Glossary

In the Zendo

Ino:
service and chant leader
Doan:
timekeeper and bell ringer
Jisha:
Sensei’s assistant
Zazen:
seated meditation
Kinhin:
walking meditation; can be fast or slow
Rakusu:
a garment worn around the neck of Zen Buddhists who have received the precepts. It is made of strips of cloth, sewn together into a rice field like pattern by the student themselves during their period of preparation for their Jukai ceremony
Jukai:
the ceremony in which a student formally receives the precepts
Precepts:
a condensed form of Buddhist ethical practice
Kesu:
the large bell rung by the Doan
Inkin:
Small, hand held bell
Samu:
working meditation
Gasho:
a ritual gesture formed by placing the hands – palms together, in the ‘prayer’ gesture, and is the most fundamental and also most frequently used of all the in-zou (mudras) in Buddhist practice.
Teisho:
a talk given by a Zen teacher
Zafu:
cushion used for zazen or sitting meditation.
Zabutan:
mat used in meditation

In general use in Zen Buddhism

Avalokiteshvara:
One of the principal Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition; personifies boundless compassion
Buddha:
Shakyamuni. The Illumined One. The main title of the founder of Buddhism after his Enlightenment
Blue Cliff Record:
This collection of 100 koans with appreciatory verses and commentaries is a key text in the Rinzai school. It was studied by Dogen Zenji, who carried a handwritten copy back to Japan from China
Bodhisattva:
One moved by compassionate zeal to aid fellow beings, hence willing to postpone his or her own entrance into Nirvana to this end
Dogen Zenji:
Founder of the Japanese Soto school of Zen, he established Eiheiji, the principal Soto training monastery of Japan. He is the author of the Shobogenzo
Dokusan:
the personal interview between the Roshi and student
Dukkha:
Suffering, stress, pain, misery, sorrow, unhappiness, dissatisfaction with the way things are, a central factor in the human condition, one of the “three marks” of existence
Eightfold Path:
The path that leads to liberation, consisting of right understanding, right aim, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration
Emptiness:
(Sunyata) The actual way in which all things exist, the absence of the apparent inherent existence of things
Enlightenment:
Complete elimination of all negative aspects of the mind and perfection of all positive qualities
Gassho:
To join the palms (in reverence or respect)
Gatha:
Verses; poem composed of them
Heart Sutra:
A distillation of the vast Prajnaparamita literature, it is chanted daily in Zen monasteries
Kanzeon:
(Japanese) Avalokitesvara; The One Who Perceives the Sounds of the World; incarnation of mercy and compassion
Koan:
a story, dialogue, question, or statement, which is used in Zen practice to provoke the “great doubt”, and test a student’s progress in Zen practice
Law of Causal Condition:
The fundamental doctrine of Buddhism that all phenomena in the universe are produced by causation. Since all phenomena result from the complicated causes and effects, all existing things in the universe are inter-dependent, i.e., no self nature or existence on its own. Moreover, all phenomena and things are impermanent (changing constantly). It was to this law that Shakyamuni was awakened when he attained enlightenment
Karma:
The results of actions, which produce effects that may be either good or bad. It is derived from the Law of Causal Condition (Law of Cause and Effect)
Mu:
Case One of the Wu Men Kuan, often the first koan of the Zen student
Roshi:
A Zen master
Satori:
state of consciousness in Zen Buddhism beyond the plane of discrimination and differentiation
Sutra:
a major category of Buddhist scripture
Ten Oxherding Pictures:
traditional images that depict the stages of Zen practice
The Three Jewels:
the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Buddhists take refuge in them thus acknowledging themselves to be Buddhists
Tokudo:
Ordination ceremony in becoming a monk
Zazen:
Seated meditation; dhyana; Zen meditation.
Zazenkai:
extended Zazen meeting
Zen:
Buddhist school or sect favouring meditation and intuition rather than scripture as a means to enlightenment, which passed from China to Japan in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Zendo:
meditation hall; space in a monastery in which zazen is practised; it is often set aside exclusively for this purpose