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.

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

See “religious life.”

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.

See “religious life.”

The observance of celibacy.

See “religious life.”

While in its narrowest sense this term refers to celibacy, Sonam Angdu explains its broader meaning: tshangs pa ’am bsil bar gyur pa’i don du na mya ngan ’das pa la bya, “Those actions that lead beyond sorrow to the goal of purity or peace” (Angdu 62).

Also rendered here as “code of conduct,” “celibacy” and “brahmacarya.”

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.