. 

Idolatry is not an 'I-thee' relation with a thing (pantheism), but an 'I-It' relation.
Idolatry and superstition are faulty hypotheses designed to achieve peace of mind.
The fault is in making the infinite finite.
          
Idolizing a part, ignoring the whole; idolizing money, a golden calf (Exo. 32:4), farmers who pollute, substance abuse, creating slums, rampant capitalism, any fixation to the exclusion of other things leads to chaos.
 

{I define 'real' that which is a product of cause and effect.}

"Jainism" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 4, 2004]. 

a religion of India that teaches a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through a disciplined mode of life founded upon the tradition of ahimsa, nonviolence to all living creatures. Beginning in the 7th–5th century BCE. 
 
 

[karma] Sanskrit, "action."
The balance of merit and demerit accumulated by an individual, which determines the nature of one's next reincarnation. 

S<karma. Literally, "action," especially ritual, moral action: any deed that will bring about certain corresponding effects in this or a future lifetime; also, the law or principal governing these cause-and-effect relationships.>S:358

"Krishna" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 27, 2004]. 

Sanskrit Krsna one of the most widely revered and most popular of all Indian divinities, worshipped as the eighth incarnation (avatar, or avatara) of the Hindu god Vishnu and also as a supreme god in his own right. Krishna became the focus of numerous bhakti (devotional) cults, which over the centuries have produced a wealth of religious poetry, music, and painting. The basic sources of Krishna's mythology are the epic Mahabharata and its 5th-century-AD appendix, the Harivamsa, and the Puranas, particularly Books 10 and 11 of the Bhagavata-Purana. They relate how Krishna (literally “black,” or “dark as a cloud”) was born into the Yadava clan, the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, sister of Kamsa, the wicked king of Mathura (in modern Uttar Pradesh). Kamsa, hearing a prophecy that he should be destroyed by Devaki's child, tried to slay her children; but Krishna was smuggled across the Yamuna River to Gokula (or Vraja, modern Gokul), where he was raised by the leader of the cowherds, Nanda, and his wife Yasoda.
 

limen (lie'muhn) n. pl. <li-mens, lim-i-na>(lim'uh nuh)
1. THRESHOLD (def. 4).
threshold Def 4. Also called <limen.> the point at which a stimulus is of sufficient intensity to begin to produce an effect: the threshold of consciousness; a low threshold of pain. [bef. 900; ME; OE threscold, threscwald, c. ON threskoldr; akin to THRESH in old sense " trample, tread "; -old, -wald unexplained]

[1890-95; < L]

log'ical pos'itivism n.
1. a philosophical movement that rejects all transcendental metaphysics, statements of fact     being held to be meaningful only if they have verifiable consequences in experience and in     statements of logic, mathematics, or philosophy, with such statements of fact deriving their     validity from the rules of language. Also called <log'ical empir'icism>.

[1930-35] 
 
 

"Mahayana" Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 27, 2004].

(Sanskrit: Greater Vehicle), one of the two major Buddhist traditions and the form most widely adhered to in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet. Mahayana Buddhism emerged in about the 1st century AD from the ancient Buddhist schools as a more liberal and innovative interpretation of the Buddha's teachings. Mahayanists distinguished themselves from the more orthodox conservative schools, which they somewhat deprecatingly termed Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle). The Mahayana differ from the conservatives, represented in the modern world by the Theravadins of Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, in their views of the nature of the Buddha and the ideal goal of a Buddhist. While Theravada Buddhists revere the historical Gautama Buddha as a teacher of the truth {a Spinoza}, Mahayanists attribute to the Buddha a supramundane quality and interpret the historical Buddha as an earthly manifestation of a transcendent celestial Buddha {similar to a Jesus Christ}. The ideal goal toward which all Buddhists should strive is to become not, as in Theravada Buddhism, an arhat or perfected saint, which Mahayanists consider to be a limited selfish goal, but a bodhisattva, or person who has attained to the state of Enlightenment but has postponed his Buddhahood in order to work toward the salvation of all others. Thus, compassion, the chief virtue associated with the bodhisattva, is accorded an equal place with wisdom, the virtue emphasized by the ancient schools. The merit accrued by a bodhisattva is considered transferable to others, a concept that led to such devotional movements as the Pure Land Buddhism of China and Japan. 

 

S<Literally, a "circle"; a structured arena for depicting and encountering a pantheon of Buddhas and bodhisattvas and various other levels of reality.>S:358 
 
 

S<A set of words or sounds endowed with spiritual or magical potency; sometimes translated as "spell.">S:358
 

From Lecture Seven: 

Oh, Bhikkhus [Oh, monks], these two extremes ought not to be practiced by those who have gone forth from the household life. What are these two? There is devotion to the indulgence of sense pleasures, which is low, common, the way of ordinary people, unworthy and unprofitable; and there is devotion to self-mortification, which is painful, unworthy and unprofitable. Avoiding these two extremes, the Buddha has realized the Middle Path: it gives vision, it gives knowledge, and it leads to calm, to insight, to awakening, to nibhana. 

                                                                         (Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, p. 92) 

"Indian philosophy" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.
[Accessed September 27, 2004].

The four noble truths follow the golden mean between the two extremes of sensual indulgence and ascetic self-torture, both of which Gautama rejected as spiritually useless. Only the middle path consisting in the eight steps—called the eightfold path—leads to enlightenment and to Nirvana. The eight steps are (1) right views, (2) right intention, (3) right speech, (4) right action, (5) right livelihood, (6) right effort, (7) right mindfulness, and (8) right concentration. Of these eight, steps 3, 4, and 5 are grouped under right morality (sila); steps 6, 7, and 8 under right concentration (samadhi); and steps 1 and 2 under right wisdom (prajña). 
 

myth (mith) n.
1. a traditional or legendary story, esp. one that involves gods and heroes and explains a     cultural practice or natural object or phenomenon.
2. stories of this kind collectively; mythology.
3. an invented story, fictitious person, etc.: His account of the event is pure myth.
4. a belief or set of beliefs, often unproven or false, that have accrued around a person,     phenomenon, or institution: myths of racial superiority.

[1820-30; < LL mythos < Gk mythos story, word]

nirvana Sanskrit, literally "blowing out."
In Buddhism, a state free of all ignorance and desire, in which one ceases to accumulate karma and thus achieves liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. 

S<nirvana (Pali: nibbana) The soterlogical goal in Buddhism, characterized by the cessation of desire, ignorance, and hatred. Sometimes nirvana is used to mean enlightenment; other times it is an equivalent for parinirvana. (In the latter case, it is sometimes called "nirvana without re-mainder.")>S:359 

R<nirvana - emancipation>R:9

"Nirvana" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.
[Accessed September 27, 2004]. 

Pali Nibbana in Indian religious thought, the supreme goal of the {objective} meditation disciplines. The concept is most characteristic of Buddhism, in which it signifies the transcendent {in Spinozism there is no transcendence; everything is in G-D} state of freedom achieved by the extinction of {unhealthy} desire and of individual consciousness. According to the Buddhist analysis of the human situation, delusions of egocentricity {subjectiveness or mental illness} and their resultant desires bind man to a continuous round of rebirths and its consequent suffering (dukkha). It is release from these {subjective} bonds that constitutes Enlightenment, or the experience of Nirvana. 

Liberation from rebirth does not imply immediate physical death; the death of an arhat (a perfected person) or a Buddha is usually called the parinirvana, or complete Nirvana. In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, the realization of Nirvana is deferred by the bodhisattva (“Buddha-to-be”) while he continues, out of {non-altruistic} compassion (karuna), to work for the salvation of others. 

Nirvana is conceived somewhat differently within various schools of Buddhism. In the Theravada tradition, it is tranquillity and peace. In the schools of the Mahayana tradition, Nirvana is equated with sunyata (emptiness), with dharma-kaya (the real and unchanging {?} essence of the Buddha), and with dharma-dhatu (ultimate reality). 
 

12:IIIA. If everything is empty of any real identity, there can be no real difference between any             two things. As a result, Mahayana texts often equate Emptiness with "non-duality             {Substance}."  {Spinoza's pantheism—everything is a part of the infinite organism—G-D.}
 
 

noumenon (nue' muh non ) n. pl. <-na> (-ne)
1. (in the philosophy of Kant) something that can be the object only of a purely intellectual,     nonsensuous intuition {G-D} . Compare PHENOMENON (def. 4b).
4. PHENOMENON Philos. a. an appearance or immediate object of awareness in experience. b. (in Kantian     philosophy) a thing as it appears to and is constructed by the mind, as distinguished from a noumenon, or     thing-in-itself.

[1790-1800; < Gk nooúmenon a thing being perceived, n. use of neut. of passive prp. of noeîn to perceive]
 

numen (nue' min, nyue'-) n. pl. <-mi-na>(-muh nuh)
1. divine or supernatural power or presence, esp. as associated with a particular place or     object.

[1620-30; < L numen a nod, command, divine power, divinity, akin to nutare to nod the head in assent]

numinous (nue'muh nuhs, nyue'-) adj.
1. of, pertaining to, or like a numen; spiritual or supernatural.
2. surpassing comprehension or understanding; mysterious.
3. arousing one's elevated feelings of duty, honor, loyalty, etc.
 

paradigm {world view}
1. a set of all the inflected forms of a word based on a single stem or root,
    as boy, boy's, boys, boys '.
2. an example serving as a model; pattern: a paradigm of virtue.

[1475-85; < LL paradigma < Gk parádeigma pattern, der. (with -ma n. suffix) of paradeiknynai to show side by side = para- PARA -1 + deiknynai to show]

paradigm n. 1. They always held his brother up as a sort of paradigm: model, ideal, paragon, example, exemplar, pattern, matrix, standard, criterion, yardstick; prototype, archetype, original, sample.

perspicuous (
1. clearly expressed or presented; lucid.

[1470-80; < L perspicuus transparent = perspic-, s. of perspicere to look or see through (per- PER - + -spicere, comb. form of specere to look; see INSPECT) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix;
see - OUS]
 

S<Pure Land. The paradisial realm of a Buddha in which devotees may be reborn after death; often specifically referring to the Western Pure Land of the Buddha Amitabha (the focus of faith for Buddhists of the Pure Land schools)>S:359.
 

S<samsara - The process of death and re-birth, characterized by suffering, in which all beings are caught.>S:359

samsara wandering
the beginningless cycle of death and rebirth from which beings strive to gain liberation.

{Cash value of the belief in reincarnation: 
     1. The belief in being reborn evokes a close, personal, loving relationship with all life forms (the worm you see          could be your father reborn). Also it evokes the knowledge that everything, animate and inanimate, is made of
         One Eternal Substance. This is a form of Spinoza's Pantheism.
     2. Pedagogical; it is an incentive to good behavior in order to be reborn to a higher station or to be saved from a          lower station.} 
 

Religion is an ever-evolving hypothesis designed to achieve PEACE-OF-MIND.
When fleetingly achieved, it is called Bliss, Blessedness, Grace, Salvation, etc. 

I read this definition (all definitions are working hypotheses) of religion many years ago but don't remember where. I think it was from Kant. This definition is in no way pejorative (derogatory) of religion. On the contrary, it is the highest attainment of the human mind —Intuition-Revelation-Insight-Hypothesizing.
 

Rupa material form

S<The Buddhist community of monks and nuns (also taken to include laymen and laywomen); one of the three refuges of Buddhism.>S:359
 

2. Because of the causal continuity between moments in the flame. it is possible to say that     I am the "same" person from one moment to the next {who constantly judges my very real-to-me      emotional condition at any one instant; say, the instant I put my hand into that flame.  L12:JBYcomment.}. 

12:2. These give the illusion of continuity, like the moments of flowing water that make up the     current of a river or the flickers of burning gas that make up the flame of a candle. 5:IIID:s321

TB1:181{6}. The Mahayana went beyond this traditional Buddhist idea of the self to deny the     reality not just of an enduring self, but to deny {Spinozism differs, proof} the reality {JBYnote1.} of     the moments themselves. L12:III:A.
 

solipsism
1. the theory that only the self exists, or can be proved to exist.
2. self-absorption.

[1880-85; < L sol (us) only, SOLE 1 + ips (e) self + - ISM]
 

An example is losing an arm. You can have pain (sorrow) and at the same time have peace of mind if you know the cause(s) of the sorrow. (The removal of your infected arm on the medical advice that the arm must go to save your life. Of course, you will next ask "Why did the infection happen in the first place?".)  

At the limit of your knowledge, by a leap-of-faith (hypothesis), you can attribute the knowledge to the infinite knowledge of G-D, i.e. the chain of natural causes and their natural effects and the knowledge that things could not come to pass different than they are. That can give you peace of mind, if the faith in the hypothesis is strong enough; the pain and sorrow, however, still persist. 

Suffering {loss of peace of mind} is not sorrow, but not understanding the cause(s) of the sorrow and the {futile} human desire to hold on {attachment} to {perishable} things and keep them from {negatively} changing. 
 
 

Taoism:
a Chinese religious and philosophical tradition that stresses the value of harmony with nature.

teleology (tel ee ol' uh jee, tee lee-) n.
1. the doctrine that final causes exist.
2. the study of the evidences of design or purpose in nature.
3. such design or purpose.
4. the belief that purpose and design are a part of or are apparent in nature.
5. (in vitalist philosophy) the doctrine that phenomena are guided not only by mechanical forces     but that they also move toward certain goals of self-realization.

[1730-40; < NL teleologia (1728); see TELEO -, - LOGY]
teleo- 1. a combining form meaning " end, " " complete ": teleology.Also, <telo-;> esp. before a vowel, <tel-, tele-.> [comb. form repr. Gk télos end, and téleios perfect, complete]

Derived words —tel e-o-log'i-cal(-uh loj'i kuhl)tel e-o-log'ic, adj. —tel e-o-log'i-cal-ly, adv. —tel e-ol'o-gist, n.

tenable (ten' uh buhl) adj.
1. capable of being held, maintained, or defended.

tendentious or <ten-den-cious>(ten den' shuhs) also <> ten-den-tial(-shuhl) adj.
1. having or showing a tendency to favor or promote a point of view; biased:
    a tendentious novel.
 

tentative (ten' tuh tiv) adj.
1. of the nature of or made or done as a trial, experiment, or attempt: a tentative agreement.
2. unsure; not definite or positive; hesitant: a tentative smile.
 

tenuous (ten' yue uhs) adj.
1. lacking a sound basis; unsubstantiated; weak.
2. thin or slender in form.
3. thin in consistency; rare or rarefied.
4. of slight importance or significance; unsubstantial.

tenuous adj.
1. Some legislators made a rather tenuous argument against the bill: weak, flimsy, shaky, unsubstantial, unsupported, slight, slim, thin, slender, frail, fragile, delicate, gossamer, shallow, paltry, unconvincing, halfhearted, uncertain, indefinite.
antonyms strong, solid, valid, substantial.
 

"Theravada" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 27, 2004]. 

(Pali“Way of the Elders”) major form of Buddhism prevalent in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.  

Theravada, like all other Buddhist schools, claims to adhere most closely to the original doctrines and practices taught by the Buddha. Theravadins accept as authoritative the Pali canon of ancient Indian Buddhism and trace their sectarian lineage back to the Elders (Sanskrit: Sthaviras; Pali: Theras), who followed in the tradition of the senior monks of the first Buddhist sangha, or community. 

During the early centuries following the death of the Buddha, the community broke up into several sects that, in the beginning, differed little from one another, as far as is known (see eighteen schools). The first separation occurred in the 4th century BCE at the time of the second council, when a group broke away from the Sthaviravadins and became known as the Mahasanghika. A second major schism occurred when the Sarvastivadins (who hold that “all is real”) separated from the Vibhajyavadins (adherents of the Doctrine of Distinctions), presumably the Sthaviravadins. Those Vibhajyavadins that were distributed geographically in southern India and Sri Lanka became known as the Theravadins (the Pali form of Sthaviravadins). During the reign of the emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE), the Theravada school traveled to Sri Lanka, where it divided into three subgroups, known after their monastic centres as the Mahaviharika, the Abhayagirika, and the Jetavaniya. The Theravada form of Buddhism gradually spread eastward, becoming dominant in Myanmar in the late 11th century and in Cambodia and Laos by the 13th and 14th centuries.  

The ideal of Theravada Buddhism is the arhat (Pali: arahant), or perfected saint, who attains enlightenment as a result of his own efforts. The role of the layman and monk are clearly differentiated by the Theravadins, who do not consider it possible to attain enlightenment while one is living the life of a layman. Theravadins profoundly revere the historical Buddha as a perfected master but do not pay homage to the numerous buddhas and bodhisattvas that are worshiped in the Mahayana. 
  

"Tipitaka" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 27, 2004]. 

Sanskrit Tripitaka, the total canon of the southern schools of Buddhism, somewhat pejoratively dubbed Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) by the self-styled Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) schools; for the latter, the canon constitutes a preliminary body of teachings, analogous to the Old Testament in Christianity. The books of this southern canon were nearly all written in India within 500 years of the time of the Buddha (between about 500 BC and the beginning of the Christian Era). They appeared in two languages—in Pali within the Theravada (Way of the Elders) school, which now predominates in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Southeast Asia, and in Sanskrit among the Sarvastivada (Doctrine That All Is Real), Mahasanghika (Great Community), and other schools that did not survive the demise of Buddhism in India. The Pali texts constitute the entire surviving body of literature in that language.

Each school had its own canonical collection that differed somewhat from others in the contents of particular texts, which texts it included, and the ordering of texts within the canon. There was more agreement on the first two sections, the Vinaya Pitaka (Sanskrit and Pali: “Basket of Discipline”) and the Sutta Pitaka (Pali: “Basket of Discourse”; Sanskrit: Sutra Pitaka) than on the third, the Abhidhamma Pitaka (Pali: “Basket of Special [or Further] Doctrine”; Sanskrit: Abhidharma Pitaka).

The first of the three, which is also the earliest and smallest, provides for the regulation of monastic life. The second and largest contains the Hinayana-sutta (Sanskrit: sutra) literature—i.e., sermons and doctrinal and ethical discourses attributed to the Buddha or, in a few cases, to his disciples. (The basic texts produced by Mahayana schools are also called sutras and are often considered to have been revealed by the Buddha after he had passed into Nirvana.) The Abhidhamma (or Abhidharma) Pitaka, which was apparently accepted only by the Sarvastivadins and the Theravadins—and in two quite different forms—is basically a schematization of doctrinal material from the suttas. All three sections of the canon contain, as well, an abundance of legends and other narratives.
 

"Triratna" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 27, 2004] (Sanskrit “Three Jewels”) 

Pali Ti-ratana , also called Threefold Refuge in Buddhism the Triratna comprises the Buddha, the dharma (doctrine, or teaching), and the sangha (the monastic order, or community). One becomes a Buddhist by saying the words “I go to the Buddha for refuge, I go to the Doctrine for refuge, I go to the Order for refuge.” 

In Jainism the three jewels (also referred to as ratnatraya) are understood as samyagdarshana (“right faith”), samyagjnana (“right knowledge”), and samyakcharitra (“right conduct”). One of the three cannot exist exclusive of the others, and all are required for spiritual liberation. The Triratna is symbolized frequently in art as a trident.
 

From Shirley's Bk.VII:249—Thing {Object—that which persists in its existence.}. 

"This is the regular translation of 'res,' but the reader should be warned that Spinoza gives it a much more extensive meaning than is normal in English. He uses it to cover not only inanimate objects, but man, G-D, {ideas, organisms, the Id, ego,} and sometimes occurances."  
 

Viññana: Britannica, L5:IV - consciousness

"Vishnu" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 27, 2004]. 

One of the principal Hindu deities, worshiped as the protector and preserver of the world and restorer of dharma (moral order). Vishnu, like Siva (the other major god of Hinduism), is a syncretic {the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.} personality who combines many lesser cult figures and local heroes. He is known chiefly through his avatars (incarnations), particularly Rama and Krishna. 
 

Weltanschauung (velt' än shou oong) n. German
1. a comprehensive conception or image of the universe and of humanity's relation to it. [lit.,     world-view]

"Yoga" from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed September 26, 2004]. 

(Sanskrit: “Yoking,” or “Union”), one of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. Its influence has been widespread among many other schools of Indian thought. Its basic text is the Yoga-sutras by Patañjali (c. 2nd century BC?). 
 
The practical aspects of Yoga play a more important part than does its intellectual content, which is largely based on the philosophy of Samkhya), with the exception that Yoga assumes the existence of God {G-D?}, who is the model for the aspirant to spiritual release. Yoga holds with Samkhya that the achievement of spiritual liberation occurs when the self (purusha) is freed from the bondages of matter (prakriti) that have resulted because of ignorance and illusion. The Samkhya view of the evolution of the world through identifiable stages leads Yoga to an attempt to reverse this order, as it were, so that a person can increasingly dephenomenalize himself until the self reenters its original state of purity and consciousness. Once the aspirant has learned to control and suppress the obscuring {false subjective} mental activities of his mind and has succeeded in ending his attachment to material objects, he will be able to enter samadhi—i.e., a state of deep concentration that results in a blissful, ecstatic {mystic} union with the ultimate reality {G-D}.  

     

Aung San Suu Kyi. Freedom from Fear and Other Writings. London: Penguin Books, 1991. The collected speeches of the 1991 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Basho , Matsuo. The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches. London: Penguin Books, 1966. A graceful translation and thorough analysis of the work of Japan's most respected Zen poet.

Berthier, Francois. Reading Zen in the Rocks.- The Japanese Dry Landscape Garden. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. A fascinating and original study of Japanese contemplative gardens.

Brauen, Martin. Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Shambhala, 1997. A lively and informative account of the symbolism and ritual practices associated with the mandala. The book recently has gone out of print, but it is widely available in libraries and used book services.

Brown, W. Norman. Man in the Universe: Some Continuities in Indian Thought. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970. Still the most concise and accessible introduction to the religious problematic of Indian thought. Unfortunately, this book is out of print, but it is widely available in libraries and used book services.
Lectures 1:6, 2:11, 3:15

Chan, Wing-tsit. A Sourcebook of Chinese Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. A useful survey of the schools of Chinese philosophy with accurate, readable translations and informative introductions.

Ch'en, Kenneth. Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964. A useful survey of the history of Buddhism in China.

Conze, Edward. Buddhist Scriptures. London: Penguin Books, 1959. A superb collection of Buddhist scriptural sources, strongest on the Indian tradition. 

Conze, Edward. The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975. Translation of one of the Mahayana tradition's most influential sutras on the perfection of wisdom and Emptiness.

Craven, Roy C. Indian Art: A Concise History. Revised edition. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997. A compact and accurate summary of the history of Indian art.

Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. New York: HarperCollins, 1990. The most recent autobiographica! statement by the current Dalai Lama.

deBary, Wm. Theodore, ed. Sources of Chinese Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1960. An authoritative compendium of primary sources in translation covering the full range of Chinese history. 

deBary, Wm. Theodore, ed. Sources of Japanese Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1958. Another authoritative compendium covering the sources of Japanese history.

Earhart, H. Byron. Japanese Religion: Unity and Diversity. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1982. A useful introduction to the history of Japanese religion.

Eckel, Malcolm David. To See the Buddha: A Philosophers Quest for the Meaning of Emptiness. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. A study of the relationship between Indian Buddhist philosophy and the tradition of Mahayana devotion. ISBN 048620250X.
Received 9/02/04

Faure, Bernard. The Rhetoric of Immediacy: A Cultural Critique of ChanlZen Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991. A critical study of the prevailing interpretative myths in the study of Zen Buddhism.

Fields, Rick. How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala, 1981. A graceful and inclusive survey of the introduction of Buddhism to North America, including commentary on early European contacts with Buddhism.

Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation. Boston: Beacon Press, 1987. A brief and eloquent account of Buddhist meditation by one of the best known contemporary Vietnamese masters.

Huntington, Susan L. The Art of Ancient India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain. New York: Weatherhill, 1985. A detailed and authoritative survey of the tradition of Indian art by the doyenne of Indian art in America.

Kalupahana, David J. Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1976. A useful introduction to the diversity of Buddhist philosophy in the Indian tradition.

Lhalungpa, Lobsang P. The Life of Milarepa. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala, 1984. A vivid and appealing translation of the biography of one of Tibet's most beloved saints.

Nagarjuna. The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way. Trans. Jav L. Garfield. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. A contemporay translation of the fundamental text in the Madhyamaka School of Indian Buddhist philosophy.

Olivelle, Patrick, trans. Upanisads. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. A new and fluent translation of the classical Upanishads with an informative and thorough introduction.
Received 8/28/04; 6.80 + 3.00. 

Prebisch, Charles S., and Tanaka, Kenneth K., eds. The Faces of Buddhism in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. A collection of essays by specialists in different aspects of American Buddhism.

Rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. New York: Grove Press, 1972. A concise and accessible introduction to the Buddha's teaching by a respected Sri Lankan monk.
Received 8/28/04; 2.95 + 3.50.

Robinson, Richard H., and Johnson, Willard L. The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction. 4th edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1997. The newly revised edition of one of the standard historical introductions to the history of Buddhism.
Received 8/25/04; 3.99 + 3.00. 

Shunryu, Suzuki. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. New York Weatherhill, 1976. A modern Zen classic, this book has functioned as a lively and thoughtful introduction to Zen for a generation of Zen practitioners.

Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972. A fascinating and accessible survey of Tibetan culture by an authoritative French scholar.

Strong, John S. The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and Interpretations. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1995. A rich and varied compendium of Buddhist sources, ranging all the way from classical India to contemporary America. Each selection is introduced by a brief commentary that situates the selection in the development of the Buddhist history.
Received 8/26/04; 4.89 + 3.49. 

Suzuki, Daisetz T. Zen and Japanese Culture. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1959. The most inclusive study of Zen by one of its most famous and influential interpreters in the West.

Tanahashi, Kazuo, ed. Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Muster Dogen. New York: North Point Press, 1985. Clear and eloquent translations of Dogen's major writings.

ten Grotenhuis, Elizabeth. Japanese Mandalas.- Representations of Sacred Geography. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1999. An attractive and authoritative study of the use of mandalas in the Japanese tradition.

Watson, Burton, trans. The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. A translation of the Chinese version of one of the Mahayana's most influential sutras.

White, David Gordon, ed. Tantra in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. An encyclopedic collection of texts and commentary related to the Tantric tradition in Asia.

Wright, Arthur F. Buddhism in Chinese History. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1959. An authoritative and concise survey of the history of Chinese Buddhism.
 

---

Since September 1, 2004   Buddistic Glossary hits.

---