Glossary of Terms

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w y z

Abhidharma (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.
Abhidharmakosha (Skt; Tib: chö-ngön-pa-zog): Treasury of Knowledge, by Vasubandhu; one of the main philosophical texts studied in Tibetan monasteries.
Abhisamayalamkara (Skt): (Tib: Shes rap kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa'i rgyan ces bya ba).
Ornament for Clear Realizations, by Maitreya; a philosophical text studied in Tibetan monasteries.
Action Tantra (Skt: Kriya Tantra): The first of the four classes of tantra, which mainly emphasizes external activities.
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.
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.
Akshobhya (Skt; Tib: Mi-kyö-pa): 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 wisdom of reality and the fully purified aggregate of consciousness, and is lord of the vajra family.
aloke (Skt): Light; one of the offering substances.
Amdo: The northeastern region of Tibet that borders on China.
Amitabha (Skt): One of the five Dhyani Buddhas, red in color, representing the wisdom of analysis and the fully purified aggregate of discrimination.
Amoghadarshi (Skt; Eng: Meaningful to Behold): One of the bodhisattvas who accompanied Shakyamuni Buddha.
Amoghasiddhi (Skt): One of the five Dhyani Buddhas, green in color, representing the wisdom of activities and the fully purified aggregate of compositional factors.
amrita (Skt): Nectar.
anatman (Skt): No-self; as opposed to atman (self); the term used for selflessness in The Four Noble Truths Sutra.
anger: A disturbing thought that exaggerates the negative qualities of an object and wishes to harm it; one of the six root delusions.
Angulimala (Skt): A character in a classic Dharma story about choosing the wrong guru and committing horrendous actions. Angulimala killed 999 people and made a rosary out of their fingers. He was prevented from killing his thousandth victim by the Buddha, and he was able to purify and become an arhat.
argham (Skt): Water (for washing); one of the offering substances.
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 fourth-century Indian master who received directly from Maitreya Buddha the extensive, or method, lineage of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. Said to have founded the Cittamatra School of Buddhist philosophy.
Ashoka: Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty (about 250 BC) who converted to Buddhism and propagated Buddhism across Asia.
Ashvaghosha (or Aryasura): The third-century Indian master, renowned for his scholarship and poetry, who is the author of Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion.
aspirational bodhicitta: The wish to have full bodhicitta.
asura (Skt): Demi-god. A being in the god realms who enjoys greater comfort and pleasure than human beings, but who suffers from jealousy and quarreling.
Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana (982-1054): The renowned Indian master who went to Tibet in 1042 to help in the revival of Buddhism and established the Kadam tradition. His text Light of the Path was the first lam-rim text.
atman(Skt): Self; as opposed to anatman (no-self), the Buddha’s explanation of selflessness in the Four Noble Truths Sutra.
attachment: A disturbing thought that exaggerates the positive qualities of an object and wishes to possess it; one of the six root delusions.
Avalokiteshvara (Skt; Tib: Chenrezig): The buddha of compassion. A male meditational deity embodying fully enlightened compassion.
Avici (Skt): The lowest level of hell.

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Bakula Rinpoche (1917 - 2003): A Ladakhi lama, the reincarnation of one of the sixteen arhats, who served for many years in the Indian parliament and as Indian ambassador to Mongolia.
bala (Skt): Meat; one of the two offering substances in a tantric offering, the other is madana (nectar).
bardo (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)
bhikshu (Skt): See gelong.
bhikshuni (Skt): See gelongma.
bhumi (Skt): Ground, or level, as in the ten bodhisattva levels.
Bodhgaya: The small town in the state of Bihar in north India where Shakyamuni Buddha became enlightened.
Bodhicaryavatara (Skt): A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by Shantideva.
bodhicitta (Skt): The altruistic intention, or determination, to reach enlightenment for the sole purpose of enlightening all sentient beings. See also aspirational bodhicitta and engaging bodhicitta.
bodhisattva (Skt): Someone whose spiritual practice is directed toward the achievement of enlightenment. One who possesses the compassionate motivation of bodhicitta.
bodhisattva vows (Skt): The vows taken when one enters the bodhisattva path.
Bodhisattvayana, Bodhisattva Vehicle.: See Paramitayana.
Boudhanath: A village just outside Kathmandu that is built around the Boudhanath Stupa, a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site.
Brahma: A powerful Hindu deity in the god realm.
Brahmin: A member of the priest caste of Indian society.
buddha (Skt): A fully enlightened being. One who has removed all obscurations veiling the mind and has developed all good qualities to perfection.
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.
Buddha, the (Skt): The historical Buddha. See Shakyamuni Buddha.
Buddhadharma (Skt): The teachings of the Buddha. See also Dharma.
buddhahood: See enlightenment.
Buddhajñana (Tib: Sangye Yeshe): The eighth century Indian teacher who founded one of the Guhyasamaja systems; studied the Perfection of Wisdom teachings with Haribhadra.
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.
Buxa Duar: A small town in West Bengal in eastern India, where most of the Tibetan monks who escaped to India in 1959 were accommodated.

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calm abiding: See shamatha.
capable being (lower, middle or higher): See three levels of practice.
causative phenomena: Things that come about in dependence upon causes and conditions; includes all objects experienced by the senses, as well as the mind itself; impermanent phenomena.
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.
Chakrasamvara (Skt): See Heruka Chakrasamvara.
Chandragomin: A famous seventh-century Indian lay practitioner who challenged Chandrakirti to a debate that lasted many years. His writings include Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva Vows and Letter to a Disciple.
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).
chang (Tib): Beer made from fermented grain, often barley.
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.
Chengawa Lodrö Gyaltsen (1390 - 1448): A disciple of Khedrub Je, one of Lama Tsongkhapa's heart disciples.
Chenrezig (Tib): See Avalokiteshvara.
Chogye Trichen Rinpoche (1919–2007): A highly learned and attained lama who was head of the Tsarpa branch of the Sakya tradition; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
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.
chöd (Tib): A tantric practice aimed at destroying self-grasping, often performed in frightening surroundings, such as charnel grounds.
Chöden Rinpoche (b. 1933): An ascetic, learned Gelugpa lama who meditated in a small room in Lhasa for nineteen years after the Chinese occupation; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Chökyi Dorje: The great fifteenth century siddha whose chief disciple was Gyalwa Ensapa.
circumambulation: A practice of purifying negative karma and accumulating merit in which a person walks clockwise around a holy object such as a stupa or statue.
Cittamatra (Skt): The Mind Only School, one of the four schools of Buddhist philosophy; with Madhyamaka, one of the two Mahayana schools. The adjective is CIttamatrin.
clear light: Very subtle mind. This subtlest state of mind occurs naturally at death and through successful tantric practice, and is used by practitioners to realize emptiness.
compassion (Skt: karuna): The sincere wish that others be free from suffering and its causes.
Compassion Buddha: See Avalokiteshvara
completing karma: Also called finishing karma, the karmic imprints that ripen to determine the type of experiences we have when we are reborn, as opposed to throwing karma that determines the actual rebirth. There are three types of completing karma: the possessed result and two types of result similar to the cause, that similar in experience and that similar in habit, or tendency.
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.
conventional bodhicitta: The altruistic mind that wishes to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. The word “conventional” is used to distinguish it from “ultimate” bodhicitta, the realization of emptiness with a bodhicitta motivation.
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.

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dacoit (Hindi): A bandit.
Dagpo Rinpoche: Jampel Lhundrup. Pabongka Rinpoche’s root guru for lam-rim teachings; author of the Jorchö text A Necklace for the Fortunate; his reincarnation has lived in France for many years.
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.
Dakpa Khachö (Tib; Skt: Kechara): The pure land of Vajrayogini.
Dalai Lama (b. 1935): Gyalwa Tenzin Gyatso. Revered spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and tireless worker for world peace; winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
damaru (Skt): A small hand drum used in tantric practice.
defilement: See delusion.
degenerate time, or 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.
deity (Tib: yidam): The form of a deity used as the object of meditation in tantric practices.
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.
Denma Lochö Rinpoche (b. 1928): A learned Gelugpa lama, a former abbot of Namgyal Monastery, who is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus.
dependent origination: Also called dependent arising. The way that the self and phenomena exist conventionally as relative and interdependent. They come into existence in dependence upon (1) causes and conditions, (2) their parts and, most subtly, (3) the mind imputing, or labeling, them. See also twelve links.
desire realm: One of the three realms of samsara, comprising the hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras and the six lower classes of suras; beings in this realm are preoccupied with desire for objects of the six senses.
deva (Skt): A god dwelling in a state with much comfort and pleasure in the desire, form or formless realms.
Devadatta (Tib: Lhä-jin): Shakyamuni Buddha’s cousin, who was jealous of Buddha and constantly tried to harm him.
Deva’s Son (Skt: devaputramara): One of the four types of maras; interferes with meditation by increasing desire for sensual pleasures. See four maras.
Dharamsala: A village in the north-west of India, in Himachal Pradesh. The residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.
Dharma (Skt; Tib: chö): Spiritual teachings, particularly those of Shakyamuni Buddha. Literally, that which protects us from suffering and leads to liberation and full enlightenment. The Tibetan term has the literal connotation of "changing," or "bringing about transformation." The second of the Three Jewels of Refuge.
Dharma protectors: Beings, some worldly and others enlightened, who protect Dharma teachings and practitioners.
dharmakaya (Skt): The truth or wisdom body, one of the holy bodies of a buddha, the other being the form body (rupakaya); the blissful omniscient mind of a buddha.
Dharmakirti: A seventh-century Indian scholar and one of the founders of Buddhist philosophic logic.
Dharmarakshita: The guru with whom Lama Atisha studied the Abhidharma for twelve years.
dhupe (Skt): Incense; one of the offering substances.
Dhyani Buddhas, the five: The five buddhas that represent the five qualities of the Buddha. Dhyana is Sanskrit for “concentration.” They are Vairochana, Akshobya, Amitabha, Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi. Although this is the common usage, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says “dhyani” is incorrect and a more correct translation would be “buddha families.”
Diamond Cutter Sutra, Âryavajra-cchedikanâmaprajnâpâramitâmahâyânasûtra: Tib: phags pa shes rab pha rol tu phyin pa rdo rje gcod pa shes bya theg pa chen po’i mdo. Also called, Vajra Cutter Sutra.
disturbing thoughts: See delusions.
disturbing-thought obscurations (Tib: nyön-drib): The delusions, which obstruct the attainment of liberation.
divine pride: The strong conviction that one has achieved the state of a particular meditational deity. Cf. generation stage.
Domo Geshe Rinpoche (d. 1936): A famous ascetic meditator in his early life who later established monastic communities in the Tibet-Nepal border area and in Darjeeling; the guru of Lama Govinda, who wrote The Way of the White Clouds.
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.
Dorje Nol-jör-ma (Tib; Skt: Vajrayogini): See Vajrayogini.
Dorje Pag-mo (Tib; Skt: Vajravahari): See Vajravarahi.
Dragpa Gyaltsen (1147–1216): A great scholar and early teacher of the Sakya school; uncle and guru of Sakya Pandita.
Drepung Monastery: The largest of the three major Gelugpa monasteries; founded near Lhasa by one of Lama Tsongkhapa’s disciples. Now reestablished in exile in south India.
Drogön Tsangpa Gyare (1161 - 1211): The Kagyü lama, a disciple of Lingrepa, who was the founder of a branch of the Drukpa Kagyü and of many monasteries, including in Bhutan.
Dromtönpa (1005 - 64): Lama Atisha’s heart disciple and chief translator in Tibet; propagator of the Kadampa tradition.
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.
du-ra (Tib): The subject, preliminary to debating, in which basic terms and definitions are explained.
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.
dzogchen (Tib): Literally “Great Perfection”, the practice to attain the mind’s natural, primordial state.
dzok-rim (Tib): See completion stage.

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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, self-existent, and independent of all other phenomena.
eight freedoms: The eight states from which a perfect human rebirth is free: being born as a hell-being, hungry ghost, animal, long-life god or barbarian or in a dark age when no buddha has descended; holding wrong views; being born with defective mental or physical faculties.
eight Mahayana precepts: One-day vows to abandon killing; stealing; lying; sexual contact; intoxicants; high seats; eating at the wrong time; and singing, dancing and wearing perfumes and jewelry.
eight ripening qualities: Eight qualities that are said to be most conducive to developing spiritually. They are: long life, handsome or beautiful body, noble caste, wealth, power and fame, trustworthy speech, a male body and a strong body and mind. See also the four Mahayana Dharma wheels.
eight worldly dharmas: The worldly concerns that generally motivate the actions of ordinary beings: being happy when given gifts and unhappy when not given them; wanting to be happy and not wanting to be unhappy; wanting praise and not wanting criticism; wanting a good reputation and not wanting a bad reputation.
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.”
engaging bodhicitta: Conventional bodhicitta, when the mind has moved beyond the wish and is actively engaged in the six perfections.
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.
Ensapa: See Gyalwa Ensapa.
environmental result: See possessed result.
eon (Skt: kalpa): A world period, an inconceivably long period of time. The life span of the universe is divided into four great eons which are themselves divided into twenty lesser eons.
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.
eternalism: The belief in the inherent existence of things, as opposed to nihilism; one of the two extremes.
evil-gone realms: See lower realms.

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faith: There are three kinds: believing, or pure-hearted, faith; lucid, or understanding, faith - faith based on logical conviction; and yearning, or aspirational, faith.
finishing karma: See completing karma.
five degenerations: The degenerations that occur as human beings evolve over the eon of existence; they are: the degeneration of disturbing thoughts, of lifespan, of time, of view and of sentient beings.
five immediate negativities (Skt: anantarya karma; Tib: tsam-med-kyl-lä): (Also called the five uninterrupted negative karmas or actions) 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 object-ascertaining mental factors: The five mental factors that enhance the experience of the mind’s apprehension of an object. They are aspiration, appreciation, recollection, concentration and intelligence.
five omnipresent mental factors: The five mental factors that must be present for a mind to apprehend an object. They are contact, discernment, feeling, intention and attention.
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).
five powers: The five forces to be practiced both in this life and at the time of death. They are the power of motivation, the power of acquaintance, the power of the white seed (developing positive qualities) the power of destruction (of self cherishing) and the power of prayer.
five precepts: The vows against killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct and taking intoxicants taken by lay Buddhist practitioners.
five uninterrupted negative karmas: See five immediate negativities.
form body: See rupakaya.
form realm: The second of samsara’s three realms, with seventeen classes of gods.
formless realm: The highest of samsara’s three realms, with four classes of gods involved in formless meditations.
four classes of tantra: The division of tantra into kriya (action), carya (performance), yoga, and anuttara yoga (highest yoga).
four great eons: The four periods of a world system; they are the great eons of evolving, existing, decaying and being empty.
four kayas: The two bodies a buddha achieves at enlightenment - dharmakaya (wisdom body) and rupakaya (form body) split into four aspects: jnanakaya (natural truth body) and svabhavikakaya (emptiness truth body) and nirmanakaya (emanation body) and sambhogakaya (enjoyment body). See also three kayas, rupakaya, dharmakaya, samboghakaya and nirmanakaya.
four Mahayana Dharma wheels: The four external conditions conducive to spiritual development. They are: (1) relying on holy beings, (2) abiding in a harmonious environment, (3) having supportive family and friends and (4) collecting merit and making prayers. See also the eight ripening qualities.
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.
four opponent powers: The four practices used to purify nonvirtuous imprints on the mindstream; they are the power of the object, taking refuge in the Triple Gem and generating bodhicitta; the power of regret, feeling deep regret for the negativity committed; the power of resolve, determining not to repeat that negativity; and the power of remedy, a practice such as Vajrasattva that effectively acts as an antidote to the negativity.

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Gampopa (1074 - 1153): The "sun-like" disciple of Milarepa and author of The Jewel Ornament of Liberation; also known as “The Physician from Dakpo”; guru of the first Karmapa.
Ganden Lha Gyäma (Tib): Guru yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa.
Ganden Monastery: The first of the three great Gelugpa monastic universities near Lhasa, founded in 1409 by Lama Tsongkhapa. It was badly damaged in the 1960s and has now been re-established in exile in South India.
Ganden Tripa: The representative of Lama Tsongkhapa, who sits on Lama Tsongkhapa’s throne at Ganden Monastery.
gandhe (Skt): Perfume; one of the offering substances.
ge-kyö (Tib): A disciplinarian in a Tibetan monastery.
gelong (Tib; Skt: bhikshu): A fully ordained Buddhist monk.
gelongma (Tib; Skt: bhikshuni): A fully ordained Buddhist nun.
Gelug (Tib): The Virtuous Order. The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded by Lama Tsongkhapa 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.
Gelugpa (Tib): A follower of the Gelug tradition.
Gen (Tib): Literally, elder. A title of respect.
Gen Jampa Wangdu (d. 1984): An ascetic meditator who was a close friend of Lama Yeshe and a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
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.
geshe (Tib): Literally, spiritual friend. The title conferred on those who have completed extensive studies and examinations at Gelugpa monastic universities.
Geshe Benkungyel: A Kadampa practitioner and follower of Atisha, he was a robber before he renounced his life of crime and ordained.
Geshe Chekawa (1101–1175): The Kadampa geshe who was inspired by Geshe Langri Tangpa’s Eight Verses of Thought Transformation and later composed the famous thought transformation text Seven-Point Mind Training.
Geshe Chekawa (1101–1175): The Kadampa geshe who was inspired by Geshe Langri Tangpa’s Eight Verses of Thought Transformation and later composed the famous thought transformation text Seven-Point Mind Training.
Geshe Chengawa (1038 - 1103): Also known as Chengawa Tsultrim Bar; patriarch of the Kadam Instruction lineage and one of Dromtönpa’s three main disciples.
Geshe Doga (b. 1935): Resident teacher for more than twenty-five years at Tara Institute, the FPMT center in Melbourne, Australia.
Geshe Dölpa (1059–1131): Sherab Gyatso; a disciple of Geshe Potowa and compiler of Blue Manual.
Geshe Kharak Gomchung (late 11th century): A disciple of Gönpawa Wangchuk Gyaltsen; the dedicated meditator who could not even find time to cut the thorn bush outside his meditation room.
Geshe Lama Konchog (1927 - 2001): A great meditator who spent over 20 years (six in strict austerity with chu-len practice) in retreat in Tsum, a valley in Nepal, before becoming one of the main teachers at Kopan monastery.
Geshe Namgyal Wangchen (b. 1934): Geshe Wangchen was educated at Drepung Monastery in Tibet. He served as the resident teacher at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, for many years, and is now a respected teacher at the re-established Drepung Monastery in South India.
Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey (1921 - 1995): A tutor to many Gelug tulkus and resident teacher at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, before leaving to establish his own centers in New Zealand, where he passed away.
Geshe Potowa (1031 - 1105): Also known as Potowa Rinchen Sel. Entered Reting Monastery in 1058 and became its abbot for a short time; one of the three great disciples of Dromtönpa, patriarch of the Kadampa Treatise lineage.
Geshe Rabten Rinpoche (1920 - 1986): The learned Gelugpa lama who was a religious assistant to His Holiness the Dalai Lama before moving to Switzerland in 1975; a guru of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Geshe Sharawa (1070 - 1141): Ordained by Geshe Potowa and guru of Geshe Chekawa.
Geshe Sopa Rinpoche (b. 1923): An eminent Buddhist scholar based at Deer Park in Wisconsin, USA, and guru of both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
getsul (Tib): A novice Buddhist monk.
god: See deva.
Gomo Rinpoche (1921 - 1985): A lay lama, guru of both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who taught at many FPMT centers, especially in Italy; passed away and reincarnated in Canada.
gompa (Tib): Usually refers to the main meditation hall, or temple, within a monastery.
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 Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment: See Lam-rim Chen-mo.
Great Vehicle: See Mahayana.
grounds and paths: There are five paths and ten bodhisattva grounds (Skt: bhumi) in the Mahayana path to full enlightenment.
Guhyasamaja (Skt; Tib: Sang-wa Dü-pa): Male meditational deity from the father class of highest yoga tantra; a manifestation of the Buddha Akshobhya.
Gungtang Rinpoche (1762–1823): Könchog Tenpai Drönme. A disciple of the first incarnation of the great Jamyang Shepa; known for his eloquent spiritual poetry and philosophical works.
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 devotion: The sutra or tantra practice of seeing the guru as a buddha then devoting to him with thought and with action.
Guru Puja (Skt; Tib: Lama Chöpa): A special Highest Yoga Tantra guru yoga practice composed by Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen.
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.
Gyalwa Ensapa (1505 -1566): A disciple of Chökyi Dorje; achieved enlightenment within a few years without bearing much hardship; predecessor of the Panchen Lamas; a guru of Khedrup Sangye Yeshe.
Gyalwa Gyatso (Tib): Highest Yoga Tantra aspect of Avalokiteshvara.

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happy transmigratory being: A samsaric being in the realms of suras, asuras or humans.
Hayagriva (Tib): A tantric deity; a wrathful form of Avalokiteshvara.
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.
Heart Sutra: See Prajñaparamita.
hell (Skt: narak): The samsaric realm with the greatest suffering. There are eight hot hells, eight cold hells and four surrounding hells.
heresy: A general term for negative thoughts toward the guru; the opposite of devotion.
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: maha-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.
holy signs and exemplifications: The thirty-two holy signs and eighty exemplifications are unique physical characteristics of a buddha.
hungry ghost: See preta.

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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.
illusory body: A subtle body generated through practice of the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra; the cause of the rupakaya.
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.
imprints: The seeds, or potentials, left on the mind by positive or negative actions of body, speech and mind.
individual liberation: The liberation achieved by the hearer or the solitary realizer within the Theravada tradition, as compared to enlightenment achieved by a practitioner of the Mahayana tradition.
individual liberation vows: See pratimoksha vows.
Indra: A powerful Hindu deity in the god realm.
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.

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Jam-päl-yang (Tib; Skt: Manjushri): Also called Jamyang. See Manjushri.
Jangchub Ö: Nephew of Lha Lama Yeshe Ö, the king who first wished Atisha to come to Tibet to regenerate the Dharma. When his uncle died, Jangchub Ö sent emissaries to India and brought Atisha to Tibet.
je-nang (Tib): A ceremony that allows the disciple to recite a mantra and practice a sadhana, but is not counted as a full initiation (wang).
Jokhang: The main temple in Lhasa.
jor-chö (Tib): The six preparatory practices that prepare the mind for lam-rim meditation.

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Kachen Yeshe Gyaltsen (1713–1793): Tsechokling Rinpoche. A recent lineage lama of mahamudra; tutor of the Ninth Dalai Lama; founded Tsechok Ling Monastery in Lhasa.
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.
Kadampa geshe: A practitioner of Kadam lineage. Kadampa geshes are renowned for their practice of thought transformation
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.
kaka: Slang for feces.
Kalachakra (Skt): Literally, Cycle of Time. A male meditational deity of Highest Yoga Tantra. The Kalachakra Tantra contains instructions in medicine, astronomy and so forth.
Kalarupa (Skt): Wrathful male meditational deity connected with Yamantaka.
Kanakamuni: The second buddha of this eon. See also Krakucchanda, Kasyapa, and Maitreya.
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.
Kasyapa: The third buddha of this eon. See also Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Maitreya.
kaya (Skt): Buddha-body or holy body. A body of an enlightened being. See also dharmakaya, rupakaya, three kayas and four kayas.
Kechara (Skt; Tib: Dakpa Khachö): The pure land of Vajrayogini.
Kham: The area of Tibet east of Lhasa and west of Amdo.
khatag (Tib): A white cotton scarf used by Tibetans for greetings and for offering to holy objects.
Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen (1894–1977): A renowned bodhisattva born in northern India; a scholar of Sanskrit who studied in Tibet with many teachers from different schools; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Khyongla Rato Rinpoche (b. 1923): In 1975 founded Tibet Center, the oldest Tibetan Buddhist center in New York City; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (1926 - 2006): A highly attained and learned ascetic yogi who lived in Dharamsala, India, and who is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus.
klesha (Skt): See delusion.
Konchog Gyaltsen (1388–1469): Co-compiler of Mind Training: The Great Collection; holder of the Ngor throne of the Sakya school.
Kopan Monastery: The monastery near Boudhanath in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, founded by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Krakucchanda: The first buddha of this eon. See also Kasyapa, Kanakamuni, and Maitreya.
Krishnacharya (Tib: Nagpo Chöpa): Also known as Krishnachari and Kanhapa; one of the eight-four siddhas.
kriya (Skt): First of the four classes of tantra (q.v.); action tantra.
Kshitigarbha (Skt): One of the eight bodhisattvas.
kundalini (Skt): Literally, “coiled”. The system the energy channels (nadis) and centers (chakras) within the human body.
kundalini yoga: Blissful energy dormant within the physical body, aroused through tantric practice and used to generate penetrative insight into the true nature of reality.
Kusali (Skt): A name given to a hidden practitioner.
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.
Kushinagar: The place in North India where the Buddha died and was cremated. The site of the 152 metre (500-foot) Maitreya statue the FPMT is building.
Kyabje (Tib): Literally, lord of refuge. A title of respect.
kye-rim (Tib): See generation stage.

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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.
Lam-rim Chen-mo (Tib): The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Lama Tsongkhapa’s most important work, a commentary on Atisha’s Lamp for the Path, the fundamental lam-rim text.
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.
Lama Atisha: See Atisha.
Lama Chöpa: See Guru Puja.
Lama Lhundrup Rigsel, Khen Rinpoche, (b. 1941): Abbot of Kopan Monastery.
Lama Tsongkhapa: See Tsongkhapa.
Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga: A guru yoga practice related to Lama Tsongkhapa that is performed daily in Gelugpa monasteries.
Lama Yeshe (1935 - 1984): Born and educated in Tibet, he fled to India, where he met his chief disciple, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. They began teaching Westerners at Kopan Monastery in1969 and founded the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) in 1975.
Langri Tangpa (1054–1123): Dorje Senge. Author of the famous Eight Verses of Thought Transformation.
Lati Rinpoche (b. 1922): A respected Gelugpa lama and an ex-abbot of Ganden Shartse Monastery.
Lawudo: The cave in the Solu Khumbu region of Nepal where the Lawudo Lama meditated for more than twenty years. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is recognized as the reincarnation of the Lawudo Lama.
Lesser Vehicle: See Hinayana.
Lha Lama Yeshe Ö: The king who first wished Atisha to come to Tibet to regenerate the Dharma. Before he was able to, he was thrown into prison and died, leaving his nephew, Jangchub Ö to complete the task.
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.
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives: The publishing house and research institute in Dharamsala foremost in preserving and publishing Tibetan Dharma texts.
lineage lama: A spiritual teacher who is in the line of direct guru-disciple transmission of teachings, from Buddha to the teachers of the present day.
Ling Rinpoche (1903 - 83): The late Senior Tutor to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama; the Ninety-seventh Ganden Tripa; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Lingrepa (1128 - 88): A lay practitioner and important Kagyü teacher; the Drukpa Kagyü line originated from Lingrepa.
lo-jong: See thought transformation.
Losang Dragpa: See Tsongkhapa.
loving kindness: The wish for others to have happiness and its causes.
lower realms: The three realms of cyclic existence with the most suffering: the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.
lung (Tib): Literally, wind. The state in which the winds within the body are unbalanced or blocked, thus causing various illnesses. Can also refer to an oral transmission.
lung (Tib): Oral transmission of a text. Although spelt the same in transliteration, the pronunciation of the two “lungs” - wind and oral transmission - are slightly different.

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madana (Skt): Nectar; one of two offering substances in a tantric offering, the other is bala.
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.
mala (Skt; Tib: threng-wa): A rosary of beads for counting mantras.
mandala (Skt; Tib: khyil- khor): A circular diagram symbolic of the entire universe. The abode of a meditational deity.
Manjugosha: See Manjushri.
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): 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.
maras (Skt): See obstructive forces.
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).
mental factors (Tib: sem-lay jung-wa chö, Skt: chaitasika dharma): As defined by Vasubandhu, secondary aspects of the mind that apprehend particular qualities of the object that the main mind is perceiving.
merely labeled: The subtlest meaning of dependent arising; every phenomenon exists relatively, or conventionally, as a mere label, merely imputed by the mind.
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.
merit field: Or field of accumulation. The visualized or actual holy beings in relation to whom one accumulates merit by going for refuge, making offerings and so forth and to whom one prays or makes requests for special purposes.
method: All aspects of the path to enlightenment other than those related to emptiness, principally associated with the development of loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta.
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.
migtsema (Tib): A verse of praise recited during the practice of Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga.
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 training (Tib: lo-jong): See thought transformation.
momo (Tib): A fried or steamed dumpling, usually filled with meat; a favorite food of Tibetans.
Mount Meru: The center of the universe in Buddhist cosmology.
mudra (Skt; Tib: chag- gya): Literally, seal, token. A symbolic hand gesture, endowed with power not unlike a mantra. A tantric consort.
mundane siddhis (Skt: laukika): Realizations such as clairvoyance that occur due to advanced meditation, not considered helpful in developing towards enlightenment, as opposed to supramundane siddhis.

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nadis (Skt): The energy channels that flow through a body.
Nagarjuna (Skt): The great second-century Indian philosopher and tantric adept who propounded the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness.
nagas (Skt): Snake-like beings of the animal realm who live in or near bodies of water; commonly associated with fertility of the land, but can also function as protectors of religion.
naivedya (Skt): Food; one of the offering substances.
Nalanda: A Mahayana Buddhist monastic university founded in the fifth century in North India, not far from Bodhgaya, which served as a major source of the Buddhist teachings that spread to Tibet.
nang-chö (Tib): See inner offering.
narak (Skt; Tib: nyäl-wa): Hell, either an overall term for the hell realm, or a specific term, as in the hot hells or cold hells.
Naropa (1016 - 1100): The Indian mahasiddha, a disciple of Tilopa and guru of Marpa and Maitripa, who transmitted many tantric lineages, including that of the renowned Six Yogas of Naropa.
negative karma: See nonvirtue.
ngagpa (Tib): A lay tantric practitioner.
Ngari: Western Tibet, where Atisha first arrived. He wrote his Lamp for the Path at the monastery of Thöling in Zhang-Zhung, or Gugé.
Ngawang Lekshe: Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s first alphabet teacher.
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; as opposed to eternalism.
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, rupakaya, sambhogakaya, three kayas and four kayas.
nirvana (Skt; Tib: nyang-dä): See liberation.
nonvirtue: Negative karma; that which results in suffering.
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.
Nyingmapa (Tib): A follower of the Nyingma tradition.
nyung-nä (Tib): A two-day Thousand-arm Chenrezig retreat that involves fasting, prostrations and silence.

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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."
OM MANI PADME HUM (Skt): The mani; the mantra of Chenrezig, Buddha of Compassion.
omniscient mind: See enlightenment.
oral transmission (Tib: lung): The verbal transmission of a teaching, meditation practice or mantra from guru to disciple, the guru having received the transmission in an unbroken lineage from the original source.
Osel (Ösel) Rinpoche (b. 1985): The Spanish reincarnation of Lama Yeshe.

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Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo (1871 - 1941): An influential and charismatic lama of the Gelug order, Pabongka Rinpoche was the root guru of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Senior and Junior Tutors. He also gave the teachings compiled in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.
Padmasambhava: The eighth-century Indian tantric master mainly responsible for the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet, revered by all Tibetan Buddhists, but especially by the Nyingmapas.
padyam (Skt): Water (for drinking); one of the offering substances.
pak (Tib): Tsampa mixed with butter tea.
Palden Lhamo: Protector, said to be the special protector of Tibet.
Palden Yeshe (1738–1780): Also known as Lobsang Palden Yeshe; the sixth Panchen Lama.
Pali Canon: The teachings of the Buddha from the first turning of the Dharma wheel, written in Pali language and the basis of the Theravada tradition. The later teachings were in Sanskrit.
Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen (1570 - 1662): The first Panchen Lama, who composed Guru Puja and Path to Bliss Leading to Omniscience, a famous lam-rim text; a tutor of the Fifth Dalai Lama.
Panchen Rinpoche: Lineage representing incarnations of Amitabha Buddha; the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama are the two highest spiritual leaders of Tibet.
pandit (Skt): Scholar; learned person.
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.
path of accumulation: The first of the five paths leading to buddhahood.
path of meditation: The fourth of the five paths leading to buddhahood.
path of no more learning: The fifth and last path leading to buddhahood; buddhahood itself.
path of preparation: The second of the five paths leading to buddhahood.
path of seeing: The third of the five paths to buddhahood; attained with the direct perception of emptiness.
Pembo: A county in Tibet near Lhasa.
perfect human rebirth: The rare human state, qualified by eight freedoms and ten richnesses, which is the ideal condition for practicing Dharma and attaining enlightenment.
perfections (Skt: paramitas): The practices of a bodhisattva. On the basis of bodhicitta, a bodhisattva practices the six paramitas: generosity, morality, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration and wisdom.
Performance Tantra (Skt: Charya Tantra): The second of the four classes of tantra.
pervasive compounding suffering: The most subtle of the three types of suffering, it refers to the nature of the five aggregates, which are contaminated by karma and delusions.
Phadampa Sangye (Tib): Indian yogi of unusual accomplishments; contemporary with Milarepa and disciple of Nagarjuna and Virupa.
po-wa (Tib): The practice whereby the consciousness is forcibly ejected from the body into a pure land just before the moment of death.
possessed result: One of four ways we can experience the result of an action, also called environmental result, possessed result is the environment we find ourselves in when we take rebirth.
Potowa: See Geshe Potowa.
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.
Pramanavarttika or Pramanavarttikakarika. (Skt; Tib: Tshad ma rnam 'grel gyi tsig le'ur byas pa): Compendium of Valid Cognition by Dharmakirti.
Prasangika Madhymaka (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.
preliminary practices: The practices that prepare the mind for successful tantric meditation by removing hindrances and accumulating merit.
preta (Skt; Tib: yi-dag): Hungry ghost, or spirit. The preta realm is one of the three lower realms of cyclic existence.
prostrations: Paying respect to the guru-deity with body, speech and mind; one of the tantric preliminaries.
protector: A worldly or enlightened being who protects Buddhism and its practitioners.
puja (Skt): Literally, offering; a religious ceremony, usually used to describe an offering ceremony such as the Offering to the Spiritual Master (Guru Puja).
pure realm: A pure land of a buddha where there is no suffering; after birth in a pure land, the practitioner receives teachings directly from the buddha of that pure land, actualizes the rest of the path and then becomes enlightened.
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.
pushpe (Skt): Flowers; one of the offering substances.

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Rachevsky, Zina (1931–1973): Lama Yeshe’s and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s first Western student, she helped them to establish Kopan Monastery and died in retreat in Solu Khumbu.
Rajgir: A town in Bihar, northern India; the ancient capital of Magadha kingdom. Vulture's Peak is nearby.
Ratnasambhava (Skt): One of the five Dhyani Buddhas, yellow in color, representing the purification of the feeling aggregate and the wisdom of equality.
Rechungpa (1083 - 1161): Also known as Dorje Drakpa; the “moon-like” disciple of Milarepa.
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.
relics (Tib. rig-sel): Small, pearl-like pills that manifest spontaneously from holy objects such as statues, stupas or the cremated bodies of great practitioners.
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.
Ribur Rinpoche (1923 - 2006): Recognized as a reincarnation by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama; a geshe of Sera Me; suffered under Chinese oppression for twenty-one years; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche; lived in the USA and taught in many Western countries.
rig-sel (Tib.): See relics.
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.
ripening result: One of the four ways we can experience the results of an action, the ripening result is the actual realm we are born into when we take rebirth.
Rolwaling: The valley in Solu Khumbu were Lama Zopa was sent as a young boy to study.
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, nirmanakaya, samboghakaya, three kayas and four kayas.

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sadhana (Skt): Method of accomplishment; the step-by-step instructions for practicing the meditations related to a particular meditational deity.
sadhu (Skt): A wandering Hindu yogi.
Saka Dawa: One of the great holy days of the Tibetan calendar; commemorating the Buddha’s birth, death and parinirvana.
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.
Sakya Pandita (1182 - 1251): The title of Kunga Gyaltsen, a master of the Sakya tradition, who spread Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia and China.
samadhi (Skt): See single-pointed concentration.
Samantabhadra: A bodhisattva renowned for his heroic aspiration and extensive offerings.
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, nirmanakaya, rupakaya, three kayas and four kayas.
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): Cyclic existence; 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.
Sarnath: A town in Bihar, northern India, very near Varanasi, where the Buddha gave his first discourse on the four noble truths.
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.
self-cherishing: The self-centered attitude of considering one’s own happiness to be more important that that of others; the main obstacle to the realization of bodhicitta.
sentient being (Tib: sem-chen): Any unenlightened being; any being whose mind is not completely free from gross and subtle ignorance.
Sera Monastery: One of the three great Gelugpa monasteries near Lhasa; founded in the early fifteenth century by Jamchen Chöje, a disciple of Lama Tsongkhapa; now also established in exile in south India. It has two colleges, Sera Je, with which Lama Zopa Rinpoche is connected, and Sera Me.
Serkong Dorje Chang (1920–1979): The great twentieth century yogi who lived for many years at the holy place of Swayambhunath in Nepal; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
seven limb practice: The seven limbs are prostrating, making offerings, confession, rejoicing, requesting to turn the Dharma wheel, requesting the teachers to remain in the world and dedicating.
shabda (Skt): Music; one of the offering substances.
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; a state of concentration in which the mind is able to abide steadily, without effort and for as long as desired, on an object of meditation.
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 (Bodhicaryavatara).
Sharawa: See Geshe Sharawa..
shem-thab (Tib): The lower part of a Tibetan monk’s or nun’s robes.
Sherpa: A native of the Everest region of Nepal. Two famous Sherpas are Sherpa Tenzin, the first person to climb Everest, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
shi-dag (Tib): Landlord; place owner. Tibetan 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.
shi-nä: See shamatha.
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.
Siddhartha, Prince: The prince of the Shakya clan who became Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha.
siddhis (Skt): Realizations, usually used in reference to psychic powers (both mundane and supramundane) acquired as a by-product in the spiritual path.
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.
sinking thought: Or mental dullness; one of the interferences to attaining calm abiding.
six perfections (Skt: paramita): Charity, morality, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration and wisdom. See also Paramitayana.
six realms: The general way that Buddhism divides the whole of cyclic existence, there being three suffering realms (hell, hungry ghost and animal) and three fortunate realms (human, demi-god and god).
Six Yogas of Naropa: A set of completion stage tantric practices: inner fire meditation, the yoga of the illusory body, the yoga of clear light, transference of consciousness, transference into another body and the yoga of the intermediate state.
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.
Solu Khumbu: The area in north-eastern Nepal, bordering Tibet, where Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born; populated by the Sherpas.
Song Rinpoche (1905 - 1984): A powerful Gelugpa lama renowned for his wrathful aspect, who had impeccable knowledge of Tibetan Buddhist rituals, art and science.
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 consciousness or fields of consciousness) are the form source, sound source, odor source, taste source, object-of-touch source and phenomenon source.
spirits: Beings not usually visible to ordinary people; can belong to the hungry ghost or god realms; can be beneficent as well as harmful.
stupa (Skt): Buddhist reliquary objects ranging in size from huge to a few inches in height and representing the enlightened mind.
subtle dependent arising: See merely labeled.
subtle obscurations (Tib: she-drib): The subtle defilements of the mind that obstruct the attainment of enlightenment.
suffering of change: What is normally regarded as pleasure, which because of its transitory nature sooner or later turns into suffering.
suffering of pain: The commonly recognized suffering experiences of pain, discomfort and unhappiness.
suji (Hindi): Semolina.
Sukhavati (Skt): The pure land of Tara.
supramundane siddhis (Skt: lokottara): Realizations obtained due to very advanced levels of concentration, such as seeing past and future lives, said to be able to help in developing towards enlightenment, as opposed to mundane siddhis.
sur practice (Tib): A tantric practice where tsampa is burned and offered to the spirits.
sura (Skt): Another term for deva or god.
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.
sutra (Skt): A discourse of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Sutrayana (Skt): The pre-tantric division of Buddhist teachings stressing the cultivation of bodhicitta and the practice of the six perfections. See also Paramitayana.
svabhavikakaya (Skt): The buddha-body of nature; the emptiness of the dharmakaya.
Svatantrika Madhyamaka (Skt): The Middle Way Autonomy School of the four schools of Buddhist philosophy. See also Madhyamaka.

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taking the essence: See chu-len.
tantra (Skt; Tib: gyü): Literally, thread, or continuity. The secret teachings of the Buddha; a scriptural text and the teachings and practices it contains. Also called Vajrayana or Mantrayana.
tantric vows: Vows taken by tantric practitioners.
Tara (Skt; Tib: Drolma): A female meditational deity who embodies the enlightened activity of all the buddhas; often referred to as the mother of the buddhas of the past, present and future.
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery: The Panchen Lama’s monastery in Shigatse in Tibet; built by the First Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gendun Drub; now re-established in exile in South India.
tathagata (Skt; Tib: de-zhin shek-pa): Literally, one who has realized suchness; a buddha.
ten endowments: The ten qualities that characterize a perfect human rebirth: being born as a human being, in a Dharma country and with perfect mental and physical faculties; being free from the five uninterrupted negative karmas; having faith in Buddha’s teachings; being born when a buddha has descended, when the teachings are still alive, when there are still followers of the teachings and having the necessary conditions to practice Dharma.
ten nonvirtuous 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).
Tenzin Gyatso: See Dalai Lama.
thangka (Tib.): Painted or appliquéd depictions of deities, usually set in a framework of colorful brocade.
Thangme: The village in Solu Khumbu where Lama Zopa was born.
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.
Thirty-five Buddhas: Also called Thirty-five Confession Buddhas. Used in the practice of confessing and purifying negative karmas, the group of thirty-five buddhas visualized while reciting The Sutra of the Three Heaps and performing prostrations.
Thirty-three realm: A god realm in the desire realm; the abode of Indra.
Thogme Zangpo (1295 - 1369): Also known as Gyalsä Rinpoche. A great master of the Nyingma and Sakya traditions and author of Thirty-seven Practices of a Bodhisattva.
thought transformation (Tib: lo-jong): Also known as "mind training" or "mind transformation". A powerful approach to the development of bodhicitta, in which the mind is trained to use all situations, both happy and unhappy, as a means to destroy self-cherishing and self-grasping.
Three Baskets (Skt: tripitaka): The three divisions of the Dharma: vinaya, sutra and abhidharma.
three doors: Body, speech and mind.
three great meanings: The happiness of future lives, liberation and enlightenment.
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. Also called the Triple Gem.
three kayas: Dharmakaya (wisdom body), sambhogakaya (enjoyment body) and nirmanakaya (emanation body). The general way a buddha is described as emanating after enlightenment, the wisdom body being a result of the wisdom side of the practice and the rupakaya (form body)—of which sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya are aspects—of the method side. See also four kayas, rupakaya, dharmakaya, nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya.
three levels of practice: Also known as the three scopes, the three levels of lower, medium and higher capable being, based on the motivations of trying to attain a better future rebirth, liberation or enlightenment.
three poisons: Greed, hatred and ignorance.
three principal aspects of the path: The three main divisions of the lam-rim: renunciation, bodhicitta and the right view (of emptiness).
throwing karma: Also called projecting karma, the karmic imprint that ripens at the time of death to propel us into the next rebirth
Thubten Jinpa, Geshe. (b. 1959): Respected author, Cambridge graduate and principal translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Tilopa (988 - 1069): Indian mahasiddha and guru of Naropa; source of many lineages of tantric teachings.
tong-len (Tib): Literally, taking and giving; the meditation practice of taking the suffering of others and giving away the merit.
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.
Treasury of Knowledge: See Abhidharmakosha.
trichilicosm (three great thousand great universes): 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 great thousand great universes.
Trijang Rinpoche, His Holiness (1901 - 81): 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.
Tripitaka (Skt): The three divisions of the Dharma: vinaya, sutra and abhidharma.
Triple Gem: See Three Jewels.
true existence: The type of concrete, real existence from its own side that everything appears to possess; in fact, everything is empty of true existence.
truth body: See dharmakaya.
tsa-tsa (Tib): A print of a buddha’s image made in clay or plaster from a carved mold.
tsampa (Tib): Roasted barley flour; a Tibetan staple food.
Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche (1914-1983): Kyabje Tsenshab Serkong Tugse Rinpoche , born in Loka, South Tibet; one of the lineage masters of the FPMT.
tsog (Tib): Literally, gathering—a gathering of offering substances and a gathering of disciples to make the offering.
Tsongkhapa, 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.
Tsum: A region in Nepal, where Geshe Lama Konchog (and his reincarnation) was born.
tum-mo (Tib): See inner fire.
Tushita (Skt): The Joyous Land. The pure land of the thousand buddhas of this eon, where the future buddha, Maitreya, and Lama Tsongkhapa reside.
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."
twenty-five absorptions: The various visions that a person sees as he is dying, due to the winds (subtle energies) absorbing into the central channel.
twenty-four holy places: Sacred sites in India and Nepal associated especially with Chakrasamvara; also Hindu holy sites.

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ultimate bodhicitta: The realization of emptiness with a bodhicitta motivation. The word “ultimate” is used to distinguish it from “conventional” bodhicitta.
um-dze (Tib): The chant master in a Tibetan monastery.
upasaka: A male lay follower of Buddhism; not ordained but having taken certain vows.
upasika: A female lay follower of Buddhism; not ordained but having taken certain vows.
upper realms: The three higher realms in samsara of human, asura and sura.
Upper Tantric College (Tib. Gyutö): One of the two tantric colleges founded in 1474 by Gyuchen Kunga Dhondup after the death of Lama Tsongkhapa, now re-established in Dharamsala, India.
ushnisha (Skt): The crown protrusion of a buddha.

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Vaibhashika (Skt): The Great Exposition (Hinayana) School of the four schools of Buddhist philosophy.
Vairochana (Skt): One of the five Dhyani Buddhas, white in color, representing the purification of the form aggregate and the mirror-like wisdom.
vajra (Skt; Tib: dorje): Literally, “adamantine”, often translated as “thunderbolt” but usually left untranslated, the vajra is the four- or five-spoke implement used in tantric practice.
vajra and bell: Implements used during tantric rituals: the vajra, held in the right hand, symbolizes bliss and the bell, held in the left, emptiness.
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.
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.
Vajrayogini (Skt; Tib: Dorje Nol-jör-ma): Female meditational deity from the mother class of highest yoga tantra; sometimes a consort of Heruka.
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.
virtue: Positive karma; that which results in happiness.
virtuous friend (Tib: ge-wai she-nyen): See guru.
voidness: See emptiness.
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.
Vulture's Peak: The mountain near Rajgir where the Buddha taught the Heart Sutra.

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wang (TIb): Initiation, where a disciple is given permission to practice a particular tantric deity.
wind disease: See lung.
winds: Energy-winds. Subtle energies that flow in the channels in the body, which enable the body to function and which are associated with different levels of mind.
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.
wisdom mother: A tantric consort.
wish-granting jewel: Also called “wish-fulfilling jewel”. A jewel that brings its possessor everything that they desire.

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yama (Skt): A guardian of the hell realm.
Yama (Skt; Tib: Shin-je): The Lord of Death, seen on the Wheel of Life.
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.
yoga (Skt): Literally, to yoke. The spiritual discipline to which one yokes oneself in order to achieve enlightenment.
Yoga Tantra (Skt): The third of the four classes of Buddhist tantra.
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.
yogi (Skt): A highly realized meditator.
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.

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zen (Tib): The upper robe of a monk or nun.

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