This literally means ‘The Awakened One’ or ‘Enlightened One’. The Buddha was a human being – he did not claim to be a god or prophet – who became ‘enlightened’, which means that, through his own efforts, he came to understand what life was all about. In Mahayana Buddhism there are many Buddhas. For them, the word ‘Buddha’ can also refer to the way things really are as opposed to the way things seem to be to human perception.

Along with the Dhamma and the Sangha, the Buddha is one of the ‘three jewels’ of Buddhism that followers depend upon for their lasting happiness. A Mahayana temple might contain images of several different Buddhas.

Buddhism is a religion (followers prefer the term “spiritual path”) of around 500 million people, who follow the teachings that began with the Buddha, a man who lived in ancient India around the 5^th Century BCE.

Buddhist texts were written in many different languages. Pali is the language of the texts of the Theravada school, whilst Sanskrit is used for general Mahayana texts. Although Japanese, Chinese and Tibetan texts are important too, we have just provided Pali words first and Sanskrit where there is an alternative.

The teachings of the Buddha about the truth of how and why things are the way they are.

Along with the Buddha and the Sangha, the Dhamma is one of the ‘three jewels’ of Buddhism that followers depend upon for their lasting happiness.

The law of cause and effect: the idea that every action produces a reaction.

If a person does good things, it will be of benefit to the world and their own soul (good karma); bad actions will bring bad results – either in this life or in the next rebirth.

This literally means ‘blowing out’, like the blowing out of a flame. In Buddhism it usually refers to the state of secure perfect peace that follows once a person has got rid of their greed, hatred and ignorance.

As well as Nibbana, Buddhists also speak about Parinibbana which is the final and complete state reached by a Buddha who comes to the end of their earthly life.

This is the name given to the Buddha Day festival and also to a month in the Theravada Buddhist calendar.

According to tradition, the Buddha became enlightened and passed away on the same day of the year that he was born. Theravada Buddhists remember this anniversary on the first full moon of Wesak (in May or June). Some Buddhists, for example those in the Zen tradition, celebrate only the Buddha’s birth at this time.

This literally means ‘clear-seeing’ and is a kind of meditation intended to help people see the world as it really is, so that they can get rid of their attachment to the wrong things. 

Vipassana meditation is where you look beyond the surface level of everything and focus the mind on observing feelings in the body and in the mind. The aim is to experience the underlying – and therefore real – nature of things, and to allow all forms of attachment to disappear.