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59 Korean Buddhist terms, with plain-English meanings and paths to the articles that explain them. Look up a word you have read, heard or seen.
59 terms
- Banbae반배
- Small standing bow
A small bow while standing; different from a floor prostration.
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- Baru발우
Bowls used in a formal monastic meal.
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- Barugongyang발우공양
- Formal bowl meal
A formal meal practice using monastic bowls. It is not another name for every meal eaten at a temple.
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- Beomjong범종
A Buddhist temple bell.
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- Beop법
- Dharma
The teaching.
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- Beopdang법당
A Buddhist worship or Dharma hall; particular halls have their own names.
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- Bosal보살
- Bodhisattva
A figure associated with awakening and the benefit of beings.
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- Bucheo부처
- Buddha
An awakened one.
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- Bucheonim osin nal부처님오신날
- Buddha’s birthday
The eighth day of the fourth lunar month in this tradition.
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- Bul불
- Buddha
The Buddha Jewel.
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- Buseok부석
Floating stone, the name preserved in Buseoksa.
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- Chadam차담
Conversation over tea.
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- Chamseon참선
Practicing Seon.
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- Choui Uisun초의 의순
Late-Joseon Buddhist master associated with tea culture.
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- Daejeokgwangjeon대적광전
- Hall of Great Tranquil Light
A hall associated with Vairocana Buddha.
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- Daeungjeon대웅전
- Hall of the Great Hero
A Buddha hall ordinarily dedicated to Shakyamuni. The particular temple explains its own arrangement.
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- Dancheong단청
Ornamental painting of architectural surfaces.
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- Dancheongjang단청장
The skilled craft or its practitioner, depending on context.
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- Datjip닫집
An architectural canopy framing the enshrined Buddha image.
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- Doryang도량
A place or precinct of Buddhist practice.
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- Gaksu각수
A carver of characters on printing blocks.
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- Ganhwa Seon간화선
- Hwadu-centered Seon practice
A form of Seon centered on inquiry through a hwadu. It is not a name for every kind of meditation.
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- Geumgang Gyedan금강계단
Diamond Precept Platform.
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- Geungnakjeon극락전
- Paradise Hall
A hall associated with Amitabha Buddha.
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- Gongyang공양
An offering; meals also have religious meaning.
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- Gwaebul괘불
A large hanging Buddhist painting used in outdoor rituals.
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- Gwaneum관음
Korean name for Avalokiteshvara, associated with compassion.
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- Hapjang합장
- Palms-together gesture
Joining the palms in a respectful gesture. It can accompany a standing bow.
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- Hubulhwa후불화
A painting behind the Buddha image.
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- Hwadu화두
A focus of inquiry in Ganhwa Seon, not a trivia question.
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- Hwaeom화엄
Korean name of the Huayan or Flower Garland tradition.
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- Hwajaeng화쟁
Reconciliation of differing Buddhist interpretations.
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- Hwaseung화승
A painting monk.
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- Iljumun일주문
- One-pillar gate
A named gate at the approach to many temples. It belongs to an entrance sequence, not a universal plan followed by every temple.
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- Jajang자장
Silla monastic associated with Tongdosa’s founding and relic tradition.
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- Janggyeong Panjeon장경판전
The depositories, not the woodblocks themselves.
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- Jijang지장
- Kshitigarbha
A bodhisattva associated with compassion for suffering beings, represented in the featured Goryeo painting in a monk-like form.
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- Keunjeol큰절
- Full bow
A full floor bow. Learn the movement and suitable alternatives from the host.
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- Madang마당
An open yard or courtyard.
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- Moktak목탁
A wooden percussion instrument; not a bronze bell.
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- Osinchae오신채
The five pungent vegetables traditionally avoided in the account cited here.
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- Palman Daejanggyeong팔만대장경
- Tripitaka Koreana
The Buddhist canon associated with the wooden printing collection.
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- Sachal eumsik사찰음식
- Temple food
Food of temple life; not a single serving ceremony.
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- Sambo삼보
- Three Jewels
Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
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- Sansa산사
Mountain monastery; also used in the name of the particular UNESCO serial property.
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- Seoktap석탑
- Stone pagoda
A stone devotional structure with stacked tiers; not a worship hall.
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- Seolhwa설화
Traditional narrative; its genre should not be confused with an eyewitness record.
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- Seon선
A Buddhist meditation tradition; related to Chan and Zen.
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- Seonamsa선암사
The monastery in Suncheon associated with this bridge.
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- Seonmyo선묘
The woman and dragon protector in the founding legend.
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- Seung승
- Sangha
The community; the grouping emphasizes monastic community.
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- Seungseongyo승선교
The named stone bridge at Seonamsa, often shortened to Seungseon Bridge in English.
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- Sunim스님
- Respectful address for a monastic
Sunim is a respectful way to address a Buddhist monk or nun in Korean.
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- Taenghwa탱화
- Scroll-style Buddhist painting
A painting format. Hubulhwa describes a position behind a Buddha image, not a synonym for every Buddhist painting.
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- Uisang의상
Silla teacher associated with Hwaeom, 625–702.
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- Wonhyo원효
Silla Buddhist thinker, 617–686.
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- Yebul예불
A Buddhist service.
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- Yeombul염불
Recitation; not a second spelling of yebul.
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- Yeondeunghoe연등회
Lantern-lighting festival.
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