• Advaita Vedanta: (Indian, Hinduism) The school of Hindu thought associated with the 8th-century philosopher Shankara, or Sankaracarya (c. 700-750). The term advaita means "non-dualism" or "monism," and is used by Sankara to indicate his belief that the phenomenal world is unreal (an illusion); only Brahman is real. Therefore, the self is nothing but Brahman. This school of thought owes a clear debt to Buddhist ideas on the illusory nature of reality.

• Amida Buddha: (Japanese, Buddhism; "Amitabha" in Sanskrit) extremely important Buddha, especially for Mahayana Buddhism.

• Analects: A central text of the Confucian tradition that includes the sayings and teachings of Confucius (551 - 479 B.C.E.).

• Anatman: (Sanskrit, Buddhism; "Anatta" in Pali) No-self or egolessness. Contrasts with the Hindu concept of atman.

• Anatta: (Pali, Buddhism) See Anatman.

• Atman: (Sanskrit, Hinduism and Buddhism) Variously translated as self, soul, spirit, or ego depending on the context. In the Upanishads it is the permanent spiritual essence of the individual. For early Buddhists, it was simply the individual self or ego (which they denied-see anatman). For later Advaita Vedanta, the atman was identical with the spiritual essence of the world itself (atman is brahman-see brahman).

• Brahman: (Sanskrit, Hinduism) The ultimately real. Sometimes translated as the Absolute or Infinite Spirit, it is the permanent essence of all apparent being. In the Upanishads it serves as the universal principle or essence unifying all things. At a deep level it is also identical with the spiritual essence of the individual. Later Advaita Vedanta distinguishes saguna brahman from nirguna brahman. The former is brahman as qualified by various attributes (gunas) while the latter is brahman in its real or absolute nature.

• Buddhaghosa: 5^th century Indian Buddhist scholar.

• Ch'an (Chan): (Chinese, Buddhism; "Zen" in Japanese) This Chinese and Japanese form of Buddhism advocated the practice of meditation above studying scriptures to understand the Ultimate Truth. Ch'an was first brought to China by Bodhidharma around 520 C.E.

• Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi): Unlike Lao Tzu (Laozi) whose historical personage is unverifiable and likely myth, Chuang Tzu ("Master Chuang") seems to have been a real person. The historical Chuang Tzu was a minor official during the Warring States period (479-221 B.C.E.). His legacy is a profound Taoist text that bears his name.

• Chün-tzu (junzi): (Chinese, Confucianism) The self-cultivated person or the gentleman to whom Confucius's teachings were addressed.

• Confucianism: The philosophical tradition in China and East Asia based on the ethical teachings of Confucius (551 - 479 B.C.E.).

• Dharmas: (Sanskrit, Buddhism) Virtuous actions, morality, duty.

• Duhkha: (Sanskrit, Buddhism) Buddhist understanding of life as suffering.

• I-hsüan of Lin-chi (Yixuan of Linji) (d. 867 C.E.): Ninth-century Chinese, Ch'an Buddhist who founded the Lin-chi (Rinzai in Japanese) school of sudden enlightenment.

• Jen (Ren): (Chinese, Confucianism) Confucius's concept of an ideal humanity, benevolence and perfect virtue.

• Karma: (Sanskrit, Buddhism) Human actions. People acquire both good and bad karma according to their actions, and the amount of each determines into which state that person will be reborn.

• Kojiki: Compiled in 712 C.E. Japan's oldest annals. This official history discusses Japan's mythical origins and history up to about 500 C.E. The Kojiki greatly influenced the work of Motoori Norinaga.

• Kokugaku: (Japanese) See National Learning.

• Kukai (774-835): Major early Japanese Buddhist philosopher who emphasized the body as the vehicle of enlightenment. Founded the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan.

• Lao Tzu (Laozi): Lao Tzu literally means "old master". Italicized, it refers to an ancient Taoist text also known as the Tao Te Ching or Daodejing. Unitalicized, it refers to the author of that text (i.e. the "old master"). However, most contemporary scholarship tends to dismiss the notion that the text had a single author.

• Li: (Chinese, Confucianism and Taoism) Usually translated as "rites" or "rituals", li compose a kind of ritual decorum, proprietary practices established to guide one's moral development.

• Metanoia: A social process of reflection and repentance conceptualized by Tanabe Hajime (1885-1962).

• Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801): Japanese scholar of Shintoism, main thinker of Nativism or National Learning (Kokugaku).

• Nagarjuna: Second to 3rd-century Indian Buddhist philosopher.

• National Learning (Kokugaku) or Nativism: Intellectual movement in 18th-century Japan that advocated the teaching and learning of ancient Japanese stories and myths as a way towards developing a uniquely Japanese identity.

• Nembutsu: (Japanese, Buddhism) The name given to the practice of the repeated recitation of "namu Amida Butsu" ("praise be to Amida Buddha"). Advocated by all Japanese schools of Buddhism, and considered an aid to meditation.

• Neo-Confucianism: The revival of Confucian thinking often associated with the rationalist philosophy of Chu Hsi (Zhu Xi) (1130-1200).

• Nihon shoki or Nihongi: (Japanese) Ancient chronicles of gods and goddesses, especially important to the National Learning movement. Compiled in 720 C.E.

• Nirguna Brahman: (Sanskrit, Hinduism) Literally, quality-less brahman (ultimate reality). The form of brahman that the Hindu philosopher Shankara believed truly existed. In fact, for Shankara it is literally the only thing that really exists, as all form is illusion (maya).

• Nirvana: (Sanskrit, Buddhism) Release from the cycle of rebirth, the end of suffering.

• Rationalism: The philosophical view that reason is the basis for knowledge.

• Samsara: (Sanskrit, Buddhism) Worldly life or existence.

• Shankara (or Sankhara) (c. 788-820): 8th-9th century Indian philosopher. Major figure in the Advaita Vedanta (non-dual Vedanta) tradition of Hinduism.

• Shin or Pure Land Buddhism: Associated with thought of Shinran (1173-1262). Idea that Buddhist Enlightenment is a complete self-surrender to Amida Buddha, and not a rational or cognitive process. Shin Buddhism believed that all that had to be done to gain entrance into paradise was to invoke Amida Buddha through the chanting of the Nembutsu.

• Shingon Buddhism: Brought to Japan by Kukai (774-835), this esoteric school of Buddhism taught that the dharma body of Buddha (dharmakaya) could be expressed through literary and artistic forms. Kukai's teachings resonated with the tastes and dispositions of Japanese at the time, and Shingon Buddhism became extremely popular in Heian Japan (794-1185). Kukai advocated meditation through the use of mantras (chanting), mudras (specific hand gestures), and mandalas (artistic representations of deities and the universe).

• Shinjin: (Japanese, Buddhism) Sincere expression of faith. Central value in Shinran's ideal of complete trust in the Amida Buddha.

• Shinran (1173-1262): Japanese Buddhist philosopher. Disciples of his teachings founded the Shin or Pure Land Buddhist school. Rejected "rational calculation" as the last refuge of the ego-self and advocated the need for complete self-surrender to Amida Buddha.

• Shinto or Shintoism: Traditional Japanese religion based on ancient myths and legends associated with various gods and goddesses, later adapted by MOTOORI Norinaga (1730-1801) and associated with the philosophy of National Learning (Kokugaku).

• Sunyata: (Sanskrit, Buddhism) the condition of emptiness, especially as applied to conceptual categories which are said to "dependently co-arise" with each other because they are empty, it is particularly associated with the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna.

• Tanabe Hajime (1885-1962): Major Japanese philosopher of the 20^th century, associated with the Kyoto School of Philosophy based at Kyoto University and inspired by Kitaro Nishida's Zen-inspired approach to Western philosophy. Tanabe's inspirations included Shinran and Hegel.

• Tao (Dao): (Chinese, Taoism and Confucianism) A religious/philosophical term common to a number of Chinese thinkers and usually translated as "the Way", it generally denotes an underlying principle, both indefinite and immutable, of existence.

• Taoism (Daoism): Chinese religious and philosophical school associated with the Lao Tzu (Laozi) (also, Tao-te Ching or Daodejing) and the writings of Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi) (c. 369-286 B.C.).

• Upanishads: Major Hindu text. First attempt to systematize the philosophical content of the Vedas.

• Vedas: The first, sacred texts of Hinduism, composed two thousand years before the Common Era (B.C.E.).

• Wang Yang-ming (1472-1529): Widely influential Neo-Confucian Chinese philosopher, well-known for his incorporation of Buddhist philosophical ideas into Confucian thought.

• Watsuji Tetsuro (1889-1960): 20th-century Japanese philosopher whose works focus on ethics.

• Zange: (Japanese, Buddhism) Deep reflection, conceived of as a form of repentance by Tanabe Hajime (1885-1962).

***http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/buddhism/BGLOSSRY.HTM has a comprehensive glossary of Buddhist terms. It is from the University of Wyoming, and is a very useful link for students.

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