religion, faith - institution to express belief in a divine power; "he was raised in the Baptist religion"; "a member of his own faith contradicted him"

Zen, Zen Buddhism - school of Mahayana Buddhism asserting that enlightenment can come through meditation and intuition rather than faith; China and Japan

Mahayana - a major school of Buddhism teaching social concern and universal salvation; China; Japan; Tibet; Nepal; Korea; Mongolia

Hinayana - a major school of Buddhism teaching personal salvation through one's own efforts

Tantrism - movement within Buddhism combining elements of Hinduism and paganism

Buddhist - one who follows the teachings of Buddha

mandala - any of various geometric designs (usually circular) symbolizing the universe; used chiefly in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation

faith, religion, religious belief - a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality"

Mahayana Buddhism, Mahayana - 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

Theravada, Theravada Buddhism - 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 nontheistic ideal of self purification to Nirvana; the dominant religion of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand and Laos and Cambodia

Lamaism, Tibetan Buddhism - a Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism

Zen, Zen Buddhism - a Buddhist doctrine that enlightenment can be attained through direct intuitive insight

Shingon - a form of Buddhism emphasizing mystical symbolism of mantras and mudras and the Buddha's ideal which is inexpressible

Tantra, Tantrism - doctrine of enlightenment as the realization of the oneness of one's self and the visible world; combines elements of Hinduism and paganism including magical and mystical elements like mantras and mudras and erotic rites; especially influential in Tibet

mantra - (Sanskrit) literally a `sacred utterance' in Vedism; one of a collection of orally transmitted poetic hymns

ahimsa - a Buddhist and Hindu and especially Jainist doctrine holding that all forms of life are sacred and urging the avoidance of violence

karma - (Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation

samsara - (Hinduism and Buddhism) the endless cycle of birth and suffering and death and rebirth

Kuan Yin, Kwan-yin - (Buddhism) a female Bodhisattva; often called goddess of mercy and considered an aspect of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara; identified with Japanese Kwannon

Lamaist - (Buddhism) an adherent of Lamaism

guru - a Hindu or Buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher

Nirvana, enlightenment - (Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness