# Buddhist Text Translation — Terminology

Terms encountered in Chinese-English translation of Dharma study materials. These may vary by translator/context; document actual usage per-project.

## Section headers (common triad)

| Chinese | English options seen | Notes |
|---------|---------------------|-------|
| 法义 | Understanding, Dharma Teachings | |
| 思考 | Contemplation, Reflection | Consistency within a document matters more than which word |
| 练习 | Practice, Application, Exercises | "Application" seen as section header; "Practice"/"Exercise" in running text |

## Key Buddhist terms

| Chinese | English | Pitfalls |
|---------|---------|----------|
| 慈经 | Metta Sutta (Karaniya Metta Sutta) | NOT "Mettavihari Sutta" |
| 回向 | Dedication (of merit) | |
| 因缘之网 | Web of Causes and Conditions | Also "Network of Causes and Conditions" |
| 感恩 | Gratitude | |
| 众生 | sentient beings | Consistent throughout |
| 使人内心调柔 | makes one's heart gentle | 使人 = makes ONE(self), never "makes others" |
| 利益思维 | benefit-oriented thinking | NOT "mindset of benefiting others" — it's about considering benefits TO oneself |
| 恩田 | field of gratitude / gratitude as a field of merit | |
| 观照 | attend to the mind / mindful observation | Contemplative practice, not intellectual study. NOT "observe" (passive) or "study" (analytical). |
| 闻思修 | hearing, contemplating, cultivating | 修 = broad cultivation/practice, not specifically 禅 (meditation). Distinct from 禅修 (meditative cultivation). |
| 八步三禅 | Eight Steps and Three Meditations | Community-specific structured contemplative method |
| 传帮带 | transmit, help, guide (three-part mentoring) | Core community methodology |
| 分灯 | lamp-dividing (decentralization) | Deliberate decentralization of authority across nodes |
| 自觉 | self-awareness, voluntary commitment | First of the "Three Spirits" |
| 法治 | rule-based governance | Second of the "Three Spirits" |
| 无我利他 | selfless service to others | Third of the "Three Spirits" |
| 凡夫心 | ordinary mind | Mind governed by afflictions, contrasted with awakened mind |
| 贪嗔痴 | greed, anger, ignorance (三毒) | The three root poisons: rāga, dveṣa, moha |
| 愿心 | mind of vows, bodhicitta aspiration | Plural "vows" in English |
| 重要感、优越感、主宰欲 | sense of importance, superiority, desire to control | Three ego-driven motivations |

## Structural patterns

- Section numbering: Chinese uses 一、二、三... English should pick one style (Part One/Two, First/Second, I/II) and stick with it.
- Poetry/prayer blocks: Chinese uses parallel structures (感恩... 感恩...; 愿... 愿...). English must match the parallelism.
- 愿 (yuàn) at sentence start = optative "May..." — not "we hope that", not "we should".

## Formatting artifacts

- Stray spaces between Chinese characters (eg. `感 恩 研 究`) are justified-text paste artifacts from the source document — remove them.
- `<!-- === Progress : Below are unprocessed === -->` is a processing marker — remove from final file.
