324 GLOSSARYSrama:Qa (Sama:Qa). "Striver." A mem-
ber of the renunciant sects of early India
(after 800 B.C.E.) whose rule usually re-
quired abandoning social and ritual status
and whose doctrines denied the validity of
Vedic revelation in favor of truths discov-
ered direcdy from nature through the use
of reason or meditative experiences. The
early Buddhist etymology for this word
comes from "sama," which means "in
tune," in the sense that the proper sramaQ.a
way of life was in tune with what was nat-
urally right [ 1.2].
Srotapanna (Sotapanna). Streamwin-
ner, one who has entered the stream lead-
ing to nirva7Ja, will never relapse, and is
destined to be reborn at most seven more
times, never in any of the lower realms;
the lowest of the four grades of Noble
Disciples or saints, which are, in ascending
order, (1) srotapanna; (2) salqd-agamin
(sakadagamin), once returner, one who
will have to be reborn in the human world
only once more to become an arhant;
(3) anagamin, nonreturner, one who will
never have to be reborn in this world but
who will be spontaneously reborn in the
highest Brahma realms, to attain nirva7Ja
there; and (4) arhant, one totally freed
from the processes of renewed becoming
and birth [2.3.2].
Sthavira (Thera). "Elder." See
Iheravada.
Stiipa. Memorial shrine or reliquary, es-
pecially to the deceased Buddha [2.5,
3.4.5].
Sukhavati. "Happiness-having"; Pure
Land or Buddha-realm of the Buddha
Amitabha (Amita) [5.5.4].
Siinya. "Empty, zero"; devoid of any
substantial independent underlying reality
(see svabhava). This is the favorite
Mahayana explication of the earlier
anatman doctrine, extending it from the
Abhidharma principle that the person,
being composed of dharmas, is devoid of
self, to the more radical principle that even
dharmas are devoid of any own-nature
[4.2].
Siinyata. "Emptiness."
Siinyavada. The Mahayana teaching that
all dharmas are §unya.
Siinyavadin. Follower of Sunyavada.
Superknowledge (in Sanskrit, abhijfia).
Knowledge attained through meditation.
The six superknowledges are (1) psychic
powers, (2) clairvoyance, (3) knowledge of
others' minds, (4) memory of one's former
lives, (5) clairaudience, and (6) ending of
the asravas. In Buddhism, only the last
attainment is considered transcendent
[1.3.5].
Siitra (Sutta). A Buddhist text, especially
a dialogue or discourse attributed to the
Buddha.
Siitra (Sutta) Pitaka. The collection of
discourses included in the early canons
[3.1.1, 4.1].
Svabhava. "Own-nature." In Hinayana
Abhidharma theory, this is the defining
characteristic that distinguishes one
dharma-type from all others. Mahayana
thinkers attacked this notion on the
grounds that no phenomenon dependent
on conditions could have an independent
nature ofits own [3.2, 4.2].
Tantra. Ritual manual, for which the
school ofBuddhist Tantra is named [6.3].
Tao (Chinese). The Way, the order of the
universe, the way one ought to act to be
in harmony with the cosmos. A native
Chinese concept used to translate a num-
ber of Buddhist terms, including bodhi,
Dharma, and marga (Path) [8.3, 8.4.1].
Taoism (Chinese). A complex of several
systems of practice all claiming as authori-
tative the early works attributed to
Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, including philo-
sophical Taoism, alchemical Taoism, and
magical/popular Taoism, the latter two
being very much interested in physical
immortality.
Tara. "Savioress." Female manifestation
of the protective aspect of Buddhahood,
especially popular in Tibet. Perhaps her
name, taken to mean "star," relates her to
the Babylonian Istar, "saving or lucky star"
[5.4.4].
Tathagata. "He who has come or gone
thus [that is, on the Path of all the Bud-
dhas]" or "He who has reached or become
what is really so, the True." The term the
Buddha used to speak of himself after
Awakening.
Tathagata-garbha. The "womb of
Tathagatahood"; the innate potential for