Glossary

Disclaimer:

This book contains a tangled thicket of Thai, Pali, and Sanskrit terms. There are several different systems of transliteration leading to multiple English spelling for some words. In the original edition, I often just went with what the word sounded like to me, which made some scholarly reviewers groan. So for this revision, I am attempting to be more systematic. My friend Jim (yes, that Jim) suggested I stick with standard spellings that give the best and easiest approximation of actual pronunciations. For example, Pali words ending with a long “a,” such as sala are sometime written “aa.” That’s just confusing, so I leave them with a single “a” at the end. Often, however, the more accurate systems give rise to the least natural pronunciations. For example, as Jim wrote to me:

One online dictionary spells pah (forest) as “bpaa.” The “p” of pah is actually an unaspirated “p”, a sound we don't have in English, hence the use of “bp.” There is an aspirated “p” in Thai in addition to the unaspirated “p.” Phakhao has the typical English pronunciation of an aspirated “p” but in English “ph” is usually pronounced “f.” So to get truly accurate for a non specialist, you need a transcription that reflects that Thai has aspirated and unaspirated “p’s” which are not to be confused with the “f” sound of “ph.” Thai also has long vowels and short vowels, as in salaa which is different from sala. And then there is the whole question of tones. . . .

Ajahn	(Thai) teacher, guru.
alms	donation of food or money for the sake of gaining merit.
alms round	the monks' daily begging round for food.
anapana	(Pali) breathing meditation.
arahant	(Pali) “non-returner.” A monk who has attained enlightenment.
asuras	(Sanskrit) the demi-gods.
baht	Thai currency (1 baht = about 7 cents U.S. in 1985).
bhante	(Pali) term of respect for an elder monk.
bhikkhu	(Pali) literally, a devotee (male), a monk.
bindabat	(Pali) the monks' daily begging round for food. (Often spelled pindabat, but pronounced more like an English “b”)
bodhisattva	(Pali, Sanskrit) a being who has followed the path of enlightenment and is near to nibbana.
bot	(Thai) ordination hall for monks and novices.
Buddha, the	the Awakened One. The Historical Gautama Siddhartha, founder of Buddhism (bodhi = awakening).
Buddhamas	Ajahn Chah's name for the Thai celebration of the birth, death and enlightenment of Gautama Buddha.
chakras	(Sanskrit) centres of energy in the body.
dasana	seems related to Sanskrit “darshana,” the blessing you get by seeing a holy person. At the wat, it means a “damma talk” or sermon given by an ajahn.
deva	(Pali) a god.
deva-realm	world of the gods, a paradise, except that the gods eventually die and are reincarnated in lower realms.
dhamma	(Pali) truth.
Dhamma, the	(Pali) teachings of the Buddha, the Pali suttas, the doctrine of Buddhism.
dhamma talk	a talk on truth, a sermon.
farang	(Thai) foreign, not Thai, foreigners. Use is both singular and plural. Mildly derogatory.
jhana	(Pali, Sanskrit) There are four jhanas, each a distinct level of meditation.
kamma	(Pali) all deeds which determine the present and future lives of a being. Kammic formations are both volitions and memories which cause one to act.
kapi	(Pali) to make allowable. This word, when spoken to a monk, permits him to cut a plant.
karuna	(Pali) compassion towards all beings, one of the four great Buddhist virtues.
kuti	(Thai) small one-room hut where a forest monk lives.
Mahayana	the “greater vehicle” form of Buddhism practised in northern Asia (Japan, China, Tibet, Korea).
merit	positive benefit added to one's kamma as a result of performing good deeds, resulting in better rebirth in future lives.
metta	(Pali) friendliness towards all beings, one of the four cardinal virtues of Buddhism.
nibbana	(Pali) the state of enlightenment, freedom from desire, often misrepresented as a place like heaven. Literally means “despirited,” like a candle which has been blown out. (Sanskrit, nirvana).
pah	(Thai) forest, as in Pah Nanachat, pee (p)ah.
pakhao	(Thai) one who takes the eight precepts and lives in a monastery. In Thailand, usually women.
paise	Indian penny.
pansa	(Pali) the rains retreat, lasting the three months of monsoon season as determined by the lunar calendar. Monks must not spend a night away from their monastery at this time of year.
peepah	(Thai) forest ghost.
precepts	rules taken by a devotee to develop moral purity. Laypeople take five; pakhaos, eight; novices, ten; monks, two hundred and twenty-seven.
rupee	Indian currency (1 rupee = about 8 cents U.S. in 1985).
sabong	(Thai) sarong, a skirt-like cloth worn by members of a monastery in Thailand.
sala	(Thai) main temple of a monastery.
samadhi	(Pali) absorption meditation, “one-pointedness.”
samsara	(Sanskrit, Pali) illusion, “the world.”
sangha	(Pali) the community of Buddhist monks.
sankharas	(Pali, Sanskrit) kammic formations, the concept combines memories and willing.
sati	(Pali) mindfulness, concentration.
sawadi krup	(Thai) polite greeting (spoken by a male).
Shiva	(Sanskrit) the destroyer, one of the three chief divinities of the Hindu pantheon.
sila	(Pali) moral purity.
Tan	(Thai) respectful title for a monk, similar to “reverend” or “sir.”
tantric	ritualistic and magical teachings or schools, found in both Hinduism and Buddhism.
Theravada	The old school of Buddhism, now practised in Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka and on the Indian subcontinent, called the “lesser vehicle” (Hinayana) by Mahayana Buddhists.
tudong	(Thai) a monk's pilgrimage from place to place.
tuk-tuk	(Thai) three-wheeled motor taxi.
Vinaya	(Pali) rulebook and summary of Theravada doctrines.
vipassana	(Pali) insight meditation.
wai	(Thai) Buddhist gesture of respect, palms pressed together, hands held up to the face.
Wan Phra	(Thai) weekly holy day in Thailand, held on new, full and half moon nights, four times a month.
wat	Thai Buddhist temple or monastery.