Link colours: external dictionaries in green, internal website links in light blue, external website links in dark blue
V
Vairocana (Sanskrit) – redirects to Vairochana.
• note on transliteration: many websites and dictionaries use “Vairocana” as the English transliteration of the Sanskrit वैरोचन. However the Sanskrit “ca” is pronounced as “cha”, so to be consistent with the spelling of other Sanskrit words on this website (such as “Chandrakirti”), the transliteration “Vairochana” is used here. The exception is the name of the famous Tibetan Lotsawa/translator “Vairotsana“, which has the same spelling in Sanskrit, but a different English transliteration is used to reflect the Tibetan pronunciation of the Sanskrit word.
≫ Vairochana (Sanskrit: वैरोचन, Vairochana, IAST: vairocana, literally “coming from or descended from the sun”; Tibetan: རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད་, Nampar Nangdzé, “The Total Illuminator” also “completely illuminating; fully manifested”; Wylie: rnam par snang mdzad ; Chinese: 大日如来, pinyin: Dàrì Rúlái; Japanese: 大日如来, romaji: Dainichi Nyorai) = a celestial buddha; as one of the five buddha families of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairochana is at the centre. In texts such as the Avatamsaka Sutra, Vairochana is seen as the dharmakaya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East Asian Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of shunyata (emptiness).
• easily confused: Vairotsana (8th-9th century CE Tibetan lotsawa/translator) is different from Vairochana (a celestial buddha) [both names correspond to the Sanskrit: वैरोचन, IAST: Vairocana, however Vairotsana is closer to the Tibetan pronunciation and is therefore used for the name of the Tibetan lotsawa].
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art
≫ Vairotsana (Sanskrit: वैरोचन, Vairochana, IAST: vairocana, literally “coming from or descended from the sun”; Tibetan: རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད་ལོ་ཙ་བ་, Nampar Nangdzé Lotsawa; Wylie: rnam par snang mdzad lo tsa ba ; also known as Berotsana, Tibetan: བཻ་རོ་ཙ་ན་, Wylie: bE ro tsa na) (8th-9th centuries CE) = the greatest of all the Tibetan lotsawas (“translator”) who lived during the reign of King Trisong Deutsen (who ruled 755-97 CE) and was one of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. He was among the first seven monks ordained by Shantarakshita, and was sent to India to study with Shri Singha, who taught him in complete secrecy. Shri Singha in turn entrusted Vairotsana with the task of propagating the semde and longde sections of Dzogchen in Tibet. Together with Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra, he was one of the three main masters to bring the Dzogchen teachings to Tibet.
• easily confused: Vairotsana (8th-9th century CE Tibetan lotsawa/translator) is different from Vairochana (a celestial buddha) [both names correspond to the Sanskrit: वैरोचन, IAST: Vairocana, however Vairotsana is closer to the Tibetan pronunciation and is therefore used for the name of the Tibetan lotsawa].
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / TBRC / Lotsawa House
≫ Vaishali (Sanskrit: वैशाली, IAST: Vaiśālī ; Tibetan: ཡངས་པ་ཅན, yangpachen; Wylie: yangs pa can) = Vaishali, a city in Magadha where Gautama Buddha preached his last sermon before his death in c. 483 BCE. It is a city in present-day Bihar, India, and is now an archaeological site. It was the capital city of the Vajjika League of Vrijji mahajanapada, considered one of the first examples of a republic around the 6th century BCE. In 383 BCE the Second Buddhist council was convened here by King Kalasoka. It contains one of the best-preserved of the Pillars of Ashoka, topped by a single Asiatic lion.
• see also: Ashoka (third Mauryan Emperor of Magadha) ; Magadha (kingdom in ancient India)
• external links: wikipedia
≫ vajra (Sanskrit: वज्र ; IAST: vajra ; Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ, dorje; Wylie: rdo rje) = indestructible ; diamond ; “the hard or mighty one”, a thunderbolt (especially that of Indra) ; adamantine. In Vajrayana, a ritual sceptre symbolizing compassion and skilful means, and also a symbol of indestructibility. In tantric rituals the vajra is the necessary counterpart of the bell, which symbolises the wisdom of emptiness.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ Vajrayana (Sanskrit: वज्रयान, Vajrayāna; IAST: vajra + yāna, literally: “the vehicle of the vajra”; Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་ཐེག་པ་, dorje tekpa; Wylie: rdo rje theg pa) = the “Diamond Vehicle”, the various traditions of Buddhist Tantra and “Secret Mantra”, which developed in medieval India and spread to Tibet, Bhutan, and East Asia. The name also means “Vehicle of the Vajra” (in Indian mythology, vajra refers both to “thunderbolt”, especially that of Indra, and “diamond”, which was thought to be the same substance as the thunderbolt or equally as hard). Founded by medieval Indian mahasiddhas, Vajrayana includes practices that make use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. According to Vajrayana scriptures, Vajrayana is one of three vehicles or paths to enlightenment, the other two being the Shravakayana and Mahayana.
• see also: dzogrim (completion stage); kyerim (development stage or generation stage); Mahayana (the Great Vehicle); mahasiddha; mandala; mantra; mudra; ngöndro (preliminary practices); yana (vehicle or method)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ vana (Sanskrit: वन, IAST: vana) = forest, wood, grove.
• see also: Jetavana (Jeta’s Grove, a vihara) ; Mrigadava (Deer Park)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ varitta (Pāli: वारित्त, IAST: vāritta) = avoidance, acts that should not be done; “varitta-shila” means “morality consisting in avoidance” (as opposed to caritta-shila = morality consisting in performance/conduct).
• see also: caritta (conduct)
• external links: (Buddhist ethics): wikipedia
≫ Vasubandhu (Sanskrit: वसुबन्धु, IAST: Vasubandhu; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན།, Yiknyen; Wylie: dbyig gnyen; Chinese: 世親, pinyin: Shìqīn) (4th-5th century CE) = a 4th/5th century Buddhist monk, scholar and philosopher from Gandhara, one of the most influential figures in the entire history of Buddhism. He wrote many commentaries on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of the Sarvastivada and Sautrantika schools. He converted to Mahayana Buddhism along with his (half-?) brother Asanga, and subsequently became one of the founders of the Indian Yogachara school. His Abhidharmakośakārikā (“Commentary on the Treasury of the Abhidharma”) is widely used in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism as the major source for non-Mahayana Abhidharma philosophy.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / TBRC / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Himalayan Art
Vesak (Pāli: वेसाख, IAST: vesākha; Sanskrit: वैशाख, vaishaka; IAST: vaiśākha) = a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists and some Hindus in South and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. Also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, the festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment and parinirvana of Gautama Buddha in Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism. See Saga Dawa (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
• see also: Saga Dawa (Tibetan ≫ main entry)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia
≫ vi- (Sanskrit & Pāli: वि; IAST Sanskrit: vi; IAST Pāli: vi; Burmese: ဝိ) = a prefix with multiple meanings, including: (1) it may intensify the idea contained in the simple root (e.g. hiṃs-,”to injure”; vi-hiṃs-,”to injure severely”), hence “greater”, “special”, etc.;(2) it may give a meaning opposite to the idea contained in the simple root (e.g. krī-,”to buy”; vi-krī-,”to sell”); (3) it may connote expansion or spreading out. Added as a prefix to “passana” (seeing), it forms the word “vipassana” (special seeing, insight); DJKR (1): “special”; DJKR (2) “suchness”, “that”, “that which is”, “the real thing”, “the real deal”, “the real McCoy”, “the true color”.
• other languages: lhak (Tibetan)
• see also: vipassana (special seeing)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ vibhaja (Sanskrit: विबझ, IAST: vibhaja ; Tibetan: ནབ་ནུབ་; Wylie: nab nub) = A very large number that appears in Chapter 15 of the Gandavyuha Sutra. Its value is 1 followed by 14,680,064 zeros. (Note: Verse 15.10 notes that “A vibhaja times a vibhaja is a vijangha).
• see also: Gandavyuha Sutra ; vijangha (a very large number)
• external links: 84000
≫ vichikitsa (Sanskrit: विचिकित्सा, IAST: vicikitsā ; Tibetan: ཐེ་ཚོམ་, té tsom ; Wylie: the tshom) = doubt; fifth of the 6 destructive emotions (mulaklesha).
• (other languages): tétsom (Tibetan)
• 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: wikipedia / rigpawiki
≫ vihara (Sanskrit: विहार, IAST: vihāra, literally “a place of recreation, pleasure ground“) = monastery, temple, or convent; in early Sanskrit and Pali texts, it meant any arrangement of space or facilities for pleasure and entertainment. The term evolved into an architectural concept referring to living quarters for monks with an open shared space or courtyard. It also refers to temporary refuges for wandering monks or nuns during the annual Indian monsoons.
• see also: Jetavana (Jeta’s Grove, a vihara); Mrigadava (Deer Park, a vihara)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / wisdom library
≫ vijangha (Sanskrit: विजङ्घ, IAST: vijaṅgha, also Sanskrit: विजाघ, IAST: vijāgha ; Tibetan: སང་སང་, Wylie: sang sang) = A very large number that appears in Chapter 15 of the Gandavyuha Sutra. Its value is 1 followed by 29,360,128 zeros. (Note: Verse 15.10 notes that “A vibhaja times a vibhaja is a vijangha).
• see also: Gandavyuha Sutra ; vibhaja (a very large number)
• external links: 84000
≫ Vikramashila (Sanskrit: विक्रमशिला, IAST: vikramaśilā; Tibetan: རྣམ་གནོན་ངང་ཚུལ་, nam nön ngang tsül; Wylie: rnam gnon ngang tshul) = one of the two most important centers of learning in India during the Pala Empire, along with Nalanda. Vikramashila was established in the 8th century by the Pala emperor Dharmapala in response to a supposed decline in the quality of scholarship at Nalanda. Atisha, the renowned pandita, is sometimes listed as a notable abbot. Vikramashila was also a centre for Vajrayana, and its Tantric preceptors included Jayabhadra (9th century), a monk from Sri Lanka, who was the first prominent commentator on the Chakrasamvara tantra.
• see also: Dharmapala (emperor)
• external links: wikipedia / Treasury of Lives
≫ Vimalamitra (Tibetan: དྲི་མེད་བཤེས་གཉེན་, Drimé Shenyen ; Wylie: dri med bshes gnyen) = an 8th-century Indian monk and Dzogchen master, who was invited to Tibet by King Trisong Deutsen. He taught there extensively, and composed and translated numerous Sanskrit texts. His teachers were Buddhaguhya, Jñanasutra and Shri Singha, from whom he received the Dzogchen transmission. The quintessence of his teaching is the Vima Nyingtik, one of the Heart-essence teachings of the Great Perfection.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Treasury of Lives
≫ Vinaya (Pāli & Sanskrit: विनय; IAST: vinaya ; Tibetan: འདུལ་བ་, dulwa ; Wylie: ‘dul ba, literally “subdue, tame”) = the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist monastic community or Sangha. One of the three divisions (or three baskets) of the Pali Canon in Buddhism (Tripitaka).
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki
vipashyana (Sanskrit: विपश्यन, IAST: vipaśyana) = see vipassana (Pāli ≫ main entry).
≫ vipassana (Pāli: विपस्सना, IAST: vipassanā ; Tibetan: ལྷག་མཐོང་, lhaktong; Wylie: lhag mthong ; Sanskrit: विपश्यन, IAST: vipaśyanā ; Chinese: 觀 / 观, pinyin: guān, literally: “to observe”, also transliterated as 毘婆舍那 / 毗婆舍那, pinyin: pípóshènà) = special seeing, special insight, greater seeing, insight, clear seeing, vipassana.
• other languages: lhaktong (Tibetan), vipashyana (Sanskrit)
• see also (DJKR teachings): The Way of Vipassana (January 4, 2020) ; Lhaktong (Vipassana) (November 27, 2019)
• see also: lhak (special), shamatha (calm abiding), sati (mindfulness, recollection), tong (seeing, noticing), vi- (special)
• external links: wiktionary
≫ virya (Sanskrit: वीर्य, IAST: vīrya ; Pali: विरिय, IAST: viriya ; Tibetan: བརྩོན་འགྲུས་, tsöndrü ; Wylie: brtson ‘grus ; Chinese: 精進 / 精进, pinyin: jīngjìn) = energy, diligence, enthusiasm, effort, exertion, vigor, strength; the fourth of the 6 paramitas.
• 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).
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki