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≫ ma chö (Tibetan: མ་བཅོས་, ma chö ; Wylie: ma bcos ; Sanskrit: अकृत्रिम, akritrima ; IAST: akṛtrima, “natural, spontaneous, unartificial, true” ; Chinese: 無作, pinyin: wúzuò, “unconditioned, unconstructed, unartificial, uncontrived”, also 非作法, pinyin: fēizuòfǎ, “not artificial, not created”) = (1) uncontrived, unfabricated, unadulterated; (2) simple, natural, unfeigned, unartificial; (3) true, genuine.
• see also: chöpa (contrived, fabricated)
ma rigpa (Tibetan: མ་རིག་པ་, ma rigpa ; Wylie: ma rig pa) = ignorance; misconceptions about the nature of reality (in particular, not understanding or accepting the 3 marks of existence) – see avidya (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
≫ madhyamaka (Sanskrit: माध्यमक, IAST: mādhyamaka ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་, umapa ; Wylie: dbu ma pa) = the middle way free from all extremes (including the extreme views of eternalism and nihilism). Used to refer to:
(1) the Madhyamaka school, a tradition of Buddhist philosophy founded by the Indian philosopher Nagarjuna. Influential commentaries on Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika by his student Aryadeva and the later Indian masters Buddhapalita, Bhaviveka and Chandrakirti led to the establishment of the two traditions of Prasangika and Svatantrika within the Madhyamaka;
(2) the ultimate nature of mind and nature of phenomena;
(3) the realisation of the ultimate nature of mind and nature of phenomena (e.g. in meditative equipoise).
• see also: Chandrakirti (7th century Indian Buddhist philosopher) ; Madhyamakavatara (“Introduction to the Middle Way”) ; Mulamadhyamakakarika (“Root Verses on the Middle Way”) ; Nagarjuna (2nd-3rd century Indian Buddhist philosopher)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ Madhyamakavatara (Sanskrit: मध्यमकावतार, IAST: madhyamakāvatāra = माध्यमक, mādhyamaka “middle way” + अवतार, avatāra “entering”, literally “descent (especially of a deity from heaven), appearance of any deity upon earth”; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་ལ་འཇུག་པ་, uma la jukpa; Wylie: dbu ma la ‘jug pa also Tibetan: དབུ་མ་འཇུག་པ་, uma jukpa, Wylie: dbu ma ‘jug pa ; Chinese: 入中論, pinyin: Rùzhōng lùn) = “Introduction to the Middle Way” (or “Entering the Middle Way”), a text by Chandrakirti on the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. It is a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika and the Dashabhumika Sutra (Ten Stages Sutra). The Madhyamakavatara relates the Madhyamaka doctrine of shunyata to the “spiritual discipline” (Sanskrit: sadhana) of a bodhisattva. The Madhyamakavatara contains eleven chapters, each one of which addresses one of the ten paramitas or “perfections” attained and fulfilled by bodhisattvas as they traverse the ten bhumis (stages) to buddhahood, which is the final chapter. It is included among the so-called “Thirteen great texts” (Tibetan: གཞུང་ཆེན་བཅུ་གསུམ་, shyung chenpo chusum; Wylie: gzhung chen po bcu gsum), which form the core of the curriculum in most shedras (Tibetan monastic colleges).
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / TBRC / Lotsawa House ; (Tibetan root text): Christian Steinert (includes Wylie)
≫ Magadha (Sanskrit: मागध, IAST: māgadha ; Tibetan: མ་ག་དྷ། ; Wylie: ma ga d+ha) = Ancient Indian kingdom and empire, based in southern Bihar in the eastern Ganges Plain, and containing present-day Varanasi. It was influential from 6th century BCE onwards, and was the core of four of northern India’s greatest empires, the Nanda Empire (c. 345– 322 BCE), Maurya Empire (c. 322–185 BCE), Shunga Empire (c. 185–78 BCE) and Gupta Empire (c. 319–550 CE). Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, lived much of his life in the kingdom of Magadha. He attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath and his last sermon in Vaishali. The first Buddhist council was held in Rajgriha and the second in Vaishali, all of which are in Magadha.
• see also: Ashoka (third Mauryan Emperor of Magadha) ; Sarnath (place in Magadha) ; Vaishali (city in Magadha)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ magga (Pāli: मग्ग, IAST: magga ; Sanskrit: मार्ग, IAST: mārga ; Tibetan: Tibetan: ལམ་, lam; Wylie: lam) = path; the fourth of the 4 Noble Truths.
• see also: cattari ariyasaccani (4 Noble Truths): (1) dukkha (suffering), (2) samudaya (origin of suffering), (3) nirodha (cessation of suffering), (4) magga (path).
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ maha (Pāli & Sanskrit: महा, IAST: mahā) = great, grand.
• external links: wiktionary
≫ mahakaruna (Sanskrit: महाकरुण, IAST: mahākaruṇa) = great compassion.
• see also: karuna (compassion)
≫ Mahakashyapa (Sanskrit: महाकाश्यप; IAST: mahākāśyapa ; Pāli: महाकस्सप, IAST: mahākassapa ; Tibetan: འོད་སྲུང་ཆེན་པོ་, ösung chenpo; Wylie: ‘od srung chen po ; Chinese: 摩訶迦葉 / 摩诃迦叶, pinyin: Móhē jiāyè) = one of the Buddha’s principal disciples, regarded as the foremost in ascetic practice.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art
≫ Mahamudra (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, IAST: mahāmudrā = महा, mahā “great” + Sanskrit: मुद्रा, mudrā “seal, mark” ; Tibetan: ཕྱག་ཆེན་, chag chen; Wylie: phyag chen, contraction of Tibetan: ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ་, chaggya chenpo ; Wylie: phyag rgya chen po) = literally “The Great Seal” or “The Great Symbol”, the Mahamudra is the meditation tradition of the Kagyu lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, which passed from Maitripa and Naropa in India to Marpa Lotsawa in Tibet. The Mahamudra is a body of teachings that includes methods for realizing the very nature of our own minds, and thus leading us to enlightenment. It forms the basic view of Vajrayana practice according to the Sarma or ‘new’ schools of Kagyu, Gelug, and Sakya. The name “Great Seal” refers to the fact that all phenomena are stamped or sealed by the reality or fact of nondual wisdom and emptiness.
• see also: Dorje Chang Thungma (Mahamudra lineage supplication)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Study Buddhism
≫ mahapurisa lakkhana (Pāli: महापुरिसलक्खण, IAST: mahāpurisa lakkhaṇa = महा mahā “great” + पुरिस purisa “man” + लक्खण lakkhaṇa “sign, mark, characteristic”; Sanskrit: महापुरुषलक्षण, IAST: mahāpuruṣa lakṣaṇa = महापुरुष mahāpuruṣa + लक्षण lakṣaṇa; Tibetan: མཚན་བཟང་པོ་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས་, tsenzangpo sumchu tsa nyi; Wylie: mtshan bzang po sum cu rtsa gnyis) = the 32 Characteristics of a Great Man (also known as “the 32 major marks”), which are traditionally regarded as present in the physical body of the Buddha and also the chakravartin kings. The 32 characteristics are enumerated throughout the Pali Canon, for example in the “Discourse of the Marks” (Pali: Lakkhaṇa Sutta) (DN 30) and the Brahmāyu Sutta (MN 91). Although there are no physical representations of the Buddha in artistic form until about the 2nd century CE, these 32 characteristics are believed to have formed the basis for early representations of the Buddha.
• see also: ushnisha
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / dhammawiki / Study Buddhism
Mahasandhi (Sanskrit: महासन्धि, IAST: mahāsandhi = महा mahā, “great” + sandhi, “meeting, gathering, joint”, i.e. “great gathering”; rigpawiki gives the meaning as “the gathering of all or the quintessence”, however, it has the Sanskrit as saṅdhi सङ्धि, rather than sandhi सन्धि. RYwiki does not include diacritics in its entry for “mahasandhi”) = Dzogchen (Tibetan ≫main entry).
• other names: Atiyoga ; Dzogchen (Tibetan ≫ main entry)
• see also: mahasiddha (great accomplished one); Padmasambhava, Nyingma
• external links: (Mahasandhi): rywiki ; (Dzogchen): rigpawiki
≫ mahasiddha (Sanskrit: महासिद्ध, IAST: mahāsiddha ; Tibetan: གྲུབ་ཐོབ་ཆེན་པོ, druptop chenpo ; Wylie: grub thob chen po ; also shortened to Tibetan: གྲུབ་ཆེན་, drupchen ; Wylie: grub chen) = highly realised practitioner (literally “great accomplished one”); someone who embodies and cultivates the “siddhi of perfection”; a yogi who has attained the supreme siddhi or accomplishment (i.e. enlightenment). The Mahasiddhas are the founders of Vajrayana traditions and lineages such as Dzogchen and Mahamudra, and most lived between 750 CE and 1150 CE. By convention, there are eighty-four Mahasiddhas in both Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, with some overlap between the two lists.
• see also: Dzogchen ; siddhi (accomplishment, attainment)
• see also (partial list of mahasiddhas on this website): Aryadeva, Kukkuripa, Naropa, Shantideva, Thaganapa, Tilopa
• external links (list of the 84 mahasiddhas): wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Himalayan Art
≫ Mahayana (Sanskrit: महायान, IAST: mahāyāna ; Tibetan: ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་, tekpa chenpo ; Wylie: theg pa chen po) = the great or universal vehicle; one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being Theravada) and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. The Mahayana is also called the Bodhisattvayana, referring to the path followed by a bodhisattva seeking complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.
• see also: Ekayana (the Single Vehicle) ; Hinayana (the Lesser Vehicle) ; Shravakayana (the Vehicle of the Shravakas) ; Theravada (the School of the Elders) ; Vajrayana (the Diamond Vehicle) ; yana (vehicle or method)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ Maitreya (Sanskrit: मैत्रेय, IAST: Maitreya; Pāli: मैत्रिय, IAST: Metteyya; Tibetan: བྱམས་པ་, Jampa; Wylie: byams pa, literally: “The Loving One”, also: Maitreyanatha, བྱམས་པ་མགོན་པོ་, Jampé Gönpo; Wylie: byams pa’i mgon po; Chinese: 彌勒 / 弥勒, pinyin: Mílè, also 彌勒菩薩 / 弥勒菩萨, pinyin: Mílè Púsa; Japanese: みろくぼさつ / 弥勒菩薩, Miroku Bosatsu) = The future Buddha: the bodhisattva regent of Buddha Shakyamuni, who will appear on Earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma. Maitreya is presently said to be residing in the Tushita heaven until becoming the fifth buddha of this aeon. In some texts such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he is referred to as Ajita (Sanskrit: अजित, IAST: ajita, literally “invincible”; Japanese: 阿逸多). In Mahayana schools, Maitreya (or alternatively the semi-legendary 4th century CE figure Maitreyanatha) is said to have revealed the Five Treatises of Maitreya (Tibetan: བྱམས་ཆོས་སྡེ་ལྔ་, jamchö dé nga; Wylie: byams chos sde lnga; Chinese: 彌勒五論) through Asanga. These texts are the basis of the Yogachara tradition and constitute the majority of the Third Turning within the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma.
• see also: Maitreyanatha (semi-legendary 4th century CE figure said to be a founder of the Yogachara school)
• external links (Maitreya): wikipedia / rigpawiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Himalayan Art; (Ajita): Nichiren Buddhism Library
≫ Maitreyanatha (Sanskrit: मैत्रेयनाथ, IAST: Maitreyanātha) (c. 270-350 CE) = a semi-legendary figure usually named as one of the three founders of the Yogachara school of Buddhist philosophy, along with Asanga and Vasubandhu. The use of the name was pioneered by Buddhist scholars Erich Frauwallner, Giuseppe Tucci, and Hakuju Ui to distinguish this “Maitreya”, supposedly a historical person in India, from the future Buddha Maitreya. The Yogachara tradition itself holds that the author the Five Treatises of Maitreya refers to Maitreya, the future buddha.
• see also: Maitreya (the future Buddha)
• external links: wikipedia / Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia
maitri (Sanskrit: मैत्री, IAST: maitrī) = loving-kindness – see metta (Pāli ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary
≫ Maitripa (Sanskrit: मैत्रीप, IAST: Maitrīpa, also known as Maitrīpadā, Maitrīgupta and Advayavajra; Tibetan: མཻ་ཏྲི་པ་, Wylie: mai tri pa) (c. 1007-1085) = a prominent 11th century Indian Buddhist mahasiddha associated with the Mahamudra tradition, considered the Indian patriarch of the Kagyu tradition. His teachers were Shavaripa and Naropa, and his students include Atisha and Marpa. He is considered a major source of the Mahamudra teachings for Tibetan Buddhism.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Treasury of Lives
≫ mala (Sanskrit: माला; IAST: mālā; literally “garland”; also Sanskrit: जपमाला, IAST japamālā; Tibetan: འཕྲེང་བ་, trengwa; Wylie: ‘phreng ba) = a string of prayer beadscommonly used while reciting a mantra, the spiritual practice known in Sanskrit as japa (Sanskrit: जप, IAST: japa, literally “muttering, whispering”). Malas are similar to other forms of prayer beads used in various world religions and sometimes referred to in English as a “rosary”. The main body of a mala is usually 108 beads, often with a 109th bead of a distinctive size or color.
• see also (external): wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ mana (Sanskrit: मान, IAST: māna; Tibetan: ང་རྒྱལ་, nga gyel; Wylie: nga rgyal) = pride, arrogance, self-conceit; fourth of the 6 destructive emotions (mulaklesha).
• see also: klesha (afflictive/destructive/disturbing/negative emotions); mulaklesha (6 destructive emotions): (1) raga (desire), (2) pratigha (anger), (3) avidya (ignorance), (4) mana (pride), (5) vichikitsa (doubt), (6) drishti (view); nyöndrip (emotional obscurations)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ manas (Sanskrit & Pāli: मनस्, IAST: manas; Tibetan: ཡིད་, yi; Wylie: yid) = mind (in its widest sense as applied to all the mental powers); ideational consciousness, the intellect, mental functioning, thought, subjective mind, conceptual mind.
• see also: mantra
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ manasapratyaksha (Sanskrit: मानसप्रत्यक्ष, IAST: manasāpratyakṣa = manasā + pratyakṣa; Tibetan: ཡིད་ཀྱི་མངོན་སུམ་, yikyi ngönsum, Wylie: yid kyi mngon sum) = mental perception, direct mental perception, immediate referential awareness; second of the 4 kinds of direct perception.
• see also: manas (mind), ngönsum zhi (4 kinds of direct perception)
≫ mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल, IAST: maṇḍala, literally “circular, round” ; Tibetan: དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་, kyilkhor; Wylie: dkyil ‘khor, literally “centre and circumference”) = a geometric configuration of symbols, used as a map to symbolise the sacred environment and dwelling place of a buddha, bodhisattva or deity, which is visualised by the practitioner in tantric practice; may be represented physically in two dimensions on cloth or paper, or made of heaps of coloured sand, or in three dimensions traditionally made of wood.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
ma ngépé dü (Tibetan: མ་ངེས་པའི་དུས, ma ngépé dü ; Wylie: ma nges pa’i dus) = indefinite or unfixed time – see düzhi nyampa chenpo (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
≫ Mañjughosha (Sanskrit: मञ्जुघोष ; IAST: Mañjughoṣa, literally “uttering a sweet sound”, Tibetan: འཇམ་དབྱངས, Jamyang ; Wylie: ‘jam dbyangs ; Chinese: 溥柔軟音, pinyin: Pǔróuruǎnyīn) = Mañjughosha, as opposed to Mañjushri; “Gentle Voiced One”, “Gentle Melodious One”, “Sweet-Voiced One”, a form of Mañjushri. Also a name of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo.
• see also: Mañjushri ; Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki ; (The Three Mañjughoshas of Tibet): rigpawiki
≫ Mañjushri (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री, IAST: Mañjuśrī ; Tibetan: འཇམ་དཔལ་, འཇམ་དཔལ་དབྱངས་, Jampalyang; Wylie: ‘jam dpal dbyangs ; Chinese: 文殊, pinyin: Wénshū) = a bodhisattva associated with prajñā (wisdom) in Mahayana Buddhism, one of the eight great bodhisattvas (Sanskrit: अष्टउतपुत्र, IAST: aṣṭa + uta + putra ; Tibetan: ཉེ་བའི་སྲས་བརྒྱད་, nyewé sé gyé, Wylie: nye ba’i sras brgyad) who were the closest disciples of the Buddha. In Vajrayana Buddhism, Mañjushri is a meditational deity and considered a fully enlightened Buddha, the embodiment of the knowledge and wisdom of all the buddhas. In Shingon Buddhism, he is one of the Thirteen Buddhas. His consort in some traditions is Saraswati. He is usually depicted as a male bodhisattva wielding a flaming sword in his right hand, representing the realization of transcendent wisdom which cuts through ignorance and duality. He is often depicted as riding on a blue lion.
• practice: Mañjushri-Nama-Samgiti (Chanting the Names of Mañjushri) ; Praise to Mañjushri (Shri Jñana Gunaphala)
• see also: Mañjughosha (a form of Mañjushri) ; Ngadré Zhing (“Land of the Sound of Drum”, the Buddhafield of Mañjushri) ; Wutaishan (Mount Wutai, the abode of Mañjushri)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Himalayan Art
≫ Mañjushrimitra (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्रीमित्र, IAST: Mañjuśrīmitra; Tibetan: འཇམ་དཔལ་བཤེས་གཉེན་, Jampalshenyen; Wylie: ‘Jam dpal bshes gnyen) (1st century CE?) = an early Indian master of the Dzogchen lineage. He was a disciple of Garab Dorje and the main teacher of Shri Singha. He is famous for arranging the Dzogchen teachings into three classes: the Mind Class (Tib. སེམས་སྡེ་, sem dé), Space Class (Tib. ཀློང་སྡེ་, long dé), and Pith Instruction Class (Tib. མན་ངག་སྡེ་, mengak dé). His last testament, which he conferred upon Shri Singha before passing into the rainbow body, is called the Six Experiences of Meditation (Tibetan: སྒོམ་ཉམས་དྲུག་པ།, Gomnyam Drukpa, Wylie: sgom nyams drug pa).
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki
≫ Mara (Sanskrit: मार, IAST: māra ; Tibetan: བདུད་, dü ; Wylie: bdud) = (a) killing/killer, destroying/destroyer; (b) malevolent forces, demonic influences, obstructions, negative influences (in particular, the four maras); (c) the demonic celestial king who attempted to prevent Prince Siddhartha from attaining enlightenment by threatening and tempting him when he was meditating under the bodhi tree (see bhumisparsha); the Destroyer who tempts men to indulge their passions.
• see also: bhumisparsha (touching the earth) ; düzhi (the four maras)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art
≫ Maudgalyayana (Sanskrit: मौद्गल्यायन, IAST: Maudgalyāyana; Pali: मोग्गल्लान, IAST: Moggallāna; Tibetan: མཽ་གལ་གྱི་བུ་, mau gal gyi bu; Wylie: mau gal gyi bu, rigpawiki has Tibetan: མཽ་འགལ་གྱི་བུ་, Wylie: mau ‘gal gyi bu) = one of the Buddha’s two chief male disciples, together with his childhood friend Shariputra. As a teacher, Maudgalyayana is known for his miraculous psychic powers, and he is often depicted using these in his teaching methods. In many early Buddhist canons, Maudgalyayana is instrumental in reuniting the monastic community after Devadatta causes a schism. Furthermore, Maudgalyayana is connected with accounts about the making of the first Buddha image.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art
≫ mantra (Sanskrit: मन्त्र, IAST: mantra; etymology “that which protects the mind”, from manas, मनस् “mind” + trai, त्रै “to protect”; Tibetan: སྔགས་, ngak; Wylie: sngags; Japanese: 真言, shingon; Chinese: 真言 / 真言, pinyin: zhēnyán, meaning “true word”) = a sacred utterance, numinous sound, syllable, word or group of words often in Sanskrit or Pali believed by practitioners to have psychological or spiritual powers. Some mantras have a syntactic structure and literal meaning, while others do not. Mantras exist in various Buddhist traditions, particularly the Vajrayana or tantric tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, which is also known as Mantrayana. In the Japanese Shingon tradition, which is one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, the word “shingon” means mantra.
• see also: dharani (a particular kind of mantra, usually quite long); Vajrayana (the Diamond Vehicle)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ maya (Sanskrit: माया, IAST: māyā ; Tibetan: སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་, gyuntrül ; Wylie: sgyu ‘phrul) = illusion, deceit, magical display, magic, artifice.
• see also: mayopama (metaphors of illusion)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ mayopama (Sanskrit: मायोपाम, IAST: māyopāma = माया māyā “illusion” + उपम upama “similar, resembling, like” ; Tibetan: སྒྱུ་མའི་དཔེ་, gyu mé pé ; Wylie: sgyu ma’i dpe) = similes, metaphors and analogies used in the Prajñaparamita sutras and Madhyamaka teachings to describe the empty nature of phenomena. They include:
(1) magical illusion = gyuma (Tibetan: སྒྱུ་མ་, gyu ma ; Wylie: sgyu ma ; Sanskrit: माया, IAST: māyā). Like a magical illusion, things are made to appear due to the temporary coming together of causes and conditions.
(2) reflection of the moon in water = chuda (Tibetan: ཆུ་ཟླ་, chu da; Wylie: chu zla ; Sanskrit: IAST: जलचन्द्र, jalacandra = जल jala “water” + चन्द्र candra “moon” also “glittering, shining”). Like a reflection, things appear, but have no reality of their own. (Longchenpa has Tibetan: གཟུགས་བརྙན་གྱི་སྣང་བ་, zuk nyen gyi nangwa ; Wylie: gzugs brnyan gyi snang ba “reflected appearance”).
(3) hallucination, trompe l’oeil, visual distortion = miktrül (Tibetan: མིག་འཁྲུལ་, mik trül ; Wylie: mig ‘khrul ; Sanskrit: इन्द्रजाल, IAST: indrajāla). Like a hallucination, things appear, yet there is nothing there. (Longchenpa has Tibetan: མིག་ཡོར་, mikyor; Wylie: mig yor “hallucination, visual distortion, visual aberration”).
(4) mirage = mikgyu (Tibetan: སྨིག་རྒྱུ་, mikgyu ; Wylie: smig rgyu ; Sanskrit: मरीची, IAST: marīcī). Like a mirage, things appear, but they are not real.
(5) dream = milam (Tibetan: རྨི་ལམ་, mi lam; Wylie: rmi lam; Sanskrit: स्वपन, IAST: svapana). Like a dream, objects perceived with the five senses are not there, but they appear through delusion.
(6) echo = dranyen (Tibetan: སྒྲ་བརྙན་, dra nyen; Wylie: sgra brnyan; Sanskrit: , IAST: pratiśabda). Like an echo, things can be perceived, but there is nothing there, either inside or outside. (Longchenpa has Tibetan: བྲག་ཅ་, drakcha; Wylie: brag ca “echo”)
(7) city of gandharvas = drizé drongkhyer (Tibetan: དྲི་ཟའི་གྲོང་ཁྱེར་, dri zé drong khyer; Wylie: dri za’i grong khyer; Sanskrit: गन्धर्व, IAST: gandharva). Like a city of gandharvas, there is neither a dwelling nor anyone to dwell.
(8) ring of fire, circle produced by whirling firebrand (i.e. optical illusion) = gelmé khorlo (Tibetan: མགལ་མེའི་འཁོར་ལོ་, gel mé khor lo; Wylie: mgal me’i ‘khor lo = མགལ་མེ་ mgal me “firebrand, torch made of long wood chips” + འཁོར་ལོ་ ‘khor lo “wheel, circle”; Sanskrit: अलातचक्र, IAST: alātacakra = अलात alāta “firebrand, coal” + चक्र cakra “wheel, circle”).
(9) rainbow = jatsön (Tibetan: འཇའ་མཚོན་, ja tsön; Wylie: ‘ja’ mtshon = འཇའ་ ‘ja’ “rainbow, colors of the rainbow” + མཚོན་ mtshon “expression, show”; rywiki has Sanskrit: इन्द्ररङ्ग, IAST: indraraṅga = indra + रङ्ग raṅga “color, dye, hue”, Sanskrit dictionary has: चाप cāpa “rainbow” or इन्द्रचाप indracāpa “Indra’s bow, rainbow”).
(10) flash of lightning = lok (Tibetan: གློག་, lok; Wylie: glog; Sanskrit: विद्युत, IAST: vidyuta).
(11) water bubbles = chubur (Tibetan: ཆུ་བུར་, chu bur; Wylie: chu bur; Sanskrit: बुद्बुद, IAST: budbuda).
(12) reflection in a mirror = melong nangi zuknyen (Tibetan: མེ་ལོང་ནང་གི་གཟུགས་བརྙན་, mé long nang gi zuk nyen; Wylie: me long nang gi gzugs brnyan = མེ་ལོང་ me long “mirror” + ནང་གི་ nang gi “inner, internal” + གཟུགས་བརྙན་ gzugs brnyan “image, reflection, representation”; Sanskrit: darpaṇabiṃba).
(13) phantom, apparition or magical creation = trülpa (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་པ་, trül pa; Wylie: sprul pa; Sanskrit: निर्माण, IAST: nirmāṇa). Like an apparition, there are different types of appearances, but they are not really there.
The first twelve are listed in a Tibetan encyclopedia called “A Feast for the Intelligent Mind” (full title: “An Enumeration of Things Taken from Many Sutras, Tantras, and Shastras, called A Feast for the Intelligent Mind”) by the 18th century Tibetan scholar Könchog Jigme Wangpo (Wylie: dkon mchog ‘jigs med dbang po).
Longchenpa gives another set of eight similes of illusion (Tibetan:. སྒྱུ་མའི་དཔེ་བརྒྱད་, gyumé pé gyé, Wylie: sgyu ma’i dpe brgyad) in his “Finding Comfort and Ease in the Illusoriness of Things” (Tibetan: སྒྱུ་མ་ངལ་གསོ་, Wylie: sgyu ma ngal gso) in the following order (according to rigpawiki): dream (5), magical illusion (1), hallucination (3), mirage (4), echo (6), city of gandharvas (7), reflection (2), apparition (13) (These eight similes appear in this same order in section 2.6.3 “Transcendent Wisdom: Wisdom Through Meditation” in Patrul Rinpoche’s “Words of My Perfect Teacher” ; rywiki has a different order).
Another famous example is from the Diamond Sutra, which has a four-line gatha at the end of Section 26 (of the Chinese version): “All conditioned phenomena / Are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow / Like dew or a flash of lightning / Thus we shall perceive them.” The Sanskrit version of this verse has nine similes of illusion rather than the six in the Chinese. In Red Pine’s 2001 translation, it reads: “As a lamp, a cataract, a star in space / an illusion, a dewdrop, a bubble / a dream, a cloud, a flash of lightning / view all created things like this”.
The examples also appear in the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa (The Sutra of the Teaching of Vimalakirti) verse 2.8 “This body is like a ball of foam, unable to bear any pressure. It is like a water bubble, not remaining very long. It is like a mirage, born from the appetites of the passions. It is like the trunk of the plantain tree, having no core. Alas! This body is like a machine, a nexus of bones and tendons. It is like a magical illusion, consisting of falsifications.48 It is like a dream, being an unreal vision. It is like a reflection, being the image of former actions. It is like an echo, being dependent on conditioning. It is like a cloud, being characterized by turbulence and dissolution. It is like a flash of lightning, being unstable, and decaying every moment.” (Translation by Robert Thurman, available at 84000.co). In note 48, Thurman observes “These similes are famous in the Disciple Vehicle as well as Mahāyāna. The fact of their presence in disciple vehicle teachings was used by Prāṡangika philosophers such as Buddhapālita and Candrakīrti, to prove that insubstantiality or selflessness of phenomena (dharmanairātmyā) was taught in the disciple vehicle. For further references, see Lamotte, p 132, n 23.”
• see also: maya (illusion)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki
≫ metta (Pāli: मेत्ता, IAST: mettā; Sanskrit: मैत्री, IAST: maitrī; Tibetan: བྱམས་པ་, jampa; Wylie: byams pa; Chinese: 慈悲 / 慈悲, pinyin: cíbēi; also 慈, pinyin: cí; note that the single logographs of 慈 and 悲 are sometimes understood as being synonymous, but they are also sometimes separated into the meanings of 慈 = “kindness” i.e. maitrī and 悲 = “pity, sympathy, compassion, mercy” i.e. karuṇā) = loving-kindness.
• see also: brahmavihara (sublime attitude); caturapramana (4 immeasurables): (1) metta (loving-kindness), (2) karuna (compassion), (3) mudita (sympathetic joy), (4) upekkha (equanimity); bodhichitta (the compassionate wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings and also to bring them to that state); jukpa semkyé (bodhichitta in action); mönpa semkyé (bodhichitta of aspiration); shatparamita (6 paramitas)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ miccha (Pāli: मिच्छा, IAST: micchã, “wrong, wrongly, in a wrong way”, also “separate, opposite, contrary” ; Sanskrit मिथ्या, IAST: mithyā, “invertedly, contrarily, incorrectly, wrongly, improperly”) = wrong, as in “wrongly, in a wrong way, wrong, false, mistaken”, opposite of samma (right); e.g. used when discussing the right vs wrong practice of the Noble Eightfold Path, e.g. samma-ditthi (right view) vs miccha-ditthi (wrong view).
• see also: samma (right)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ mi gewa (Tibetan: མི་དགེ་བ་, mi gewa; Wylie: mi dge ba) = non-virtuous, unwholesome, bad, dharmas ripening with unpleasant fruition.
• see also: gewa (virtuous)
mi takpa (Tibetan: མི་རྟག་པ་, mi takpa; Wylie: mi rtag pa) = impermanent, impermanence – see anicca (Pāli ≫ main entry).
≫ mi tokpa (Tibetan: མི་རྟོག་པ་, mi tokpa; Wylie: mi rtog pa; Sanskrit: अविकल्प, IAST: avikalpa, literally “not distinguished or particularised”) = nonconceptuality, nonthought, nondiscrimination; one of the three meditation experiences (bliss, clarity, nonconceptuality).
• see also: tokmé (nonconceptuality), mi tokpé nyam (nonconceptuality as a meditation experience)
≫ mi tokpé nyam (Tibetan: མི་རྟོག་པའི་ཉམས་, mi tokpé nyam; Wylie: mi rtog pa’i nyams) = the experience of nonconceptuality or nonthought (e.g. as a meditation experience).
• see also: nyamsum (three experiences): dewé nyam (bliss), selwé nyam (clarity), mi tokpé nyam (nonconceptuality)
• external links: (three experiences of bliss, clarity & nonconceptuality): rigpawiki
≫ mi tsimpa (Tibetan: མི་ཚིམ་པ་, mi tsimpa; Wylie: mi + tshim pa) = not satisfied, not contented; DJKR: “not enough, not complete, there’s no sense of enough or contentment”.
• see also: dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness), tsimpa (satisfied, content)
Moggallana (Pāli) = one of the Buddha’s closest disciples – see Maudgalyayana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
≫ mögü (Tibetan: མོས་གུས་, Wylie: mos gus; Sanskrit: अधिमुक्ति, adhimukti, “confidence, propensity”, although adhimukti is more commonly translated as möpa) = devotion, respect, interest, admiration.
• see also: dépa (faith, devotion, confidence), möpa (dedicated interest)
• external links: rigpawiki
≫ moha (Pāli: मोह, IAST: moha; Sanskrit: मोह, IAST: moha; Tibetan: གཏི་མུག་, timuk; Wylie: gti mug) = delusion, confusion, bewilderment; one of the 3 poisons (in the Theravada teachings).
• see also: trivisha (3 poisons): (1) delusion, confusion, bewilderment, ignorance (Pāli/Sanskrit: moha), (2) attachment, greed, avarice, desire, sensuality, passion (Pāli: lobha, Sanskrit: raga), (3) aversion, dislike, enmity, anger, hostility, aggression (Pāli: dosa, Sanskrit: dvesha)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष, IAST: mokṣa; Tibetan: ཐར་པ་, tarpa; Wylie: thar pa; Chinese: 解脫, pinyin: jiětuō) = liberation, emancipation, release from; escape from bonds and the obtaining of freedom; freedom from transmigration, karma, illusion, and suffering; the mind becoming free from afflictions and attachment; the peaceful condition resulting from escaping the suffering and vexation of samsara and worldly existence; also denotes nirvana and also the freedom obtained in dhyāna-meditation.
• see also: nirvana (beyond suffering, state beyond sorrow)
• easily confused: the English words “enlightenment/awakening” (Sanskrit: ≫ बोधि, bodhi; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་, jangchup; Chinese: 佛位, fówèi), “buddha/buddhahood” (Sanskrit: ≫ बुद्ध, buddha; Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་, sangyé; Chinese: 佛, fó), “liberation” (Sanskrit: ≫ मोक्ष, moksha; Tibetan: ཐར་པ་, tarpa; Chinese: 解脫, jiětuō) and “nirvana” (Sanskrit: ≫ निर्वाण, nirvana; Tibetan: མྱང་འདས་, nyandé; Chinese: 涅槃, nièpán) are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings in Sanskrit/Tibetan.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ momo (Tibetan: མོག་མོག་, mok mok; Wylie: mog mog ; from Chinese: 饃饃／馍馍, pinyin: mómo) = stuffed dumplings (pasties) made in Tibet, Ladakh and Nepal with a simple flour and water dough; steamed bread.
• external links: wiktionary
≫ mönlam (Tibetan: སྨོན་ལམ་, mön lam ; Wylie: smon lam) = aspiration, supplication, good wishes.
• external links: rigpawiki
≫ mono no aware (Japanese: 物の哀れ, mono no aware) = appreciation of the fleeting nature of beauty; pathos of things; strong aesthetic sense.
• see also: anicca/mujō (impermanence)
• external links: wikipedia
≫ mönpa semkyé (Tibetan: སྨོན་པའི་བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་, mön pé jang chup kyi sem; Wylie: smon pa’i byang chub kyi sems ; also shortened to Tibetan: སྨོན་པ་སེམས་བསྐྱེད་, mön pa sem kyé; Wylie: smon pa sems bskyed) = bodhichitta of aspiration (or aspiration bodhichitta), bodhichitta in aspiration; comprised chiefly of the practice of the 4 immeasurables.
• see also: brahmavihara (sublime attitude); caturapramana (4 immeasurables): (1) metta (loving-kindness), (2) karuna (compassion), (3) mudita (sympathetic joy), (4) upekkha (equanimity); bodhichitta (the compassionate wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings and also to bring them to that state); jukpa semkyé (bodhichitta in action); mönpa semkyé (bodhichitta of aspiration)
• external links: (bodhichitta): wikipedia; (bodhichitta of aspiration): rigpawiki / rywiki
≫ möpa (Tibetan: མོས་པ་, Wylie: mos pa ; Sanskrit: अधिमुक्ति, adhimukti, “confidence, propensity”) = dedicated interest, firm conviction, devoted intent.
• see also: dépa (faith, devotion, confidence), mögü (devotion, respect, interest)
≫ Mrigadava (Sanskrit: मृगदाव, mrigadava, IAST: mṛgadāva = mṛga + dāva, literally “deer park”; Chinese: 仙人鹿野苑 / 仙人鹿野苑, pinyin: Xiānrén lùyěyuàn, literally “deer park of the sages”, commonly written as 鹿野園 / 鹿野园, pinyin: Lùyěyuán, literally “deer park”) = The “Deer Park” in Sarnath (about 10km northeast of present-day Varanasi). Mrigadava was the location of the vihara (monastery) named Rishipatana where Shakyamuni Buddha gave his first teaching, the Dharmachakrapravartana Sutra (on the Four Noble Truths), to the five monks that were his former companions. It is one of the four great pilgrimage places determined by the Buddha.
• see also: Buddha ; cattari ariyasaccani (4 noble truths); catusamvejaniyathana (4 great Buddhist pilgrimage places in India); Dharmachakrapravartana Sutra (the first teaching given by Shakyamuni Buddha); Jetavana (Jeta’s Grove, a vihara); Magadha (kingdom in ancient India); Sarnath (place in Magadha); vihara (monastery)
• external links: (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta): wikipedia ; (Mrigadava) wisdom library ; (Rishipatana): wisdom library ; (Sarnath): wikipedia
mu (Japanese: 無, mu) = see wu (Chinese ≫ main entry).
≫ mudita (Pāli & Sanskrit: मुदिता, IAST: muditā; Tibetan: དགའ་བ་, gawa; Wylie: dga’ ba) = sympathetic joy, antonym of schadenfreude. Third of the 4 brahmaviharas (4 immeasurables).
• see also: brahmavihara (sublime attitude) ; caturapramana (4 immeasurables): (1) metta (loving-kindness), (2) karuna (compassion), (3) mudita (sympathetic joy), (4) upekkha (equanimity) ; bodhichitta (the compassionate wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings and also to bring them to that state) ; jukpa semkyé (bodhichitta in action) ; mönpa semkyé (bodhichitta of aspiration) ; shatparamita (6 paramitas)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ mudra (Sanskrit: मुद्रा, IAST: mudrā ; Tibetan: ཕྱག་རྒྱ་, chakgya ; Wylie: phyag rgya ; Chinese: 印契 / 印契, pinyin: yìnqì ; also: 印相 / 印相; pinyin: yìnxiàng) = (1) gesture; hand gesture; symbolic gesture, pose or ornament; while some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers; usually seen in sculptural and painted representations of buddhas and bodhisattvas, that symbolically indicate their various activities; (2) seal or mark; any instrument used for sealing or stamping; seal-ring or signet-ring.
• see also: bhumisparsha (touching the ground)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki
mulaklesha (Sanskrit: मूलक्लेश, IAST: mūla “root” + kleśa ; Tibetan: རྩ་ཉོན་དྲུག་, tsa nyön druk ; Wylie: rtsa nyon drug) = the (six) root disturbing emotions (also afflictive or destructive emotions). Building on the foundational categorization of the 3 poisons (ignorance/delusion, greed/attachment, and hatred/aversion) presented in the Pali Canon, Vasubandhu presents in the Abhidharmakosha a list of the mulaklesha, the 6 root disturbing emotions:
(1) raga (राग) = desire, attachment.
(2) pratigha (प्रतिघ) = anger.
(3) avidya (अविद्या) = unawareness, ignorance.
(4) mana (मान) = arrogance, pride, conceit.
(5) vichikitsa (विचिकित्सा) = indecisive wavering, doubt.
(6) drishti (दृष्टि) = view; deluded outlooks, wrong views.
• note (on meaning): the word “klesha” includes a sense of mental obscuration or defilement that is not fully captured by the English word “emotion”.
• dictionary definition of “emotion” = “a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others” and “instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge” (Google Dictionary).
• other languages: nyönmong (Tibetan)
• see also (DJKR teaching): the six root kleshas in The Way of the Tathagata, Day 1, Pune (December 27, 2019)
• see also: Abhidharmakosha (Treasury of the Abhidharma) ; klesha (disturbing emotion, affliction, defilement) ; nyöndrip (emotional obscurations) ; trivisha (the 3 poisons)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism (Berzin)
≫ Mulamadhyamakakarika (Sanskrit: मूलमाध्यमककारिका = mūlamadhyamakakārikā, IAST: mūla + mādhyamaka + kārikā ; also known as: Sanskrit: प्रज्ञा-नाम-मूलमाध्यमककारिका = prajñā-nāma-mūlamadhyamakakārikā, IAST: prajña + nāma + mūla + mādhyamaka + kārikā ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་རྩ་བ་ཤེས་རབ་, uma tsawa shérap ; Wylie: dbu ma rtsa ba shes rab) = The Root Verses on the Middle Way, the most famous and important treatise on madhyamaka philosophy, written by Nagarjuna in approximately the 2nd or 3rd century CE.
• see also: madhyamaka (middle way) ; Nagarjuna (Indian Buddhist philosopher)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ münpé kalpa (Tibetan: མུན་པའི་བསྐལ་པ ; Wylie: mun pa’i bskal pa) = dark aeon or dark kalpa, a kalpa in which a Buddha does not appear.
• external links: (kalpa): wiktionary / wikipedia / Wisdom Library