| (Skt =Sanskrit; Tib=Tibetan) |
|
| A |
|
| Abhidhama (Skt;
Tib: chö-ngön- pa) |
One of the three baskets (tripitaka)
of the Buddhist canon, the others being the Vinaya and
the Sutra; the systematized philosophical and psychological
analysis of existence that is the basis of the Buddhist
systems of tenets and mind training. |
| affliction |
See delusion. |
| aggregates (Skt: skandha) |
The five psycho-physical constituents
that make up a sentient being: form, feeling, discriminative
awareness, conditioning (compositional) factors and consciousness. |
| Akshobhya (Skt;
Tib: Mi-kyö-pa "Imperturbable") |
One of the five dhyani buddhas, or
heads of the five buddha families, who represent the fully
purified skandhas, or aggregates, of form, feeling, recognition,
compositional factors, and consciousness. Akshobhya is
blue in color, represents the fully purified aggregate
of consciousness, and is lord of the vajra family. |
| Ajatashatru
(Skt) |
Early Indian king who imprisoned and killed his father, Bimbisara.
Realizing the enormity of this sin and guided by the Buddha,
he purified this negativity and became an arhat. |
| Angulimala
(Skt) |
A character in a classic Dharma story of choosing the wrong
guru and committing horrendous actions. In this case,
he killed 399 people and made a rosary out of their thumbs.
He was prevented by the Buddha from killing his thousandth
victim, which, according to the wrong guru, would have
led him to liberation. He was able to purify and become
an arhat. |
| arhat (Skt; Tib:
dra-chom-pa) |
Literally, "foe destroyer." A person who has destroyed his or
her inner enemy, the delusions, and attained liberation
from cyclic existence. |
| arhati (Skt) |
A female arhat. |
| arya (Skt; Tib:
phag-pa) |
Literally, noble. One who has realized
the wisdom of emptiness. |
| Aryadeva |
Third century Indian Buddhist philosopher
and leading early proponent of Nagarjuna's Prasangika-Madhyamaka
philosophy. |
| Asanga, Arya |
The Indian Buddhist philosopher who
was born about nine hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni
Buddha and founded the Cittamatra School of Buddhist philosophy. |
Atisha Dipamkara
Shrijnana
(982-1054) |
The great Indian master who first
formulated the lam-rim teachings when he came to Tibet
in 1042. |
| Avalokiteshvara
(Skt; Tib: Chenrezig) |
The buddha of compassion. A male meditational
deity embodying fully enlightened compassion. |
| B |
Top of Page |
| bar-do (Tib) |
See intermediate
state. |
| bhagavan (Skt;
Tib: chom-dän-dä) |
Epithet for a buddha; sometimes translated
as Lord, Blessed One and so forth. One who has destroyed
(chom) all the defilements, possesses all qualities
(dän) and has transcended the world (dä). |
| bhumi (Skt) |
Ground, or level, as in the ten bodhisattva
levels. |
| bodhicitta
(Skt) |
The altruistic intention, or determination, to reach enlightenment
for the sole purpose of enlightening all sentient beings. |
| bodhisattva
(Skt) |
Someone whose spiritual practice is directed toward the achievement
of enlightenment. One who possesses the compassionate
motivation of bodhicitta. |
| Bodhisattvayana,
Bodhisattva Vehicle. |
See Paramitayana. |
| Buddha (Skt) |
A fully enlightened being. One who has removed all obscurations
veiling the mind and has developed all good qualities
to perfection. The first of the Three Jewels of Refuge.
See also enlightenment. |
| Buddhadharma
(Skt) |
The teachings of the Buddha. See also Dharma. |
| buddhahood |
See enlightenment. |
| buddha
nature |
The clear light nature of mind possessed by all sentient beings;
the potential for all sentient beings to become enlightened
by removing the two obscurations: to liberation and omniscience.
See also obscurations. |
| Buddhist (Tib:
nang-pa) |
One who has taken refuge in the Three Jewels of Refuge: Buddha,
Dharma and Sangha and who accepts the philosophical world
view of the “four seals”: that all composite
phenomena are impermanent, all contaminated phenomena
are in the nature of suffering, all things and events
are devoid of self-existence, and nirvana is true peace. |
| C |
Top of Page |
| calm abiding |
See shamatha. |
| central
channel |
See shushuma. |
| chakra (Skt) |
Energy wheel. A focal point of energy along the central channel
(shushuma) upon which
one's concentration is directed, especially during the
completion stage of highest yoga tantra. The main chakras
are the crown, throat, heart, navel, and secret. |
| Chandrakirti
(Skt) |
The sixth century CE Indian Buddhist philosopher who wrote commentaries
on Nagarjuna's philosophy. His best-known work is A
Guide to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara). |
| channels (Skt:
nadi) |
A constituent of the vajra body through which energy winds and
drops flow. The central, right, and left are the major
channels; the channels total 72,000 in all. |
| Cittamatra
(Skt) |
The Mind Only School, one of the four schools of Buddhist philosophy;
with Madhyamaka, one of the two Mahayana schools. |
| chu-len (Tib) |
Literally, "taking the essence." Chu-len pills are made of essential
ingredients; taking but a few each day, accomplished meditators
can remain secluded in retreat for months or years without
having to depend upon normal food. |
| compassion
(Skt: karuna) |
The wish for all beings to be separated
from their mental and physical suffering. A prerequisite
for the development of bodhicitta. Compassion is symbolized
by the meditational deity Avalokiteshvara and the mantra
om mani padme hum. |
| completion
stage ( Tib: dzok- rim) |
The second of the two stages of highest
yoga tantra, during which control is gained over the vajra
body through such practices as inner fire. |
| consciousness
|
See mind. |
| constituents,
eighteen (Skt: dhatu; Tib: kham) |
The six sense powers,
the six consciousnesses and the six objects. |
cyclic
existence (Skt: samsara;
Tib: khor-wa) |
The six realms of conditioned
existence, three lower—hell, hungry ghost (Skt:
preta) and animal—and three upper—human,
demigod (Skt: asura) and god (Skt: sura).
It is the beginningless, recurring cycle of death and
rebirth under the control of delusion and karma and fraught
with suffering. It also refers to the contaminated aggregates
of a sentient being. |
| D |
Top of Page |
| daka (Skt; Tib: kha-
dro) |
Literally, a "sky-goer." A male being
who helps arouse blissful energy in a qualified tantric
practitioner. |
| dakini (Skt; Tib:
kha-dro- ma) |
Literally, a "female sky-goer." A
female being who helps arouse blissful energy in a qualified
tantric practitioner. |
| damaru (Skt) |
A small hand drum used in tantric practice. |
| defilement
|
See delusion. |
| degenerate
age (Skt: kaliyuga) |
We’re living in
one! It has five characteristics: short life spans, scarce
means of subsistence, mental afflictions, strong wrong
views and weak sentient beings. |
| delusion (Skt:
klesha; Tib: nyön- mong) |
An obscuration covering the essentially
pure nature of the mind, being thereby responsible for
suffering and dissatisfaction; the main delusion is ignorance,
out of which grow desirous attachment, hatred, jealousy,
and all the other delusions. |
| dependent origination
|
Also called dependent
arising. In general, phenomena arise in dependence upon
causes and conditions and are therefore empty of inherent
existence; they are not self-existent because they are
dependent arisings. See also twelve
links. |
| Dharma (Skt; Tib:
chö) |
Spiritual teachings, particularly those of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Literally, that which protects us from suffering. The
Tibetan term has the literal connotation of "changing,"
or "bringing about transformation." The second of the
Three Jewels of Refuge. |
| dharmakaya
(Skt) |
The "buddha-body of reality." The omniscient mind of a fully
enlightened being, which, free of all coverings, remains
meditatively absorbed in the direct perception of emptiness
while simultaneously cognizing all phenomena. The result
of the complete and perfect accumulation of wisdom. One
of the holy bodies of a buddha (see also rupakaya,
nirmanakaya and sambhogakaya). |
| divine pride |
The strong conviction that one has achieved the state of a particular
meditational deity. Cf. generation stage. |
| dorje (Tib; Skt:
vajra) |
The magical weapon of the Vedic god Indra, made of metal and
very sharp and hard; adamantine. A thunderbolt. A tantric
implement symbolizing method (compassion or bliss), held
in the right hand (the male side), usually in conjunction
with a bell, which symbolizes wisdom and is held in the
left hand (the female side). |
| Dorje Khadro
(Tib; Skt: Vajradaka) |
A deity who functions to purify negativities
through his specific fire puja (jin-sek). See also
ngön-dro. |
| drops |
A constituent of the vajra body used in the generation of great
bliss. Of the two types, at conception, the red drops
are received from one's mother and the white drops from
one's father. |
| dualistic
view |
The ignorant view characteristic of the unenlightened mind in
which all things are falsely conceived to have concrete
self-existence. To such a view, the appearance of an object
is mixed with the false image of its being independent
or self-existent, thereby leading to further dualistic
views concerning subject and object, self and other, this
and that, etc. |
| dzok-rim (Tib) |
See completion stage. |
| E |
Top of Page |
| ego |
The wrong conception of the self; the mistaken belief that “I
am self-existent.” The fundamental ignorance that
has caused us to circle through cyclic existence since
beginningless time. |
| ego-grasping |
The ignorant compulsion to regard one's self, or I, as permanent,
selfexistent, and independent of all other phenomena. |
| empowerment |
See initiation. |
| emptiness (Skt:
shunyata) |
The absence of all false ideas about how things exist; specifically,
the lack of the apparent independent, self-existence of
phenomena. Sometimes translated as “voidness.” |
| enlightenment
(Skt: bodhi; Tib: jang-chub) |
Full awakening; buddhahood. The ultimate
goal of Buddhist practice, attained when all limitations
have been removed from the mind and one's positive potential
has been completely and perfectly realized. It is a state
characterized by infinite compassion, wisdom and skill. |
| equanimity |
Absence of the usual
discrimination of sentient beings into friend, enemy and
stranger, deriving from the realization that all sentient
beings are equal in wanting happiness and not wanting
suffering and that since beginningless time, all beings
have been all things to each other. An impartial mind
that serves as the basis for the development of great
love, great compassion and bodhicitta. |
| F |
Top of Page |
five
immediate negativities
(Skt: anantarya karma;
Tib: tsam-med-kyl-lä) |
The five actions that are so heavy that they cause one to be
reborn in hell "immediately," that is, in the
very next life, with no other rebirth in-between. Sometimes
called "inexpiable" or the "five heinous
crimes" and so forth. They are (1) killing one's
mother; (2) killing one's father; (3) killing an arhat;
(4) maliciously drawing blood from a buddha;
and (5) creating a schism in the Sangha. |
five
near immediate negativities
(Skt: anantarya sabhagah;
Tib: nye-wa'i-tsam-med) |
The five actions that are similar to the five immediate
negativities in that they cause rebirth in hell,
but not necessarily in the immediately following life.
They are (1) sexually violating one's mother who is also
an arhati; (2) killing a bodhisattva
who is destined to be a buddha; (3) killing an
arya who has not yet reached
the arhat stage; (4) stealing the property of
the Sangha; and (5) destroying
a stupa. |
| five paths |
The paths along which beings progress to liberation and enlightenment;
the paths of accumulation, preparation (conjunction),
seeing (insight), meditation and no more learning (beyond
training). |
| form body
|
See rupakaya. |
| four
classes of tantra |
The division of tantra into kriya (action), carya (performance),
yoga, and anuttara yoga (highest yoga). |
| Four
Noble Truths |
The subject of Buddha's first turning of the wheel of Dharma.
The truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, the
cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation
of suffering as seen by an arya. |
| G |
Top of Page |
| Gelug (Tib) |
The Virtuous Order. The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded by
Lama Tsong Khapa and his disciples in the early fifteenth
century and the most recent of the four main schools of
Tibetan Buddhism. Developed from the Kadam School founded
by Atisha and Dromtönpa. Cf Nyingma,
Kagyu and Sakya. |
| generation
stage (Tib: kye-rim) |
The first of the two stages of highest
yoga tantra, during which one cultivates the clear appearance
and divine pride of one's chosen meditational deity. |
| graduated
path (Tib: lam-rim) |
A presentation of Shakyamuni Buddha's
teachings in a form suitable for the step-by-step training
of a disciple. The lam-rim was first formulated by the
great Indian teacher Atisha (Dipankara Shrijnana, 982-1055)
when he came to Tibet in 1042. See also three
principal paths. |
| Great Vehicle |
See Mahayana. |
| Guhyasamaja
(Skt; Tib: Sang-wa Dü- pa) |
Male meditational deity from the father
class of highest yoga tantra; a manifestation of the Buddha
Akshobhya. |
| guru (Skt; Tib: lama) |
A spiritual guide or teacher. One who shows a disciple the path
to liberation and enlightenment. Literally, heavy—heavy
with knowledge of Dharma. In tantra, one's teacher is
seen as inseparable from the meditational deity and the
Three Jewels of refuge. See also root
guru. |
| guru yoga (Skt) |
The fundamental tantric practice, whereby one's guru is seen
as identical with the buddhas, one's personal meditational
deity, and the essential nature of one's own mind. |
| H |
Top of Page |
| hearer (Skt: shravaka) |
A Hinayana practitioner who strives
for nirvana on the basis of listening to teachings from
a teacher. Cf. solitary
realizer. |
| Hearer
Vehicle |
See Shravakayana. |
| Heruka Chakrasamvara
(Skt; Tib: Kor-lo Dem-chog) |
Male meditational deity from the mother
tantra class of highest yoga tantra. He is the principal
deity connected with the Heruka Vajrasattva practice and
was Lama Yeshe's yi-dam. |
| Highest
yoga tantra (Skt: anuttara-yoga tantra) |
The fourth and supreme division of
tantric practice, consisting of the generation and completion
stages. Through this practice, one can attain full enlightenment
within one lifetime. |
| Hinayana (Skt) |
Literally, Small, or Lesser, Vehicle. It is one of the two general
divisions of Buddhism. Hinayana practitioners' motivation
for following the Dharma path is principally their intense
wish for personal liberation from conditioned existence,
or samsara. Two types of Hinayana practitioner are identified:
hearers and solitary realizers. Cf Mahayana;
see also Theravada. |
| I |
Top of Page |
ignorance
(Skt: avidya;
Tib: ma-rig-pa) |
Literally, “not seeing” that which exists, or the
way in which things exist. There are basically two kinds,
ignorance of karma and ignorance of ultimate truth. The
fundamental delusion from which all others spring. The
first of the twelve links of dependent origination. |
| impermanence
(Tib: mi-tag-pa) |
The gross and subtle levels of the transience of phenomena.
The moment things and events come into existence, their
disintegration has already begun. |
| inherent
(or intrinsic) existence |
What phenomena are empty of; the object of negation, or refutation.
To ignorance, phenomena appear to exist independently,
in and of themselves, to exist inherently. Cf. emptiness. |
| initiation |
Transmission received from a tantric master allowing a disciple
to engage in the practices of a particular meditational
deity. It is also referred to as an empowerment |
| inner fire
(Tib: tum-mo) |
The energy residing at the navel chakra,
aroused during the completion stage of highest yoga tantra
and used to bring the energy winds into the central channel.
It is also called inner or psychic heat. |
| inner offering
(Tib: nang-chö) |
A tantric offering whose basis of
transformation is one's five aggregates visualized as
the five meats and the five nectars. |
| insight meditation
(Pali: vipassana) |
The principal meditation taught in
the Theravada tradition. It is based on the Buddha's teachings
on the four foundations of mindfulness. It is sometimes
called mindfulness meditation. In the Mahayana, vipashyana
(Skt) has a different connotation, where it means
investigation of and familiarization with the actual way
in which things exist and is used to develop the wisdom
of emptiness. |
| intelligence,
faculty of (Tib: nam chöd) |
Sometimes translated as "faculty of
imagination." A human being's capacity for thinking and
imagination that enables him or her to project into the
future, recollect past experiences and so forth; a faculty
that often leads us into conflict. The insight, or wisdom,
that enables us to judge between long- and short-term
benefit and detriment. |
| intermediate
state (Tib: bar-do) |
The state between death and rebirth.
|
| J |
Top of Page |
| jor-chö (Tib) |
The preparatory rites (see Liberation
in the Palm of Your Hand pp. 131-247, and Sopa,
Geshe Lhundup, and Hopkins, Jeffrey, Cutting Through
Appearances, Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1989). |
| K |
Top of Page |
| Kadam (Tib) |
The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded
in the eleventh century by Atisha, Dromtönpa and
their followers, the "Kadampa geshes"; the forerunner
of the Gelug School, whose members are sometimes called
the New Kadampas. |
| Kagyü (Tib) |
The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded in the eleventh century
by Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa, and their followers. One
of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Cf. Nyingma,
Sakya and Gelug. |
| Kalarupa (Skt) |
Wrathful male meditational deity connected with Yamantaka. |
| Kangyur (Tib) |
The part of the Tibetan Canon that contains the sutras and tantras;
literally, "translation of the (Buddha's) word." It contains
108 volumes. |
| kapala (Skt; Tib:
tö- pa) |
Skull cup, e.g., the one held by Yum
Dorje Nyem-ma. |
| karma (Skt; Tib:
lä) |
Action; the working of cause and effect, whereby positive (virtuous)
actions produce happiness and negative (non-virtuous)
actions produce suffering. |
| kaya (Skt) |
Buddha-body or holy body. A body of an enlightened being. See
also dharmakaya and
rupakaya. |
| klesha (Skt) |
See delusion. |
| kriya (Skt) |
First of the four classes of tantra (q.v.); action tantra. |
| kundalini (Skt) |
Blissful energy dormant within the physical body, aroused through
tantric practice and used to generate penetrative insight
into the true nature of reality. |
| kusha (Skt) |
Kind of long-stranded grass used under the retreat seat, during
tantric initiations, and for making brooms in India. Shakyamuni
Buddha made a seat out of kusha grass when he meditated
under the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya and attained enlightenment. |
| kye-rim (Tib) |
See generation stage. |
| L |
Top of Page |
| lama (Tib; Skt: guru) |
A spiritual guide or teacher. One who shows a disciple the path
to liberation and enlightenment. Literally, heavy—heavy
with knowledge of Dharma. |
| lam-rim (Tib) |
The graduated path. A presentation of Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings
in a form suitable for the step-by-step training of a
disciple. See also Atisha
and three principal
aspects of the path. |
| Lesser
Vehicle |
See Hinayana. |
| liberation
(Skt: nirvana, or moksha; Tib: nyang-dä, or thar-pa) |
The state of complete freedom from samsara; the goal of a practitioner
seeking his or her own escape from suffering (see also
Hinayana). "Lower nirvana"
is used to refer to this state of self-liberation, while
"higher nirvana" refers to the supreme attainment of the
full enlightenment of buddhahood. Natural nirvana (Tib:
rang-zhin nyang-dä) is the fundamentally pure
nature of reality, where all things and events are devoid
of any inherent, intrinsic or independent reality. |
| lo-jong |
See mind transformation. |
| M |
Top of Page |
| Madhyamaka
(Skt) |
The Middle Way School of Buddhist philosophy; a system of analysis
founded by Nagarjuna, based on the Prajñaparamita
sutras of Shakyamuni Buddha, and considered to be the
supreme presentation of the wisdom of emptiness. This
view holds that all phenomena are dependent originations
and thereby avoids the mistaken extremes of self-existence
and non-existence, or eternalism and nihilism. It has
two divisions, Svatantrika
and Prasangika. With
Cittamatra, one of
the two Mahayana schools of philosophy. |
| Madhyamika
(Skt) |
Follower of Madhyamaka. |
| maha-anuttara
(Skt) |
Also called anuttara. See four classes of tantra and highest
yoga tantra. It is divided into generation and completion
stages. |
| Mahakala (Skt) |
Wrathful male meditational deity connected with Heruka; a Dharma
protector favored by Lama Yeshe. |
| mahamudra (Skt;
Tib: chag-chen) |
The great seal. A profound system
of meditation upon the mind and the ultimate nature of
reality. |
| Mahayana (Skt) |
Literally, Great Vehicle. It is one of the two general divisions
of Buddhism. Mahayana practitioners' motivation for following
the Dharma path is principally their intense wish for
all mother sentient beings to be liberated from conditioned
existence, or samsara, and to attain the full enlightenment
of buddhahood. The Mahayana has two divisions, Paramitayana
(Sutrayana) and Vajrayana
(Tantrayana, Mantrayana). Cf Hinayana. |
| Maitreya (Skt;
Tib: Jam-pa) |
After Shakyamuni Buddha,
the next (fifth) of the thousand buddhas of this fortunate
eon to descend to turn the wheel of Dharma. Presently
residing in the pure land of Tushita (Ganden). Recipient
of the method lineage of Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings,
which, in a mystical transmission, he passed on to Asanga. |
| mandala (Skt;
Tib: khyil- khor) |
A circular diagram symbolic
of the entire universe. The abode of a meditational deity. |
| Manjushri (Skt;
Tib: Jam-päl-yang) |
The bodhisattva (or buddha) of wisdom.
Recipient of the wisdom lineage of Shakyamuni Buddha's
teachings, which he passed on to Nagarjuna. |
| mantra (Skt) |
Literally, mind protection. Mantras are Sanskrit syllables—usually
recited in conjunction with the practice of a particular
meditational deity—and embody the qualities of the
deity with which they are associated. |
| mantra rosary |
A mantra visualized as a rosary, its syllables representing
beads; usually circular, as in the syllables of the one
hundred syllable mantra standing around the edge of the
moon disc. |
| mara (Skt) |
See obstructive forces. |
| Mara (Skt) |
Personification of the delusions that distract us from Dharma
practice; what Buddhists might call the "devil"; what
Shakyamuni Buddha overcame under the bodhi tree as he
strove for enlightenment. |
| Marpa (Tib; 1012-96) |
Founder of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a
renowned tantric master and translator, a disciple of
Naropa, and the guru of Milarepa. |
| meditation
(Tib: gom) |
Familiarization of the mind with a virtuous object. There are
two types, placement (absorptive) and analytic (insight). |
| merit |
Positive imprints left on the mind by virtuous, or Dharma, actions.
The principal cause of happiness. Accumulation of merit,
when coupled with the accumulation of wisdom, eventually
results in rupakaya. |
| middle way |
The view presented in Shakyamuni Buddha's prajñaparamita sutras
and elucidated by Nagarjuna that all phenomena are dependent
arisings, thereby avoiding the mistaken extremes of self-existence
and non-existence, or eternalism and nihilism. Cf Madhyamaka. |
| Middle
Way School |
See Madhyamaka. |
| Milarepa ( Tib;
1040-1123) |
Tibet's great yogi, who achieved enlightenment
in his lifetime under the tutelage of his guru, Marpa,
who was a contemporary of Atisha. One of the founding
fathers of the Kagyu School. |
| mind (Skt: citta;
Tib: sem) |
Synonymous with consciousness
(Skt: vijnana; Tib: nam-she) and sentience (Skt:
manas; Tib: yi). Defined as that which is “clear
and knowing”; a formless entity that has the ability
to perceive objects. Mind is divided into six primary
consciousnesses and fifty-one mental factors. |
| Mind Only School |
See Cittamatra. |
| mind
transformation (Tib: lo-jong) |
A genre of teaching that
explains how to transform the mind from self-cherishing
to cherishing others, eventually leading to the development
of bodhicitta. Also known as "mind training". |
| mudra (Skt; Tib:
chag- gya) |
Literally, seal, token. A symbolic
hand gesture, endowed with power not unlike a mantra.
A tantric consort. |
| N |
Top of Page |
| Nagarjuna (Skt) |
The Indian Buddhist philosopher who was born about four hundred
years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, was said to
have lived for six hundred years, and founded the Madhyamaka
School of Buddhist philosophy. |
| nang-chö (Tib) |
See inner offering. |
| Ngari |
Western Tibet, where Atisha first
arrived. He wrote his Lamp for the Path at the
monastery of Thöling in Zhang-Zhung, or Gugé. |
| ngön-dro (Tib) |
Preliminary practice(s) found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism,
usually done 100,000 times each; the four main ones are
recitation of the refuge formula, mandala offerings, prostrations,
and Vajrasattva mantra recitation. The Gelug tradition
adds five more: guru yoga, water bowl offerings, Damtsig
Dorje purifying meditation, making tsa-tsas (small
sacred images, usually made of clay), and the Dorje Khadro
burnt offering (jin-sek). |
| nihilism |
The doctrine that nothing exists; that, for example, there's
no cause and effect of actions or no past and future lives. |
| nihilist |
In the context of Buddhist teachings, someone who, upon hearing
about emptiness, comes to the mistaken conclusion that
nothing exists; for example, that there's no cause and
effect of actions or no past and future lives. |
| nirmanakaya
(Skt) |
The "buddha body of perfect emanation", in which a fully enlightened
being appears in order to benefit ordinary beings. See
also dharmakaya and
sambhogakaya. |
| nirvana (Skt;
Tib: nyang-dä) |
See liberation. |
| Nyingma (Tib) |
The old translation school of Tibetan Buddhism, which traces
its teachings back to the time of Padmasambhava, the eighth
century Indian tantric master invited to Tibet by King
Trisong Detsen to clear away hindrances to the establishment
of Buddhism in Tibet. The first of the four main schools
of Tibetan Buddhism. Cf. Kagyu, Sakya and
Gelug. |
| O |
Top of Page |
object
of negation, or refutation
(Tib: gag-cha) |
What is conceived by an awareness conceiving true existence;
the appearance of inherent existence. |
obscurations,
obstructions
(Skt: avarana) |
Gross hindrances (Skt: kleshavarana; Tib: nyön-drib;
see also delusion), which prevent liberation from
samsara, and subtle hindrances, which prevent omniscience
(Skt: jneyavarana; Tib: she-drib). |
| obstructive
forces (Skt: mara), four |
The afflictions, death, the five aggregates and the "divine
youth demon." |
| P |
Top of Page |
| pandit (Skt) |
Scholar; learned man. |
| paramita (Skt) |
See six perfections. |
| Paramitayana
(Skt) |
The Perfection Vehicle; the first of the two Mahayana paths.
This is the gradual path to enlightenment traversed by
bodhisattvas practicing the six perfections (charity,
morality, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration,
and wisdom) through the ten bodhisattva levels (bhumi)
over countless eons of rebirth in samsara for the benefit
of all sentient beings. Also also called Sutrayana or
Bodhisattvayana. Cf. Vajrayana. |
| path(s) of accumulation, preparation,
seeing |
See five paths. |
| penetrative insight |
See vipashyana. |
| Perfection Vehicle |
See Paramitayana. |
| Phadampa Sangye
(Tib) |
Indian yogi of unusual accomplishments;
contemporary with Milarepa and disciple of Nagarjuna and
Virupa. |
| Prajñaparamita
(Skt) |
The perfection of wisdom. The Prajñaparamita sutras are
the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha in which the wisdom
of emptiness and the path of the bodhisattva are set forth.
The basis of Nagarjuna's philosophy. |
| Prasangika
(Skt) |
The Middle Way Autonomy School of the four schools of Buddhist
philosophy. See also Madhyamaka. |
| Pratimoksha
(Skt) |
Vows of individual liberation; seven types. |
| Pratyekabuddhayana
(Skt) |
The Solitary Realizer Vehicle. One of the branches of the Hinayana.
Practitioners who strive for nirvana in solitude, without
relying on a teacher. Cf. Shravakayana. |
| preta (Skt) |
Hungry ghost, or spirit. The preta realm is one of the three
lower realms of cyclic existence. |
| puja (Skt) |
Literally, offering; usually used to describe an offering ceremony
such as the Offering to the Spiritual Master (Guru
Puja). |
| purification |
The eradication from the mind of negative imprints left by past
non-virtuous actions, which would otherwise ripen into
suffering. The most effective methods of purification
employ the four opponent powers of regret, reliance, virtuous
activity and resolve. |
| R |
Return to Top |
| refuge |
The door to the Dharma path. Fearing the sufferings of samsara,
Buddhists take refuge in the Three Jewels with the faith
that Buddha, Dharma and Sangha have the power to lead
them to happiness, liberation, or enlightenment. |
| renunciation
(Tib: nge-jung) |
A heartfelt feeling of complete disgust
with cyclic existence such that day and night one yearns
for liberation and engages in the practices that secure
it. The first of the three principal aspects of the path
to enlightenment. Cf. bodhicitta
and emptiness. |
| right view |
See emptiness. |
| rinpoche (Tib) |
Literally, "precious one." Epithet
for an incarnate lama, that is, one who has intentionally
taken rebirth in a human form to benefit sentient beings
on the path to enlightenment. |
| root guru (Tib:
tsa-wäi lama) |
The teacher who has had the greatest
influence upon a particular disciple's entering or following
the spiritual path. |
| rupakaya (Skt) |
The “buddha body of form”
of a fully enlightened being; the result of the complete
and perfect accumulation of merit. It has two aspects—sambhogakaya,
or “buddha-body of perfect resource,” in which
the enlightened mind appears to benefit highly realized
bodhisattvas, and nirmanakaya, or “buddha-body
of perfect emanation,” in which the enlightened
mind appears to benefit ordinary beings. See also dharmakaya. |
| S |
Top of Page |
| sadhana (Skt) |
Method of accomplishment; the step-by-step instructions for
practicing the meditations related to a particular meditational
deity. |
| Sakya (Tib) |
One of the four main schools of Tibetan
Buddhism. It was founded in the eleventh century in the
south of the province of Tsang by Konchog Gyälpo.
Cf. Nyingma, Kagyu
and Gelug. |
| samadhi (Skt) |
See single-pointed
concentration. |
| samaya (Skt; Tib:
dam- tsig) |
Sacred word of honor; the pledges
and commitments made by a disciple at an initiation to
keep tantric vows for life or to perform certain practices
connected with the deity, such as daily sadhana recitation,
or offering the Guru Puja on the tenth and the
twenty-fifth of each Tibetan month. |
| sambhogakaya
(Skt) |
The "buddha-body of perfect resource"; the form in which the
enlightened mind appears in order to benefit highly realized
bodhisattvas. See also dharmakaya
and nirmanakaya. |
| Samkhya (Skt) |
Early non-Buddhist philosophical school;
the so-called "enumerators," because they advocate a definite
enumeration of the causes that produce existents. |
| samsara (Skt;
Tib: khor- wa) |
The six realms of conditioned existence, three lower—hell,
hungry ghost (Skt: preta), and animal—and
three upper—human, demigod (Skt: asura), and
god (Skt: sura). The beginningless, recurring cycle
of death and rebirth under the control of delusion and
karma, fraught with suffering. Also refers to the contaminated
aggregates of a sentient being. |
| Sangha (Skt) |
Spiritual community; the third of the Three Jewels of Refuge.
Absolute Sangha are those who have directly realized emptiness;
relative Sangha are ordained monks and nuns. |
| Sautrantrika
(Skt) |
The Sutra (Hinayana) School of the four schools of Buddhist
philosophy. |
| secret mantra (Tib: sang-ngak) |
See tantra. |
| seed syllable |
In tantric visualizations, a Sanskrit syllable arising out of
emptiness and out of which the meditational deity in turn
arises. A single syllable representing a deity's entire
mantra. |
| sentient
being (Tib: sem-chen) |
Any unenlightened being; any being whose mind is not completely
free from gross and subtle ignorance. |
| Shakyamuni
Buddha (563-483 BC) |
Fourth of the one thousand founding buddhas of this present
world age. Born a prince of the Shakya clan in north India,
he taught the sutra and tantra paths to liberation and
enlightenment; founder of what came to be known as Buddhism.
(From the Skt: buddha—"fully awake.") |
| shamatha (Skt;
Tib: shi-nä) |
Calm abiding; stablization arisen from meditation and conjoined
with special pliancy. |
| Shantideva |
Eighth century Indian Buddhist philosopher
and bodhisattva who propounded the Madhyamaka Prasangika
view. Wrote the quintessential Mahayana text, A Guide
to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (Bodhicharyavatara).
|
| shi-dak (Tib) |
Landlord; place owner. Buddhism teaches that each place has
associated with it a sentient being who considers that
he owns it. Offerings are made to this being to request
the temporary use of that place for, e.g., retreat. |
| shravaka (Skt) |
See hearer. |
| Shravakayana
(Skt) |
The Hearer Vehicle. One of the branches of the Hinayana. Practitioners
(hearers, or shravakas) strive for nirvana on the basis
of listening to teachings from a teacher. Cf. Pratyekabuddhayana. |
| shunyata (Skt) |
See emptiness. |
shushuma (or
avadhuti, Skt;
Tib: tsa uma) |
The central channel, or nadi, which
runs from the crown of the head to the secret chakra.
It is the major energy channel of the vajra body, visualized
as a hollow tube of light in front of the spine. |
single-pointed
concentration
(Skt: samadhi) |
A state of deep meditative
absorption; single-pointed concentration on the actual
nature of things, free from discursive thought and dualistic
conceptions. |
| six perfections
(Skt: paramita) |
Charity, morality, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration
and wisdom. See also Paramitayana. |
| skandha (Skt) |
The five psychophysical constituents that make up a sentient
being: form, feeling, discriminative awareness, conditioning
(compositional) factors and consciousness. |
| solitary
realizer (Skt: pratyekabuddha) |
A hinayana practitioner who strives for nirvana in solitude,
without relying on a teacher. Cf. hearer. |
| Solitary
Realizer Vehicle |
See Pratyekabuddhayana. |
sources,
twelve (Skt: ayatana;
Tib: kye-che) |
The six internal sources (of consciousness) are the eye, ear,
nose, tongue, body and mental sense powers; the six external
sources (of consiousness or fields of consciousness) are
the form source, sound source, odor source, taste source,
object-of-touch source and phenomenon source. |
| stupa (Skt) |
Buddhist reliquary objects ranging in size from huge to a few
inches in height and representing the enlightened mind. |
| sutra (Skt) |
A discourse of Shakyamuni Buddha; the pre-tantric division
of Buddhist teachings stressing the cultivation of bodhicitta
and the practice of the six perfections. See also Paramitayana. |
| Sutrayana (Skt) |
See Paramitayana. |
| svabhavikakaya
(Skt) |
The buddha-body of nature; the emptiness of the dharmakaya. |
| Svatantrika
(Skt) |
The Middle Way Autonomy School of the four schools of Buddhist
philosophy. See also Madhyamaka. |
| T |
Top of Page |
| tantra (Skt; Tib:
gyü) |
Literally, thread, or continuity. The texts of the secret mantra
teachings of Buddhism; often used to refer to these teachings
themselves. Cf. Vajrayana
and sutra. |
| Tantrayana (Skt) |
See Vajrayana. |
| tathagata (Skt;
Tib: de-zhin shek- pa) |
Literally, one who has
realized suchness; a buddha. |
| ten
non-virtuous actions |
Three of body (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct); four of
speech (lying, speaking harshly, slandering and gossiping);
and three of mind (covetousness, ill will and wrong views).
General actions to be avoided so as not to create negative
karma. |
| Tengyur (Tib) |
The part of the Tibetan Canon that contains the Indian pandits'
commentaries on the Buddha's teachings. Literally, "translation
of the commentaries." It contains about 225 volumes (depending
on the edition). |
| Theravada (Skt) |
One of the eighteen schools into which the Hinayana split not
long after Shakyamuni Buddha's death; the dominant Hinayana
school today, prevalent in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Burma,
and well represented in the West. |
| thought transformation |
See mind transformation. |
| Three Baskets
(Skt: tripitaka) |
The three divisions of the Dharma: vinaya, sutra and abhidharma. |
| Three
Higher Trainings |
Morality (ethics), meditation (concentration) and wisdom (insight). |
| Three Jewels
(Tib: kon-chog-sum) |
The objects of refuge for a Buddhist: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. |
| three
principal aspects of the path |
The three main divisions of the lam-rim: renunciation, bodhicitta
and the right view (of emptiness). |
| torma (Tib) |
An offering cake used in tantric rituals. In Tibet, tormas were
usually made of tsampa, but other edibles such as biscuits
and so forth will suffice. |
| Tripitaka (Skt) |
The three divisions of the Dharma: vinaya, sutra and abhidharma. |
| Triple Gem |
See Three Jewels. |
| true existence |
See inherent existence. |
| truth body |
See dharmakaya. |
| tsampa (Tib) |
Roasted barley flour; a Tibetan staple food. |
| tsok (Tib) |
Literally, gathering—a gathering of offering substances
and a gathering of disciples to make the offering. |
| Tsong Khapa,
Lama Je (1357- 1417) |
Founder of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and revitalizer
of many sutra and tantra lineages and the monastic tradition
in Tibet. |
| tum-mo (Tib) |
See inner fire. |
twelve links
of dependent origination
(Skt pratitya samutpada;
Tib: ten-drel chu-nyi) |
The twelve steps in the
evolution of cyclic existence: ignorance, karmic formation,
consciousness, name and form, sensory fields, contact,
feelings, attachment, grasping, becoming (existence),
birth and aging and death. This is Shakyamuni Buddha's
explanation of how delusion and karma bind sentient beings
to samsara, causing them to be reborn into suffering again
and again; depicted pictorially in the Tibetan "Wheel
of Life." |
| V |
Top of Page |
| Vaibhashika
(Skt) |
The Great Exposition (Hinayana) School
of the four schools of Buddhist philosophy. |
| Vajradhara
(Skt; Tib: Dorje Chanpa) |
Male meditational deity; the form
through which Shakyamuni Buddha revealed the teachings
of secret mantra. |
| Vajrapani (Skt;
Tib: Chag-na Dorje) |
The buddha of power. A male meditational
deity embodying the power of all enlightened beings to
accomplish their goals. |
| Vajrayogini
(Skt; Tib: Dorje Nöl-jor- ma) |
Female meditational deity from the
mother class of highest yoga tantra; sometimes a consort
of Heruka. |
| Vajrasattva
(Skt; Tib: Dorje Sem-pa) |
Male meditational deity symbolizing
the inherent purity of all buddhas. A major tantric purification
practice for removing obstacles created by negative karma
and the breaking of vows. |
| Vajravarahi
(Skt; Tib: Dorje Phag- mo) |
Female meditational deity;
consort of Heruka. |
| Vajrayana (Skt) |
The adamantine vehicle; the second of the two Mahayana paths.
It is also called Tantrayana or Mantrayana. This is the
quickest vehicle of Buddhism as it allows certain practitioners
to attain enlightenment within a single lifetime. See
also tantra. |
| Vinaya (Skt; Tib:
dül-wa) |
The Buddha's teachings on ethical
discipline (morality), monastic conduct and so forth;
one of the three baskets. |
| vipashyana
(Skt) |
Penetrative (special) insight; a wisdom of thorough discrimination
of phenomenon conjoined with special pliancy induced by
the power of analysis. |
| vipassana (Pali) |
See insight meditation. |
| vows |
Precepts taken on the basis of refuge at all levels of Buddhist
practice. Pratimoksha precepts (vows of individual liberation)
are the main vows in the Hinayana tradition and are taken
by monks, nuns, and lay people; they are the basis of
all other vows. Bodhisattva and tantric precepts are the
main vows in the Mahayana tradition. See also Vinaya. |
| vows of individual liberation |
See Pratimoksha. |
| W |
Top of Page |
| wisdom |
Different levels of insight into the nature of reality. There
are, for example, the three wisdoms of hearing, contemplation
and meditation. Ultimately, there is the wisdom realizing
emptiness, which frees beings from cyclic existence and
eventually brings them to enlightenment. The complete
and perfect accumulation of wisdom results in dharmakaya.
Cf. merit. |
| Y |
Top of Page |
| Yamantaka (Skt;
also Vajra Bhairava; Tib: Doje Jig-je) |
Male meditational deity
from the father tantra class of highest yoga tantra. |
| yana (Skt) |
Literally, vehicle; a spiritual path that takes you from where
you are to where you want to be. See also Hinayana,
Mahayana, etc. |
| yi-dam (Tib) |
Literally, "mind-bound." One's own personal, main—or, as
Lama Yeshe used to say, favorite—deity for tantric
practice. The deity with which you have the strongest
connection. |
| Yogachara (Skt) |
Branch of Madhyamaka-Svatantrika School;
its followers assert a coarse selflessness of phenomena
that is the same as the Cittamatrins' subtle selflessness
of phenomena—the lack of difference in entity between
subject and object. |
| yum (Tib) |
Literally, "mother"; female consort of a male tantric deity
(the "father"-yab), as in Yum Dorje Nyem-ma Karmo, the
consort of Heruka Vajrasattva. |
| Yum Dorje Nyem-ma
Karmo (Tib) |
The female consort of the male tantric deity Heruka Vajrasattva. |
| |
|
| Links
to Glossaries on Other Web Sites |
| Buddhanet |
| Berzin
Archives |
| A
glossary from the Theravada tradition |
| A
glossary from the Kagyu tradition |
| Shambhala
Publications |
|
Kalachakranet |
| |
| Compiled and edited by Nicholas Ribush. |
