buddhism : Idioms & Phrases

Index

hinayana buddhism

  • noun an offensive name for the early conservative Theravada Buddhism; it died out in India but survived in Sri Lanka and was taken from there to other regions of southwestern Asia
    Hinayana.
WordNet

mahayana buddhism

  • noun one of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing a common search for universal salvation especially through faith alone; the dominant religion of China and Tibet and Japan
    Mahayana.
WordNet

theravada buddhism

  • noun one of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing personal salvation through your own efforts; a conservative form of Buddhism that adheres to Pali scriptures and the non-theistic ideal of self purification to nirvana; the dominant religion of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand and Laos and Cambodia
    Theravada.
WordNet

tibetan buddhism

  • noun a Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism
    Lamaism.
WordNet

zen buddhism

  • noun school of Mahayana Buddhism asserting that enlightenment can come through meditation and intuition rather than faith; China and Japan
    Zen.
  • noun a Buddhist doctrine that enlightenment can be attained through direct intuitive insight
    Zen.
WordNet