Altar (Butsudan) - [Source: Glossary of Zen Terms] “A Buddha-altar isn't only a place to honor one's ancestors. Within the altar, there is an area where Mt. Sumeru (the mountain at the center of the Buddhist cosmology) is represented and in the center of that area the main image is enshrined. In the same way as a temple's main Dharma Hall, the Buddha-altar is ‘the temple in the middle of the home’” (Terebess, n.d.).
Bodhi Mind - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Mind in which the aspiration for enlightenment has been awakened; the impulse that moves one towards self-realization” (Loori, 2002, p. 261).
Bodhisattva - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “One who practices the Buddha Way and compassionately postpones final enlightenment for the sake of others; the ideal of practice in Mahayana Buddhism” (Loori, 2002, p. 261).
[Source: A Comprehensive Glossary of Zen Buddhism Terminology] “a being who is committed to attaining enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings” (Fuyu, 2023).
The Buddha - See Gautama Buddha.
Dharma - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Universal Truth or law; the Buddha’s teachings; all phenomena that make up reality” (Loori, 2002, p. 262).
The Eightfold Path - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “ The content of the Buddha’s Fourth Noble Truth, the way out of suffering; it consists of right view, right determination, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration; some translators replace ‘right’ with ‘perfect’ to avoid dualistic connotations” (Loori, 2002, p. 263).
Dò„gen (Eihei Dogen OR Dogen Kigen Zenji) - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “(1200-1253) Founder of the Japanese Soto School of Zen; Dogen established Eihei-ji, the principal Soto training monastery in Japan; he is the author of the Shobogenzo, an important collection of Dharma essays” (Loori, 2002, p. 263).
Enlightenment - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “The direct experience of one’s true nature” (Loori, 2002, p. 263). See Nirvana and Satori.
Four Noble Truths - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “The first teaching of the historical Buddha; it addresses the nature of all suffering and points to the way of overcoming suffering; the Truths are: (1) life is suffering, (2) suffering has a cause, (3) there is an end to the cause of suffering, (4) the way to put an end to suffering is the Eightfold Path” (Loori, 2002, p. 264).
Gassho - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Gesture of bringing one’s hands together, palm to pal, embodying the identity of all dualities” (Loori, 2002, p. 264).
[Source: Glossary of Zen Terms] “A mudra expressing nonduality: The palms are joined so that the fingertips are at the height of the nose. The hands are approximately one fist-width away from the face. Hold the palms and fingers of both hands together. Your arms should be slightly away from your chest, your elbows should extend outward from your sides in a straight line parallel with the floor. The tips of your fingers should be approximately the same level as your nose. This is an expression of respect, faith and devotion. Because the two hands (duality) are joined together, it expresses ‘One Mind’” (Terebess, n.d.)
Gatha - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Short sutra that presents the Dharma teachings in terse, pithy wording; frequently chanted” (Loori, 2002, p. 264).
Gautama Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha OR Siddhartha Gautama) - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha and the founder of Buddhism; he was a prince of the Shakya clan, living in the northern India in the sixth century B.C.” (Loori, 2002, p. 268).
Hara - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Physical and spiritual center of one’s body/mind; area in the lower belly used in centering one’s attention in meditation and any activity” (Loori, 2002, p. 264).
[Source: A Comprehensive Glossary of Zen Buddhism Terminology] “The Japanese term for the lower abdomen, considered a center of physical and spiritual energy in Zen practice” (Fuyu, 2023).
Karma - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “The universal law of cause and effect, linking an action’s underlying intention to that action’s consequences; it equates the actions of body, speech, and thought as potential sources of karmic consequences” (Loori, 2002, p. 265).
Kesa - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Monk’s outer robe, worn across one’s shoulder” (Loori, 2002, p. 265).
Kinhin - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Walking meditation; it provides a transitional stage for shifting the concentration developed in zazen into activity” (Loori, 2002, p. 265).
Koan - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “An apparently paradoxical statement or question used in Zen training to induce in the student an intense level of doubt, allowing them to cut through conventional and conditioned descriptions of reality and see directly into their true nature” (Loori, 2002, p. 265).
[Source: A Comprehensive Glossary of Zen Buddhism Terminology] A paradoxical question or statement used mostly within the Rinzai school of Zen to provoke insight and realization, often unanswerable through conventional thinking. (Fuyu, 2023).
Kyosaku - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “‘Wake-up stick’; a flattened stick used by the monitors in the zendo to strike acupressure points on a person’s shoulders, relieving tension and promoting wakefulness” (Loori, 2002, p. 266).
Mahayana - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “‘Great vehicle’; the northern school of Buddhism that expresses and aims at the intrinsic connection between an individual’s realization and the simultaneous enlightenment of all beings” (Loori, 2002, p. 266).
Nirvana - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Union with the absolute; in Zen it is essential to realize that samsara is nirvana, form is emptiness, that all beings are innately perfect from the outset” (Loori, 2002, p. 266).
Oriyoki - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “‘Containing just enough’; set of bowls and the ceremonial meals eaten in silence in Buddhist monasteries” (Loori, 2002, p. 266).
Osho -
Paramita(s) - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Perfections; virtues of attitude and behaviros cultivated by bodhisattvas in the course of their development, necessary on the path of transcendence or realization; ‘reaching the other shore’; the six paramitas are generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and wisdom” (Loori, 2002, p. 267).
Prajna - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Wisdom; not that which is possessed but that which is directly and thoroughly experienced” (Loori, 2002, p. 267).
Rinzai School - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “School of Zen that originated with the great Chinese Zen Master Lin-chi I-hsuan in the inth century and was reformed by Master Hakuin in Japan; it stresses koan practice” (Loori, 2002, p. 267).
Roshi - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “‘Old venerable master’; title of Zen teachers” (Loori, 2002, p. 267).
Samadhi - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “State in which the mind is absorbed in intense concentration, free from distractions and goals; the essential nature of the self can be experienced directly within samadhi” (Loori, 2002, p. 267).
Samsara - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Existence prior to liberation, conditioned by the three attitudes of greed, anger, and ignorance and marked by continuous rebirths” (Loori, 2002, p. 267).
Sangha - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Community of practitioners; all sentient and insentient beings” (Loori, 2002, p. 268).
Satori - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “The experience of awakening; enlightenment” (Loori, 2002, p. 268).
Seiza - [Source: Glossary of Zen Terms] “‘proper sitting’, is the Japanese term for the traditional formal way of sitting in Japan. A sitting position where one kneels and sits back onto the heels. This is the standard position for chanting during service” (Terebess, n.d.).
Sesshin - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “‘Gathering of the mind’; an extended period of intensive meditation practice lasting between five and ten days, centered on zazrn but encompassing every aspect of the daily schedule” (Loori, 2002, p. 268).
Shobogenzo (The Eye and Treasury of the True Law OR The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “A collection of writings and discourses of the Japanese Master Eihei Dogen” (Loori, 2002, p. 268).
Soto School - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “One of the existing schools of Zen Buddhism, founded by Chinese Masters Tung-shan, Liang-chieh, Ts’ao-shan Pen-chi in ninth century; it was revitalized and brought to Japan by Eihei Dogen” (Loori, 2002, p. 268).
Sutra(s) - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Narrative texting consisting chiefly of the discourses and teachings of the Buddha” (Loori, 2002, p. 268).
Upaya - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Skillful means; forms that the teachings take, reflecting their appropriateness to the circumstances in which they appear” (Loori, 2002, p. 270).
Zafu - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Round pillow used in sitting meditation” (Loori, 2002, p. 270).
Zazen - [Source: A Comprehensive Glossary of Zen Buddhism Terminology] “The primary Zen meditation practice, involving seated meditation and breath awareness” (Fuyu, 2023).
Zazen-kai - [Source: A Comprehensive Glossary of Zen Buddhism Terminology] “A group meditation session in Zen Buddhism, often held in a zendo or meditation hall” (Fuyu, 2023).
Zendo - [Source: Glossary in The Eight Gates of Zen] “Meditation Hall” (Loori, 2002, p. 270).