ཚངས་པར་སྤྱོད་པ། | Glossary of Terms

The practice of celibacy.

Can refer to celibacy in its narrowest sense; in a broader sense it refers to the conduct of those who have renounced worldly life to devote themselves to spiritual study and practice.

The practice of celibacy or a chaste sexual behavior; this lifestyle also entails different spiritual practices.

A celibate lifestyle focused on spiritual pursuits.

A euphemism for celibacy.

Lit. “brahma conduct,” this denotes the conduct of those who have renounced worldly life and entered the ordained Buddhist Sangha to devote themselves to spiritual study and practice.

Brahman is a Sanskrit term referring to what is highest (parama) and most important (pradhāna); the Nibandhana commentary explains brahman as meaning here nirvāṇa, and thus the brahman conduct is the “conduct toward brahman,” the conduct that leads to the highest liberation, i.e., nirvāṇa. This is explained as “the path without outflows,” which is the “truth of the path” among the four truths of the noble ones. Other explanations (found in the Pāli tradition) take “brahman conduct” to mean the “best conduct,” and also the “conduct of the best,” i.e., the buddhas. In some contexts, “brahman conduct” refers more specifically to celibacy, but the specific referents of this expression are many.

The observance of celibacy.

In Buddhism, a term denoting a religious life grounded in renunciation and chastity. In the brahmanical traditions, this refers specifically to the stage in one’s youth dedicated to focused study of religious scripture and practice.

To maintain chaste conduct.