Glossary
Glossary of Buddhist and Dhutanga Terms
Pali terms are given with standard diacritics. Search ignores diacritics, so you can type them without accents.
A
- Abbhokāsika
- One who lives in the open air; the tenth dhutanga observance.
- Ajahn
- Thai form of the Pali ācariya, “teacher”; a title for senior monks.
- Anattā
- Not-self; one of the three characteristics of existence.
- Anicca
- Impermanence; one of the three characteristics of existence.
- Arañña
- Forest or wilderness; a place at least five hundred bow-lengths from a village, according to the commentary.
B
- Bhikkhu
- A fully ordained Buddhist monk.
- Bhikkhunī
- A fully ordained Buddhist nun.
- Bodhi
- Awakening; also the tree under which the Buddha awakened.
- Buddha
- “Awakened one”; the title of Siddhattha Gotama, the founder of Buddhism.
C
- Cīvara
- The monastic robe.
D
- Dāna
- Generosity or giving; the first of the traditional perfections and a foundation of practice.
- Dhamma
- The teaching of the Buddha; also truth, and phenomena (Sanskrit: dharma).
- Dhutaṅga
- “Factor for shaking off”; one of the thirteen optional ascetic observances.
- Dukkha
- Suffering, stress or unsatisfactoriness; the first noble truth.
E
- Ekāsanika
- One who eats at a single sitting; the fifth dhutanga observance.
K
- Kamma
- Intentional action and its results (Sanskrit: karma).
- Kuṭi
- A small hut used by a monastic, especially in forest monasteries.
M
- Mahākassapa
- A principal disciple of the Buddha, foremost among those who uphold the ascetic practices (Sanskrit: Mahākāśyapa).
- Maraṇassati
- Mindfulness of death; a contemplation supported by the charnel-ground observance.
- Middle Way
- The Buddha’s path between sensual indulgence and self-mortification.
N
- Nesajjika
- One who keeps the sitter’s practice, not lying down; the thirteenth dhutanga observance.
- Nibbāna
- The final goal of Buddhist practice: the ending of greed, hatred and delusion (Sanskrit: nirvāṇa).
- Nissaya
- Support or dependence; the four supports of monastic life are alms food, rag robes, the foot of a tree and simple medicine.
P
- Pali
- The language of the Theravada canon.
- Paṃsukūla
- Rag or refuse cloth; the source of robes in the first dhutanga observance.
- Paññā
- Wisdom or discernment.
- Patta
- The monastic alms bowl.
- Piṇḍapāta
- Alms food, and the alms round on which it is received.
- Precepts
- Training rules; lay Buddhists often keep five, retreat guests often keep eight (Pali: sikkhāpada).
R
- Rukkhamūla
- The foot of a tree; the dwelling of the ninth dhutanga observance.
S
- Samādhi
- Concentration or collectedness of mind.
- Saṅgha
- The monastic community; more broadly, the community of practitioners.
- Sīla
- Ethical conduct or virtue.
- Sosānika
- One who lives in a charnel ground; the eleventh dhutanga observance.
- Sutta
- A discourse of the Buddha or his disciples (Sanskrit: sūtra).
T
- Theravada
- “Teaching of the elders”; the Buddhist tradition of Sri Lanka and mainland Southeast Asia.
- Thudong
- Thai form of dhutanga (ธุดงค์); also the wandering practice of Thai forest monks.
- Tipiṭaka
- “Three baskets”; the Pali canon: Vinaya, Suttas and Abhidhamma.
- Toutuo
- Chinese 头陀, a transliteration of Sanskrit dhūta; the East Asian term for ascetic practices.
U
- Uposatha
- Observance day, held on the new and full moon (and often quarter-moons).
V
- Vassa
- The three-month rains retreat, during which monastics stay in one place.
- Vinaya
- The monastic code of discipline.
- Visuddhimagga
- “The Path of Purification”, a 5th-century commentary by Buddhaghosa; Chapter II describes the dhutanga observances.
W
- Wat
- Thai, Lao and Khmer word for a Buddhist temple or monastery.