Tibetan + Sanskrit – Madhyamaka

Tibetan + Sanskrit words

Contents: This page contains a partial list of some Tibetan, Sanskrit and Pali words and names found on this website (and also some Chinese, Japanese, Dzongkha and Hindi words). The list is ordered according to the English pronunciation of the Tibetan, Sanskrit and Pali words (English rendering of the pronunciation of Tibetan words follows the approach of the Tibetan & Himalayan Library). Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Chinese translations and Wylie, IAST and pinyin transliterations (with diacritics) are provided as appropriate. Brief definitions are provided, together with links to external dictionary entries with more information, further definitions, and etymology.

Legend: Where there are multiple entries or languages for a word, the complete set of external links and definitions is only given for the main entry, which is indicated by “≫”. Links within the website are in light blue; links to external dictionaries are in green; links to external references are in dark blue. [Note: as of September 2021, many of the links have not yet had their colours updated].

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≫ 2 truths = absolute truth and relative truth – see denpa nyi (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 3 doors of liberation = (1) the ground is emptiness, (2) the path is without characteristics, (3) the result is beyond aspiration – see nam tar go sum (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 3-fold training = shila (ethical discipline/virtue), samadhi (meditative concentration/one-pointedness) and prajña (discriminative awareness/wisdom) – see trishiksha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 3 kayas = dharmakaya (“truth body”), sambhogakaya (“body of enjoyment”) and nirmanakaya (“body of manifestations”) – see trikaya (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 3 marks of existence = (1) anicca (impermanence), (2) dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and (3) anatta (nonself) – see trilakshana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 3 noble principles (also known as the “3 supreme methods”) = the principles that make the difference between practice being merely a way of bringing temporary relaxation, peace, and bliss and practice becoming a powerful cause for the awakening of oneself and others: (1) good in the beginning (bodhichitta), (2) good in the middle (maintaining view of nonduality), (3) good in the end (dedicating the merit) – see dampa sum (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 3 poisons = moha (ignorance/delusion), raga (attachment/desire) and dvesha (aversion/anger) – see trivisha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 3 Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma – see tridharmachakra (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 establishments of mindfulness – see cattaro satipatthana (Pāli ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 immeasurables = (1) metta (loving-kindness), (2) karuna (compassion), (3) mudita (sympathetic/appreciative joy) and (4) upekkha (equanimity) – see caturapramana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 kinds of direct perception = (1) indriyapratyaksha (sense perception), (2) manasapratyaksha (mental perception), (3) svasamvedana (self-cognition), (4) yogipratyaksha (yogic direct perception) – see ngönsum zhi (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 maras = 4 obstructive forces – see düzhi (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 Noble Truths = (1) dukkha (suffering), (2) samudaya (origin of suffering), (3) nirodha (cessation of suffering) and (4) magga (the path which brings the cessation of suffering) – see cattari ariyasaccani (Pāli ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 pilgrimage sites = (1) Lumbini (birthplace of the Buddha), (2) Bodh Gaya (where Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree), (3) Sarnath (where Buddha gave his first teaching) and (4) Kushinagara (where Buddha died and attained parinirvana) – see catusamvejaniyathana (Pāli ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 purposes of life = the four objects or aims of existence according to Hindu philosophy: (1) kama (desire, pleasure, love, psychological values); (2) artha (wealth, prosperity, material values); dharma (duty, moral values); moksha (liberation, spiritual values) – see purushartha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 seals = (1) impermanence (all compounded/conditioned things are impermanent), (2) unsatisfactoriness (all contaminated/defiled things are suffering), (3) nonself (all phenomena are without self/ inherent existence) and (4) peace (nirvana is peace / nirvana is beyond description) – see chökyi domzhi (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 4 stages of life = the four age-based life stages according to Hindu philosophy: (1) brahmacharya (student); (2) grihastha (householder); (3) vanaprastha (retired, forest-dweller); (4) sannyasa (renunciant, ascetic) – see ashrama (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 5 buddha families = buddha (centre/white), vajra (east/blue), ratna (or jewel) (south/yellow), padma (or lotus) (west/red) and karma (or action) (north/green) – see pañchakula (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 5 dhyani-buddhas = Mahavairocana (white), Akshobhya (blue), Ratnasambhava (yellow), Amitabha (red), Amoghasiddhi (green) – see pañchabuddha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 5 poisons = the five poisons in the Mahayana tradition. The five poisons consist of the three poisons (trivisha) of ignorance/delusion, attachment and aversion, together with two additional poisons: pride and jealousy. When their nature is realized, they manifest as the five wisdoms, which correspond to the five buddha families – see pañchakleshavisha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 5 vows = to abstain from killing, theft, sexual misconduct, falsehood and intoxication – see pañchashila (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 6 destructive emotions = (1) raga (desire), (2) pratigha (anger), (3) avidya (ignorance), (4) mana (pride), (5) vichikitsa (doubt), (6) drishti (view) – see mulaklesha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 6 paramitas = the six transcendent perfections, the six trainings that comprise the bodhisattva path: (1) dana (generosity), (2) shila (discipline), (3) kshanti (patience), (4) virya (diligence), (5) dhyana (meditative concentration), (6) prajña (wisdom, precise discernment, discriminating awareness) – see shatparamita (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 6 Yogas of Naropa – see Naro Chödruk (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 8 Auspicious Symbols – see Tashi Tagyé (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 8-Fold Noble Path – see ariya atthangika magga (Pāli ≫ main entry).

≫ 8 metaphors of illusion = 8 metaphors/similes of illusion by Longchenpa (14th century Tibetan master) – see mayopama (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 8 samsaric dharmas – see jigten chögyé (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

8 worldly concerns – see 8 samsaric dharmas.

≫ 9 yanas = the 9 vehicles according to the Nyingma classification of the Buddhist path – see tekpa gu (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ 12 examples of illusion = 12 examples of illusion by Könchog Jigme Wangpo (18th century Tibetan scholar) – see mayopama (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 12 links of dependent origination – see dvadasha pratityasamutpada (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ 32 major marks = the 32 physical characteristics of a buddha or enlightened being – see mahapurisa lakkhana (Pāli ≫ main entry).

≫ 37 factors of enlightenment (37 qualities conducive to awakening) – see sattatimsa bodhipakkhiya dhamma (Pāli ≫ main entry).

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≫ Abhidharma (Sanskrit: अभिधर्म, IAST: abhidharma; literally “special (or further) Dharma” or “meta-teaching about dharmas (phenomena)” = abhi “superior, special, higher” + Dharma ; Pāli: अभिधम्म, IAST: abhidhamma ; Tibetan: ཆོས་མངོན་པ་, chö ngönpa; Wylie: chos mngon pa, also shortened to Tibetan: མངོན་པ་, ngönpa; Wylie: mngon pa ; Chinese: 阿毘達磨, pinyin: āpídámó) (3rd century BCE and later) = philosophical and psychological analysis and interpretation of Buddhist doctrine that comprises the Abhidharma Pitaka, the third of the Tripitaka, the Three Baskets of the Buddha’s teachings that are found in the Pali Canon, alongside the Vinaya Pitaka (“Basket of Discipline”) and Sutra Pitaka (“Basket of Discourse”). The Abhidharma Pitaka is part of a later tradition of scholastic analysis and systematization of the contents of the Sutra Pitaka originating at least two centuries after the two other parts of the canon. It was defined by Buddhaghosha as the law or truth (dharma), which goes beyond (abhi) or behind the law. Bhikkhu Bodhi describes it as “an abstract and highly technical systemization of the [Buddhist] doctrine,” which is “simultaneously a philosophy, a psychology and an ethics, all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation.” According to Peter Harvey, the Abhidharma seeks “to avoid the inexactitudes of colloquial conventional language, as is sometimes found in the sutras, and state everything in psycho-philosophically exact language.” In this sense, it is an attempt to best express the Buddhist view of “ultimate reality” (paramartha-satya).
• see also: Abhidharmakosha (“The Treasury of Abhidharma” by Vasubandhu); chaitashika (mental factors or states); Tripitaka (the Three Baskets of the Buddha’s teachings)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

≫ Abhidharmakosha (Sanskrit: अभिधर्मकोश, abhidharmakosha; IAST: abhidharmakośa ; Tibetan: མངོན་པ་མཛོད་, ngönpa dzö; Wylie: mngon pa mdzod. Also: अभिधर्मकोशकारिका, abhidharmakoshakarika; IAST: abhidharmakośakārikā ; Tibetan: ཆོས་མངོན་པའི་མཛོད་ཀྱི་ཚིག་ལེའུར་བྱས་པ་, chö ngön pé dzö kyi tsik leur jé pa; Wylie: chos mngon pa’i mdzod kyi tshig le’ur byas pa ; Chinese: 倶舍論 / 倶舍论, pinyin: Jùshè lùn) = The Treasury of Abhidharma, a complete and systematic account of the Abhidharma composed by the Indian pandita Vasubandhu in the 4th or 5th century CE. It is considered the peak of scholarship in the Fundamental Vehicle (Shravakayana / Theravada).
• see also: Abhidharma ; Shravakayana ; Theravada
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ abhisheka (Sanskrit: अभिषेक, IAST: abhiṣeka, “anointing, inaugurating or consecrating by sprinkling water; bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered” ; Tibetan: དབང་, wang; Wylie: dbang ; Chinese: 灌頂 / 灌顶, pinyin: guàndǐng) = initiation or empowerment.
• other languages: wang (Tibetan)
• external links: (abhisheka): wiktionary ; (empowerment in Vajrayana): wikipedia ; (empowerment): wikipedia / rigpawiki ; (four empowerments): rigpawiki

≫ abhyasa (Sanskrit: अभ्यास, IAST: abhyāsa ; Tibetan: གོམས་, gom; Wylie: goms ; Chinese: 修習 / 修习, pinyin: xiūxí) = familiarize, become accustomed to, condition to; to be habituated, trained, made familiar with; adept, practiced, mastered, skilled, accustomed.
• 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)
• other languages: gom (Tibetan)
• external links: (abhyasa): wiktionary / wikipedia ; (meditation): rigpawiki

≫ advaya (Sanskrit: अद्वय, IAST: advaya ; Tibetan: གཉིས་མེད་, nyi mé; Wylie: gnyis med ; Chinese: 無二, pinyin: wúèr) = nonduality, nondualism
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

Amida (Japanese: 阿弥陀仏, Amida Butsu) = Japanese name for Amitabha Buddha – see Amitabha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ Amitabha (Sanskrit: अमिताभ, IAST: amitābha ; Tibetan: འོད་དཔག་མེད་, öpakmé or öpamé; Wylie: ‘od dpag med “boundless/infinite light” ; Japanese: 阿弥陀仏, Amida Butsu ; Chinese: 阿彌陀佛 / 阿弥陀佛, pinyin: Ēmítuó fó) = the Buddha of Boundless Light (also known as Amida or Amitayus), belonging to the padma or lotus family (one of the five buddha families). Amitabha is the principal buddha in Pure Land Buddhism, a branch of East Asian Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, Amitabha is known for his longevity attribute, magnetising red fire element, the aggregate of discernment, pure perception and the deep awareness of emptiness of phenomena.
• other languages: Amida (Japanese)
• see also: Amitayus (alternate name for Amitabha) ; Jodo bukkyo (Pure Land Buddhism) ; pañchakula (five buddha families) ; Sitatapatra (White Umbrella) ; Sukhavati (pure land of Amitabha)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

Amitayus (Sanskrit: अमितायुस्, IAST: amitāyus) = alternate name for Amitabha Buddha. (Amitabha means “Infinite Light”, and Amitayus means “Infinite Life” so Amitabha is also called “The Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life”). One of the three deities associated with longevity (along with White Tara and Ushnishavijaya).
• see also: Amitabha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)

≫ Ananda (Sanskrit: आनन्द, IAST: Ānanda, literally “joy, bliss” ; Tibetan: ཀུན་དགའ་བོ་, kün ga wo; Wylie: kun dga’ bo) (5th-4th century BCE) = the Buddha’s cousin, who later became his primary attendant and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha’s many disciples, Ananda was known for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist Sutta-Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha’s teachings during the First Buddhist Council.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ anapanasati (Pāli: आनापानसति, IAST: ānāpānasati = आनापान ānāpāna “inhalation and exhalation” + सति sati “memory, recognition, consciousness” ; Sanskrit: आनापानस्मृति, IAST: ānāpānasmṛti, literally “keeping remembrance of breathing” = आनापान ānāpāna “inhalation and exhalation” + स्मृति smṛti “remembrance, thinking of or upon, calling to mind”; also = āna “breathing, exhalation, inhalation” + पान pāna “observing, keeping” + स्मृति smṛti “remembrance, thinking of or upon, calling to mind” ; Chinese: 數息觀, pinyin: shǔxí guān) = mindfulness of breathing, a form of Buddhist meditation originally taught by Gautama Buddha in several suttas including the Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118). Anapanasati is now common to Tibetan, Zen, Tiantai and Theravada Buddhism, as well as contemporary Western mindfulness programs.
• other languages: anapanasmirti (Sanskrit)
• see also: sati (mindfulness)
• external links: wikipedia

anapanasmirti (Sanskrit: आनापानस्मृति, IAST: ānāpānasmṛti) = mindfulness of breathing – see anapanasati (Pāli ≫ main entry).

≫ anatta (Pāli: अनत्ता, IAST: anattā ; Sanskrit: अनात्मन्, IAST: anātman, “not self”, “devoid of self”, “something different from self”, “another” ; Tibetan: བདག་མེད་, dakmé; Wylie: bdag med ; Japanese: 無我, muga, “selfless” ; Chinese: 無我 / 无我, pinyin: wúwǒ, “without self”) = no-self, non-self, without self, egoless, ownerless. DJKR: “nothing is how it appears”. Third of the 3 marks of existence.
• other languages: dakmé (Tibetan)
• see also: trilakshana (3 marks of existence): (1) anicca (impermanence), (2) dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) (3) anatta (nonself).
• glossary: 3 marks of existence
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Angushtha (Sanskrit: अण्गुष्ठ, IAST: Aṇguṣṭha ; Tibetan: མཐེ་བོ་ཅན་, té bo chen; Wylie: mthe bo can) = the Buddha realm “Thumb-sized”, which is presided over by the Buddha Sangyé Karmala Gawa (Jyotīrāma).
• source: The realm 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 “Treasury of Knowledge, Book 1: Myriad Worlds”.
• see also: Sangyé Karmala Gawa (Jyotīrāma, The Buddha ‘Delight in Stars’)
• external links: (Avatamsaka Sutra): wikipedia ; (Buddhist cosmology): wikipedia
• 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.

≫ anicca (Pāli: अनिच्चा, IAST: anicca ; Sanskrit: अनित्य, IAST: anitya ; Tibetan: མི་རྟག་པ་, mi takpa; Wylie: mi rtag pa ; Japanese: 無常, mujō ; Chinese: 無常 / 无常, pinyin: wúcháng) = impermanence, impermanent. DJKR: “nothing is certain”. First of the 3 marks of existence.
• see also: trilakshana (3 marks of existence): (1) anicca (impermanence), (2) dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) (3) anatta (nonself).
• glossary: 3 marks of existence
• external links: wiktionary

anumana (Sanskrit: अनुमान, IAST: anumāna; also: अनुमानम्, IAST: anumānam) = inference, inferential cognition – see jépak (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ arhat (Sanskrit: अर्हत्, IAST: arhat, from the verbal root √arh “to deserve” ; Tibetan: དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ་, drachompa; Wylie: dgra bcom pa “foe-destroyer” ; Pāli: अरहन्त्, IAST: arahant ; Burmese: ရဟန္တာ ; Chinese: 阿羅漢 / 阿罗汉, pinyin: āluóhàn, often shortened to Chinese: 羅漢 / 罗汉, Pinyin: luóhàn) = one who has attained nirvana by gaining insight into the true nature of existence; name given to the ultimate result of the Shravakayana and Pratyekabuddhayana paths.
• see also: bodhisattva ; buddha ; pratyekabuddha.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

ariya (Pali: अरिय, IAST: ariya; also shortened to Pāli: अय्य, IAST: ayya) = noble being or sublime being – see arya (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ ariya atthangika magga (Pāli: अरिय अट्ठङ्गिक मग्ग, IAST: ariya + aṭṭhaṅgika + magga ; Sanskrit: आर्याष्टाङ्गमार्ग, IAST: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga ; Tibetan: འཕགས་པའི་ལམ་ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་པ་, pakpé lam yenlak gyépa; Wylie: ‘phags pa’i lam yan lag brgyad pa, also: Tibetan: འཕགས་ལམ་གྱི་ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་, paklam gyi yenlak gyé; Wylie: ‘phags lam gyi yan lag brgyad) = The Noble Eightfold Path, literally “8-fold path of the noble ones”, which comprises eight practices:
(1) right view or understanding (Sanskrit: सम्यक्दृष्टि, IAST: samyak-dṛṣṭi; Pāli: sammā-diṭṭhi).
(2) right intention or resolve (Sanskrit: सम्यक्संकल्प, IAST: samyak-saṃkalpa; Pāli: sammā-saṅkappa).
(3) right speech (Sanskrit: सम्यग्वाच्s, IAST: samyag-vāc; Pāli: sammā-vācā)
(4) right action or conduct (Sanskrit: सम्यक्कर्मान्त, IAST: samyak-karmānta; Pāli: sammā-kammanta).
(5) right livelihood (Sanskrit: सम्यगाजीव, IAST: samyag-ājīva; Pāli: sammā-ājīva).
(6) right effort (Sanskrit: सम्यग्व्यायाम, IAST: samyag-vyāyāma; Pāli: sammā-vāyāma).
(7) right mindfulness (Sanskrit: सम्यक्स्मृति, IAST: samyak-smṛti; Pāli: sammā-sati).
(8) right concentration or samadhi (Sanskrit: सम्यक्समाधि, IAST: samyak-samādhi; Pāli: sammā-samādhi).
When categorized in terms of the 3-fold training (trishiksha):
• training in wisdom (prajña) = right view and intention;
• training in moral discipline (or virtue) (shila) = right speech, action and livelihood;
• training in meditation (or contemplation) (samadhi) = right effort, mindfulness and concentration.
The Noble Eightfold Path also forms part of the 37 factors of enlightenment (sattatimsa bodhipakkhiya dhamma).
• see also: cattari ariyasaccani (The Four Noble Truths: the Noble Eightfold Path corresponds to the fourth noble truth) ; sattatimsa bodhipakkhiya dhamma (37 qualities conducive to awakening, 37 factors of enlightenment) ; trishiksha (3-fold training)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

ariya sacca (Pāli: अरिय सच्च, IAST: ariya + sacca) = [Four] Noble Truths, literally “truths of the noble ones”, i.e. it is not that the truths are noble, rather that they are truths of the noble ones (aryas) – see cattari ariyasaccani (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)
• see also: arya (noble or sublime being) ; cattari ariyasaccani (Four Noble Truths ≫ main entry)

≫ arya (Sanskrit: आर्य, IAST: ārya “honourable, noble, high” ; Pāli: अरिय, IAST: ariya; also shortened to Pāli: अय्य, IAST: ayya ; Tibetan: འཕགས་པ་, pakpa; Wylie: ‘phags pa ; Burmese: အယ် ; Chinese: 勝人 / 胜人, pinyin: shèngrén) = noble being or sublime being, i.e. no longer an ordinary samsaric being. Refers to a being that has attained the path of seeing, whether as a shravaka, pratyekabuddha or bodhisattva.
• other languages: ariya (Pāli) ; ayya (Pāli)
• see also: cattari ariyasaccani (Four Noble Truths, i.e. four truths of the aryas) ; sheng (sage)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Aryadeva (Sanskrit: आर्यदेव, IAST: Āryadeva ; Tibetan འཕགས་པ་ལྷ་, Pakpa Lha; Wylie: ‘phags pa lha ; Chinese: 聖提婆, pinyin: Shèng típó) (2nd-3rd century CE) = a 2nd/3rd century Mahayana Buddhist master and Madhyamaka scholar, a disciple of Nagarjuna and author of several important Madhyamaka Buddhist texts, including the Catuhsataka-shastra-nama-karika (the Four Hundred Verses on the Middle Way, Sanskrit: चतुःशतकशास्त्रकारिका, IAST: Catuḥśataka-śāstra-kārikā; Chinese: 廣百論, pinyin: Guǎngbǎi lùn). He is included as one of the 84 mahasiddhas, and is also known as Kanadeva (Chinese: 迦那提婆, pinyin: Jiānàtípó), who is recognized as the 15th patriarch in Chan Buddhism.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / Study Buddhism / Nichiren Buddhism Library

≫ asana (Pāli: आसन, IAST: āsana ; Sanskrit: आसन, IAST: āsana ; Tibetan: འདུག་སྟངས་, duk tang, Wylie: ‘dug stangs) = physical posture; general term for a sitting meditation pose, later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga to include any type of pose or position.
• other languages: duktang (Tibetan)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ Asanga (Sanskrit: असङ्ग, IAST: Asaṅga, literally “having no attachment” ; Tibetan: ཐོགས་མེད།, tokmé; Wylie: thogs med ; Chinese: 無著, pinyin: Wúzhuó) (fl. 4th century CE) = a 4th century Mahayana Buddhist master and founder of the Yogachara school of Buddhist philosophy, one of the most important figures of Mahayana Buddhism. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the major classical Indian Sanskrit exponents of Mahayana Abhidharma, Vijñanavada (awareness only) thought, and Mahayana teachings on the bodhisattva path.
• see also: Yogachara
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / TBRC / Himalayan Art

≫ ashrama (Sanskrit: आश्रम, ashrama; IAST: āśrama) = the four age-based stages of life according to Hindu philosophy:
(1) brahmacharya (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मचारिन्, IAST: brahmacārin) = student; a young Brahman who is a student of the vedas (under a preceptor) or who practises chastity; a young Brahman before marriage (i.e. in the first period of his life).
(2) grihastha (Sanskrit: गृहस्थ, IAST: gṛha “domestic or family life” + stha “occupied with, engaged in, devoted to performing, practising”) = householder
(3) vanaprastha (Sanskrit: वानप्रस्थ, IAST: vānaprastha) = retired; a Brahman in the third stage of life, who has passed through the stages of student and householder and has abandoned his house and family for an ascetic life in the woods, “forest-dweller”; hermit, anchorite.
(4) sannyasa (Sanskrit: संन्यासिन्, IAST: saṃnyāsin) = renunciant; one who abandons or resigns worldly affairs; ascetic, devotee who has renounced all earthly concerns and devotes himself to study and meditation.
• see also: purushartha (4 purposes of life according to Hindu philosophy) ; sannyasa (renunciant)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ ashtavijñanakaya (Sanskrit: अष्ट विज्ञानकायाः, IAST: aṣṭa + vijñāna + kāyāḥ ; Tibetan: རྣམ་ཤེས་ཚོགས་བརྒྱད་, namshé tsok gyé; Wylie: rnam shes tshogs brgyad, literally “eight collections or gatherings of consciousness”) = the eight consciousnesses, a classification developed in the tradition of the Yogachara school of Mahayana Buddhism.
• see also: kushiki (nine consciousnesses in Nichiren Buddhism)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Ashtasahasrika Prajñaparamita Sutra (Sanskrit: अष्टसाहस्रिका प्रज्ञापारमिता सूत्र, IAST: Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra = अष्ट aṣṭa “eight” + साहस्रक sāhasraka “thousand” + प्रज्ञापारमिता prajñāpāramitā, “perfection in/of wisdom” + सूत्र sūtra “discourse (literally: string, thread)” ; Tibetan: ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་བརྒྱད་སྟོང་པ་, Wylie: pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa) (c. 50 CE) = The Prajñaparamita Sutra in 8000 Lines (or “Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Lines”), an important text for Mahayana Buddhism. It is not only the oldest surviving Buddhist manuscript; it is also the first of the Prajñaparamita sutras and is therefore foundational to the development of the Madhyamaka. According to wikipedia: “The sūtra’s manuscript witnesses date to at least ca. 50 CE, making it the oldest Buddhist manuscript in existence. The sūtra forms the basis for the expansion and development of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtra literature. In terms of its influence in the development of Buddhist philosophical thought, P.L. Vaidya writes that “all Buddhist writers from Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, Maitreyanātha, Asaṅga, Vasubandhu, Dignāga, down to Haribhadra concentrated their energies in interpreting Aṣṭasāhasrikā only,” making it of great significance in the development of Madhyāmaka and Yogācāra thought.”
• Quotes: “Mind; there is no mind; mind is luminous“
• see also: Prajñaparamitahridayasutra (Heart Sutra)
• external links: (Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra): wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki ; (Sanskrit original): Gretil Archive ; (Tibetan translation): rywiki ; (English translations): Edward Conze 1973 translation available at Huntington Archive

Atiyoga (Sanskrit: अतियोग, IAST: atiyoga = ati “beyond; surpassing”+ yoga “joining; uniting; union” ; Tibetan: ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣལ་འབྱོར་, shintu naljor or shintu nenjor; Wylie: shin tu rnal ‘byor “yoga of the innermost essence”) = Dzogchen; the highest yana within the classification of nine yanas of the Nyingma school. “Ati” indicates the topmost, summit or zenith. It has the sense of scaling a mountain, reaching the peak and having a view over everything.
• other names: Dzogchen (Tibetan ≫main entry) ; Mahasandhi
• external links: rigpawiki

≫ Avalokiteshvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IAST: Avalokiteśvara “lord who gazes down (at the world)”, also known as Padmapāṇi “holder of the lotus” or Lokeśvara “lord of the world” ; Tibetan: སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་, Chenrezig or Chenrézik; Wylie: spyan ras gzigs ; Japanese: 観音, Kannon, also 観世音, Kanzeon ; Chinese: 觀音, pinyin: Guānyīn, also 觀世音, pinyin: Guānshìyīn “one who observes the sounds of the world” or “observer of all existence”) = the bodhisattva of compassion; a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all the buddhas, usually depicted as white in color and holding a lotus, and who is portrayed in many different forms and in different cultures as either male or female (all bodhisattvas embody compassion, however Avalokiteshvara has become the most popular archetype and example). In Tibet, he is known as Chenrezig and is said to emanate as the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa and other high lamas, whereas in Chinese Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara has evolved into the female bodhisattva Guanyin. There are practices for many different forms of Avalokiteshvara, including 2-armed, 4-armed and 1000-armed forms. In Chinese and East Asian tantric Buddhism, practices for the 18-armed form of Avalokiteshvara called Cundi are very popular. The original Sanskrit form of the name was Avalokitasvara, “who looks down upon sound” (i.e. the cries of sentient beings who need help), which was supplanted by the form containing the ending -īśvara “lord” (the name Avalokiteśvara does not occur in Sanskrit before the 7th century). As a result, some later interpretations of Avalokiteshvara, especially in Vajrayana Buddhism, portray him with the lordly, regal and price-like or king-like aspects and attributes of Ishvara (Sanskrit: ईश्वर, IAST: Īśvara).
• see also: OM MANI PADME HUM (The six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteshvara)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Himalayan Art

avarana (Sanskrit: आवरण, IAST: āvaraṇa “covering, veil”) = defilement, obscuration – see drib (Tibetan ≫main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

avarana-dvaya (Sanskrit: आवरणद्वय, IAST: āvaraṇa–dvaya) = the two obscurations – see dribpa nyi (Tibetan ≫main entry).

≫ Avatamsaka Sutra (Sanskrit: आवतंसक सूत्र, IAST: Avataṃsaka Sūtra = avataṃsaka + sūtra ; Tibetan: མདོ་ཕལ་པོ་ཆེ་, do palpo ché; Wylie: mdo phal po che ; Chinese: 華嚴經, Pinyin: Huáyán jīng) = The Flower Ornament Sutra (also known as the Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture), one of the most important and largest of all Mahayana sutras. The translator Thomas Cleary has called it “the most grandiose, the most comprehensive, and the most beautifully arrayed of the Buddhist scriptures.” The Avatamsaka Sutra describes a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms, mutually containing one another. This sutra has been especially influential in East Asian Buddhism and Chan Buddhism, and its view of mutual interpenetration is the foundation of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism. The Avatamsaka Sutra includes the Dashabhumika Sutra (The Ten Bhumi Sutra) and the Gandavyuha Sutra (The Excellent Manifestation Sutra), which in turn includes Samantabhadra’s Aspiration to Good Actions.
• see also: Angushtha (The Buddha realm “Thumb-sized”) ; Gandavyuha Sutra
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / 84000

≫ avidya (Sanskrit: अविद्या, IAST: avidyā ; Pali: अविज्जा, IAST: avijjā ; Tibetan: མ་རིག་པ་, ma rigpa; Wylie: ma rig pa ; Chinese: 無明 / 无明, pinyin: wúmíng) = ignorance, nescience, confusion, delusion, folly; the fundamental misunderstanding of reality that underlies all of the suffering of unenlightened people; the first of the 12 links of dependent origination; misconceptions about the nature of reality, in particular not understanding or acceptance the 3 marks of existence; third of the 6 destructive emotions.
• easily confused: moha (bewilderment/confusion) is different from avidya / ma rigpa (ignorance)
• see also: dvadasha pratityasamutpada (12 links of dependent origination) ; klesha (destructive emotions) ; mulaklesha (6 destructive emotions): (1) raga (desire), (2) pratigha (anger), (3) avidya (ignorance), (4) mana (pride), (5) vichikitsa (doubt), (6) drishti (view) ; trilakshana (3 marks of existence)
• external links: wiktionary

avijja (Pali: अविज्जा, IAST: avijjā) = ignorance, confusion, delusion – see avidya (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

ayya (Pāli: अय्य, IAST: ayya) = noble being or sublime being; used as honorific to refer to ordained Buddhist monks and nuns (bhikkhus and bhikkunis) in the Theravada tradition – see arya (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• see also: bhikshu (Buddhist monk) ; bhikshuni (Buddhist nun) ; Theravada (the school of the elders)
• external links: wiktionary

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B

≫ bardo (Tibetan: བར་དོ་; Wylie: bar do ; Sanskrit: अन्तरभव; IAST: antarābhava = अन्तर, antara “interval, intermediate space or time” + भव, bhava “state of being, existence, life”; see also the Hindu Sanskrit term: अन्तराभवदेह, IAST: antarābhavadeha “the soul in its middle existence between death and regeneration”) = intermediate state, usually refers to the period between death and the next rebirth.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Study Buddhism glossary

Berotsana (Tibetan: བཻ་རོ་ཙ་ན་, Wylie: bE ro tsa na) = see Vairotsana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ Bhadrakalpa (Sanskrit: भद्रकल्प; IAST: bhadra + kalpa ; Tibetan: བསྐལ་བཟང་; Wylie: bskal bzang) = the Fortunate Aeon, our current era according to Buddhist cosmogony.
• external links: (Bhadrakalpa): rigpawiki / rywiki ; (Bhadrakalpika Sutra, which includes the names of the 1002 Buddhas of this Fortunate Aeon): wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ bhajan (Sanskrit: भजन, IAST: bhajana) = worship, reverence, adoration; refers to devotional songs with religious or spiritual themes, in any of the languages of the Indian subcontinent. The term “bhajan” is also used to refer to a group event, with one or more lead singers, accompanied with music, and sometimes dancing.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ bhang (Hindi: भांग or भाँग) = an edible preparation of cannabis originating from the Indian subcontinent, which has been used in food and drink since 1000 BCE in ancient India. Bhang is traditionally distributed during the spring festival of Holi, and is mainly used in bhang shops, which sell the cannabis-infused Indian drinks bhang lassi and bhang thandai.
• see also: lassi (yoghurt-based drink)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ bhavana (Pāli: भावना, IAST: bhāvanā ; Sanskrit: भावना, IAST: bhāvanā, also: भावन, IAST: bhāvana ; Tibetan: སྒོམ་, gom: Wylie: sgom) = development, training, cultivation, practice; contemplation, meditation.
• 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)
• other languages: gom (Tibetan)
• see also: ta gom chöpa (view, meditation & action) [note: here “meditation” is bhavana]
• external links: (bhavana): wiktionary / wikipedia ; (meditation): rigpawiki

≫ bhavanga (Pali: भवङ्ग, IAST: bhavaṅga, “ground of becoming, condition for existence”) = a passive mode of intentional consciousness (chitta) described in the Theravada Abhidhamma. The Theravada tradition identifies it with the phenomenon described as “luminous mind”, and asserts that it is what motivates one to seek nirvana.
• see also: selwa (clarity, luminosity)
• external links: wikipedia

Bhavaviveka (Sanskrit) – redirects to Bhaviveka.

≫ Bhaviveka (Sanskrit: भाविवेक, IAST: Bhāviveka ; Tibetan: ལེགས་ལྡན་འབྱེད་, Lekden Jé; Wylie: legs ldan ‘byed ; Chinese: 淸辯, pinyin: Qīngbiàn; also known as Bhāvaviveka or Bhavya) (c. 500-578) = 6th century Indian Madhyamaka Buddhist master, regarded as the founder of the Svatantrika tradition within the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism (which is seen as opposed to the Prasangika tradition of Madhyamaka). Bhaviveka was one of the first Buddhist logicians to employ the prayogavakya (“formal syllogism”) of Indian logic in expounding the Madhyamaka. 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.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia / Himalayan Art

bhikkhu (Pāli: भिक्खु, IAST: bhikkhu) = monk, fully ordained male Buddhist monastic – see bhikshu (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

bhikkhuni (Pāli: भिक्खुनी, IAST: bhikkhunī) = nun, fully ordained female Buddhist monastic – see bhikshuni (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ bhikshu (Sanskrit: भिक्षु, IAST: bhikṣu ; Pāli: भिक्खु, IAST: bhikkhu ; Tibetan: དགེ་སློང་, gelong; Wylie: dge slong ; Chinese: 比丘 / 比丘, pinyin: bǐqiū) = monk, fully ordained adult male Buddhist monastic, one who has renounced the secular world. Originally meant “one who begs for food”. Contrast with male novice monks who are not of age (shramanera) and male lay practitioners (upasaka)
• other languages: bhikkhu (Pāli)
• see also: bhikshuni (female monastic or nun) ; shramanera (male novice monk) ; shramanerika (female novice nun) ; upasaka (male lay practitioner) ; upasika (female lay practitioner)
• see also: Theravada (the school of the elders)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ bhikshuni (Sanskrit: भिक्षुणी, IAST: bhikṣuṇī ; Pāli: भिक्खुनी, IAST: bhikkhunī ; Tibetan: དགེ་སློང་མ་, gelongma; Wylie: dge slong ma ; Chinese: 比丘尼 / 比丘尼, pinyin: bǐqiūní) = nun, fully ordained adult female Buddhist monastic, one who has renounced the secular world. Contrast with female novice nuns who are not of age (shramanerika) and female lay practitioners (upasika).
• other languages: bhikkhuni (Pāli)
• see also: bhikshuni (female monastic or nun) ; shramanera (male novice monk) ; shramanerika (female novice nun) ; upasaka (male lay practitioner) ; upasika (female lay practitioner)
• see also: Theravada (the school of the elders)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ bhumi (Pāli: भूमि, IAST: bhūmi ; Sanskrit: भूमि, IAST: bhūmi ; Tibetan: ས་, sa; Wylie: sa) = earth, soil, ground, foundation; stage or level. The bhumis also refer to the stages a practitioner traverses on the path to enlightenment. There are eight bhumis in the Shravakayana, ten bhumis in the Mahayana, with the eleventh being buddhahood, and thirteen in the Vajrayana. DJKR: A bhumi “is a combination of wisdom and method … the ground or earth acts like a container for all things to function. For example, you can hoist this tent because of the ground. Likewise, all the enlightened qualities can grow on the base of the combination of wisdom and method.”
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism glossary

≫ bhumisparsha (Sanskrit: भूमिस्पृश्, IAST: bhūmispṛś) = touching the ground. The bhumisparsha mudra is one of the most common iconic images in Buddhism. It depicts the Buddha sitting in meditation with his left hand resting in his lap, and all five fingers of his right hand extending downward to touch the earth. According to the traditional story of the Buddha’s enlightenment according to the Lalitavistara Sutra, after Siddhartha had resisted every temptation Mara could devise, the demonic lord of desire had one final test. He demanded to know who would testify that Siddhartha was worthy of attaining enlightenment. And his demon army rose up to support him. Siddhartha said nothing. He reached down and touched the ground, asking Prthvi, the devi of the earth, to be his witness. The earth shuddered in response, and Mara’s demons fled. Then Siddhartha meditated throughout the night and all his former lives passed before him. As the morning star appeared, he roared like a lion. “My mind,” he said, “is at peace.” The heavens shook, and the Bodhi tree rained down flowers. He had become the “awakened one” – the Buddha.
• see also: bhumi (ground) ; Lalitavistara Sutra (life story of the Buddha)
• DJKR teaching: Touching Base (September 12, 2020)
• external links: (bhumisparsha mudra): wikipedia / Himalayan Art / Khan Academy / Metropolitan Museum of Art ; (bhumisparsha Shakyamuni mantra accumulation): Siddhartha’s Intent India ; (Prithvi): wikipedia ; (story of the Buddha’s enlightenment): PBS

≫ binglang (Chinese: 檳榔, pinyin: bīngláng, bīnláng; also transliterated “binlang”) = betel nut, betel palm, areca nut. The nut grows throughout the tropical Pacific, Southeast and South Asia, where people chew it medicinally and recreationally for its natural psychoactive ingredients, the most important being arecoline. Consuming the nut in any of its forms gives the user a warm, stimulating buzz, making it a product of choice for taxi drivers, long-haul truckers, and other workers who rely on the nut to get through long shifts. Taiwan has seen the emergence of “betel nut beauties” (Chinese: 檳榔西施; Pinyin: bīnláng xīshī), young women who sell betel nuts and cigarettes from brightly lit glass enclosures while wearing revealing clothing. As icons of Taiwanese culture, betel nut beauties appear frequently in art and film, notably the 2001 movie “Betelnut Beauty”.
• see also: paan (Indian equivalent of binglang)
• external links: (binglang, 檳榔) wiktionary / wikipedia / New York Times ; (betel nut beauty, 檳榔西施) wikipedia

≫ bodhi (Pāli: बोधि, IAST: bodhi ; Sanskrit: बोधि, IAST: bodhi ; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་, jangchup; Wylie: byang chub ; Burmese: ေဗာဓိ ; Chinese: 佛位, pinyin: fówèi) = enlightenment; awakening; perfect knowledge or wisdom (by which one becomes a buddha).
• note (on meaning): DJKR emphasises that the semantic range of word “enlightenment” does not at all do justice to the meaning of buddha/sangyé or bodhi/jangchup – see note on meaning in entry 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.
• other languages: jangchup (Tibetan)
• see also: buddha (fully enlightened person
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism glossary

≫ Bodhicharyavatara (Sanskrit: बोधिचर्यावतार, Bodhicharyavatara; IAST: Bodhicaryāvatāra = bodhi + caryāvatāra; short form of बोधिसत्त्वचर्यावतार, Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, literally “introduction to / entering the bodhisattva’s way of life” = बोधिसत्त्वचर्या bodhisattvacaryā “the actions or condition of a bodhisattva” + अवतार, avatāra “entering”, literally “descent (especially of a deity from heaven), appearance of any deity upon earth” ; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ་, changchub sempé chöpa la jukpa; Wylie: byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa la ‘jug pa, short form: སྤྱོད་འཇུག་, chönjuk; Wylie: spyod ‘jug) = “The Way of the Bodhisattva” (alternative translations: “A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life”, “Engaging in Bodhisattva Conduct” or “Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life), a classic guide to the Mahayana path and the practice of the 6 paramitas written in Sanskrit verse in about 700 CE by the 8th Century Indian master Shantideva at Nalanda university. The Bodhicharyavatara 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

≫ bodhichitta (Pāli & Sanskrit: बोधिचित्त, IAST: bodhicitta, from Pāli: बोधि + चित्त, IAST bodhi + citta ; Sanskrit: बोधि + चित्त, IAST bodhi + citta; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་, jangchup kyi sem; Wylie: byang chub kyi sems) = the mind of enlightenment, awakened state of mind, enlightened attitude, altruistic aspiration to enlightenment, the compassionate wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings and also to bring them to that state.
• note (on meaning): DJKR emphasises that the semantic range of the English word “compassion” does not at all do justice to the meaning of nyingjé/karuna/bodhichitta – see notes for nyingjé.
• other languages: jangchup kyi sem (Tibetan)
• 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) ; ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; shatparamita (6 paramitas) ; tukjé (compassion)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism glossary

bodhicitta (Sanskrit) = redirects to bodhichitta (Sanskrit).

≫ bodhisattva (Sanskrit: बोधिसत्त्व, IAST: bodhisattva ; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ་, jangchup sempa; Wylie: byang chub sems dpa’ ; Chinese: 菩薩 / 菩萨, pinyin: púsà) = being on the path of enlightenment, “one whose essence is perfect knowledge”; someone who has developed/aroused bodhichitta; a practitioner of the Mahayana path, in particular the cultivation of the 6 paramitas (transcendent perfections).
• other languages: jangchup sempa (Tibetan)
• see also: arya (noble person) ; sheng (sage)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism glossary / Himalayan Art

Bodhisattvacharyavatara (Sanskrit) = redirects to Bodhicharyavatara (Sanskrit)

≫ Bon (Tibetan: བོན་, bon; Wylie: bon; Lhasa dialect: [pʰø̃̀]; also transliterated into English as Bön or Pön) = a Tibetan religion that arose in the 11th century and established its scriptures mainly from termas and visions by tertöns such as Loden Nyingpo. Bon termas contain myths of Bon existing as a pre-Buddhist religion before the introduction of Buddhism in Tibet, but modern scholarship has demonstrated that this is unlikely, although there were pre-existing indigenous shamanistic practices. The early “black Bon” relied on magic and shamanistic rituals, and shared similarities with Chinese folk religions and Mongolian shamanism.
• see also: Dzogchen (Great Perfection) ; tertön (treasure-revealer)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism glossary

Bön (Tibetan) = redirects to Bon (Tibetan).

≫ brahmavihara (Pāli & Sanskrit: ब्रह्मविहार, IAST: brahmavihāra) = sublime attitude (lit. “abode of brahma”); also known as an immeasurable or boundless thought (Sanskrit: apramana). The set of 4 brahmaviharas or the “four immeasurables” (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity) is a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices to cultivate them, which comprise “aspiration bodhichitta” – see caturapramana (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ buddhi (Sanskrit: बुद्धि, IAST: buddhi ; Tibetan: བློ་, lo; Wylie: blo) = reason, intellect, intelligence, mind, discernment, judgement, the power of forming and retaining conceptions and general notions.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ Buddha (Pāli: बुद्ध, IAST; buddha ; Sanskrit: बुद्ध, IAST: buddha ; Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་, sangyé; Wylie: sangs rgyas ; Chinese: 佛, pinyin: fó) = (1) Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha who lived in ancient India in the 5th to 4th century BCE (c. 563/480 – c. 483/400 BCE); (2) a buddha, a fully enlightened person.
• 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. For example, in Return to Normal, Day 2, October 11, 2020 (Taiwan), he said: “Words like “enlightenment” are actually not so good. Not so good. I think it’s words like “enlightenment” that really made Buddhism look like a religion.” He suggests that the intended meaning is better expressed with words like denpa tong (“seeing the truth”) and chö namla mig dulmé (“there is no dust, veil or obstruction between you and phenomena”, i.e. “seeing the truth, basically”)
• dictionary definition of “enlightenment” = (1) the action of enlightening or the state of being enlightened; the action or state of attaining or having attained spiritual knowledge or insight, in particular (in Buddhism) that awareness which frees a person from the cycle of rebirth; (2) a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, and Newton, and its prominent exponents include Kant, Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith (Google Dictionary).
• other languages: sangyé (Tibetan)
• 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) ; pañchakula (5 buddha families) ; Shakyamuni (the Buddha) ; Siddhartha (the Buddha) ; sugata (“gone blissfully”, syn. the Buddha) ; tathagata (“thus come / thus gone”, syn. the Buddha)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Study Buddhism glossary / Himalayan Art

≫ Buddhapalita (Sanskrit: बुद्धपालित, IAST: Buddhapālita ; Chinese: 佛護, pinyin: Fóhù) (470-550 CE) = 5th/6th century Indian Madhyamaka Buddhist master, regarded as the founder of the Prasangika tradition, a commentator on the works of Nagarjuna and Aryadeva, he is regarded as the founder of the Prasangika tradition within the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism, mainly distinguished by its method of argumentation in establishing shunyata (emptiness), a negative dialectic similar to the Socratic dialogue. He composed a commentary on Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika, known simply as the Mūlamadhyamakavṛtti, or the “Buddhapalita” commentary. His approach was criticised by his contemporary Bhaviveka, (the founder of the Svatantrika-Madhyamaka tradition) and then defended by the later Chandrakirti.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Britannica / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Himalayan Art

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C

≫ caritta (Pāli: चारित्त, IAST: cāritta) = conduct, custom, practice; “caritta-shila” means “morality consisting in performance” (as opposed to varitta-shila = morality consisting in avoidance).
• see also: varitta (avoidance)
• external links: (Buddhist ethics): wikipedia

≫ cattari ariyasaccani (Pāli: चत्तारि अरियसच्चानि, IAST: cattāri + ariya + saccāni ; Sanskrit: चत्वारि आर्यसत्यानि, IAST: catvāri + ārya + satyāni ; Tibetan: འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ་བཞི་, pakpé denpa shyi; Wylie: ‘phags pa’i bden pa bzhi) = the Four Noble Truths, literally “four truths of the noble beings”, i.e. it is not that the truths are noble, rather that they are truths understood by the Noble Ones (aryas). They form part of the Dharmachakrapravartana Sutra (SN 56.11), the Buddha’s first teaching, which was given at Deer Park in Sarnath.
The 4 Noble Truths are:
(1) dukkha = suffering;
(2) samudaya = the origin of suffering;
(3) nirodha = the cessation of suffering;
(4) magga = the path which, if followed, brings the cessation of suffering.
• see also: ariya atthangika magga (the 8-fold noble path, which corresponds to the fourth noble truth) ; ariya sacca ([four] noble truths); cattari ariyasaccani (4 noble truths): (1) dukkha (suffering), (2) samudaya (origin of suffering), (3) nirodha (cessation of suffering), (4) magga (path) ; Dharmachakrapravartana Sutra (the first teaching given by Shakyamuni Buddha) ; Mrigadava (Deer Park)
• external links: (4 Noble Truths): wikipedia / rigpawiki ; (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta): Access to Insight

≫ cattaro iddhipada (Pali: चत्तारो इद्धिपादा, IAST: cattāro + iddhipādā ; Sanskrit: चतुःऋद्धिपाद, IAST: catuḥ-ṛddhipāda = चतु catuḥ “four” + ऋद्धिपाद ṛddhipāda “supernatural power” ; Tibetan: རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ་བཞི་, dzutrul gyi kangpa shyi; Wylie: rdzu ‘phrul gyi rkang pa bzhi ; Chinese: 四神足, pinyin: sì shénzú) = the 4 bases of magical power (also the 4 bases of mental/supernatural power). These are:
(1) chanda (Sanskrit: chanda; Pali: chanda; Tibetan: འདུན་པ་, dünpa; Wylie: ‘dun pa) = intention, aspiration, purpose
(2) virya (Sanskrit: vīrya; Pali: viriya; Tibetan: བརྩོན་འགྲུས་, tsön drü; Wylie: brtson ‘grus) = diligence, energy, effort
(3) chitta (Sanskrit: citta; Pali: citta; Tibetan: སེམས་པ་, sempa; Wylie: sems pa) = thought, attention, reflection, consciousness
(4) mimamsa (Sanskrit: mīmāṃsā; Pali: vīmaṁsa or vīmaŋsā; Tibetan: དཔྱོད་པ་, chöpa; Wylie: dpyod pa) = discernment, skill of analysis, investigation
These form part of the 37 factors of enlightenment (Pali: sattatimsa bodhipakkhiya dhamma)
• see also: sattatimsa bodhipakkhiya dhamma (37 qualities conducive to awakening, 37 factors of enlightenment)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ cattaro satipatthana (Pāli: चत्तारो सतिपट्ठाना, IAST: cattāro satipaṭṭhānā ; Sanskrit: चतुःस्मृत्युपस्थान, IAST: catuḥ-smṛtyupasthāna = चतु catuḥ “four” + स्मृति smṛti “remembrance, calling to mind” + उपस्थान upasthāna “the act of placing one’s self near to, going near, approach, coming into the presence of” ; Tibetan: དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་པ་བཞི་, dren pa nyewar zhak pa zhi; Wylie: dran pa nye bar bzhag pa bzhi ; Chinese: 四念處, pinyin: sìniànchù also 四念住, pinyin: sìniànzhù) = the 4 establishments of mindfulness (also “4 applications of mindfulness” and “4 foundations of mindfulness”). These are:
(1) mindfulness of the body (Sanskrit: कायस्मृत्युपस्थान, IAST: kāya-smṛtyupasthāna ; Tibetan: ལུས་དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་, Wylie: lus dran pa nye bar bzhag ; Chinese: 身念住, pinyin: shēnniànzhù).
(2) mindfulness of feelings (Sanskrit: वेदनास्मृत्युपस्थान, IAST: vedanā-smṛtyupasthāna ; Tibetan: ཚོར་བ་དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་, Wylie: tshor dran pa nye bar bzhag ; Chinese: 受念住, pinyin: shòuniànzhù)
(3) mindfulness of the mind (Sanskrit: चित्तस्मृत्युपस्थान, IAST: citta-smṛtyupasthāna ; Tibetan: སེམས་དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་, Wylie: sems dran pa nye bar bzhag ; Chinese: 心念住, pinyin: xīn niànzhù)
(4) mindfulness of dharmas/phenomena (Sanskrit: धर्मस्मृत्युपस्थान, IAST: dharma-smṛtyupasthāna ; Tibetan: ཆོས་དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་, Wylie: chos dran pa nye bar bzhag ; Chinese: 法念住, pinyin: fǎniànzhù)
These form part of the 37 factors of enlightenment (Pali: sattatimsa bodhipakkhiya dhamma)
• see also: sattatimsa bodhipakkhiya dhamma (37 qualities conducive to awakening, 37 factors of enlightenment)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

≫ caturapramana (Sanskrit: चतुर्अप्रमाण, IAST: caturapramāṇa = catur “four” + apramāṇa “immeasurable, unlimited, boundless”, also Sanskrit: चत्वारिअप्रमानाणि, IAST: catvāri–apramānāṇi ; Pāli: चतस्सो अप्पमञ्ञायो, IAST: catasso appamaññāyo ; Tibetan: ཚད་མེད་བཞི་, tsémé shyi; Wylie: tshad med bzhi ; Chinese: 四無量心 / 四无量心, pinyin: sì wúliàng xīn) = the 4 immeasurables, or 4 boundless thoughts: a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices to cultivate them, which comprise “aspiration bodhichitta”. Also known as the 4 brahmaviharas (“sublime attitude”, literally “abode of Brahma”). The 4 immeasurables are:
(1) metta (Pāli: मेत्ता; Chinese: 慈 / 慈, pinyin: cí, literally “kindness”) = loving-kindness.
(2) karuna (Pāli: करुणा; Chinese: 悲 / 悲, pinyin: bēi, literally “pity, sympathy, compassion, mercy”) = compassion (note: karuna is also translated into Chinese as: 慈悲 / 慈悲, Pinyin: cíbēi; 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. metta/maitrī and 悲 = “pity, sympathy, compassion, mercy” i.e. karuṇā).
(3) mudita (Pāli: मुदिता; Chinese: 喜 / 喜, pinyin: xǐ, literally “delight”) = sympathetic joy, appreciative joy.
(4) upekkha (Pāli: उपेक्खाा; Chinese: 捨 / 舍, pinyin: shě, literally “to abandon”) = equanimity.
• see also: brahmavihara (sublime attitude) ; bodhichitta (the compassionate wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings and also to bring them to that state)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ catusamvejaniyathana (Pali: चतुसंवेजनीयठान, IAST: catusaṃvejanīyaṭhāna “the four inspiring places” = चतु catu “four” + संवेजनीय saṃvejanīya “to be remembered with reverence” + ठान ṭhāna “place”) = the 4 principal Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India described by the Buddha in the Theravada Mahaparinibbana Sutta; literally “the four inspiring places”.
The 4 principal Buddhist pilgrimage sites are:
(1) Lumbini (Nepal): birthplace of the Buddha;
(2) Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India): where Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment (under the bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi Temple);
(3) Sarnath (also known as Isipathana, Uttar Pradesh, India): where Buddha gave his first teaching at Deer Park;
(4) Kushinagara (now Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India): where Buddha died and attained parinirvana.
• see also: Mrigadava (Deer Park)
• external links: (Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta, DN 16): (English): Access to Insight / (Pāli-English): Audtip (Audio Tales in Pāli) / wikipedia ; (Buddhist pilgrimage sites): wikipedia

≫ chado (Japanese: 茶道, chadō, “the way of tea”) = the Japanese tea ceremony, which includes the preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea.
• 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

≫ chaitashika (Sanskrit: चैतसिक, IAST: caitasika or चित्त सम्स्कर, citta samskara ; Pāli: चेतसिक, IAST: cetasika ; Tibetan: སེམས་བྱུང་, sem jung; Wylie: sems byung ; Chinese: 心所, pinyin: xīnsuǒ) = mental factors or mental states or as described within the teachings of the Abhidharma (Buddhist psychology). They are defined as aspects of the mind that apprehend the quality of an object, and that have the ability to color the mind. Alternate translations for mental factors include “mental states”, “mental events”, and “concomitants of consciousness”. There are many different lists of mental factors in different Buddhist traditions. For example, the Theravada commentaries Abhidhammattha-sangaha by Acariya Anuruddha and Atthasālinī by Buddhaghosa both list 52 mental factors, while the Mahayana Yogachara commentary Abhidharma-samuccaya by Asanga lists 51 mental factors.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Study Buddhism (Berzin)

≫ chakravartin (Sanskrit: चक्रवर्तिन्, IAST: cakravartin, “a ruler the wheels of whose chariot roll everywhere without obstruction” ; Pāli: चक्कवत्ति, IAST: cakkavatti ; Tibetan: ཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་, khorlö gyurwé gyelpo; Wylie: ‘khor los sgyur ba’i rgyal po, “monarch who controls by means of a wheel”) = universal emperor; universal ruler; sovereign of the world, especially in the sense of an imperial ruler of the entire Indian sub-continent (as in the case of the Maurya Empire).
• see also: mahapurisa lakkhana (the 32 major marks of a buddha or enlightened being)
• external links: wikipedia / Encyclopedia of Buddhism

≫ cham (Tibetan: འཆམ་, Wylie: ‘cham) = sacred dance, ritual dance, masked dance.

≫ Chan (Chinese: 禪, chán, abbreviation of 禪那, chánnà, a transliteration of the Sanskrit ध्यान, dhyāna “meditation”) = meditation; Chan also refers to a school of Mahayana Buddhism that developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming dominant during the Tang and Song dynasties. After the Yuan dynasty, Chan more or less fused with Pure Land Buddhism. Chan spread from China south to Vietnam as Thiền (the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of 禪), north to Korea as Seon (Korean: 선, the Korean pronunciation of 禪), and east to Japan (in 13th century CE) to become Zen Buddhism (the Japanese pronunciation of 禅).
• 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)
• other languages: dhyana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ Chandrakirti (Sanskrit: चन्द्रकीर्ति, IAST: Candrakīrti ; Tibetan: ཟླ་བ་གྲགས་པ་, dawa drakpa; Wylie: zla ba grags pa ; Chinese: 月稱; pinyin: Yuèchēng; Japanese: Gesshō) (c. 600-650) = a renowned 7th Indian Mahayana Buddhist master and Madhyamaka scholar and a noted commentator on the works of Nagarjuna and those of his main disciple Aryadeva. Author of the Prasannapada (“Clear Words”), a rich, profound, detailed, and yet playful commentary on Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika, and the Madhyamakavatara (“Entering the Middle Way”) is used as the main sourcebook by most of the Tibetan monastic colleges in their studies of shunyata (“emptiness”) and the philosophy of the Madhyamaka school. In his works, he is critical of Bhavivekaʼs interpretation of Nagarjuna, especially Bhavivekaʼs acceptance of syllogistic argumentation, preferring Buddhapalitaʼs earlier interpretation. This difference of opinion developed many centuries later into two opposing Madhyamaka schools in Tibet, with the Tibetans labeling Bhaviveka’s position the Svatantrika school (since syllogistic proofs provide ‘independent’ [svatantrika] validation of claims) and Chandrakirti’s position the Prasangika school (since it demonstrates the absurdities to which an opponents’ position could be reduced [prasanga]). Very little is known about Chandrakirti’s life. Tibetan sources state that he was born in Samanta, South India, and was a student of Kamalabuddhi. He is traditionally associated with Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) where he may have been a monk.
• external sources: wikipedia / rigpawiki / TBRC / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / Lotsawa House / Himalayan Art

changchup (Tibetan) = redirects to jangchup (Tibetan)

≫ chégom (Tibetan: དཔྱད་སྒོམ་, ché gom; Wylie: dpyad sgom) = analytical meditation, meditation through analysis, meditation involving mental analysis and investigation, analytical investigation.

≫ chen (Tibetan: ཅན་, chen; Wylie: can) = endowed with, having, imbued with, possessing.
• see also: semchen (sentient being, literally “having mind” or “endowed with mind”)

≫ chéta (Tibetan: ཆད་ལྟ་, ché ta; Wylie: chad lta ; Sanskrit: उच्छेददृष्टि, IAST: uccheda–dṛṣṭi ; Sanskrit & Pāli: उच्छेदवाद, IAST: ucchedavāda) = nihilism, annihilationism (lit. “the view of discontinuance”). The extreme view of nothingness: no rebirth or karmic effects, and the nonexistence of a mind after death.
• see also: madhyamaka (the middle way free from all extremes) ; tanyi (2 extremes) = (1) takta (eternalism), (2) chéta (nihilism) ; tawa (view)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ chitta (Pāli: चित्त, IAST: citta ; Sanskrit: चित्त, IAST: citta ; Chinese: 心, pinyin: xīn, also written as transliteration of Sanskrit, Chinese: 質多, pinyin: zhíduō) = (1) mind, heart, heart-mind; feeling, emotion; sympathy, compassion; (2) ordinary dualistic mind , thinking, reflecting, imagining, thought, memory, intelligence, reason – see sem (Tibetan ≫ main entry for “ordinary dualistic mind”).
• note on meaning: chitta (and the Chinese equivalent xin) have a broader semantic range than the English word “mind”, 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.
• note on etymology: wiktionary notes the etymology of chitta is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeyt- (“to notice”). While chitta includes both meanings of “mind” and “heart”, the synonyms manas (Sanskrit मनस्, IAST: mánas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mánas, cognate with English “mind”) and hridaya (Sanskrit हृदय, IAST: hṛ́daya, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰŕ̥dayam, cognate with English “heart”) have narrower semantic ranges centred on “mind” and “heart” respectively.
• other languages: xin (Chinese for “heart/mind”) ; sem (Tibetan ≫ main entry for “ordinary dualistic mind”).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Chittamatra (Sanskrit: चित्तमात्र, IAST: cittamātra = citta चित्त “mind” + mātra मात्र “nothing but, simply, merely, only” ; Tibetan: སེམས་ཙམ་པ་, Semtsampa; Wylie: sems tsam pa) = the “Mind Only” school, a Mahayana school founded by Asanga in the 4th century CE. It holds that all phenomena are merely mind – the all-ground consciousness manifesting as environment, objects and the physical body, as a result of habitual tendencies stored within the all-ground. The Chittamatra school is also known as Yogachara and Vijñānavāda, and its followers are usually known as Chittamatrins. See also Yogachara (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• see also: Yogachara (the “Mind Only” school)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism

chittata (Pāli: चित्तता, IAST: cittatā ; Sanskrit: चित्तता, IAST: cittatā) = nature of mind – see semnyi (Tibetan ≫main entry).

chö (Tibetan: ཆོས་, chö; Wylie: chos) = (a) reality, true nature, character; (b) phenomenon, property, mark, peculiar condition or essential quality, peculiarity; (c) practice, way, usage, customary observance, prescribed conduct, duty, law, doctrine; (d) Dharma, the Buddhist path, the spiritual path, spirituality – see dharma (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ chö namla mig dulmé (Tibetan: ཆོས་རྣམས་ལ་མིག་རྡུལ་མེད་; Wylie: chos rnams la mig rdul med = chos rnams la “phenomena” + mig “eye, gaze, vision” + rdul “dust, motes” + med “does not exist”) = seeing the truth: DJKR: “there is no dust, veil or obstruction between you and phenomena”, i.e. “seeing the truth, basically”.
• note (on meaning): DJKR suggests that “chö namla mig dulmé” (“there is no dust, veil or obstruction between you and phenomena”, i.e. “seeing the truth, basically”) captures an important part of the intended meaning that may not be indicated by the English word “enlightenment”. See discussion on meaning in the entry on Buddha.
• see also: denpa tong (seeing the truth)

≫ choga (Tibetan: ཆོ་ག་, choga; Wylie: cho ga) = ritual, method, sadhana practice, ceremony.

≫ chok (Tibetan: མཆོག་, chok; Wylie: mchog) = supreme, superior, most excellent.

≫ chökyi domzhi (Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྡོམ་བཞི་, chö kyi dom zhi, Wylie: chos kyi sdom bzhi; also shortened to Tibetan: སྡོམ་བཞི་, domzhi, Wylie: sdom bzhi = སྡོམ་, sdom “(1) bind, fasten, tie; (2) add up, add together, bring together, collect; (3) summary, synopsis” + བཞི་, bzhi “four”; often seen in the expanded form bka’ rtags kyi phyag rgya bzhi (“the four seals of the [Buddha’s] teaching”) ; Sanskrit: चतुर्मुद्रा, IAST: caturmudrā = चतुर् catur “four” + मुद्रा mudrā “seal, stamp, authorization”; also: चतुर्लक्षण, caturlakshana; IAST: caturlakṣaṇa = चतुर् catur “four” + लक्षण lakṣaṇa “mark, sign, characteristic”) = the 4 seals; the 4 Dharma emblems or 4 “aphorisms of the Dharma”¹; the four main principles marking a doctrine as Buddhist. The first three seals are the same as the 3 marks of existence (trilakshana) described in the Pali Canon (i.e. anicca, dukkha and anatta). The fourth seal (“nirvana is peace”) is a later addition in Mahayana Buddhism. The Tibetan and Chinese version of the four seals are set out in the Mahayana sutra Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā (“The Questions of the Naga King Sagara”), and the Sanskrit version can be extracted from Vasubandhu’s commentary on verse XVIII.80 of Asanga’s Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra (“Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras”, 5th century CE)².
The 4 seals are:
1) impermanence: (Tibetan: འདུ་བྱས་ཐམས་ཅད་མི་རྟག་པ་, dujé tamché mi takpa; Wylie: ‘du byas thams cad mi rtag pa) = All compounded/conditioned things are impermanent (anicca);
2) unsatisfactoriness: (Tibetan: ཟག་བཅས་ཐམས་ཅད་སྡུག་བསྔལ་, zakché tamché dukngel; Wylie: zag bcas thams cad sdug bsngal) = all contaminated/defiling things (defiled with ego-clinging) are suffering (dukkha)³;
3) nonself: (Tibetan: ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་སྟོང་ཞིང་བདག་མེད་པའོ་, chö tamché tongzhing dakmé pao; Wylie: chos thams cad stong zhing bdag med pa’o) = all phenomena are devoid of a self-entity / all phenomena are without self / all phenomena are without inherent existence (anatta);
4) peace: (Tibetan: མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ་ནི་ཞི་བ་, nya ngenlé dépa ni zhiwa; Wylie: mya ngan las ‘das pa ni zhi ba) = nirvana is peace / nirvana is beyond description (zhiwa).
• see also: Sagaranagarajaparipraccha (“The Questions of the Naga King Sagara”, a Mahayana sutra) ; trilakshana (3 marks of existence)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ chöpa [homophone of four different Tibetan words]:
(1) (Tibetan: ཆོས་པ་, chöpa; Wylie: chos pa) = Dharma practitioner, Buddhist, religious practitioner.
(2) (Tibetan: སྤྱོད་པ་, chöpa; Wylie: spyod pa) = action, behavior, conduct.
• see also (for Tibetan: སྤྱོད་པ་, chöpa; Wylie: spyod pa): ta gom chöpa (view, meditation & action); tawa gompa chöpa drébu (view, meditation, action & result) [note: here “meditation” is bhavana = development, training, cultivation, practice.]
(3) (Tibetan: བཅོས་པ་, chöpa; Wylie: bcos pa) = fabrication, contriving, distortion.
• see also (for Tibetan: བཅོས་པ་, chöpa; Wylie: bcos pa): ma chö (uncontrived, unfabricated)
(4) (Tibetan: དཔྱོད་པ་, chöpa; Wylie: dpyod pa ; Sanskrit: मीमांसा, IAST: mīmāṃsā) = discernment, skill of analysis, investigation, profound thought or reflection, consideration.

chörten (Tibetan: མཆོད་རྟེན་, chörten; Wylie: mchod rten) = stupa (Sanskrit ≫main entry).

≫ chösham (Tibetan: མཆོད་བཤམ་, chösham; Wylie: mchod bsham) = shrine, altar, shrine room.

Chuang-Tzu (Chinese) = redirects to Zhuangzi.

citta (Pāli & Sanskrit) = redirects to chitta.

≫ Cundi (Sanskrit: चुन्दी, IAST: cundī, literally “procuress, bawd” ; Chinese: 準提, pinyin: Zhǔntí) = an 18-armed form of Avalokiteshvara popular in Chinese and East Asian tantric Buddhism. Her 18 arms each wield implements that symbolize upaya (skillful means), and they also represent the eighteen merits of attaining Buddhahood as described in an appendix to the Cundī Dhāraṇī Sūtra.
• see also: Avalokiteshvara
• external links: wikipedia

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D

≫ daka (Sanskrit: डाक, IAST: ḍāka; Tibetan: དཔའ་བོ, pawo; Wylie: dpa’ bo) = hero, in the sense of a courageous and altruistic person; epithet for a buddha; the tantric equivalent of a bodhisattva and the male equivalent of a dakini.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

≫ dakini (Sanskrit: डाकिनी, IAST: ḍākinī; Tibetan: མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ་, khandroma; Wylie: mkha’ ‘gro ma, literally “sky-goer”; Chinese: 空行母; pinyin: kōngxíng mǔ; also: 荼枳尼; pinyin: túzhǐní) = a type of sacred female spiritual being in Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism; a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Vajrayana, dakinis are said to fulfil enlightened activities and protect and serve the Buddhist teachings and practitioners. They are one of the Three Roots (which are guru/lama, deva/yidam and dakini/khandro). The term is sometimes also used to refer to human women with a certain level of spiritual development. The masculine form of the word is daka. In medieval legends in India, dakinis (and dakas) are demon attendants of Kali who feed on human flesh; likewise, they are typically represented as wrathful beings in the Vajrayana. In addition, dakinis are often represented as consorts in yab-yum representations.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

dakmé (Tibetan: བདག་མེད་, dakmé; Wylie: bdag med) = no-self, non-self, without self – see anatta (Pāli ≫ main entry).

≫ Dalai Lama (Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་, Tā la’i bla ma) = a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India. The Dalai Lama is considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed to be incarnations of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
• see also: Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama)
• external links (the fourteen Dalai Lamas): wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ dampa sum (Tibetan: དམ་པ་གསུམ་, dampa sum; Wylie: dam pa gsum) = the three supreme methods (also known as “the three noble principles“, “the three vital supports”, or “the three excellencies”) that make the difference between practice being merely a way of bringing temporary relaxation, peace, and bliss and practice becoming a powerful cause for the enlightenment of oneself and others. They are:
(1) “Good in the beginning” (i.e. starting one’s practice by arousing bodhichitta = སྦྱོར་བ་སེམས་བསྐྱེད་, jorwa semkyé; Wylie: sbyor ba sems bskyed)
(2) “Good in the middle” (i.e. avoiding getting caught in conceptualization and maintaining the view of emptiness during practice = དངོས་གཞི་དམིགས་མེད་, ngözhi mikmé; Wylie: dngos gzhi dmigs med)
(3) “Good in the end” (i.e. dedicating the merit at the end of practice = རྗེས་བསྔོ་བ་, jé ngowa; Wylie: rjes bsngo ba).
These three principles are mentioned in a popular quote by Longchenpa: “Begin with bodhichitta, do the main practice without concepts, / Conclude by dedicating the merit. These, together and complete, / Are the three vital supports for progressing on the path to liberation.”⁴
• Practice: Applying the three supreme methods (work as practice)
• external links: rigpawiki

≫ dana (Pāli: दान, IAST: dāna; Sanskrit: दान, IAST: dāna; Tibetan: སྦྱིན་པ་, jinpa; Wylie: sbyin pa; Chinese: 布施 / 布施, pinyin: bùshī) = generosity, the first of the 6 paramitas; defined as an attitude of giving.
• 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

≫ dang (Tibetan: གདངས་, dang, Wylie: gdangs) = radiance, lustre, self-radiance, light, clarity; tone, tune, melody.

≫ Dashabhumika Sutra (Sanskrit: IAST: Daśabhūmika Sūtra; Chinese: 十地經 / 十地经; Pinyin: shí dì jīng; Tibetan: འཕགས་པ་ས་བཅུ་པའི་མདོ།; Wylie: phags pa sa bcu pa’i mdo) = 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 meaning of Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika and the Dashabhumika Sutra.
• see also: Avatamsaka Sutra
• external links: wikipedia

≫ dathün (Tibetan: ཟླ་ཐུན་, datün, Wylie: zla + thun) = month-long meditation retreat, popularised by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche for the Shambhala sangha.
• see also: thün (session)

≫ denpa (Tibetan: བདེན་པ་, denpa; Wylie: bden pa; Sanskrit: सत्य, satya) = true, truth, authentic, valid, genuine.

≫ denpa nyi (Tibetan: བདེན་པ་གཉིས་, den pa nyi; Wylie: bden pa gnyis; Sanskrit: द्वसत्य, dvasatya; IAST: dva + satya; also satyadvaya) = the two truths, the two aspects of all phenomena: the way things exist inherently (ultimate truth or absolute truth) and the way they appear (relative truth).
• see also: denpa nyi (2 truths) = (1) döndam denpa (absolute or ultimate truth), (2) kündzop denpa (relative truth).
• Glossary: 2 truths
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ denpa tong (Tibetan: བདེན་པ་མཐོང་བ་, denpa tongwa; Wylie: bden pa mthong ba) = realizing the truth, seeing the truth, direct perception of the truth.
• note (on meaning): DJKR suggests that “denpa tong” (“seeing the truth”) captures an important part of the intended meaning that may not be indicated by the English word “enlightenment”. See discussion on meaning in the entry on Buddha.
• see also: chö namla mig dulmé (“there is no dust, veil or obstruction between you and phenomena” = “seeing the truth”)

≫ dépa (Tibetan: དད་པ་, dé pa; Wylie: dad pa; Sanskrit: भक्ति, IAST: bhakti “devotion, fondness; trust, faith; homage, worship” also श्रद्ध, shradda, IAST: śraddha “having faith, belief, trust, confidence”; Chinese: 信奉, pinyin: xìnfèng, “belief, faith, conviction”) = faith, devotion, confidence, trust, belief, conviction; willingness to participate, believe in.
• see also: mögü (devotion), möpa (dedicated interest)
• external links: wiktionary; (3 types of faith): rigpawiki

dewa (Tibetan: བདེ་བ་, dewa; Wylie: bde ba) = bliss, pleasure, happiness – see sukha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• see also: dewé nyam (experience of bliss)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ dewé nyam (Tibetan: བདེ་བའི་ཉམས་, dewé nyam; Wylie: bde ba’i nyams) = experience of bliss (e.g. as a meditation experience), experience of pleasurable sensation.
• 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

dézhin (Tibetan: དེ་བཞིན་, dézhin; Wylie: de bzhin; Sanskrit: तथा, IAST: tathā) = thus, that itself, like that; DJKR: “whatever it is”, “as it is”, “what is” – see tatha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• see also: dézhin shekpa (tathagata)

dézhin shekpa (Tibetan: དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ་, dézhin shekpa; Wylie: de bzhin gshegs pa) = tathagata (Sanskrit ≫main entry).

≫ Dhammapada (Pāli: धम्मपद, IAST: dhammapada; “words of doctrine” or “way of truth”; Sanskrit: धर्मपद, IAST: dharmapada; Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ་, chö kyi tsik su chepa; Wylie: chos kyi tshigs su bcad pa) = a collection of sayings of the Buddha, probably the best-known book in the Pali Buddhist canon. It contains 423 short verses arranged in 26 chapters, compiled in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BCE. The original version of the Dhammapada is the second book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, the “Collection of little texts”, the fifth section in the Sutta Pitaka division of the Pali Canon. It was only translated into Tibetan in the 20th century, by the great Tibetan polymath Gendün Chöpel.
• see also: Gendün Chöpel (20th century Tibetan polymath)
• quotes: “You are your own refuge” (Dhp. XII:160)
• external links: (Dhammapada): wikipedia / rigpawiki / Britannica; (translations): Buddharakkhita (1996) Access to Insight / Max Müller (1881) Wikisource / Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1997) Access to Insight

≫ dhara (Sanskrit: धर, IAST: dhara) = holding, bearing, supporting.

≫ dharani (Sanskrit: धारणी, IAST: dhāraṇī; Tibetan: གཟུངས་, zung; Wylie: gzungs; Chinese: 真言, pinyin: zhēnyán) = a Buddhist chant, incantation, or recitation believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit, usually a Sanskrit or Pali mantra; a particular type of mantra, usually quite long; a mystical verse or charm. These chants have roots in Vedic Sanskrit literature and constitute a major part of historic Buddhist literature.
• see also: mantra
• DJKR teaching: “Dharani“, November 19, 2020, Taipei, Taiwan
• Practice: “Ushnishavijaya Dharani” / “White Umbrella Dharani”
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Lotsawa House

≫ dharma (Sanskrit: धर्म, IAST: dharma; Pāli: धम्म, IAST: dhamma; Tibetan: ཆོས་, chö; Wylie: chos) = (a) Dharma, the Buddhist path, the spiritual path, spirituality; (b) reality, true nature, character; (c) phenomenon, property, mark, peculiar condition or essential quality, peculiarity; (d) practice, way, usage, customary observance, prescribed conduct, duty, law, doctrine.
• other languages: chö (Tibetan)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Dharmachakrapravartana Sutra (Sanskrit: धर्मचक्रप्रवर्तनसूत्र, IAST: dharmacakrapravartana–sūtra; Pali: धम्मचक्कप्पवत्तनसुत्त, IAST: dhammacakkappavattana-sutta = dhamma–cakka–pavattana–sutta; Burmese: ဓမ္မစက္ကပဝတ္တနသုတ်) = “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.
• see also: cattari ariyasaccani (4 noble truths); Mrigadava (Deer Park); sutra (includes partial list of sutras on this website)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ dharmakaya (Pāli: धम्मकय, IAST: dhammakaya = dhamma + kāya; Sanskrit: धर्मकाय, IAST: dharmakāya; Tibetan: ཆོས་སྐུ་, chö ku; Wylie: chos sku; Chinese: 法身 / 法身, pinyin: fǎshēn) = the “truth body”, “reality body” or absolute body: one of the three bodies (trikaya) of a buddha in Mahayana Buddhism. The dharmakaya constitutes the unmanifested, “inconceivable” (acintya) aspect of a buddha out of which buddhas arise and to which they return after their dissolution.
• see also: kaya (body, dimension), trikaya (three bodies of a buddha), nirmanakaya (“body of manifestations”), rupakaya (“form body”), sambhogakaya (“body of enjoyment”)
• external links: (dharmakaya): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki; (trikaya): wikipedia

≫ Dharmakirti (Sanskrit: धर्मकीर्ति, IAST: Dharmakīrti, literally “glory of the Dharma”; Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་, chö kyi drak pa; Wylie: chos kyi grags pa) (6th or 7th century CE) = an influential 6th/7th Indian Mahayana Buddhist philosopher who taught at Nalanda Mahavihara. He was one of the key scholars of epistemology (pramana) in Buddhist philosophy, and is associated with the Yogachara and Sautrantika schools. Dharmakirti’s Pramāṇavārttika (“Commentary on Valid Cognition”), his largest and most important work, was very influential in India and Tibet as a central text on pramana and was widely commented on by various Indian and Tibetan scholars. His texts remain part of the curriculum in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.
• see also: prayogavakya (syllogism in Indian logic)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

≫ Dharmapala (emperor) (Sanskrit: धर्म्मपाल, IAST: dha-rmma-pā-la) = the second ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian Subcontinent and a great patron of Buddhism (ruled 8th century, c.783-820 CE), which corresponds to the present-day regions of Bengal and Bihar. He was the son and successor of Gopala, the founder of the Pala Dynasty, and he greatly expanded the boundaries and influence of the Pala empire. He revived Nalanda university and founded Vikramashila university.
• see also: Nalanda (Buddhist university); Vikramashila (Buddhist university)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ dharmata (Sanskrit: धर्मत, IAST: dharmata; Tibetan: ཆོས་ཉིད་, chö nyi; Wylie: chos nyid) = the nature of phenomena and mind, real condition of existence, very nature of things, intrinsic nature of phenomena, ultimate nature of phenomena, suchness, reality itself.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ dhatu (Pāli: धातु, IAST: dhātu; Sanskrit: धातु, IAST: dhātu; Tibetan: ཁམས་, kham; Wylie: khams) = (a) element, factor, primitive matter, constituent element; (b) realm.
• other languages: kham (Tibetan)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ dhyana (Sanskrit: ध्यान, IAST: dhyāna; Pāli: झान, IAST: jhāna; Japanese: 禅, zen; Tibetan: བསམ་གཏན་, samten; Wylie: bsam gtan; Burmese: ဈာန; Chinese: 禪, chán, abbreviation of 禪那, pinyin: chánnà, a transliteration of the Sanskrit; also 禪定 / 禅定, pinyin: chándìng) = meditative concentration, meditation, concentration, mental focus, attention, reflection, non-distraction, mind-training (according to early Buddhist texts such as the Suttapitaka and the Agamas of the Pali Canon, the aim of dhyana is to withdraw the mind from automatic responses to sense-impressions, thus leading to upekkha-sati-parishuddhi, a meditative “state of perfect equanimity and awareness”, the 4th and final rūpa or “form” jhana); the fifth of the 6 paramitas.
• 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)
• other languages: chan (Chinese), jhana (Pāli), samten (Tibetan), zen (Japanese)
• 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

≫ Dignaga (Sanskrit: दिग्नाग, IAST: Dignāga, a.k.a. दिङ्नाग, Diṅnāga; Tibetan: ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་གླང་པོ་, chok kyi langpo, Wylie: phyogs kyi glang po) (c. 480 – c. 540 CE) = an Indian Buddhist scholar and author of the Pramāṇasamuccaya (“Compendium of the Means of True Knowledge”), a work that laid the foundations of Buddhist logic and created the first system of Buddhist logic and epistemology (Pramana), which was further developed by the great Buddhist philosopher and logician Dharmakirti (6th or 7th century CE).
• see also: Pramana (Buddhist logic and epistemology)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Britannica / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

≫ dikpa ratsa (Tibetan: སྡིག་པ་ར་ཙ་, dikpa ratsa; Wylie: sdig pa ra tsa) = scorpion.

≫ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (Tibetan: དིལ་མགོ་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་, Wylie: dil mgo mkhyen brtse; often known by longer name Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Peljor, Tibetan: དིལ་མགོ་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་དཔལ་འབྱོར།; Wylie: dil mgo mkhyen brtse bkra shis dpal ‘byor) (1910-1991) = H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, one of the foremost 20th century masters of Tibetan Buddhism and root guru of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. He was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 1987 to 1991. Among his other names are Rabsel Dawa (Tibetan: རབ་གསལ་ཟླ་བ་; Wylie: rab gsal zla ba) and Tashi Paljor (Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་དཔལ་འབྱོར་, Wylie: bkra shis dpal ‘byor), and his tertön names Ösel Trulpey Dorje and Pema Do-ngak Lingpa. His two root gurus were Shechen Gyaltsab Pema Namgyal and Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. His collected works fill numerous volumes. As the primary holder of the teachings of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was the de facto custodian of many important lineages of Tibetan Buddhist teachings. Regarded by many as one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of the 20th century, he taught many eminent teachers, including the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. In particular, he was the root guru of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, who he started training from the age of 7.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Siddhartha’s Intent / Treasury of Lives / Shechen; (illustrated Khyentse lineage tree): Tricycle

Dipamkara (Pāli & Sanskrit: दीपंकर) = redirects to Dipankara.

≫ Dipankara (Pāli & Sanskrit: दीपंकर, Dipankara, also transliterated as Dipamkara; IAST: Dīpaṃkara, “lamp bearer”; Tibetan: མར་མེ་མཛད་, Marmedzé; Wylie: mar me mdzad; Chinese: 燃燈佛, pinyin: Rándēng Fó) = Dipankara Buddha, one of the buddhas of the past, the 25th predecessor of Shakyamuni, who was born on an island with a light show and is considered protector of mariners. He is said to have lived on Earth one hundred thousand aeons ago.
• external links: wikipedia / Himalayan Art

DJKR (acronym) = redirects to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche.

döchak (Tibetan: འདོད་ཆགས་, döchak; Wylie: ‘dod chags) = desire, attachment, passion, lust – see also: raga (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ Dorje Chang Thungma (Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང་ཐུང་མ་, dor jé chang tung ma; Wylie: rdo rje ‘chang thung ma = rdo rje ‘chang “Vajradhara” + thung “short, brief” + ma “not”) = The Mahamudra Lineage Supplication (also “Invoking the Blessings of the Kagyü Lineage”) by the 15th century master Bengar Jampal Zangpo, often recited in Karma Kagyu centres at the start of a practice session.
• external links: (English translation): Lotsawa House / Nalanda Translation Committee

≫ döndam denpa (Tibetan: དོན་དམ་བདེན་པ་; Wylie: don dam bden pa; Sanskrit: परमार्थसत्य, IAST: paramārtha + satya; also shortened to Sanskrit: परमार्थ, IAST: paramārtha; literally “highest or whole truth”) = absolute truth, ultimate truth.
• see also: denpa nyi (2 truths) = (1) döndam denpa (absolute or ultimate truth), (2) kündzop denpa (relative truth)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

dosa (Pāli: दोस, IAST, dosa) = aversion, anger, ill-will, hatred – see dvesha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ drébu (Tibetan: འབྲས་བུ་, dré bu; Wylie: ‘bras bu) = result, effect, fruit, fruition, accomplishment.
• see also: tawa gompa chöpa drébu (view, meditation, action & result)

≫ drébu mönpa mépa (Tibetan: འབྲས་བུ་སྨོན་པ་མེད་པ་, Wylie: ‘bras bu smon pa med pa ; Sanskrit अप्रणिहित, IAST: apraṇihita) = “the result is beyond aspiration” (also translated as aimlessness, wishlessness, absence of expectancy ; DJKR “un-longable”), one of the three doors of liberation (nam tar go sum).
• see also: nam tar go sum (three doors of liberation)
• external links: rigpawiki / Lion’s Roar

drenpa (Tibetan: དྲན་པ་, drenpa; Wylie: dran pa) = mindfulness, memory, recollection, presence of mind, remembrance, calling to mind – see sati (Pāli ≫ main entry).

≫ drib (Tibetan: གྲིབ་, drib; Wylie: grib; Sanskrit: आवरण, IAST: āvaraṇa) = defilement, obscuration, stain, contamination.
• other languages: avarana (Sanskrit)
• see also: dribpa nyi (2 obscurations): (1) emotional obscurations: nyöndrip (Tibetan), kleshavarana (Sanskrit); (2) cognitive obscurations: shédrip (Tibetan), jñeyavarana (Sanskrit); nyönmong (negative emotion)

≫ dribpa nyi (Tibetan: སྒྲིབ་པ་གཉིས་, dribpa nyi; Wylie: sgrib pa gnyis; also: སྒྲིབ་གཉིས་, dribnyi; Wylie: sgrib gnyis; Sanskrit: आवरणद्वय, IAST: āvaraṇa–dvaya; Chinese: 二障 / 二障, pinyin: èrzhàng) = the two obscurations: emotional obscurations and cognitive obscurations.
• 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 = (1) emotional obscurations & (2) cognitive obscurations
• external links: rigpawiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

drip (Tibetan) – redirects to drib.

≫ drishti (Sanskrit: दृष्टि, IAST: dṛṣṭi; Pāli: दिट्ठि, IAST: diṭṭhi; Tibetan: ལྟ་བ་, tawa; Wylie: lta ba) = view, orientation, perspective, belief (the Sanskrit and Tibetan words both mean to look or see as well as to hold a particular belief, much like the English word “view”); sixth of the 6 destructive emotions (mulaklesha); unless qualified as “samyak drishti” (i.e. “right view”), the Sanskrit “drishti” mostly refers to wrong views and only in a few instances to right view. The Tibetan word “tawa” has a more neutral valence; (wikipedia: “In Buddhist thought, a view is not a simple, abstract collection of propositions, but a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thought, sensation, and action. Having the proper mental attitude toward views is therefore considered an integral part of the Buddhist path, as sometimes correct views need to be put into practice and incorrect views abandoned, and sometimes all views are seen as obstacles to enlightenment”).
• other languages: tawa (Tibetan)
• see also (view): chéta (nihilism), takta (eternalism)
• 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

≫ drön khang (Tibetan: མགྲོན་ཁང་, drön khang; Wylie: mgron khang; Chinese: 賓館, pinyin: bīnguǎn) = guest house, wayfarer’s inn, hotel.
• external links: wiktionary

drubchö (Tibetan) – redirects to drupchö .

≫ drupchö (Tibetan: སྒྲུབ་མཆོད་, Wylie: sgrub mchod) = an elaborate and intensive form of sadhana practice held over several days (usually three to eight days). Unlike a drupchen, which is also practised over several days, this is not a continuous practice over a 24-hour period; it is only done during the day.
• external links: rigpawiki

druptap (Tibetan: སྒྲུབ་ཐབས་, druptap, Wylie: sgrub thabs) = sadhana, means of accomplishment – see sadhana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (Tibetan: བདུད་འཇོམས་འཇིགས་བྲལ་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྡོ་རྗེ།, Wylie: bdud ‘joms ‘jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, also transliterated Dudjom Jikdral Yeshe Dorje or Dudjom Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje) (1904-1987) = H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche, one of the foremost yogins, scholars, and meditation masters of 20th century Tibetan Buddhism. He was recognized as the incarnation of Dudjom Lingpa (1835-1904), whose previous incarnations include great masters such as Shariputra, Saraha and Khye’u Chung Lotsawa. Considered to be the living representative of Padmasambhava, he was a great revealer of terma (hidden treasures). He was a prolific author and meticulous scholar, and wrote more than forty volumes including the definitive history, “The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History”. In the last decade of his life he taught extensively and helped establish the Nyingma tradition in the West, founding centers in France and the United States. He was father of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and grandfather of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche.
• Practice: “Calling The Lama From Afar” by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Treasury of Lives / TBRC

≫ Dudjom Lingpa (Tibetan: བདུད་འཇོམས་གླིང་པ་, Wylie: bdud ‘joms gling pa) (1835-1904) = a renowned 19th century Tibetan meditation master, teacher and tertön. He had no formal education, nor did he take ordination as a monk or belong to any established Buddhist school or tradition of his time. Despite not studying under any established Buddhist teachers of his time, Dudjom Lingpa reported having direct visionary encounters throughout his life with numerous deities such as Vajravarahi, Avalokiteshvara, Vajrapani, and Mañjushri, Saraha and Longchenpa, through which he received teachings and empowerments. This was met with great skepticism by many of his contemporaries, and it wasn’t until his disciples started showing clear signs of spiritual maturity that he was accepted as an authentic teacher and tertön. Today his teachings and literary works, especially those on Dzogchen, are highly regarded within the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Dudjom Lingpa had eight sons, all of whom were recognized as incarnations and became teachers. Among them were the Third Dodrubchen, Jigme Tenpai Nyima (mdo grub chen 03 ‘jigs med bstan pa’i nyi ma, 1865-1926), Tulku Drime Özer (sprul sku dri med ‘od zer, 1881-1924), and Dorje Dradül (rdo rje dgra ‘dul, 1891-1959). His incarnation was Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, one of the most important Nyingma lamas of the twentieth century.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Treasury of Lives

Dudjom Rinpoche (Tibetan) = redirects to Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje.

duk ngel (Tibetan: སྡུག་བསྔལ་, duk ngel; Wylie: sdug bsngal) = suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness – see dukkha (Pāli ≫main entry).

≫ dukkha (Pāli: दुक्ख, IAST: dukkha; from दु-, du- “bad, perverse, difficult” + ख, kha “void, space”; Sanskrit: दुःख, IAST: duḥkha, from दुस्-, dus- “bad, difficult, hard, evil” + ख, kha “cavity, hollow, aperture; empty space; the hole in the nave of a wheel through which the axis runs”; Tibetan: སྡུག་བསྔལ་, duk ngel; Wylie: sdug bsngal; Chinese: 苦, pinyin: ku; Japanese: 苦, ku) = unsatisfactoriness, suffering, unease, dissatisfaction, pain, frustration. DJKR: “nothing is one hundred percent satisfying”. First of the 4 Noble Truths, and second of the 3 marks of existence.
• note (on meaning): DJKR emphasizes that the English word “suffering” (which means “the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship” – Google Dictionary) “does not at all do justice” to the meaning of dukkha. Buddhist scholars note that “dukkha” is among the most misunderstood terms in Buddhism, and there is no single English word that properly conveys the meaning of dukkha⁵.
The etymology of dukkha is of a wheel with a bad (दु, du-) axle-hole (ख, kha), such that the wheel does not turn easily, and the ride is bumpy and uneven rather than smooth. (Note also the connotation of rotation in samsara as cyclic existence, especially in the Tibetan འཁོར་བ་, khorwa). Of course, if one is hoping for a smooth ride, the unevenness will result in disappointment and suffering. But in other contexts, for example in a fairground ride, we might seek out a bumpy ride as a source of excitement and enjoyment. In Buddhism, life is understood to be “bumpy” rather than “smooth”, but this results in suffering only when there is attachment to smoothness and aversion to bumpiness.
• note (on etymology): An alternative etymology is given by Sanskrit scholar Monier-Williams, who finds the roots of the word dukkha in the Sanskrit दुस्-, dus-, “bad” + स्था, stha, “standing; staying, abiding; being situated in, existing or being in or on or among”, hence दुस्स्था, duhstha as “standing badly, unsteady, disquieted (lit. and fig.)”. In his 2015 book “Greek Buddha”, Christopher Beckwith compares the Buddhist three marks to the three characteristics of pragmata (“matters, questions, topics”) attributed to Pyrrho in the famous “Aristocles Passage”⁶. He suggests that duhstha is “virtually identical to the literal meaning of Greek”⁷ astathmēta (“unstable, unbalanced, not measurable”), with “both evidently meaning ‘unstable’. This strongly suggests that Pyrrho’s middle term is in origin a simple calque”. Nevertheless, despite Beckwith’s focus on the meanings of dukkha/duhstha that are not focused on suffering, the word duhstha also means “uneasy, unhappy, poor, miserable; faring ill, badly off, wretched, sad”⁸. Whether we follow the etymology of दुक्ख, duhkha “bad axle-hole, space” or दुस्स्था, duhstha “badly standing, abiding, situated in”, we find that existence is uneven or bumpy by virtue of being “badly positioned” or “badly situated” (note that these terms are both relational in nature, referring to the way that a thing or person fits, stands, abides, or is situated in its environment). And if we cannot accept this truth, we will experience unease, unsatisfactoriness and suffering.
• other languages: duk ngel (Tibetan)
• see also: cattari ariyasaccani (4 noble truths): (1) dukkha (suffering), (2) samudaya (origin of suffering), (3) nirodha (cessation of suffering), (4) magga (path); mi tsimpa (not satisfied, not contented); trilakshana (3 marks of existence): (1) anicca (impermanence), (2) dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) (3) anatta (nonself).
• glossary: 3 marks of existence
• external links: (dukkha): wiktionary / wikipedia / extensive discussion in Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary; (duhstha): wiktionary; (3 types of suffering): rigpawiki

duktang (Tibetan: འདུག་སྟངས་, duk tang, Wylie: ‘dug stangs) = posture, way of sitting; way of doing something; DJKR: “way of being” – see asana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ dül (Tibetan: རྡུལ་, dül; Wylie: rdul) = dust motes (as particles floating in the air).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ dumajé (Tibetan: འདུས་མ་བྱས་, du ma jé; Wylie: ‘dus ma byas; Sanskrit: असंस्कृत, asamskirta; IAST: asaṃskṛta, “unadorned, not prepared”) = uncompounded, noncomposite; unconditioned (i.e. not created through causes and conditions); beyond arising, dwelling and ceasing. The result of the path is taught as unconditioned/uncompounded in each of the various yanas (i.e. nirvana in the Shravakayana, tathagatagarbha or Buddhanature in the Mahayana, and rigpa in the Vajrayana).
• external links: rigpawiki

≫ duwé ngöpo zhi (Tibetan: བསྡུ་བའི་དངོས་པོ་བཞི་; Wylie: bsdu ba’i dngos po bzhi, from བསྡུ་བ་, duwa, Wylie: bsdu ba, “gather, magnetize, collect, amass”; Sanskrit: चतुर्संग्रहवस्तु, IAST: catursaṃgrahavastu, also saṃgrahavastu “element of popularity”, from Sanskrit: संग्रह, IAST: saṃgraha “bringing together, assembling people”) = 4 means of attraction (also: 4 ways of gathering beings, 4 means of attracting/gathering disciples, 4 means of magnetizing, 4 bases of sympathy), derived from an older list of 7 elements of popularity; as defined in section 19 of Nagaruna’s Dharma-saṃgraha, an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit; also cited by Patrul Rinpoche in The Words of My Perfect Teacher. They are:
(1) dana (Sanskrit: दान, IAST: dāna; Tibetan: བདོག་པ་སྦྱིན་པ་, dokpa jinpa; Wylie: bdog pa sbyin pa) = generosity, giving; DJKR: “generosity”.
(2) priyavacana (Sanskrit: प्रियवचन, IAST: priyavacana; Tibetan: སྙན་པར་སྨྲ་བ་, nyenpar mawa; Wylie: snyan par smra ba) = kind words, pleasant speech, affectionate speech; DJKR: “pleasant speech”.
(3) arthacharya (Sanskrit: अर्थचर्या, IAST: arthacaryā “promoting another’s affairs”, from artha “affairs, work, business” + caryā “way, practice, going about, wandering”; Tibetan: དོན་མཐུན་པ་, dön tünpa; Wylie: don mthun pa = don “work, action, benefit, purpose” + mthun pa “to be in agreement, appropriate, suitable”) = accomplishing benefit, helpfulness, usefulness; meaningful conduct; giving appropriate teachings; teaching each individual according to their needs; DJKR: “leading others according to the law, the way, the path”.
(4) samanarthata (Sanskrit: समानार्थता, IAST: samānārthatā, “equivalence”; Tibetan: དོན་སྤྱོད་པ་, dön chöpa; Wylie: don spyod pa = don “work, action, benefit, purpose” + spyod pa “action, conduct, way of living”) = maintaining consistency between words and deeds, consistency in behavior; agreement in purpose; accordant meaning; DJKR: “leading oneself according to the law, the way, the path”.
• external links: rigpawiki / wisdom library

≫ düzhi (Tibetan: བདུད་བཞི་, düzhi or dü shyi; Wylie: bdud bzhi; Sanskrit: चत्वारि मार, IAST: catvāri + māra) = the 4 maras, the 4 types of obstructive, ‘demonic’ forces (sometimes also translated as ‘demons’) which create obstacles to practitioners on the spiritual path. The four maras are:
(1) Klesha-mara (Sanskrit: क्लेशमार, IAST: Kleśa–māra; Tibetan: ཉོན་མོངས་ཀྱི་བདུད་; Wylie: nyon mongs kyi bdud) = Mara of emotions; Mara as the embodiment of all unskillful emotions, such as greed, hate and delusion; symbolizes our addiction to habitual patterns of negative emotion.
(2) Mrityu-mara (Sanskrit: मृत्युमार, IAST: Mṛtyu–māra; Tibetan: འཆི་བདག་གི་བདུད་; Wylie: ‘chi bdag gi bdud) = Mara of the Lord of Death; symbolizes both death itself, and also our fear of change, impermanence, and death.
(3) Skandha-mara (Sanskrit: स्कन्धमार, IAST: Skandha–māra; Tibetan: ཕུང་པོའི་བདུད་; Wylie: phung po’i bdud) = Mara of the aggregates; Mara as metaphor for the entirety of conditioned existence; symbolizes our clinging to forms, perceptions, and mental states as ‘real’.
(4) Devaputra-mara (Sanskrit: देवपुत्रमार, IAST: Devaputra–māra; Tibetan: ལྷའི་བུའི་བདུད་; Wylie: lha’i bu’i bdud) = Mara of the Son of God; the deva of the sensuous realm, who tried to prevent Gautama Buddha from attaining liberation from the cycle of rebirth on the night of the Buddha’s enlightenment; symbolizes our craving for pleasure, convenience, and ‘peace’.
• see also: mara
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

dvadasha nidanani (Sanskrit: द्वादशनिदानानि, IAST: dvādaśanidānāni = dvādaśa + nidānāni “cause of existence; band, rope, halter”, also dvādaśāṅga-pratītyasamutpāda ; Tibetan: རྟེན་འབྲེལ་ཡན་ལག་བཅུ་གཉིས་, tendrel yenlak chunyi; Wylie: rten ‘brel yan lag bcu gnyis) = the 12 links of dependent origination (the 12 nidanas) – see dvadasha pratityasamutpada (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ dvadasha pratityasamutpada (Sanskrit: द्वादशप्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद, IAST: dvādaśa + pratītyasamutpāda; Pāli: द्वादसपटिच्चसमुप्पाद, IAST: dvādasa + paṭiccasamuppāda; also Sanskrit: द्वादशनिदानानि, IAST: dvādaśanidānāni = द्वादश, dvādaśa “twelve” + निदान, nidāna, “cause”; Pali: dvādasanidānāni = द्वादस, dvādasa + निदान, nidāna; other Sanskrit forms include: dvādaśa-astanga pratītyasamutpāda and dvādaśāṅga-pratītyasamutpāda; Tibetan: རྟེན་འབྲེལ་ཡན་ལག་བཅུ་གཉིས་, tendrel yenlak chunyi, Wylie: rten ‘brel yan lag bcu gnyis; Chinese: 十二因緣 / 十二因缘, pinyin: shíèr yīnyuán) = the 12 links of dependent origination or dependent arising (the 12 nidanas). The 12 links are:
(1) avidya (Sanskrit: अविद्या, IAST: avidyā; Tibetan: མ་རིག་པ་, ma rigpa; Wylie: ma rig pa; Chinese: 無明) = ignorance, nescience, unenlightenment).
(2) samskara (Sanskrit: संस्कार, IAST: saṃskāra; Tibetan: འདུ་བྱེད་, dujé; Wylie: ‘du byed; Chinese: 行) = formation, action-intentions; action, activity, conception, karmic predispositions.
(3) vijñana (Sanskrit: विज्ञान, IAST: vijñāna; Tibetan: རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ་, nampar shépa; Wylie: rnam par shes pa; Chinese: 識) = consciousness.
(4) namarupa (Sanskrit: नामरूप, IAST: nāmarūpa; Tibetan: མིང་དང་གཟུགས་, ming dang zuk; Wylie: ming dang gzugs; Chinese: 名色) = name and form; the five skandhas.
(5) shadayatana (Sanskrit: षडायतन, IAST: ṣaḍāyatana; Tibetan: སྐྱེ་མཆེད་དྲུག་, kyéché druk; Wylie: skye mched drug; Chinese: 六處) = the six sense-fields; the six ayatanas of the sense-faculties; the six-fold sphere of sense contact.
(6) sparsha (Sanskrit: स्पर्श, IAST: sparśa; Tibetan: རེག་པ་, rekpa; Wylie: reg pa; Chinese: 觸) = contact; the coming together of objects, sense faculty and consciousness.
(7) vedana (Sanskrit: वेदना, IAST: vedanā; Tibetan: ཚོར་བ་, tsorwa; Wylie: tshor ba; Chinese: 受) = sensation, feeling: pleasurable, painful and neutral.
(8) trishna (Sanskrit: तृष्णा, IAST: tṛṣṇā; Tibetan: སྲེད་པ་, sépa; Wylie: sred pa; Chinese: 愛) = craving, thirst, desire.
(9) upadana (Sanskrit: उपादान, IAST: upādāna; Tibetan: ལེན་པ་, lenpa; Wylie: len pa; Chinese: 取) = grasping, appropriation.
(10) bhava (Sanskrit: भव, IAST: bhava; Tibetan: སྲིད་པ་, sipa; Wylie: srid pa; Chinese: 有) = becoming, being, existing.
(11) jati (Sanskrit: जाति, IAST: jāti; Tibetan: སྐྱེ་བ་, kyewa; Wylie: skye ba; Chinese: 生) = birth; rebirth.
(12) jaramarana (Sanskrit: जरामरण, IAST: jarāmaraṇa = जरा jarā + मरण maraṇa; Tibetan: རྒ་ཤི་, ga shi; Wylie: rga shi; Chinese: 老死) = old age and death (impermanence).
• see also: pratityasamutpada (dependent origination)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

dvasatya (Sanskrit) = the two truths – see denpa nyi (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ dvesha (Sanskrit: द्वेष, IAST: dveṣa; Pāli: दोस, IAST, dosa; Tibetan: ཞེ་སྡང་, zhédang; Wylie: zhe sdang) = aversion, dislike, enmity, hatred, hostility, ill-will; one of the 3 poisons (in the Theravada teachings).
• other languages: dosa (Pāli)
• 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 / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Dzogchen (Tibetan: རྫོགས་ཆེན, dzog chen; Wylie: rdzogs chen, literally “great perfection” or “great completeness”; also longer form: Tibetan: རྫོགས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་, dzogpa chenpo; Wylie: rdzogs pa chen po; Sanskrit: अतियोग , IAST: atiyoga) = the Great Perfection teachings, the highest path in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. A tradition of teachings aimed at discovering and continuing in the natural primordial state of being (the nature of mind). It is a central teaching of the Yundrung Bon tradition and the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. In these traditions, Dzogchen is the highest and most definitive path of the nine vehicles to liberation. The path of Dzogchen or Mahasandhi is closely related to the path of Mahamudra, the highest teachings in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
• other names: Atiyoga, Mahasandhi
• see also: Bon ; dzogrim (completion stage) ; King Trisong Deutsen ; Longchenpa ; Mahamudra ; mahasiddha (great accomplished one) ; ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; Nyingma ; Padmasambhava ; semnyi (nature of mind) ; tekpa gu (nine yanas) ; Vimalamitra
• external links: (Dzogchen): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Himalayan Art; (Dzogchen terminology): rigpawiki / Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia

≫ dzogrim (Tibetan: རྫོགས་རིམ་, dzog rim; Wylie: rdzogs rim; Sanskrit: संपन्नक्रम, IAST: saṃpannakrama = संपन्न, saṃpanna “accomplished, finished, completed” + क्रम, krama “step, stage”; rywiki notes that the Sanskrit terms utpannakrama and niṣpannakrama are also translated as dzogrim, where उत्पन्न, utpanna = “arisen, born, produced” and निष्पन्न, niṣpanna “brought about, effected, succeeded, completed, finished, ready”) = the completion stage in Vajrayana Buddhism (also “perfection” or “fulfillment” stage), which is the second stage of Highest Yoga Tantra (Anuttara Yoga Tantra) in Vajrayana Buddhism. According to Sarah Harding, the completion stage can refer to either path of method (Tibetan: ཐབས་ལམ་, Wylie: thabs lam; Sanskrit: उपयमर्ग, IAST: upayamarga) or the path of liberation (Tibetan: འགྲོལ་ལམ་; Wylie: ‘grol lam). The path of method includes various yogas associated with the subtle body of energy channels (Tibetan: རྩ་, tsa; Wylie: rtsa), winds or currents (Tibetan: རླུང་, lung; Wylie: rlung), and drops or charged particles (Tibetan: ཐིག་ལེ, tiklé; Wylie: thig le) which are said to converge at certain points along the spinal column called chakras. The goal of these yogas, which include the Six Yogas of Naropa, is to manifest the pristine awareness that is the union of bliss and emptiness. The path of liberation refers to Mahamudra or Dzogchen, which are methods of directly realizing and sustaining the natural state of mind, without the use of physical or energetic yogas.
• other languages: sampannakrama (Sanskrit), utpannakrama (Sanskrit)
• see also: kyerim (development stage or generation stage, the first stage of Highest Yoga Tantra)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (Tibetan: རྫོང་གསར་འཇམ་དབྱངས་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།, Wylie: rdzong gsar ‘jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse rin po che) (Born June 18, 1961) = a Tibetan/Bhutanese Buddhist master, filmmaker, and writer. Also known as Jamyang Thubten Chökyi Gyamtso or Jamyang Thubten Chökyi Gyatso (Tibetan: འཇམ་དབྱངས་ཐུབ་བསྟན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ‘jam dbyangs thub bstan chos kyi rgya mtsho) and Khyentse Norbu (Tibetan: མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་ནོར་བུ་, Wylie: mkhyen brtse nor bu). He is considered to be the current incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (the first Dzongsar Khyentse, 1820-1892) and Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (the second Dzongsar Khyentse, 1893-1959), and is the primary custodian of the Khyentse lineage and teachings. The present Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche was born in 1961 in eastern Bhutan, and is the eldest son of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche. He was recognized as a tulku by H.H. Sakya Trizin, and received empowerments and teachings from many of the greatest masters of Tibetan Buddhism, including H.H. the 16th Karmapa; H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje) and Lama Sonam Zangpo (his paternal and maternal grandfathers); Chatral Rinpoche; Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, Khenpo Appey, and many others. His root guru was H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who began training Rinpoche from the age of 7. Rinpoche has teachers from all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and is a follower and champion of the Rimé (non-sectarian) movement.
• other names: Jamyang Thubten Chökyi Gyamtso; Khyentse Norbu; Tsangpa Lhayi Metok
• Practice: “Work As Practice: Applying The Three Supreme Methods” by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Treasury of Lives / Siddhartha’s Intent / Khyentse Foundation / Facebook; (memoir-in-progress) Mugwort-Born

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≫ Ekayana (Sanskrit: एकयान, IAST: eka–yāna; Tibetan: ཐེག་པ་གཅིག་པ་; tekpa chikpa; Wylie: theg pa gcig pa; Chinese: 一乘, pinyin: yīshèng) = the single vehicle or “one vehicle” tradition in Mahayana Buddhism; the doctrinal position that states that there are in fact not three vehicles (Shravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana and Bodhisattvayana) but only one teaching, and the other vehicles are the skillful means to attract people to the one Buddha Vehicle. The one vehicle doctrine is a key theme in seminal Mahayana scriptures as the Prajñaparamita Sutra, the Flower Ornament Sutra, and the Shrimaladevi Simhanada Sutra, but is most forcefully articulated in the Lotus Sutra which states in its Chapter on Skillful Means that “there is only the Dharma of the one vehicle, not two, and not three”. When Buddhism came to China, Chinese Buddhist teachers faced the problem of sorting through the vast diversity of Buddhist texts to find the core of Buddhist teaching. They solved this problem by taking up one or more of the Ekayana Sutras as central to the understanding of the diversity of Buddhism, and the Ekayana doctrine remains central to the Chinese acculturation and acceptance of Buddhism.
• see also: Hinayana (the Lesser Vehicle); Mahayana (the Great Vehicle); Shravakayana (the Vehicle of the Shravakas); Theravada (the School of the Elders); Vajrayana (the Diamond Vehicle); yana (vehicle or method)
• external links: wikipedia / Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia

≫ ema datshi (Dzongkha: ཨེ་མ་དར་ཚིལ་, éma dartsil; Wylie (reconstructed): e ma dar tshil) = the Bhutanese national dish, made of chilli peppers and cheese.
• external links: wikipedia

≫ evam (Sanskrit: एवम्, IAST: evam) = thus, in this way, in such a manner, such.
• external links: wiktionary

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F

≫ Faxian (Chinese: 法顯 / 法显, pinyin: Fǎxiǎn, also transliterated Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien; Sanskrit: फ़ाहियान) (337-422) = a 4th century Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India, visiting sacred Buddhist sites in Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia between 399-412 to acquire Buddhist texts. On his return, he translated the six-fascicle version of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra (Chinese: 涅槃經, pinyin: Nièpán jīng) (T 376; translated with Buddhabhadra 佛陀跋陀羅, pinyin: Fótuóbátuóluó); and some forty fascicles of Vinaya materials, including the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya (T 1425; also in collaboration with Buddhabhadra). He described his journey in his travelogue Foguo Ji, “A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms” (Chinese: 佛國記, pinyin: Fó guó jì).
• see also: Xuanzang (7th century Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to India)
• external links: wikipedia / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

Four Noble Truths – see cattari ariyasaccani (Pāli ≫ main entry).

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≫ gakdra (Tibetan: དགག་སྒྲ་; Wylie: dgag sgra) = negation word (e.g. “is not”, “does not exist” etc.), negating particle.

≫ Gandavyuha Sutra (Sanskrit: गण्डव्यूह सूत्र; IAST: gaṇḍavyūha sūtra, from Sanskrit: गण्डि; IAST: gaṇḍi, “the trunk of a tree from the root to the beginning of the branches” ; Tibetan: སྡོང་པོ་བཀོད་པའི་མདོ།, Wylie: sdong po bkod pa’i mdo ; Chinese: 入法界品; pinyin: Rù fǎjiè pǐn) = Gandavyuha Sutra (“The Stem Array”, also “Sutra of the Arrayed Tree”) (T 44), a Mahayana Buddhist Sutra of Indian origin dating to roughly c. 200-300 CE, which depicts the pigrimage of Sudhana as he encounters and receives teachings from 53 gurus, 20 of whom are female, including an enlightened prostitute named Vasumitrā. It comprises Chapter 39 of the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Ornament Sutra).
• see also: Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Ornament Sutra) ; Indriyeshvara (kalyanamitra in Chapter 15) ; Sudhana (main protagonist of Gandavyuha Sutra) ; vibhaja (a very large number) ; vijangha (a very large number)
• see also (DJKR teaching): Gandavyuha Sutra (October 30, 2021)
• external links: (Gandavyuha Sutra): wikipedia / Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Himalayan Art ; (Borobodur reliefs): wikipedia / Dharma Records ; (text) 84000

≫ Garab Dorje (Tibetan: དགའ་རབ་རྡོ་རྗེ་, Wylie: dga’ rab rdo rje; Sanskrit (reconstructed): प्रहेवज्र, IAST: Prahevajra) (fl. 55 CE) = the semi-historical first human Dzogchen master; he received direct transmission of the Dzogchen teachings from Vajrasattva, which he then transmitted to his student Mañjushrimitra. As Garab Dorje attained paranirvana, his body dissolved into a mist of rainbow light and Mañjushrimitra called to him in despair. Garab Dorje responded by handing him his last teaching. Enclosed in a golden casket the size of a thumbnail were the three statements that form the seminal Dzogchen text “Three Words That Strike The Vital Point” (Tibetan: ཚིག་གསུམ་གནད་བརྡེགས་, tsik sum né dek, Wylie: tshig gsum gnad brdegs, “Hitting the Essence in Three Words”). This text is considered to contain the whole of the Dzogchen teachings. The three statements are:
(1) Introducing directly the face of rigpa in itself, (Tibetan: ངོ་རང་ཐོག་ཏུ་སྤྲད།, Wylie: ngo rang thog tu sprad)
(2) Decide upon one thing and one thing only, (Tibetan: ཐག་གཅིག་ཐོག་ཏུ་བཅད།, Wylie: thag gcig thog tu bcad)
(3) Confidence directly in the liberation of rising thoughts. (Tibetan: གདེང་གྲོལ་ཐོག་ཏུ་བཅའ།, Wylie: gdeng grol thog tu bca’)
• see also: Patrul Rinpoche (who wrote a famous commentary on Tsik Sum Né Dek)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Lotsawa House / TBRC

≫ garbha (Sanskrit: गर्भ, IAST: garbha; Tibetan: སྙིང་པོ་, nyingpo; Wylie: snying po) = (a) inside, middle, interior of anything; (b) seed, egg, embryo, womb (indicating potential); (c) essence, quintessence, nature; pith, heart.
• see also: tathagatagarbha (buddhanature, as in “essence of the tathagata”)

gata (Sanskrit: गत, IAST: gata) = gone, departed, arrived at, being in, situated in – see shekpa (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA (Sanskrit: गते गते पारगते पारसंगते बोधि स्वाहा, IAST: gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā; Tibetan: ག༌ཏེ༌ག༌ཏེ༌པཱ༌ར༌ག༌ཏེ༌པཱ༌ར༌སཾ༌ག༌ཏེ༌བོ༌དྷི༌སྭཱ༌ཧཱ།) = Sanskrit mantra at the conclusion of the Prajñaparamitahridayasutra (“Heart Sutra”), which means “Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, awakened existence”.
• see also: Prajñaparamitahridayasutra (Heart Sutra)
• external links: wikipedia / Jay Garfield translation and commentary

Gautama (Sanskrit: गौतम, IAST: gautama; Pāli: गोतम, IAST: Gotama; Burmese: ေဂါတမ) = the Buddha – see Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• other languages: Gotama (Pāli)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Gendün Chöpel (Tibetan: དགེ་འདུན་ཆོས་འཕེལ།, Wylie: dge ‘dun chos ‘phel; also transliterated into English as Gendun Chompel, Gendün Chöphel) (1903-1951) = a 20th century Tibetan scholar, writer, poet, linguist, artist, and a campaigner for the modernization of Tibet. He was a creative and controversial figure, considered by many to have been one of the most important Tibetan intellectuals of the 20th century.
• see also: Dhammapada (translated into Tibetan by Gendün Chöpel)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ gewa (Tibetan: དགེ་བ་, gewa; Wylie: dge ba; Sanskrit (1): कुशल, IAST: kuśala = right, good, proper; Sanskrit (2): कल्याण, IAST: kalyāṇa = lucky, fortunate) = virtuous, virtue, wholesome, good, positive.
• see also: mi gewa (non-virtuous)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ gho (Dzongkha: བགོ་, go; Wylie: bgo) = the Bhutanese traditional national dress for men, a knee-length robe tied at the waist by a cloth belt known as the kera (Dzongkha: སྐེད་རགས་).
• see also: kira (the Bhutanese traditional national dress for women)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ gom [homophone of two different Tibetan words]:
(1) (Tibetan: གོམས་, gom; Wylie: goms; Sanskrit: अभ्यास, IAST: abhyāsa) = familiarization (through repetition), becoming accustomed to, conditioning.
(2) (Tibetan: སྒོམ་, gom: Wylie: sgom; also Tibetan: སྒོམ་པ་, gom pa; Wylie: sgom pa; Sanskrit: भावन, IAST: bhāvana) = development, training, practice, cultivation; meditation, contemplation.
• 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).
• other languages: abhyasa (Sanskrit for གོམས་, Wylie: goms), bhavana (Sanskrit for སྒོམ་, Wylie: sgom)
• see also: ta gom chöpa (view, meditation and action); tawa gompa chöpa drébu (view, meditation, action & result)
• Buddhist terms: meditation
• external links: (སྒོམ་, Wylie: sgom) wiktionary ; (abhyasa): wikipedia ; (bhavana): wikipedia ; (meditation): wikipedia / rigpawiki

gompa (Tibetan: སྒོམ་པ་, gom pa; Wylie: sgom pa) = see gom (Tibetan).

≫ gompé trang (Tibetan: སྒོམ་པའི་འཕྲང་, gom pé trang; Wylie: sgom pa’i ‘phrang) = the ravine of meditation; DJKR: “the abyss of meditation”.
• see also: gom (meditation, habituation, practice), trang (narrow dangerous path)

Gotama (Pāli: गोतम, IAST: Gotama) = the Buddha – see Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• other languages: Gautama (Sanskrit)
• Buddhist terms: Buddha
• external links: wiktionary

≫ guru (Sanskrit: गुरु, IAST: guru; Tibetan: བླ་མ་, lama; Wylie: bla ma) = teacher, lama, guide, expert or master; the meanings of the Sanskrit word “guru” also include “heavy, weighty”, “venerable, respectable” and “important, serious, momentous”.
• other languages: lama (Tibetan)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

Guru Rinpoche (Tibetan: གུ་རུ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, guru rinpoché; Wylie: gu+ru rin po che; literally “precious master”) – see Padmasambhava (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)
• other names: Padmakara; Padmasambhava

≫ Guru Yoga (Sanskrit: गुरुयोग; IAST: guru “teacher” + yoga “union, mixing, joining”; Tibetan: བླ་མའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་, lamé nenjor / lamé naljor; Wylie: bla ma’i rnal ‘byor) = the practice of merging one’s mind with the wisdom mind of the master, an important practice in Vajrayana Buddhism. The practitioner of Guru Yoga meditates on the root guru as embodying the nature of all the buddhas, supplicates the guru for blessings, and unites their mindstream with the mindstream of the guru’s wisdom mind. H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche said, “it is vital to put all your energy into the Guru Yoga, holding onto it as the life and heart of the practice”.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Study Buddhism

gyü (Tibetan: རྒྱུད་, gyü; Wylie: rgyud) = tantra (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ gyu tsal (Tibetan: སྒྱུ་རྩལ་, gyu tsal; Wylie: sgyu rtsal) = art, magical dexterity, skill; ability, sport, game.

≫ gyuntrül (Tibetan: སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་, gyu ntrul, also gyü trül; Wylie: sgyu ‘phrul) = magical display, magical illusion; maya, illusion; miraculous play, magical deception.

≫ gyuntrül drawa (Tibetan: སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་དརབ༹་བ་, gyu ntrul dra wa, also gyü trül dra wa; Wylie: sgyu ’phrul drva ba; Sanskrit: मायाजाल, IAST: māyājāla = māyā “illusion” + jāla “net”) = (1) magical net, net of illusion, the binding net of Maya; (2) The Web of Magical Illusion, a cycle of tantric texts to which the Guhyagarbha Tantra belongs.
• external links: rigpawiki

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≫ havan (Sanskrit: हवन, IAST: havana) = fire offering; ritual rooted in the Vedic tradition, in which offerings of food etc. are burned in order to create merit or bring good luck on a special occasion; ritual in which making offerings into a consecrated fire is the primary action.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Heart Sutra = redirects to Prajñaparamitahridayasutra.

≫ hijra (Hindustani: Nastaliq: ﮩيجرَا, Devanagari: हिजड़ा, hijra; Bengali: হিজড়া, hijra; hīj’ṛā) = eunuchs, intersex people, and transgender people, officially recognized as third gender in countries in the Indian subcontinent. The hijra community in India prefer to call themselves Kinnar or Kinner, referring to the mythological beings that excel at song and dance.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / Hindustani dictionary

≫ Hinayana (Sanskrit: हीनयान, IAST: hīnayāna, Tibetan: (1) ཐེག་ཆུང་, tekchung; Wylie: theg chung, literally “small vehicle”; also: (2) ཐེག་དམན་, tekmen; Wylie: theg dman, literally “inferior vehicle”) = the “simpler/lesser vehicle” (also “small/deficient vehicle”), a pejorative term used in some Mahayana texts (and also in the past widely used by Western scholars) to refer to the earliest system of Buddhist doctrine based on the Pali Canon (in contrast to the later Mahayana as the “great vehicle”).
• note (on usage): 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); Mahayana (the Great 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

≫ hundun (Chinese: 混沌; pinyin: hùndùn, literally “muddled confusion”) = primordial chaos; both the “primordial and central chaos” in Chinese cosmogony and a “legendary faceless being” in Chinese mythology.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

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≫ ikebana (Japanese: 生け花, ikebana, “living flowers; arranging flowers; making flowers alive”) = the Japanese art of flower arrangement, one of the three classical Japanese arts of refinement. Also known as kadō (Japanese: 華道, kadō, “the way of flowers”).
• see also (the three classical Japanese arts of refinement): kado (flower arrangement), kodo (incense appreciation) and chado (tea and the tea ceremony)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ indriyapratyaksha (Sanskrit: इन्द्रियप्रत्यक्ष, IAST: indriyapratyakṣa = indriya + pratyakṣa; Tibetan: དབང་པོའི་མངོན་སུམ་, wangpö ngönsum; Wylie: dbang po’i mngon sum) = sense perception, sensory direct perception, direct perception by the sense organs; first of the 4 kinds of direct perception.
see also: ngönsum zhi (4 kinds of direct perception)

≫ Indriyeshvara (Sanskrit: इन्द्रियेश्वर, IAST: Indriyeśvara ; Tibetan: དབང་པོའི་དབང་ཕྱུག, Wangpö Wangchuk; Wylie: dbang po’i dbang phyug) = Indriyeshvara, a young boy, the kalyanamitra that Sudhana meets in Chapter 15 of the Gandavyuha Sutra. (Note: the name Indriyeshvara is a compound of the Sanskrit words Indriya “chief, lord, king” and Ishvara “mighty, ruler, lord, god” (sometimes syn. Shiva), and it therefore means something like “Lord of lords”).
• see also: Gandavyuha Sutra
• external links: 84000

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≫ Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (Tibetan: འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས།, jam gön kong trül lo drö ta yé; Wylie: ‘jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas) (1813-1899) = also known as Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, he was one of the most prominent masters of the 19th century Tibet. He co-founded the Rimé (non-sectarian) movement with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, compiled the “Five Great Treasuries (Tibetan: མཛོད་ཆེན་པོ་ལྔ་, dzö chenpo na; Wylie: mdzod chen po lnga), and was widely known a scholar, poet, artist, physician, tertön and polymath.
• see also: Rimé (the nonsectarian movement in Tibetan Buddhism), Yönten Gyatso (the monastic name of Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Treasury of Lives

≫ Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (Tibetan: འཇམ་དབྱངས་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བློ་གྲོས་, Wylie: ‘jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros) (1893-1959) = a 20th century Tibetan master, the second Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and previous incarnation of the current Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Also known as Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, he was an activity incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, and is considered by some as one of the most outstanding Tibetan masters of the 20th century. He was a master of many lineages, and a teacher of many of the major figures in 20th-century Tibetan Buddhism. He was a major proponent of the Rimé (non-sectarian) movement within Tibetan Buddhism, and had a profound influence on many of the Tibetan lamas teaching today. The current Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche was born in 1961 in Bhutan, and was immediately recognized as the incarnation of Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö.
• see also: Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche; Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Siddhartha’s Intent / Treasury of Lives; (illustrated Khyentse lineage tree): Tricycle

≫ Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (Tibetan: འཇམ་དབྱངས་མཁྱེན་བརྩེའི་དབང་པོ།, jam yang khyen tsé wang po; Wylie: ‘jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po) (1820-1892) = one of the most eminent masters of 19th century Tibet, he co-founded the Rimé (non-sectarian) movement with Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé, and was regarded as the combined reincarnation of Vimalamitra and King Trisong Deutsen. Also known by his tertön title, Pema Ösel Do-ngak Lingpa (Tibetan: པདྨ་འོད་གསལ་མདོ་སྔགས་གླིང་པ།, pema ö sel do ngak ling pa; Wylie: pad+ma ‘od gsal mdo sngags gling pa), he was a major tertön (treasure revealer) – the last of the Five Sovereign Tertöns.
• see also: Rimé (the nonsectarian movement in Tibetan Buddhism), tertön gyalpo nga (the Five Tertön Kings/Five Sovereign Tertöns)
• Practice: “Wisdom’s Bestowal: A Way to Accumulate the Recitation of the Tantra Chanting the Names of Mañjushri, Mañjushri-Nama-Samgiti” by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Siddhartha’s Intent / Treasury of Lives; (illustrated Khyentse lineage tree): Tricycle

Jamyang Thubten Chökyi Gyamtso (Tibetan: འཇམ་དབྱངས་ཐུབ་བསྟན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ‘jam dbyangs thub bstan chos kyi rgya mtsho) = name given by H.H. Sakya Trizin to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (Tibetan ≫ main entry) .
• see also (DJKR teaching): DJKR tells the story of his names in Return to Normal, Day 1, Taipei (October 10, 2020)

jangchub (Tibetan) – redirects to jangchup.

jangchup (Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་, jangchup; Wylie: byang chub) = awakening, enlightenment, ‘purified and perfected’ – see bodhi (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• 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

jangchup kyi sem (Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་, jangchup kyi sem; Wylie: byang chub kyi sems) = bodhichitta (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

jangchup sempa (Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ་, jangchup sempa; Wylie: byang chub sems dpa’) = bodhisattva (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ jangdom (Tibetan: བྱང་སྡོམ་, jang dom; Wylie: byang sdom) = bodhisattva vow, bodhisattva precepts.
• external links: rigpawiki

jangsem (Tibetan: བྱང་སེམས་, jangsem; Wylie: byang sems) = bodhichitta, short form of jangchup kyi sem (Tibetan) – see bodhichitta (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ Jatakamala (Sanskrit: जातकमाला, IAST: Jātakamālā = जातक, jātaka “nativity; newborn child; story of a former birth of Gautama Buddha” + माला, mālā “string of beads; rosary; series”; Tibetan: སྐྱེས་རབས།, kyérab; Wylie: skyes rabs, “genealogy, series of births of an individual, history of previous lives, stories of a succession of lives”) = The Jataka tales (Jatakamala, also sometimes referred to as Jatakamala Sutra), a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. The Theravāda Jātakas comprise 547 poems, arranged roughly by an increasing number of verses. In Theravada Buddhism, the Jatakas are a textual division of the Pāli Canon, included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka. The tales are dated between 300 BCE and 400 CE.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

≫ jépak (Tibetan: རྗེས་དཔག་, jépak; Wylie: rjes dpag; Sanskrit: अनुमान, IAST: anumāna; also: अनुमानम्, IAST: anumānam) = inference, inferential cognition.
• other languages: anumana (Sanskrit)

≫ Jetavana (Sanskrit: जेतवन, IAST: jetavana; literally “Jeta’s wood”) = Jeta’s Grove, one of the most famous Buddhist viharas (monasteries) in India. It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvana in Rajgir. The monastery was given to him by his chief male lay disciple, Anathapindika. Jetavana was the place where the Buddha gave the majority of his teachings and discourses, having stayed there for 19 out of 45 vassas (rainy season retreats), more than in any other monastery. Jetavana is located just outside the old city of Savatthi (Shravasti) (part of the present-day Shravasti district in Uttar Pradesh).
• see also: Mrigadava (Deer Park, a vihara); vihara (monastery)
• external links: (Jetavana): wikipedia / wisdom library; (Shravasti): wikipedia

jhana (Pāli: झान, IAST: jhāna) = meditative concentration – 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)
• easily confused: jhana (Pāli: meditative concentration) is the same as dhyana (Sanskrit: meditative concentration) and different from jñana (Sanskrit: wisdom)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Jigme Lingpa (Tibetan: འཇིགས་མེད་གླིང་པ།, Jigme Lingpa also Jikmé Lingpa; Wylie: ‘jigs med gling pa) (1730-1798) = 18th century Dzogchen master, one of the most important figures in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, regarded as an incarnation of both King Trisong Deutsen and Vimalamitra. He revealed the Longchen Nyingtik, the Heart Essence teachings of the great master Longchenpa, which has become the most famous and widely practiced cycle of Dzogchen teachings. His lineage includes great masters such as Patrul Rinpoche, Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. He is also known as Khyentse Özer or Khyentse Öser (Tibetan: མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་འོད་ཟེར།; Wylie: mkhyen brtse’i ‘od zer, “Rays of Compassion and Wisdom”), and is regarded as the founder of the Khyentse lineage that includes Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Unlike many influential masters of the Tibetan tradition, Jigme Lingpa did not receive extensive educational training, nor was he a recognized reincarnation or tulku. Instead, his great realization came directly through practice. In particular, he had a series of three visions of Longchenpa while in retreat at Samye Chimpu, in which he received the entire transmission of Longchenpa’s works, and his mind eventually merged completely with that of Longchenpa’s.
• Practice: “Praise of the Twelve Acts of the Buddha” by Jigme Lingpa
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Treasury of Lives; (illustrated Khyentse lineage tree): Tricycle

≫ jigten chögyé (Tibetan: འཇིག་རྟེན་ཆོས་བརྒྱད་, jigten chögyé, also jikten chögyé; Wylie: ‘jig rten chos brgyad) = the 8 worldly concerns (also 8 samsaric dharmas or 8 worldly dharmas), the 8 underlying motivations or attachments that drive ordinary worldly samsaric actions. They are listed in verse 29 of Nagarjuna’s “Letter to a Friend” in the following order⁹:
(1) nyépa (Tibetan: རྙེད་པ་, nyé pa; Wylie: rnyed pa) = gain.
(2) ma nyépa (Tibetan: མ་རྙེད་པ་, ma nyé pa; Wylie: ma rnyed pa) = loss.
(3) dewa (Tibetan: བདེ་བ་, de wa; Wylie: bde ba) = pleasure, bliss.
(4) mi dewa (Tibetan: མི་བདེ་བ་, mi de wa; Wylie: mi bde ba) = pain, unhappiness.
(5) nyenpa (Tibetan: སྙན་པ་, nyen pa; Wylie: snyan pa) = kind words, pleasant speech; renown, glory, fame; looking good.
(6) mi nyenpa (Tibetan: མི་སྙན་པ་, mi nyen pa; Wylie: mi snyan pa) = unkind words, unpleasant or discordant speech, abuse, insult, offense, disgrace; looking bad.
(7) töpa (Tibetan: བསྟོད་པ་, tö pa; Wylie: bstod pa) = praise, eulogy, exaltation.
(8) mépa (Tibetan: སྨད་པ་, mé pa; Wylie: smad pa) = blame, despise, slander, contempt, disrespect.
These should be read as four pairs where for each pair, we are motivated by hope, desire for, or attachment to the first and fear or aversion to the second, e.g. hope for gain and fear of loss etc.
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ jiva (Sanskrit: जीव, IAST: jīva, “living, existing, alive”) = living being; a term originating in the Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads to describe a living being or entity imbued with life force. The word originates from the Sanskrit verb-root jīv (जीव्) which means “to live, remain alive, vivify”. The jiva as a metaphysical entity has been described as unborn, eternal and indestructible (Bhagavad Gita) and one-hundredth of one-hundredth of the tip of a hair in dimension (the Upanishads).
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ jñana (Sanskrit: ज्ञान, IAST: jñāna; Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་, yéshé; Wylie: ye shes) = wisdom, primordial wisdom, pristine cognition, knowing, becoming acquainted with, gnosis, wakefulness, basic cognisance independent of intellectual constructs. In Tibetan Buddhism, five aspects of jñana are identified as the five wisdoms, which correspond to the five dhyani-buddhas and the five buddha families.
(other languages): yeshe (Tibetan)
• note (multiple translations): prajña (precise discernment, transcendent knowledge) and jñana (primordial wisdom) are both translated into English as “wisdom”
• easily confused: jhana (Pāli: meditative concentration) is the same as dhyana (Sanskrit: meditative concentration) and different from jñana (Sanskrit: wisdom)
• see also: pañchabuddha (five dhyani-buddhas); pañchakula (five buddha families); yeshe nga (five wisdoms)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

jñeyavarana (Sanskrit: ज्ञेयावरण, IAST: jñeyāvaraṇa from ज्ञेय + आवरण, IAST: jñeya + āvaraṇa) = cognitive obscurations – see shédrip (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• 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)

≫ Jodo Bukkyo (Japanese: 浄土仏教, Jōdo bukkyō, also 浄土教, Jōdo kyō; Chinese: 淨土宗, pinyin: Jìngtǔ Zōng) = Pure Land Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism that is one of the most widely practiced traditions of Buddhism in East Asia (e.g. Jodo Shinshu and Jodo Shu in Japan). Pure Land teachings are focused on the Buddha Amitabha, and hold that he is 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 Shinshu (Shin Buddhism); Jodo Shu (The Pure Land School); Sukhavati (Pure Land of Amitabha)
• external links: wikipedia / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Learn Religions / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

≫ Jodo Shinshu (Japanese: 浄土真宗, Jōdo Shinshū, “The True Essence of the Pure Land Teaching”) = Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, a school of Pure Land Buddhism founded by the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Shinran (Japanese: 親鸞, Shinran, 1173-1262). Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.
• see also: Jodo Bukkyo (Pure Land Buddhism); Jodo Shu (The Pure Land School)
• external links: wikipedia / Learn Religions / Tricycle / Lion’s Roar

≫ Jodo Shu (Japanese: 浄土宗, Jōdo Shū) = “The Pure Land School”, also known as Jōdo Buddhism, a branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Honen (Japanese: 法然, Hōnen, 1133-1212). It was established in 1175 and is one of the most widely practiced branches of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shinshū.
• see also: Jodo Bukkyo (Pure Land Buddhism); Jodo Shinshu (Shin Buddhism)
• external links: wikipedia / Jodo Shu

≫ jokpa (Tibetan: འཇོག་པ་, jok pa; Wylie: ‘jog pa) = rest, place, settle; classify, posit, set forth; DJKR: “leave it”, “let it be”.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ jorwa (Tibetan: སྦྱོར་བ་, jorwa; Wylie: sbyor ba) = (a) to bring/come into contact with, engage actively, fasten together; (b) syllogism, formal argument; (c) yoga, union, sexual union.
• see also: jorwé tsik (syllogism); yoga (union)

jorwé tsik (Tibetan: སྦྱོར་བའི་ཚིག་, jorwé tsik; Wylie: sbyor ba’i tshig) = syllogism – see prayogavakya (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ jukpa semkyé (Tibetan: འཇུག་པའི་བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་, juk pé jang chup kyi sem; Wylie: ‘jug pa’i byang chub kyi sems; also shortened to Tibetan: འཇུག་པ་སེམས་བསྐྱེད་, juk pa sem kyé; Wylie: ‘jug pa sems bskyed) = bodhichitta in action or bodhichitta of application (application bodhichitta); comprised chiefly of the practice of the 6 paramitas.
• 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: (bodhichitta): wikipedia; (bodhichitta in action or bodhichitta of application): rigpawiki / RYwiki

≫ junzi (Chinese: 君子, pinyin: jūnzí; Sanskrit: अग्रिय, IAST: agriya “foremost, best”) = noble man, gentleman of the Confucian teachings, respectable person; in Confucianism, antithesis of the xiaoren (petty man). There is no gender implied in the characters and it can equally refer to men and women. In Confucianism, the ideal personality is the sheng (sage), however sagehood is hard to attain and so Confucius established the goal of junzi as something that more people could reasonably achieve.
• see also: sheng (sage); xiaoren (petty man)
• external links: wikipedia / wiktionary

≫ jutti (Punjabi: ਜੁੱਤੀ) = a type of footwear common in North India and neighboring regions, traditionally made of leather and with extensive embroidery in real gold and silver thread, as inspired by Indian royalty over 400 years ago.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

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≫ kadak (Tibetan: ཀ་དག་, ka dak, Wylie: ka dag ; Sanskrit: आदिशुद्ध, adishuddha; IAST: ādiśuddha = आदि ādi “beginning, commencement” + शुद्ध śuddha “pure, clean, cleared, free from”) = primordial purity; essential purity; original purity; pure from the (timeless) beginning. The ground of Dzogchen is endowed with three qualities: essence, nature and capacity or compassionate energy (see: ngowo rangzhin tukjé). The first quality, the empty essence, is called primordial purity because it is free from adventitious defilements and empty of inherent existence.
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

kado (Japanese: 華道, kadō, “the way of flowers”) = the Japanese art of flower arrangement – see ikebana (Japanese ≫ main entry)
• see also (the three classical Japanese arts of refinement): kado (flower arrangement), kodo (incense appreciation) and chado (tea and the tea ceremony)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Kagyu (Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་, Kagyü; Wylie: bka’ brgyud, “oral transmission”) = one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu lineages trace themselves back to the 11th century Indian mahasiddhas Naropa, Maitripa and the yogini Niguma, via their student Marpa Lotsawa who brought their teachings to Tibet. Often called the “Practice Lineage”, the Kagyu tradition places great emphasis on intensive meditation practice, Guru Yoga, and the power of devotion and direct transmission from master to disciple. Important teachings of the Kagyu school include Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa.
• see also: Naro Chödruk (Six Yogas of Naropa)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / karmapa.org

≫ kalyanamitra (Sanskrit: कल्याणमित्र, IAST: kalyāṇamitra = कल्याण kalyāṇa “excellent, virtuous, good, illustrious, noble, generous” + मित्र mitra “friend, companion, associate”; Pāli: कल्याणमित्त, IAST: kalyāṇa-mitta; Tibetan: དགེ་བའི་བཤེས་གཉེན་, gewé shenyen; Wylie: dge ba’i bshes gnyen) = spiritual friend.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ kamadhatu (Sanskrit: कामधातु, IAST: kāmadhātu = काम kāma “wish, desire, longing; pleasure, enjoyment, love” + धातु dhātu “constituent part, ingredient, primitive matter” also “realm, elementary sphere as in dhātu-loka-; Tibetan: འདོད་ཁམས་, dö kham, Wylie: ‘dod khams) = the desire realm, one of the trailokya or three realms (Sanskrit: धातु, IAST: dhātu, Tibetan: ཁམས་, kham; Wylie: khams) in Buddhist cosmology into which a being wandering in samsara may be reborn. The desire realm is so called because the beings inhabiting it are prey to intense emotion and crave happiness based on the pleasures of the senses. The other two realms are the form realm (Sanskrit: rūpadhātu) and the formless realm (Sanskrit: ārūpadhātu).
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ karma (Sanskrit: कर्मन्, IAST: karman; note: karma is the Sanskrit form of karman used in compound words; Tibetan: ལས་, lé; Wylie: las) = action, law of cause and effect (in the sense of former acts leading to inevitable results), duty, religious rite.
• other languages: lé (Tibetan)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Karma Chagme (Tibetan: ཀརྨ་ཆགས་མེད་རཱ་ག་ཨ་སྱས།, Karma Chagmé Rāga Asya, also Karma Chakmé; Wylie: karma chags med rA ga a s+yas) (1613-1678) = a great 17th century master of both the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions. He is considered an emanation of Guru Rinpoche’s disciple Chok, and he was both the teacher and student of Tertön Mingyur Dorjé. He wrote the Instructions for Retreat Practice (Richö) and established the the Neydo Kagyu (Tibetan: གནས་མདོ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་; Wylie: gnas mdo bka’ brgyud) sub-school of the Karma Kagyu.
• Practice: White Umbrella (dharani and mantras from “The Swift Steed of Garuda” by Karma Chagme)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Lotsawa House

≫ karmé (Tibetan: དཀར་མེ་, karmé; Wylie: dkar me) = offering lamp, lamp, sacred fire.

≫ karuna (Pāli & Sanskrit: करुणा, karuṇā; Tibetan: སྙིང་རྗེ་, nyingjé; Wylie: snying rje; Chinese: 慈悲 / 慈悲, pinyin: cíbēi; also 悲, pinyin: bēi; 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) = compassion, the wish to free all beings from suffering and the causes of suffering. The second of the 4 immeasurables (caturapramana) that comprise aspiration bodhichitta.
• note (on meaning): DJKR emphasizes that the semantic range of the English word “compassion” does not at all do justice to the meaning of nyingjé/karuna/bodhichitta. In particular, because it has a dualistic and hierarchical connotation of “one who needs help” (in a “lower” situation) and “one who helps” (from a “higher” situation); DJKR: “The word compassion involves a lot of hierarchy. It’s very limiting and limited”.
• dictionary definition of “compassion” = “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others” (Google dictionary).
• other languages: nyingjé (Tibetan)
• see also: bodhichitta (the compassionate wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings and also to bring them to that state) ; brahmavihara (sublime attitude) ; caturapramana (4 immeasurables): (1) metta (loving-kindness), (2) karuna (compassion), (3) mudita (sympathetic joy), (4) upekkha (equanimity) ; jukpa semkyé (bodhichitta in action) ; mönpa semkyé (bodhichitta of aspiration) ; shatparamita (6 paramitas) ; tukjé (compassion)
• glossary: 3 types of compassion
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Kashyapa (Sanskrit: काश्यप, IAST: kāśyapa; Pali: कस्सप, IAST: kassapa; Tibetan: འོད་སྲུང་, ösung; Wylie: ‘od srung) = (a) Buddha Kashyapa, the supreme nirmanakaya buddha immediately preceding Buddha Shakyamuni in this Fortunate Aeon; (b) also used as short form of Mahakashyapa, one of the Buddha’s principal disciples.
• see also: Mahakashyapa (one of the Buddha’s principal disciples)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

≫ kaya (Pāli & Sanskrit: काय, IAST: kāya; Tibetan: སྐུ་, ku; Wylie: sku) = “body” in the sense of a body or embodiment of numerous qualities; dimension; field; basis.
• see also: dharmakaya (“truth body” of a buddha), rupakaya (“form body” of a buddha), trikaya (three kayas)
• external links: (kaya): wiktionary / rigpawiki; (trikaya): wikipedia

kham (Tibetan: ཁམས་, kham; Wylie: khams) = (a) realm, element, disposition, type, nature, component of experience; (b) (capitalized as Kham) historical region of East Tibet, where the people were renowned for their marksmanship and horsemanship – see dhatu (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary; (Kham, historical region of East Tibet): wikipedia

≫ khom (Tibetan: ཁོམས་, khom; Wylie: khoms) = familiarise, condition to, familiarisation.

khorwa (Tibetan: འཁོར་བ་, khorwa; Wylie: ‘khor ba) = samsara, cyclic existence – see samsara (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• easily confused [homophones]: khorwa (samsara) & korwa (circumambulation)
• see also: yangsi (reincarnation, rebirth)
• external links: wiktionary

Khyentse Norbu (Tibetan: མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་ནོར་བུ་, Wylie: mkhyen brtse nor bu) = name given by his paternal grandfather H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
• see also (DJKR teaching): DJKR tells the story of his names in Return to Normal, Day 1, Taipei (October 10, 2020)

≫ kira (Dzongkha: དཀྱི་ར་, kyira; Wylie: dkyi ra) = the Bhutanese traditional national dress for women, an ankle-length dress consisting of a rectangular piece of woven fabric.
• see also: gho (the Bhutanese traditional national dress for men)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ klesha (Sanskrit: क्लेश, IAST: kleśa; Tibetan (1): ཉོན་མོང་, nyönmong; Wylie: nyon mong; Tibetan (2): ཉོན་མོངས་, Wylie: nyon mongs) = (a) pain, affliction, distress; (b) afflictive emotions, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, negative emotions; (c) defilements, afflictions, mental afflictions, factors which disturb the mind. Building on the foundational categorization of the 3 poisons presented in the Pali Canon (ignorance/delusion, greed/attachment, and hatred/aversion), Vasubandhu presents a list of the mulaklesha, the 6 root disturbing emotions in the Abhidharmakosha (attachment, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt, 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” (according to Google Dictionary, “emotion” means “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”).
• 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); mulaklesha (the 6 root disturbing emotions); nyöndrip (emotional obscurations); trivisha (the 3 poisons)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / study buddhism (Berzin)

≫ kleshavarana (Sanskrit: क्लेशावरण, IAST: kleśāvaraṇa from क्लेश + आवरण, IAST: kleśa + āvaraṇa) = emotional obscurations – see nyöndrip (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
• 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)

≫ koan (Japanese: 公案, kōan, “public record”; Chinese: 公案; pinyin: gōngàn, “public case”) = a story, dialogue, question, or statement used in Zen practice (Chinese: 禪宗, pinyin: Chánzōng, “meditation school”, typically shortened to Chan) to provoke the “great doubt” (Japanese: 大疑, taigi; Chinese: 大疑, pinyin: dàyí) and to practice or test a student’s progress in Zen. Literally means “public record”, serving as a metaphor for principles of reality beyond the private opinion of one person, and a teacher may test the student’s ability to recognize and understand that principle.
• see also: Chan (meditation); taigi (great doubt)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

kodo (Japanese: 香道, kōdō, “the way of fragrance”) = traditional Japanese art of incense burning and appreciation.
• see also (the three classical Japanese arts of refinement): kado (flower arrangement), kodo (incense appreciation) and chado (tea and the tea ceremony)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ kor (Tibetan: བསྐོར་, kor; Wylie: bskor) = surrounded by, encircle, revolve, circumambulate (around a holy object e.g. stupa).
• see also: korwa (circumambulation, to be turned around)

kora (Tibetan) = redirects to korwa.

≫ korwa (Tibetan: བསྐོར་བ་, korwa; Wylie: bskor ba; Sanskrit: प्रदक्षिण, pradakshina, literally “turning the right side towards”; IAST: pradakṣiṇa, also परिक्रम, IAST: parikrama “roaming about, circumambulating, pervading”) = to be turned around, circumambulation, encircle, surround.
• easily confused [homophones]: khorwa (samsara) & korwa (circumambulation)
• see also: kor (circumambulate, surrounded by); stupa (stupa)

≫ Krishna (Sanskrit: कृष्ण, IAST: kṛṣṇa) = the most celebrated hero of Indian mythology and the most popular of all the Hindu deities (Vishnu in his eighth incarnation); wicked, evil; black, dark, dark-blue; the black antelope; a crow; the (Indian) cuckoo; the dark half of a lunar month (from full to new moon); the Kali age.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ kshanti (Sanskrit: क्षान्ति, IAST: kṣānti; Pali: खन्ति, IAST: khanti; Tib. བཟོད་པ་, zöpa; Wylie: bzod pa; Chinese: 忍辱 / 忍辱, pinyin: rěnrù) = patience, forbearance, restraint, endurance, indulgence; defined as the ability not to be perturbed by anything. The third 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

ku (Tibetan: སྐུ་, ku; Wylie: sku) = “body” in the sense of a body or embodiment of numerous qualities; dimension; field; basis – see kaya (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ kudang yeshe (Tibetan: སྐུ་དང་ཡེ་ཤེས་; Wylie: sku dang ye shes) = the (four) kayas and (five) wisdoms; the kayas and timeless awareness.

≫ Kukkuripa (Tibetan: ཀུ་ཀུ་རི་པ་; Wylie: ku ku ri pa) = an Indian mahasiddha said to have lived in the 9th/10th centuries in Kapilavastu at the Nepal-India border, who is often depicted together with a dog. During his travels as a wandering yogi, he found a starving dog in a bush. Moved by compassion, he fed the dog and took care of her. The two stayed together and eventually found a cave where Kukkuripa could meditate. When he went out for food, the dog would stay and guard the cave. He is counted as one of the 84 mahasiddhas.
• see also: mahasiddha
• external links: wikipedia / Himalayan Art / Treasury of Lives

≫ kündzop denpa (Tibetan: ཀུན་རྫོབ་བདེན་པ་; Wylie: kun rdzob bden pa; literally “all-concealing truth”; Sanskrit: समावृतसत्य, IAST: samāvṛta + satya; also shortened to Sanskrit: समावृत, IAST: samāvṛta; literally “veiled, hidden, concealed”) = relative truth; conventional truth. [Note: many online sources have the Sanskrit as “saṁvṛiti-satya”, which does not appear in the Sanskrit dictionary).
• see also: denpa nyi (2 truths) = (1) döndam denpa (absolute or ultimate truth), (2) kündzop denpa (relative truth)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ Küntuzik (Tibetan: མགོན་པོ་ཀུན་ཏུ་གཟིགས་, gön po kün tu zik; Wylie: mgon po “lord, protector, guardian” + kun tu gzigs “he who sees everything and everywhere”; Sanskrit (reconstructed from the Tibetan): नाथ समन्तदर्षिन्, IAST: Nātha Samantadarṣin, many sources have Sanskrit: समन्तदर्शिन्, IAST: Samantadarśin) = Gönpo Küntuzik (also shortened to Küntuzik), the Buddha ‘All-Gazing’ or ‘All-Seeing Guide’; the name that bodhisattva Mañjushri will take when he is finally fully enlightened as a Buddha in the Vimala universe of the southern direction; See “Glossary of Names” in “Treasury of Knowledge, Book 1: Myriad Worlds”; DJKR: ‘The Buddha That Gazes At Everything’.
• external links: (Buddhist cosmology): wikipedia; (the legend of Mañjushri from the Mahāprajñāpāramitāshāstra): Wisdom Library; (Samantadarśin): Wisdom Library
• 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.

≫ Kurukulla (Sanskrit: कुरुकुल्ला, IAST: Kurukullā; Tibetan: ཀུ་རུ་ཀུ་ལླཱ་, Wylie: ku ru ku l+lA, also Tibetan: རིག་བྱེད་མ་, rikjéma; Wylie: rig byed ma) = a female deity usually depicted in red with four arms, holding a bow and arrow made of flowers in one pair of hands and a hook and noose of flowers in the other pair. She dances in a dakini-pose and crushes the asura Rahu (the one who devours the sun). She is particularly associated with activities of magnetizing and enchantment. Also spelled Kurukullé.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

Kurukullé (Sanskrit) – redirects to Kurukulla.

≫ kushiki (Japanese: 九識, ku “nine” + shiki “vijñāna”) = the nine consciousnesses, a concept from Nichiren Buddhism. The ninth and final consciousness is known as Buddhanature or Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, and it cannot be tarnished by any of the previous eight levels. Nichiren Daishonin, founder of Nichiren Buddhism, theorised that one can transform one’s karma in this lifetime by achieving the final level of consciousness, and he recommended the practice of chanting the mantra Namu Myoho Renge Kyo in order to do so.
• see also: ashtavijñanakaya (eight consciousnesses)
• external links: wikipedia / Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia

≫ kusulu (Tibetan: ཀུ་སུ་ལུ་; Wylie: ku su lu) = beggar, bum; natural, uncontrived; type of yogin who does what comes naturally; shaman; one who gives up all work and frequents mountain retreats; DJKR: renunciant, wanderer, yogi; “usually found in the bar or prostitutes’ house”.

≫ kyerim (Tibetan: བསྐྱེད་རིམ་, kye rim; Wylie: bskyed rim; Sanskrit: उत्पत्तिक्रम, IAST: utpattikrama, “successive stages of creation” = उत्पत्ति, utpatti “arising, birth, production” + क्रम, krama “step, stage”) = the “generation phase” or “development phase” of practice in Vajrayana Buddhism. It is the first stage of tantric deity yoga in Highest Yoga Tantra (Anuttara Yoga Tantra), which focuses on deity visualization and mantra repetition. Kyerim comprises three stages known as the “three samadhis”, which proceed from the initial meditation on emptiness to the development of the full mandala of the deity. It is followed by dzogrim, the second stage of tantric deity yoga in Highest Yoga Tantra.
• other languages: utpattikrama (Sanskrit)
• see also: dzogrim (completion stage, the second stage of Highest Yoga Tantra); sadhana
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

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L

≫ Lalitasana (Sanskrit: ललितासन, IAST: Lalitāsana = ललित, lalita, “sport, play, dalliance” + आसन, IAST: āsana, “physical posture, pose”; Tibetan: རོལ་སྟབས་, röl tap, Wylie: rol stabs, literally “posture of play, merriment, frolicking” from རོལ་པ་, rölpa; Wylie: rol pa, “display, play, partake of, enjoy, revel”) = “the posture of royal ease” or “the royal position”; a relaxed pose typical in royal portraits and those of religious figures whose regal attributes are being emphasized. The figure sits on a throne with one leg tucked inwards on the seat and the other – usually the proper right leg – hanging down (“pendent”) to touch the ground or rest on a support (often a stylized lotus throne). The pose is very common for images that depict bodhisattvas and deities such as Tara, but rare for images of the Buddha himself, except as the “future Buddha” Maitreya.
• see also: asana (physical posture, pose)
• external links: (asana) wiktionary; (Lalitasana): wikipedia (includes images of Lalitasana as depicted in Buddhist art) / Himalayan Art

≫ Lalitavistara Sutra (Sanskrit: ललितविस्तरसूत्र, IAST: Lalitavistarasūtra = ललित, lalita, “sport, play, dalliance” + विस्तर, vistara, “extensive, long (as a story)”; Tibetan: རྒྱ་ཆེར་རོལ་པ་, gyacher rolpa; Wylie: rgya cher rol pa; literally “The Extensive Sport” or “The Play in Full”) = “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. The name Lalitavistara is often translated “The Play in Full” or “Extensive Play,” referring to the Mahayana view that the Buddha’s incarnations are a “display” or “performance” given for the benefit of sentient beings (in the same way that the nirmanakaya is considered to be a creation or manifestation for the benefit of sentient beings).
• see also: bhumisparsha (touching the ground); Buddha; sutra (includes partial list of sutras on this website)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki; (translation): 84000.co

lama (Tibetan: བླ་མ་, lama; Wylie: bla ma) = teacher, master – see guru (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Laozi (Chinese: 老子, pinyin: Lǎozǐ, literally “Old Master”; also rendered as Lao Tzu, Lao-Tze) (6th century BCE) = ancient Chinese philosopher and writer, founder of Taoism. He is the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of philosophical Taoism, and a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions. A semi-legendary figure, Laozi is usually portrayed as a 6th-century BCE contemporary of Confucius, but some modern historians consider him to have lived during the Warring States period of the 4th century BCE. The “Book of Qi” (Chinese: 齊書, pinyin: Qí Shū), a history of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi dynasty (Chinese: 顧歡傳, pinyin: Nán Qí), believes that he was reborn in India as the Buddha.
• see also: Tao Te Ching; Zhuangzi (Chinese philosopher, 4th century BCE)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

≫ lassi (Punjabi: ਲੱਸੀ, Hindi: लस्सी) = a popular traditional curd / yogurt-based drink that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Lassi is a blend of yoghurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit. Namkeen (salty) lassi is similar to doogh (Persian: دوغ, romanized: dūgh), a cold savory yogurt-based beverage mixed with salt that is widely popular in the Middle East. Sweet and mango lassis are like milkshakes, while bhang lassi is infused with cannabis in the form of bhang.
• see also: bhang (edible preparation of cannabis)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

lé (Tibetan: ལས་, lé; Wylie: las) = karma, action, law of cause and effect – see karma (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ len (Tibetan: ལེན་, Wylie: len) = accept, receive, absorb, take hold, grasp, study.
• see also: panglen (accepting and rejecting)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ lepo (Dzongkha: བུ་ཚུ་) = boy; DJKR: “idiot”. Bhutanese name given to Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche by his grandmother.

≫ Lhabab Düchen (Tibetan: ལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན་, lha bab dü chen; Wylie: lha babs dus chen) = the Divine Descent (from the Trāyastriṃśa heaven), one of the four Buddhist festivals commemorating events in the life of the Buddha according to Tibetan traditions. Lhabab Düchen occurs on the 22nd day of the ninth lunar month according to Tibetan calendar and widely celebrated in Tibet and Bhutan.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Shambhala

≫ lhak (Tibetan: ལྷག་, lhak; Wylie: lhag) = special, supreme, beyond; DJKR: “something extra”, “the real deal”, “the true colour”.
• other languages: vi- (Sanskrit, Pāli)
• see also: lhaktong (vipassana)
• external links: wiktionary

lhaktong (Tibetan: ལྷག་མཐོང་, lhaktong; Wylie: lhag mthong) = vipassana (Pāli ≫ main entry)
• other languages: vipassana (Pāli ≫ main entry)
• see also: lhak (special)

≫ lhündrup (Tibetan: ལྷུན་གྲུབ་, Wylie: lhun grub) = spontaneous presence; effortlessly naturally established.
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ lila (Sanskrit: लीला, IAST: līlā) = play, sport, amusement, diversion, pastime; within nondual schools of Hindu philosophy, lila is a way of describing how the cosmos and all reality is a manifestation of the “divine play” of the absolute (Brahman).
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ lobha (Pāli: लोभ, IAST: lobha) = attachment, greed, avarice; 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: (lobha): wiktionary; (3 poisons): wikipedia

≫ loka (Sanskrit: लोक; IAST: loka) = the inhabitants of the world, mankind, folk, people.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ lokasamvriti (Sanskrit: लोकसंवृत्ति; IAST: lokasaṃvṛtti) = right conduct (in the world); conventional.
• see also (Glossary): conventional truth
• external links: (relative truth) rigpawiki; (two truths) wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Longchenpa (Tibetan: ཀློང་ཆེན་པ་, Wylie: klong chen pa) (1308-1364) = also known as Longchen Rabjam (Tibetan: ཀློང་ཆེན་རབ་འབྱམས་, klong chen rab ‘byams, “Infinite, Vast Expanse of Space”), or Drimé Özer (Tibetan: དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་; Wylie: dri med ‘od zer) = 14th century Dzogchen master, one of the most brilliant teachers of the Nyingma lineage. He systematized the Nyingma teachings in his “Seven Treasuries” (Tibetan: མཛོད་བདུན་; Wylie: mdzod bdun) and wrote extensively on Dzogchen. He transmitted the Longchen Nyingtik cycle of teachings and practice to Jigme Lingpa, and it has since become one of the most widely practiced traditions within Tibetan Buddhism.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Treasury of Lives

Lotus Sutra = see Pundarika Sutra.

≫ lung (Tibetan: ལུང་, lung; Wylie: rlung) = scriptural transmission, reading transmission, scriptural authority.

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M

≫ 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

≫ 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.
• 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, 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 beads commonly 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 symbolize the sacred environment and dwelling place of a buddha, bodhisattva or deity, which is visualized by the practitioner in tantric practice; may be represented physically in two dimensions on cloth or paper, or made of heaps of colored sand, or in three dimensions traditionally made of wood.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / 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)
• 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) gyuma (Tibetan: སྒྱུ་མ་, gyu ma; Wylie: sgyu ma; Sanskrit: माया, IAST: māyā) = magical illusion. Like a magical illusion, things are made to appear due to the temporary coming together of causes and conditions.
(2) chuda (Tibetan: ཆུ་ཟླ་, chu da; Wylie: chu zla; Sanskrit: IAST: जलचन्द्र, jalacandra = जल jala “water” + चन्द्र candra “moon” also “glittering, shining”) = reflection of the moon in water. 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) miktrül (Tibetan: མིག་འཁྲུལ་, mik trül; Wylie: mig ‘khrul; Sanskrit: इन्द्रजाल, IAST: indrajāla) = hallucination, trompe l’oeil, visual distortion. 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) mikgyu (Tibetan: སྨིག་རྒྱུ་, mikgyu; Wylie: smig rgyu; Sanskrit: मरीची, IAST: marīcī) = mirage. Like a mirage, things appear, but they are not real.
(5) milam (Tibetan: རྨི་ལམ་, mi lam; Wylie: rmi lam; Sanskrit: स्वपन, IAST: svapana) = dream. Like a dream, objects perceived with the five senses are not there, but they appear through delusion.
(6) dranyen (Tibetan: སྒྲ་བརྙན་, dra nyen; Wylie: sgra brnyan; Sanskrit: , IAST: pratiśabda) = echo. 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) drizé drongkhyer (Tibetan: དྲི་ཟའི་གྲོང་ཁྱེར་, dri zé drong khyer; Wylie: dri za’i grong khyer; Sanskrit: गन्धर्व, IAST: gandharva) = city of gandharvas. Like a city of gandharvas, there is neither a dwelling nor anyone to dwell.
(8) 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”) = ring of fire, circle produced by whirling firebrand (i.e. optical illusion).
(9) 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”) = rainbow.
(10) lok (Tibetan: གློག་, lok; Wylie: glog; Sanskrit: विद्युत, IAST: vidyuta) = flash of lightning.
(11) chubur (Tibetan: ཆུ་བུར་, chu bur; Wylie: chu bur; Sanskrit: बुद्बुद, IAST: budbuda) = water bubbles.
(12) 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) = reflection in a mirror.
(13) trülpa (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་པ་, trül pa; Wylie: sprul pa; Sanskrit: निर्माण, IAST: nirmāṇa) = phantom, apparition or magical creation. 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

≫ 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 particularized”) = 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

≫ 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); vihara (monastery)
• external links: (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta): wikipedia; (Mrigadava) wisdom library; (Rishipatana): wisdom library; (Sarnath): wikipedia

≫ 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

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N

≫ naga (Sanskrit: नाग, IAST: nāga; Tibetan: ཀླུ་, lu; Wylie: klu; Chinese: 龍, pinyin: lóng, literally “dragon”) = a race of long-lived supernatural serpent beings who guard great treasure and protect the Dharma. In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the nagas are a semi-divine race of half-human half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala) and can occasionally take human form. They live beneath the surface of the earth or in the water, and in trees or rocks, and are believed to be endowed with magical powers and wealth, as well as being responsible for certain types of illnesses (Tibetan: ཀླུ་ནད་, Wylie: klu nad, literally “leprosy, boils, sores”). In Indian mythology they are preyed on by the garudas. The naga tradition comes from the ancient snake cults of India, which probably date back to the Indus valley civilisation and were assimilated into Buddhism at an early date. In the Chinese tradition, naga is translated as “dragon” and nagas are represented using traditional Chinese dragon imagery. The two chief disciples of the Buddha, Shariputra and Maudgalyayana are both referred to as Mahānāga or “Great naga”. Some of the most important Buddhist masters symbolize nagas in their names, such as Dignaga (5th century CE, one of the founders of Buddhist logic), Nagasena (2nd century BCE, a Sarvastivadan Buddhist sage), and Nagarjuna (2nd-3rd century CE, the founder of the Madhyamaka). Muchalinda is a naga king who protected Gautama Buddha from a huge rainstorm after his enlightenment, as depicted in images of the Buddha seated in meditation under a seven-headed snake.¹⁰.
• see also: Sagaranagarajaparipraccha (“The Questions of the Naga King Sagara”, a Mahayana sutra)
• external links: (naga): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Himalayan Art; (Muchalinda): wikipedia / Metropolitan Museum of Art

≫ Nagananda (Sanskrit: नागानन्द; IAST: nāgānanda; Tibetan: ཀླུ་ཀུན་ཏུ་དགའ་བའི་ཟློས་གར་, lu kün tu gawé dö gar; Wylie: klu kun tu dga’ ba’i zlos gar) = the Sanskrit play “Joy of the serpents” (DJKR: “The play that makes the nagas happy”), attributed to King Harshavardhana (c. 590-647 CE), translated into Tibetan by Shongton Dorje Gyaltsen, available online as TBRC work W21861.
• see also: naga (supernatural serpent beings)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ Nagarjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, IAST: nāgārjuna; Tibetan: ཀླུ་གྲུབ་, ludrup; Wylie: klu grub; Chinese: 龍樹, pinyin: Lóngshù) (c. 150-250 CE), 2nd/3rd century Indian Buddhist philosopher, founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism. His text “Root Verses on the Middle Way” (Mulamadhyamakakarika) is considered the most influential Madhyamaka text. Commentaries on the 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.
• see also: madhyamaka (middle way); Mulamadhyamakakarika (The Root Verses on the Middle Way by Nagarjuna); naga (supernatural serpent beings)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Himalayan Art

≫ nakdzi (Tibetan: གནག་རྫི་, nakdzi; Wylie: gnag rdzi; Dzongkha: ཝ་དི་པ་, wadipa) = cowherd.

≫ Nalanda (Sanskrit: नालन्दा, IAST: Nālandā; Tibetan: ནཱ་ལེནྡྲ་; Wylie: nA len+dra) = The university of Nalanda was the largest and most famous of the ancient Indian monastic universities, and was one of the greatest centres of learning in the world from the 5th to the 12th centuries CE. It was an ancient Mahavihara (great vihara), a revered Buddhist monastery and renowned centre of learning in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar) in India. It gained its legendary status due to its contribution to the emergence of India as a great power around the 4th century. Much of our knowledge of Nalanda comes from the writings of pilgrim monks from Asia, such as Xuanzang and Yijing, who travelled to the Mahavihara in the 7th century. Many of the great scholars and masters who developed the Mahayana and Madhyamaka are listed by Xuanzang as alumni of Nalanda, including Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti and Shantideva. Nalanda continued to flourish under the support of the Pala Empire (8th to 12th centuries CE), but it was burned by Turkic Islamic raiders under Muhammad Khilji in 1193, which marked a milestone in the decline of Indian Buddhism.
• external links: (Nalanda): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Treasury of Lives; (17 Nalanda masters): rigpawiki

naljor (Tibetan: རྣལ་འབྱོར་, naljor / nenjor; Wylie: rnal ‘byor) = yoga (Sanskrit ≫ main entry); DJKR: “the wealth of being natural”.
• external links: wiktionary

naljor ngönsum (Tibetan: རྣལ་འབྱོར་མངོན་སུམ་, naljor ngönsum / nenjor ngönsum; Wylie: rnal ‘byor mngon sum; Sanskrit: योगिप्रत्यक्ष, yogipratyaksha; IAST: yogi + pratyakṣa) = yogic direct perception – see yogipratyaksha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• see also: ngönsum zhi (4 kinds of direct perception)

≫ namshé (Tibetan: རྣམ་ཤེས་, Wylie: rnam shes; Sanskrit: विज्ञान, IAST: vijñāna “discernment, understanding, comprehension”) = consciousness (one of the 12 links of dependent origination). Namshé (vijñana) is traditionally depicted as a monkey swinging from a tree, representing the way we tend to leap from one thought to another in an uncontrolled manner.
• see also: dvadasha pratityasamutpada (12 links of dependent origination).
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ nam tar go sum (Tibetan: རྣམ་ཐར་སྒོ་གསུམ་, nam tar go sum; Wylie: rnam thar sgo gsum, also Tibetan: རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པའི་སྒོ་གསུམ་, nampar tarpé go sum; Wylie: rnam par thar pa’i sgo gsum) = the 3 doors of liberation
• [the ground is] emptiness (Sanskrit: शून्यता, shunyata; IAST: śūnyatā ; Tibetan: སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་, tongpa nyi, Wylie: stong pa nyid)
• [the path is] without characteristics (signlessness) (Sanskrit: अनिमित्त, IAST: animitta ; Tibetan: མཚན་ཉིད་མེད་པ་, tsen nyi mépa, Wylie: mtshan nyid med pa)
• [the result is] beyond aspiration (wishlessness, aimlessness ; DJKR “un-longable”) (Sanskrit: अप्रणिहित, IAST: apraṇihita ; Tibetan: སྨོན་པ་མེད་པ་, mönpa mépa, Wylie: smon pa med pa)
• see also: drébu mönpa mépa (the result is beyond aspiration) ; shunyata (emptiness)
• external links: rigpawiki / Lion’s Roar

≫ Namu Myoho Renge Kyo (Japanese: 南無妙法蓮華經 alternate spelling 南無妙法蓮華経, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō) = “Glory to the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra”, a mantra chanted within Nichiren Buddhism. (Myōhō Renge Kyō is the Japanese name of the Lotus Sutra).
• see also: kushiki (the nine consciousnesses in Nichiren Buddhism); Pundarika Sutra (The Lotus Sutra)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ nangtsam (Tibetan: སྣང་ཙམ་, nang tsam; Wylie: snang tsam) = mere appearance, mere impression, mere presence.

≫ nangtsül (Tibetan: སྣང་ཚུལ་; Wylie: snang tshul) = how things appear; the way it seems; mode of appearing; apparent condition.
• see also: (contrasted with): nétsül (how things are in reality)

≫ Narak Kong Shak (Tibetan: ན་རཀ་སྐོང་བཤགས་, Wylie: na rak skong bshags) = a practice of confession and fulfillment, “Stirring the Depths of Hell: The King of Confessions for All Violations, Negative Actions, and Obscurations”, treasured within the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, compiled from the termas of Guru Chökyi Wangchuk and Rigdzin Gödem.
• external links: rigpawiki / Lotsawa House

≫ Naro Chödruk (Tibetan: ན་རོའི་ཆོས་དྲུག་, na rö chö druk; Wylie: nA ro’i chos drug, “Naro’s Six Doctrines”; also referred to the Six Yogas, Tibetan: ཆོས་དྲུག་, chö druk; Wylie: chos drug, “six teachings”; Sanskrit: षड्धर्म, IAST: ṣaḍdharma = षड् ṣaḍ– “six” + धर्म dharma “practice, discipline, teaching”) = the Six Yogas of Naropa, a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices compiled by the Indian mahasiddhas Tilopa and Naropa and passed on to the Tibetan translator-yogi Marpa Lotsawa. They form the basis of the inner yoga practices of Mahamudra, as practised in the Kagyu and Gelug schools. They are: tummo, illusory body, dream, luminosity, bardo, and phowa.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Naropa (Sanskrit: नारोप, IAST: Nāropa (wikipedia has Nāropā); Sanskrit: नारोपदा, IAST: Nāropadā or Sanskrit: अभयकिर्ति, IAST: Abhayakirti; Tibetan: ནཱ་རོ་པ་, Wylie: nA ro pa) (956-1040), an important 10th/11th century Indian Buddhist master in the Kagyu tradition. Naropa was born to a Brahmin family in Bengal, and from an early age he wanted to follow a path of study and meditation. Following his parents’ wishes, he agreed to an arranged marriage with a young Brahmin girl, but after eight years they agreed to dissolve their marriage and both became ordained. At the age of 28, Naropa entered the famous Buddhist University at Nalanda where he studied both Sutra and Tantra, and he became a great scholar and debater. But one day a dakini appeared to him and he realized that he need to leave to monastery to find his teacher to attain full realization. He became a student of the mahasiddha Tilopa and subsequently a teacher of Marpa the translator, who became one of his lineage-holders and brought his teachings to Tibet, thus becoming the founder of the Kagyu lineages in Tibet. Naropa is author of the famous Six Yogas of Naropa, and is counted as one of the 84 mahasiddhas.
• see also: mahasiddha; Naro Chödruk (Six Yogas of Naropa); Tilopa (one of the 84 mahasiddhas)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Himalayan Art / Treasury of Lives

≫ Nataraja (Sanskrit: नटराज, IAST: Naṭarāja = naṭa + rāja; Tamil: நடராஜர்; literally “Lord of the Dance”) = Lord of the Dance, the Hindu god Shiva as the divine dancer. Every Shiva temple has a shrine dedicated to Shiva in the form of Naṭarāja performing the Ānanda Tāṇḍava, the “Dance of Bliss”, a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution.
• external links: (Nataraja): wiktionary / wikipedia / wisdom library; (Tandava): wikipedia

≫ natho (Pāli: नाथो, IAST: nātho) = protector, refuge, savior, lord, master, chief. Appears in the famous quotation from the Dhammapada, Dhp. XII:160: “You are your own refuge; who else could be your refuge?” (Pāli: अत्ता हि अत्तनो नाथो, को हि नाथो परो सिया, Attā hi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā).
• quotes: “You are your own refuge”

nenjor ngönsum (Tibetan) = redirects to naljor ngönsum.

≫ nétsül (Tibetan: གནས་ཚུལ་; Wylie: gnas tshul) = how things are (in reality); the way it is; abiding mode (of reality).
• see also: (contrasted with): nangtsül (how things appear)

ngédön (Tibetan: ངེས་དོན, ngé dön; Wylie: nges don) = (teachings of) definitive meaning – see nitartha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)

≫ ngéjung (Tibetan: ངེས་འབྱུང་, ngéjung; Wylie: nges ‘byung) = renunciation, renunciation mind.

≫ ngöndro (Tibetan: སྔོན་འགྲོ་, ngön dro; Wylie: sngon ‘gro; Sanskrit: पूर्वक, IAST: pūrvaka) = preliminary practices; the preliminary, preparatory or foundational practices or disciplines (sadhana) common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

ngönsum (Tibetan: མངོན་སུམ་, ngön sum; Wylie: mngon sum) = direct perception, direct cognition – see pratyaksha.
• other languages: pratyaksha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)
• see also: ngönsum zhi (4 kinds of direct perception)

≫ ngönsum zhi (Tibetan: མངོན་སུམ་བཞི་, ngön sum zhi; Wylie: mngon sum bzhi) = the 4 kinds of direct perception or direct cognition (this four-fold classification is shared by other schools of Indian and Hindu philosophy, see: wikipedia):
(1) indriyapratyaksha (sense perception);
(2) manasapratyaksha (mental perception);
(3) svasamvedana (self-cognition);
(4) yogipratyaksha (yogic direct perception) (which is gained after dualistic defilements have been removed).
• see also: pratyaksha (perception, cognition)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ ngotrö (Tibetan: ངོ་སྤྲོད་, ngo trö; Wylie: ngo sprod) = pointing-out instruction, the direct introduction to the nature of mind in the Tibetan Buddhist lineages of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. In these traditions, a “root guru” gives the pointing-out instruction in such a way that the disciple successfully recognizes the nature of mind. One of the most famous and most beautiful quotes from the Dzogchen tradition captures the essence of the moment when Patrul Rinpoche gave a pointing-out instruction and introduced the nature of mind to his student Nyoshul Lungtok.
• quotes: “Do you see the stars up there in the sky?” (when Patrul Rinpoche introduced the nature of mind to Nyoshul Lungtok)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ ngowo rangzhin tukjé (Tibetan: ངོ་བོ་རང་བཞིན་ཐུགས་རྗེ་, Wylie: ngo bo rang bzhin thugs rje) = essence, nature and capacity – the three aspects of the ground (zhi), the primordial state that is also Buddhanature (Sugatagarbha) and the nature of mind (cittata or semnyi), according to the Dzogchen system. These 3 aspects are:
• (dharmakaya): The essence (ngowo) is the primordially pure (kadak) wisdom of emptiness (tongpa nyi).
• (sambhogakaya): The nature (rangzhin) is the spontaneously present (lhündrup) wisdom of cognizance (or clarity) (sel).
• (nirmanakaya): The capacity (or compassionate energy/manifestation/display) (tukjé) is the all-pervasive wisdom of indivisibility (yermé).
These three aspects are considered to be the ultimate identity of the Three Roots (Guru, Yidam, Dakini), the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) and the three kayas (as ground: dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, nirmanakaya; as path: bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality). Knowledge/realization of this ground is called rigpa.
• see also: ösel (clarity, luminosity) ; semnyi (nature of mind) ; sugatagarbha (buddhanature)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki ; (Mipham Rinpoche on The Nature of Mind): Lotsawa House

≫ nirmana (Sanskrit: निर्माण, IAST: nirmāṇa) = forming, making, creating, creation, created thing or form, transformation.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ nirmanakaya (Sanskrit: निर्माणकाय, IAST: nirmāṇakāya; Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, trülku; Wylie: sprul sku; Chinese: 化身 / 化身, pinyin: huàshēn, literally “transformation body”) = the body of transformations; the physical manifestation of a buddha in time and space; one of the three bodies (trikaya) of a buddha in Mahayana Buddhism; the nirmanakaya is one of the two aspects of the form body (rupakaya) along with the sambhogakaya.
• see also: dharmakaya (“truth body”); kaya (body, dimension); nirmana (creation, created thing or form, transformation); rupakaya (“form body”); sambhogakaya (“body of enjoyment”); trikaya (three bodies of a buddha); tulku (emanation body)
• external links: (nirmanakaya): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki; (trikaya): wikipedia

≫ nirodha (Pāli & Sanskrit: निरोध, IAST Sanskrit: nirodha, IAST Pāli: nirodha; Tibetan: འགོག་པ་, gokpa; Wylie: ‘gog pa; Burmese: နိေရာဓ) = cessation, suppression, annihilation, extinction; the third of the 4 Noble Truths.
• see also: cattari ariyasaccani (4 Noble Truths)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, IAST: nirvāṇa; Tibetan: མྱང་འདས་, nyandé; Wylie: myang ‘das; Chinese: 涅槃, pinyin: nièpán) = extinction (as a verb, “to enter extinction”), extinguished (as a lamp or fire); blown or put out; the condition where the flames of delusion have been blown out, the final goal and attainment in Indian religions. In Hinduism, nirvana is the extinction of worldly desires and attachments, so that the union with God or the absolute is possible; absolute extinction or annihilation, complete extinction of individual existence. In Buddhism, nirvana was originally equivalent to the state of enlightenment attained by the Buddha, meaning the state that can be reached by extinguishing all illusions and destroying all karma (which is the cause of rebirth), and thus resulting in the cessation of suffering. In Mahayana Buddhism, nirvana becomes distinguished from enlightenment, becoming a secondary level attainment of those who follow the Shravakayana path.
• other languages: nyandé (Tibetan)
• 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: moksha (liberation, release), samsara (cyclic existence)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ nitartha (Sanskrit: नीतार्थ, IAST: nītārtha “of plain or clear meaning”; Tibetan: ངེས་དོན, ngé dön; Wylie: nges don) = (teachings of) definitive meaning, as contrasted with teachings that require interpretation (neyartha)
• other languages: ngédön (Tibetan)
• external links: (two truths doctrine): wikipedia

≫ nyam [homophone of two different Tibetan words]:
(1) (Tibetan: མཉམ་, Wylie: mnyam) = even, equal, alike, level.
(2) (Tibetan: ཉམས་, Wylie: nyams) = experience, temporary experience, meditative experience.
• see also (for Tibetan: མཉམ་, Wylie: mnyam): nyamzhak (meditative equipoise)
• see also (for Tibetan: ཉམས་, Wylie: nyams): nyamlen (Dharma practice); nyamsum (the three meditation experiences)

≫ nyamlen (Tibetan: ཉམས་ལེན་, nyamlen; Wylie: nyams len) = Dharma practice, spiritual practice, to put into practice (as opposed to theory), application.

nyampar zhakpa (Tibetan: མཉམ་པར་བཞག་པ་, Wylie: mnyam par bzhag pa) = redirects to nyamzhak.

≫ nyamsum (Tibetan: ཉམས་གསུམ་, nyam sum; Wylie: nyams gsum) = the three meditation experiences (or “moods”) of bliss, clarity and nonthought (or nonconceptuality).
• see also: dewé nyam (bliss), selwé nyam (clarity), mi tokpé nyam (nonconceptuality)
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ nyamzhak (Tibetan: མཉམ་བཞག་, nyam zhak; Wylie: mnyam bzhag; Sanskrit: समाहित, IAST: samāhita) = meditative equipoise; evenly resting; the state of even contemplation.
• see also: zhak (put, place, “leave it alone”)

nyandé (Tibetan: མྱང་འདས་, nyandé; Wylie: myang ‘das) = nirvana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

nyéjung (Tibetan) = redirects to ngéjung.

≫ nyéring chakdang (Tibetan: ཉེ་རིང་ཆགས་སྡང་; Wylie: nye ring chags sdang) = with partiality and prejudice to those close and distant; DJKR: “not yet free from distinctions and references, such as closeness or distance”.

≫ nyi (Tibetan: ཉིད་; Wylie: nyid) = (1) -ness, [used to form abstract nouns ; (2) it, itself, the very, the same, namely, just, only, exactly ; (3) self, itself, oneself ; (4) nature.
• see also: tongpa nyi (emptiness)

≫ nyidzin (Tibetan: གཉིས་འཛིན་, nyidzin; Wylie: gnyis ‘dzin) = dualism, dualistic perception; dualistic grasping, dualistic fixation; subject-object dualism; the ordinary perception of unenlightened beings; the apprehension of phenomena in terms of subject (consciousness) and object (mental images and the outer world), and the belief in their true existence.
• see also: yin-yang (dualism in Taoism)
• external links: (dualism in Indian philosophy): wikipedia

nyingjé (Tibetan: སྙིང་རྗེ་, nyingjé; Wylie: snying rje) = compassion, the wish to free all beings from suffering and the causes of suffering – see karuna (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• see also: tukjé (compassion)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Nyingma (Tibetan: རྙིང་མ་, Wylie: rnying ma; literally “ancient”) = the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (the other three are the Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug). Also often referred to as Ngangyur (Tibetan: སྔ་འགྱུར་རྙིང་མ་, ngagyur nyingma; Wylie: snga ‘gyur rnying ma, literally “school of the ancient translations” or “old school”) because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Old Tibetan in the 8th century, for which the Tibetan alphabet and grammar were created. The Nyingma particularly believes in terma (hidden treasure teachings) and places an emphasis on Dzogchen as the highest of the nine vehicles.
• see also: Dzogchen, Jigme Lingpa, Padmasambhava
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ nyöndrip (Tibetan: ཉོན་སྒྲིབ་, nyöndrip; Wylie: nyon sgrib; Sanskrit: क्लेशावरण, IAST: kleśāvaraṇa from क्लेश + आवरण, IAST: kleśa + āvaraṇa; Chinese: 煩惱障 / 烦恼障, pinyin: fánnǎo zhàng) = emotional obscurations, afflictive obstructions, obstructions to liberation.
• 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)

nyönmong (Tibetan (1): ཉོན་མོང་, nyönmong; Wylie: nyon mong; Tibetan (2): ཉོན་མོངས་, Wylie: nyon mongs) = afflictive emotions – see klesha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ nyönpa (Tibetan: སྨྱོན་པ་; Wylie: smyon pa “insane”; Sanskrit: अवधूत, IAST: avadhūta, “one who has shaken off (worldly obligations and concerns)”) = madman, crazy yogi. A nyönpa is a free spirit who follows the rule of spontaneity and intuition, without following conventional societal rules for outward behavior. Instead, they are known for behaviors such as wandering homeless, consuming substances considered impure, drinking alcohol and eating meat, singing and dancing, and engaging in sexual relations. However, they dedicate their lives to renunciation and the path of enlightenment, and they inwardly follow traditional formal disciplines and practices of the spiritual path.
• see also: Thangtong Gyalpo
• external links: (nyönpa): wiktionary / wikipedia; (Crazy Yogins During the Early Renaissance Period): THLIB

≫ Nyoshul Lungtok (Tibetan: སྨྱོ་ཤུལ་ལུང་རྟོགས་བསྟན་པའི་ཉི་མ་, Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpé Nyima; Wylie: smyo shul lung rtogs bstan pa’i nyi ma) (1829-1901) = a 19th century Tibetan master who received the Dzogchen teachings from Patrul Rinpoche and is regarded as his greatest disciple. He is also regarded as an emanation of Shantarakshita. One of the most famous and most beautiful quotes from the Dzogchen tradition captures the essence of the moment when Nyoshul Lungtok received the pointing-out instruction from Patrul Rinpoche.
• quotes: “Do you see the stars up there in the sky?” (when Patrul Rinpoche introduced the nature of mind to Nyoshul Lungtok)
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki / TBRC

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O

≫ OM (Sanskrit: ॐ, IAST: Oṃ) = sacred sound and spiritual symbol in Indian religions. In Hinduism, it signifies the essence of the ultimate reality, consciousness or Atman; in Buddhism, it is the seed syllable for the body of all the buddhas.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ OM MANI PADME HUM (Sanskrit: ॐ मणिपद्मे हूँ, IAST: Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ; Tibetan: ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པ་དྨེ་ཧཱུ།, om mani pémé hung; Wylie: oM ma Ni pa d+me hU~M) = The six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteshvara (also known as the “Mani mantra”).
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ OM MUNE MUNE MAHAMUNAYE SVAHA (Sanskrit: ॐ मुने मुने महामुनये स्वाहा, IAST: Oṃ mune mune mahāmunaye svāhā; variation: ॐ मुनि मुनि महामुनि शाक्यमुनि स्वाहा, IAST: Oṃ muni muni mahāmuni śākyamuni svāhā; also known as the “Heart Mantra of the Great Sage”, Sanskrit: मुनीन्द्रहृदयमन्त्र, IAST: munīndrahṛdayamantra) = The Shakyamuni mantra.
• DJKR Teaching: “Touching Base“, given online from Khyentse Labrang, Bir, India, September 12, 2020.
• see also: Shakyamuni
• external links: (Shakyamuni mantra): rigpawiki / Tashi Mannox calligraphy; (Bhumisparsha recitation of 100 million Shakyamuni mantras): Siddhartha’s Intent India

OM MUNI MUNI MAHAMUNI SHAKYAMUNI SVAHA = variation of the Shakyamuni mantra – see OM MUNE MUNE MAHAMUNAYE SVAHA (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)

≫ oryoki (Japanese: 応量器, ōryōki; also called はったら, hattara, transliteration of Sanskrit: पात्र, IAST: pātra) = a set of nested bowls (“vessel that contains just enough”) and other eating utensils for the personal use of Buddhist monks; the formal style of serving and eating meals practiced in Zen temples.
• external links: wikipedia

≫ ösel (Tibetan: འོད་གསལ་, ösel; Wylie: ’od gsal ; Sanskrit: प्रभास्वर, prabhāsvara “brilliant, bright, shining”, also आभास्वर, ābhāsvarā “shining, bright” ; Chinese: 光明, pinyin: guāngmíng, “radiance” also 光徹, pinyin: guāngchè, “brilliant”) = clarity, luminosity; clear light. Thrangu Rinpoche notes that when referring to the clarity or luminosity of Buddhanature, “luminosity does not refer to physical light or some kind of physical radiance. In this context, luminosity simply refers to the cognitive capacity or awareness, which is the defining characteristic of a mind.”
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; selwa (clarity, luminosity)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Nalanda Translation

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P

≫ paan (Hindi: पान, pān, lit. “betel vine”; from Sanskrit: पर्ण, IAST: parṇa, meaning “leaf”) = a stimulating, psychoactive preparation of betel leaf combined with areca nut and/or cured tobacco that is widely consumed in Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
• see also: binglang (Taiwanese equivalent of paan)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

Padmakara (Sanskrit: पद्माकर, IAST: padmākara = padma “lotus” + kara “made, produced”; Tibetan: པདྨཱ་ཀ་ར་, Wylie: pad+mA ka ra) – see Padmasambhava (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• other names: Guru Rinpoche; Padmasambhava (Sanskrit ≫main entry)

≫ Padmasambhava (Sanskrit: पद्मसम्भव, IAST: padmasambhava = padma “lotus” + sambhava “born, arisen from”; literally “lotus-born”, “born from a lotus”; Tibetan: པདྨ་འབྱུང་གནས་, Pemajungné; Wylie: pad+ma ‘byung gnas) = Guru Rinpoche, the “Precious Master”, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism in the 8th or 9th century (also known as Padmakara). According to tradition, Padmasambhava was incarnated as an eight-year-old child appearing in a lotus blossom floating in Lake Dhanakosha, in the kingdom of Oddiyana (located variously by scholars as being in the Swat Valley of modern-day Pakistan or the present-day state of Odisha in India). He helped to construct the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye, at the behest of King Trisong Deutsen (who ruled c. 755-797/804 CE). While Buddha Shakyamuni exemplifies the buddha principle, the most important element in the sutrayana path, Padmasambhava personifies the guru principle, the heart of Vajrayana Buddhism, and he is therefore known as the ‘second Buddha’ (Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་གཉིས་པ་, sangyé nyipa; Wylie: sangs rgyas gnyis pa). The Nyingma school considers Padmasambhava to be a founder of the Nyingma lineage and tradition.
• other names: Guru Rinpoche; Padmakara
• see also: Dzogchen; Nyingma; tertön
• external links: (Padmasambhava): wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art; (8 manifestations of Guru Rinpoche): wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Himalayan Art; (25 disciples of Guru Rinpoche): rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

≫ pañchabuddha (Sanskrit: पञ्चबुद्ध, IAST pañca “five” + buddha; Tibetan: སྐུ་ལྔ་རྒྱལ་པོ་, Wylie: sku lnga rgyal po; Chinese: 五佛, pinyin: wǔfó) = the five dhyani-buddhas (also known as the five tathagatas) of the five buddha families, which correspond to the five wisdoms. In the vajradhātu mandala (Chinese: 金剛界曼荼羅, pinyin: jīngāng jiè màntúluó) the five are:
• Mahavairocana (Chinese: 毘盧遮那, pinyin: Pílúzhēnà) (white)
• Akshobhya (Chinese: 阿閦, pinyin: Āchù) (blue)
• Ratnasambhava (Chinese: 寶生, pinyin: Bǎoshēng) (yellow)
• Amitabha (Chinese: 阿彌陀, pinyin: Āmítuó) (red)
• Amoghasiddhi (Chinese: 不空成就, pinyin: Bùkōng chéngjiù) (green)
• see also: pañchakula (five buddha families); pañchatathagata (five tathagatas)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Britannica / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Himalayan Art

≫ pañchakula (Sanskrit: पञ्चकुल, IAST pañca “five” + kula “race, family, tribe, caste”; Tibetan: རིགས་ལྔ་, rik nga’; Wylie: rigs lnga; Chinese: 五族如來, pinyin: wǔzú rúlái) = the five buddha families, which correspond to the five poisons and the five wisdoms (or five aspects of timeless awareness) as follows:
• buddha (centre/white) | delusion/ignorance | wisdom of dharmadhatu (Sanskrit: dharmadhātujñāna; Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས་ཀྱི་ཡེ་ཤེས་, chökyi yingkyi yeshe; Wylie: chos kyi dbyings kyi ye shes; Chinese: 法界體性智, pinyin: fǎjiè tǐxìng zhì)
• vajra (east/blue) | anger | mirror-like wisdom (Sanskrit: ādarśajñāna; Tibetan: མེ་ལོང་ལྟ་བུའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་, melong tabü yeshe; Wylie: me long lta bu’i ye shes; Chinese: 大圓鏡智, pinyin: dà yuánjing zhì)
• ratna (or jewel) (south/yellow) | pride | wisdom of equality (Sanskrit: samatājñāna; Tibetan: མཉམ་ཉིད་ཡེ་ཤེས་, nyam nyi yeshe; Wylie: mnyam nyid ye shes; Chinese: 平等性智, pinyin: píngděng xìng zhì)
• padma (or lotus) (west/red) | desire | wisdom of discernment (Sanskrit: pratyavekṣanājñāna; Tibetan: སོ་སོར་རྟོག་པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་, sosor tokpé yeshe; Wylie: so sor rtog pa’i ye shes; Chinese: 妙觀察智, pinyin: miào guānchá zhì)
• karma (or action) (north/green) | jealousy | all-accomplishing wisdom (Sanskrit: kṛtyānuṣṭhānajñāna; Tibetan: བྱ་བ་གྲུབ་པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་, jawa drubpé yeshe; Wylie: bya ba grub pa’i ye shes; Chinese: 成所作智, pinyin: chéng suǒzuò zhì)
• see also: pañchabuddha (five dhyani-buddhas); pañchakleshavisha (five poisons); yeshe nga (five wisdoms)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ pañchakleshavisha (Sanskrit: पञ्चक्लेशविष, pañcha kleshavisha; IAST: pañca kleśaviṣa = पञ्च pañca “five” + क्लेश kleśa “pain, affliction, trouble”+ विष viṣa “poison, anything actively pernicious”; Tibetan: དུག་ལྔ་, duk nga; Wylie: dug lnga) = the five poisons in the Mahayana tradition. The five poisons consist of the three poisons (trivisha) of delusion/ignorance, attachment and aversion, together with two additional poisons: pride and jealousy. When their nature is realized, they manifest as the five wisdoms, which correspond to the five buddha families.
• see also: trivisha (three poisons)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

panchashila (Sanskrit) = redirects to pañchashila.

≫ pañchashila (Sanskrit: पञ्चशील, pañcaśīla; Pāli: pañcasīla; Tibetan: དགེ་བསྙེན་གྱི་སྡོམ་པ་, gé nyen gyi dom pa; Wylie: dge bsnyen gyi sdom pa) = the five precepts or five vows, the most important system of morality for Buddhist laypeople. To follow the five precepts is to vow to abstain from: killing, theft, sexual misconduct, falsehood and intoxication.
• see also: bhikshu (male monastic); bhikshuni (female monastic); upasaka (male lay practitioner); upasika (female lay practitioner)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

pañchatathagata (Sanskrit: पञ्चतथागत, IAST: pañca-tathāgata; Tibetan: སྐུ་ལྔ་རྒྱལ་པོ་, ku nga gyel po; Wylie: sku lnga rgyal po; Chinese: 五如來, pinyin: wǔ rúlái) = the five tathagatas or five dhyāni-buddhas of the five buddha families, which correspond to the five wisdoms – see pañchabuddha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Britannica / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / Himalayan Art

≫ pandita (Sanskrit: पण्डित, IAST: paṇḍita; Tibetan: མཁས་པ་, khepa; Wylie: mkhas pa) = learned master, scholar (lit. “learned one”); professor in Buddhist philosophy.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ panglen (Tibetan: སྤང་བླང་, panglen / panglang; Wylie: spang len / spang blang) = accept and reject, accepting and rejecting, adopt or abandon.
• see also: len (receive, accept, absorb, take hold, grasp, study)

paramartha-satya (Sanskrit) = ultimate truth, ultimate reality – see döndam denpa (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

≫ paramita (Pāli & Sanskrit: पारमिता, IAST: pāramitā = पार, pāra, “the further bank or shore or boundary, the opposite side, the end or limit, the utmost reach or fullest extent” + √मी, root word mī, “going, moving”; Tibetan: ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་, parol tu chinpa; Wylie: pha rol tu phyin pa; also Pāli: पारमी, IAST: pāramī; Burmese: ပါရမီ; Chinese: 波羅蜜 / 波罗蜜, pinyin: bōluómì) = perfection, transcendent perfection, transcendental perfection, transcendental virtue. Noble character qualities and virtues generally associated with enlightened beings and cultivated on the Buddhist path. Literally means “reaching the other shore” or “gone to the other shore”. Particularly, it means transcending concepts of subject, object and action. The bodhisattva path comprises the cultivation of six paramitas (generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom) – see shatparamita.
• 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

≫ parinirvana (Sanskrit: परिनिर्वाण, IAST: parinirvāṇa = परि pari “fully” + निर्वाण nirvāṇa “extinguished”; Tibetan: ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ་, yong su nya ngen lé dé pa; Wylie: yongs su mya ngan las ‘das pa, also shortened to ཡོངས་སུ་མྱང་འདས་, yongsu nyangdé; Wylie: yongs su myang ‘das) = completely extinguished; refers to final enlightenment or passing beyond suffering manifested by buddhas and highly realized masters at the end of their lives.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ parishuddhi (Sanskrit: परिशुद्धि, IAST: pariśuddhi = परि pari “fully” + शुद्धि śuddhi “cleansing, purification, purity, holiness, freedom from defilement, purificatory rite”) = complete purification.
• external links: wisdom library

≫ Parnashavari ((Hindi: पार्णशबरी, Parṇaśavarī; Chinese: 葉衣菩薩, pinyin: Yèyī púsà; Tibetan: ལོ་མ་གྱོན་མ་, Loma Gyönma; Wylie: lo ma gyon ma, “leaf-clad goddess”) = a Hindu deity adopted as the Buddhist deity of diseases, who offers protection against outbreaks of epidemics.
• external links: wikipedia / Himalayan Art

≫ passana (Pāli: पस्सना, IAST: passanā; Sanskrit: पश्यन, IAST: paśyana, from Sanskrit: पश्य, IAST: paśya, “seeing, beholding, rightly understanding”, from root word √पश्, IAST: paś, “binding, fastening” as in बन्धन, bandhana; Tibetan: མཐོང་, tong; Wylie: mthong) = seeing.
• other languages: tong (Tibetan)
• see also: vipassana (special seeing, special insight)

≫ Patrul Rinpoche (Tibetan: དཔལ་སྤྲུལ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།; Wylie: dpal sprul rin po che; also Patrul Orgyen Jigme Chökyi Wangpo དཔལ་སྤྲུལ་ཨོ་རྒྱན་འཇིགས་མེད་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབང་པོ།, Wylie: rdza dpal sprul o rgyan ‘jigs med chos kyi dbang po) (1808-1887) = a great 19th century Rimé (nonsectarian) master from the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. One of the foremost masters and scholars of his time, known not only for his scholarship and learning but also for his example of renunciation and compassion. He is regarded as the speech emanation of Jigme Lingpa, and his principal teacher was Jigme Gyalwé Nyugu, a great master who was one of the foremost students of Jigme Lingpa. From Jigme Gyalwé Nyugu he received the teachings on the preliminary practices of the Longchen Nyingtik at least 25 times. His most famous works include “The Words of My Perfect Teacher” (Tibetan: ཀུན་བཟང་བླ་མའི་ཞལ་ལུང་, Kunzang Lamé Shyalung; Wylie: kun bzang bla ma’i zhal lung), an explanation of the Longchen Nyingtik ngöndro, and “Special Teaching of the Wise and Glorious King” (Tibetan: མཁས་པ་ཤྲཱི་རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁྱད་ཆོས་, khépa shri gyalpö khyé chö; Wylie: mkhas pa shrI rgyal po’i khyad chos), his profound commentary on Garab Dorje’s seminal Dzogchen text “Three Words That Strike The Vital Point” (Tibetan: ཚིག་གསུམ་གནད་བརྡེགས་, tsik sum né dek, Wylie: tshig gsum gnad brdegs, “Hitting the Essence in Three Words”). One of the most famous and most beautiful quotes from the Dzogchen tradition captures the essence of the moment when Patrul Rinpoche gave a pointing-out instruction and introduced the nature of mind to his student Nyoshul Lungtok.
• quotes: “Do you see the stars up there in the sky?” (when Patrul Rinpoche introduced the nature of mind to Nyoshul Lungtok)
• external links: (Patrul Rinpoche): wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Treasury of Lives / Lotsawa House / TBRC; (“Enlightened Vagabond: The Life and Teachings of Patrul Rinpoche” by Matthieu Ricard): rywiki

Pön (Tibetan) = redirects to Bon.

≫ poppa (Tibetan: སྤོབས་པ་. pop pa; Wylie: spobs pa) = self-confidence, courage, fearlessness.

≫ prajña (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञा, IAST: prajña; Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་, shérab / shérap; Wylie: shes rab; Chinese: 智慧 / 智慧, pinyin: zhìhuì) = precise discernment; wisdom; knowing correctly, clearly and fully, discriminating awareness; intelligence, knowledge; transcendent knowledge, sublime knowing; the sixth of the 6 paramitas (in the Mahayana path) and the third aspect of the 3-fold training (in the Theravada path). DJKR: “Discipline to become acquainted with and actually realize the truth. Basically, wisdom.”
• other languages: sherab (Tibetan)
• note (multiple translations): prajña (precise discernment, transcendent knowledge) and jñana (primordial wisdom) are both translated into English as “wisdom”
• 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)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ prajñaparamita (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञपारमिता, IAST: prajñapāramitā = प्रज्ञा prajña “wisdom” + पारमिता pāramitā “perfection”; Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་, sherab kyi paröltu chin pa; Wylie: shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa, also shortened to Tibetan: ཤེར་ཕྱིན་, sherchin; Wylie: sher phyin; Chinese: 般若波羅蜜, pinyin: bōrě bōluómì) = “The Perfection of (Transcendent) Wisdom”, the sixth of the 6 paramitas, the perfection of nondual or nonconceptual wisdom. In Mahayana Buddhism, Prajñaparamita refers to: (1) seeing the nature of reality as it is; (2) the Prajñaparamita sutras that emerged in the 2nd century CE; (3) the personification of Prajñaparamita in the form of the bodhisattva known as the “Great Mother” (Yum Chenmo). Prajñaparamita is a central concept in Mahayana Buddhism and is generally associated with the Madhyamaka doctrine of shunyata (emptiness) and the works of Nagarjuna. Its practice and understanding are taken to be indispensable elements of the Bodhisattva path.
• see also: Ashtasahasrika Prajñaparamita Sutra (Prajñaparamita Sutra in 8000 lines); paramita (transcendent perfection); prajña (wisdom); Prajñaparamitahridayasutra (Heart Sutra)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art

≫ Prajñaparamitahridayasutra (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदयसूत्र, IAST: Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya-sūtra = प्रज्ञापारमिता, prajñāpāramitā, “perfection in/of wisdom” + हृदय, hṛdaya, “heart” + सूत्र sūtra “discourse (literally: string, thread)”; Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་, shérap kyi paröltu chinpé nyingpo; Wylie: shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i snying po; Chinese: 般若心經, pinyin: Bōrě xīnjīng, also shortened to 心經, pinyin: Xīnjīng) = 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”.
• DJKR teaching on Heart Sutra (June 5, 2020)
• see also: Ashtasahasrika Prajñaparamita Sutra (Prajñaparamita Sutra in 8000 lines); denpa nyi (two truths); GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA (mantra from Heart Sutra); sutra (includes partial list of sutras on this website)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ pramana (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, IAST: pramāṇa; Tibetan: ཚད་མ་, tsema; Wylie: tshad ma) = valid cognition (lit. proof, means of knowledge); it refers to epistemology in Indian philosophies including Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.
• see also: prayogavakya (syllogism)
• external links: (pramana): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki; (Buddhist logic): wikipedia / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

≫ prana (Sanskrit: प्राण, IAST: prāṇa) = vital air, breath, life, breath of life; wind; vigour, energy, power. In Vajrayana, the subtle body is considered to be composed of various nadis (channels or veins), pranas (winds or energies), and bindus (essences or drops).
• see also: qi (energy)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ prasanga (Sanskrit: प्रसङ्ग, IAST: prasaṅga) = consequence (in Buddhist syllogisms); all that is connected with or results from; union, connection.
• see also: Prasangika (school of Madhyamaka Buddhism); prayogavakya (syllogism)

≫ Prasangika (Sanskrit: प्रासङ्गिक, IAST: Prāsaṅgika; Tibetan: ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་, talgyur / telgyur; Wylie: thal ‘gyur) = the Consequentialist (or “Consequence”) tradition, a subdivision of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism philosophy. A defining feature of this approach is its use of consequentialist arguments (Sanskrit: prasanga) to establish the view of shunyata (emptiness). This approach was first explicitly formulated by the Indian scholar Buddhapalita (5th-6th century CE), challenged by his contemporary Bhaviveka (5th-6th century CE), and then later elaborated upon and defended by Chandrakirti (7th century CE). Although these philosophical debates took place in India, the distinction between the two Madhyamaka schools of Prasangika and Svatantrika was only introduced later by Tibetan scholars.
• see also: prayogavakya (syllogism); Svatantrika (school of Madhyamaka Buddhism)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

≫ pratigha (Sanskrit: प्रतिघ, IAST: pratigha; Pāli: दोस, IAST: dosa; Tibetan: ཁོང་ཁྲོ་, khongtro; Wylie: khong khro) = anger, aggression, wrath, enmity, malice; second 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: (dosa): wiktionary

≫ pratimoksha (Sanskrit: प्रतिमोक्ष; IAST: pratimokṣa; Pāli: पाटिमोक्ख; IAST: pāṭimokkha; Tibetan: སོ་སོར་ཐར་པ་, sosor tarpa; Wylie: so sor thar pa) = (individual) liberation, deliverance; a list of rules (contained within the Vinaya) governing the behavior of Buddhist monastics (monks/bhikshus and nuns/bhikshunis).
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ pratityasamutpada (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद, IAST: pratītyasamutpāda; Pāli: पटिच्चसमुप्पाद, IAST: paṭiccasamuppāda; Tibetan: རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་, ten ching drelwar jungwa, Wylie: rten cing ‘brel bar ‘byung ba; also shortened to: Tibetan: རྟེན་འབྲེལ་དུ་འབྱུང་བ་, tendrel du jungwa; Wylie: rten ‘brel du ‘byung ba) = dependent origination, dependent arising; chain of causation.
• see also: dvadasha pratityasamutpada (12 links of dependent origination); samudaya (origin)
• Buddhist terms: dependent origination, origin
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ pratyaksha (Sanskrit: प्रत्यक्ष, pratyaksha; IAST: pratyakṣa; Tibetan: མངོན་སུམ་, ngönsum; Wylie: mngon sum) = direct perception, direct cognition.
(other languages): ngönsum (Tibetan)
• see also (4 kinds of direct perception): (1) indriyapratyaksha (sense perception), (2) manasapratyaksha (mental perception), (3) svasamvedana (self-cognition), (4) yogipratyaksha (yogic direct perception)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ pratyekabuddha (Sanskrit: प्रत्येकबुद्ध, IAST: pratyekabuddha; Pali: पच्चेकबुद्ध, IAST: paccekabuddha; Tibetan: རང་སངས་རྒྱས་, rang sangyé; Wylie: rang sangs rgyas; Chinese: 辟支佛 / 辟支佛, pinyin: bìzhī fó or Google has pìzhī fú; also: 緣覺 / 缘觉, Pinyin: yuánjué, literally “enlightened by contemplation on dependent arising”) = solitary buddha, “solitary realizer”, a buddha who lives in seclusion and attains enlightenment for himself/herself only (as opposed to those buddhas who liberate others also).
• see also: arhat; bodhisattva; buddha
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Pratyekabuddhayana (Sanskrit: प्रत्येकबुद्धयान, IAST: pratyekabuddhayāna = प्रत्येकबुद्ध pratyekabuddha + यान yāna ; Pāli: पच्चेकबुद्धयान, IAST: paccekabuddhayāna; Chinese: 緣覺乘 / 缘觉乘; pinyin: Yuánjué Chéng) = the path or vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas or “solitary” realizers.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ prayogavakya (Sanskrit: प्रयोगवाक्य, IAST: prayogavākya = प्रयोग, prayoga “joining together, connection, addition, representation” + वाक्य, vākya “statement, assertion”; Tibetan: སྦྱོར་བའི་ཚིག་, jorwé tsik; Wylie: sbyor ba’i tshig, from jorwa; Wylie: sbyor ba “connect, come into contact with; syllogism”; also Tibetan: སྦྱོར་ངག་, jor ngak; Wylie: sbyor ngag) = “formal syllogism” in Indian logic (a syllogism is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true. Syllogisms are foundational to the development of logical reasoning in both Eastern and Western philosophy). As rigpawiki explains, although the form of Indian and Tibetan syllogisms differs from the Aristotelian syllogisms of early Western philosophy, a correspondence may be made between their underlying logic. Writing in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Brendan Gillon offers an in-depth analysis of the use of syllogism in Indian logic, and the development of logic from early Buddhist writing to the classical period and the works of Dignāga (5th to 6th century CE) and Dharmakirti (6th or 7th century CE). Gillon notes that when compared to contemporary philosophy, one of the shortcomings of classical Indian philosophy is that “in spite of the metaphysical differences which distinguished the various schools of thought, both Buddhist and Brahmanical, all thinkers came to use a naive realist’s ontology to specify the states of affairs used to study the canonical argument”. Within Western philosophy, the syllogism was superseded by first-order predicate logic following the work of Gottlob Frege, in particular his Begriffsschrift (Concept Script; 1879). As wikipedia notes, “syllogisms remain useful in some circumstances, and for general-audience introductions to logic”, and as students of Madhyamaka philosophy, it would serve us well to be aware of the limitations of classical Indian logic in the light of subsequent developments that have led to contemporary logic and analytic philosophy.
• see also: pramana (valid cognition)
• external links: (syllogism): wiktionary / wikipedia; (syllogisms in Indian logic): wikipedia / rigpawiki / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; (first order predicate logic): wikipedia / Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

≫ puja (Pāli & Sanskrit: पूजा, IAST: pūjā) = devotional practice; ritual prayer and practice; religious observance; worship, honour, respect, reverence, veneration, homage to the buddhas and bodhisattvas (in Buddhism) or adoration of the gods (in Hinduism).
• see also: pujari (priest who performs temple rituals and devotional practices such as puja)
• external links: (puja): wiktionary; (puja in Buddhism): wikipedia / (puja in Hinduism): wikipedia

≫ pujari (Sanskrit: पूजारी, IAST: pūjārī) = priest who performs temple rituals and devotional practices such as puja. (Although both Buddhism and Hinduism have puja, the word pujari is more strongly associated with Hindu temple priests).
• see also: puja (ritual prayer and practice)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ Pundarika Sutra (Sanskrit: सद्धर्मपुण्डरीक सूत्र, IAST: Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra; Chinese: 妙法蓮華經, pinyin: Miàofǎ Liánhuá jīng, shortened to 法華經, Fǎhuá jīng; Japanese: 妙法蓮華経, Myōhō Renge Kyō; Korean: 법화경, Myobeomnyeonhwagyeong) = 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.
• DJKR teaching: Lotus Sutra, New Delhi (March 18, 2018)
• see also: Ekayana (single vehicle); Namu Myoho Renge Kyo (mantra chanted in Nichiren Buddhism); sutra (includes partial list of sutras on this website)
• external links: wikipedia / New World Encyclopedia

≫ punya (Sanskrit: पुण्य, punya, IAST: puṇya; Pāli: पुञ्ञ, IAST: puñña; Tibetan: བསོད་ནམས་, sönam; Wylie: bsod nams) = merit, virtue, meritorious, meritorious karma.
• other languages: sönam (Tibetan)
• external links: (punya): wiktionary; (merit in Buddhism): wikipedia; (punya in Hinduism): wikipedia; (merit): rigpawiki

≫ purushartha (Sanskrit: पुरुषार्थ, IAST: puruṣārtha) = (one of) the four objects or aims of existence according to Hindu philosophy, with four corresponding categories/domains of values:
(1) kāma (काम, the gratification of desire, pleasure, love, psychological values);
(2) artha (अर्थ, acquiring wealth, prosperity, material values);
(3) dharma (धर्म, discharging one’s duty, righteousness, moral values);
(4) moksha (मोक्ष, liberation, spiritual values).
• see also: ashrama (the 4 age-based life stages according to Hindu philosophy)
• external links: wikipedia

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Q

≫ qi (Chinese: 氣, pinyin: qì) = energy, life force; air, wind (somewhat equivalent to Sanskrit prana).
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia; (metaphysics in Chinese philosophy): Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

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R

≫ raga (Pāli: राग, IAST: rāga; Sanskrit: राग, IAST: rāga, “lust, attachment, excitement, passion”; also sometimes used synonymously with: Pāli: लोभ, IAST: lobha “greed, covetousness”; Tibetan: འདོད་ཆགས་, döchak; Wylie: ‘dod chags) = desire, attachment, passion, lust; a character affliction or poison referring to any form of greed, sensuality, lust, or attachment to a sensory object; first of the 6 destructive emotions (mulaklesha); 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)
• 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); trivisha (3 poisons): (1) moha (ignorance or delusion), (2) raga (greed or attachment), (3) dvesha (hatred or aversion)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

rangrig (Tibetan: རང་རིག་, rang rig, also rang rik; Wylie: rang rig) = self-cognition, self-cognizance, self-awareness, reflexive awareness, self-perception – see svasamvedana (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• see also (4 kinds of direct perception): (1) indriyapratyaksha (sense perception), (2) manasapratyaksha (mental perception), (3) svasamvedana (self-cognition), (4) yogipratyaksha (yogic direct perception)
• external links: rigpawiki

≫ rangtong (Tibetan: རང་སྟོང་, Wylie: rang stong, literally “empty of self”) = “self-emptiness” or “intrinsic emptiness”, one of two approaches towards emptiness and nonduality within Madhyamaka philosophy (along with shentong).
• quotes: “Mind; there is no mind; mind is luminous“
• see also: shentong (other-emptiness)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ rangwang (Tibetan: རང་དབང་, rang wang; Wylie: rang dbang; Sanskrit: स्वतन्त्र, IAST: svatantra) = independence, freedom, mastery, control, (under one’s) own power; autonomy, autonomous (existence); DJKR: “independence”.
• see also: Svatantrika (Madhyamaka school)
• external links: (rangwang) wiktionary; (svatantra): wiktionary

≫ rangzhin (Tibetan: རང་བཞིན་, Wylie: rang bzhin ; Sanskrit: स्वभाव, IAST: svabhāva) = nature, self-nature; native place; own condition or state of being, natural state or constitution, innate or inherent disposition, nature; impulse, spontaneity.
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ Richö (Tibetan: རི་ཆོས་, ri chö; Wylie: ri chos, “Mountain Dharma”; full name: རི་ཆོས་བསླབ་བྱ་ཉམས་ལེན་དམར་ཁྲིད་གོ་བདེར་བརྗོད་པ་གྲུབ་པའི་བཅུད་ལེན།; Wylie: ri chos bslab bya nyams len dmar khrid go bder brjod pa grub pa’i bcud len, “Extracting the Quintessence of Accomplishment: Oral Instructions for the Practice of Mountain Retreat, Expounded Simply and Directly in Their Essential Nakedness”) = Mountain Dharma, a famous text written by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche with advice on how to do retreat and become an authentic Dharma practitioner.
• external links: rigpawiki; (English translation): Vajrayana Foundation (1979)

≫ Rigden (Tibetan: རིགས་ལྡན་, rig den, Wylie: rigs ldan, literally “Holder of the castes/family”) = (1) [O you of] high/ noble family; (2) name for the kings of Shambhala; (3) excellent horse; (4) a king of the nagas. According to tradition, there are thirty-two Kings of Shambhala. The most recent 25 of the 32 Kings of Shambhala are known as Kalki kings (Rigden), and they reside upon a Lion Throne in Kalapa, the capital city of the Kingdom of Shambhala.
• see also: Shambhala (mythical kingdom)
• external links: (Kings of Shambhala): wikipedia
• external references: Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche teaches on the Rigden kings of Shambhala in his book “Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior”

≫ rigdruk (Tibetan: རིགས་དྲུག་, rig druk, also rik druk, Wylie. rigs drug) = the six realms of existence or six classes of being that collectively comprise samsara. Buddhist cosmology typically identifies six realms or modes of existence: gods (deva), demi-gods (asura), humans, animals, hungry ghosts (preta) and hells (naraka). Earlier Buddhist texts refer to five realms rather than six realms, with the god realm and demi-god realm constituting a single realm. Each realm is caused and dominated by a particular destructive emotion.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ rigpa (Tibetan: རིག་པ་, Wylie: rig pa; Sanskrit: विद्या, vidyā, “knowledge”) = awareness; knowing; pure awareness, the non-dual ultimate nature of mind, which is totally free from delusion; the state of awareness devoid of ignorance and dualistic fixation; the “pristine awareness” that is the fundamental ground itself. In Dzogchen teaching, rigpa is the knowledge of the ground, i.e. the ground of being or primordial state.
• 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: dumajé (uncompounded) ; ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; ösel (clarity, luminosity) ; selwa (luminosity, radiance)
• external links: (rigpa) wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki ; (international Buddhist organization founded by Sogyal Rinpoche): wikipedia / Rigpa

rikdruk (Tibetan) = redirects to rigdruk.

≫ rikpa drim (Dzongkha: རིགཔ་སྒྲིམ་, also: ripdrimni) = alert, beware, careful.

≫ rikpé nyépé nyédön (Tibetan: རིགས་པའི་རྙེད་པའི་རྙེད་དོན་; Wylie: rigs pa’i rnyed pa’i rnyed don = rigs pa “logical establishment; logical principles; reasoning” + rnyed pa “obtain, find” + rnyed don “object found; meaning discovered”) = an object found by means of reasoning and analysis, a conclusion established by means of logical reasoning and analysis. DJKR: “a conclusion after analysis”.

≫ Rimé (Tibetan: རིས་མེད་, ri mé; Wylie: ris med “without distinction”) = the ecumenical, non-partisan or non-sectarian movement in Tibetan Buddhism, begun by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrül and their disciples in Kham in the 19th century. They re-initiated dialogue between the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma schools and compiled their teachings, including many rare works and near-extinct teachings, into scriptural compilations such as the Rinchen Terdzö or “Great Treasury of Precious Termas” and the Sheja Dzö or “Treasury of Knowledge” (Tibetan: ཤེས་བྱ་མཛོད་, Wylie: shes bya mdzod).
• see also: Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ Rinchen Terdzö (Tibetan: རིན་ཆེན་གཏེར་མཛོད་ཆེན་མོ་, Wylie: rin chen gter mdzod chen mo) = “The Great Treasury of Precious Termas”, one of the Five Great Treasures of Jamgön Kongtrül. It is a compilation in 71 volumes of the main termas that had been discovered up to his time (the work was started in 1855 and completed in 1889), and the texts necessary to bestow the related empowerments and explanations to practice them. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo traveled for thirteen years throughout Central and Eastern Tibet in order to collect the texts and receive the transmissions for the many lineages that had become almost extinct and held by only a few people. The actual redaction and editing of the Rinchen Terdzö was accomplished by Jamgön Kongtrul at the monastery-hermitage of Dzongshö Deshek Dupa, a secluded mountain retreat located between Dzongsar and Kathok. A complete searchable catalog of the Rinchen Terdzö is available at Tsadra Foundation.
• external links: rigpawiki / Tsadra Foundation / Encyclopedia of Buddhism / Himalayan Art

≫ Rinchen Zangpo (Tibetan: རིན་ཆེན་བཟང་པོ་, Wylie: rin chen bzang po) (958-1055) = the first and principal lotsawa or translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Tibetan during the second diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet (known as the New Translation School). He was a student of the renowned Indian master Atisha.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Treasury of Lives

≫ Rinpoche (Tibetan: རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, rinpoché; Wylie: rin po che) = “precious one”, honorific title for incarnate lama or distinguished Dharma practitioner.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ rupakaya (Sanskrit: रूपकाय, rūpakāya = रूप rūpa “form” + काय kāya “body, dimension”; Tibetan: གཟུགས་སྐུ་, zuk ku; Wylie: gzugs sku) = the “form body” or physical manifestation of a buddha; in the Mahayana, the rupakaya includes the two “form kayas” of nirmanakaya and sambhogakaya.
• see also: dharmakaya (“truth body”); kaya (body, dimension); nirmanakaya (“body of manifestations”); sambhogakaya (“body of enjoyment”); trikaya (three bodies of a buddha)
• external links: (rupakaya): wiktionary / rigpawiki / rywiki; (trikaya): wikipedia

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S

≫ 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

≫ 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

≫ 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

samatha (Pāli: समथ, IAST: samatha) = shamatha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ samadhi (Sanskrit: समाधि, IAST: 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; (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; (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 links: (Avatamsaka Sutra): wikipedia; (Buddhist cosmology): wikipedia
• 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.

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: wiktionary / (sati): 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: wiktionary / (kensho): wikipedia; (satori): 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.

≫ selwa (Tibetan: གསལ་བ་, selwa; Wylie: gsal ba ; Jeffrey Hopkins gives many Sanskrit words with overlapping semantic range, including: अभिव्यक्ति, 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) ; selwé nyam (experience of clarity)
• 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: semnyi (nature of 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: wiktionary / (sattva): 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.
(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)

≫ 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

≫ Shariputra (Sanskrit: शारिपुत्र; IAST: Śāriputra, lit. “the son of Śāri”; Pāli: सारिपुत्त, IAST: Sāriputta; Tibetan: ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ་, sha ri bu; Wylie: shA ri’i bu; Chinese: 舍利弗, pinyin: Shèlìfú) = the chief shravaka disciple of the Buddha. He is considered the first of the Buddha’s two chief male disciples (aggasāvaka), together with his childhood friend Maudgalyayana. Shariputra had a key leadership role in the Sangha and is considered in many Buddhist schools to have been important in the development of the Buddhist Abhidharma. Born of the Brahman caste, he was from a town called Upadesha near Magadha, the son of Sharika and Tishya, hence known as Upatishya. He was originally a disciple of the skeptic philosopher Sañjaya, but when he converted to Buddhism and ordained as a monk along with Maudgalyayana, they brought 250 Sañjaya disciples with them. Shariputra was said to have attained enlightenment as an arhat two weeks after ordaining. He was the first disciple the Buddha allowed to ordain other monks, and he served as tutor to Shakyamuniʼs son Rahula. He became so deeply enlightened in the Buddhadharma that he sometimes even gave sermons in the Buddhaʼs absence, and was named as being “the greatest in wisdom” among the Buddha’s ten principal disciples.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Britannica / Himalayan Art

≫ 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, honorable 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)
• 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)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ shépa (Tibetan: ཤེས་པ་, Wylie: shes pa) = consciousness, cognizing, knowing, ordinary awareness; to be aware, conscious of, know, understand; knowing quality, understanding, knowledge, noetic capacity. Shépa is the act of cognizing 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)
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki / Study Buddhism

sherab (Tibetan: ཤེས་རབ་, shérap; Wylie: shes rab) = transcendent knowledge – 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.

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

≫ 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

≫ 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 labors, 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)”, one of the three yanas known to Indian Buddhism (along with the Pratyekabuddhayana and Mahayana). 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). The Theravada is the only surviving school of Buddhism based on the Shravakayana. First of the 9 yanas according to the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.
• 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

≫ 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

≫ 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).
• see also: Gandavyuha Sutra
• external links: wikipedia / 84000

≫ 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

≫ 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 Gautama Buddha milk and rice, ending his six years of ascetism.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ 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)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ 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)

≫ 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

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T

≫ ta gom chöpa (Tibetan: ལྟ་སྒོམ་སྤྱོད་; Wylie: lta sgom spyod pa) = view, meditation and action (also translated as “view, meditation and conduct”) [note: here “meditation” is bhavana = development, training, cultivation, practice]
• see also: chöpa (action, conduct), gompa (meditation, development, training), tawa (view)
• external links: rigpawiki

≫ taigi (Japanese: 大疑, taigi = 大, tai “great” + 疑, gi “doubt, distrust, suspicion”) = “great darkness” or “great doubt”, an aim of koan (gong’an) study and practice in Zen (Chan). There is a well-known saying in Zen that “Great awakening (大悟, taigo) is only possible amid great doubt (大疑, taigi)”. (Also: “Great doubt, great awakening; no doubt, no awakening”).
• see also: bodhi (enlightenment, awakening), koan (story or question used in Zen study and practice)
• external links: buddhism.org

≫ tajitu (Chinese: 太極圖 / 太极图; pinyin: tàijítú = 太極, tàijí “great polarity; the great tension between yin and yang that exists before actual differentiation into heaven and earth. Thus, the origin of the myriad phenomena” + 圖, tú “map, chart, plan”) = circular black and white symbol used to depict the concept of the “supreme ultimate” (太极, taiji) in Taoism, representing both its dualist (陰陽, yin-yang) and monist (无极, wuji) aspects.
• see also: nyidzin (dualism), yin-yang (literally “dark-bright”, “negative-positive”, a concept of dualism in Taoism)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ takta (Tibetan: རྟག་ལྟ་, tak ta; Wylie: rtag lta; contraction of: Tibetan: རྟག་པའི་ལྟ་བ་, takpé tawa; Wylie: rtag pa’i lta ba; Sanskrit: शाश्वतदृष्टि, IAST: śāśvata–dṛṣṭi; Pāli: सस्सतवाद, IAST: sassatavāda) = eternalism, view of permanence. The belief that there is a permanent and causeless creator of everything; in particular, that one’s identity or consciousness has a concrete essence which is independent, everlasting and singular.
• see also: madhyamaka (the middle way free from all extremes); tanyi (2 extremes) = (1) takta (eternalism), (2) chéta (nihilism); tawa (view)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ tamel gyi shepa (Tibetan: ཐ་མལ་གྱི་ཤེས་པ་, tamel gyi shepa; Wylie: tha mal gyi shes pa) = ordinary mind (a term from the Mahamudra teachings of the Karma Kagyu lineage); synonym for semnyi (nature of mind). Alexander Berzin comments that it is ordinary “in the sense that it is the primordial, natural state that has always been the case”.
• see also: semnyi (nature of mind)
• external links: (ordinary mind): Study Buddhism; (pointing out the ordinary mind): wikipedia

Tangtong Gyalpo (Tibetan) = redirects to Thangtong Gyalpo.

≫ tantra (Sanskrit: तन्त्र, IAST: tantra; Tibetan: རྒྱུད་, gyü; Wylie: rgyud) = continuity, continuum; tantra is classified into the three aspects of (1) ground/nature, (2) path/method and (3) result.
• other languages: gyü (Tibetan)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ tanyi (Tibetan: མཐའ་གཉིས་, ta nyi, Wylie: mtha’ gnyis) = the two extremes or two sides; usually refers to the two extremes of eternalism and nihilism, but may also refer to being and non-being, or subject and object.
• see also: madhyamaka (the middle way free from all extremes); tanyi (2 extremes) = (1) takta (eternalism), (2) chéta (nihilism); tawa (view)

≫ Tao Te Ching (Chinese: 道德經, pinyin: Dàodé jīng, also rendered as Dao De Jing or Daodejing) = a Taoist classic text traditionally credited to the 6th century BCE Chinese sage Laozi. The Tao Te Ching, along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism.
• see also: Laozi; wu (nonexistence, nonbeing)
• external links: wikipedia

tarpa (Tibetan: ཐར་པ་, tarpa; Wylie: thar pa; Sanskrit: मोक्ष, IAST: mokṣa) = liberation, release – see moksha (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• 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.

≫ tashi (Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་, trashi; Wylie: bkra shis) = auspicious, favourable, good fortune, good luck.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Tashi Tagyé (Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་རྟགས་བརྒྱད་, trashi takgyé; Wylie: bkra shis rtags brgyad; Sanskrit: अष्टमङ्गल, ashtamangala, IAST: aṣṭamaṅgala) = The Eight Auspicious Symbols. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition (following the order given in rywiki), these are:
(1) Parasol (Sanskrit: छत्त्ररत्न, IAST: chattraratna = छत्त्र, chattra, “umbrella” + रत्न, ratna, “jewel” also sitātapatra; Tibetan: ༺གདུགས་མཆོག།༻, gdugs mchog, “excellent umbrella”, also རིན་ཆེན་གདུགས་, rinchenduk; Wylie: rin chen gdugs) = jeweled parasol, which is similar in ritual function to the baldachin or canopy, and represents the protection of beings from harmful forces and illness.
(2) Pair of Golden Fish (Sanskrit: गौर्मत्स्य, IAST: gaurmatsya or kanakamatsya; Tibetan: ༺གསེར་ཉ།༻, sernya; Wylie: gser nya) = symbolise the auspiciousness of all sentient beings in a state of fearlessness without danger of drowning in samsara. The two fishes originally represented the two main sacred rivers of India, the Ganges and Yamuna, which are associated with the lunar and solar channels, and represent fertility and abundance.
(3) Treasure Vase (Sanskrit: निधिघट, IAST: nidhighaṭa = निधि, nidhi, “treasure” + घट, ghaṭa, “jar, large earthen water-jar”; घट; Tibetan: ༺བུམ་པ།༻, bum pa, also གཏེར་ཆེན་པོའི་བུམ་པ་, terchenpo’i bumpa; Wylie: gter chen po’i bum pa, “vase of great treasure”) = treasure vase, which represents health, longevity, wealth, prosperity, wisdom and the phenomenon of space. It also symbolizes the Buddha’s infinite quality of teaching the dharma: no matter how many teachings he gives, the treasure never lessens.
(4) Lotus (Sanskrit: पद्म, IAST: padma or padmakuñjara; Tibetan: ༺པད་མ།༻, péma; Wylie: pad ma) = represents the primordial purity of body, speech, and mind, floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. The lotus symbolizes purity and renunciation. Although the lotus has its roots in the mud at the bottom of a pond, its flower lies immaculate above the water.
(5) Conch (Sanskrit: शङ्ख, IAST: śaṅkha or śaṅkhavarta; Tibetan: ༺དུང་དཀར་གཡས་འཁྱིལ།༻, dungkar yénkhyil; Wylie: dung dkar g.yas ‘khyil) = a right-turning white conch shell, which represents the beautiful, deep, melodious, interpenetrating and pervasive sound of the dharma, which awakens disciples from the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accomplish their own welfare for the welfare of others.
(6) Endless knot (Sanskrit: श्रीवत्स, IAST: śrīvatsa; Tibetan: ༺དཔལ་བེའུ།༻, pel beu; Wylie: dpal be’u, “knot of eternity”)= a symbol of the ultimate unity of everything, which denotes “the auspicious mark represented by a curled noose emblematic of love”. It also represents the intertwining of wisdom and compassion and the union of wisdom and method.
(7) Victory Banner (Sanskrit: ध्वज, IAST: dhvaja; Tibetan: ༺རྒྱལ་མཚན།༻, gyeltsen; Wylie: rgyal mtshan) = the banner or flag was a military standard of ancient Indian warfare. The symbol represents the Buddha’s victory over the four maras, or hindrances on the path of enlightenment.
(8) Dharmachakra (Sanskrit: धर्मचक्र, IAST: dharmacakra; Tibetan: ༺གསེར་གྱི་འཁོར་ལོ།༻, gser gyi ‘khor lo, also ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་, chö kyi khorlo; Wylie: chos kyi ‘khor lo) = an 8-spoked “Wheel of the Dharma” or “Wheel of the Law”, which represents Gautama Buddha and the Dharma teaching.
The symbols are ordered differently in other Buddhist traditions (e.g. in Nepali Buddhism or Chinese Buddhism).
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Himalayan Art

≫ Tashi Tsekpa (Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་བརྩེགས་པ་, trashi tsekpa; Wylie: bkra shis brtsegs pa) = “Heap of Goodness”, a dharani from the Collection of Dharanis (Tibetan: གཟུངས་འདུས་, zungdü; Wylie: gzungs ‘dus). Also known as “The Noble Stack of Auspiciousness”.
• see also: dharani (chant, incantation, recitation)
• external links: FPMT (translation by Gavin Kilty)

≫ tatha (Sanskrit: तथा, IAST: tathā; Tibetan: དེ་བཞིན་, dézhin; Wylie: de bzhin) = that itself, like that, in that manner, so, thus; DJKR: “whatever it is”, “as it is”, “what is”, “here and now”.
• other languages: dézhin (Tibetan)
• see also: tathata (suchness, thusness); tathagata (“thus come / thus gone”, syn. the Buddha); tathagatagarbha (buddhanature)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ tathata (Sanskrit: तथाता, IAST: tathātā; Tibetan: དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད་, dézhin nyi; Wylie: de bzhin nyid) = suchness, thusness, as it is, reality, state of being just as it is; true nature, true state of things.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ tathagata (Sanskrit: तथागत, IAST: tathāgata = tathā “thus” + gata “gone, departed, come, arrived at”; Tibetan: དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ་, dézhin shekpa; Wylie: de bzhin gshegs pa; Chinese: 如来, pinyin: rúlái) = thus gone, thus come, intrinsically inhering buddhahood, tathagata (syn. the Buddha); DJKR: “one who has gone beyond samsara and nirvana”, “authentic presence”, “authenticity”.
• other languages: dézhin shekpa (Tibetan)
• see also: buddha; tathagatagarbha (buddhanature)
• external links: (དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ་): wiktionary ; (如來) wiktionary

≫ tathagatagarbha (Sanskrit: तथागतगर्भ, IAST: tathāgatagarbha; Tibetan: དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་, dézhin shekpé nyingpo; Wylie: de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po) = buddhanature.
• see also: garbha (essence, nature) ; ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; sugatagarbha (buddhanature) ; tathagata (“thus come / thus gone”, syn. the Buddha)

tawa (Tibetan: ལྟ་བ་, tawa; Wylie: lta ba) = view, orientation, perspective, belief – see drishti (Sanskrit ≫main entry).
• see also: tanyi (2 extremes) = (1) takta (eternalism), (2) chéta (nihilism); tawa (view); ta gom chöpa (view, meditation & action); tawa gompa chöpa drébu (view, meditation, action & result)
• external links: wiktionary

tawa gompa chöpa (Tibetan: ལྟ་བ་སྒོམ་པ་སྤྱོད་པ་; Wylie: lta ba sgom pa spyod pa) = view, meditation & action – see ta gom chöpa (main entry)
• see also: tawa gompa chöpa drébu (view, meditation, action & result)

≫ tawa gompa chöpa drébu (Tibetan: ལྟ་བ་སྒོམ་པ་སྤྱོད་པ་འབྲས་བུ་; Wylie: lta ba sgom pa spyod pa ‘bras bu) = view (the philosophical orientation), meditation (the act of growing accustomed to that view, for example in sitting practice), conduct (the implementation of that insight during the activities of daily life) and fruition (the final outcome resulting from such training). Each Buddhist yana (vehicle) has its own particular definition of view, meditation, conduct and fruition [note: here “meditation” is bhavana = development, training, cultivation, practice]; DJKR: “view, meditation, action and result”.
• see also: tawa (view), gompa (meditation), chöpa (action), drébu (result)

≫ tekpa gu (Tibetan: ཐེག་པ་དགུ་, tekpa gu; Wylie: theg pa dgu; also ཐེག་པ་རིམ་པ་དགུ་, tekpa rimpa gu; Wylie: theg pa rim pa dgu “nine successive vehicles”) = the nine yanas or vehicles according to the Nyingma classification of the Buddhist path.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ tekpa sum (Tibetan: ཐེག་པ་གསུམ་, tek pa sum; Wylie: theg pa gsum; also: ཀུན་འབྱུང་འདྲེན་པའི་ཐེག་པ་གསུམ་, kunjung drenpé tekpa sum; Wylie: kun ‘byung ‘dren pa’i theg pa gsum, “Three outer yanas leading from the origin”) = the three yanas or vehicles known to Indian Buddhism; considered as the first 3 of the nine yanas in the Nyingma classification of the Buddhist path. The 3 yanas are:
(1) Shravakayana (Tibetan: ཉན་ཐོས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ་, nyentö kyi tekpa; Wylie: nyan thos kyi theg pa) = the vehicle of listeners, pious attendants, shravakas.
(2) Pratyekabuddhayana (Tibetan: རང་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ་, rang sang gyé kyi tekpa; Wylie: rang sangs rgyas kyi theg pa) = the vehicle of lone-learners, pratyekabuddhas, solitary realizers.
(3) Mahayana/Bodhisattvayana (Tibetan: ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་, tekpa chenpo; Wylie: theg pa chen po) = the vehicle of bodhisattvas.
• external links: (yana): wikipedia; (three yanas): wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ tenpa dampa (Tibetan: བསྟན་པ་དམ་པ་; Wylie: bstan pa dam pa) = supreme teaching, sacred teaching.

≫ Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: bstan ‘dzin rgya mtsho) (born July 6, 1935) = H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader and the seniormost figure in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He was born in Amdo, in the north-east of Tibet in 1935, and left Tibet in 1959 following the Chinese invasion. Since then, he has resided in Dharamsala, India, the site of the Tibetan government-in-exile. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
• see also: Dalai Lama
• external links (Tenzin Gyatso, H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama): wikipedia / rigpawiki / DalaiLama.com

≫ terma (Tibetan: གཏེར་མ་, ter ma; Wylie: gter ma) = hidden treasure; the transmission of Dharma teachings through treasures that were concealed in the earth and in minds of disciples mainly by Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) and Yeshe Tsogyal during the 8th century, to be discovered at the proper time by a tertön (treasure revealer) for the benefit of future disciples and followers of Dharma. As such, terma represent a tradition of continuous revelation in Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism. Terma is one of the two chief traditions of the Nyingma School, the other being Kama or transmitted precepts (Tibetan: བཀའ་མ་, ka ma; Wylie: bka’ ma). Termas are very often discovered in the form of a yellow scroll (Tibetan: ཤོག་སེར་, shok ser; Wylie: shog ser) on which are written a few syllables in symbolic dakini script (Tibetan: མཁའ་འགྲོ་བརྡ་ཡིག་, khandro da yik; Wylie: mkha’ ‘gro brda yig). These letters can only be deciphered by the tertön to whom the legacy of the spiritual treasure belongs, and are unintelligible to anyone else. Concealed treasures may be of many different kinds, including texts, ritual objects, relics, and natural objects. Many of these treasure teachings were collected by Jamgön Kongtrül and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo into the Rinchen Terdzö (Treasury of Precious Termas), which spans more than sixty volumes.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ tertön (Tibetan: གཏེར་སྟོན་, ter tön; Wylie: gter ston) = treasure-revealer; a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or spiritual treasures (terma) said to have been hidden mainly by Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) and Yeshe Tsogyal for the benefit of future generations. Many tertöns are considered to be incarnations of the 25 main disciples of Guru Rinpoche.
• see also: tertön gyalpo nga (the Five Tertön Kings)
• external links: (tertön): wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki; (25 disciples of Guru Rinpoche): rigpawiki

≫ tertön gyalpo nga (Tibetan: གཏེར་སྟོན་རྒྱལ་པོ་ལྔ་, tertön gyalpo nga / tertön gyelpo nga; Wylie: gter ston rgyal po lnga) = the Five Tertön Kings (five king-like tertöns) or the Five Sovereign Treasure-Revealers are considered the most important tertöns. They were all emanations of King Trisong Deutsen:
• Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124-1192), the body incarnation of Trisong Deutsen
• Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (1212-1270), the speech incarnation of Trisong Deutsen
• Dorje Lingpa (1346-1405)
• Pema Lingpa (1445/50-1521)
• Pema Ösel Do-ngak Lingpa (Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo) (1820-1892)
Sometimes the list also includes the great tertön Rigdzin Gödem (1337-1408).
• see also: tertön (treasure-revealer)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

tétsom (Tibetan: ཐེ་ཚོམ་, té tsom; Wylie: the tshom) = doubt, suspicion, indecision, hesitation – see vichikitsa.
• other languages: vichikitsa (Sanskrit ≫main entry)
• see also: klesha (afflictive/disturbing emotions, negative emotions); mulaklesha (six root disturbing emotions): raga (राग, desire), pratigha (प्रतिघ, anger), avidya (अविद्या, ignorance), mana (मान, pride), vichikitsa (विचिकित्सा, doubt), drishti (दृष्टि, view); nyöndrip (emotional obscurations)

≫ thab ké (Tibetan: ཐབས་མཁས་, thab ké; Wylie: thabs mkhas; Sanskrit: उपायकौशल्य, upaya-kaushalya; IAST: upāyakauśalya, from उपाय + कुशल, IAST: upāya + ku ś ala) = skillful means, skill in means, excellence in means, resourceful, expedient; refers to teachings or aspects of guidance where a conscious, voluntary action “is driven by an incomplete reasoning” about its direction. The implication is that even if a technique, view, etc., is not ultimately “true” in the highest sense, it may still be expedient or skillful in the way that it can bring the practitioner closer to true realization. Professor Richard Gombrich notes “the exercise of skill to which it refers, the ability to adapt one’s message to the audience, is of enormous importance in the Pali Canon”.
• other languages: upayakaushalya (Sanskrit)
• see also: upaya (means, approach)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ Thangtong Gyalpo (Tibetan: ཐང་སྟོང་རྒྱལ་པོ་; thang tong gyalpo / tang tong gyelpo; Wylie: thang stong rgyal po, “King of the Empty Plain”) (1361-1485) = a great 14th/15th Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, Chöd master, yogi, physician, blacksmith, architect, and a pioneering civil engineer. He is said to have built 58 iron chain suspension bridges around Tibet and Bhutan, several of which are still in use today. He also designed and built several large stupas of unusual design including the great Kumbum at Chung Riwoche in Tibet; established Gonchen Monastery in Derge; and is considered to be the father of a style of Tibetan opera called Lhamo. also known as Chakzampa “Iron Bridge Maker” (Wylie: lcags zam pa, from lcags zam “iron bridge”), and Tsöndrü Zangpo “Excellent Persistence” (Wylie: brtson ‘grus bzang po). He was also known as Madman of the Empty Valley. He is associated with the Shangpa Kagyu, Nyingma and Sakya traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, and with the tradition of “mad yogis” known as nyönpa. He is also known as a sorcerer character in the popular Tibetan story of Gesar. In addition, he is believed to be the most widely traveled person in Tibetan history.
• see also: nyönpa (madman, crazy yogi)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Himalayan Art / Treasury of Lives

≫ Theravada (Pāli: थेरवाद, IAST: Theravāda; Burmese: ေထရဝါဒ) = “the school of the elders”, the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism’s oldest extant school. The word “thero” (commonly appearing in the masculine and feminine forms thera and therī respectively) is an honorific term in Pali for senior bhikkhus and bhikkhunis (Buddhist monks and nuns) in the Buddhist monastic order.
• see also: bhikshu (Buddhist monk); bhikshuni (Buddhist nun); Ekayana (the Single Vehicle); Hinayana (the Lesser Vehicle); Mahayana (the Great Vehicle); Shravakayana (the Vehicle of the Shravakas); Vajrayana (the Diamond Vehicle); yana (vehicle or method)
• external links: (Theravada): wiktionary / wikipedia; (thero): wikipedia; (What is Theravada Buddhism?): Access to Insight

≫ Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (Tibetan: ཕྲིན་ལས་ནོར་བུ་, Wylie: phrin las nor bu, also: Tibetan: གདུང་སྲས་ཕྲིན་ལས་ནོར་བུ་, Wylie: gdung sras phrin las nor bu) (1931-2011) = a great 20th century Nyingma scholar and master, son of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and father of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. He was born in Lhasa and trained for nine years at Mindroling monastery in Tibet, and he was a main Dudjom Tersar lineage holder. He is an incarnation of Longchenpa and also of Drimé Özer, one of the seven sons of Dudjom Lingpa. After living in Bhutan, he eventually settled in New York where he gathered students and wrote several books in English. He passed away in California in 2011.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Lotsawa House

≫ thün (Tibetan: ཐུན་, Wylie: thun) = session, period; meditation session, practice session.
• see also: dathün (month-long meditation session)

≫ Tilopa (Prakrit: Tilopa; Tibetan: ཏི་ལོ་པ་, Wylie: ti lo pa) (988-1069) = one of the 84 mahasiddhas, considered as the Indian patriarch of the Kagyu lineage. Although born into the priestly caste in Bengal, he took monastic vows and travelled throughout India receiving tantric teachings from many gurus. Following the advice of Matangi, one of his gurus, Tilopa started to work at a brothel in Bengal for a prostitute called Dharima as her solicitor and bouncer. During the day, he made his living by grinding sesame seeds (Sanskrit: तिल, IAST: tila), which gave rise to his name (in the Blue Annals his alternative name, “Tilli-pa,” is used). Tilopa is often depicted eating a live fish, as it is said that his most famous student Naropa first met him while he was eating fish entrails by the side of a lake. He transmitted the Mahamudra to Naropa by means of the song known as The Ganges Mahamudra, which contains Tilopa’s oral instructions for accomplishing enlightenment and is considered a definitive source text for the tradition of Mahamudra meditation in general.
• see also: mahasiddha; Naropa
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art / TBRC / wisdom library / Treasury of Lives

timuk (Tibetan: གཏི་མུག་, timuk; Wylie: gti mug) = bewilderment, confusion, delusion – see moha (Pāli & Sanskrit ≫main entry).

tingédzin (Tibetan: ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་, tingédzin or ting ngé dzin; Wylie: ting nge ‘dzin, from Tibetan: འཛིན་, dzin; Wylie: ‘dzin = “to hold, grasp, apprehend” also “apprehending subject” + Tibetan: ཏིང་ངེ་, ting nyé; Wylie: ting nge = “clearly”) = meditative concentration, stabilization, absorption – see samadhi (Sanskrit ≫main entry).

≫ tokmé (Tibetan: རྟོག་མེད་, tokmé; Wylie: rtog med) = nonconceptuality, nonconceptual, nonthought, free from conceptual thinking.
• see also: mi tokpa (nonconceptuality)
• external links: rigpawiki

≫ tong (Tibetan: མཐོང་, tong; Wylie: mthong) = seeing, noticing, experiencing; DJKR: “realising”, “awakened with”.
• other languages: passana (Pāli)

≫ tongpa (Tibetan: སྟོང་པ་; Wylie: stong pa) = blank, empty, nothingness, devoid; also used as synonym of tongpa nyi (emptiness).

tongpa nyi (Tibetan: སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་, tong pa nyi; Wylie: stong pa nyid) = emptiness – see shunyata (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• see also: nyi (-ness)

≫ tosuto (Japanese:トースト, tōsuto) = toast (in Japanese). DJKR describes his love of Japanese toast in the teaching “Vipassana for beginners“, Taipei, December 12, 2020.
• see also: shokupan (Japanese “eating bread”)

≫ trang (Tibetan: འཕྲང་, trang; Wylie: ‘phrang) = narrow dangerous path (on a cliff or in a ravine); narrow defile; perilous journey; ambush.
• see also: gompé trang (the ravine of meditation)

trashi (Tibetan) = redirects to tashi (Tibetan)

≫ tridharmachakra (Sanskrit: त्रिधर्मचक्र, IAST: tridharmacakra = त्रि tri + धर्मचक्र dharmacakra “wheel of the law”; Tibetan: ཆོས་འཁོར་རིམ་པ་གསུམ་, chö khor rimpa sum; Wylie: chos ‘khor rim pa gsum) = the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma, the three major series of teachings given by the Buddha, according to the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition and as found in the Samdhinirmochana Sutra:
(1) The first turning took place in the Deer Park at Sarnath, Varanasi, where Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths.
(2) The second turning took place on Vulture’s Peak Mountain near Rajagriha and included sutras such as the Prajñaparamita sutras and the Lotus Sutra, where Buddha taught on the absence of characteristics.
(3) The third turning took place in Vaishali and other places and included the sutras that explain buddhanature and the three natures, such as the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ trikaya (Sanskrit: त्रिकाय, IAST: trikāya; Tibetan: སྐུ་གསུམ, ku sum; Wylie: sku gsum; Chinese: 三身 / 三身, pinyin: sānshēn) = three kayas; having three bodies; in Mahayana Buddhism, refers to the three bodies or three aspects of a buddha:
(1) dharmakaya (“truth body”)
(2) sambhogakaya (“body of enjoyment”)
(3) nirmanakaya (“body of manifestations”)
• see also: kaya (body, dimension) ; rupakaya (form body)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism / dbpedia

≫ trilakshana (Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण, IAST: trilakṣaṇa = tri + lakṣaṇa, “mark, sign, symbol, token, characteristic, attribute, quality”; Pāli: तिलक्खण, IAST: tilakkhaṇa; Japanese: 三法印, sanbōin; Tibetan: ཕྱག་རྒྱ་གསུམ་, chak gya sum; Wylie: phyag rgya gsum, “three seals” or “three mudras”) = the 3 marks of existence: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and anatta (non-self). According to Buddhism, these three characteristics are common to all phenomena and beings, and may therefore be said to describe the “truth” or “reality” of all existence. A central theme in the Buddhist Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path is that we are all subject to delusion (or ignorance or misunderstanding or denial) of the 3 marks (= 2nd Noble Truth), that this delusion results in suffering (= 1st Noble Truth), and that removal of this delusion results in the end of suffering (= 3rd Noble Truth). Buddhism offers a means to accomplish this removal of delusion, namely the Buddhist path (= 4th Noble Truth). In the Mahayana, a fourth characteristic or seal is added to the list of three, namely “nirvana is peace” (also translated as “nirvana is beyond extremes” or “nirvana is beyond description”). In his teaching “Return to Normal” Day 2 (Taipei, October 11, 2020), Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche explains the 3 marks as follows:
(1) anicca (impermanence); DJKR: “nothing is certain”.
(2) dukkha (unsatisfactoriness); DJKR: “nothing is one hundred percent satisfying”.
(3) anatta (non-self); DJKR: “nothing is how it appears”.
• see also: ariya atthangika magga (The Noble 8-fold path); cattari ariyasaccani (The 4 Noble Truths); chökyi domzhi (The 4 seals, a Mahayana elaboration of the 3 marks of existence)
• glossary: 3 marks of existence
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / dbpedia

≫ Tripitaka (Sanskrit: त्रिपिटक, IAST: Tripiṭaka, literally “three baskets”, from पिट, piṭa “basket”, which is from the root word √पिट्, piṭ “gathering together”; Pāli: तिपिटक, IAST: Tipiṭaka; Tibetan: སྡེ་སྣོད་གསུམ་, denö sum; Wylie: sde snod gsum; Burmese: ပိဋကတ် သုံးပုံ ; Chinese: 三藏, pinyin: sānzàng “three baskets”) = The Three Baskets, the traditional term for the Buddhist scriptures (originally referring to the receptacles that held the palm-leaf manuscripts). The version canonical to Theravada Buddhism is known as the Pali Canon. Mahayana Buddhism also holds the Tripitaka to be authoritative but, unlike the Theravada, it also includes in its canon other literature and commentaries that were composed much later. The Tripitaka was composed between about 550 BCE and about the start of the common era, and likely written down for the first time in the 1st century BCE during the reign of King Walagambahu of Sri Lanka. The three baskets or categories of teachings are:
(1) Vinaya (Sanskrit: विनयपिटक, Vinaya Piṭaka, IAST: vinayapiṭaka; Pāli: विनयपिटक, IAST: Vinaya Piṭaka) = Rules and regulations of monastic life, ranging from dress code and dietary rules to prohibition of certain personal conduct. The Vinaya appears to have grown gradually as a commentary and justification of the monastic code (Pratimoksha).
(2) Sutra (Sanskrit: सूत्रपिटक, Sūtra Piṭaka, IAST: sūtrapiṭaka; Pāli: सुत्तपिटक, IAST: Sutta Piṭaka) = The teachings of the Buddha, which were transmitted orally until they were written down. The oldest of the three baskets.
(3) Abhidharma (Sanskrit: अभिधर्मपिटक, Abhidharma Piṭaka, IAST: abhidharmapiṭaka; Pāli: अभिधम्मपिटक, IAST: Abhidhamma Piṭaka) = Philosophical and psychological analysis and interpretation of Buddhist doctrine, a later tradition of scholastic analysis and systematization of the contents of the Sutra Pitaka originating at least two centuries after the two other parts of the canon.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / dbpedia

≫ trishiksha (Sanskrit: त्रिशिक्षा, IAST: triśikṣā = tri + śikṣā; Pāli: तिसिक्खा, IAST: tisikkhā; also known simply as Sanskrit: शिक्षा, IAST: śikṣā or Pali: सिक्खा, IAST: sikkhā; Tibetan: བསླབ་པ་གསུམ་, lap pa sum, Wylie: bslab pa gsum, “three trainings”; also: ལྷག་པའི་བསླབ་པ་གསུམ་, lhak pé lap pa sum; Wylie: lhag pa’i bslab pa gsum, “three special trainings”) = the 3-fold training in higher discipline/virtue, higher mind and higher wisdom (part of the Theravada canonical teachings from the Pali Canon). Pursuing this training leads to the abandonment of the three poisons (passion, aggression and ignorance or lust, hatred, and delusion). One who is fully accomplished in this training attains nirvana. The threefold training is also part of the bodhisattva training in the Mahayana (e.g. as mentioned by Nagarjuna in his Letter to a Friend, verse 53). The three aspects of the 3-fold training are:
(1) shila (moral discipline or virtue) = leads to abandonment of the poison of passion/lust;
(2) samadhi (contemplation/meditation) = leads to abandonment of the poison of aggression/hatred;
(3) prajña (discriminative awareness/wisdom) = leads to abandonment of the poison of ignorance/delusion.
• Buddhist terms: 3-fold training
• external links: wikipedia

Trisong Detsen (Tibetan) = redirects to Trisong Deutsen.

≫ Trisong Deutsen (Tibetan: ཁྲི་སྲོང་དེའུ་བཙན་, Wylie: khri srong de’u btsan; also Tibetan: ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན, Wylie: khri srong lde btsan; also transliterated as “Trisong Detsen”) (790-844) = The second great Dharma king of Tibet who invited Guru Rinpoche, Shantarakshita, Vimalamitra, and many other Buddhist teachers to Tibet, thus playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and establishing the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Five Tertön Kings, the most important tertöns (treasure-revealers) are all considered emanations of King Trisong Deutsen.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ trivisha (Sanskrit: त्रिविष, trivisha; IAST = tri + viṣa, “poison, venom, anything actively pernicious”; Tibetan: དུག་གསུམ་, dug sum; Wylie: dug gsum) = the 3 poisons in the Mahayana, which are referred to in the Theravada tradition as the “three unwholesome roots” (Pāli: अकुसलमूल, IAST: akusalamūla; Sanskrit: अकुशलमूल, IAST: akuśalamūla = अकुशल akuśala “inauspicious, evil” +मूल mūla “root, basis, foundation”). In Sanskrit, these are:
(1) moha (Sanskrit & Pāli: मोह, IAST: moha) = delusion, confusion, bewilderment, ignorance.
(2) raga (Sanskrit: राग, IAST: rāga; Pāli: लोभ, IAST: lobha) = attachment, greed, avarice, desire, sensuality, passion.
(3) dvesha (Sanskrit: द्वेस्ह, IAST: dvesha; Pāli: दोस, IAST: dosa) = aversion, dislike, enmity, anger, hostility, aggression.
• 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)
• see also: klesha (pain, affliction, trouble); pañchakleshavisha (the five poisons)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ trülpa (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་པ་, trülpa; Wylie: sprul pa) = magical appearance, magically created appearance, apparition, emanation, manifestation, incarnation.
• see also: mayopama (metaphors for illusion); trülku (emanation body)

trülku (Tibetan) = redirects to tulku.

≫ tsagen (Dzongkha: རྩ་འགེངས་; tsageng) = persevere, persist, try.

≫ Tsangpa Lhayi Metok (Tibetan: ཚངས་པ་ལྷ་ཡི་མེ་ཏོག་, tsang pa lha yi mé tok; Wylie: tshangs pa lha yi me tog) = “Divine flower of Brahma”, the secret name which King Trisong Deutsen received from Guru Padmasambhava during an empowerment at Samye Chimphu. One of the two names given to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche by his paternal grandfather H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (the other is Khyentse Norbu).
• see also (DJKR teaching): DJKR tells the story of his names in Return to Normal, Day 1, Taipei (October 10, 2020)
• external links: rywiki / Lotsawa House

≫ tsel (Tibetan: རྩལ་, Wylie: rtsal) = (1) skill, dexterity, adroitness, accomplishment, creativity, resourcefulness; (2) expressive power, expression, function, manifesting power, potency. (3) creative energy, dynamic energy (of being), potentiality.
• see also: tukjé (compassion)

≫ tsen (Tibetan: བཙན་, tsen; Wylie: btsan) = (1) powerful, strong, mighty; (2) species of demon, warlike nonhuman spirit.

≫ tshechu (Dzongkha: ཚེས་བཅུ་, tséchu; Wylie: tshes bcu; literally “day ten”) = annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the lunar Tibetan calendar.
• external links: wikipedia

tsikché (Tibetan (1): ཚིག་བཅད་, tsikché; Wylie: tshig bcad; Tibetan (2): ཚིགས་བཅད་, Wylie: tshigs bcad) = stanza, verse – see shloka (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ tsimpa (Tibetan: ཚིམ་པ་, tsimpa; Wylie: tshim pa) = satisfied, content, contented.
• see also: mi tsimpa (unsatisfied, not content)

≫ tsolché (Tibetan: རྩོལ་བཅས་, Wylie: rtsol bcas) = involving effort.
• see also: (contrasted with): tsolmé (effortless)

≫ tsolmé (Tibetan: རྩོལ་མེད་, Wylie: rtsol med) = effortless, without striving.
• see also: (contrasted with): tsolché (involving effort)

tsültrim (Tibetan: ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་, tsül trim; Wylie: tshul khrims) = discipline, morality, ethical conduct – see shila (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• see also: tsültrim sum (the 3 kinds of discipline according to the Mahayana)

≫ tsültrim sum (Tibetan: ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་གསུམ་, tsül trim sum; Wylie: tshul khrims gsum) = the 3 kinds of ethical conduct or discipline according to the Mahayana. These are:
(1) nyéchö dompé tsültrim (Tibetan: ཉེས་སྤྱོད་སྡོམ་པའི་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་, nyé chö dom pé tsül trim; Wylie: nyes spyod sdom pa’i tshul khrims) = the ethical conduct or discipline of controlling transgressions (DJKR: “refraining from non-virtuous actions”).
(2) semchen dön jépé tsültrim (Tibetan: སེམས་ཅན་དོན་བྱེད་པའི་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་, sem chen dön jé pé tsül trim; Wylie: sems can don byed pa’i tshul khrims) = the ethical conduct or discipline of benefitting sentient beings (DJKR: “helping others”).
(3) gewé chö düpé tsültrim (Tibetan: དགེ་བའི་ཆོས་སྡུད་པའི་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་, gewé chö dü pé tsül trim; Wylie: dge ba’i chos sdud pa’i tshul khrims) = the ethical conduct or discipline of gathering virtuous dharmas (DJKR: “extracting virtue, extracting wisdom/prajña”).
• see also: shila (discipline, Sanskrit ≫main entry for “discipline”); tsültrim (discipline)
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ tsülzhin mayinpa yila jé (Tibetan: ཚུལ་བཞིན་མ་ཡིན་པ་ཡིད་ལ་བྱེད་པ་, tsül zhin ma yin pa yi la jé; Wylie: tshul bzhin ma yin pa yid la byed pa) = wrong view, improper conceptual activity; DJKR: “having the wrong view, wrong ideas, basically being delusional I guess”.

≫ tsurtong (Tibetan: ཚུར་མཐོང་, Wylie: tshur mthong = ཚུར་ tshur “here, over here, on this side, inward” + མཐོང་ mthong “see, notice, perceive”) = seeing this side; one who sees nearby, i.e. ordinary person, common being, man in the street; samsaric outlook or view; DJKR: “someone who observes what is observable; basically, you don’t think beyond face value or whatever you see”.

≫ tukjé (Tibetan: ཐུགས་རྗེ་, Wylie: thugs rje) = compassion, compassionate energy, compassionate manifestation, compassionate expression; responsiveness. Honorific and exalted form of nyingjé (Sanskrit: karuna), often more specifically referring to the compassion of awakened beings. Also (as synonym of tsel): responsive energy, dynamic expression, dynamic capacity.
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity)

≫ tulku (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, trülku; Wylie: sprul sku) = (a) manifested body, emanation body, form body, nirmanakaya, (b) incarnate lama
• see also: nirmanakaya (form body), trülpa (magical appearance)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

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U

≫ uma shing tanyi (Tibetan: དབུ་མ་ཤིང་རྟ་གཉིས་, uma shing ta nyi; Wylie: dbu ma shing rta gnyis) = the “Two Chariots of Madhyamaka”, i.e. the two traditions of Nagarjuna and Asanga that have shaped the development of Mahayana Buddhism in Tibet and East Asia. Nagarjuna in 2nd century CE founded the Madhyamaka school, which emphasizes emptiness and nonself. Asanga in 4th century CE founded the Yogachara school, which emphasizes cognition, perception and consciousness.
• external links: rywiki

≫ upasaka (Sanskrit: उपासक, IAST: upāsaka; Tibetan: དགེ་བསྙེན་, genyen / gé nyen; Wylie: dge bsnyen; Chinese: 優婆塞 / 优婆塞, pinyin: yōupósāi) = an adult lay male practitioner, devotee or disciple (female: upasika); layman. Originally meaning an attendant or servant, one of low caste, it became the name for a Buddhist layman who observes the five precepts (to avoid killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct, and intoxicating liquor). Contrast with monastic Buddhists who are referred to as bhikshu (male) and bhikshuni (female).
• see also: bhikshu (male monastic); bhikshuni (female monastic); pañchashila (five precepts); upasika (female lay practitioner)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ upasika (Sanskrit: उपासिका; IAST: upāsikā; Tibetan: དགེ་བསྙེན་མ་, genyenma; Wylie: dge bsnyen ma; Chinese: 優婆夷 / 优婆夷, pinyin: yōupóyí) = an adult lay female practitioner, devotee or disciple (male: upasaka). More more information see upasaka.
• see also: bhikshu (male monastic); bhikshuni (female monastic); pañchashila (five precepts); upasaka (male lay practitioner)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ upaya (Sanskrit: उपाय, IAST: upāya) = means, approach, device, craft. Often used to refer to upayakaushalya (skillful means).
• see also: thab ké (skilful means), upayakaushalya (skillful means).
• external links: wiktionary

upayakaushalya (Sanskrit: उपायकौशल्य, upaya-kaushalya; IAST: upāyakauśalya, from उपाय + कुशल, IAST: upāya + kuśala) = skillful means, skill in means, excellence in means – see thab ké (Tibetan ≫ main entry).
• see also: upaya (means, approach)

≫ upekkha (Pāli: उपेक्खाा, IAST: upekkhā; Sanskrit: उपेक्षा, IAST: upekṣā; Tibetan: བཏང་སྙོམས་, tangnyom; Wylie: btang snyoms) = equanimity, one of the four sublime states (brahmavihara). (The Sanskrit has a semantic range more oriented towards overlooking, disregard, negligence, indifference, contempt, abandonment).
• 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

≫ ushnisha (Sanskrit: उष्णीष, IAST: uṣṇīṣa; Burmese: ဥဏှိဿ) = the protuberance on the head of a buddha, one of the 32 major marks of the Buddha (the Sanskrit word also means anything wound round the head, hence also turban, diadem, crown). Later definitions of the 32 major marks elaborate that the ushnisha is covered with hairs that curl in the direction of the sun, and later still the ushnisha includes a flame that ascends from the middle of the protuberance.
• see also: mahapurisa lakkhana (the 32 major marks)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ Ushnishavijaya (Sanskrit: उष्णीषविजया, IAST: Uṣṇīṣavijayā, “Victorious One with Ushnisha”; Tibetan: གཙུག་གཏོར་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་མ།, Tsuktor Namgyelma; Wylie: gtsug tor rnam par rgyal ma; Chinese: 佛頂尊勝佛母 also 尊勝佛頂) = a female deity of long life, one of the three deities of long life (along with Amitayus and White Tara), as well as one of the Twenty-One Taras. She is usually depicted as white in colour, with three faces and eight arms, holding a small buddha image in her upper right hand and wearing an image of Vairocana in her headdress. Since 1571 Namgyelma has been the namesake for Namgyal Monastery, the personal monastery of all the Dalai Lamas since its establishment by the 3rd Dalai Lama. The Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra (Chinese: 佛頂尊勝陀羅尼經, pinyin: Fódǐng zūnshèng tuóluóní jīng; also abbreviated as: 佛頂經, pinyin: Fódǐng jīng; Japanese: Butchō Sonshō Darani Kyō) is the Mantra of Usnishavijaya, a very important dharani in Chinese Buddhism. Both a Tang Dynasty Chinese Emperor and a Japanese Emperor (Emperor Seiwa, 清和天皇 850-881 CE) required all Buddhist monasteries in their countries to facilitate its practice, after it was believed to have brought rain to end two severe droughts.
• see also: Amitayus; Sitatara (White Tara)
• external links: (Ushnishavijaya): wikipedia / rigpawiki / Himalayan Art / Tara di Gesu; (Ushnishavijaya dharani): wikipedia / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

utpannakrama (Sanskrit: उत्पन्नक्रम, IAST: utpannakrama = उत्पन्न, utpanna = “arisen, born, produced” + क्रम, krama “step, stage”) = the “completion stage” of practice in Vajrayana Buddhism – see dzogrim (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

utpattikrama (Sanskrit: उत्पत्तिक्रम, IAST: utpattikrama = उत्पत्ति, utpatti “arising, birth, production” + क्रम, krama “step, stage”) = the “generation phase” or “development phase” of practice in Vajrayana Buddhism – see kyerim (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

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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

≫ 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)
• 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) = 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

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W

≫ wabi-sabi (Japanese: 侘寂 or わび·さび, wabi-sabi) = a world view in traditional Japanese aesthetics centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. It is derived from the Buddhist teaching on the 3 marks of existence (三法印, sanbōin).
• see also: trilakshana (3 marks of existence): (1) anicca (impermanence), (2) dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) (3) anatta (nonself).
• glossary: 3 marks of existence
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

wadipa (Dzongkha: ཝ་དི་པ་) = cowherd – see nakdzi (Tibetan ≫ main entry).

wang (Tibetan: དབང་, wang; Wylie: dbang) = initiation, empowerment – see abhisheka (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• external links: wiktionary

≫ wangpo nönpo (Tibetan: དབང་པོ་རྣོན་པོ་; Wylie: dbang po rnon po; Sanskrit: तीक्ष्णेन्द्रिय, tīkṣṇendriya; IAST: tīkṣṇa + indriya) = sharp faculties, keen faculties; sharp minded, intelligent, perceptive; as in “superior disciples of keen faculties” or “superior faculties” (as contrasted with inferior disciples with relatively dull faculties, wangpo tülpo)
• see also: wangpo tülpo (dull faculties)
• external links: (indriya): wiktionary

≫ wangpo tülpo (Tibetan: དབང་པོ་རྟུལ་པོ་; Wylie: dbang po rtul po; Sanskrit: मृद्विन्द्रिय, mṛdv-indriya; IAST: mṛdv + indriya) = dull faculties; insensitive; as in “inferior disciples of dull faculties” or “inferior faculties” (as contrasted with superior disciples with relatively sharp faculties, wangpo nönpo)
• see also: wangpo nönpo (sharp faculties)
• external links: (indriya): wiktionary

≫ wei-ji (Chinese: 危機 / 危机; pinyin: wēijī) = crisis; hidden danger or disaster.
Note on meaning: In Western popular culture, the word wei-ji is frequently but incorrectly said to be composed of two Chinese characters signifying “danger” (危; wēi) and “opportunity” (機 / 机; jī). Although the second character is a component of the Chinese word for “opportunity” (機會 / 机会; jīhuì), it has multiple meanings, and in isolation means something more like “change point”. The mistaken etymology (i.e. “a crisis contains both danger and opportunity”) became a trope after it was used by John F. Kennedy in his presidential campaign speeches in the late 1950s and continues to be widely repeated in business, education and politics.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ wu (Chinese: 無, pinyin: wú; Japanese: 無, mu) = (a) nonexistence, nonbeing, nonentity (Sanskrit: असत्, IAST: asat; Tibetan: མེད་པ་, mépa; Wylie: med pa); (b) not having, not possessing, without (Sanskrit: अभाव, IAST: abhāva; Tibetan: མི་མངའ་བ་, mi ngawa; Wylie: mi mnga’ ba). Opposite of “there is” (Chinese: 有, pinyin: yǒu). Wu is the “original nonbeing” from which being is produced in the Tao Te Ching, and it is thereby distinguished from the Buddhist word for emptiness or shunyata (Chinese: 空, pinyin: kōng).
• see also: shunyata (emptiness)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

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≫ xiaoren (Chinese: 小人, pinyin: xiǎorén) = a morally small man; a petty, mean, ignoble, limited person. In Confucianism, the antithesis of the junzi (gentleman or noble person).
• see also: junzi (gentleman, noble person, respectable person)
• external links: wiktionary

xin (Chinese: 心, pinyin: xīn, also written as transliteration of Sanskrit, Chinese: 質多, pinyin: zhíduō) = mind, heart, heart-mind (the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word chitta). Wikipedia notes that “literally, xin refers to the physical heart, though it is sometimes translated as “mind” as the ancient Chinese believed the heart was the centre of human cognition. For this reason, it is also sometimes translated as “heart-mind”.
• note on meaning: xin and chitta have a broader semantic range than the English word “mind”, 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 ≫ main entry for “heart/mind”); sem (Tibetan ≫ main entry for “ordinary dualistic mind”).
• external links: wiktionary (includes overview of the historical evolution of the Chinese glyph for xin, which was originally a pictogram representing “heart” in Shang bronze inscriptions and oracle bone script) / wikipedia

Evolution of Chinese glyph for xin, wiktionary

≫ Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘, pinyin: Xuánzàng) (602-664) = a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator who traveled to India in the 7th century and described the interaction between Chinese Buddhism and Indian Buddhism during the early Tang dynasty. During the journey he visited many sacred Buddhist sites in what are now Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. His seventeen-year overland journey to India (including Nalanda) is recorded in detail in the classic text “Great Tang Records on the Western Regions” (Chinese: 大唐西域記 / 大唐西域记; pinyin: Dà Táng xīyù jì).
• see also: Faxian (337-422, Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to India)
• external links (Xuanzang): wiktionary / wikipedia; (Great Tang Records on the Western Regions): wikipedia

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Y

≫ yab-yum (Tibetan: ཡབ་ཡུམ་, Wylie: yab yum) = literally “father-mother”, refers to the union of father and mother consorts, a common symbol in Indian and Himalayan Buddhist art. It represents the primordial union of wisdom and compassion, depicted as a male deity in union with his female consort. The male figure represents compassion and skillful means, while the female figure represents wisdom. Likewise, the union of wisdom and compassion is symbolized by the tantric implements of the bell and the dorje (vajra).
• see also: zungjuk (union, indivisibility, primordial unity)
• external links: wikipedia / Britannica

≫ yana (Sanskrit and Pāli: यान, IAST: yāna; Tibetan: ཐེག་པ་, tekpa; Wylie: theg pa; etymology: from Proto-Indo-European *yéh₂-nom, from *yeh₂- “to go”) = vehicle or method; “that which carries”; a mode or method of spiritual practice in Buddhism; used in particular to differentiate various schools of Buddhism according to their view and practice.
• see also: Ekayana (the Single Vehicle); Hinayana (the Lesser Vehicle); Mahayana (the Great Vehicle); Shravakayana (the Vehicle of the Shravakas); tekpa gu (the nine yanas according to the Nyingma classification of the Buddhist path) Theravada (the School of the Elders); Vajrayana (the Diamond Vehicle)
• external links: (yana): wiktionary / wikipedia; (nine yanas in the Nyingma tradition): rigpawiki

≫ yangsi (Tibetan: ཡང་སྲིད་, yang si; Wylie: yang srid) = reincarnation, rebirth; new / transmigrating existence. In Tibetan, the word yangsi is synonymous with khorwa (samsara or cyclic existence). DJKR: “reincarnation”, “continuity”, “seeming continuation”.
• see also: khorwa (samsara or cyclic existence)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia / Britannica

≫ ye (Tibetan: ཡེ་, yé; Wylie; ye) = primordial, original, from the beginning, eternal.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ YE DHARMA HETU (Sanskrit: ये धर्मा हेतु; IAST: ye dharmā hetu = ये ye, from य ya, “of, who, which, that” + धर्मा dharmā “phenomenon” + हेतु hetu “cause, reason for”. The entire phrase might be translated “of caused phenomena” or “regarding caused phenomena”; Tibetan: ཆོས་རྣམས་གང་དག་, Wylie: chos rnams gang dag) = the mantra or dharani of dependent origination (or “mantra of dependent arising”), a famous Sanskrit dharani widely used in ancient times and often carved on shrines and statues of the Buddha. The pronunciation of the complete mantra in English is: OM YE DHARMA HETU-PRABHAVA HETUM TESHAM TATHAGATO HYAVADAT TESHAM CHA YO NIRODHA EVAM VADI MAHASHRAMANAH SVAHA, which means “Of those phenomena which arise from causes, Those causes have been taught by the Tathāgata (Buddha), And their cessation too – thus proclaims the Great Ascetic”. These words were spoken by the monk Ashvajit when Shariputra asked him for a summary of the teachings of the Buddha. Upon hearing this, Shariputra attained the first path of “stream-enterer” (sotāpatti) and he later told them to his friend Maudgalyayana who also attained the state of “stream-enterer”. They then went to the Buddha, along with 500 of their followers, and asked to become his disciples.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / Nālandā Translation

≫ yermé (Tibetan: དབྱེར་མེད་, yer mé; Wylie: dbyer med ; Sanskrit: अभेद, IAST: abheda “absence of difference of distinction”, also अभिन्न, IAST: abhinna “unbroken”) = indivisibility, undifferentiatedness, inseparability; undivided.
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity)
• external links: rigpawiki / rywiki / Study Buddhism

yeshe (Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་, yéshé; Wylie: ye shes) = wisdom, primordial wisdom – see jñana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).
• see also: jñana (Sanskrit ≫ main entry); yeshe nga (five wisdoms)
• external links: wiktionary

≫ yeshe nga (Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་ལྔ་, yeshe nga; Wylie: ye shes lnga; Chinese: 五智, pinyin: wǔzhì) = the five wisdoms, five aspects of primordial wisdom (yeshe). The five wisdoms appear when the mind is purified of the five disturbing emotions, and the natural mind manifests without obstruction. The five wisdoms are associated with the five dhyani-buddhas and the five buddha families.
• see also: pañchabuddha (five dhyani-buddhas); pañchakula (five buddha families); yeshe (wisdom)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ yidam (Tibetan: ཡི་དམ་, Wylie: yi dam ; Sanskrit: इष्टदेव, IAST: iṣṭadeva, often abbreviated to देव, deva) = meditational deity, considered to be a manifestation of buddhanature or enlightened mind; one of the three roots in Vajrayana Buddhism.
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity)
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki

≫ yin-yang (Chinese: 陰陽, pinyin: yīnyáng, literally “dark-bright”, “negative-positive”) = a concept of dualism in Taoist philosophy that describes how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. It is often depicted using the tajitu, a circular black and white symbol or diagram.
• see also: nyidzin (dualism), tajitu (circular black and white symbol used to depict yin-yang)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ yoga (Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yoga; Tibetan: རྣལ་འབྱོར་, naljor / nenjor; Wylie: rnal ‘byor) = joining, mixing, uniting, union (in tantra: “union in fundamental reality”); attaching, harnessing (of horses); application or concentration of the thoughts, abstract contemplation, meditation.
• see also: Guru Yoga (Tibetan Buddhist practice); yogi (practitioner of yoga)
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ Yogachara (Sanskrit: योगाचार, yogachara, IAST: yogācāra, literally “one who practices yoga”; note that Sanskrit Dictionary has yogacāra instead of yogācāra; Tibetan: རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་, naljor chöpa / nenjor chöpa; Wylie: rnal ‘byor spyod pa; Chinese: 瑜伽行派, pinyin: Yúqiéxíng pài) = a Mahayana school of philosophy and psychology established by Asanga in 4th century CE, also known as the Chittamatra (or “mind-only”) school. It emphasizes the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It is also termed Vijñānavāda (the doctrine of consciousness) and Vijñaptivāda (the doctrine of ideas or percepts). There are several interpretations of this philosophy, some scholars see it as a type of Idealism, while others argue that it is closer to a type of phenomenology or representationalism. The Yogachara view continues to be influential in Tibetan Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki / rywiki / Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

≫ yogi (Sanskrit: योगि, IAST: yogi; also: योगिन्, IAST: yogin; Tibetan: རྣལ་འབྱོར་པ་, naljorpa / nenjorpa; Wylie: rnal ‘byor pa) = a contemplative, devotee or ascetic; practitioner of yoga; endowed with, possession. A female practitioner of yoga is called a yogini.
• see also: yoga (joining, uniting)
• external links: wikipedia

yogin (Sanskrit) redirects to yogi.

≫ yogipratyaksha (Sanskrit: योगिप्रत्यक्ष, yogipratyaksha; IAST: yogi + pratyakṣa; Tibetan: རྣལ་འབྱོར་མངོན་སུམ་, naljor ngönsum / nenjor ngönsum; Wylie: rnal ‘byor mngon sum) = yogic direct perception; fourth of the 4 kinds of direct perception.
• other languages: naljor ngönsum (Tibetan)
• see also: ngönsum zhi (4 kinds of direct perception); yogi (practitioner of yoga)
• external links (pratyaksha): wiktionary

≫ yönten (Tibetan: ཡོན་ཏན་, yön ten; Wylie: yon tan; Sanskrit: गुण, guna, IAST: guṇa) = quality, precious qualities, positive traits, value, capacities.
• external links: wiktionary

≫ Yönten Gyatso (Tibetan: ཡོན་ཏན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, yön ten gyatso or yön ten gyamtso; Wylie: yon tan rgya mtsho; Sanskrit: गुणसागर, Gunasagara “Ocean of Qualities”; IAST: guṇasāgara = guṇa “qualities” + sāgara “ocean”) = “Ocean of Qualities”, the monastic name of Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé.
• external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

≫ yum (Tibetan: ཡུམ་, Wylie: yum) = mother; female consort; female principle.

≫ Yum Chenmo (Tibetan: ཡུམ་ཆེན་མོ་, Yum Chenmo, Wylie: yum chen mo) = “Great Mother”, the personification of Prajñaparamita in the form of a bodhisattva. She is usually represented as a peaceful seated figure clothed in silks; her body is gold in color, and she has one face and four arms. Her first two arms rest in meditation posture in her lap, while the second right hand holds a vajra (symbolizing compassion and bliss) and the second left hand holds the text of the Heart Sutra (representing emptiness).
• see also: prajñaparamita
• external links: wikipedia / Sakyadhita / Himalayan Art

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Z

≫ zafu (Japanese: 座蒲, zafu) = round meditation cushion, best known for its use in zazen Zen meditation.
• external links: wiktionary / wikipedia

≫ zangpo chöpa (Tibetan: བཟང་པོ་སྤྱོད་པ་, Wylie: bzang po spyod pa) = excellent conduct.

≫ zap (Tibetan: ཟབ་, the pronunciation is more like the English “zup” than “zap”; Wylie: zab) = profound, deep.

Zen (Japanese: 禅, zen) = meditative concentration, meditation, concentration; also refers to the school of Mahayana Buddhism that started as Chan in China and spread east to Japan becoming Zen – 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 / wikipedia

≫ zhak (Tibetan: བཞག་, Wylie: bzhag) = put, place, stay, remain, leave behind, leave alone; DJKR: zhak has the connotation of “leave it”, “leave it alone”, “just leave it as it is”.
• see also: nyamzhak (meditative equipoise)

zhédang (Tibetan: ཞེ་སྡང་, zhédang; Wylie: zhe sdang) = aversion, dislike, enmity, hatred, hostility, ill-will – see dvesha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ zheljé (Tibetan: ཞལ་འབྱེད་; Wylie: zhal ‘byed) = open, unveil, inaugurate.

≫ zhi (Tibetan: གཞི་, Wylie: gzhi; according to Dudjom Rinpoche the Sanskrit is आश्रय, ashraya; IAST: āśraya “seat, resting place”, but other scholars have स्थान, IAST: sthāna “place, proper or right place”) = ground, primordial state; basic ground, basic nature; ground of being. According to the Dzogchen teachings, the ground has three qualities: essence, nature and capacity/power/compassionate energy (ngowo rangzhin tukjé). Knowledge/realization of this ground is called rigpa.
• see also: ngowo rangzhin tukjé (essence, nature and capacity) ; rigpa (awareness)
* external links: wikipedia / rigpawiki

zhiné (Tibetan: ཞི་གནས་, zhiné; Wylie: zhi gnas) = calm abiding – see shamatha (Sanskrit ≫ main entry).

≫ zhiwa (Tibetan: ཞི་བ་, zhi wa; Wylie: zhi ba; Sanskrit: शान्ति, shanti; IAST: śānti) = (a) peace, peaceful, pacification; tranquility; (b) calmness of mind; absence of passion.

≫ Zhuangzi (Chinese: 莊子 / 庄子; pinyin: Zhuāngzǐ, literally “Master Zhuang”; formal name: 莊周 / 庄周; pinyin: Zhuāng Zhōu; also rendered as Chuang-Tzu, Chuang-Tze) (369-286 BCE) = an influential Chinese Taoist philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States period. He is regarded as a transmitter and major innovator of the Taoist teachings of Laozi (老子), and also credited as the author of at least part of the work bearing his own name, the Zhuangzi, which is considered as one of the foundational texts of Taoism.
• see also: Laozi (Chinese philosopher, 6th century BCE)
• external links: wikipedia

≫ zok (Tibetan: ཟོག་, zok; Wylie: zog) = deception, fraud, deceit, falsehood; wares, things to be sold, merchandise.

≫ zokdzün (Tibetan: ཟོག་རྫུན་, zok dzün; Wylie: zog rdzun) = say what is not is.

≫ zungjuk (Tibetan: ཟུང་འཇུག་, zun juk; Wylie: zung ‘jug = “couple, pair; marry; hold, seize” + “go into, enter, participate; engage in; put, insert; allow, permit; make”; Sanskrit: युगनद्ध, IAST: yuganaddha = युग yuga “yoke” + नद्ध naddha “bound, tied, joined”) = union, indivisibility, primordial unity that resolves dualities; interpenetration, coalescence; used to describe the nonduality/primordial union of wisdom and compassion, ultimate truth and relative truth, etc.
• see also: yab-yum (literally “father-mother”, union of father and mother consorts)

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Sources:

Tibetan & Dzongkha Dictionaries & Translation Resources

Rangjung Yeshe online Tibetan dictionary (Tibetan-Wylie links redirect here)
Tibetan-Sanskrit translations are from Jeffrey Hopkins’ Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Wylie-Tibetan Unicode transliterations generated using Tibetan & Himalayan Library Tibetan transliteration converter
English pronunciation for Tibetan words generated using Tibetan & Himalayan Library phonetics converter
Additional Tibetan-English translations from Tibetan & Himalayan Library Tibetan to English translation tool
Dzongkha from Kurtöp/English/Dzongkha Dictionary by Gwendolyn Hyslop, Karma Tshering, Kuenga Lhendrup & Pema Chhophyel

Pali & Sanskrit Dictionaries & Translation Resources

Online Sanskrit dictionary (Sanskrit-IAST links redirect here)
The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English dictionary (Pali-IAST links redirect here)
Concise Pali-English dictionary by Buddhadatta Mahathera (2nd ed., 1959)
Online Pali dictionary [Note: this site was down as of December 2020]
Additional transliterations for Pali and Sanskrit words generated using Devanagari transliteration tool
Guide to Sanskrit pronunciation (with audio) at Sanskrit & Trika Shaivism

Other Dictionaries & Translation Resources

Jisho online Japanese dictionary (Japanese links redirect here)
Chinese and Pinyin are from Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (電子佛教辭典)
Etymology of words from multilingual dictionary Wiktionary
Multilingual dictionary and glossary of Buddhist terms at Study Buddhism Glossary
Multilingual dictionary at Buddhist Door
Buddhist dictionary: manual of Buddhist terms by Nyanatiloka at Palikanon
Additional definitions from DJKR are given together with links to teachings in which they are found.

Other Buddhist Resources

Access to Insight: Readings in Theravada Buddhism, including translations of more than 1000 suttas from the Pali Canon.
Himalayan Art: artworks from Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India, China and Mongolia, including large selection of Tibetan thangkas.
Lotsawa House: translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts, especially from the Nyingma and Rimé traditions.
Study Buddhism: Tibetan Buddhist teachings, including many by H.H. The Dalai Lama, with commentary by Dr. Alexander Berzin.
Terebess: Zen literature, koans, history and biographies of masters, by Gábor Terebess.
Treasury of Lives: “A Biographical Encyclopedia of Tibet, Inner Asia, and the Himalaya”.

Note on capitalization

Capitalization is used for proper names and names of schools (e.g. Mahayana) or religions (e.g. Buddhism), and also for followers of a religion (e.g. Buddhist). The historical Buddha is capitalized, also when he is referred to by other names such as Tathagata. The word buddha is in lower case when used to refer to buddhas or enlightened beings in general.

Artwork: The Prayer Wheel Shop

Page last updated October 22, 2021