End Notes

Becoming (bhava): States of sensuality, form, & formlessness that can develop from craving & clinging, and provide the condition for birth on both the internal & external levels.

Binding (vāna): Related terms (cf. nibbāna—nibbuta) would be vivaṭa, open; saṅvuta, closed, restrained, tied up; & parivuta, surrounded. See PTS Dictionary, *Varati and *Vuṇāti.

Brāhman: The brāhmans of India have long maintained that they, by their birth, are worthy of the highest respect. Buddhists borrowed the term, ‘brāhman,’ to apply to those who have attained the goal, to show that respect is earned not by birth, race, or caste, but by spiritual attainment.

Effluent (āsava): Four qualities—sensuality, views, becoming, & ignorance—that ‘flow out’ of the mind and create the flood (ogha) of the round of death & rebirth. Alternative translation: fermentation.

Factors for Awakening (sambojjhaṅga): The seven qualities, developed through jhāna, that lead the mind to Awakening are (1) mindfulness, (2) analysis of phenomena, (3) persistence, (4) rapture, (5) serenity, (6) concentration, & (7) equanimity.

Fetters (saṅyojana): The ten fetters that bind the mind to the round of death & rebirth are (1) identity views, (2) uncertainty, (3) grasping at habits & practices, (4) sensual passion, (5) irritation, (6) passion for form, (7) passion for formlessness, (8) conceit, (9) restlessness, & (10) ignorance.

Hindrances (nīvaraṇa): The five hindrances that prevent the mind from gaining concentration are (1) sensual desire, (2) ill will, (3) sloth & torpor, (4) restlessness & anxiety, and (5) uncertainty.

Kinsman of the Heedless: An epithet for Māra.

Māra: The personification of evil & temptation.

Nāga: A term commonly used to refer to strong, stately, & heroic animals, such as elephants & magical serpents. In Buddhism, it is also used to refer to those who have attained the goal.

Stress (dukkha): Dukkha, which is traditionally translated in the Commentaries as, ‘that which is hard to bear,’ is notorious for having no truly adequate equivalent in English, but ‘stress’—in its basic sense as a strain on body or mind—seems to be as close as English can get. In the Pali Canon, dukkha applies both to physical & to mental phenomena, ranging from the intense stress of acute anguish or pain to the innate burdensomeness of even the most subtle mental or physical fabrications.

Such (tādin): An adjective to describe one who has attained the goal. It indicates that the person’s state is indefinable but not subject to change or influences of any sort.

Tathāgata: Literally, ‘one who has become real (tatha-āgata)’ or ‘one who has truly gone (tathā-gata), ‘an epithet used in ancient India for a person who has attained the highest religious goal. In Buddhism, it usually refers specifically to the Buddha, although occasionally it also refers to any of his disciples who have attained the Buddhist goal.