Glossary

　　This glossary contains Pali terms which aren”t translated when they first appear in the text, as well as terms which require further background explanation even when they are. Dhatu in particular is discussed at length because an acquaintance with traditional Thai physics is needed to understand a number of similes given in the text, even though they don”t explicitly refer to the term.

　　Some Pali terms carry a weight of associations which can”t be borne by single English equivalents. In some such cases, where the terms form the connecting thread in the discussion (e.g., sammati, arammana), I have used a single equivalent throughout the text, and have given a variety of readings here which — if the reader feels inclined — can be read into the text in place of the equivalents used. In other cases (e.g., sati, nirodha) I have used a number of different equivalents in the text, as called for by the context, all of which have been gathered here so that the reader will see that they are meant to be related.

　　In choosing English equivalents for the Pali terms used in the book, I have been guided primarily by the meanings Ajaan Lee himself gives to those terms — either directly, through the way he explains and defines them; or indirectly, through the way he uses them. Some of these meanings differ from those generally accepted at present, in which cases it is up to the reader to discover which interpretations are best by experimenting to see which is most useful in practice.

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　　abhiñña: Intuitive powers which come from the practice of concentration: the ability to display psychic powers, clairvoyance, clairaudience, the ability to know the thoughts of others, recollection of past lifetimes, and the knowledge which does away with mental effluents (see asava).

　　anatta: Not-self; ownerless.

　　anicca(m): Inconstant, unstable, impermanent.

　　anussati: Recollection as a meditation exercise. Strictly speaking, there are seven themes recommended for recollection: the virtues of the Buddha, of the Dhamma, and of the Sangha; moral virtue; generosity; the qualities which lead to rebirth as a heavenly being; and the peace of nibbana. (This last topic is for those who have already experienced a glimpse of nibbana, but have not yet attained arahantship.) In addition, the following practices are also sometimes classified as "anussati": mindfulness of death, mindfulness of breathing, and mindfulness immersed in the body.

　　apaya-bhumi: Realms of deprivation; the four lower states of existence: rebirth in hell, as a hungry shade, as an angry demon, or as a common animal. In Buddhism, none of these states is regarded as an eternal condition.

　　arahant: A person who has abandoned all ten of the fetters which bind the mind to the cycle of rebirth (see sanyojana), whose heart is free of mental effluents (see asava), and is thus not destined for future rebirth. As this word bears a resemblance to the Pali word for "distant" (ara), it is sometimes translated as "one far from evil." An epithet for the Buddha and the highest of his Noble Disciples.

　　arammana: Preoccupation; object or issue of the will; anything the mind takes as a theme or prop for its activity.

　　asava: Mental effluent or pollutant — sensuality, becoming, views, and unawareness.

　　avijja: Unawareness; ignorance; counterfeit knowledge; delusion about the nature of the mind.

　　ayatana: Sense medium. The inner sense media are the sense organs — eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and intellect. The outer sense media are their respective objects.

　　brahma: "Great One" — an inhabitant of the heavens of form or formlessness.

　　buddho (buddha): Awake; enlightened.

　　dhamma (dharma): Event; phenomenon; the way things are in and of themselves; their inherent qualities; the basic principl…

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