Pali Vocabulary

律藏

Basket of Discipline / Monastic code

compound: vinaya (leading away, discipline — from vi + neti) + piṭaka (basket)

The first of the three piṭakas — the monastic code containing the rules of training (sikkhāpada) for monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunīs), the stories of their origin, and procedures for the Sangha. The Vinaya Piṭaka has three sections: Suttavibhaṅga (analysis of the monastic rules), Khandhaka (procedures for the Sangha), and Parivāra (summary appendix). The bhikkhu's Pātimokkha contains 227 rules; the bhikkhunī's Pātimokkha contains 311 rules. The Vinaya is said to be the lifespan of the Dispensation (sāsana).

經藏

Basket of Discourses

compound: sutta (discourse) + piṭaka (basket)

The second piṭaka — the collection of discourses (suttas) spoken by the Buddha (and occasionally by senior disciples). It contains the five Nikāyas: Dīgha (34 long suttas), Majjhima (152 medium suttas), Saṃyutta (thousands of grouped suttas), Aṅguttara (numerically arranged suttas), and Khuddaka (18 minor texts, including Dhammapada, Sutta Nipāta, Theragāthā, and Jātakas). The Sutta Piṭaka is the primary source for the Buddha's teachings on practice and liberation.

論藏

Basket of Higher Teaching

compound: abhidhamma (higher/further Dhamma — abhi + dhamma) + piṭaka

The third piṭaka — the systematic philosophical and psychological analysis of mental and material phenomena. The seven books of the Pali Abhidhamma Piṭaka are: Dhammasaṅgaṇī, Vibhaṅga, Dhātukathā, Puggalapaññatti, Kathāvatthu, Yamaka, and Paṭṭhāna. The Abhidhamma classifies consciousness (citta: 89/121 types), mental factors (cetasika: 52), matter (rūpa: 28), and Nibbāna — the four ultimate realities (paramattha-dhammā). It is the foundational text of Theravāda Buddhist psychology.

比丘

Monk / Mendicant

masculine noun (u-stem): from bhikkhati (to beg, to go on alms round)

An ordained Theravāda monk — one who has received the full ordination (upasampadā) and lives according to the 227 rules of the Pātimokkha. Bhikkhu means literally 'one who begs (for food)' — a reference to the daily alms round (piṇḍapāta) that is central to the monastic life. The bhikkhu's role in the Saṅgha is to maintain the Vinaya, practise the path, and preserve and transmit the Dhamma. In the Three Jewels, the conventional Saṅgha is composed of bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs.

比丘尼

Nun / Female monastic

feminine noun (ī-stem): feminine of bhikkhu

An ordained Theravāda nun — one who has received full ordination and lives according to the 311 rules of the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha. The order of bhikkhunīs was founded by Mahāpajāpati Gotamī (the Buddha's aunt and stepmother) after the Buddha agreed, at Ānanda's request, to allow women full ordination. The bhikkhunī order had declined and disappeared in Theravāda countries but has been revived in modern times, particularly in Sri Lanka and the West, with considerable controversy regarding valid ordination lineages.

八敬法

Eight heavy rules (for nuns) / Eight principles of respect

compound: garu (heavy/weighty — adjective) + dhamma (rule/teaching)

The eight 'heavy rules' (also called the eight conditions, aṭṭha garu-dhammā) that Mahāpajāpati Gotamī accepted as the conditions of bhikkhunī ordination. These rules place the bhikkhunī order in formal seniority below the bhikkhu order. They have been controversial — some modern scholars argue they are later additions; others hold they are canonical. Their content, historical context, and contemporary relevance are central topics in the revival of the bhikkhunī ordination in modern Theravāda countries.

優婆塞

Male lay follower / Lay devotee

masculine noun (a-stem): from upa + āsati (to sit near) — 'one who sits near [the teacher]'

A male lay Buddhist who has taken the Three Refuges (ti-saraṇa) and the Five Precepts (pañca-sīla). Upāsakas form one of the four assemblies (parisā) of the Buddha's community along with bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, and upāsikās. Their role is to support the Sangha with material requisites (food, robes, shelter, medicine) and to practise the Dhamma in a lay context. Famous upāsakas in the Pali Canon include Anāthapiṇḍika and Citta-gahapati.

優婆夷

Female lay follower / Female lay devotee

feminine noun (ā-stem): feminine of upāsaka

A female lay Buddhist who has taken the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. Upāsikās are the fourth of the four assemblies. Famous upāsikās include Visākhā (the great female lay patron) and Khujjuttarā (lay servant of Queen Sāmavatī). In modern Theravāda practice, upāsikās often maintain the eight precepts (aṭṭha-sīla) on Uposatha days and may become prominent teachers and practitioners without formal monastic ordination.