three great meanings
The happiness of future lives, liberation and enlightenment. See also the three ways a perfect human rebirth is highly meaningful.
This glossary contains an alphabetical list of Buddhist terms that you may find on this website. Many of the terms now include phoneticized Sanskrit (Skt) as well as two forms of Tibetan—the phonetic version (Tib), which is a guide to pronunciation, and transliteration using the Wylie method (Wyl). Search for the term you want by entering it in the search box or browse through the listing by clicking on the letters below. Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.
The happiness of future lives, liberation and enlightenment. See also the three ways a perfect human rebirth is highly meaningful.
The three higher trainings of ethics, concentration and wisdom when conjoined with refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. See three trainings.
Three places in the Himalayas that represent Heruka's body, speech and mind, they are: Mt. Kailash, Tsari and Lapchi.
Also called the Triple Gem or the Three Rare Sublime Ones. The objects of Buddhist refuge: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Lama Zopa Rinpoche prefers “Three Rare Sublime Ones” as a more direct translation of kon chog sum.
The classification of a buddha's body into three: the dharmakaya (truth body), sambhogakaya (enjoyment body) and nirmanakaya (emanation body). These three bodies are manifestations of the enlightened mind. See also two kayas and four kayas.
The pratimoksha, bodhisattva and tantric vows.
Also known as the three I's when the referent object is the self; they are the three possible ways we can experience any object: seeing it as truly existent, seeing it as not truly existent and seeing it without qualifying it one way or the other.
Attachment, anger and ignorance.
The three main divisions of the lamrim: renunciation, bodhicitta and the right view (of emptiness). Also the title of a short prayer composed by Lama Tsongkhapa that is commonly recited during prayer services.
The desire, form and formless realms.
Aka trichiliocosm, so called because a thousand world systems makes a great world system and a thousand of those makes a second-order thousand-fold world system, and a thousand of those makes a third-order thousand-fold world system or three thousand great thousand universes.
Ethics, concentration and wisdom. See three higher trainings.
Three aspects of the perfection of morality: the morality of restraining from wrong-doing, the morality of accumulating merit and the morality of benefiting sentient beings.
The suffering of suffering, the suffering of change and pervasive compounding suffering. See also eight types of suffering and six types of suffering.
The holy body, speech and mind of a buddha.
The three ways are: temporary happiness, ultimate happiness (liberation and enlightenment) and making life useful in every moment. See also the three great meanings.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches that sentient beings are kind in three ways: 1) all our happiness, including enlightenment, comes from sentient beings’ kindness; 2) our perfect human rebirth comes from their kindness; and 3) our shelter, food, and clothing come from their kindness.
A human body is said to be constituted of the three white substances received from the father—sperm, bone and marrow—and the three red substances from the mother—skin, blood and flesh.
Also called projecting karma, the karmic imprint that ripens at the time of death to propel us into the next rebirth. See also completing karma.
A popular noodle soup made in the Himalayan Nepal and Tibet.
Indian mahasiddha and guru of Naropa; source of many lineages of tantric teachings.
An outer being, a proponent of a non-Buddhist system of beliefs with tenets that assert either eternalism or nihilism, views which bind them to samsara. Also known as an outsider (Tib: phy rol pa), one who adheres to an outsider doctrine (Tib: gzhan sde pa).
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.
Sentient beings who pass from one realm to another, taking rebirth within cyclic existence.
The late Junior Tutor of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and root guru of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche; also editor of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.
The three divisions of the Dharma: Vinaya, Sutra and Abhidharma.
See Three Jewels.