Arhat or Arahat
Someone who has achieved enlightenment.
A term for any person who lives without material luxuries, often for religious reasons.
Fully ordained Buddhist monk.
Fully ordained Buddhist nun.
A Sanskrit word meaning enlightenment. The Bodhi tree is a species of fig said to be the tree under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment.
An enlightened person who has chosen to postpone nirvana in order to help others become enlightened.
A title meaning Awakened or Enlightened One.
Dalai Lama (Tibetan)
Spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people.
Universal law; ultimate truth, the teachings of the Buddha.
The Noble Eightfold Path; the way of life taught by the Buddha.
A goal of Buddhism: a state in which the practitioner has no desire or suffering.
Four Noble Truths
The four principles encapsulating Buddha's teachings.
The sum of a person's actions in all their lifetimes (see Reincarnation): positive or negative actions are believed to affect the person's future in a positive or negative way.
A circular design representing the universe, sometimes used in meditation.
It is a Buddhist practice that involves emptying the mind, used for relaxation or religious contemplation.
A philosophy of moderation taught by the Buddha, avoiding excessive luxury and extreme asceticism; another name for the Eightfold Path.
The state of enlightenment; the term is also used outside Buddhism to mean a state of harmony and blessedness.
Some forms of Buddhism believe that after death a person's soul is reborn on earth in a different body, which may be human or another creature depending on the person's karma (see Karma).
Trainee Buddhist monk.
A type of meditation used to make the mind calmer.
The worldwide community of Buddhist monks or nuns; can be used generally to mean any group of Buddhists.
The personal name of the historical Buddha.
A dome-shaped monument that contains relics of the Buddha. It has been named after a Sanskrit word for the crown of the head.
Three aspects of Buddhahood as taught by the Mahayana School.
A type of meditation used to achieve insight.
A Buddhist tradition of searching for inner truth.