Introduction
This page provides a glossary of terms –Buddhist and otherwise. I have mostly used, as in outright copy-paste job, definitions from Wikipedia. In other instances I have either added to or modified a copied definition, in order to reflect my personal experience on the subject. And there may even be the odd occasion where the definition will result for the most part from my own reflections.
Glossary
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, who lived and taught around 500 BCE to 400 BCE. Gautama, also known as Sakyamuni or Shakyamuni (“sage of the Shakyas”), is the key figure in Buddhism. The word “buddha” means ‘awakened’, and according to tradition, Siddhartha Gautama is the first human being in this kalpa (an era in Buddhist cosmology) to have attained supreme enlightenment.
More on the Buddha in Wikipedia.
Dharma
For many Buddhists, the Dharma (Sanskrit; Pali: Dhamma) most often means the body of teachings expounded by the Buddha. The word is also used in Buddhist phenomenology as a term roughly equivalent to phenomenon, a basic unit of existence and/or experience.
More on the Dharma in Wikipedia.