Glossary
Here you will find the presentation of the glossary from my book The Secret Book of ZEN. In this glossary, you will find all foreign words used in this book and their meaning at a glance.
The ABC's of Thoughts and Feelings
A technique for processing thinking and behaviors.
Affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements which are mentally repeated and which lead to mental reprogramming and corresponding feelings.
Bodhi mind
The right motivation that leads to success.
Bodhisattva
A Zen monk who, through altruistic compassion, wants to help other people on their way to enlightenment.
Buddha
Literally translated, The Awakened One. Everyone who has awakened is a Buddha; Shakyamuni Buddha was the original Buddha.
Buddha-nature
That part of illuminated emptiness in us that reflects, mirror-like, the emptiness outside of us.
Bodhidharma
The first Chinese Patriarch thanks to whom Chan/Zen became popular.
Catharsis
Purification phase which follows spiritual awakening (satori).
Dharma
The law of the true nature of the world. The state of no-mind and pure being without any reason.
Dharma name
The spiritual name of a Zen monk.
Dyhana
A form of meditation in which the practitioner lets go of the ego and observes, using strong concentration without judgment, true reality. This creates a state of being-one-with-everything.
Gassho
A hand position whereby the palms of both hands are placed together and held. with upward-pointing fingers, in front of the chest.
Doctrine
A set of artificial, mental ideas created by the ego which we unconsciously follow.
Inkin
A bright-sounding bell, used in Zen practice sessions as a signal for events.
Jhāna
Nine different meditational states which must be experienced in succession before satori can be achieved. They were traversed and taught by the Buddha himself.
Joshu
A great Zen master to whom the koan MU can be traced back. He lived in China from 778-897 C.E. Many famous koans and Zen stories are attributed to Joshu.
Karma
The cause-effect principle governing our actions, words and thoughts.
Kesa
Buddha's robe, still traditionally worn by Zen monks today. Their Dharma name is written on the inside.
Koan
A paradoxical Zen puzzle that cannot be solved by rational, ego-based thinking. It is intended to help the practitioner get to emptiness through meditation on the koan, and there to learn the answer.
Kensho
A mini-insight into true reality. In contrast to satori, it is not lasting.
Emptiness
Unchanging principle or original foundation on which all phenomena and manifestations of our world are based.
Mahayana
One school of thought in Buddhism
MU
Traditionally the first koan that Zen disciples receive from their Zen teachers or masters
Patriarch
Zen masters from the old Chinese time of Chan/Zen.
Projection
Inner moods and attitudes of the ego are projected onto the outside world, which throws them back to the sender.
Resonance
Internal responsiveness to external triggers.
Rinzai
A school of Zen
Sampai
Prostration before Buddha or Buddha nature.
Sangha
Community of Buddhists and of all living things
Samadhi
A state of concentration which is sub-divided into positive and absolute samadhi.
Samsara
The wheel of rebirth
Satori
The spiritual awakening featuring the viewing of one’s true nature and of the emptiness of all things. In contrast to kensho, it is lasting and profound.
Skandhas
The five areas of clinging, from which the feeling of having an imaginary ego arises.
Soto
A school of Zen
State of no-mind
Meditative state in which thoughts, feelings and body sensations are absent.
Taku
In Zen practice sessions, two pieces of wood used in addition to the inkin as a signal for events.
Tanden
The abdomen of the body, which is at the same time one’s spiritual center.
Teisho
Teaching presentation of a Zen teacher or master. It deals mostly with koan, Dharma, Buddhism, or Zen questions. The enlightened state of the presenter is essential for a teisho.
Theravada
One school of thought in Buddhism
Zabuton
A thick pad on which the zafu and the knees are placed in the zazen posture.
Zafu
Meditation cushion for zazen
Zazen
Zen meditation done in a special posture
Zen
Japanese word, derived from the Chinese word Chan, which refers to a style of Buddhism, in which a state of meditative depth without any goal is practiced in deep concentration.
Zen group
A group in which people meet to do Zen practice together.
Zen teacher
An enlightened teacher of Zen Buddhism who guides the Zen disciple on the right path.
Zen master
An enlightened teacher of Zen Buddhism, who guides the Zen disciple on the right path, but who furthermore is appointed by his Zen master as successor and lineage-holder of a line, school or style of Zen.
Zen monk
Someone who views the Buddhist teachings as so precious that he aligns his life completely to them. He is ordained as a Zen monk in the so-called Bodhisattva ceremony.
