Fa Yun
Fa Yun (A.D. 467-529) was a great Dharma master of the Satyasiddhi School, also a scholar of the Nirvana School. He wrote a commentary on Lotus Sutra, which is generally accepted by Japanese Buddhism later.

First Council
Also known as 500 Council, Theravada Council", The First Compilation, etc. The assembly of 500 leading Bhikhus gathered for 3 months after the Buddha's death to compile the Buddhist sutras. It was held at Cave of the Seven Leaves near Rajagaha.

In the assembly, Ananda recited the Sutta-pitaka, Upali recited the Rules of Disciplines of the Order, i.e., Vinaya-pitaka, and Kassapa recited the Abhidhamma. Thus, the Tripitaka was adopted as a unity of doctrines and opinions within the religious order, and also an orthodox teaching for the Buddhists to follow.

Five Basic Afflications
The five fundamental conditions of the passions and delusions:
1.wrong view, which are common to the Trailokya
2.clinging or attachment in the Desire Realm
3.clinging or attachment in the Form Realm
4.clinging or attachment in the Formless Realm
5.the state of unenlightenment or ignorance in Trailokya, which is the root-cause of all distressful delusion.

Five Bhikshus
The first five of Buddha's converts:

in Pali (P)
in Sanskrit (S)
Ajnata-Kaundinya
Ajnata-Kondanna

Bhadrika
Bhaddiya

Asvajit
Assagi

Vaspa
Vappa

Mahanaman
Mahanama

They followed Shakyamuni to practice asceticism, but left him when he abandoned such practices. Later, when Shakyamuni attained Buddhahood, his first sermon was preached in Deer Park to these men, who became his first disciples.

Five Categories of Untranslated Terms
Chinese T"ang Dynasty Master of the Tripitaka Hsuan-Tsang established five categories of words which should be left untranslated
1.the esoteric
2.words having multiple meanings
3.words for things not existing in China
4.words not translated in accord with already established precedent
5.words left untranslated in order to give rise to wholesomeness and respect

Five Commandments
See Five Precepts.

Five Eyes
There are five kinds of eyes or vision

1.human eye - it is our flesh eye, an organ to see an object with limitation, for instance, in darkness, with obstruction.
2.devine eye - it can see in darkness and in distance, attainable by men in dhyana (concentration/meditation).
3.wisdom eye - the eye of Arhat and Two Vehicles i.e. the sound-hearers (Sravaka) and the Enlightened to Conditions (Praetyka-Buddha). It can see the false and empty nature of all phenomena.
4.dharma eye - the eye of Bodhisattva. It can see all the dharmas in the world and beyond the world.
5.buddha eye - the eye of Buddha or omniscience. It can see all that four previous eyes can see.

Five Forms of Decaying
When the devas are dying, there are five symptoms:
1. the flowers around the crown
2. the clothes being dirty
3. having unpleasant smell in the body
4. sweating in armpit
5. Being unhappy in seat

Five Messengers
They are five messengers of Manjusri:
1. Kesini
2. Upakesini
3. Citra
4. Vasumati
5. Akarsani

Five Offences
The five rebellious acts or deadly sins:
(1) parricide, i.e., killing father
(2) matricide, i.e., killing mother
(3) killing an arhat
(4) shedding the blood of a Buddha
(5) destroying the harmony of the sangha, or fraternity.

Five Precepts
Or Five Commandments for layman
(1) No killing
(2) No stealing
(3) No sexual misconduct/adultery
(4) No lying
(5) No intoxicant

It is essential for the rebirth in human realms.

Five Skandhas
Or Five Aggregates, that is, the five components of an intelligent beings, or psychological analysis of the mind:
1.Matter or Form (rupa) - the physical form responded to the five organs of senses, i.e., eye, ear, nose, tongue and body
2.Sensation or Feeling (vedana) - the feeling in reception of physical things by the senses through the mind
3.Recognition or Conception (sanjna) - the functioning of mind in distinguishing and formulating the concept
4.Volition or Mental Formation (samskara) - habitual action, i.e., a conditioned response to the object of experience, whether it is good or evil, you like or dislike
5.Consciousness (vijnana) - the mental faculty in regard to perception, cognition and experience

Five Vehicles
Pancayana in Sanskrit. The Five Vehicles conveying the karma-reward which differs according to the vehicle:
1.Human Vehicle - rebirth among human conveyed by observing the Five Commandments (Five Precepts)
2.Deva Vehicle - among the devas by the Ten Forms of Good Actions (Ten Wholesomeness)
3."Sound-Hearing" Arhat - among the sravakas by the Four Noble Truths
4."Enlightened by Conditions" Arhat - among the pratyeka-buddhas by the Twelve Nidanas
5.Bodhisattva - among the Bodhisattvas by the Six Paramita

Five Wisdoms
1.Wisdom of the Embodied Nature of Dharma Realm
- derived from amala-vijanana, i.e. pure consciousness (or mind).

2.Wisdom of the Great Round Mirror
- derived from alaya-vijanana, (8th consciousness) reflecting all things.

3.Wisdom in regard to all things equally and universally
- derived from manovijanana (7th consciousness).

4.Wisdom of profound insight, or discrimination, for exposition and doubt - destruction - derived from the mind consciousness (6th consciousness).

5.Wisdom of perfecting the double work of self welfare and the welfare of others
- derived from the five senses (1st to 5th consciousness).

Flower Adornment Sutra
One of the most important sutra in Buddhism, particularly Mahayana Buddhism. There are many volumes in the Sutra. It describes the entire Buddha Realm which is, of course, not easy to visualize. See also Avatamsaka Sutra.

Foremost Paramita
It refers to the perfect principle of Middle Way. It is neither birth nor death, without dwelling in Nirvana. It is the substance of everything beyond words and conceptual thinking.

Four Aspects (of Buddhist Dharma)
(1) the teaching
(2) the principle
(3) the practice
(4) the fruit/reward/result

Four Castes
The class system in ancient India:

1.Brahman - the highest caste,
2.Kshatriyas (royal families) - the warrior,
3.Vaishyas (ordinary citizen),
4.Sudras (slaves).

Four Fearlessness
There are four kinds of fearlessness, of which there are two groups:
A.Buddha's fearlessness arises from
1.his omniscience
2.perfection of character
3.overcoming opposition
4.ending of suffering
B.Bodhisattva's fearlessness arises from
1.powers of memory
2.power of moral diagnosis and application of the remedy
3.power of ratiocination
4.power of solving doubts

Four Fruition
Also called the "Four Fruits", the "Four Rewards", or the "Four Phala". These are four grades of arhatship, namely:
1.Srota-apanna (Srota-apanna in Sanskrit, Sota-panna in Pali) : has entered the stream of holy living; the first stage of the arhat, that of a Sravaka
2.Sakrdagamin (Sakrdagamin in Sanskrit, Sakadagamin in Pali) : comes to be born once more; the second grade of arhatship involving only one birth
3.Anagamin: will not be reborn in this world (i.e. Six Paths), but in the Form Realm or Formless Realm, where he will attain to Nirvana
4.Arhat: enters Nirvana. All Karma of reincarnation is destroyed. He also reaches a state of no longer learning. He is the highest Saint in Hinayana in contrast with the Bodhisattva as the Saint in Mahayana

Four Great Bodhisattva
They represent the four major characters of Bodhisattva:
1.Manjusri - Universal Great Wisdom Bodhisattva
2.Samantabhadra - Universal Worthy Great Conduct Bodhisattva
3.Ksitigarbha - Earth Treasury King Great Vow Bodhisattva
4.Avalokitesvara - Guan Shr Yin Great Compassion Bodhisattva

Four Great Elements
All matters are formed and are composed by four conditioned causes :
(1) earth, which is characterized by solidity and durability
(2) water, which is characterized by liquid/fluid and moisture
(3) fire, which is characterized by energy and warmth
(4) wind, which is characterized by gas/air movement

Four Great Vows
1.Vow to take across the numberless living beings.
2.Vow to cut off the endless afflictions.
3.Vow to study the countless Dharma doors.
4.Vow to realize the supreme Buddha Way.

Four Holy Realms
They are Sravaka, Praetyka-Buddha, Bodhisattva, and Buddha.

Four Immeasurable Minds
See Four Unlimited Minds.

Four Marks
A mark is a notion of form. In Diamond Sutra, it states that people attach to the Four Marks which hinder them from Buddhahood. Conversely, those who see all marks as no mark are Buddhas. The Four Marks are
1.a mark of self
2.a mark of others
3.a mark of sentient being
4.a mark of life

Four Noble Truths
It is the primary and fundamental doctrines of Shakyamuni
1.Doctrine of Suffering - suffering is a necessary attribute of sentient existence (Effect of Suffering)
2.Doctrine of Accumulation - accumulation of suffering is caused by passions (Cause of Suffering)
3.Doctrine of Extinction - extinction of passion (Effect of Happiness)
4.Doctrine of Path - Path leading to the extinction of passion (Cause of Happiness); i.e. Eightfold Path.
The first two are considered to be related to this life, and the last two to the life outside and beyond this world.
The Four Noble Truths were first preached to Shakyamuni's five former ascetic companions.

Four Phala
See Four Fruition.

Four Reliance (to learning Buddhist Dharma)
The four standards of Right Dharma which buddhist should rely on or abide by:
1.to abide by the Dharma, not the person
2.to abide by the sutras of ultimate truth, not the sutras of incomplete truth
3.to abide by the meaning, not the word
4.to abide by the wisdom, not the consciousness

Four Seals
They are:
1.All phenomena are impermanent.
2.All Dharma are not-self.
3.The eternity is Nirvana.
4.All sensations are suffering.

Four Sects of Hinayana
From the time of Ashoka, there were four principal schools out of the Eighteen sects of Hinayana, namely Mahasanghika, Sthavirah, Mulasarvastivadah and Sammatiyah.

Four Unlimited Mind
The mind of Bodhisattva:
1. Kindness
2. Compassion
3. Delight
4. Renunciation

Four Virtues
The four Nirvana virtues:
(1) Eternity or permanence
(2) Joy
(3) Personality
(4) Purity

These four important virtues are affirmed by the sutra in the transcendental or nirvana-realm.

Four Ways (of learning Buddhist Dharma)
(1) Belief/faith
(2) Interpretation/discernment
(3) Practice/performance
(4) Verification/assurance

These are the cyclic process in learning a truth.

Fourfold Assembly
Or the Four Varga (groups) are bhiksu, bhiksuni, upasaka and upasika, i.e. monks, nuns, male and female devotees.

Fundamental Face
Also known as Fundamentally Unborn. A common term used in Chan practice.

It is actually the fundamental mind, considered to be the Buddha's Dharma Body. It is the form of the fundamental truth, so called True Suchness or Bhutaththata.

five grave offenses

Offenses that cause rebirth in the Uninterrupted Hell. They are: (1) killing one's father, (2) killing one's mother, (3) killing an Arhat, (4) causing dissension within the Sangha, and (5) causing the Buddhas to bleed.

Five Precepts

1.No Killing
2.No Stealing
3.No Sexual Misconduct
4.No Lying
5.No Taking of Intoxicants.

five raging skandas

See "five skandas."

five skandas

Five "components," or "aggregates," that represent the body and the mind. The five skandas are (1) form, (2) feeling, (3) conception, (4) impulse, and (5) consciousness. In the physical sense, form is the physical body and consciousness is the faculty of awareness. The best known reference to the five skandas is found in the Heart Sutra, which says that by realizing that the skandas are intrinsically empty, Bodhisattva Guan Yin escaped all suffering. Only by internalizing the Truth of emptiness can the cultivator escape suffering.

five turbidities

The five turbidities are: corruptions, defilements, depravities, filths, and impurities. More specifically, they are: (1) the defilement of views (when incorrect, perverse thoughts and ideas are predominant); (2) the defilement of passions (when all kinds of transgressions are exalted); (3) the defilement of the human condition (when people are usually dissatisfied and unhappy), (4) the defilement of the lifespan, when the human life-span as a whole decreases; and (5) the defilement of the world age, when war and natural disasters are rife. These wretched conditions, viewed from a Buddhist perspective, can actually constitute aids to enlightenment, as they can spur practitioners to more earnest cultivation.

Flower Adornment Assembly

The assembly of sages who were present when Shakyamuni Buddha spoke the Flower Adornment Sutra.

Flower Adornment Sutra

The basic text of the Avatamsaka School. The Flower Adornment Sutra, one of the longest Sutras, was spoken by Shakyamuni immediately after he attained enlightenment. It is traditionally believed that Buddha spoke the Sutra to an assembly of Bodhisattvas and other high spiritual beings while he was in deep samadhi. The Flower Adornment Sutra (Sanskrit: Avatamsaka Sutra) has been described as the epitome of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment and Buddhist experience. It is studied by cultivators in all schools of Mahayana Buddhism -- in particular, Pure Land and Chan.

Forty-Eight Great Vows

A set of vows made by Bodhisattva Dharamakara, who later attained Buddhahood and became Amitabha Buddha. In the 48 Great Vows, Dharamakara pledged that once he became a Buddha, he would create the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and would guarantee rebirth there to anyone who would recite his name with utmost sincerity, particularly at the time of death. Dharamakara fulfilled this vow when he attained Buddhahood and became Amitabha Buddha. See also Dipankara, Dharamakara. Dharamakara's 48 Great Vows are listed and described on the page that summarizes "The Infinite Life Sutra."

four constituents

Earth, water, wind, and fire.

four fruits

Four levels of enlightenment, culminating in Arhatship. Arhats are no longer subject to rebirth in samsara.

four grades of disciples

A term that refers to four levels of disciples in the Small Vehicle school of Buddhism. These levels are, starting with the lowest: (1) the Srotapana, who lives in this saha world but has reversed the cycle of birth and death and will never have to be reborn here; (2) Sakridagamin, who is destined to have only one more rebirth in this world before attaining nirvana; (3) the Anagamin , who has advanced beyond this world and has been freed from the cycle of birth and death, and (4) the Arhat, who is free from all attachment to existence and can attain nirvana whenever he chooses to pass from this life.

Four Grand Vows

Four great vows taken by Bodhisattvas. For details, see the section titled "The First Practice" in Part 3 of the Chin Kung commentary titled "The Three Conditions."

Four Great Bodhisattvas

There are four great Bodhisattvas: Manjushri Bodhisattva, who is foremost in wisdom; Guan Yin (Sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara), who is foremost in great compassion; Earth Store (Sanskrit: Kshitigarbha) , who is foremost in the strength of vows; and Universal Worthy (Sanskrit: Samatrabhadra), who is foremost in practice.

four great debts

Debts to (1) one's parents, (2) the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), (3) the founders of the nation/enlightened temporal leaders and (4) all sentient beings ("all men were my fathers, all women my mothers" in past lives).

four kinds of birth

Four ways in which sentient beings are born: (1) from the womb, (2) from eggs, (3) from heat and moisture, and (4) by metamorphosis. four oral evils Lying, erotic language, evil talk (impolite, scornful, or hostile language), and two-tongued talk (using language to divide other people's friendship and mutual trust).

fourfold assembly

The great assembly of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.