S
≫ sabché (Tibetan: ས་བཅད ; Wylie: sa bcad) = outline, structural outline, topical outline, table of contents. Most literature has an internal structure which is readily discernible through a table of contents, chapter outline etc. Classical Tibetan literature is characterised by an extreme version of such internal structures (sabché). These topical outlines constitute a very complex nested hierarchy of sections and subsections that can extend to ten, twenty, or even more levels. Different commentators will often produce quite different outlines for the same source text.
• external links: University of Virginia / Dorji Wangchuk
≫ sadhaka (Sanskrit: साधक, IAST: sādhaka ; Tibetan: སྒྲུབ་པ་པོ་ ; Wylie: sgrub pa po) = practitioner ; worshipper ; someone who follows a particular sadhana or spiritual practice.
• see also: sadhana (means of accomplishment; spiritual discipline)
• external links: wikipedia / 84000 glossary
≫ sadhana (Sanskrit: साधना, IAST: sādhanā ; Tibetan: སྒྲུབ་ཐབས་, druptap ; Wylie: sgrub thabs) = means of accomplishment ; Tantric liturgy and procedure for practice usually emphasizing the development stage (kyerim) ; spiritual discipline.
• see also: kyerim (development stage) ; sadhaka (practitioner)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / 84000 glossary
≫ Saga Dawa (Tibetan: ས་ག་ཟླ་བ་, Saga Dawa ; Wylie: sa ga zla ba, literally “full moon in the fourth month” from saga = “fourth month” and dawa = “moon”; also: ས་ག་ཟླ་བ་དུས་ཆེན་, Saga Dawa Düchen ; Wylie: sa ga zla ba dus chen ; Pāli: वेसाख, IAST: Vesākha ; Sanskrit: वैशाख, IAST: Vaiśākha) = Vesak, one of the four major Buddhist holidays, also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, which is celebrated by Tibetan Buddhists on the full moon (15th day) of the fourth Tibetan lunar month. It celebrates Buddha Shakyamuni’s birth in Lumbini, enlightenment at Bodhgaya and parinirvana at Kushinagara. The holiday is celebrated on different days in different Buddhist countries according to local traditions (see wikipedia).
• other languages: Vesak (Pāli, from Vesākha)
• external links: wiktionary ; (Buddha’s birthday): wikipedia ; (Saga Dawa): rigpawiki ; (Vesak): wikipedia.
≫ Sagaranagarajaparipraccha (Sanskrit: सागरनागराजपरिपृच्छा, Sagara-naga-raja-paripraccha; IAST: Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā = सागर sāgara “ocean” + नाग nāga “snake, serpent-being” + राज rāja “king” + परिपृच्छा paripṛcchā “question, inquiry” ; Tibetan: ཀླུའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རྒྱ་མཚོས་ཞུས་པ་, lü gyalpo gyatsö shyüpa ; Wylie: klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa) = “Sutra on the Questions of the Naga King Sagara”, a Mahayana sutra with three extant versions in both the Tibetan Kangyur and the Taishō Tripiṭaka (T0598, T0599 and T0601). The three texts are very different from each other regarding their content. In the shortest text, the Buddha explains the Four Dharma Seals to a naga king and an assembly of monks.
• see also: chökyi domzhi (The 4 Dharma Seals) ; naga (mythical half-snake half-human beings)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki; (translation): 84000
≫ Sahaloka (Sanskrit: सहालोक, IAST: sahāloka = सहा sahā “earth” + लोक loka “world, universe”, also Sanskrit: सहलोक, IAST: sahaloka, from सह, saha, “bearing, enduring” ; Tibetan: མི་མཇེད་ཀྱི་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས; Wylie: mi mjed kyi ‘jig rten gyi khams, sometimes shortened to Tibetan: འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས, Wylie: ‘jig rten gyi khams) = Saha world, the name of our present world system, the trichiliocosm where the present Buddha Shakyamuni has manifested. Saha means “Enduring” or “Fearless(ness)”, and Khenpo Ngakchung writes: “the one thousand million-fold Saha world, is called the “world of no fear” not because it is very good. Rather, it is so called for its great evil. Sentient beings here are not afraid of desire, they are not frightened by anger and they have no fear of ignorance, which is why it is called the realm of the Saha world”.
• see also: jigten gyi kham (world system, a universe comprised of Mount Sumeru, four continents and eight sub-continents).
• external links: rigpawiki
salcha (Tibetan: གསལ་ཆ, Wylie: gsal cha) = cognisance – see selcha (Tibetan ≫ main entry)
≫ Samantabhadra (bodhisattva) (Sanskrit: समन्तभद्र, IAST: Samantabhadra , literally “All Good” ; Tibetan: ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ་, kuntuzangpo, Wylie: kun tu bzang po ; Chinese: 普賢菩薩, pinyin: Pǔxián Púsà ; Japanese: 普賢, romaji: Fugen) = a great bodhisattva associated with aspiration, practice and meditation. One of the eight principal bodhisattvas, he is the patron of the Lotus Sutra and, according to the Avatamsaka Sutra, made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva. He is venerated in Mahayana Buddhism in Chinese (as Pǔxián) and in Tendai and Shingon Buddhism in Japan (as Fugen).
• see also: Arya-Bhadracharya-Pranidhana-Raja (Samantabhadra’s King of Aspiration Prayers) ; Emeishan (Mount Emei) ; Pundarika Sutra (Lotus Sutra)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / 84000 glossary
samatha (Pāli: समथ, IAST: samatha) = shamatha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
≫ samadhi (Sanskrit: समाधि, IAST: samādhi ; Pāli: samādhi ; Tibetan: ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་, tingédzin ; Wylie: ting nge ‘dzin) = meditative concentration, one-pointedness; meditative absorption, stabilization, trance; the fourth and last stage of dhyana (meditative concentration). Can refer both to the practice and the state of meditation; first aspect of the 3-fold training. DJKR: “concentration”, “one-pointedness”, “a discipline to make your mind malleable or focused”.
• see also: dhyana (meditative concentration) ; samten gyi ro (taste of meditation/samadhi)
• see also: trishiksha (3-fold training) = shila (ethical discipline/virtue), samadhi (meditative concentration/one-pointedness) & prajña (discriminative awareness/wisdom)
• external links: (samadhi): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism glossary / 84000 glossary ; (meditation): wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ sambhogakaya (Sanskrit: सम्भोगकाय, IAST: sambhogakāya ; Tibetan: ལོངས་སྐུ་, longku ; Wylie: longs sku ; Chinese: 報身 / 报身, pinyin: bàoshēn, literally “reward body”) = “body of enjoyment”, one of the three bodies (trikaya) of a buddha in Mahayana Buddhism; one of the two aspects of form (rupakaya) along with nirmanakaya.
• see also: dharmakaya (“truth body”) ; kaya (body, dimension) ; nirmanakaya (“body of manifestations”) ; rupakaya (“form body”) ; trikaya (three bodies of a buddha)
• external links: (sambhogakaya): wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / 84000 glossary ; (trikaya): wikipedia
samma-ditthi (Pāli: सम्मादिट्ठि, IAST: sammā-diṭṭhi) = right view – see samyak-drishti (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
sampannakrama (Sanskrit: संपन्नक्रम, IAST: saṃpannakrama = संपन्न, saṃpanna “accomplished, finished, completed” + क्रम, krama “step, stage”) = the “completion stage” of practice in Vajrayana Buddhism – see dzogrim (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
• see also: utpannakrama ; utpattikrama
≫ samsara (Sanskrit: संसार, IAST: saṃsāra; from root word √सम्, √sam “altering, changing” + सार, sāra “course, motion”, hence the literal meaning of samsara as “a wandering, altering, changing course” and thus “course, passage, going or wandering through; passing through a succession of states; circuit of mundane existence, transmigration, metempsychosis; the world, secular life, worldly illusion”; Tibetan: འཁོར་བ་, khorwa; Wylie: ‘khor ba, from འཁོར་, ‘khor “revolve, rotate, spin”) = cyclic existence, birth-and-death, worldly life, transmigration.
• other languages: khorwa (Tibetan)
• see also: dukkha (unsatisfactoriness, suffering); nirvana (beyond suffering, liberation from worldly existence); yangsi (reincarnation, rebirth)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ samskara (Sanskrit: संस्कार, IAST: saṃskāra; Pāli: सङ्खार, IAST: saṅkhāra; Tibetan: འདུ་བྱེད་, dujé, Wylie: ‘du byed) = mental formation, compounding, conditioned existence, formation, impulses; a mental creation (such as that of the external world, that is taken as real although actually non-existent); the second link in the 12-fold chain of causation or the fourth of the 5 skandhas.
• other languages: sankhara (Pāli)
• see also: skandha (aggregate)
• external links: wiktionary / (saṅkhāra in Buddhist philosophy): wikipedia; (saṃskāra in Indian philosophy): wikipedia
samten (Tibetan: བསམ་གཏན་, samten; Wylie: bsam gtan) = meditative concentration, mental focus – see dhyana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• easily confused (terms related to meditation): bhavana / gom (Tibetan: སྒོམ་, Wylie: sgom) (development, training, cultivation) is different from dhyana / samten / jhana / chan / zen (meditative concentration, mental focus, attention), which is different from abhyasa / gom (Tibetan: གོམས་, Wylie: goms) (familiarization, becoming accustomed to, conditioning)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ samten gyi ro (Tibetan: བསམ་གཏན་གྱི་རོ་; Wylie: bsam gtan gyi ro) = the taste of meditation (or taste of samadhi).
• see also: samadhi (meditation, meditative concentration)
≫ samudaya (Pāli: समुदय, IAST: samudaya; Sanskrit: समुत्पाद, IAST: samutpāda; Tibetan: ཀུན་འབྱུང་, kunjung; Wylie: kun ‘byung; Burmese: သမုဒယ) = origin, production, cause, rise; source of all, all-pervasive origin; the second 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); pratityasamutpada (dependent origination)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ samvriti (Sanskrit: संवृति, IAST: saṃvṛti) = covering, concealing, keeping secret.
≫ samyak-drishti (Sanskrit: सम्यक् दृष्टि or सम्यक्दृष्टि, IAST: samyak–dṛṣṭi; Pāli: सम्मादिट्ठि, IAST: sammā–diṭṭhi) = right view; the first practice of the 8-fold noble path.
• other languages: samma-ditthi (Pāli)
≫ Sangha (Sanskrit: संघ; IAST: saṃgha ; Tibetan: དགེ་འདུན་, gendün; Wylie: dge ‘dun) = the Buddhist monastic community of bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns); more generally, a group of people living together for a certain purpose; a society, association, company, community.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
sangyé (Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་, sangyé; Wylie: sangs rgyas) = buddha, buddhahood, fully enlightened – see Buddha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• note (on meaning): DJKR emphasizes that the semantic range of the English word “enlightenment” does not at all do justice to the meaning of buddha/sangyé or bodhi/jangchup – see notes for Buddha.
• 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.
• see also: bodhi (enlightenment)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ Sangyé Karmala Gawa (Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་སྐར་མ་ལ་དགའ་བ་, sangyé kar ma la gawa; Wylie: sangs rgyas + skar ma la dga’ ba; Sanskrit: ज्योतीराम, IAST: Jyotīrāma) = Buddha ‘Delight in Stars’. The Buddha that presides over the Buddha realm Angushtha, which is described in “The Flower Bank World”, Book 5 of the Avatamsaka Sutra (the Flower Ornament Sutra). Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé also cites the Avatamsaka Sutra as a source for his description of the Buddha realms in Section II.A.2 in his “Treasury of Knowledge, Book 1: Myriad Worlds”. See “Glossary of Names” in “Treasury of Knowledge, Book 1: Myriad Worlds”; DJKR: ‘The Buddha Who Likes The Stars’.
• see also: Angushtha (The Buddha realm ‘Thumb-sized’)
• external references: Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé, translated by Kalu Rinpoche Translation Group (2013) “Treasury of Knowledge, Book 1: Myriad Worlds”, Snow Lion: Boston and London.
• external links: (Avatamsaka Sutra): wikipedia ; (Buddhist cosmology): wikipedia
≫ sangyé kyi zhing (Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཞིང, sang gyé kyi zhing ; Wylie: sangs rgyas kyi zhing, also Tibetan: ཞིང་ཁམས་, Wylie: zhing khams ; Sanskrit: बुद्धक्षेत्र, IAST: buddhakṣetra) = buddhafield ; can also refer to a Pure Land (or Pure Realm) (Tibetan: དག་པའི་ཞིང་, Wylie: dag pa’i zhing)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Oxford Reference ; (list of buddhafields): rywiki
sankhara (Pāli: सङ्खार, IAST: saṅkhāra) = mental formation – see samskara (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
≫ sannyasa (Sanskrit: संन्यास, IAST: saṃnyāsa, refers to the practice; also Sanskrit: संन्यासिन्, IAST: saṃnyāsin, refers to the practitioner) = renunciant, ascetic; putting or throwing down, laying aside, resignation, abandonment; renunciation, the fourth and final life stage within the Hindu philosophy of four age-based life stages (ashramas), marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices and disinterest and detachment from material life. An individual in sannyasa is known as sannyasi (male) or sannyasini (female).
• see also: ashrama (4 life stages)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
sannyasin (Sanskrit) = see sannyasa (Sanskrit)
≫ Saraha (Sanskrit: सरह, IAST: saraha; alternative spellings: Sarahapa (Sanskrit: सरहपा, Odia: ସରହପା), Sarahapāda (Sanskrit: सरहपाद); Tibetan: མདའ་བསྣུན་, danün; Wylie: mda’ bsnun) (c. 8th century CE) = one of the 84 mahasiddhas, considered one of the founders of Vajrayana, and particularly the Mahamudra tradition. In Tibetan his name is translated as “archer” (he who has shot the arrow of nonduality into the heart of duality); in iconography he is depicted holding an arrow.
• see also: mahasiddha (great accomplished one)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art
Sarahapa (Sanskrit) = redirects to Saraha.
≫ sati (Pāli: सति, IAST: sati; Sanskrit: स्मृति, smriti, IAST: smṛti; Tibetan: དྲན་པ་, drenpa, Wylie: dran pa; Burmese: သတိ) = mindfulness, recollection, calling to mind, bearing in mind, remembrance, presence of mind, memory, awareness.
• other languages: drenpa (Tibetan), smriti (Sanskrit)
• see also: anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing) ; shamatha (calm abiding) ; vipassana (insight)
• external links: (sati): wiktionary / wikipedia ; (smriti): wikipedia ; (mindfulness): wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ satori (Japanese: 悟り, satori; literally “comprehension, understanding, awakening”) = seeing the true nature; in the Zen Buddhist tradition, satori refers to the experience of kenshō (見性), “seeing the true nature (of reality)” or “seeing into one’s true nature” (from 見, ken “seeing” + 性, shō “nature/essence”). Satori and kenshō are often used interchangeably, and both are commonly translated as enlightenment and related terms including bodhi, prajña and Buddhahood. However in the Zen tradition, the word “enlightenment” has different connotations from its use in the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition. According to some authors, kenshō is a brief glimpse, while satori is considered to be a deeper spiritual experience. But even satori is considered a “first step” or embarkation toward Buddhahood, rather than complete enlightenment and attaining Buddhahood.
• see also: Buddha ; sangyé (buddha, buddhahood)
• external links: (satori): wiktionary / wikipedia ; (kensho): wikipedia
satparamita (Sanskrit) = redirects to shatparamita.
≫ sattatimsa bodhipakkhiya dhamma (Pāli: सत्ततिंस बोधिपक्खिया धम्मा, IAST: sattatiṃsa bodhipakkhiyā dhammā = sattatiṃsa “37” + bodhi “awakening” + pakkhiyā “related to” + dhammā “qualities”; Sanskrit: साप्तत्रिंश बोधिपक्ष धर्म, saptatrimsha bodhipaksha dharma, IAST: sāptatriṃśa bodhipakṣa dharma = साप्त sāpta “7” + त्रिंश triṃśa “+30” + बोधिपक्षधर्म bodhipakṣadharma “quality belonging to or constituent of awakening”; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་བདུན་, Wylie: byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos sum cu rtsa bdun; Chinese: 三十七道品, pinyin: sānshíqī dàopǐn) = 37 factors of enlightenment; 37 qualities conducive to or related to awakening/enlightenment, recognized by both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. These 37 qualities are typically arranged into seven sets, for example in the Bhāvanānuyutta sutta (“Mental Development Discourse” AN 7.67) in the Pali Canon and the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra:
(1) Four establishments of mindfulness (Pāli: चत्तारो सतिपट्ठाना, IAST: cattāro satipaṭṭhānā)
(2) Four right exertions/efforts (Pāli: चत्तारो सम्मप्पधाना, IAST: cattāro sammappadhānā)
(3) Four bases of magical/mental/supernatural power (Pāli: चत्तारो इद्धिपादा, IAST: cattāro iddhipādā)
(4) Five spiritual faculties (Pāli: पञ्च इन्द्रिय, IAST: pañca indriya)
(5) Five Strengths (Pāli: पञ्च बल, IAST: pañca bala)
(6) Seven Factors of Enlightenment (Pāli: सत्त बोज्झङ्गा, IAST: satta bojjhaṅgā)
(7) Noble Eightfold Path (Pāli: अरिय अट्ठङ्गिक मग्ग, IAST: ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
sattva (Sanskrit: सत्त्व, IAST: sattva) = being, existence, entity, reality; sentient being – see semchen (Tibetan ≫ main entry)
• external links: wiktionary
sel (Tibetan: གསལ་, sel; Wylie: gsal) = clear, brilliant – see selwa (Tibetan ≫ main entry)
≫ selcha (Tibetan: གསལ་ཆ, Wylie: gsal cha) = cognisance, clarity, the mind’s inherent capacity for knowing ; revealing and manifesting, clarity, vividness of awareness, (the activity of emptiness / tongpa).
• note: cognisance (selcha / selwa, the cognisance/clarity that is an aspect of the nature of mind) is different from sentience (sem / yi, ordinary mental functioning). Therefore we can say that sentient beings have both sentience and cognisance, however enlightened buddhas have cognisance but they are not sentient beings.
• see also: selwa (clarity) ; sem (mind) ; shépa (consciousness, knowing) ; yi (sentience, mind)
• external links: rywiki
≫ selwa (Tibetan: གསལ་བ་, selwa; Wylie: gsal ba ; Jeffrey Hopkins gives many Sanskrit words with overlapping semantic range, including: अभिव्यक्ति, IAST: abhivyakti “manifestation, distinction” ; प्रभास्वर, IAST: prabhāsvara “brilliant, bright, shining” ; प्रकाश, IAST: prakāśa “visible, shining, bright, clear, manifest”; saṃprakāśana संप्रकाशन, IAST: saṃprakāśana “disclosure, manifestation” ; व्यक्ति, IAST: vyakti “visible appearance or manifestation”) = luminosity, clarity, radiance, brilliance, luminous clarity, vividness; cognizance. The term is usually used to describe the mind, cognizance or consciousness in different ways. In the Theravada, the “luminous mind” is identified with the bhavanga, a concept first proposed in the Theravada Abhidhamma. In the Mahayana it is identified with both bodhichitta and tathagatagarbha. The notions of luminosity and clarity are of central importance in the view and practice of Dzogchen, notably the three aspects of the nature of mind as essence, nature and capacity (ngowo rangzhin tukjé), where the nature (rangzhin) is the spontaneously present (lhündrup) wisdom of cognizance (selwa).
• note: shépa (consciousness, cognition) refers to the phenomenon of knowing, and its specific character (Tibetan: རང་གི་མཚན་ཉིད་, Wylie: rang gi mtshan nyid) is that it is luminous (sel) and aware (rigpa). We may thus distinguish between mind (consciousness) and the nature of mind (which includes its qualities/characteristics of luminosity and awareness).
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; ösel (clarity, luminosity) ; sel (clear, brilliant) ; selcha (cognisance, clarity) ; selwé nyam (experience of clarity) ; shépa (consciousness, knowing) ; yi (sentience, mind)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ selwé nyam (Tibetan: གསལ་བའི་ཉམས་, selwé nyam; Wylie: gsal ba’i nyams) = experience of clarity (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 and nonconceptuality): rigpawiki
≫ sem (Tibetan: སེམས་, sem; Wylie: sems ; Sanskrit: चित्त, chitta; IAST: citta ; Chinese: 心, pinyin: xīn , also written as transliteration of Sanskrit, Chinese: 質多, pinyin: zhíduō) = (a) mind, ‘cognitive act’, thoughts, mentation, cognition, grasping mind; (b) ordinary dualistic mind; the ordinary mind that comprises our ordinary perceptions, thoughts and emotions.
• note on meaning: The Chinese word for sem/chitta is 心 (xīn), which has a broader semantic range, including “thought, intellect, mentality, the mind as the seat of intelligence” but also “heart, spirit, motive”, “wholeheartedness, sincerity, attention, interest, care, intention” and even “essence, core, marrow”. As DJKR frequently notes, these differing semantic ranges create challenges when these words are translated into English simply as “mind”. See for example, DJKR teaching “Vipassana for beginners“, Taipei, December 12, 2020.
• other languages: chitta (Sanskrit) ; xin (Chinese)
• see also: selwa (clarity) ; sem (mind) ; semnyi (nature of mind) ; shépa (consciousness, knowing) ; yi (sentience, mind)
• external links: wiktionary / rigpawiki
≫ semchen (Tibetan: སེམས་ཅན་, sem chen; sems can, literally “having mind” or “endowed with mind”; Sanskrit: सत्त्व, IAST: sattva) = sentient being; a being with consciousness, sentience, or in some contexts life itself; it principally refers to beings in contrast with buddhahood. That is, sentient beings are characteristically not enlightened, and are thus confined to dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness) and the cyclic existence of death and rebirth in samsara.
• see also: dukkha (unsatisfactoriness, suffering); samsara ; sem (mind)
• external links (semchen): wiktionary ; (sattva): wiktionary / wikipedia ; (sentient being): wikipedia
semngo (Tibeta: སེམས་ངོ་, semngo; Wylie: sems ngo ; also Tibetan: སེམས་ཀྱི་ངོ་བོ་, semkyi ngowo; Wylie: sems kyi ngo bo) = nature of mind – see semnyi (Tibetan ≫ main entry)
(other names): semnyi (nature of mind)
≫ semnyi (Tibetan: སེམས་ཉིད་, semnyi; Wylie: sems nyid, “mind itself”; Sanskrit: चित्तता, IAST: cittatā) = nature of mind; mind-essence; synonym for tathagatagarbha(buddhanature); defined in the tantras as the inseparable unity of awareness and emptiness (or clarity and emptiness), it is the basis for all the ordinary perceptions, thoughts and emotions of the ordinary dualistic mind (སེམས་, sem). In the Dzogchen teachings, the nature of mind is often described in terms of essence, nature and compassion. The Mahamudra and Dzogchen lineages have a tradition in which the master will directly introduce the nature of mind to the student by means of a pointing-out instruction.
• other names: semngo (mind essence)
• other languages: chittata (Sanskrit)
• quotes: “Do you see the stars up there in the sky?” (when Patrul Rinpoche introduced the nature of mind to Nyoshul Lungtok)
• see also: Dzogchen ; ngotrö (pointing-out instruction) ; ngowo rangzhin tukjé(essence, nature and capacity) ; sem (mind, ordinary dualistic mind) ; tamel gyi shepa (ordinary mind according to the Mahamudra tradition) ; tathagatagarbha(buddhanature);
• external links: rigpawiki ; (Mipham Rinpoche on The Nature of Mind): Lotsawa House
≫ sernya (Tibetan: གསེར་ཉ་, sernya ; Wylie: gser nya ; Sanskrit: gaurmatsya from गौर + मत्स्य, IAST: gaura + matsya) = The Auspicious Golden Fishes, one of the 8 Auspicious Symbols. A pair of golden fish that symbolise fearlessness, freedom and liberation, as well as happiness, fertility and abundance.
• see also: Tashi Tagyé (8 Auspicious Symbols)
≫ shakpa (Tibetan: བཤགས་པ, shakpa ; Wylie: bshags pa) = confession, apology.
• external links: wiktionary / rigpawiki
≫ Shakyamuni (Sanskrit: शाक्यमुनि; IAST: śākyamuni; Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་ཤ་ཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ་, sang gyé sha kya tup pa; Wylie: sangs rgyas sha kya thub pa) = The Buddha; born as Siddhartha Gautama, he is also commonly known as Shakyamuni (“sage of the Shakya clan”) and as the Tathagata (“thus-come-one” or “thus-gone-one”).
• see also: bodhi (enlightenment); Buddha; OM MUNE MUNE MAHĀMUNAYE SVĀHĀ(Shakyamuni mantra); pañchakula (5 buddha families); Siddhartha (the Buddha); sugata (“gone blissfully”, syn. the Buddha); tathagata (“thus come / thus gone”, syn. the Buddha)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rywiki / Himalayan Art
Shakyamuni mantra – redirects to OM MUNE MUNE MAHĀMUNAYE SVĀHĀ(Sanskrit)
≫ shamatha (Sanskrit: शमथ, IAST: śamatha; Pāli: समथ, IAST: samatha; Tibetan: ཞི་གནས, zhiné; Wylie: zhi gnas; Burmese: သမထ; Chinese: 止, pinyin: zhǐ, literally “to stop”, also transliterated as: 奢摩他 / 奢摩他, pinyin: shēmótā) = calm abiding, stabilizing meditation, meditative equipoise, tranquility of the mind.
• other languages: samatha (Pāli), zhiné (Tibetan)
• see also: sati (mindfulness, recollection), vipassana (insight)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / study buddhism (Berzin)
≫ Shambhala (Sanskrit: शम्भल, Shambhala; IAST: Śambhala; Tibetan: བདེ་འབྱུང, Wylie: bde ‘byung, literally “place of peace / tranquility / happiness”; Chinese: 香巴拉; pinyin: Xiāngbālā) = (1) Buddhist organisation established by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche; (2) a spiritual kingdom mentioned in the Kalachakra Tantra. The mythological relevance of the place originates with a prophecy in Vishnu Purana (4.24) according to which Shambhala will be the birthplace of Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu, who will usher in a new age (Satya Yuga) and the prophesied ruling Kingdom of Maitreya, the future Buddha.
• see also: Rigden (name for the Kings of Shambhala)
• external links: (Kingdom of Shambhala): wikipedia; (Shambhala Buddhism): wikipedia/ shambhala (official website)
≫ Shantarakshita (Sanskrit: शान्तरक्षित, śāntarakṣita; Tibetan: ཞི་བ་འཚོ་, zhiwa tso; Wylie: zhi ba ‘tsho) (725-788 CE) = renowned 8th century CE Indian Buddhist master, abbot of Nalanda, and founder of the Yogachara-Madhyamaka (also known as the Yogachara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka), which united the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagarjuna, the Yogachara tradition of Asanga, and the logical and epistemological thought of Dharmakirti. He was invited to Tibet by King Trisong Deutsen where he founded the temple and monastery of Samyé and ordained the first seven Tibetan monks, thus establishing the Tibetan Sangha, according to Nagarjuna’s Sarvastivadin tradition. His philosophical views were the main views in Tibet from the 8th century CE until they were mostly supplanted by Je Tsongkhapa’s interpretation of Prasangika Madhyamaka in the 15th century CE.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / TBRC
≫ Shantideva (Sanskrit: शान्तिदेव, IAST: Śāntideva; Chinese: 寂天, pinyin: Jítiān; Tibetan: ཞི་བ་ལྷ།, Zhiwa Lha; Wylie: zhi ba lha) (685-763 CE) = an 8th-century Indian Mahayana master, Buddhist monk, poet and scholar at the university at Nalanda, author of the Bodhicharyavatara. He was an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna, and is considered one of the 84 mahasiddhas of India. According to Pema Chödrön, “Shantideva was not well liked at Nalanda” as “Apparently he was one of those people who didn’t show up for anything, never studying or coming to practice sessions. His fellow monks said that his three “realizations” were eating, sleeping, and shitting.” After being goaded into giving a talk to the entire university body, Shantideva delivered “The Way of the Bodhisattva” (Sanskrit: बोधिचर्यावतार, Bodhicharyavatara, IAST: Bodhicaryāvatāra), a famous and much-loved introduction to the Mahayana path, especially bodhichitta and the practice of the 6 paramitas.
• see also: Bodhicharyavatara
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / Lotsawa House / TBRC
≫ shastra (Sanskrit: शास्त्र, IAST: śāstra; Tibetan: བསྟན་བཅོས་, tenchö; Wylie: bstan bcos) = a treatise or commentary on the words of the Buddha.
• see also: sutra (discourse, words of the Buddha)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ shatparamita (Sanskrit: षट्पारमिता, IAST: ṣaṭ + pāramitā; Tibetan: ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག་, parol tu chinpa druk; Wylie: pha rol tu phyin pa drug; also shortened to: Tibetan: ཕར་ཕྱིན་དྲུག་, par chin druk; Wylie: phar phyin drug; Chinese: 六波羅蜜 / 六波罗蜜, pinyin: liù bōluómì) = the 6 paramitas or 6 “transcendent perfections” that comprise the bodhisattva path (for more details on etymology, see entry for paramita). The bodhisattva path comprises the cultivation of six paramitas:
(1) dana (Sanskrit: दान, IAST: dāna; Tibetan: སྦྱིན་པ་, jinpa; Wylie: sbyin pa; Chinese: 布施, pinyin: bùshī, “charity”) = generosity.
(2) shila (Sanskrit: शील, IAST: śīla, Pāli: सील, IAST: sīla; Tibetan: ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་, tsultrim; Wylie: tshul khrims, “acting appropriately”; Chinese: 持戒, pinyin: chíjiè, “morality”) = discipline.
(3) kshanti (Sanskrit: क्षान्ति, IAST: kṣānti; Pali: खन्ति, IAST: khanti: Tib. བཟོད་པ་, zöpa; Wylie: bzod pa; 忍辱, pinyin: rěnrù, “forbearance”) = patience.
(4) virya (Sanskrit: वीर्य, IAST: vīrya; Pali: विरिय, IAST: viriya; Tibetan: བརྩོན་འགྲུས་, tsöndrü; Wylie: brtson ‘grus; Chinese: 精進, pinyin: jīngjìn, “effort”) = diligence.
(5) dhyana (Sanskrit: ध्यान, IAST: dhyāna; Pāli: झान, IAST: jhāna; Japanese: 禅, zen; Tibetan: བསམ་གཏན་, samten; Wylie: bsam gtan; Chinese: 禪定, pinyin: chándìng, “meditation”) = meditative concentration.
(6) prajña (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञ, IAST: prajña; Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་, shérab / shérap; Wylie: shes rab; Chinese: 智慧, pinyin: zhìhuì, “wisdom”) = prajñaparamita, wisdom, precise discernment, discriminating awareness.
• see also: paramita (transcendent perfection); shatparamita (6 paramitas): (1) dana(generosity), (2) shila (discipline), (3) kshanti (patience), (4) virya (diligence), (5) dhyana(meditative concentration), (6) prajña (wisdom); trishiksha (3-fold training) = discipline (shila), meditation (samadhi) & wisdom (prajña)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki; (reader’s guide/suggested readings): Shambhala
≫ shedra (Tibetan: བཤད་གྲྭ་, Wylie: bshad grwa) = literally “place of teaching”, refers specifically to the educational program in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. Many of the Tibetan shedras base their program on a set number of texts. In the Nyingma school, this has often meant the ‘thirteen great texts’ of India, together with their Tibetan commentaries (Tibetan: གཞུང་ཆེན་བཅུ་གསུམ་, shyung chenpo chusum; Wylie: gzhung chen po bcu gsum). Together with the minor subjects such as grammar and history, the program may take twelve or thirteen years to complete.
• see also: wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ shédrip (Tibetan: ཤེས་སྒྲིབ་, shédrip; Wylie: shes sgrib; Sanskrit: ज्ञेयावरण, IAST: jñeyāvaraṇa from ज्ञेय + आवरण, IAST: jñeya + āvaraṇa; Chinese: 所知障 / 所知障, pinyin: suǒzhī zhàng; earlier rendered in in both Yogacāra and Tathāgatagarbha texts as 智障 / 智障, pinyin: zhìzhàng) = cognitive obscurations, obstructions to omniscience.
• see also: drib (obscuration); dribpa nyi (2 obscurations): (1) emotional obscurations: nyöndrip (Tibetan), kleshavarana (Sanskrit); (2) cognitive obscurations: shédrip(Tibetan), jñeyavarana (Sanskrit); nyönmong (negative emotion)
• glossary: 2 obscurations = emotional obscurations (nyöndrip) & cognitive obscurations (shédrip)
≫ shekpa (Tibetan: གཤེགས་པ་, shekpa; Wylie: gshegs pa ; Sanskrit: गत, IAST: gata) = to approach, proceed, depart, go away, dissolve into; DJKR: “going and coming, together (i.e. at the same time)”.
• other languages: gata (Sanskrit)
• see also: dézhin shekpa (tathagata)
≫ sheng (Chinese: 聖 or 圣, pinyin: shèng ; Sanskrit: आर्य, IAST: ārya “respectable, honourable person”) = noble person, sage, wise man, holy man; in Buddhism, used to refer to the Buddha, a bodhisattva, or an arhat.
• see also: arya (勝人 / 胜人, Pinyin: shèngrén) ; junzi (gentleman, noble person) ; xiaoren (petty, ignorable person)
• external links: (圣) wiktionary ; (聖) wiktionary ; (sage vs gentleman in Confucianism): wikipedia
≫ shentong (Tibetan: གཞན་སྟོང་, Wylie: gzhan stong, literally “other-emptiness”; also transliterated zhentong) = “other-emptiness” or “extrinsic emptiness”, one of two approaches towards emptiness and nonduality within Madhyamaka philosophy (along with rangtong).
• quotes: “Mind; there is no mind; mind is luminous“
• see also: rangtong (self-emptiness) ; zhen (other)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki
shé (Tibetan: ཤེས, Wylie: shes) – see shépa (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
≫ shépa (Tibetan: ཤེས་པ་, Wylie: shes pa) = consciousness, cognising, knowing, ordinary awareness; to be aware, conscious of, know, understand; knowing quality, understanding, knowledge, noetic capacity. Shépa is the act of cognising or knowing something, but without necessarily knowing what it is or what it means. It may be either valid or invalid, conceptual or nonconceptual. This is the most general term for knowing something.
• note: shépa (consciousness, cognition) refers to the phenomenon of knowing, and its specific character (Tibetan: རང་གི་མཚན་ཉིད་, Wylie: rang gi mtshan nyid) is that it is luminous (sel) and aware (rigpa). We may thus distinguish between mind (consciousness) and the nature of mind (which includes its qualities/characteristics of luminosity and awareness).
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; yi (sentience, mind)
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki / Study Buddhism
shérab (Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་, shérap ; Wylie: shes rab) = transcendent knowledge, wisdom – see prajña (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary
≫ shézhin (Tibetan: ཤེས་བཞིན་, Wylie: shes bzhin) = attentiveness, continuously paying attention; mental faculty of guarding the meditative process; awareness.
≫ shikantaza (Japanese: 只管打坐, shikantaza, literally “just sitting”; Chinese: 只管打坐 pinyin: zhǐguǎn dǎzuò) = “just sitting”, a meditation practice where one stays intensely focused and aware without focusing on any particular object. The term translated as “just” (Japanese: 只管, shikan; Chinese: 只管, pinyin: zhǐguǎn) originates from the Song period and means “exclusively”, “earnestly”, “concentratedly” etc. Thus, shikantaza also means sitting without having or thinking about any kind of goal. Shikantaza is the Japanese translation of a Chinese term for zazen introduced by Rujing, a monk of the Caodong school of Zen Buddhism, to refer to a practice called “Silent Illumination” or “Serene Reflection” by previous Caodong masters. In Japan, it is associated with the Soto school of Zen.
• external links: wikipedia
≫ shila (Sanskrit: शील, IAST: śīla, Pāli: सील, IAST: sīla; Tibetan: ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་, tsultrim; Wylie: tshul khrims, literally “acting appropriately”; Chinese: 尸羅 / 尸罗, pinyin: shīluó; also translated as: 持戒 / 持戒, pinyin: chíjiè, in the sense of “keeping the precepts”) = virtue, discipline, moral conduct, moral discipline, morality, ethical conduct; the second of the 6 paramitas and first aspect of the 3-fold training. DJKR: “ethics”, “a discipline of ethics”, ethical discipline.
• other languages: tsültrim (Tibetan)
• see also: paramita (transcendent perfection); shatparamita (6 paramitas): (1) dana(generosity), (2) shila (discipline), (3) kshanti (patience), (4) virya (diligence), (5) dhyana(meditative concentration), (6) prajña (wisdom); trishiksha (3-fold training) = shila(ethical discipline/virtue), samadhi (meditative concentration/one-pointedness) & prajña (discriminative awareness/wisdom); tsültrim sum (the 3 kinds of discipline according to the Mahayana)
• external links: wiktionary; (Buddhist ethics): wikipedia; (discipline): rigpawiki
shiné (Tibetan) = redirects to zhiné.
≫ shingta nyi (Tibetan: ཤིང་རྟ་གཉིས ; Wylie: shing rta gnyis, where ཤིང་རྟ, shing rta = “chariot, wagon, cart”) = (The traditions of) The Two Chariots of Mahayana, Nagarjuna and Asanga.
• external links: rywiki
shiwa (Tibetan) = redirects to zhiwa.
≫ shloka (Sanskrit: श्लोक, IAST: śloka ; Tibetan (1): ཚིག་བཅད་, tsikché ; Wylie: tshig bcad ; Tibetan (2): ཚིགས་བཅད་, Wylie: tshigs bcad) = stanza, verse.
• other languages: tsikché (Tibetan)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ shodo (Japanese: 書道, shodō) = Japanese calligraphy, especially Japanese calligraphy based on Chinese characters. Written Japanese was originally based on Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japanese syllabaries resulted in intrinsically Japanese calligraphy styles.
• see also (the three classical Japanese arts of refinement): kadō (flower arrangement), kōdō (incense appreciation) and chadō (tea and the tea ceremony)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ shokupan (Japanese: 食パン, shokupan ; literally “eating bread” = 食, shoku “food, eating” + パン, pan “bread”) = a white and pillowy square-shaped bread which is the most ubiquitous type of bread in Japan. DJKR describes his love of Japanese toast in the teaching “Vipassana for beginners“, Taipei, December 12, 2020.
• see also: tosuto (the word for “toast” in Japanese)
• external links: Japan Times
≫ shoshin (Japanese: 初心, shoshin = 初 “first time, beginning, innocent, naive” + 心 “heart, mind, spirit”) = beginner’s mind, mind of a novice, an attitude to learn resembling that of a beginner’s, possibly in spite of one’s mastery; initial intention, original idea.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ shramana (Sanskrit: श्रमण, IAST: śramaṇa ; Pali: समण, IAST: samaṇa; Tibetan: དགེ་སྦྱོང་, géjong; Wylie: dge sbyong ; Burmese: သမဏ; Chinese: 動息 / 动息, pinyin: dòngxí) = Buddhist ascetic, disciple, mendicant; wanderer, recluse, practitioner; one who labours, toils, or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose); seeker, one who performs acts of austerity, ascetic.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ shramanera (Sanskrit: श्रामणेर, IAST: śrāmaṇera; Pali: सामणेर, IAST: sāmaṇera; Tibetan: དགེ་ཚུལ་, gé tsül; Wylie: dge tshul; Burmese: သာမေဏရ; Chinese: 沙彌 / 沙弥, pinyin: shāmí) = male novice monk not yet of age.
• see also: bhikshu (male monastic or monk) ; bhikshuni (female monastic or nun) ; shramanerika (female novice nun) ; upasaka (male lay practitioner) ; upasika (female lay practitioner)
• see also: Theravada (the school of the elders)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ shramanerika (Sanskrit: श्रामणेरिका, IAST: śrāmaṇerikā; Pali: सामणेरी; IAST: sāmaṇerī; Tibetan: དགེ་ཚུལ་མ་, gé tsül ma; Wylie: dge tshul ma; Burmese: သာမေဏရီ; Chinese: 沙彌尼 / 沙弥尼, pinyin: shāmíní) = female novice nun not yet of age.
• see also: bhikshu (male monastic or monk) ; bhikshuni (female monastic or nun) ; shramanera (male novice monk) ; upasaka (male lay practitioner) ; upasika (female lay practitioner)
• see also: Theravada (the school of the elders)
≫ shravaka (Sanskrit: श्रावक, IAST: śrāvaka ; Pāli: सावक, IAST: sāvaka ; literally “hearing, listening”; Burmese: သာဝက; Tibetan: ཉན་ཐོས་, nyentö; Wylie: nyan thos ; Chinese: 聲聞 / 声闻, pinyin: shēngwèn) = disciple of the Buddha; hearer or listener of the teachings; “one who hears and proclaims”; follower of the Shravakayana (basic vehicle) who strives to attain the level of an arhat.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ Shravakayana (Sanskrit: श्रावकयान, IAST: śrāvaka + yāna ; Tibetan: ཉན་ཐོས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ་, nyentö kyi tekpa ; Wylie: nyan thos kyi theg pa) = “the vehicle of the shravakas (listeners)”, to which the early Buddhist schools belonged. The Theravada is the only surviving school of Buddhism based on the Shravakayana, and therefore Buddhism’s oldest existing school. It is the official religion of Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Cambodia, the main dominant Buddhist variant found in Laos and Thailand, and also practiced by minorities and diasporas in many other countries. It is one of the three yanas known to Indian Buddhism (along with the Pratyekabuddhayana and Mahayana), and first of the 9 yanas according to the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. The Shravakayana path leads to the goals of an arhat, an individual who achieves liberation as a result of listening to the teachings (or lineage) of a Samyaksambuddha (i.e. fully enlightened Buddha, such as Shakyamuni Buddha).
• note (on usage): some Mahayana texts refer to the Shravakayana vehicle as the “Hinayana” (or “lesser vehicle” in contrast to the later Mahayana as the “great vehicle”), a pejorative term also in the past widely used by Western scholars. In 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists declared that the term “Hinayana” should not be used when referring to any form of Buddhism existing today, and modern Buddhist scholarship uses the term “Nikaya Buddhism” to refer to early Buddhist schools. Many contemporary Buddhist teachers (including DJKR) prefer to use the term “Shravakayana”; DJKR: “Hinayana is a Mahayana chauvinist term, so we don’t want to use this term”.
• see also: Ekayana (the Single Vehicle) ; Hinayana (the Lesser Vehicle) ; Mahayana (the Great Vehicle) ; Theravada (the School of the Elders) ; Vajrayana (the Diamond Vehicle) ; yana (vehicle or method)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ Shri Singha (Sanskrit: श्री सिंह, IAST: Śrī Siṃha, literally “revered lion” ; Tibetan: ཤྲི་སིང་ཧ, Wylie: shri sing ha, also Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་སེང་གེ་, palgyi sengé; Wylie: dpal gyi seng ge) = renowned Indian Dzogchen master who was the teacher of Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, and Vairotsana. He was a principal student and dharma-son of Mañjushrimitra in the Dzogchen lineage, and is credited by the Nyingma school with introducing Dzogchen to Tibet.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / TBRC
≫ shunyata (Sanskrit: शून्यता, IAST: śūnyatā; Pāli: सुञ्ञता, IAST: suññatā ; Tibetan: སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་, tongpa nyi; Wylie: stong pa nyid ; Burmese: သုည-တာ ; Japanese: 空, kū, “space” ; Chinese: 空, pinyin: kōng, “emptiness, voidness, hollowness, insubstantiality”) = emptiness; lack of true existence; illusory nature (of all worldly phenomena); the ultimate nature of phenomena, namely their lack of inherent existence.
• see also: nam tar go sum (the three doors of liberation) ; ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; wu (nonexistence, nonbeing)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ Shvetaketu (Sanskrit: श्वेतकेतु, IAST: śvetaketu), literally = श्वेत śveta “white” + केतु ketu “sign, mark”) = name of Gautama Buddha in a previous life as a bodhisattva. Appears in DJKR Dordogne teachings on Uttaratantra, verse 223, when talking about the nirmanakaya as a display or “show” put on by the Buddha. Wikipedia says, “Svetaketu’s story in the Chandogya Upanishad is the first time that reincarnation is mentioned in the Vedas and perhaps in all of the known writings in human history.”
• external links: wikipedia
≫ Sida Mingshan (Chinese: 四大名山, pinyin: sìdà míngshān) = The Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in China:
• 普陀山 Pǔtuó Shān (literally “Potalaka (Potala) Mountain”) Zhèjiāng Province, for Avalokitêśvara 觀音, element water, East;
• 五臺山 Wǔtái Shān (literally “Five-Terrace (Plateau) Mountain”), Shānxī Province, Mañjushri/Wenshu, wind, North;
• 峨眉山 Éméi Shān (literally “Delicate-Eyebrow Mountain”), Sìchuān Province, Samantabhadra/Puxian, fire, West;
• 九華山 Jiǔhuá Shān (literally “Nine-Glories Mountain”), Ānhuī Province, Ksitigarbha/Tizang, earth, South.
• see also: Emeishan (bodhimanda of Samantabhadra) ; Wutaishan (bodhimanda of Mañjushri)
• external links: wikipedia / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / san shin
≫ Siddhartha (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ, IAST: Siddhārtha; Pāli: सिद्धत्थ, IAST: Siddhattha; Tibetan: དོན་གྲུབ་, döndrub, Wylie: don grub) = Siddhartha (literally “one who has accomplished his aim”), the Buddha (c. 563/480 – c. 483/400 BCE).
• see also: bodhi (enlightenment) ; Buddha ; Gautama (Sanskrit) ; Gotama (Pāli) ; pañchakula (5 buddha families) ; Shakyamuni (the Buddha) ; sugata (“gone blissfully”, syn. the Buddha) ; tathagata (“thus come / thus gone”, syn. the Buddha)
• Buddhist terms: Buddha
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit) = The Buddha – see Siddhartha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)
≫ siddhi (Sanskrit: सिद्धि, IAST: siddhi ; Tibetan: དངོས་གྲུབ་, ngödrup; Wylie: dngos grub ; also: བསྒྲུབ་, drup; Wylie: bsgrub ; Chinese: 悉地 / 悉地, pinyin: xīdì) = accomplishment, complete attainment, success, performance, fulfilment, magical power; there are eight ‘common’ siddhis said to be developed by the practice of yoga. Among these are clairvoyance, clairaudiance, the ability to fly through the air, the ability to read thoughts, and control of the body and external world, enabling one to transform both at will. The supreme siddhi is enlightenment.
• see also: mahasiddha (great accomplished one)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ Sitatara (Sanskrit: सितातारा, IAST: sitātārā “White Tara” = सिता sitā + तारा tārā; Tibetan: སྒྲོལ་དཀར་, dröl kar; Wylie: sgrol dkar) = White Tara, one of the three deities associated with longevity (along with Amitayus and Ushnishavijaya). White Tara is usually represented with seven eyes, three in her face and the other four in the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. One of most well-known forms of White Tara is Chinta Chakra Tara (Sanskrit: चिन्ताचक्र तारा, IAST: cintācakra tārā, “Tara of the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel”), the main deity of the Chimé Phagma Nyingtik sadhana. Sitatara appears as one of the 21 Taras in some, but not all, of the Indian and Tibetan lineages of the 21 Taras. In particular, there is no White Tara of long life in Atisha’s lineage, which is perhaps the lineage of the 21 Taras most commonly found in Tibetan art.
• see also: Amitayus ; Ushnishavijaya
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Britannica / Himalayan Art / Asian Art
≫ Sitatapatra (Sanskrit dictionary and Digital Dictionary of Buddhism both have Sanskrit: सितातपत्र, IAST: Sitātapatra, “white umbrella, an emblem of royalty”, although wikipedia and rigpawiki have Sanskrit: सितातपतत्रा, IAST: Sitātapatrā. The name is derived from the Sanskrit: आतपत्र, IAST: ātapatra “umbrella”, which also has a short final “a”. Other languages: Tibetan: གདུགས་དཀར་མོ།, duk kar mo; Wylie: gdugs dkar mo; Chinese: 悉怛多般怛羅, pinyin: xīdáduōbō/bāndáluó) = “White Parasol” or “White Umbrella”, also known in Buddhism as Ushnisha Sitatapatra, a protector against supernatural danger, quarrels and bad dreams. She is venerated in both the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, and is one of the 21 Taras in the Longchen Nyingtik of Jigme Lingpa (Sanskrit: तारा अजितराज्ञी; IAST: Tārā Ajitarājñī; Tibetan: སྒྲོལ་མ་མི་ཕམ་རྒྱལ་མོ་, Drolma Mipam Gyalmo; Wylie: sgrol ma mi pham rgyal mo, “Tara who is unconquerable and victorious”). It is believed that Sitatapatra is a powerful independent deity emanated by Gautama Buddha from his ushnisha. Whoever practices her mantra will be reborn in Amitabha’s pure land of Sukhavati as well as gaining protection against supernatural danger and witchcraft. She appears in various forms, including one faced, three faced, five faced and thousand faced; the thousand faced Sitatapatra is the most popular and the most commonly depicted in artistic representation.
• Practice: White Umbrella (dharani and mantras from “The Swift Steed of Garuda” by Karma Chagme)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Lotsawa House / Wisdom Library / Himalayan Art
≫ skandha (Sanskrit: स्कन्ध, IAST: skandha ; Pāli: खन्ध, IAST: khandha ; Tibetan: ཕུང་པོ་, pungpo; Wylie: phung po) = aggregate, element, psycho-physical constituent; there are five skandhas or aggregates:
(1) rupa (Sanskrit: रूप, IAST: rūpa) = form (or matter);
(2) vedana (Sanskrit: वेदना, IAST: vedanā) = sensation (or feeling);
(3) samjña (Sanskrit: संज्ञा, IAST: saṃjñā) = perception;
(4) samskara (Sanskrit: संस्कार, IAST: saṃskāra) = mental formations;
(5) vijñana (Sanskrit: विज्ञान, IAST: vijñāna) = consciousness.
• see also: samskara (mental formations)
• external links: wiktionary / (5 skandhas): wikipedia
sloka (Sanskrit) = redirects to shloka.
smriti (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: smṛti) = mindfulness, recollection, calling to mind, bearing in mind, remembrance, presence of mind, memory, awareness – see sati (Pāli ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary
sönam (Tibetan: བསོད་ནམས, sönam ; Wylie: bsod nams) = merit – see punya (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary
≫ song (Tibetan: སྲོང་, song; Wylie: srong) = just, straightforward, righteous.
≫ stupa (Sanskrit: स्तूप, IAST: stūpa, lit. “heap” ; Tibetan: མཆོད་རྟེན་, chörten ; Wylie: mchod rten) = stupa, a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumambulation (Tibetan: korwa) has been an important ritual and devotional practice since the earliest times, and stupas always have a circumambulation path around them.
• other languages: chörten (Tibetan)
• see also: korwa (circumambulation)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / 84000 knowledge base / 84000 glossary
≫ Sudhana (Sanskrit: सुधन; IAST: Sudhana, literally “very rich”, also known as Sudhanakumāra ; Tibetan: ནོར་བུ་བཟང་པོ་, Norbu Zangpo ; Wylie: nor bu bzang po (also the epithet of Jambhala, the god of wealth) ; Chinese: 善財童子 / 善财童子; pinyin: Shàncáitóngzǐ) = Sudhana, the main protagonist of the Gandavyuha Sutra. He is the son of a prominent merchant who is an upasaka (someone who has taken the male layperson’s vows). He is unique among the personages that appear in the Buddhist Canon. He does not appear in any other sutra, he does not receive a teaching from Shakyamuni Buddha, and it is specified that he searches for one particular teacher for twelve years. There is no description of him apart from his being called a śreṣṭhidārakai (= श्रेष्ठिन्, śreṣṭhin, “head of association” + दारक dāraka, “son”) which could mean the son of a head merchant, implying wealth. In fact, he is the eldest of the eleven sons of the merchant Mahāprajña, and the great wealth of his family is said to have miraculously appeared at his birth. In the carved panels of the Borobudur temple in Indonesia he is even portrayed in a princely manner, accompanied by an entourage. Also sometimes referred to as Manibhadra (e.g. DJKR January 2024 teaching “Aspiration is the King“).
• see also: Gandavyuha Sutra ; Indriyeshvara (the young boy that Sudhana meets in Chapter 15 of the Gandavyuha Sutra)
• external links: wikipedia / 84000 / Interview with Peter Alan Roberts (translator of Gandavyuha Sutra)
≫ sugata (Sanskrit: सुगत, IAST: sugata ; Tibetan: བདེ་བར་གཤེགས་པ་, dewar shekpa; Wylie: bde bar gshegs pa ; Chinese: 善逝, pinyin: shànshì “well-gone”, also: 修伽陀, pinyin: xiūgātuó, transliteration of sugata) = going well, gone well, “one who has gone blissfully” (syn. the Buddha).
• see also: Buddha
• external links: wiktionary / 84000 glossary
≫ sugatagarbha (Sanskrit: सुगतगर्भ, IAST: sugatagarbha = sugata “one who has gone well, blissfully” + garbha “essence” ; Tibetan: བདེ་བར་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་, dewar shek pé nying po ; Wylie: bde bar gshegs pa’i snying po) = buddhanature; enlightened essence; “Sugata essence”, the most common Sanskrit term for what in the West is known as “buddhanature”.
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; tathagatagarbha (buddhanature)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki
≫ Sujata (Sanskrit: सुजाता, IAST: sujātā) = a milkmaid, who is said to have fed Prince Siddhartha milk and rice, ending his six years of asceticism beside the Nairañjana river.
• see also: Nairañjana (the river beside which Prince Siddhartha practiced asceticism)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / 84000 glossary
≫ sukha (Sanskrit: सुख, IAST: sukha ; Tibetan: བདེ་བ་, dewa; Wylie: bde ba) = pleasure, bliss, happiness.
• other languages: dewa (Tibetan)
• see also: Sukhavati (the pure land of Amitabha)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ Sukhavati (Sanskrit: सुखावती, IAST: sukhāvatī ; Tibetan: བདེ་བ་ཅན་, Dewachen ; Wylie: bde ba can, literally: “Blissful [Land]” ; Chinese: 極樂, pinyin: jílè, “ultimate bliss, highest joy”) = Sukhavati, or the Western Paradise, the western Pure Land of Amitabha in Mahayana Buddhism. The Sanskrit word sukhāvatī is the feminine form of sukhāvat (“full of joy; blissful”). Pure Land Buddhism (Japanese: 浄土仏教, Jōdo bukkyō ; Chinese: 淨土宗, pinyin: Jìngtǔ Zōng) holds that Amitabha is teaching the Dharma in his buddha-field (Sanskrit: बुद्धक्षेत्र, IAST: buddhakṣetra) or “pure land”, a region offering respite from karmic transmigration. Amitabha’s pure land of Sukhavati is described in the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra as a land of beauty that surpasses all other realms. It is said to be inhabited by many gods, men, flowers, fruits, and adorned with wish-granting trees where rare birds come to rest. In Pure Land traditions, entering the Pure Land is popularly perceived as equivalent to attaining enlightenment. Upon entry into the Pure Land, the practitioner is then instructed by Amitabha Buddha and numerous bodhisattvas until attaining complete enlightenment.
• see also: Amitabha (buddha) ; Jodo Bukkyo (Pure Land Buddhism) ; Sitatapatra (White Umbrella) ; sukha (pleasure, bliss) ; zhing kham (buddhafield)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / 84000 glossary
≫ sutra (Sanskrit: सूत्र, IAST: sūtra ; Pāli: सुत्त, IAST: sutta ; literally “string, thread” ; Tibetan: མདོ་, do, Wylie: mdo) = discourse; canonical Buddhist scriptures, many of which are regarded as records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha. The sutras comprise the second of Three Baskets (Tripitaka) within the Pali Canon, and were initially passed on orally by monks, then later written down and composed as manuscripts in various Indo-Aryan languages which were then translated into other local languages as Buddhism spread. There are many important Mahayana texts (including the Prajñaparamita sutras, the Tathagatagarbha sutras and the Pure Land sutras) that are called sutras despite being attributed to much later authors. The Mahayana sutras are traditionally considered by Mahayana Buddhists to be the word of the Buddha. Mahayana Buddhists explain the emergence of these new texts by arguing that they had been transmitted in secret, via lineages of supernatural beings (such as the nagas) until people were ready to hear them, or that they had been revealed directly through visions and meditative experiences to a select few.
(partial list of sutras referred to on this website):
• Ashtasahasrika Prajñaparamita Sutra (The Prajñaparamita Sutra in 8000 Lines) = the oldest of the Prajñaparamita sutras, foundational to the Madhyamaka tradition.
• Avatamsaka Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture) = one of the most important and largest of all Mahayana sutras, which has been especially influential in East Asian Buddhism and Chan Buddhism.
• Dashabhumika Sutra (The Ten Stages Sutra) = an early, influential Mahayana sutra which also appears as the 26th chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara is a commentary on the Dashabhumika Sutra.
• Dharmachakrapravartana Sutra (The Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma Sutra) = the first teaching given by Shakyamuni Buddha at Deer Park in Sarnath. The main topic of the sutra is the 4 noble truths, and the sutra also refers to the middle way, impermanence, and dependent origination.
• Lalitavistara Sutra (“The Play in Full”) = a sutra that tells the life story of the Buddha from a Mahayana perspective, from the time of his descent from Tushita, through his attainment of enlightenment until his first sermon in the Deer Park near Varanasi.
• Prajñaparamitahridaya Sutra (“Heart Sutra”) = The Heart Sutra, said to be the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana tradition. It is a condensed exposé of the Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, presented as a dialogue between Avalokiteshvara and Shariputra. It includes the famous statement “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form”.
• Pundarika Sutra (The Lotus Sutra) = one of the most popular and influential Mahayana sutras, and the basis on which the Tiantai, Tendai, Cheontae, and Nichiren schools of Buddhism were established.
• Sagaranagarajaparipraccha (“The Questions of the Naga King Sagara”) = a Mahayana sutra that sets out the Four Dharma Seals.
• see also: shastra (treatise or commentary on the words of the Buddha)
• external links: (sutra): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki ; (Buddhist texts): wikipedia
≫ svasamvedana (Sanskrit: स्वसंवेदन, IAST: svasaṃvedana ; Tibetan: རང་རིག་, rang rik ; Wylie: rang rig) = self-cognition, self-cognisance, self-awareness; third of the 4 kinds of direct perception.
• other languages: rangrig (Tibetan)
• see also: ngönsum zhi (4 kinds of direct perception)
• external links: 84000 glossary
≫ svatantra (Sanskrit: स्वतन्त्र, IAST: svatantra) = autonomous, self-dependent, independent. In Buddhist philosophy, refers to autonomous syllogisms used by the Svatantrika-Madhyamaka tradition.
• see also: Svatantrika (school of Madhyamaka)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ Svatantrika (Sanskrit: स्वातन्त्रिक, IAST: Svātantrika ; Tibetan: རང་རྒྱུད་པ་, ranggyüpa; Wylie: rang rgyud pa) = a philosophical tradition within the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism founded in 6th century CE by Bhaviveka, which is seen as opposed to the Prasangika tradition of Madhyamaka. Svatantrika literally means “[one who relies on] svatantra, i.e. autonomous [syllogisms]”. Bhaviveka was one of the first Buddhist logicians to expound the Madhyamaka by using the prayogavakya (“formal syllogism”) of Indian logic. He was critical of Buddhapalita’s interpretation of Nagarjuna, because he believed that Buddhapalita’s approach was too difficult for many people to understand, and therefore less likely to lead people to understand and adopt the Madhyamaka view. Bhaviveka felt that a better way to lead people to the Madhyamaka view was through the skillful means of putting forward independent logical arguments, rather than simply pointing out the flaws in others’ positions. His works include the Prajñāpradīpa (“Wisdom Lamp”, Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་སྒྲོན་མ་, Wylie: shes rab sgron ma; or shes rab sgron me), a commentary on Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika, which refutes Buddhapalita’s view and sets out his own approach, which grew into the Svatantrika tradition. The great master Chandrakirti later defended Buddhapalita’s approach and sought to refute Bhaviveka.
• see also: Prasangika (school of Madhyamaka) ; prayogavakya (syllogism) ; rangwang (svatantra, independence)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / Study Buddhism
Svetaketu (Sanskrit: श्वेतकेतु, IAST: śvetaketu) = see Shvetaketu (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).