# 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".


## Terms from 人生百问 review

Terms encountered in the *人生百问* review that deserve explicit guidance.
These supplement the general table above.

| Chinese | English | Pitfalls / notes |
|---|---|---|
| 皈依三宝 | take refuge in the Three Jewels | DoT定稿 preferred. Avoid "take refuge hastily" — use "take refuge lightly" |
| 三级修学 | Three-Stage Practice | DoT定稿. Not "Three-Level Study Program" |
| 同喜班 | Tongxi Class | MPI convention; verify if glossary requires translation |
| 人生佛教 | Buddhism for Human Life | Do not conflate with 人间佛教 / Humanistic Buddhism |
| 人间佛教 | Humanistic Buddhism | Distinct from 人生佛教 |
| 善知识 | wise teacher / great teacher / authentic teacher | Avoid redundant "great wise teachers" |
| 大善知识 | great teacher / wise teacher | Redundant to render as "great wise teacher" |
| 依止 | reliance / rely on | "reliance relationship" is awkward; prefer "teacher-student relationship" or "rely on" |
| 报身 | reward body / enjoyment body | Verify target convention; MPI often prefers "reward body" (Skt. *sambhogakāya*) |
| 化身 | transformation body / emanation body | Verify target convention |
| 等流果 | result of equal outflow / correlative effect | Avoid ad-hoc "continuative result" |
| 末法 | Dharma-ending age / Age of Dharma Decline | Check terms DB; avoid new coinages |
| 暇满 | precious human life / leisure and endowment | "Well-endowed Human Form" is formal |
| 暇满人身 | precious human body / well-endowed human form | Context-dependent |
| 定课 | daily practice / fixed chanting session / daily recitation | Context-dependent; check terms DB |
| 八步骤三种禅修 | Eight Steps and Three Types of Meditation | DoT定稿. Not "Three Kinds of Meditation" |
| 八步三禅 | Eight Steps and Three Meditations | Shorter form; verify convention |
| 功德 | merit / virtue | Context-dependent; do not default to "merit and virtue" |
| 福田 | field of merit / field of blessing | Standard |
| 止观 | śamatha-vipaśyanā / calm abiding and special insight | In lists: "śamatha-vipaśyanā" |
| 皈依 | refuge / take refuge | In catalogues: noun form "refuge" |
| 发心 | bodhicitta / aspiration / arousing the mind | In catalogues: noun form "aspiration" |
| 戒律 | precepts / moral discipline | In catalogues: noun form "precepts" |
| 正见 | right view | In catalogues: noun form "right view" |
| 五戒 | five precepts | Standard |
| 惑业 | delusion and karma | Not "confusion and karma" |
| 大自在 | great freedom and ease | "Great freedom" alone loses the "ease" nuance |
| 开启 | awaken / bring forth / unfold | Not "opened up" |
| 迷惑 | delusion | In Buddhist contexts, not "confusion" |
| 凡夫心 | mind of an ordinary being | Avoid Chan "ordinary mind" ambiguity |
| 加持 | blessing / empowerment | "empowers one another" loses nuance; "supports and blesses one another" |
| 四力 (忏悔) | four powers (of confession) | Standard: remorse, support, restraint, refuge/reliance |
| 无缘大慈 | unconditional great compassion | Standard |
| 同体大悲 | great sympathy of seeing others as oneself | Standard |
| 人成即佛成 | When a Human Is Perfected, Buddhahood Is Perfected | Standard rendering |
| 登地菩萨 | bodhisattva who has attained the grounds | Standard |
| 弟子相 | marks of a disciple | Standard |
| 自他相换 | exchanging self and others | Standard |
| 明心见性 | clear the mind and see the nature | "Clear mind and seeing the nature" is slightly off |
| 言语道断，心行处灭 | Where words fall silent and mental activity ceases | "Words are cut off" is too literal |
| 无住生心 | arouse the mind without attachment | Standard |
| 诸法如实相 | true suchness of all phenomena | Standard |
| 颠倒梦想 | inverted dreams | Standard |
| 颠倒妄想 | deluded inversion | Standard |
| 十二因缘 | Twelve Links of Dependent Origination | Standard |
| 无我 | no-self / anatman | Standard |
| 我法二执 | attachment to self and dharmas | Standard |
| 三性 (遍计所执性 / 依他起性 / 圆成实性) | three natures: falsely conceived, dependent, perfectly realized | Standard |
| 末那 | Manas | Standard (Consciousness-Only) |
| 阿赖耶 | Alaya | Standard (Consciousness-Only) |
| 唯识 | Consciousness-Only | Standard |
| 唯识三十论 | Thirty Verses on Consciousness-Only | Standard |
| 认识与存在 | Cognition and Existence | Verify if this is a published translation title |
| 三果 | third fruit / anāgāmi | Standard |
| 现报 / 生报 / 后报 | reward in this life / next life / future life | "present reward, next-life reward, later reward" is acceptable but less standard |
| 中观 | Madhyamaka | Standard |
| 天台 | Tiantai | Standard |
| 一念三千 | three thousand realms in a single thought | Standard (Tiantai) |
| 三传 | Theravada / Chinese Buddhism / Tibetan Buddhism | Standard |
| 南传 | Theravada | Standard |
| 汉传 | Chinese Buddhism | Standard |
| 藏传 | Tibetan Buddhism | Standard |
| 佛陀出世的本怀 | Buddha's original purpose in appearing in the world | Standard |
| 契理契机 | accordant with principle and adapted to the times | Standard |
| 正本清源 | return to the source and clarify what is truly central | Standard |
| 随缘 | responding to conditions / in harmony with conditions | Context-dependent |
| 随喜 | rejoice | Standard |
| 善知识 | wise teacher / good teacher / authentic teacher | Avoid "great wise teachers" |
| 定课 | daily practice / fixed chanting session | Context-dependent |

{% The following terms already appear in the "Key Buddhist terms" table above; they are retained here only when the 人生百问 review adds distinct guidance. %}

| 法义 | Dharma teachings / understanding | Consistency within a document matters |
| 闻思修 | hearing, contemplating, cultivating | 修 is broad cultivation, not just meditation |
| 传帮带 | transmit, help, guide | Three-part mentoring |
| 分灯 | lamp-dividing | Decentralization of authority |
| 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" |
| 重要感、优越感、主宰欲 | sense of importance, superiority, desire to control | Three ego-driven motivations |