Key Words in Buddhism

by Ronald Geaves

Daily political events and the steady inevitability of globalism require that informed students and citizens learn something about religious traditions foreign to their own. Designed for both classroom and general use, these handy Key Words guidebooks are essential resources for those who want clear and concise explanations of common terms and unfamiliar concepts of major world religions.

Each pocket-sized volume contains definitions for over 400 terms from religious principles and significant periods to noteworthy figures.

A quick sampling of terms from this

Bodhisattva
Bhavana
Jaramarana
Kalachakra
Mala
Mantra
Nirvana
Samadhi
Zen

Sample

Brahma The four sublime states of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and evenness of mind achieved by the practice of bhavana (see bhavana, metta, karuna, mudita, upekkha ).

Old age and death. The final link in the causal chain of existence which arises from jati or birth . The Buddha left his palace to search for enlightenment after experiencing the shock of seeing old age, sickness and death (see jati, Siddharta Gotma,. nidanas, samsara ).

98 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2006

About the author

Ron Geaves is an Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of History, Archaeology, and Religion at Cardiff University. He held a Chair in Religious Studies at the University of Chester (2001-2007) and a Chair in the Comparative Study of Religion at Liverpool Hope University (2007-2013). He joined the Community Religions Project at the University of Leeds in 1988 where he began to work on the transmigration of South Asian religions to Britain, especially Islam. He completed his PhD thesis ‘Sectarian Influences within Islam in Britain’ which was published as a Community Religions Monograph. He has researched Islam in Britain since that time, publishing several books that explore British manifestations of Sufism.

He was Chair of the Muslims in Britain Research Network (2007-2010) and instrumental in the creation of BRAIS (British Association of Islamic Studies), remains a lifetime member of the committee. He has also been Secretary of AUDTRS, the scholarly body representing all departments of religion in the UK. His work remains focused on the application of religious knowledge to real life affairs and he is a passionate believer in advocacy. As a consequence he has involved in a number of projects bridging academia to government, law, architects and media.