Glossary: P.
The glossary is a simple dictionary of terms you will find in Buddhism. You may not find an entry you're looking for. This is because I haven't included it yet. This is so, even if you've clicked a link to it elsewhere. So, if you can't find an entry today, try again at a later date.
Pacifism. See: ahiṃsā.
Pali. This is an ancient Indic language used to write Buddhist sūtras, usually those of the Theravada branch. Compare: Sanskrit.
Pañca-sīla. See: pañca-śīla.
Pañca-śīla. This is a Sanskrit word meaning “Five Precepts”. The Pali word is pañca-sīla. This is a commonly observed set of guidelines for moral behaviour. Expressed negatively it is this. 1. Not to kill or harm sentient beings. 2. Not to take what has not been freely given or sold. 3. To avoid misconduct in sensual matters. 4. To abstain from false or harmful speech. 5. Not to take intoxicants that cloud the mind. Expressed positively it is this. 1. To cultivate loving-kindness. 2. To cultivate generosity. 3. To cultivate simplicity and contentment in living. 4. To cultivate truthfulness and kind speech. 5. To cultivate and maintain clarity of mind.
Paṭicca-samuppāda. See: pratītya-samutpāda.
Patience. See: kṣānti.
Phenomena. Especially “compound phenomena”. See: dharma in sense 3.
Pleasure. See: sukha in sense 2.
Prajñā. This is a Sanskrit word for “insight” or “wisdom”. With karuṇā, compassion, it is the most important virtue in Buddhism. It is the faculty that has intuitive apprehension of the truth of Buddhist teachings. And it is the analytical discrimination of the dharmas, phenomena. It is the antidote to avidyā, ignorance or delusion.
Praṇidhāna. This is a Sanskrit word for the Bodhisattva vows. The Bodhisattva takes these vows at the beginning of his or her spiritual career. They include a promise not to enter Nirvana until all beings have been liberated. See also: bodhi.
Pratītya-samutpāda. This is a Sanskrit word usually translated as “dependent origination.” The Pali word is paṭicca-samuppāda. It is a fundamental concept in Buddhism on causation and ontological status of phenomena, dharmas. The teaching states that all dharmas arise in dependence on causes and conditions and lack self-existence or intrinsic being. The concept is more complex than stated in this glossary. The idea of the nidānas is essential to pratītya-samutpāda. See also: anātman, karma, saṃskṛta.
Precepts. See: pañca-śīla.
Punarbhava. This is a Pali word for “renewed becoming”. It refers to the process of rebirth after death and is synonymous with samsara. Rebirth in Buddhism does not mean reincarnation, in the sense of an eternal, separate soul transferring to a new body. Rather it is the continuation of the psyche with its conditioning and habits. Each rebirth is a new life. Its causes are the akuśala-mūla, the Three Roots of Evil. Rebirth can only cease by attaining Nirvana. See also: karma.