b

bala

N [Strength, stability] Immovable stability of dhamma. Unavoidable factor when we practice dhamma.

The five balas

1. saddhā: faith
2. vīriya: effort
3. sati: attention
4. samādhi: concentration
5. paññā: wisdom

bhadanta

[Venerable, venerable person].

bhaṅga

N The fact to deeply perceive the perishable character of all things.

bhante

M Term of calling that a bhikkhu utilises towards another bhikkhu (usually having a higher rank in seniority). Respectful way and substitute of a personal pronoun of the second person while addressing a bhikkhu.

bhava

N [Life]. Existence. Becoming.

bhāvanā

F [Progression, development of the concentration]. Training lying in developing the concentration.

bhaya

N Vision of a danger caused by the observation of mental and physical phenomena.

bhikkhu

M [A being who renounces (the pleasures of the world)]. The most often, this term refers to Buddha's disciples, to the members of the saṃgha. To be a bhikkhu, one should give up all worldly possessions except a bowl, a robe and a few utensils such as a razor, a tooth brush, a water filter, etc. One should then perform a specific ceremony that does unfold according to the rules of the appropriate kammavācā, within a sīmā, in the presence of at least five bhikkhus, and positively answer fifteen questions.

Basically, this term defines the one who seeks detachment and strives to follow this path (with a shaven head or not). The bhikkhu is someone who abandons all enterprises and everything that can bring some enjoyment, possessions or fame. He relentlessly trains for liberation and remains vigilant and attentive to everything that appears to his mind. The rest of the time, he studies and teaches the dhamma.

See also: The monks

bhikkhunī

F A female bhikkhu (see above).

Following the strong insistence of his aunt (Mahā Pajāpati Gotamī), other women and Venerable Ānandā, Buddha consented to found a female saṃgha, which was interrupted around a thousand years later (Around the 6th century of Common era).

See also: Nun's discipline

bhojana

[Food (solid and liquid)].

boddhisatta

M [Future Buddha].

bojjhaṅgā

M [Factor of Knowledge (magga)]. Factor of awakening. There do exist seven of them. nibbāna is experienced as soon as these seven factors are fully developed.

brahmā

N [Noble practice, noble conduct] Being dwelling in the world bearing the same name and which is the loftiest worlds' plane among the four worlds' planes. The world of brahmās is divided up between twenty spheres of existence.

A brahmā being devoid of tactile sense, he cannot develop any akusala. That's why their sphere of existence is called "the world of the ones having a noble conduct". There are three kinds of brahmās.

buddha

T/M [The one who knows]. Omniscient. The one who does reach by himself the knowledge of the four Noble Truths. Perfect Being, Buddha.

byāpāda

M [Hatred, malevolence].