Ajahn-Sumedho-Volume-4-The-Sound-of-Silence

I Glossary

The following words are mostly Pali, the language of the Theravada
Buddhist scriptures (Tipiṭaka). They are brief translations for quick
reference, rather than exhaustive or refined definitions.

Abhidhamma analytical doctrine of the Buddhist Pali Canon

Ajahn (Thai) teacher; from the Pali ācariya: in the Amaravati
community, a bhikkhu or sīladharā who has completed ten
Rains Retreats (vassa)

akāliko timeless

amata deathless

anāgāmi ‘ non-returner,’ the third stage on the path to nibbāna

ānāpānasati mindfulness of breathing

anattā literally ‘not-self, no-self, non-self,’ i.e. impersonal,
without individual essence; neither a person nor

belonging to a person; one of the three characteristics of

conditioned phenomena

anicca transient, impermanent, unstable, having the nature to
arise and pass away; one of the three characteristics of

conditioned phenomena

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arahant a fully enlightened person; according to the Pali Canon,
the fourth stage on the path

ārammaṇā m ental objects; in Thai usage (arom) also mood, emotion

ariya noble

asubha ‘ non-beautiful’; asubha-kammaṭṭhāna is a practice that
involves contemplating the various unattractive parts of
the body

attā literally ‘self,’ i.e. the ego, personality

attakilamathānuyoga self-mortification, self-torture

avijjā ignorance, not-knowing, delusion

avijjā paccayā ignorance as a condition for mental formations
saṅkhārā

bhava becoming

bhāvanā meditation or mental cultivation

bhikkhu a fully ordained Buddhist monk

bodhisattva ( Sanskrit) literally ‘one who is intent on full
enlightenment.’ As taught in the Mahayana school,
enlightenment is delayed so that all the virtues (pāramī)
are developed and innumerable sentient beings are saved

brahmā a being in the highest heavenly realms

brahma-loka highest heavenly realms

Buddha-rupa an image of the Buddha

Buddho the awakened one, the one who knows, the knowing

chao khun (Thai) ecclesiastic title from the king of Thailand

citta mind or heart

cittānupassanā mindfulness of the mind or mood

dantā teeth

desanā a talk on the teachings of the Buddha

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GLOSSARY

deva, devatā heavenly being, angel

devadūta l iterally ‘heavenly messenger’; the four such messengers
are: old age, sickness, death and a renunciant

deva-loka heavenly realm

Dhamma t he teaching of the Buddha as contained in the scriptures,
not dogmatic in character, but more like a raft or vehicle
to convey the disciple to deliverance; also the truth and
reality towards which that teaching points; that which is
beyond words, concepts, or intellectual understanding

Dhamma-Vinaya the teachings and monastic discipline

dhutaṅga special renunciant observances, ascetic practices

dosa hatred

dukkha l iterally ‘hard to bear.’ Disease, discontent, or suffering,
anguish, conflict, unsatisfactoriness; one of the three
characteristics of conditioned phenomena

Dzogchen Natural Great Perfection, the highest teaching of Tibetan
Buddhism

ehipassiko e ncouraging investigation, inviting to come and see

ekaggatā one-pointedness, singleness, unification

farang (Thai) foreigner, Westerner

Hinayina l iterally ‘lesser vehicle’; a term coined by Mahāyāna
Buddhists for a group of earlier Buddhist schools

idappaccayatā the law of conditionality: ‘because of this, that arises’

jāti birth, rebirth

jhāna m editative absorptions; deep states of rapture, joy, and
one-pointedness

kāmarāga-carita a lustful, greedy temperament

kāmasukhallikānuyoga sensual indulgence

kāma-taṇhā sensual desire

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kamma action or cause which is created by habitual impulses,
volitions, intentions. In popular usage it often includes the
result or effect of the action, although the proper term for
this is vipāka.

kamma-vipāka the effect, result or fruition of kamma

karunā compassion; one of the Sublime Abidings

kāyānupassanā mindfulness of the body

kesā hair of the head

khandha group, aggregate, heap – the term the Buddha used
to refer to each of the five components of human
psychophysical existence (form, feelings, perceptions,
mental formations, sense-consciousness)

kilesa d efilements; unwholesome qualities that cloud the mind

kuti hut; typical abode of a forest bhikkhu

lobha greed

lokavidū ‘knower of the world’, an epithet of the Buddha

lomā hair of the body

Luang Por (Thai) literally, ‘revered father’, a title of respect and
affection for an elder monk and teacher

magga path

Mahayana one of the three major Buddhist traditions; it lays
particular emphasis on altruism, compassion, and

realization of ‘emptiness’ as essentials for full awakening

majjhimā paṭipadā the Middle Way

mettā loving-kindness; one of the Sublime Abidings

moha delusion

muditā s ympathetic joy, rejoicing in others’ success; one of the
Sublime Abidings

nakhā nails

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GLOSSARY

nibbāna literally ‘extinguishing of a fire’; freedom from
attachments, quenching, coolness

nibbidā disenchantment, world-weariness, turning away

nirodha cessation

opanayiko leading inward or onward, applicable

paccattaṁ veditabbo
viññūhi
to be realized for yourself

paccuppanna- w hat has arisen just now, present-moment phenomena
dhamma

Pali t he ancient Indian language of the Theravada Pali Canon,
akin to Sanskrit

paññā discriminative wisdom, discernment

papañca m ental proliferation, conceptual proliferation,
complication

paramattha-dhamma Ultimate Reality

paramattha-sacca Ultimate Truth

pāramī ‘ Perfection.’ The ten perfections in Theravada Buddhism
for realizing Buddhahood are giving, morality,
renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness,
determination, loving-kindness, and equanimity.

pariyatti study of the Buddhist scriptures

paṭiccasamuppāda ‘dependent origination.’ It explains the way
psychophysical phenomena come into being in

dependence on one another.

paṭipadā ‘way, path’; putting the teachings into practice

paṭipatti practice of Dhamma

paṭivedha the realization of the Dhamma

pen paccattaṁ (Thai) something that you realize for yourself

phra (Thai) ‘venerable’; an honorific often applied to a monk

piṇḍapāta alms-food; or the alms-round on which the food is received

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puja a devotional offering, chanting, bowing, etc.

rūpa form or matter; often referring to the physical elements
that make up the body, i.e., earth, water, fire, and wind
(solidity, cohesion, temperature, and motion or vibration)

sakadāgāmī once-returner

sakkāya-diṭṭhi personality-view

sālā a hall, usually where the monastics eat their food and
other ceremonies are held

samādhi meditative concentration, collectedness

samaṇa renunciant, contemplative (term for ordained monks or
nuns)

samatha calm

sammā ‘ right’, as in the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path:
sammā-diṭṭhi: right understanding; sammā-sankappo: right
intention; sammā-vācā: right speech; sammā-kammanto:
right action; sammā-ājīvo: right livelihood; sammā-vāyāmo:
right effort; sammā-sati: right mindfulness; sammā-samādhi:
right concentration

saṁsāra-vaṭṭa the round of birth and death

samudaya origin

saṁyojana literally ‘fetters’; the ten obstacles to liberation

sandiṭṭhiko apparent here and now

Sangha the community of those who practise the Buddha’s way;
more specifically, those who have formally committed

themselves to the lifestyle of a mendicant monk or nun

saṅkhārā m ental formations; conditioned phenomena in general

saññā perception

sati mindfulness, awareness

sati-pañña literally ‘mindfulness and wisdom’

satipaṭṭhāna t he four foundations of mindfulness (body, feelings, mind,
mental phenomena)

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GLOSSARY

sati-sampajañña l iterally ‘mindfulness and clear understanding’; also
intuitive awareness, apperception

sīla moral virtue, also used to refer to the precepts of moral
conduct

sīlabbata- attachment to rites and rituals, clinging to precepts
parāmāsa and practices

sīladharā ‘ one who upholds virtue,’ a term used for Buddhist nuns
gone forth under Ajahn Sumedho

soka-parideva-dukkha-
domanassupāyāsā literally ‘sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair

sotāpanna literally ‘stream-enterer’; a person that is definitely on the
path to nibbāna.

sotāpatti stream-entry

sutta discourse of the Buddha or one of his disciples

suññatā literally ‘emptiness’ – see anattā

taco skin

taṇhā craving

tathā such, thus

Tathāgata term for the Buddha. ‘One thus come/gone’

tathatā suchness, thusness

Theravada l iterally ‘Teaching of the Elders’; a school based upon the
texts which are written in the Pali language

Tipiṭaka literally ‘Three baskets’ – the Pali Canon or the scriptures
of the Theravada school

upādāna attachment, clinging, grasping

upajjhāya a preceptor who presides over Admission into the Sangha

upasampadā admission to the Bhikkhu Sangha

upāya skilful means; the different resources used to realize the
Dhamma

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upekkhā equanimity; one of the Sublime Abidings

Vajrayana one of the three major Buddhist traditions that makes
extensive use of symbols and mantras to convey teachings;

primarily associated with Tibet

vedanā feelings or sensations, of pleasure, pain, or neutrality

vibhava-taṇhā desire for not-being, for annihilation; wanting to get rid of

vicikicchā sceptical doubt

Vinaya the monastic discipline, or the scriptural collection of its
rules and commentaries on them

viññāṇa sense consciousness, cognizance

vipassanā insight meditation, ‘looking into things’

viveka literally ‘detachment’ or ‘solitude’

wat (Thai) monastery or temple

yāna literally ‘vehicle’; a Buddhist tradition or school

yoniso manasikāra wise reflection, ‘going to the roots’

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This book is the fourth of five volumes
created to honour the life and work of
Ajahn Sumedho on his 80th Birthday
VOLUME 1 Peace is a Simple Step
VOLUME 2 Seeds of Understanding
VOLUME 3 Direct Realization
VOLUME 4 The Sound of Silence
VOLUME 5 The Wheel of Truth

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