Dharma Quick Reference Guide
The path for the cessation of suffering
Relative or Worldly Truth (Sambriti Satya)
Absolute Truth (Paramartha Satya)
The Three Dharma Seals (Dharma mudra)
Impermanence (anitya)
Nonself (anatman)
Nirvana
Emptiness (shunyata)
Signlessness (animitta)
Aimlessness (apranihita)
Dharmakaya, the source of enlightenment and happiness
Sambhogakaya, the body of bliss or enjoyment
Nirmanakaya, the historical embodiment of the Buddha
Buddha
Dharma
Sangha
Love (Sanskrit maitri; in Paliit is metta)
Compassion (karuna)
Joy (mudita)
Equanimity (upeksha in Sanskrit and upekkha in Pali)
Desire
Aversion, Ill Will
Sloth & Torpor
Anxiety / Restlessness
Doubt
The Five Aggregates (skandhas)
form
feelings
perceptions
mental formations
consciousness
faith
energy
mindfulness
concentration
insight
Dana Paramita – giving, offering, generosity.
Shila Paramita – precepts or mindfulness trainings
Kshanti Paramita – inclusiveness, the capacity to receive, bear,and transform the pain inflicted on you by your enemies and also by those who love you
Virya Paramita – diligence,energy, perseverance
Dhyana Paramita – meditation
Prajña Paramita – wisdom, insight, understanding. Practicing the Six Paramitas helps us to reach the other shore
The Seven Factors of Awakening (sapta-bodhyanga)
mindfulness
investigation of phenomena
diligence
joy
ease
concentration
letting go
Shamatha (Stopping) Meditation
Stopping
Calming
Resting
Healing
The Twelve Links of Interdependent Co-Arising
Ignorance
Volitional Actions
Consciousness
Mind / Body
Six Sense Organs & Their Objects
Contact
Feeling
Craving
Grasping
Coming to Be
Birth
Old Age & Death
The Five Mindfulness Trainings
Reverence for Life
True Happiness
True Love
Loving Speech and Deep Listening
Nourishment and Healing
The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing
The First Mindfulness Training: Openness
The Second Mindfulness Training:Non-attachment to Views
The Third Mindfulness Training: Freedom of Thought
The Fourth Mindfulness Training: Awareness of Suffering
The Fifth Mindfulness Training: Compassionate, Healthy Living
The Sixth Mindfulness Training: Taking Care of Anger
The Seventh Mindfulness Training: Dwelling Happily in the Present Moment
The Eighth Mindfulness Training: True Community and Communication
The Ninth Mindfulness Training: Truthful and Loving Speech
The Tenth Mindfulness Training: Protecting and Nourishing the Sangha
The Eleventh Mindfulness Training: Right Livelihood
The Twelfth Mindfulness Training: Reverence for Life
The Thirteenth Mindfulness Training: Generosity
The Fourteenth Mindfulness Training: True Love
(see link for all 51)
Fifty Verses on the Nature of Consciousness
(see link for all 50)
(see link for all 50)
Monastic Precepts of Plum Village
(see link for all 50)
The freedoms and advantages of precious human rebirth
The truth of impermanence and change
The suffering of living beings within samsara
Eight Worldly Winds (Vicissitudes)
Pleasure & Pain
Gain & Loss
Praise & Blame
Fame & Disrepute
Five stages to calm our body and mind
Recognition
Acceptance
Embracing
Looking Deeply
Insight
Turning the Wheel of the Dharma
Middle Way
Four Noble Truths
Engagement in the World
The Four Metta Phrases
May I be free from danger
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I love with ease
The Six Mantras of Love
I am here for you.
I know you are there and it makes me happy.
I know you suffer.
I suffer, please help.
This is a Happy Moment.
You are partly right.
The Five Remembrances
I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having ill-health.
I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
I inherit the results of my actions in body, speech, and mind. My actions are the ground on which I stand.
Four Gratitudes
Gratitude to parents, teachers, friends, and all beings.
The Three Realms
The Desire Realm (where we are attached to sensual desire)
Form and Formless Realms (where we are attached to the pleasures of meditative concentration).
Tripitaka
The three collections of discourses, precepts, and commentaries.
Six Elements of True Love
Friendship
Healing
Joy
Letting Go
Respect
Trust
The Five Contemplation
This food is a gift of the whole universe, the earth, the sky, numerous living beings and much hard, loving work.
May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive this food.
May we recognize and transform our unwholesome mental formation, especially our greed, and learn to eat with moderation.
May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering of living beings, stops contributing to climate change, and heals and preserves our precious planet.
We accept this food so that we may nurture our brotherhood and sisterhood, strengthen our Sangha and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings.
The Six Concords taught by the Buddha as guidelines for monastic community practice are
sharing space
sharing the essentials of daily life
observing the same precepts
using only words that contribute to harmony,
sharing insights and understanding
respecting each other's viewpoints
Five Awarenesses
We are aware that all generations of our ancestors and all future generations are present in us.
We are aware of the expectations that our ancestors, our children, and their children have of us.
We are aware that our joy, peace, freedom, and harmony are the joy, peace, freedom, and harmony of our ancestors, our children, and their children.
We are aware that understanding is the very foundation of love.
We are aware that blaming and arguing never help us and only create a wider gap between us, that only understanding, trust, and love can help us change and grow.
The Four Wrong Perceptions
Something that is impure, we call pure
Something that is painful, we call pleasurable
Something that is impermanent, we call permanent
Something that is no-self, we say it has a self
The Four Kinds of Nutriments
Edible Food
Sensory Impressions
Intention/Volition
Consciousness
The Three Kinds of Pride
Thinking I am better than the other(s)
Thinking I am worse than the other(s)
Thinking I am just as good as the other(s)
Metta Practice
May I be peaceful and light in body and in mind.
May I be safe and free from accidents.
May I be free from anger, unwholesome states of mind, fear and worries.
May I know how to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself.
May I learn how to nourish myself with joy each day.
May I be able to live fresh, solid, and free.
May I not fall into a state of indifference or be caught in the extremes of attachment or aversion.
The Three Fierce Mantras ~ Tsangpo Gyare, 12th century Tibetan Buddhist Ascetic
“Whatever has to happen, let it happen!"
“Whatever the situation is, it’s fine!"
“I don’t need anything whatsoever!”