Glossary

chö ngon pa (Tib); chos mngon pa (Wyl)

One of the three baskets (Tripitaka) of the Buddhist canon, the others being Vinaya and Sutra; the systematized philosophical and psychological analysis of existence that is the basis of the Buddhist systems of tenets and mind training.

Abhidharmakosha (Skt)

chö ngon pa dzö (Tib); chos mngon pa’i mdzod (Wyl)

Treasury of Knowledge, by Vasubandhu; one of the main philosophical texts studied in Tibetan monasteries.

Abhidharmasamucchaya (Skt)

chö ngon pa kun tü (Tib); chos mngon pa kun btus (Wyl)

Asanga’s Compendium of Higher Knowledge is one of the principal philosophical texts studied in Tibetan monasteries, particularly revered for its clarity and for the exposition of mind and mental factors.

Abhisamayalamkara (Skt)

ngon tog gyen (Tib); mngon rtogs rgyan (Wyl)

(Tib: shä rap kyi pa röl tu chin pä men ngak gi ten chö ngön par tok pä gyen chä jawa)
Ornament for Clear Realizations, by Maitreya; a philosophical text studied in Tibetan monasteries.

absolute guru

don dam lama (Tib); don dam bla ma (Wyl)

The dharmakaya, the omniscient mind of the buddha, which is free from all gross and subtle obscurations. See also conventional guru.

absolute refuge

don dam kyabne (Tib); don dam skyabs gnas (Wyl)

Also called ultimate refuge, absolute refuge is the ultimate attainment of the three refuges, as opposed to conventional refuge. Absolute Buddha is the dharmakaya, the buddha’s omniscient mind, absolute Dharma is the true cessation of suffering and absolute Sangha is any being who has attained the true cessation of suffering and become an arya being.

Action Tantra

Kriya Tantra (Skt); ja gyü (Tib); bya rgyud (Wyl)

See Kriya Tantra.

affliction

See delusion.

afflictive mental consciousness

klishtamana (Skt); nyönyi (Tib); nyon yid (Wyl)

Also known as “the I-maker” this is the eighth main mind posited by the Cittamatra school, which asserts that there needs to be a separate consciousness where the sense of I resides. The other schools only posit six main consciousnesses, but the Cittamatra school posits two additional types—afflictive mental consciousness and mind basis of all.

aggregates

skandha (Skt); pung po (Tib); phung po (Wyl)

The psycho-physical constituents that make up a sentient being: form, feeling, discriminative awareness, compositional factors and consciousness. Beings of the desire and form realms have all five whereas beings in the formless realm no longer have the aggregate of form.

Ajatashatru (Skt)

An early Indian king who imprisoned and killed his father, Bimbisara. Realizing the enormity of this sin and guided by the Buddha, he purified this negativity and became an arhat.

Akshobhya (Skt)

mi kyö pa (Tib); mi bskod pa (Wyl)

Also called Mikyöpa, Mitrugpa or Mitugpa, one of the five buddha types (Dhyani Buddhas), blue in color, representing the wisdom of reality and the fully purified aggregate of consciousness.

aloke (Skt)

Light; one of the offering substances. Aloke is Tibetanized; the actual Sanskrit is aloka.

Amaravati

The site of an ancient Buddhist stupa in modern Andra Pradesh, India, and also the place where Buddha first gave the Kalachakra empowerment, according to the Vajrayana tradition. In 2006, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a Kalachakra empowerment there.

Amdo

The northeastern region of Tibet that borders on China.

Amitabha (Skt)

Ö pa me (Tib); ’od dpag med (Wyl)

One of the five buddha types (Dhyani Buddhas), red in color, representing the wisdom of analysis and the fully purified aggregate of discriminative awareness.

Amoghadarshi (Skt)

One of the bodhisattvas who accompanied Shakyamuni Buddha.

Amoghasiddhi (Skt)

dön yo drub pa (Tib); don yod grub pa (Wyl)

One of the five buddha types (Dhyani Buddhas), green in color, representing the wisdom of activities and the fully purified aggregate of compositional factors.

amrita (Skt)

dütsi (Tib); bdud rtsi (Wyl)

Nectar.

analytical meditation

vicarabhavana (Skt); che gom (Tib); dpyad sgom (Wyl)

Of the two main types of meditation, this is a meditation where the subject is examined using logical reasoning, as opposed to single-pointed concentration or fixed meditation (Tib: jog gom) where the mind focuses on one single object.

anatman (Skt)

dagme (Tib); bdag med (Wyl)

No-self; as opposed to atman (self); the term used for selflessness in the Four Noble Truths Sutra.

anger

A disturbing thought that exaggerates the negative qualities of an object and wishes to harm it; one of the six root delusions.

Angulimala (Skt)

A character in a classic Dharma story about choosing the wrong guru and committing horrendous actions. Angulimala killed 999 people and made a rosary out of their fingers. He was prevented from killing his thousandth victim by the Buddha, and he was able to purify and become an arhat.

Anuttara Yoga Tantra (Skt)

See Highest Yoga Tantra.

argham (Skt)

Water (for drinking); one of the offering substances.

arhat (Skt)

dra chom pa (Tib); dgra bcom pa (Wyl)

The Tibetan translates as “foe destroyer.” A person who has destroyed their inner enemy, the delusions, and attained liberation from cyclic existence.

arhati (Skt)

A female arhat.

arura (Tib)

haritaki (Skt); a ru ra (Wyl)

Also known as chebulic myrobalan; the botanical name is terminalia cherbula. A fruit that is one of the three fundamental Tibetan medicines; the Medicine Buddha holds the stem of the arura plant in his right hand. Ordinary arura is commonly used in Tibetan medical compounds; special arura—which is said to cure any sickness—is extremely rare.

arya (Skt)

phag pa (Tib); ’phags pa (Wyl)

Literally, noble. One who has realized the wisdom of emptiness.

Aryadeva

phagpa lha (Tib); ‘phags pa lha (Wyl)

A third-century Indian Buddhist philosopher and leading early proponent of Nagarjuna’s Prasangika Madhyamaka philosophy. He is one of six great Indian scholars, known as the Six Ornaments.

Asanga, Arya

phagpa togme (Tib); ‘phags pa thogs med (Wyl)

The fourth-century Indian master who received directly from Maitreya Buddha the extensive, or method, lineage of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. Said to have founded the Cittamatra school of Buddhist philosophy. He is one of six great Indian scholars, known as the Six Ornaments.

Ashoka

nyangenme (Tib); mya ngan med (Wyl)

Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty (about 250 BC) who converted to Buddhism and propagated Buddhism across Asia.

Ashvaghosha (or Aryasura)

tayang (Tib); rta dbyangs (Wyl)

The third-century Indian master, renowned for his scholarship and poetry, who is the author of Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion.

aspirational bodhicitta

mon pa jang chub sem (Tib); smon pa byang chub sems (Wyl)

Also called wishing, or aspiring bodhicitta; the spontaneous, uncontrived mind that wishes to attain full enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. See also engaging bodhicitta and bodhicitta.

asura (Skt)

lhamin (Tib); lha min (Wyl)

Demi-god. A being in the god realms who enjoys greater comfort and pleasure than human beings, but who suffers from jealousy and quarreling.

Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana (982–1054)

The renowned Indian master who went to Tibet in 1042 to help in the revival of Buddhism and established the Kadam tradition. Atisha wrote the seminal text, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, in which he organized the Buddha’s teachings into clear steps, known as lamrim, or stages of the path to enlightenment.

atman (Skt)

dag (Tib); bdag (Wyl)

Self; as opposed to anatman (no-self), the Buddha’s explanation of selflessness in the Four Noble Truths Sutra.

attachment

A disturbing thought that exaggerates the positive qualities of an object and wishes to possess it; one of the six root delusions.

attachment-scattering thought

auddhatya (Skt); gopa (Tib); rgod pa (Wyl)

Also known as excitement, this is a mental factor which disrupts concentration through the force of attachment and is one of the three kinds of scattering. At a gross level, the meditator loses the object of meditation altogether. At a more subtle level, the mind holds the object of meditation, but a part of the mind is distracted by another object. See also sinking thought and lethargy.

Avalokiteshvara (Skt)

Chenrezig (Tib); spyan ras gzigs (Wyl)

The buddha of compassion. A male meditational deity embodying fully enlightened compassion.

Avici (Skt)

narme (Tib); mnar med (Wyl)

The lowest level of hell.

baksheesh (possibly Persian)

A tip or bribe to expedite getting what one wants. The term (and the custom) is common throughout Asia.

Bakula Rinpoche (1917–2003)

A Ladakhi lama, the reincarnation of one of the sixteen arhats, who served for many years in the Indian parliament and as Indian ambassador to Mongolia.

bala (Skt)

Meat; one of the two offering substances in a Highest Yoga Tantra practice, the other is madana (nectar).

bardo (Tib)

See intermediate state.

basis of imputation

dag zhi, tag zhi (Tib); gdags gzhi, btags gzhi (Wyl)

Also called “basis of designation” or “basis for labeling”, the object or valid base on which a label is placed as part of the third and most subtle level of dependent arising.

bath offering practice

The practice of visualizing or actually offering an ablution to the merit field in order to clear away obscurations and create merit.

beginningless rebirth

Since the continuity of the mind has no beginning, our rebirths in samsara also have no beginning.

Ben Gungyal, Geshe

A Kadampa practitioner and follower of Atisha, he was a robber before he renounced his life of crime and became ordained.

bhagavan (Skt)

chom den dä (Tib); bcom ldan ‘das (Wyl)

Epithet for a buddha; sometimes translated as Lord, Blessed One and so forth. One who has destroyed (chom) all the defilements, possesses all qualities (den) and has transcended the world (dä).

bhikshu (Skt)

See gelong.

bhikshuni (Skt)

See gelongma.

bhumi (Skt)

sa (Tib, Wyl)

Ground, or level, as in the ten bodhisattva levels. See ten grounds or stages.

Bodhgaya

Dorjeden (Tib); rdo rje gdan (Wyl)

The small town in the state of Bihar in north India where Shakyamuni Buddha became enlightened.

Bodhicaryavatara (Skt)

jangchub sempä chöpa la jugpa, chöjug (Tib); byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa la ‘jug pa, spyod ‘jug (Wyl)

A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by Shantideva.

bodhicitta (Skt)

jang chub sem (Tib); byang chub sems (Wyl)

A principal consciousness that combines the two factors of wishing to free all beings from suffering and of wishing to attain enlightenment in order to achieve that; the spontaneous altruistic mind of enlightenment can be either aspirational or engaging.

bodhisattva (Skt)

jang chub sem pa (Tib); byang chub sems dpa’ (Wyl)

One who possesses bodhicitta.

bodhisattva vows (Skt)

chang sem dom pa (Tib); byang sems sdom pa (Wyl)

The vows taken when one enters the bodhisattva path.

Bodhisattvayana (Skt)

The Bodhisattva’s Vehicle, another name for Paramitayana or Sutrayana; the non-tantric Mahayana path.

Bon (Tib)

The religion in Tibet that preceded Buddhism. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has recognized Bön as the fifth tradition along with the four major traditions of Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyü and Gelug. Practitioners of Bön are called Bönpos.

Boudhanath

A village just outside Kathmandu that is built around the Boudhanath Stupa, a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site.

Brahma (Skt)

tsangpa (Tib); tshangs pa (Wyl)

The Hindu god of creation, one of the principal three deities with Vishnu and Shiva.

Brahmin

A member of the priest caste of Indian society.

buddha field

buddhakshetra (Skt); sang gye kyi zhing (Tib); sangs rgyas kyi zhing (Wyl)

In some ways synonymous with pure land, although it can also mean any pure environment, seen as a manifestation of wisdom.

buddha nature

sugatagarbha, tathagatagarbha (Skt); desheg nyingpo, dezhin shegpe nyingpo (Tib); bde gshegs snying po, de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po (Wyl)

The clear light nature of mind possessed by all sentient beings; the potential for all sentient beings to become enlightened by removing the two obscurations: to liberation and omniscience.

buddha, a (Skt)

sang gye (Tib); sangs rgyas (Wyl)

A fully awakened being, who has totally eliminated (Tib: sang) all obscurations veiling the mind and has fully developed (Tib: gye) all good qualities to perfection. See also enlightenment, Shakyamuni Buddha.

Buddha, the (Skt)

The historical Buddha. See Shakyamuni Buddha.

Buddhadharma (Skt)

The teachings of the Buddha. See also Dharma.

buddhahood

See enlightenment.

Buddhajnana (Skt)

Sangye Yeshe (Tib); sangs rgyas ye shes (Wyl)

The eighth century Indian teacher who founded one of the Guhyasamaja systems; studied the Perfection of Wisdom teachings with Haribhadra.

Buddhist

nangpa (Tib); nang pa (Wyl)

One who has taken refuge in the Three Jewels of Refuge, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and who accepts the philosophical world view of the four seals: that all composite phenomena are impermanent, all contaminated phenomena are in the nature of suffering, all things and events are devoid of self-existence, and nirvana is true peace.

bumpa (Tib)

A ritual vase with a spout used in ceremonies and initiations.

burning offering practice

homa (Skt); jin seg (Tib); sbyin sreg (Wyl)

The tantric practice of making offerings to a deity generated within a fire, such as Dorje Khadro or Jigten Gyima Lha (which simply means “worldly fire deity”). This ritual is performed as part of the preliminary practices or at the conclusion of an approximation retreat. Often called a fire puja.

Buxa Duar

A small town in West Bengal in eastern India, where most of the Tibetan monks who escaped to India in 1959 were accommodated. Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche both resided here after arriving in India.

calm abiding

See shamatha.

capable being (lower, middle or higher)

See the graduated path of the three capable beings.

causal refuge

The objects of refuge—the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha—existing in the mental continua of others, as opposed to resultant refuge. Only by relying upon these external refuge objects can we achieve our own internal resultant refuge. Causal refuge can be both absolute and relative Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. See also absolute refuge, conventional refuge.

causative phenomena

Things that come about in dependence upon causes and conditions; includes all objects experienced by the senses, as well as the mind itself; impermanent phenomena.

cause and effect

See karma.

central channel

sushumna or avadhuti (Skt); tsa uma (Tib); rtsa dbu ma (Wyl)

The central channel runs from the crown of the head to the secret chakra. It is the major energy channel of the vajra body, and is visualized as a hollow tube of light in front of the spine. See also five chakras.

cessation with residue

sopadhishesha-nirvana (Skt); lhag chä pä nya ngen lä dä pa (Tib); lhag bcas pa’i mya ngan las ’das pa (Wyl)

The attainment of nirvana while still in a contaminated body, hence “with residue” or “with remainder.” One of the three types of nirvana, or liberation. See also cessation without residue and non-abiding nirvana.

cessation without residue

nirupadhishesha-nirvana (Skt); lhag mä pä nya ngen lä dä pa (Tib); lhag med pa’i mya ngan las ‘das pa (Wyl)

The attainment of nirvana once the contaminated body (the residue) perishes, hence “without residue” or “without remainder.” One of the three types of nirvana, or liberation. See also cessation with residue and non-abiding nirvana.

cessation, the truth of

nirodhasatya (Skt); gog den (Tib); ‘gog bden (Wyl)

The third of the four noble truths, the complete elimination of all disturbing-thought obscurations, thus stopping suffering and attaining the state of liberation or nirvana. See also obscurations.

chakra (Skt)

khorlo (Tib); ‘khor lo (Wyl)

See five chakras.

Chakrasamvara (Skt)

khorlo demchog (Tib); ‘khor lo bde mchog (Wyl)

See Heruka Chakrasamvara.

chakravartin (Skt)

See wheel-turning king.

Chandragomin

A famous seventh-century Indian lay practitioner who challenged Chandrakirti to a debate that lasted many years. His writings include Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva Vows (Skt: Bodhisattvasamvaravimshakah; Tib: jam chug sem pä dom pa nyi shu pa) and Letter to a Disciple (Skt: Shisyalekha; Tib: lob ma la tring pä tring yik).

Chandrakirti (Skt)

Dawa Dragpa (Tib); zla bag rags pa (Wyl)

The sixth century CE Indian Buddhist philosopher who wrote commentaries on Nagarjuna‘s philosophy. His best-known work is A Guide to the Middle Way (Skt: Madhyamakavatara; Tib: u ma la jug pa).

chang (Tib)

Beer made from fermented grain, often barley.

changeable mental factors

anyathabhava-chaitta (Skt); zhen gyur sem jung (Tib); gzhan ’gyur sems byung (Wyl)

One of the six groups of mental factors, these are factors that can be virtuous, nonvirtuous or neutral depending on one’s motivation and the specific situation. There are four: sleep, contrition, investigation and analysis.

channel

nadi (Skt); tsa (Tib); rtsa (Wyl)

A constituent of the vajra body through which energy winds and drops flow. The central, right, and left are the major channels; there are 72,000 subtle channels in all. See also five chakras and central channel.

Charya Tantra (Skt)

chö gyü (Tib); spyod rgyud (Wyl)

The second of four classes of tantra, also called Performance Tantra because it emphasizes rituals and recitation.

Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, Geshe (1101–75)

The Kadampa geshe who was inspired by Geshe Langri Tangpa’s Eight Verses of Thought Transformation and later composed the famous thought transformation text Seven-Point Mind Training.

Chengawa Lodrö Gyaltsen (1390–1448)

A disciple of Khedrub-je, one of Lama Tsongkhapa’s heart disciples.

Chengawa Tsultrim Bar, Geshe (1033–1103)

Kadampa master and one of Dromtönpa’s three main disciples, the other two being Geshe Potowa and Phuchungwa Shönu Gyaltsen (1031–1106).

Chenrezig (Tib)

See Avalokiteshvara.

chöd

chö (Tib); chod (Wyl)

A tantric practice aimed at destroying self-grasping, where the practitioner visualizes dissecting and distributing the parts of the ordinary body to spirits and other beings as a feast offering.

Chöden Rinpoche (1933-2015)

An ascetic, learned Gelugpa lama who meditated in a small room in Lhasa for nineteen years after the Chinese occupation; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Chogye Trichen Rinpoche (1919–2007)

A highly learned and attained lama who was head of the Tsarpa branch of the Sakya tradition; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Chökyi Dorje

The great fifteenth-century siddha whose chief disciple was Gyalwa Ensapa.

chömdze (Tib)

chos mdzad (Wyl)

The title given to a monk, usually a tulku, who has made a substantial offering to the monastery and is therefore exempt from work obligations.

chuba (Tib)

chu pa (Wyl)

A long dress or coat worn by Tibetan lay people.

chulen (Tib)

bcud len (Wyl)

Literally, “taking the essence.” Chulen pills are made of essential ingredients; taking but a few each day, accomplished meditators can remain secluded in retreat for months or years without having to depend upon normal food.

circumambulation

A practice of purifying negative karma and accumulating merit in which a person walks clockwise around a holy object such as a stupa or statue.

Cittamani Tara (Skt)

See Tara Cittamani.

Cittamatra (Skt)

sem tsam pa (Tib); sems tsam pa (Wyl)

The Mind Only school, one of the two Mahayana (Great Vehicle) philosophical schools. The Mind Only school does not accept external objects but does assert truly established self-knowers. See also the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

clear light

ö sel (Tib); ’od gsal (Wyl)

The extremely subtle mind which is directly recognized as the culmination of successful tantric practice, and is also accessible or recognizable to ordinary beings at the time of death.

clear light and the illusory body

ö sel (Tib); ’od gsal (Wyl); and gyulu (Tib); sgyu lus (Wyl)

See union of clear light and illusory body.

cognitive obscurations

See obscurations to knowledge.

Collected Topics

dura (Tib); bsdus grwa (Wyl)

A preliminary subject in the Tibetan Gelug tradition that serves as an introduction to syllogistic reasoning and systematizes and defines basic Buddhist concepts and terms.

common siddhi

sadharanasiddhi (Skt); tun mong gi ngo drub (Tib); thun mong gi dngos grub (Wyl)

Also called mundane siddhi, an attainment or realization of psychic power acquired as a by-product of the spiritual path, not considered helpful in developing toward enlightenment. Includes the various forms of common clairvoyance, invisibility, the ability to fly or travel great distances extremely quickly and so forth. For the traditional list see eight common siddhis. See also siddhi and supreme siddhi. For clairvoyance see five forms of clairvoyance.

compassion

karuna (Skt); nying je (Tib); snying rje (Wyl)

The wish that others be free from suffering.

Compassion Buddha

See Avalokiteshvara

completing karma

drubje kyi lä (Tib); ‘grub byed kyi las (Wyl)

Also called finishing karma, the karmic imprints that ripen to determine the type of experiences we have when we are reborn, as opposed to throwing karma that determines the actual rebirth. There are three types of completing karma: the possessed result and two types of result similar to the cause—that similar in experience and that similar in habit, or tendency.

completion stage

dzog rim (Tib); rdzogs rim (Wyl)

The second of the two stages of Highest Yoga Tantra, during which control is gained over the vajra body.

compositional factors

samskara (Skt); du je kyi phung po (Tib); ’du byed kyi phung po (Wyl)

Also called conditioning factors; the fourth of the five aggregates, consisting of 49 of the 51 mental factors (excluding feeling and discriminative awareness) that compound the result—that is, they are compounding—as opposed to compounded phenomena, which refers to the result itself.

compounded phenomena

samskrta (Skt); du jä kyi chö (Tib); ’dus byas kyi chos (Wyl)

Phenomena that arise due to causes and conditions.

Condensed Advice

Shiksa-samuccaya (Skt); lab tu (Tib); bslab btus (Wyl)

An important work by Shantideva with descriptions of the hell realm.

conditioning factors

See compositional factors.

consciousness

See mind.

contaminated aggregates

zagchä kyi phung po (Tib); zag bcas kyi phung po (Wyl)

The aggregates of an ordinary being that are contaminated by the seeds of delusion and therefore pervaded by suffering because they are controlled by delusion and karma.

conventional bodhicitta

kun dzob jang chub sem (Tib); kun rdzob byang chub sems (Wyl)

The altruistic mind of enlightenment; a mental primary consciousness holding the two aspirations of wishing to benefit all sentient beings and wishing to attain enlightenment in order to do this. See also ultimate bodhicitta.

conventional guru

kun dzob lama (Tib); kun rdzob bla ma (Wyl)

The manifestation in ordinary form of the absolute guru, in order to benefit sentient beings.

conventional refuge

kundzob kyabne (Tib); kun rdzob skyabs gnas (Wyl)

Also called relative refuge; the objects of refuge—the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha—as known to an obscured mind, The conventional Buddha refers to the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, and any other buddha, the conventional Dharma refers to three baskets of teachings—Vinaya, Abhidharma and Sutra—as well as the virtuous actions we do, and conventional Sangha refers to any assembly of four or more fully ordained monks or nuns living in pure vows who have yet to attain the state of arya being. Lama Zopa Rinpoche also refers to the conventional Buddha as “the Buddha that is true to the all-obscuring mind” or “illusory Buddha.” See also absolute refuge.

conventional truth

samvriti satya (Skt); kun dzob den pa (Tib); kun rdzob bden pa (Wyl)

As opposed to ultimate truth, which is the understanding of the ultimate nature of reality (emptiness), conventional truth is what is true to the valid conventional consciousness. It is also called concealer truth or all-obscuring truth because, although true on one level, it obscures the ultimate nature. Conventional and ultimate truth form the important subject in Buddhist philosophy called the two truths.

cyclic existence

samsara (Skt); khor wa (Tib); ‘khor ba (Wyl)

The six realms of conditioned existence, three lower—hell, hungry ghost (Skt: preta) and animal—and three upper—human, demigod (Skt: asura) and god (Skt: sura). It is the beginningless, recurring cycle of death and rebirth under the control of delusion and karma and fraught with suffering. It also refers to the contaminated aggregates of a sentient being.

dacoit (Hindi)

A bandit.

Dagpa Khachö (Tib)

Kechara (Skt); mkha’ spyod (Wyl)

The pure land of Vajrayogini.

Dagpo Rinpoche

Jampel Lhundrup. Pabongka Rinpoche’s root guru for lam-rim teachings; author of the Jorchö text A Necklace for the Fortunate; his reincarnation has lived in France for many years.

daka (Skt)

kha dro (Tib); mkha’ ’gro (Wyl)

Literally, a “sky-goer.” A male being who helps arouse blissful energy in a qualified tantric practitioner.

dakini (Skt)

kha dro ma (Tib); mkha’ ’gro ma (Wyl)

Literally, a “female sky-goer.” A female being who helps arouse blissful energy in a qualified tantric practitioner.

Dalai Lama (b. 1935)

Gyalwa Tenzin Gyatso. Revered spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and tireless worker for world peace; winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

damaru (Skt)

A small hand drum used in tantric practice.

Darma Dodé

The eldest son of Marpa, he died at a young age and returned as the Indian brahmin Paravatapada or Tiphupa, who became important for the future of the Kagyü lineage in Tibet.

defilement

See delusion.

definitive meaning

nitartha (Skt); ngedön (Tib); nges don (Wyl)

One of two main ways of understanding a Dharma teaching, this one is where the content is be taken literally and not open for interpretation, as opposed to the interpretive meaning.

degenerate time, or age

kaliyuga (Skt); nyigme dü (Tib); snyigs ma’i dus (Wyl)

We’re living in one! It has five characteristics: short life spans, scarce means of subsistence, mental afflictions, strong wrong views and weak sentient beings.

deity

ishtadevata (Skt); yidam (Tib); yi dam (Wyl)

An emanation of the enlightened mind, the meditational deity used as the object of meditation in tantric practices.

delusion

klesha (Skt); nyon mong (Tib); nyon mongs (Wyl)

An obscuration covering the essentially pure nature of the mind, causing suffering and dissatisfaction; the main delusion is ignorance and all the others come from this. See also the three poisons, the root delusions and secondary delusions.

demigod

asura (Skt); lha ma yin (Tib); lha ma yin (Wyl)

See asura.

Denma Lochö Rinpoche (1928-2014)

Born in Kham, Tibet, this learned lama studied at Drepung Loseling Monastery and was abbot of His Hoiness’ Namgyal Monastery from 1986 to 1991. He is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus.

dependent origination

pratityasamutpada (Skt); ten drel (Tib); rten ‘brel (Wyl)

Also called dependent arising. The way that the self and phenomena exist conventionally as relative and interdependent. They come into existence in dependence upon: 1) causes and conditions; 2) their parts; and, most subtly, 3) the mind imputing, or labeling, them. See also twelve links.

desire realm

kamadhatu (Skt); do kham (Tib); ‘dod khams (Wyl)

One of the three realms of samsara, comprising the hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras (demi-gods) and the six lower classes of suras (gods); beings in this realm are preoccupied with desire for objects of the six senses. See also six abodes of the desire realm gods.

deva (Skt)

lha (Tib); lha (Wyl)

A god existing in a state with much comfort and pleasure in the desire, form or formless realms.

Devadatta

Lha jin (Tib); lhas byin (Wyl)

Shakyamuni Buddha’s cousin, who was jealous of Buddha and constantly tried to harm him.

Dhammapada (Pali)

Udanavarga (Skt); ched du brjod pa’i tshoms (Wyl)

A popular collection of sayings of the Buddha originally found in the Pali Canon. The Tibetan Dhammapada or Compilations of Indicative Verse was translated into English by Gareth Sparham and first published by Mahayana Publications, New Delhi, in 1983.

Dharamsala

A village in the north-west of India, in Himachal Pradesh. The residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile.

dharani

zung (Tib); gzungs (Wyl)

The term dharani is from a Sanskrit root word that means “to hold or maintain.” Dharanis contain the essence of a teaching and are often compared to mantras, however, they are longer than mantras and are more likely to have intelligible phrases, like sutras. They are said to have the power to heal and protect from harm. Zungdu (Wyl: gzungs bsdus), a collection of dharanis found in the Kangyur, is often recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Dhargyey, Geshe Ngawang (1921–95)

A tutor to many Gelugpa tulkus and resident teacher at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, before leaving to establish his own centers in New Zealand, where he passed away.

Dharma (Skt)

chö (Tib); chos (Wyl)

The second refuge jewel. Literally, “that which is established” but generally etymologized as “that which holds or protects (us from suffering)” and hence brings happiness and leads us towards liberation and enlightenment. In Buddhism, absolute Dharma is the realizations attained along the path to liberation and enlightenment, and conventional Dharma is seen as both the teachings of the Buddha and virtuous actions.

Dharma protector

See protector.

dharmadhatu wisdom

dharmadhatu-jnana (Skt); chö kyi ying kyi yeshe (Tib); chos kyi dbyings kyi ye shes (Wyl)

One of the five transcendental wisdoms, the wisdom that apprehends the nature of phenomena. The other wisdoms are: mirror-like wisdom, wisdom of equality, all-accomplishing wisdom and wisdom of analysis.

dharmakaya (Skt)

truth body; chö ku (Tib); chos sku (Wyl)

The ultimate reality of a buddha’s enlightened mind, which is unborn, empty of true existence, free from conceptual thought, naturally radiant, beyond duality and spacious like the sky. One of the three embodiments of a buddha. Dharmakaya can be divided into the jnanakaya or wisdom body (the blissful omniscient mind of a buddha) and svabhavikakaya or nature body (the emptiness of the buddha’s mind). See also rupakaya, sambhogakaya, nirmanakaya, two kayas, three kayas and four kayas.

Dharmakirti

chökyi dragpa (Tib); chos kyi grags pa (Wyl)

A seventh-century Indian scholar and author of Seven Treatises of Valid Cognition. He is one of six great Indian scholars, known as the Six Ornaments.

Dharmakirti of Suvarnadvipa

Serlingpa (Tib)

See Serlingpa .

Dharmarakshita (Skt)

An eleventh-century Indian scholar, a guru of Atisha and author of the mind training text The Wheel of Sharp Weapons, also known as The Wheel Weapon Striking at the Vital Points of the Enemy.

dhupe (Skt)

Incense; one of the offering substances.

dhyana (Skt)

samten (Tib); bsam gtan (Wyl)

An advanced form of concentration meditation after realizing shamatha (calm abiding).

Diamond Cutter Sutra

Arya vajra-chedika prajnaparamita mahayanasutra (Skt); pak pa she rab pa röl tu chin pa dor je chö pa she ja tek pa chen pö do (Tib)

Also known as the Diamond Sutra or Vajra Cutter Sutra, one of the most popular of the Prajnaparamita, or Perfection of Wisdom sutras. The Tibetan title is often abbreviated to Dorje Chöpa.

Dignaga

Choglang (Tib); phyogs glang (Wyl)

A sixth-century Indian scholar and disciple of Vasubandhu, Dignaga composed the Compendium of Valid Cognition (Skt: Pramana-samuccaya). He is one of six great Indian scholars, known as the Six Ornaments.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–91)

A great scholar and author of many popular works such as Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of Atisha’s Seven-Point Mind Training and The Excellent Path to Enlightenment, Rinpoche was the head of the Nyingma school from 1987 until his death in Bhutan in 1991.

dingwa (Tib)

ding ba (Wyl)

Cloth meditation seat cover used by the Sangha.

disciplinarian

See gekö.

disturbing thoughts

See delusion.

disturbing-thought obscurations

kleshavarana (Skt); nyön drib (Tib); nyon sgrib (Wyl)

Also known as gross obscurations, these are the less subtle of the two types of obscurations, the ones that block liberation. See also obscurations to knowledge and two obscurations.

divine pride

lhe ngargyäl (Tib); lha’i nga rgyal (Wyl)

The non-deluded pride in deity yoga practice, where the appearance of oneself as the deity is held, as an antidote to ordinary appearance. See generation stage.

dob dob (Tib)

ldob ldob (Wyl)

A monk within the Gelug monasteries in Tibet who had less interest in studying and more in worldly matters such as appearance, sport and fighting. Dob dobs usually did much of the manual labor, as well as cooking, serving tea in assemblies and caring for elderly monks.

Doga, Geshe (b. 1935)

Resident teacher for more than thirty years at Tara Institute, the FPMT center in Melbourne, Australia.

Dolgyal (Tib)

See Shugden.

Dölpa, Geshe (1059–1131)

Sherab Gyatso; a disciple of Geshe Potowa and compiler of Blue Manual.

Domo Geshe Rinpoche (d. 1936)

A famous ascetic meditator in his early life who later established monastic communities in the Tibet-Nepal border area and in Darjeeling; the guru of Lama Govinda, who wrote The Way of the White Clouds.

dorje (Tib)

vajra (Skt); rdo rje (Wyl)

The magical weapon of the Vedic god Indra, made of metal and very sharp and hard; adamantine. A thunderbolt. A tantric implement symbolizing method (compassion or bliss), held in the right hand (the male side), usually in conjunction with a bell, which symbolizes wisdom and is held in the left hand (the female side).

Dorje Khadro (Tib)

Vajradaka (Skt); rdo rje mkha’ ’gro (Wyl)

A deity who functions to purify negativities through a burning offering practice. In the Gelug tradition, making burning offerings to this deity is one of the preliminary practices.

Dorje Naljorma (Tib)

Vajrayogini (Skt); rdo rje rnal ‘byor ma (Wyl)

See Vajrayogini.

Dorje Phagmo (Tib)

Vajravarahi (Skt); rdo rje phag mo (Wyl)

See Vajravarahi.

Dorje Shugden (Tib)

See Shugden.

Dragpa Gyaltsen (1147–1216)

A great scholar and early teacher of the Sakya school; uncle and guru of Sakya Pandita.

Drepung Monastery

The largest of the three major Gelugpa monasteries; founded near Lhasa by one of Lama Tsongkhapa’s disciples. Now re-established in exile in south India.

Drogmi Lotsawa Shakya Yeshe (992–1072)

A great translator and the main teacher of Khön Könchog Gyälpo, the founder of the Sakya lineage. He was also one of the first teachers of the Kagyü patriarch Marpa Lotsawa and, like him, studied with many Indian masters.

Drogön Tsangpa Gyare (1161–1211)

The Kagyü lama, a disciple of Lingrepa, who was the founder of a branch of the Drukpa Kagyü and of many monasteries, including in Bhutan.

Dromtönpa (Dromtöm Gyalwai Jungne) (1005–64)

Kadampa master and one of Atisha’s three main disciples, the other two being Khuton Tsondru Yungdrung and Ngok Lepai Sherap (collectively known as “the trio Khu, Ngok and Drom”).

drops

bindu, tilaka(Skt); tig le, jang sem (Tib)

Subtle substances that permeate the body, caused by the coalescing of the mind and its accompanying wind at certain parts of the body. Said to have originated from the original white drop from the father and the red drop from the mother, drops are an important element in Vajrayana practice.

drubkhang (Tib)

sgrub khang (Wyl)

Attaining house, a place where a meditation practice or retreat is done; so called because here attainments can be achieved.

dualistic view

The ignorant view characteristic of the unenlightened mind in which all things are falsely conceived to have concrete self-existence. To such a view, the appearance of an object is mixed with the false image of its being independent or self-existent, thereby leading to further dualistic views concerning subject and object, self and other, this and that, etc.

dukkha (Pali)

dukha (Skt); dugngäl (Tib); sdug bsngal (Wyl)

Suffering, the term used by the Buddha in the sutra Setting the Wheel of Dharma in Motion (Pali: Dammacakkappavattana-sutta), also known as the Four Noble Truths Sutra; often translated as dissatisfaction. See also the four noble truths.

dura (Tib)

bsdus grwa (Wyl)

See Collected Topics.

Dzambhala

Jambhala (Skt)

A protector said to increase wealth; a manifestation of Ratnasambhava.

dzog rim (Tib)

rdzogs rim (Wyl)

See completion stage.

dzogchen (Tib)

rdzogs chen (Wyl)

Literally “Great Perfection”, the practice to attain the mind’s natural, primordial state.

effortful bodhicitta

As opposed to aspirational bodhicitta, which is uncontrived, this is the wish to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings that arises through reasoning. See bodhicitta and effortless bodhicitta.

effortless bodhicitta

The spontaneous, uncontrived wish to achieve full enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, without needing reasoning, like a mother’s concern for a beloved child. See bodhicitta and effortful bodhicitta.

ego

The wrong conception of the self; the mistaken belief that “I am self-existent.” The fundamental ignorance that has caused us to circle through cyclic existence since beginningless time.

ego-grasping

dagdzin (Tib); bdag ‘dzin (Wyl)

The ignorant compulsion to regard one’s self, or I, as permanent, self-existent, and independent of all other phenomena.

eight auspicious substances

tashi dzegyä (Tib); bkra shis rdzas brgyad (Wyl)

These items represent a group of offerings presented to the Buddha as symbols of the Eightfold Path. They are the mirror, precious medicine, yoghurt, long-life (durva) grass, bilva fruit, the right-turning conch, cinnabar (vermilion powder) and mustard seeds.

eight auspicious symbols

tashi tag gyä (Tib); bkra shis rtags brgyad (Wyl)

Or eight symbols of good fortune. They are the right-turning conch, glorious endless knot, golden fishes, lotus, parasol, treasure vase, wheel and victory banner.

eight bodhisattvas

nyese gyä (Tib); nye sras brgyad (Tib)

The close entourage of Shakyamuni Buddha: Manjushri, Vajrapani, Avalokiteshvara, Ksitigarbha, Sarvanivaranviskambini, Akashadarbha, Maitreya and Samantabhadra.

eight cold hells

The hell of blisters, the hell of bursting blisters, the hell of a-choo, the moaning hell, the clenched-teeth hell, the hell of cracking like an upali flower, the hell of cracking like a lotus, the hell of great cracking like a lotus.

eight common siddhis

astasadharanasiddhi (Skt); thun mong gi ngö drub gyä (Tib); thun mong gi dngos grub brgyad (Wyl)

As opposed to the supreme siddhi (enlightenment), these mundane attainments are usually listed as: the sword of invincibility (Tib: rel dri ngö drub), the eye potion enabling one to see the gods (Tib: mig mem gyi ngö drub),swift footedness—the ability of being able to cover great distance extremely quickly (Tib: kang gyog kyi ngö drub), invisibility (Tib: mi nang bä ngö drub), the art of extracting the essence (rejuvenation) (Tib: chü len gyi ngö drub), becoming a sky-traveler—the ability to fly (Tib: kha chö kyi ngö drub), the ability to make medicinal [invisibility] pills (Tib: ril bü ngö drub), the power of perceiving treasures under the earth (Tib: sa og ngö drub). See also common siddhi and siddhi.

eight dissolutions

The eight stages that are passed through at the time of death, where the consciousness becomes progressively more and more subtle until it absorbs into the indestructible drop at the heart chakra immediately before separating from the body.

eight fears

Fears that Tara is able to dispel, each external fear relating to an internal state; they are the fear of: lions (pride), wild elephants (ignorance), fire (anger), snakes (jealousy), floods (attachment), imprisonment (miserliness), thieves (wrong views) and cannibals (doubt).

eight freedoms

dalwa gyä (Tib); dal ba brgyad (Wyl)

The eight states from which a person with perfect human rebirth is free: being born as a hell being, hungry ghost, animal, long-life god or barbarian or in a dark age when no buddha has descended; holding wrong views; being born with defective mental or physical faculties. See also ten richnesses.

eight hot hells

The hell of being alive again and again, the black-line hell, the gathered and crushed hell, the hell of crying, the hell of great crying, the hot hell, the extremely hot hell and the inexhaustible hot hell.

eight Mahayana precepts

thegchen sojong (Tib); theg chen bso sbyong (Wyl)

One-day vows to abandon killing; stealing; lying; sexual contact; intoxicants; high seats; eating at the wrong time; and singing, dancing and wearing perfumes and jewelry. The eight Mahayana precepts ceremony and tradition comes from a lineage of Action Tantra, not from the pratimoksha or Vinaya lineage.

eight offerings

Traditional offerings to the Three Jewels (the Three Rare Sublime Ones), they are: water for drinking (Skt: argham), water for cleaning the feet (Skt: padyam), flowers (Skt: pushpe), incense (Skt: dhupe), light (Skt: aloke), perfume (Skt: gandhe), food (Skt: naivedya), music (Skt: shabda).

eight remedies

The antidotes to the five faults when trying to attain single-pointed concentration. Faith, aspiration, effort, and pliancy are the antidotes to laziness; mindfulness is the antidote to forgetfulness; introspection is the antidote to laxity and excitement; application (of an antidote) is the antidote to non-application; and equanimity is the antidote to over-application.

eight ripening qualities

Eight qualities that are said to be most conducive to developing spiritually. They are: long life, handsome or beautiful body, noble caste, wealth, power and fame, trustworthy speech, a male body and a strong body and mind. See also the four Mahayana Dharma wheels.

eight types of suffering

Also known as the sufferings of humans. The suffering of birth, old age, illness, death, encountering what is unpleasant, separation from what is pleasant, not getting what you want and the five appropriated aggregates. See also six types of suffering and three types of suffering.

Eight Verses of Thought Transformation

lojong tshigkang gyäma (Tib); blo sbyong tshig rkang brgyad ma (Wyl)

A short essential mind training text composed by Geshe Langri Tangpa.

eight worldly dharmas

jig ten chö gyä (Tib); ‘jig rten chos brgyad (Wyl)

The worldly concerns that generally motivate the actions of ordinary beings: being happy when given gifts and unhappy when not given them; wanting to be happy and not wanting to be unhappy; wanting praise and not wanting criticism; wanting a good reputation and not wanting a bad reputation.

eighteen constituents

dhatu (Skt); kham (Tib); khams (Wyl)

The six sense powers, the six consciousnesses and the six objects.

eighteen qualities of a perfect human rebirth

See eight freedoms and ten richnesses.

eighty conceptions

The subtle minds that exist below the conscious level, controlling our conscious mental activities. These minds dissolve during the latter stages of the death process.

eighty minor signs of a buddha

mahapurusavyanjana (Skt); pe je gyä chu (Tib); dpe byad brgyad cu (Wyl)

In the sambhogakaya aspect, a buddha displays thirty-two major marks and eighty minor signs. The minor signs include very smooth hands, nails the color of copper, a perfectly proportioned body, lips of cherry color and so forth. For more details, see Rigpa Shedrup Wiki and the Dhammakaya International Society of Belgium.

eleven points of comparison of eight worldly dharmas and holy Dharma

Asanga’s eleven-point analysis whereby the advantages of following the mind of attachment to the eight worldly dharmas is compared to following the holy Dharma. They are: worldly pleasure 1) it doesn’t satisfy the whole body, the Dharma does; 2) it depends on external conditions, the Dharma doesn’t; 3) it doesn’t exist in all three realms, the Dharma does; 4) it is not the cause for the seven treasures of the aryas, the Dharma is; 5) its pleasure finishes by enjoying it, the Dharma’s never finishes; 6) it can be destroyed by external enemies, the Dharma cannot; 7) It cannot be carried into future lives, the Dharma can; 8) it cannot bring full satisfaction, the Dharma can; 9) it is the cause of suffering, the Dharma generates no suffering; 10) it is merely labeled on a false base, the Dharma isn’t; 11) it causes attachment and delusions to arise, the Dharma doesn’t.

eleven ways of working for others

Within the perfection of morality, these are eleven ways of benefiting others. They are working for: those living in poverty, those suffering and ignorant of the right method, those who benefit us, those threatened with danger and fear, those afflicted with miseries, those who are deserted, those who are homeless, those without like-minded people, also, helping beings enter the right path, helping those on the wrong path, helping all through psychic powers.

eleven-round contemplation

A synthesis of the two main systems for generating bodhicitta, the seven points of cause and effect and equalizing and exchanging self and others. They are: 1) equanimity; 2) recognizing all beings as our mother; 3) recollecting their kindness; 4) repaying their kindness; 5) equalizing yourself with others; 6) reflecting on the disadvantages of self-cherishing; 7) reflecting on the advantages of cherishing others; 8) the practice of “taking” with compassion; 9) the practice of “giving” with love; 10) special intention; 11) generating the mind of bodhicitta.

emanation body

tulku (Tib); sprul sku (Wyl)

See nirmanakaya.

empowerment

abhishekha (Skt); wang (Tib); dbang (Wyl)

See initiation.

emptiness

shunyata (Skt); tong pa nyi (Tib); stong pa nyid (Wyl)

Literally “emptiness only.” The absence, or lack, of true existence. Ultimately, every phenomenon is empty of existing truly, or from its own side, or independently. Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains the importance of the syllable nyi (Tib) or “only” in cutting off ordinary emptiness, for example, a purse that is empty of having money. Without this final syllable the term falls short of indicating the total lack of inherent existence. See also merely labeled.

engaging bodhicitta

jug pe sem kye (Tib); ‘jug pa’i sems bskyed (Wyl)

The altruistic mind of enlightenment that actively engages in the six perfections and the four means of drawing sentient beings to the Dharma, after the bodhisattva vows have been taken. See also aspirational bodhicitta and bodhicitta.

enjoyment body

longchö ku (Tib); longs spyod sku (Wyl)

See sambhogakaya.

enlightenment

bodhi (Skt); jang chub (Tib); byang chub (Wyl)

Full awakening; buddhahood; omniscience. The ultimate goal of a Mahayana Buddhist, attained when all obscurations have been removed and all the qualities of the mind have been fully actualized. It is a state characterized by perfect compassion, wisdom and power. Lama Zopa Rinpoche points out that the Tibetan, jang chub, is much more precise than the English as the two syllables encompass what enlightenment is: jang meaning “elimination” as in the elimination of all gross and subtle obstacles and chub meaning “development” as in the development of all perfect qualities.

Ensapa

See Gyalwa Ensapa.

environmental result

See possessed result.

eon

kalpa (Skt)

A world period, an inconceivably long period of time. The life span of the universe is divided into four great eons which are themselves divided into twenty lesser eons.

equalizing and exchanging the self with others

The second of two methods used in Tibetan Buddhism to develop bodhicitta. The other method is the seven points of cause and effect.

equanimity

upeksha (Skt); tang nyom (Tib); btang snyoms (Wyl)

Absence of the usual discrimination of sentient beings into friend, enemy and stranger, deriving from the realization that all sentient beings are equal in wanting happiness and not wanting suffering and that since beginningless time, all beings have been all things to each other. An impartial mind that serves as the basis for the development of great love, great compassion and bodhicitta.

erma (Tib)

Erma (Zanthoxylum armatum) is a medicinal plant that grows in the Himalayas and is found in Solu Khumbu region, Nepal. The spice produced from this plant is used in Tibetan and Nepali cooking.

eternalism

drodog kyi ta (Tib); sgro ‘dogs kyi lta (Wyl)

The belief in the inherent existence of things, as opposed to nihilism; one of the two extremes.

evil-gone realms

ngändro (Tib); ngan ‘gro (Wyl)

See lower realms.

example clear light

pä ö sel (Tib); dpe’i ’od gsal (Wyl)

The indirect conceptual realization of emptiness while visualizing oneself as the deity; the impure illusory body, one of the final stages of completion stage Highest Yoga Tantra immediately preceding the attainment of meaning clear light in union with the pure illusory body. This leads to the unification of no more learning and enlightenment. See also clear light and union of clear light and illusory body.

excitement

See attachment-scattering thought.

faith

There are three kinds: 1) believing, or pure-hearted, faith; 2) lucid, or understanding, faith, which is faith based on logical conviction; and 3) yearning, or aspirational, faith.

Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion

An important text by Ashvaghosha, which describes the proper attitude toward the guru.

finishing karma

See completing karma.

fire puja

See burning offering practice.

five afflictive emotions

Also known as the five kleshas (Skt) or mental afflictions: anger, attachment, ignorance, jealousy and pride. See also the three poisons and six root delusions.

five aggregates

panca skandha (Skt); pung po nga (Tib); phung po lnga (Wyl)

See aggregates.

five appropriated aggregates

The last of the eight types of suffering; how we suffer because the aggregates are “appropriated” or controlled by delusion and karma.

five buddha types

[gyel pa] rig nga (Tib); [rgyal ba] rigs lnga (Wyl)

They are Vairochana, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi and Akshobhya. Each of the five types, representing a different aspect of enlightenment, is linked to the fully purified aggregates of form, feeling, discriminative awareness, compositional factors and consciousness. Lama Zopa Rinpoche advises that type is the correct translation of the Tibetan term rig, rather than family, lineage or Dhyani Buddhas. Read Rinpoche’s explanation here.

five certainties

pañcaniyata (Skt); ngepa nga (Tib); nges pa lnga Wyl)

The five definite attributes of the sambhogakaya, the enjoyment body of a buddha. They are: 1) giving only Mahayana teachings; 2) existing until samsara ends; 3) being surrounded only by bodhisattvas; 4) abiding in the pure realm of Ogmin (Skt: Akanishtha); and 5) being adorned with the thirty-two perfect qualities and eighty minor perfections, the most sublime of Buddha’s qualities.

five chakras (Skt)

tsa khor nga (Tib); rtsa ‘khor lnga (Wyl)

Five energy wheels or focal points of energy along the central channel (Skt: sushumna) upon which one’s concentration is directed, especially during the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra. The main chakras are the crown, throat, heart, navel, and secret place (the sex organ). In some systems, the first, at the brow, and the last, at the secret place, are omitted. See also channel.

five degenerations

The degenerations that occur as human beings evolve over the eon of existence; they are: the degeneration of disturbing thoughts, of lifespan, of time, of view and of sentient beings.

five Dhyani Buddhas

See the five buddha types.

five extreme views

ta wa nga (Tib); lta ba lnga (Wyl)

They are: the view of the changeable aggregates, the view of the extremes, the view of holding wrong views as supreme, the view of holding our own moral and religious discipline as supreme and wrong view.

five forms of clairvoyance

Divine hearing, knowing others’ thoughts, remembering past lives, knowing the various rebirths of sentient beings—these fall into common siddhis—and the knowledge of the exhaustion of contaminations, which only arhats and buddhas can know.

five great mantras

The five great mantras are: the mantra of Kunrig, the mantra of Buddha Mitukpa, the Stainless Pinnacle, the Wish-Granting Wheel mantra, and the mantras of Namgyälma. These and the ten great mantras are incredibly beneficial when a being is dying or dead. See also ten great mantras.

five great Sakya pandits

The five great masters (patriarchs) who founded the Sakya tradition: Sachen Küngya Nyingpo (1092–1158), Lobpön Sonam Tsemo (1142–82), Jetsün Drakpa Gyaltsen (1147–1216), Sakya Pandita (1182–1251) and Drogön Chögyal Phakpa (1235–80).

five great treatises

The five main texts studied in the great Gelug monasteries: the Abhisamayalamkara, Vinaya, Madhyamaka, Abhidharmakosha and Pramanavarttika.

five hindrances to meditation

Taught by the Buddha in the Satipatthana Sutta: desire (especially sense desires), ill-will, sloth and torpor, distraction and worry, doubt and wavering.

five immediate negativities

pancanantarya (Skt); tsam mä nga (Tib); mtshams med lnga (Wyl)

Also called the five uninterrupted negative karmas or actions, the five heinous crimes, the five actions without break or the five actions of immediate retribution. The five actions that are so heavy that they cause one to be reborn in hell immediately after death. They are: 1) killing one’s mother; 2) killing one’s father; 3) killing an arhat; 4) maliciously drawing blood from a buddha; and 5) creating a schism in the Sangha.

five lay vows

panchashila (Skt); ge nyen gi dompa nga (Tib); dge bsnyen gyi sdom pa lnga (Wyl)

The precepts taken by lay Buddhist practitioners for life: to abstain from killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct and taking intoxicants. See also pratimoksha vows.

five near immediate negativities

anantarya sabhagah (Skt); nye ba tsa mä nga (Tib)

Also called the five parallel actions of immediate retribution. The five actions that are similar to the five immediate negativities in that they cause rebirth in hell immediately after death. They are: 1) defiling one’s mother or a female arhat through sexual misconduct; 2) killing one definitely abiding as a bodhisattva; 3) killing an arya who has not yet reached the arhat stage; 4) stealing the property of the Sangha; and 5) destroying a stupa. Rinpoche mentions that acts such as stepping over the guru’s robes, shadow or seat without permission, stepping on the shadow of a stupa or removing relics from a stupa without a Dharma reason are also heavily negative.

five paths

lam nga (Tib, Wyl)

The Mahayana paths, or exalted mental states, along which beings progress to liberation and enlightenment: the path of merit, the path of preparation, the right-seeing path, the path of meditation and (the unification of) no more learning. As well as the five Mahayana paths, there are also five Hearer paths and five Solitary Realizer paths.

five powers

The five forces to be practiced both in this life and at the time of death. They are the power of motivation, the power of acquaintance, the power of the white seed (developing positive qualities) the power of destruction (of self-cherishing) and the power of prayer.

five sciences

Within Tibetan Buddhist education, they are: grammar, logic, medicine, arts and crafts, and religious philosophy.

five signs of nearing death of the gods

The five sufferings experienced by desire realm gods at the time of death: their bodies become unattractive, their thrones are no longer comfortable, their flower garlands wilt, their clothes stain and their bodies smell.

five transcendental wisdoms

panchajnana (Skt); yeshe nga (Tib); ye shes lnga (Wyl)

The wisdoms possessed by a buddha, they are: the mirror-like wisdom (Skt: adarsha-jnana; Tib: me long ta bü ye she; Wyl: me long lta bu’i ye shes), the wisdom of equality (Skt: samata-jnana; Tib: nyam nyi ye she; Wyl: mnyam nyid ye shes), the all-accomplishing wisdom (Skt: krty-anusthana-jnana; Tib: ja drup ye she; Wyl: bya grub ye shes), the wisdom of analysis (Skt: pratyaveksana-jnana; Tib: sor tog ye she; Wyl: sor rtogs ye shes), the dharmadhatu wisdom (Skt: tathata-jnana; Tib: chö kyi ying kyi ye she; Wyl: chos kyi dbyings ye shes).

five uninterrupted negative karmas

See five immediate negativities.

five wrong livelihoods

log tso nga (Tib); log ‘tsho lnga (Wyl)

Wrong livelihood for monastics means procuring requisites through flattery, hinting, bribery, coercion and hypocrisy. Wrong livelihood for lay people is trading in weapons, human beings, meat, intoxicants or poison

five-fold path of Mahamudra

An entire practice leading to buddhahood based on the Mahamudra practice of the Kagyü tradition. They are: meditation on bodhicitta, deity yoga, guru yoga, Mahamudra practice and dedication of merit.

fixed meditation

jog gom (Tib); ‘jog sgom (Wyl)

See single-pointed concentration.

form body

zug ku (Tib); gzugs sku (Wyl)

See rupakaya.

form realm

rupadhatu (Skt); zug kham (Tib); gzug khams (Wyl)

The second of samsara’s three realms, with seventeen classes of gods.

formless realm

arupyadhatu (Skt); zug me kham (Tib); gzugs med khams (Wyl)

The highest of samsara’s three realms, with four classes of gods involved in formless meditations. The four levels are limitless sky, limitless consciousness, nothingness and the tip of samsara.

four activities

Four kinds of activities a buddha performs, replicated in a tantric practice; they are pacifying, increasing (or developing), controlling and subjugating.

four aspects of karma

The four ways karma will ripen, either in this life or a future life. They are: the ripening result, the possessed result, experiencing the result similar to the cause and creating the result similar to the cause.

four black dharmas

nagpö chö zhi (Tib); nag po’i chos bzhi (Wyl)

Four actions that impede your spiritual progress. They are: 1) deceiving your guru or a holy being; 2) feeling misplaced regret; 3) criticizing or abusing a holy person; and 4) cheating others. See also four white dharmas.

four bodies of a buddha

See four kayas.

four Buddhist philosophical schools

drubtha zhi (Tib); grub mtha’ bzhi (Wyl)

The tenets propounded by the great Indian Buddhist masters and categorized by Tibetan Buddhist scholars into four main philosophical systems, each with a progressively subtle explanation of selflessness. The two Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) schools are Vaibhashika (Great Exposition) and Sautrantika (Sutra), and the two Mahayana (Great Vehicle) schools are Cittamatra (Mind Only) and Madhyamaka (Middle Way).

four classes of tantra

The division of tantra into Kriya (Action), Charya (Performance), Yoga and Anuttara Yoga Tantra (Highest Yoga Tantra, also sometimes referred to as Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra).

four continents

According to Buddhist cosmology the four world systems clustered around Mount Meru, one for each cardinal point. Ours is the southern continent, Jambudvipa (Rose-apple Land; Tib: dzam bu ling), the others being Godaniya (Cattle Gift Land; Tib: ba lang chö) in the west; Kuru (Unpleasant Sound; Tib: dra mi nyän) in the north and Videha (Tall Body Land; Tib: lü phag po) in the east. These continents appear in the mandala offering and are part of the symbolic representation of the entire universe.

four dignities

Mythical animals that represent various aspects of the bodhisattva attitude: dragon for power, tiger for confidence, snow lion for fearlessness and garuda for wisdom.

four empties

tong pa zhi (Tib); stong pa bzhi (Wyl)

In Highest Yoga Tantra, they are the increasingly subtle minds experienced as the clear light is approached. They are empty, very empty, great empty and all empty. The term refers not to emptiness (shunyata) but to a lack of the previous grosser minds. They correspond to the white, red, dark and clear light appearances of the death dissolutions.

four factors (of a completed karmic act)

The four elements that make an action of body or speech complete so that the full result is experienced. They are the intention (Tib: sam pa; Wyl: bsam pa), object (Tib: shi; Wyl: gzhi), action (Tib: jor wa; Wyl: sbyor ba) and completion (Tib: tar tug; Wyl: mthar thug). Each of these four brings its own result and—if it is negative—can be purified by one of the four opponent powers. Actions that lack all four parts are weaker in strength and bring weaker results.

four foundations of mindfulness

smrtyupasthana(Skt); satipatthana (Pali); dran pa nye bar bzhag pa bzhi (Wyl)

Also known as four close placements of mindfulness or four establishments of mindfulness, they are: contemplation of the body, feelings, mind and phenomena. These practices are the first four of the thirty-seven harmonies with enlightenment and are essential for the attainment of both liberation (nirvana) and full enlightenment.

four great arhats

Shariputra, known for his understanding of the Abhidharma; Maudgalyayana, known for his psychic powers; Mahakashyapa, the great ascetic; and Ananda, the personal attendant of the Buddha who recalled every word he spoke.

four great eons

The four periods of a world system; they are the great eons of evolving, existing, decaying and being empty.

four guardian kings

The protectors in the form of kings of the four cardinal directions always found at the entrance of monasteries and temples in China and Tibet; they are: Dhritarashtra of the east, Virudhaka of the south, Virupaksha of the west and Vaishravana of the north.

four harmonious brothers

Four animals, an elephant, a monkey, a rabbit, and a bird, that lived in the forest and spread harmony to the other animals, creating peace and prosperity in the whole kingdom.

four immeasurables

caturapramana (Skt); tsä mä zhi (Tib); tshad med bzhi (Wyl)

Also known as the four immeasurable thoughts or the four sublime attitudes (Skt: brahmavihara), these are four states of mind or aspirations: loving kindness (Skt: maitri; Tib: jam pa; Wyl: byams pa), compassion (Skt: karuna; Tib: nying je; Wyl: snying rje), sympathetic joy (Skt: mudita; Tib: ga ba; Wyl: dga’ ba) and equanimity (Skt: upeksha; Tib: tang nyom; Wyl: btang snyoms). They are usually expressed in the prayer: may all sentient beings have happiness and its causes, be free from suffering and its causes, be inseparable from sorrowless bliss, and abide in equanimity—or longer variations of the same.

four kayas

catuhkaya (Skt); ku zhi (Tib); sku bzhi (Wyl)

The classification of a buddha’s body into four: jnanakaya (wisdom body), svabhavikakaya (nature body), sambhogakaya (enjoyment body) and nirmanakaya (emanation body). See also dharmakaya, rupakaya, two kayas and three kayas.

four kindnesses of the mother

In the seven points of cause and effect technique for developing bodhicitta, the second, remembering the kindness of the mother, can include how the mother has been kind in four ways: 1) the kindness of giving her body; 2) the kindness of protecting our life from danger; 3) the kindness of bearing hardship; and 4) the kindness of leading us in the ways of the world. The lineage of this came to Lama Zopa Rinpoche from Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen Rinpoche.

four Mahayana Dharma wheels

The four external conditions conducive to spiritual development. They are: 1) relying on holy beings; 2) abiding in a harmonious environment; 3) having supportive family and friends; and 4) collecting merit and making prayers. See also the eight ripening qualities.

four maras

du zhi (Tib); bdud bzhi (Wyl)

The four external and internal hindrances or obstacles to our spiritual progress. They are: 1) the mara of the (contaminated) aggregates (Skt: skhandha-mara); 2) the mara of delusions (Skt: klesha-mara); 3) the mara of the Lord of Death (Skt: mrityu-mara); and 4) the mara of the deva’s son (Skt: devaputra-mara), the demon of desire and temptation. See also Mara.

four means of drawing disciples to the Dharma

The second of two sets of practices of the bodhisattva (the other is the six perfections); they are giving, speaking kind words, teaching to the level of the student and practicing what one teaches.

four neighbouring hells

nye khor we nyälwa zhi (Tib); nye ‘khor ba’i dmyal ba bzhi (Wyl)

Four hells surrounding the major hot hells, they are: the fiery trench (Skt: Kukulam; Tib: mema mur; Wyl: me ma mur), the putrid swamp (Skt: Kunapam; Tib: ronyag; Wyl: ro myags), the plain of swords (Skt: Kshuradharammargah; Tib: pa dri tam pä tang; Wyl: spa gri gtams pa’i tang), the uncrossable torrent (Skt: Vaitarani; Tib: chu wo rap me; Wyl: chu bo rap med).

four noble disciplines

Avoiding responding to: 1) anger with anger; 2) physical harm with physical harm; 3) criticism with criticism; and 4) verbal argument with verbal argument. These are said to distinguish real practitioners and are part of the secondary bodhisattva vows.

four noble truths

denpa zhi (Tib); bden pa bzhi (Wyl)

The subject of the Buddha’s first turning of the wheel of Dharma. The truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering as seen by an arya.

four opponent powers

nyenpo tob zhi (Tib); gnyen po stobs bzhi (Wyl)

The four practices used to purify nonvirtuous imprints on the mindstream. They are: 1) the power of the object, taking refuge in the Three Rare Sublime Ones and generating bodhicitta; 2) the power of regret, feeling deep regret for the negativity committed; 3) the power of resolve, determining not to repeat that negativity; and 4) the power of remedy, a practice such as Vajrasattva that effectively acts as an antidote to the negativity.

four outlines of karma

Karma is definite, karma is expandable, we cannot meet the result unless we have created the cause, and once the cause has been created the result cannot be lost.

four powerful Dharmakaya Relic mantras

Four mantras placed in holy objects such as stupas. Simply circumambulating an object containing these mantras purifies the karma to be reborn in the hot hells. They are: the most precious heart mantra of stainless beam, the most precious mantra of secret relic, the most precious mantra of ornament of enlightenment and the very precious root mantra of stainless pinnacle.

four powers

The four types of attainments often described in tantric initiations. They are: pacification (of delusions), increase (of realizations), control (of whatever needs controlling) and subduing (of negative forces).

four proofs of reincarnation

See proofs of reincarnation.

four purities

Also called the four complete purities. In tantra, the practice of transcending ordinary appearance and seeing place, body, enjoyments and action as pure. The place or environment is seen as the deity’s mandala, the ordinary body is seen as the deity’s, the sense enjoyments are offered to the deity and all actions are regarded as the actions of the deity.

four sacred mountains in China

Pu Tuo Shan, Wu Tai Shan, Emei Shan, Jiu Hua Shan.

four seals

The four basic tenets that define Buddhism. They are: all compositional phenomena are impermanent, all contaminated phenomena are by nature suffering, all phenomena are empty of self-existence and nirvana is true peace.

Four Thoughts (That Turn the Mind to Dharma)

lo dog nam zhi (Tib); blo ldog rnam bzhi (Wyl)

The four contemplations are: 1) the difficulties of finding a precious human rebirth; 2) the impermanence of life; 3) the sufferings of samsara; and 4) karma (cause and effect).

four traditions in Tibet

The four major lineages of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingma, Kagyü, Sakya and Gelug.

four types of grasping

They are: grasping at sense pleasures, grasping at the wrong view of denying what exists, grasping at the wrong view of holding our own beliefs as superior and grasping at the wrong view of the sense of a self-existent I.

four types of reliance

tönpa zhi (Tib; rton pa bzhi (Wyl)

Taught by the Buddha shortly before showing the aspect of passing away, they are: 1) relying on the message and not the personality of the teacher; 2) relying on the meaning of the message and not just the words; 3) relying on definitive meaning and not the provisional; and 4) relying on wisdom and insight, and not the ordinary, judgmental mind.

four unknowing minds

The four types of very subtle ignorance that arhats and higher bodhisattvas still have that a buddha does not, due to the subtle imprints of delusions not yet fully eliminated. They are: the inability to see the secret actions of a buddha, the inability to see the subtle karma of sentient beings, the inability to see things that happened a very long time ago and the inability to see very long distances.

four vajra drops

Four attainments of the union of clear light and illusory body, they are: the posture of the drop, retaining the drops while in union without emission; the posture of the wind, using the wind to block the channel by use of a syllable; the posture of the channel, the meeting of channels of the father and mother; and the posture of the body, the syllables that adorn the secret places at the time of unification.

four vital points of analysis

One of the main techniques for meditating on emptiness. They are: 1) determining the object to be negated; 2) determining that a truly existent self must either be identical with the aggregates or separate from them; 3) determining that a truly existent self cannot be identical with the aggregates; and 4) determining that a truly existent self cannot be separate from the aggregates.

four white dharmas

karpöi chö zhi (Tib); dkar po’i chos bzhi (Wyl)

Four actions that speed your spiritual progress; they are: 1) never lying to your guru even at the cost of your life; 2) inspiring sentient beings to follow the Mahayana path; 3) respecting a bodhisattva just as you would a buddha; and 4) being honest to all beings. See also four black dharmas.

four wrong concepts

They are: that impermanent things are permanent, that suffering is pleasure, that the impure is pure and that the self has an independent nature.

fourfold practice

Four practices considered best for accumulating merit and purifying obscurations. They are: 1) accumulating merit by making offerings to deities and spiritual teachers; 2) making offerings such as torma cakes to malevolent spirits; 3) making offerings to Dharma protectors for a successful Dharma practice; and 4) purifying negative karma by making charity.

front generation

dünkye (Tib); mdun bskyed (Wyl)

The practice in Vajrayana where the deity is visualized in front of the meditator. See also self generation.

Gampopa (1074–1153)

The “sun-like” disciple of Milarepa and author of The Jewel Ornament of Liberation; also known as “The Physician from Dakpo”; guru of the first Karmapa.

Ganden Lha Gyäma (Tib)

See Hundred Deities of Tushita.

Ganden Monastery

The first of the three great Gelugpa monastic universities near Lhasa, founded in 1409 by Lama Tsongkhapa. It was badly damaged in the 1960s and has now been re-established in exile in south India.

Ganden Tripa

“Holder of the Throne of Ganden,” Lama Tsongkhapa’s representative, head of the Gelug tradition.

gandharva

driza (Tib); dri za (Wyl)

A celestial musician, often depicted holding a sitar-like instrument and having a horse’s head.

gandhe (Skt)

Perfume; one of the offering substances.

garuda (Skt)

khyung (Tib, Wyl)

A deity associated with Vajrapani; a bird-like being with a snake in its mouth, symbolizing its ability to protect sentient beings from naga harm.

gegtor (Tib)

bgegs gtor (Wyl)

A torma offering to harmful spirits or negative forces, often done at the beginning of an initiation.

gekö (Tib)

dge bskos (Wyl)

A disciplinarian in a Tibetan monastery.

Gelek Rimpoche (1939–2017)

A Gelug lama and lharampa geshe from Drepung Monastery, Gelek Rimpoche was born in Tibet and was a friend of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Gelek Rimpoche was the founder and president of the Jewel Heart Dharma centers and programs. He passed away on February 15, 2017.

gelobma (Tib)

siksamana (Skt); dge slob ma (Wyl)

A probationary nun, between the novice (Tib: getsulma) with 36 vows and the fully-ordained nun (Tib; gelongma) with 364 vows.

gelong (Tib)

bhikshu (Skt); dge slong (Wyl)

A fully ordained Buddhist monk. See also gelongma.

gelongma (Tib)

bhikshuni (Skt); dge slong ma (Wyl)

A fully ordained Buddhist nun, holding 364 vows. See also gelobma; getsulma; gelong.

Gelug (Tib)

dge lugs (Wyl)

The Virtuous Order. The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded by Lama Tsongkhapa and his disciples in the early fifteenth century and the most recent of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Developed from the Kadam School founded by Atisha and Dromtönpa. Cf Nyingma, Kagyü and Sakya.

Gelugpa (Tib)

A follower of the Gelug tradition.

Gen (Tib)

rgan (Wyl)

Literally, elder. A title of respect.

Gen Jampa Wangdu (d. 1984)

An ascetic meditator who was a close friend of Lama Yeshe and a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Gendun Drubpa (1391–1474)

dge ‘dun grub pa (Wyl)

The first Dalai Lama.

Gendun Gyatso (1476–1542)

dge ‘dun rgya mysho (Wyl)

The second Dalai Lama.

generation stage

kye rim (Tib); bskyed rim (Wyl)

The first of the two stages of Highest Yoga Tantra, during which one cultivates the clear appearance and divine pride of one’s chosen meditational deity.

geshe (Tib)

kalyanamitra (Skt); dbge bshes (Wyl)

Literally, a virtuous friend; derived from the Tibetan ge wä she nyen. The title conferred on those who have completed extensive studies and examinations at Gelug monastic universities on these five topics: Abdhidharma, Vinaya, Madhyamaka, Pramana and Prajnaparamita. The highest level of geshe is the lharampa.

Geshe Ben Gungyal

See Ben Gungyal, Geshe.

Geshe Chekawa (1101–75)

See Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, Geshe.

Geshe Chengawa

See Chengawa Tsultrim Bar, Geshe.

Geshe Doga (b. 1935)

See Doga, Geshe.

Geshe Dölpa (1059–1131)

See Dölpa, Geshe.

Geshe Kharak Gomchung (late 11th century)

See Kharak Gomchung, Geshe.

Geshe Lama Konchog (1927–2001)

See Konchog, Geshe Lama.

Geshe Namgyal Wangchen (1934–2015)

See Namgyal Wangchen, Geshe.

Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey (1921–95)

See Dhargyey, Geshe Ngawang.

Geshe Potowa (1031–1105)

See Potowa Rinchen Sel, Geshe.

Geshe Sopa Rinpoche (1923–2014)

See Sopa Rinpoche, Geshe Lhundub.

getsul (Tib)

sramanera (Skt); dge tshul (Wyl)

A novice Buddhist monk, holding 36 vows. See also getsulma; gelong.

getsulma (Tib)

sramaneri (Skt); dhe thsul ma (Wyl)

A novice Buddhist nun, holding 36 vows. See also gelobma and gelongma.

glance meditation

In Tibetan Buddhism, a meditation that reviews the overall points of a broad lamrim subject, rather than going into detail.

god

See deva.

Gomo Rinpoche (1921–85)

A lay lama and guru of both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Gomo Rinpoche taught at many FPMT centers, especially in Italy. He passed away in 1985 and reincarnated in Canada.

gompa (Tib)

dgon pa (Wyl)

Usually refers to the main meditation hall, or temple, within a monastery.

graduated path

lamrim (Tib); lam rim (Wyl)

A presentation of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings in a form suitable for the step-by-step training of a disciple. The lamrim was first formulated by the great Indian teacher Atisha when he came to Tibet in 1042. See also three principal aspects of the path.

graduated path of the three capable beings

kye bu sum gyi lam gyi rim pa (Tib); skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi rim pa (Wyl)

The three levels of practice of the lower, middle and higher capable being, based on the motivations of trying to attain a better future rebirth, liberation or enlightenment. Also known as the three scopes.

Great Exposition school

See Vaibhashika.

great liberation

tharpa tharthug (Tib); thar pa mthar thug (Wyl)

A synonym for enlightenment.

Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment

See Lamrim Chenmo.

Great Vehicle

thegpa chenpo (Tib); theg pa chen po (Wyl)

See Mahayana.

grounds and paths

sa lam (Tib); sa lam (Wyl)

Various advanced mental states that are achieved through meditation and practice. The mark of entry onto the five paths of both the Hinayana and Mahayana is effortless renunciation, whereas the specific mark of entry onto the five Mahayana paths is effortless bodhicitta. Of these five paths, the third and fourth are further subdivided into the ten bodhisattva grounds or stages, achieved through a more profound meditative insight into emptiness. The fifth Mahayana path is the omniscient mind of a buddha.

Guhyasamaja (Skt)

Sangwa Dupa (Tib); gsang ba ‘dus pa (Wyl)

Male meditational deity from the father class of Highest Yoga Tantra; a manifestation of the Buddha Akshobhya.

Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, A

Bodhicaryavatara (Skt); jangchub sempäi chöpa la jugpa OR chöjug (Tib); byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa la ‘jug pa OR spyod ‘jug (Wyl)

The inspirational text written by the eighth-century Indian master, Shantideva.

Guide to the Middle Way

See Madhyamakavatara.

Gunaprabha

A seventh century Indian scholar and disciple of Vasubandhu, Gunaprabha is best known for the root text Vinayasutra. He is usually thought to be one of the Two Supreme Ones.

Gungtang Rinpoche (1762–1823)

Könchog Tenpai Drönme. A disciple of the first incarnation of the great Jamyang Shepa; known for his eloquent spiritual poetry and philosophical works.

guru (Skt)

lama (Tib); bla ma (Wyl)

A spiritual guide or teacher. One who shows a disciple the path to liberation and enlightenment. Literally, heavy—heavy with knowledge of Dharma. In tantra, one’s teacher is seen as inseparable from the meditational deity and the Three Rare Sublime Ones (the Three Jewels of refuge). See also root guru.

guru devotion

After finding a fully qualified spiritual teacher and establishing a connection, the disciple trains in devotion using logical reasoning. The correct way to rely on the guru is through thought—seeing the guru as a buddha and remembering their kindness; and through action—carrying out the guru’s advice, offering respect and service, and making material offerings.

Guru Puja (Skt)

Lama Chöpa (Tib); bla ma mchod pa (Wyl)

A special Highest Yoga Tantra guru yoga practice composed by Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen.

guru yoga (Skt)

lama nel jor (Tib); bla ma’i rnal ‘byor (Wyl)

In order to amass the two collections of merit and purify negativities and obscurations, one views the guru as inseparable from a deity and/or from the Buddha. There are various guru yoga practices, some are done in accordance with tantra, for example, Guru Puja, and some in accordance with the sutra tradition, for example, the Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy (Ganden Lha Gyäma).

guru-deity

The inseparability of the deity and the spiritual master; a fundamental practice of tantra.

Gyaltsab-je (1364–1432)

Gyaltsab Darma Rinchen was one of the two main disciples of Lama Tsongkhapa, with Khedrub-je. After Lama Tsongkhapa died, Gyaltsab-je became the second Ganden Tripa (spiritual head of the Gelug school). Read Gyaltsab-je’s biography in Treasury of Lives.

Gyalwa Ensapa (1505–66)

rgyal bad ben sa pa (Wyl)

A disciple of Chökyi Dorje, Gyalwa Ensapa achieved enlightenment within a few years without bearing much hardship. He was predecessor of the Panchen Lamas and a guru of Khedrub Sangye Yeshe.

Gyalwa Gyatso (Tib)

rgyal ba rgya mysho (Wyl)

Highest Yoga Tantra aspect of Avalokiteshvara.

Gyüme (Lower Tantric College)

Gyü me da tsang (Tib); rgyud smad grva tshang (Wyl)

One of the five major monasteries of the Gelug school in or around Lhasa; it was founded in 1433 by Je Sherab Senge, a disciple of Lama Tsongkhapa. Originally located in lower Central Tibet and then Lhasa, it has now been re-established in Hunsur, south India. See also Gyüto (Upper Tantric College).

Gyüto (Upper Tantric College)

gyü to dra tsang (Tib); rgyud stod grva tshang (Wyl)

Founded in 1474 by Kunga Dhondup, Gyüto is a Gelug college in south India specializing in the study of tantric meditation. See also Gyüme (Lower Tantric College).

happy transmigratory being

A samsaric being in the realms of suras, asuras or humans.

Hayagriva (Skt)

tam drin (Tib); rta mgrin (Wyl)

A tantric deity; a wrathful form of Avalokiteshvara.

hearer

See shravaka.

Hearer Vehicle

See Shravakayana.

Heart (of Wisdom) Sutra

prajnaparamita hrdaya (Skt)

The shortest and most recited of the Prajnaparamita sutras (Skt), literally, “perfection of wisdom,” the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha in which the wisdom of emptiness and the path of the bodhisattva are set forth.

Heaven of Thirty-three

Trayastrimsha (Skt); sum chu tsa sum gyi nä (Tib); sum cu rtsa gsum gyi gnas (Wyl)

The highest of the god realm abodes in Buddhist cosmology; it is atop Mount Meru and ruled by Indra.

hell

narak (Skt); nyel wa (Tib); dmyal ba (Wyl)

The samsaric realm with the greatest suffering. There are eight hot hells, eight cold hells and four neighboring hells.

heresy

log ta (Tib); log lta (Wyl)

Also called “mistaken wrong views,” one of the five afflicted views that are part of the root afflictions. Heresy is a deluded intelligence that rejects the existence of something that exists, such as karma, reincarnation, the Three Jewels and so forth, and ascribes existence to that which is nonexistent. It is also holding incorrect views about the guru.

Heruka Chakrasamvara (Skt)

Korlo Dompa (Tib); ’khor lo sdom pa (Wyl)

Male meditational deity from the mother tantra class of Highest Yoga Tantra. He is the principal deity connected with the Heruka Vajrasattva practice and was Lama Yeshe’s yidam.

higher capable being

The highest of the three levels of practice or scopes, the higher capable being has the goal of full enlightenment. See also lower and middle capable being, and the graduated path of the three capable beings.

higher realms

The higher realms comprise the more fortunate rebirths as a human, god or demi-god. See also the six realms.

Highest Yoga Tantra

Anuttara Yoga Tantra (Skt); la na mä pä gyü (Tib); bla na med pa’i rgyud (Wyl)

The fourth and supreme division of tantric practice, sometimes called Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra. It consists of the generation and completion stages. Through this practice, one can attain full enlightenment within one lifetime. See also the four classes of tantra.

Hinayana (Skt)

theg mäen (Tib); theg dman (Wyl)

Literally, Small, or Lesser, Vehicle. It is one of the two general divisions of Buddhism. The Hinayana practitioner’s motivation for following the Dharma path is principally the intense wish for personal liberation from conditioned existence, or samsara. Two types of Hinayana practitioner are identified: the hearer (Skt: shravaka) and the solitary realizer (Skt: pratyekabuddha). Cf Mahayana; see also Theravada.

holy signs and exemplifications

See major marks and minor signs of a buddha.

house of attainment

See drubkhang.

Hundred Deities of Tushita

gan den lha gyä ma (Tib) dga’ ldan lha brgya’i ma (Wyl)

Ganden Lha Gyäma or Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga, a practice performed daily in Gelug monasteries. Note: Land of Joy, Ganden (Tib) and Tushita (Skt) are synonymous. See also guru yoga.

hungry ghost

preta (Skt); yi dag (Tib); yi dwags (Wyl)

The hungry ghost realm is one of the three lower realms of cyclic existence, exemplied by incredible insatiable hunger and thirst.

ignorance

avidya (Skt); ma rig pa (Tib); ma rig pa (Wyl)

Literally, “not seeing” that which exists, or the way in which things exist. There are basically two kinds, ignorance of karma and ignorance of ultimate truth. Ignorance is the fundamental delusion from which all others spring, and is the first of the twelve links of dependent origination.

illusory body

gyu lu (Tib); sgyu lus (Wyl)

A subtle body generated through practice of the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra; the cause of the rupakaya.

impermanence

anitya (Skt); mi tag pa (Tib); mi rtag pa (Wyl)

The gross and subtle levels of the transience of phenomena. The moment things and events come into existence, their disintegration has already begun.

imprint

vasana (Skt); pag cha (Tib); bag chags (Wyl)

The seed, or potential, left on the mind by positive or negative actions of body, speech and mind.

incarnate lama

See tulku.

indestructible drop

mi nä pä tig le (Tib); mi gnas pa’i thig le (Wyl)

The subtle drop at the center of the heart chakra where the very subtle consciousness resides. Originating from the father’s red drop and the mother’s white one, it consists of two halves, which split at the moment of death to release the very subtle consciousness.

individual liberation

The liberation achieved by the hearer (Skt: shravaka) or the solitary realizer (Skt: pratyekabuddha) within the Theravada tradition, as compared to enlightenment achieved by a practitioner of the Mahayana tradition.

individual liberation vows

See pratimoksha vows.

Indra

A powerful Hindu deity in the god realm.

inherent (or intrinsic) existence

rang zhin gyi drub pa (Tib); rang bzhin gyis grub pa (Wyl)

What phenomena are empty of; the object of negation, or refutation. To ignorance, phenomena appear to exist independently or inherently, in and of themselves. See also: emptiness.

initiation

abhisheka (Skt); wang(Tib); dbang (Wyl)

Transmission received from a tantric master allowing a disciple to engage in the practices of a particular meditational deity. It is also referred to as an empowerment. Tantric masters willl also often give a jenang, which is permission to practice a particular deity, rather than a full empowerment.

inner being

nangpa (Tib); nang pa (Wyl)

Another term for a Buddhist, so called because the person has entered “inside” the teachings of the Buddha by taking heartfelt refuge in the Three Jewels, thus differentiating from an outer being who relies on non-Buddhist philosophies and external phenomena as sources of happiness.

inner Dharma

The Dharma practiced by Buddhists, as opposed to “outer Dharma” which is practiced by non-Buddhists.

inner fire

tummo (Tib); gtum mo (Wyl)

The energy residing at the navel chakra, aroused during the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra, and used to bring the energy winds into the central channel. It is also called inner or psychic heat.

inner offering

nang chö (Tib); nang mchod (Wyl)

A tantric offering whose basis of transformation is one’s five aggregates visualized as the five meats and the five nectars.

insight meditation

vipassana (Pali); vipashyana (Skt); lhag tong (Tib); lhag mthong (Wyl)

The principal meditation taught in the Theravada tradition. It is based on the Buddha’s teachings on the four foundations of mindfulness. It is sometimes called mindfulness meditation. In the Mahayana, vipashyana (Skt) has a different connotation, where it means investigation of and familiarization with the actual way in which things exist and is used to develop the wisdom of emptiness.

intelligence, faculty of

nam chöd (Tib)

Sometimes translated as “faculty of imagination.” A human being’s capacity for thinking and imagination that enables us to project into the future, recollect past experiences and so forth; a faculty that often leads us into conflict. The insight, or wisdom, that enables us to judge between long- and short-term benefit and detriment.

interferer, possessing spirit

tse bu chig pa (Tib)

Various hindering spirits who try to prevent pure Dharma practice.

intermediate state

antarabhava (Skt); bardo (Tib); bar do (Wyl)

The state between death and rebirth.

interpretive meaning

One of two main ways of understanding a Dharma teaching, this one is where the content is not to be taken literally but needs interpretation, as opposed to the definitive meaning.

Jambudvipa

Rose-apple Land; dzam bu ling (Tib); ‘dzam bu gling (Wyl)

Of the four continents surrounding Mount Meru in Buddhist cosmology, this is the southern continent where human beings live. The other three continents are Godaniya in the west; Kuru in the north and Videha in the east.

Jampelyang (Tib)

Manjushri (Skt)

Also called Jamyang. See Manjushri.

Jangchub Ö

Nephew of Lha Lama Yeshe Ö, the king who first wished Atisha to come to Tibet to regenerate the Dharma. When his uncle died, Jangchub Ö sent emissaries to India and brought Atisha to Tibet.

Jangtse Chöje Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche (b. 1934)

A foremost scholar and tantric practitioner from Sera Je Monastery and former abbot of Gyüme Tantric College. Since then Rinpoche has taught extensively in India and the West. In 2017 he was appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the 104th Gaden Tripa, the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Jataka Tales

The volumes of stories, mostly in the Pali Canon, but also within the Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, that relate to the lives of Shakyamuni Buddha before he became enlightened. The tales generally hold a strong moral lesson.

jenang (Tib)

rjes snang (Wyl)

A ceremony that allows the disciple to recite a mantra and practice a sadhana, but is not considered a full initiation.

Jinpa, Geshe Thupten (b. 1958)

The principal English translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a learned scholar, translator and editor of many books including the Library of Tibetan Classics titles The Book of Kadam and Mind Training.

jnanakaya (Skt)

wisdom body; ye she ku (Tib); ye shes sku (Wyl)

Also known as the wisdom dharma body (Skt: jnanadharmakaya, Tib: yeshe chö ku, Wyl: ye shes chos sku). The omniscient mind of a buddha, which is the wisdom aspect of the truth body, or dharmakaya. The emptiness of the truth body is the svabhavikakaya (nature body).

Jokhang

The main temple in Lhasa, Tibet.

jorchö (Tib)

sbyor chos (Wyl)

The six preparatory practices that prepare the mind for lamrim meditation.

Kachen Yeshe Gyaltsen (1713–93)

Tsechokling Rinpoche. A recent lineage lama of Mahamudra; tutor of the Eighth Dalai Lama; founded Tsechok Ling Monastery in Lhasa.

Kadam (Tib)

bka’ gdams (Wyl)

The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded in the eleventh century by Atisha, Dromtönpa and their followers, the “Kadampa geshes”; the forerunner of the Gelug School.

Kadampa geshe

A practitioner of the Kadam lineage. Kadampa geshes are renowned for their practice of thought transformation.

Kagyü (Tib)

bka’ brgyud (Wyl)

The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded in the eleventh century by Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa, and their followers. One of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Cf. Nyingma, Sakya and Gelug.

kaka

Slang for feces.

Kalachakra (Skt)

du kyi khor lo (Tib); dus kyi ‘khor lo (Wyl)

Literally, Cycle of Time. A male meditational deity of Highest Yoga Tantra. The Kalachakra Tantra contains instructions in medicine, astronomy and so forth.

Kalarupa (Skt)

shin je chö gyel (Tib); gshin rje chos rgyal (Wyl)

Wrathful male meditational deity connected with Yamantaka.

Kamalashila (740–795)

The great Indian scholar from Nalanda Monastery who accompanied Shantarakshita to Tibet to try to revitalize Buddhism there. He is noted for his three texts called Stages of Meditation (Skt: Bhavanakrama).

Kanakamuni

The second buddha of this eon. See also Krakucchanda, Kashyapa, and Maitreya.

Kangyur (Tib)

bka’ ‘gyur (Wyl)

The part of the Tibetan Canon that contains the sutras and tantras; literally, “translation of the (Buddha’s) word.” It contains 108 volumes.

kapala (Skt)

to pa (Tib); thod pa (Wyl)

Skull cup, e.g., the one held by Yum Dorje Nyemma.

karma (Skt)

lä (Tib); las (Wyl)

Action; the working of cause and effect, whereby positive (virtuous) actions produce happiness and negative (non-virtuous) actions produce suffering.

Karmapa (Tib)

kar ma pa (Wyl)

The head of the Kagyü lineage, one of the four Tibetan traditions. The tradition of the Karmapa was founded in 1110. His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the seventeenth Karmapa.

karmic view

The way in which things appear to us influenced by karma created in the past.

Kashyapa

The third buddha of this eon. See also Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni and Maitreya.

kaya (Skt)

ku (Tib); sku (Wyl)

Buddha-body or holy body. A body of an enlightened being. See also dharmakaya, rupakaya, two kayas, three kayas and four kayas.

Kechara (Skt)

See Dagpa Khachö.

Khadro-la (b. 1976)

Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme, a female oracle to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and highly realized being, now also teaching throughout the world.

Kham

The region of Tibet east of Lhasa and west of Amdo.

Khandro Kunga Bhuma

See Khadro-la.

khangtsen (Tib)

khang tshan (Wyl)

In Tibetan monasteries, colleges are divided into houses (khangtsen), and monks are generally assigned to these houses according to the region of Tibet (or neighboring country) from which they come.

Kharag Gomchung, Geshe (late 11th century)

A disciple of Gönpawa Wangchuk Gyaltsen; the dedicated meditator who could not even find time to cut the thorn bush outside his meditation room.

khatag (Tib)

kha btags (Wyl)

A white cotton scarf used by Tibetans for greetings and for offering to holy objects.

khatvanga (Skt)

ka tam ga (Tib); kha twam ga (Wyl)

A tantric implement, a trident with symbolic elements.

Khedrub-je (1385-1438)

Khedrub Gelek Palsang was one of the two main disciples of Lama Tsongkhapa, with Gyaltsab-je. He became the third Ganden Tripa (spiritual head of the Gelug school) and was posthumously given the title of First Panchen Lama. Read Khedrub-je’s biography in Treasury of Lives.

Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen (1894–1977)

Khunu Lama Rinpoche, Tenzin Gyaltsen, was born in the Kinnaur region of Himachal Pradesh, northern India. The people there revered him and called him “Khunu” Rinpoche (meaning “precious one from Kinnaur”). Also known as Negi Lama, he was an Indian scholar of Sanskrit and Tibetan and a great master and teacher of the Rime (non-sectarian) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He famously gave teachings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Shantideva’s Guide and was also a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. He composed a well-known text, The Jewel Lamp: A Praise of Bodhicitta, translated into English as Vast as the Heavens, Deep as the Sea.

Khyongla Rato Rinpoche (b. 1923)

In 1975 Rinpoche founded Tibet Center, the oldest Tibetan Buddhist center in New York City; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

King of Prayers

samantabhadracarya pranidhana (Skt); pag pa zang po chö pä mön lam gyi gyel po (Tib)

In full, The Extraordinary Aspiration of the Practice of Samantabhadra. A long prayer on the benefits of the mind of bodhicitta, one that Lama Zopa Rinpoche often suggests his students read.

Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (1926–2006)

A highly attained and learned ascetic yogi who lived in Dharamsala, India, and who is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus.

klesha (Skt)

See delusion.

Konchog Gyaltsen (1388–1469)

Co-compiler of Mind Training: The Great Collection; holder of the Ngor throne of the Sakya school.

Konchog, Geshe Lama (1927–2001)

A great meditator who spent over twenty years (including six years in strict austerity with chulen practice) in retreat in Tsum, a valley in Nepal, before becoming one of the main teachers at Kopan Monastery, Nepal.

Kopan Monastery

The monastery near Boudhanath in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, founded in 1969 by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

kor (Tib)

dkor (Wyl)

A multi-layered term that can mean wealth or material offerings given to the Sangha and the Three Jewels, and can also have a negative connotation of misusing offerings. Read more about the term dkor here.

Krakucchanda

The first buddha of this eon. See also Kashyapa, Kanakamuni, and Maitreya.

Krishnacharya (Skt)

Nagpo Chöpa (Tib); nag po spyod pa (Wyl)

Also known as Krishnachari and Kanhapa; one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas.

Kriya Tantra (Skt)

ja gyü (Tib); bya rgyud (Wyl)

The first of four classes of tantra, also called Action Tantra, because it emphasizes external activities, such as prayers, mudras and so forth.

Ksitigarbha (Skt)

One of the eight bodhisattvas.

Kuan Yin

A female form of Avalokiteshvara, revered in Chinese countries, her name is short for Guanshiyin, “She who hears the cries of the world.”

kundalini (Skt)

Literally, “coiled”. The system of the energy channels (nadis) and centers (chakras) within the human body.

kundalini yoga

Blissful energy dormant within the physical body, aroused through tantric practice and used to generate penetrative insight into the true nature of reality.

Kurukulla (Skt)

A female tantric deity associated with attracting positive energy and attaining positive goals, red, standing on one leg in a dancing posture and holding a flowery bow and arrow; an aspect of Tara.

Kusali (Skt)

A name given to a hidden practitioner.

kusha (Skt)

Long-stranded grass used under the retreat seat during tantric initiations, and for making brooms in India. Shakyamuni Buddha made a seat out of kusha grass when he meditated under the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya and attained enlightenment.

Kushinagar

The place in north India where the Buddha died and was cremated. The site of the 152-metre (500-foot) Maitreya statue to be built by the FPMT.

Kyabje (Tib)

skyabs rje (Wyl)

Literally, lord of refuge. A title of respect.

kye rim (Tib)

See generation stage.

labrang (Tib)

bla brang (Wyl)

Usually the lama’s residence within a monastery, from which his affairs are conducted.

lama (Tib)

guru (Skt); bla ma (Wyl)

A spiritual guide or teacher. One who shows a disciple the path to liberation and enlightenment. See guru.

Lama Atisha

See Atisha.

Lama Chöpa

See Guru Puja.

Lama Lhundrup Rigsel, Khen Rinpoche, (1941–2011)

See Lhundrup Rigsel, Khen Rinpoche Lama.

Lama Tsongkhapa

See Tsongkhapa, Lama Je.

Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga

See Hundred Deities of Tushita.

Lama Yeshe

See Yeshe, Lama.

Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment

Bodhipathapradipa (Skt); jang chub lam drön (Tib); byang chub lam sgron (Wyl)

The text that formed the basis for the lamrim, written by Atisha in the 11th century.

lamrim (Tib)

lam rim (Wyl)

The graduated path. A presentation of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings in a form suitable for the step-by-step training of a disciple. See also Atisha and three principal aspects of the path.

Lamrim Chenmo (Tib)

lam rim chen mo (Wyl)

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Lama Tsongkhapa’s most important work, a commentary on Atisha’s Lamp for the Path, the fundamental lamrim text.

Lamrimpa, Geshe (1922–97?)

Ngawang Phuntsog, a highly learned lama from Drepung Monastery who remained in Tibet after 1959 and did not go into exile.

Langri Tangpa (1054–1123)

Dorje Senge. Author of the famous Eight Verses of Thought Transformation.

Lati Rinpoche (1922–2010)

A recognized reincarnate lama and former abbot of the Shartse College of Ganden Monastery in south India. Rinpoche also taught Buddhism in the West and was the author of important Buddhist texts.

Lawudo

A small area in the Solu Khumbu region of Nepal about three hours’ walk west from Namche Bazaar just above Mende. Site of the cave where the Lawudo Lama meditated for more than twenty years and now the Lawudo Retreat Centre. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the reincarnation of the Lawudo Lama.

laxity

See sinking thought.

Lesser Vehicle

See Hinayana.

lethargy

styana (Skt); mukpa (Tib); rmugs pa (Wyl)

A foggy mind which causes sleepiness, apathy and the inability to focus on the object of meditation. Lethargy, which is a grosser mind than sinking thought, is an afflictive mental state which occurs in ordinary people as well as meditators. See also scattering.

Lha Lama Yeshe Ö (Tib)

lha byang chub ye shes’ od (Wyl)

The king who first wished Atisha to come to Tibet to regenerate the Dharma. Before he was able to, he was thrown into prison and died, leaving his nephew, Jangchub Ö to complete the task.

lharampa geshe (Tib)

dge bshes lha ram pa (Wyl)

The highest of the geshe degrees awarded in the Tibetan Gelug tradition.

Lhundrup Rigsel, Khen Rinpoche Lama, (1941–2011)

Arrived at Kopan Monastery to teach the young monks at Lama Yeshe’s request in 1973. He was acting abbot from 1984 to 2001, when he was officially appointed abbot and remained in that position until two months before he passed away in September 2011.

liberation

nirvana (or moksha) (Skt); nyang dä (or thar pa) (Tib); nya ngeb de la pa (or thar pa) (Wyl)

The state of complete freedom from samsara; the goal of a practitioner seeking his or her own escape from suffering. “Lower nirvana” is used to refer to this state of self-liberation, while “higher nirvana” refers to the supreme attainment of the full enlightenment of buddhahood. Natural nirvana (Tib: rang zhin nyang dä) is the fundamentally pure nature of reality, where all things and events are devoid of any inherent, intrinsic or independent reality. See also Hinayana.

Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

The publishing house and research institute in Dharamsala foremost in preserving and publishing Tibetan Dharma texts.

lineage lama

A spiritual teacher who is in the line of direct guru-disciple transmission of teachings, from the Buddha to teachers of the present day.

Ling Rinpoche (1903–83)

The late Senior Tutor to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama; the Ninety-seventh Ganden Tripa; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Lingrepa (1128–88)

A lay practitioner and important Kagyü teacher; the Drukpa Kagyü line originated from Lingrepa.

lobpon (Tib)

slob dpon (Wyl)

Spiritual master or preceptor, person who give vows.

lojong (Tib)

blo sbyong (Wyl)

See thought transformation.

Longchen Rabjampa (1308–64)

A great Buddhist teacher and master of the Nyingma tradition who composed many major texts and practices.

lorig (Tib)

blo rig (Wyl)

Awareness and knowledge, the study of mind and mental factors, in order to understand and control the delusions.

Losang Dragpa

See Tsongkhapa, Lama.

loving kindness

maitri (Skt); yi ong jam pa (Tib); byams pa (Wyl)

In the context of the seven points of cause and effect, the wish for all beings to have happiness, with the added dimension of yi ong (beautiful or affectionate); often translated as “affectionate loving kindness.” Lama Zopa Rinpoche suggests this is the “loving kindness of seeing others in beauty.”

lower capable being

The first of the three levels of practice or scopes, the lower capable being has the goal of a better future existence. See also middle and higher capable being, and three levels of practice.

lower nirvana

See liberation.

lower realms

ngen dro (Tib); ngan ‘gro (Wyl)

The three realms of cyclic existence with the most suffering: the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.

lung (Tib; Wyl)

See oral transmission.

lung (Tib), or wind disease

rlung (Wyl)

Literally, wind. The state in which the winds within the body are unbalanced or blocked, thus causing various illnesses. Note that wind disease and oral transmission have the same Tibetan phonetic spelling (lung), but the Wylie transliteration is slightly different.

Machig Labdrön (1055–1149)

Literally “Unique Mother Torch of Lab”, she was a great tantric practitioner and teacher who developed several chöd practices.

madana (Skt)

Nectar; one of two offering substances in a tantric offering, the other is bala.

Madhyamaka (Skt)

u ma (Tib); bdu ma (Wyl)

The Middle Way school, one of the two Mahayana (Great Vehicle) philosophical schools. The Middle Way school does not assert true establishment even conventionally. There are two divisions of the Middle Way school: 1) Autonomists (Skt: Svatantrika) and 2) Consequentialists (Skt: Prasangika). The Middle Way school was founded by Nagarjuna, based on the Prajnaparamita sutras of Shakyamuni Buddha, and is considered to be the supreme presentation of emptiness according to the Gelug tradition. See also Madhyamika and the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

Madhyamakavatara (Skt)

u ma la jug pa (Tib); dbu ma la ‘jug pa (Wyl)

A Guide to the Middle Way, a famous text composed by Chandrakirti to supplement Nagarjuna‘s treatise Mulamadhyamakakarika (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way). It is used as the main source book by most Tibetan monasteries for the study of emptiness.

Madhyamika (Skt)

u ma pa (Tib); bdu ma pa (Wyl)

A proponent of Madhyamaka (Middle Way) philosophy.

Mahadeva (Skt)

Literally, “great god,” an epithet for Shiva, one of the three principal Hindu deities with Brahma and Vishnu.

Mahakala (Skt)

nag po chen po (Tib, Wyl)

Wrathful male meditational deity connected with Heruka; a Dharma protector favored by Lama Yeshe.

Mahamudra (Skt)

chag ya chen po (Tib); phyag rgya chen po (Wyl)

The Great Seal; a profound system of meditation upon the mind and the ultimate nature of reality.

Mahayana (Skt)

teg chen (Tib); theg chen (Wyl)

Literally, Great Vehicle. It is one of the two general divisions of Buddhism. Mahayana practitioners’ motivation for following the Dharma path is principally their intense wish for all mother sentient beings to be liberated from conditioned existence, or samsara, and to attain full enlightenment or buddhahood. The Mahayana has two divisions, Paramitayana (Sutrayana) and Vajrayana (Tantrayana, Mantrayana). See also Hinayana.

main mind

See principal consciousness.

Maitreya (Skt)

Jampa (Tib); byams pa (Wyl)

After Shakyamuni Buddha, the next (fifth) of the thousand buddhas of this fortunate eon to descend to turn the wheel of Dharma. Presently residing in the pure land of Tushita (Ganden). Recipient of the method lineage of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, which, in a mystical transmission, he passed on to Asanga.

major marks and minor signs of a buddha

When a being becomes enlightened, thirty-two major marks and eighty minor signs or exemplifications are displayed. These unique physical characteristics of a buddha include the ushnisha (crown protrusion), the impressions of a thousand-spoked wheel on the soles and palms, and so forth. See thirty-two major marks and eighty minor signs.

mala (Skt)

threng wa (Tib); phreng ba (Wyl)

A rosary of beads for counting mantras.

mandala (Skt)

khyil khor (Tib); dkyil ‘khor (Wyl)

A circular diagram symbolic of the entire universe. The purified environment of a tantric deity; the diagram or painting representing this.

mandala offering

The symbolic offering of the entire purified universe to the spiritual teacher (guru) and the visualized merit field.

mani pills

Medicinal pills made by Tibetan monks and nuns, very effective for healing mental and physical problems. The name comes from the Chenrezig (Skt: Avalokiteshvara) mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM, which is chanted as the pills are made.

Manjugosha

Jampäiyang (Tib); ‘jam pa’i dbyangs (Wyl)

See Manjushri.

Manjushri (Skt)

Jampelyang (Tib); ‘jam dpal dbyangs (Wyl)

The bodhisattva (or buddha) of wisdom. Recipient of the wisdom lineage of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, which he passed on to Nagarjuna.

mantra (Skt)

ngag (Tib); sngags (Wyl)

Literally, mind protection. Mantras are Sanskrit syllables usually recited in conjunction with the practice of a particular meditational deity and embody the qualities of that deity.

mantra rosary

A mantra visualized as a rosary, its syllables representing beads; usually circular, as in the syllables of the one hundred syllable mantra standing around the edge of the moon disc.

Mantrayana

See Vajrayana.

Mara (Skt)

du (Tib); bdud (Wyl)

The demonic obstructor to spiritual progress; the one who attempted to block Shakyamuni Buddha as he strove for enlightenment under the bodhi tree. See also four maras.

mara of the deva’s son

devaputra-mara (Skt)

One of the four types of maras; interferes with meditation by increasing desire for sensual pleasures. The personification of desire and temptation that the Buddha defeated just before his enlightenment.

maras (Skt)

See four maras.

Marpa (1012–96)

Founder of the Kagyü tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a renowned tantric master and translator, a disciple of Naropa and the guru of Milarepa.

Maudgalyayana

One of the two principal disciples of the Buddha, with Shariputra. Maudgalyayana was considered the disciple most accomplished in miraculous powers developed through meditation.

McLeod Ganj

The area of Dharamsala where His Holiness the Dalai Lama and many of the Tibetan refugees live.

meaning clear light

don gyi ö sel (Tib); don gyi ‘od gsal (Wyl)

The direct realization of emptiness that is conjoined with the pure illusory body in the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra to become the union of no more learning, the direct precursor to enlightenment. See also clear light, example clear light and union of clear light and illusory body.

meditation

gom (Tib); bsgom (Wyl)

Familiarization of the mind with a virtuous object. There are two types, fixed (Tib: jog gom) also called stabilizing or placement meditation, and analytic or insight meditation (Tib: che gom). See also single-pointed concentration.

meditative equipoise

samapatti (Skt); nyam zhag (Tib); mnyam bzhag (Wyl)

A state of single-pointed concentration achieved within a formal meditation session, usually in the context of calm abiding and special insight, which is lost outside the meditation session.

mental factors

chaita (Skt); sem jung (Tib); sems byung (Wyl)

Literally arising from the mind, a mental factor is a cognition that apprehends an attribute of its object and accompanies any principal consciousness that is concordant with it. There are traditionally fifty-one mental factors divided into six groups: five omnipresent factors, five object-determining factors, eleven virtuous factors, six root delusions, twenty secondary delusions and four changeable factors.

merely labeled

tag tsam (Tib); btags tsam (Wyl)

The subtlest meaning of dependent arising; every phenomenon exists relatively, or conventionally, as a mere label, merely imputed by the mind.

merit

sonam (Tib); bsod nams (Wyl)

Positive imprints left on the mind by virtuous, or Dharma, actions. The principal cause of happiness. The merit of virtue, when coupled with the merit of wisdom, eventually results in rupakaya. See also the two accumulations.

merit field

tshogzhing (Tib); tshogs zhing (Wyl)

Or field of accumulation. The visualized or actual holy beings in relation to whom one accumulates merit by going for refuge, making offerings and so forth, and to whom one prays or makes requests for special purposes.

merit of (transcendental) wisdom

jnanasambhdra (Skt); ye she kyi tsog (Tib); ye shes kyi tshogs (Wyl)

Also called the merit of fortune or the collection of wisdom, which develops the wisdom side of the path by meditation on emptiness. See also the two accumulations.

merit of virtue or fortune

punyasambhara (Skt); so nam kyi tsog (Tib); bsod nams kyi tshogs (Wyl)

Also called the collection of merit, which develops the method side of the path by practicing generosity and so forth. See also the two accumulations.

method

upaya (Skt); thab (Tib); thabs (Wyl)

Method is associated with the development of loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta, and supports the wisdom realizing emptiness. In order to attain buddhahood, practitioners must engage in both method and wisdom.

middle capable being

The second of the three levels of practice or scopes, the middle capable being has the goal of liberation from suffering. See also lower, higher capable being and the graduated path of the three capable beings.

middle way

See Madhyamaka.

Middle Way school

See Madhyamaka.

migtsema (Tib)

dmigs brtse ma (Wyl)

A short prayer which praises Lama Tsongkhapa as being Avalokiteshvara, Vajrapani, and Majushri, and having their associated qualities of compassion, power, and wisdom. It is usually recited within the Gelug tradition at the beginning and end of teachings or prayer sessions.

Milarepa (1040–1123)

mi la ras pa (Wyl)

Tibet’s great yogi, who achieved enlightenment in his lifetime under the tutelage of his guru, Marpa, who was a contemporary of Atisha. One of the founding fathers of the Kagyü school.

mind

citta (Skt); sem (Tib); sems (Wyl)

Synonymous with consciousness (Skt: vijnana; Tib: nam shä) and sentience (Skt: manas; Tib: yi). Defined as that which is “clear and knowing”; a formless entity that has the ability to perceive objects. Mind is divided into six principal consciousnesses and fifty-one mental factors.

mind basis of all

alayavijana (Skt); kun zhi nam shä (Tib); kun gzhi rnam shes (Wyl)

The seventh main consciousness posited by the Cittamatra school, the consciousness they say is needed to carry karmic imprints. The other schools only posit six main consciousnesses , but the Cittamatra school posits two additional types—mind basis of all and afflictive mental consciousness.

Mind Only school

See Cittamatra.

mind training

lojong (Tib); blo sbyong (Wyl)

See thought transformation.

Mitukpa (Tib)

Akshobhya (Skt)

(Also spelt Mitrugpa.) See Akshobhya.

mo (Tib, Wyl)

A system of divination often used by Tibetan lamas, and usually performed by throwing a couple of dice or counting beads on a mala.

momo (Tib)

mog mog (Wyl)

A fried or steamed dumpling, usually filled with meat; a favorite food of Tibetans.

Monlam Chenmo (Tib)

smon lam chen mo (Wyl)

The Great Prayer Festival, initiated by Lama Tsongkhapa and conducted over the fourteen days between Tibetan New Year and the Day of Miracles (Tib: Chotrul Düchen).

motivation of cause

gyü kun long (Tib); rgyu’i kun slong (Wyl)

The motivation set before an action is initiated. Cf. motivation of time.

motivation of time

du kyi kun long (Tib); dus kyi kun slong (Wyl)

The motivation that happens while an action is occurring. Cf. motivation of cause.

Mount Kailash

The sacred mountain in Tibet, also called Precious Snow Mountain (Tib: Kang Rinpoche). In Hinduism, said to be the home of Shiva.

Mount Meru

The mythical center of the universe in Buddhist cosmology.

mudra (Skt)

chag gya (Tib); phyag rgya (Wyl)

Literally, seal or token. A symbolic hand gesture, endowed with power not unlike a mantra. A tantric consort.

nadi (Skt)

tsa (Tib); rtsa (Wyl)

See channel.

Nagarjuna (Skt)

Ludrub (Tib); klu sgrub (Wyl)

The great second-century Indian philosopher and tantric adept who propounded the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness. He is one of six great Indian scholars, known as the Six Ornaments.

nagas (Skt)

lu (Tib); klu (Wyl)

A snake-like being of the animal realm that lives in or near bodies of water; commonly associated with fertility of the land, but can also function as a protector of religion.

naivedya (Skt)

Food; one of the offering substances.

Nalanda

A Mahayana Buddhist monastic university founded in the fifth century in north India, not far from Bodhgaya, which served as a major source of the Buddhist teachings that spread to Tibet.

Namgyal Wangchen, Geshe (1934–2015)

Geshe Wangchen was educated at Drepung Monastery in Tibet. He served as the resident teacher at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, for many years, and is now a respected teacher at the re-established Drepung Monastery in south India.

Namgyälma (Tib)

Ushnishavijaya (Skt); rnam rgyal ma (Wyl)

One of three long-life deities, with Amitayus and White Tara.

namtar

rnam thar (Wyl)

A traditional Tibetan hagiography (sacred biography) of a spiritual teacher. The purpose of the namtar is to inspire and instruct readers on the path to enlightenment.

Namtöse (Tib)

Vaishravana (Skt); rnam thos sras (Wyl)

One of the Four Great Kings, the protectors of the Buddha’s Vinaya teachings

Nanda

The half-brother of Shakyamuni Buddha, whose attachment was overcome by the Buddha’s skillful means.

nang chö (Tib)

nang mchod (Wyl)

See inner offering.

narak (Skt)

nyel wa (Tib); dmyal ba (Wyl)

Hell, either an overall term for the hell realm, or a specific term, as in the hot hells or cold hells.

Naropa (1016–1100)

The Indian mahasiddha, a disciple of Tilopa and guru of Marpa and Maitripa. Naropa transmitted many tantric lineages, including that of the renowned Six Yogas of Naropa.

nature body

See svabhavikakaya.

Nechung oracle (Tib)

gnas chung (Wyl)

The official State Oracle of Tibet, currently residing in Dharamsala, India.

negative karma

See nonvirtue.

ngagpa (Tib)

ngags pa (Wyl)

A lay tantric practitioner.

Ngari

Western Tibet, where Atisha first arrived. He wrote Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment at the monastery of Thöling in Zhang-Zhung, or Gugé.

Ngawang Lekshe

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s first alphabet teacher.

ngondro (Tib)

See preliminary practices.

nihilism

kurdeb (Tib); skur ‘debs (Wyl)

The doctrine that nothing exists; that, for example, there’s no cause and effect of actions, or no past and future lives; as opposed to eternalism.

nihilist

In the context of Buddhist teachings, someone who, upon hearing about emptiness, comes to the mistaken conclusion that nothing exists; for example, that there’s no cause and effect of actions or no past and future lives.

nine stages of calm abiding

The nine stages a meditator passes through to attain calm abiding (Skt: shamatha). They are mental placement, continuous placement, patched placement, close placement, taming, pacification, complete pacification, one-pointed attention, balanced placement.

nine-point death meditation

The nine-point death meditation is an important meditation on the impermanence of this life. It consists of three main roots: 1) death is certain; 2) the time of death is uncertain; and 3) nothing can help at the time of death except Dharma practice. Each root has three points and a conclusion.

nine-round breathing meditation

A meditation technique using nine inhalations and exhalations with specific visualizations to calm and clear the mind.

nirmanakaya (Skt)

emanation body; tul ku (Tib); sprul sku (Wyl)

The emanation body of a buddha that manifests in a variety of forms for sentient beings. See also dharmakaya, rupakaya, sambhogakaya, two kayas, three kayas and four kayas.

nirvana (Skt)

nya ngän lä dä pa (Tib); mya ngan las ’das pa (Wyl)

See liberation.

noble eightfold path

phaglam gyä (Tib); ‘phags lam brgyad (Wyl)

The eight components of the path to cessation of suffering taught by the Buddha. They are: correct speech, correct action, correct livelihood, correct effort, correct mindfulness, correct concentration, correct understanding and correct view.

non-abiding nirvana

apratisthitanirvana (Skt); mi nä pä nyang dä (Tib); mi gnas pa’i myang ‘das (Wyl)

According to the Prasangika school, this is the nirvana of a buddha, free from both samsara and the nirvana of a Hinayana arhat; one of the three types of nirvana, or liberation; the other two are cessation with residue and cessation without residue.

nonvirtue

mi dewa (Tib); mi dge ba (Wyl)

Negative karma; that which results in suffering.

Nyingma (Tib)

rnying ma (Wyl)

The old translation school of Tibetan Buddhism, which traces its teachings back to the time of Padmasambhava, the eighth century Indian tantric master invited to Tibet by King Trisong Detsen to clear away hindrances to the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. The first of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Cf. Kagyü, Sakya and Gelug.

Nyingmapa (Tib)

rnying ma pa (Wyl)

A follower of the Nyingma tradition.

nyung nä (Tib)

smyung gnas (Wyl)

A two-day Thousand-arm Chenrezig retreat that involves fasting, prostrations and silence.

object of negation

gag cha (Tib); dgag bya (Wyl)

An object to be refuted or eliminated. There are different objects of negation in different contexts, but when meditating on emptiness according to Prasangika (the Middle Way Consequence school), the object of negation is inherent existence.

object-ascertaining mental factors

See object-determining mental factors.

object-determining mental factors

vishayapratiniyama-chaitta (Skt); sem jung yul nge (Tib); sems byung yul nges (Wyl)

One of the six groups of mental factors, these accompany all virtuous minds and their function is to ascertain the object. There are five: aspiration, belief, mindfulness, stabilization, and wisdom.

obscurations

avarana (Skt); drib pa (Tib); sgrib pa (Wyl)

Also known as obstructions; the negative imprints left on the mind by negative karma and delusion, which obscure the mind. The disturbing-thought obscurations (Tib: nyön drib) obstruct attainment of liberation and the more subtle obscurations to knowledge (Tib: she drib) obstruct the attainment of enlightenment. See also two obscurations.

obscurations to knowledge

jneyavarana (Skt); she drib (Tib); shes sgrib (Wyl)

One of the two obscurations, the more subtle ones that block enlightenment; also known as subtle obscurations, obscurations to enlightenment and cognitive obscurations (Berzin’s translation). See also disturbing-thought obscurations and two obscurations.

Oddiyana (Skt)

See Orgyen.

OM MANI PADME HUM (Skt)

The mani; the mantra of Chenrezig, Buddha of Compassion.

omnipresent mental factors

sarvatraga-chaitta (Skt); sem jung kun dro (Tib); sems byung kun ‘gro (Wyl)

One of the six groups of mental factors, these accompany every main mind. There are five: feeling, discrimination, intention, mental engagement and contact.

omniscient mind

namkhyen (Tib); rnam mkhyen (Wyl)

See enlightenment.

oral transmission

lung (Tib, Wyl)

The verbal transmission of a teaching, meditation practice or mantra from guru to disciple, the guru having received the transmission in an unbroken lineage from the original source. Note that oral transmission and wind disease have the same Tibetan phonetic spelling (lung), but the Wylie transliteration is slightly different.

Orgyen (Tib)

Oddiyana (Skt); o rgyan (Wyl)

Also known as Oddiyana, the place in Pakistan, generally thought to be in Swat Valley, where Shakyamuni Buddha manifested as Chakrasamvara to reveal the Chakrasamvara teachings. Also where Padmasambhava was said to be born. This place name is a Tibetan corruption of the Sanskrit “Uddiyana” and is sometimes seen as Urgyen, not to be confused with the Tibetan term for the ushnisha, the crown ornament of a buddha (Tib: urgyän; Wyl: dbu rgyan).

outer being

chipa (Tib); phyi pa (Wyl)

A person who relies on non-Buddhist philosophies and external phenomena as sources of happiness, as opposed to an “inner being” (Tib: nang pa) or Buddhist who relies on the teachings of the Buddha.

outer Dharma

The Dharma practiced by non-Buddhists, as opposed to “inner Dharma” of Buddhist Dharma.

Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo (1871–1941)

An influential and charismatic lama of the Gelug order, Pabongka Rinpoche was the root guru of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Senior and Junior Tutors. He also gave the teachings compiled in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.

Padampa Sangye (d. 1117)

Buddha Paramapita (Skt); pha dam pa sangs rgyas (Wyl)

A great Indian yogi who brought Buddhist teachings to China and Tibet. He taught in the Tingri region of Tibet and was the author of The Hundred Verses of Advice.

Padmasambhava (Skt)

Pemajungne (Tib); pad ma ‘byung gnas (Wyl)

The eighth-century Indian tantric master who played a key role in establishing Buddhism in Tibet; he is revered by all Tibetans but especially by followers of the Nyingma tradition, which he founded. Often known in Tibetan as Guru Rinpoche.

padyam (Skt)

Water (for washing); one of the offering substances.

pak (Tib)

pag (Wyl)

Tsampa mixed with butter tea.

Palden Lhamo (Tib)

Shri Devi (Skt); dpal ldan lha mo (Wyl)

A protector, said to be the special protector of Tibet.

Palden Yeshe (1738–1780)

Also known as Lobsang Palden Yeshe; the Sixth Panchen Lama.

Pali Canon

Tripitaka (Skt)

The “three baskets” or Tripitaka; a collection of scriptures maintained orally by disciples of the Buddha and written down in the first century BCE, 450 years after his death. The Canon is the basis of the Theravada tradition.

Panchen Lama

A Gelug lineage of incarnations of Amitabha Buddha originally based in Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Shigatse; the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are the two highest spiritual leaders of Tibet.

Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen (1570–1662)

The first Panchen Lama, who composed Guru Puja and Path to Bliss Leading to Omniscience, a famous lamrim text; a tutor of the Fifth Dalai Lama.

pandita (Skt)

khäpa (Tib); mkhas pa (Wyl)

Scholar; learned person. Often referred to as pandit, (without the final a), which is the Hindi pronunciation of the Sanskrit.

paramita (Skt)

See six perfections.

Paramitayana (Skt)

Pharchin thegpa (Tib); phar phyin theg pa (Wyl)

The Perfection Vehicle, another name for Bodhisattvayana or Sutrayana; the non-tantric Mahayana path.

parinirvana (Skt)

The final nirvana the Buddha attained when he passed away in Kushinagar, India. See also liberation.

Parting from the Four Clingings

zhen pa zhi drä (Tib); zhen pa bzhi bral (Wyl)

A Sakya practice, the equivalent of the four aspects of the transformed mind in the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions and the three principal aspects of the path in the Gelug, where the renunciation of this life and of the whole of samsara are conjoined. They are: 1) if you cling to this life you are not a Dharma practitioner; 2) if you cling to future lives’ samsara, your mind is not in renunciation; 3) if you cling to cherishing the I, that is not bodhicitta; 4) if you cling to the I, that is not the right view.

path

See five paths.

path of accumulation

See path of merit.

path of meditation

bhavana-marga (Skt); gom lam (Tib); sgom lam (Wyl)

The fourth of the five paths leading to buddhahood.

path of merit

sambhara-marga (Skt); tsog lam (Tib); tshogs lam (Wyl)

The first of the five paths leading to buddhahood. Usually translated as path of accumulation. Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s preferred term is path of merit because the activity of this path is the accumulation of merit.

path of no more learning

ashaiksa-marga (Skt); mi lob pä lam (Tib); mi slob pa’i lam (Wyl)

The fifth and last path leading to buddhahood; buddhahood itself. See five paths.

path of preparation

prayoga-marga (Skt); jor lam (Tib); sbyor lam (Wyl)

The second of the five paths leading to buddhahood.

path of seeing

See right-seeing path.

Penpo

A county in Tibet, near Lhasa.

perfect human rebirth

The rare human state, qualified by eight freedoms and ten richnesses, which provide the ideal conditions for practicing Dharma and attaining enlightenment.

Perfection of Wisdom Sutras

See Prajnaparamita.

perfections

paramita (Skt)

See six perfections.

Performance Tantra

Charya Tantra (Skt)

See Charya Tantra.

pervasive compounding suffering

samskara-duhkhata (Skt); khyab pa du je kyi dug ngäl (Tib); khyab par’du byed kyi sdug bsngal (Wyl)

The most subtle of the three types of suffering, it refers to the nature of the five aggregates, which are contaminated by karma and delusions.

pipi

Slang for urine.

possessed result

One of four ways we can experience the result of an action, also called environmental result; possessed result is the environment we find ourselves in when we take rebirth.

Potala (Tib)

po ta la (Wyl)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s former residence in Lhasa, Tibet.

Potowa Rinchen Sel, Geshe (1031–1105)

po to ba rin chen gsal (Wyl)

One of the three great disciples of Dromtönpa and a patriarch of the Kadampa Treatise lineage; he entered Reting Monastery in 1058 and became its abbot for a short time.

powa (Tib)

‘pho ba (Wyl)

The Highest Yoga Tantra practice whereby the consciousness is forcibly ejected from the body into a pure land just before the moment of death.

Prajnaparamita (Skt)

sherab kyi pharol tu chinpa (Tib); shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa (Wyl)

The Perfection of Wisdom. The Prajnaparamita sutras are the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha in which the wisdom of emptiness and the path of the bodhisattva are set forth. These texts form the basis of Nagarjuna’s philosophy. The three main Prajnaparamita texts are: the Prajnaparamita of 100,000 verses (Tib: bum; Wyl: ‘bum), collected in twelve volumes; the Prajnaparamita in 25,000 verses (Tib: nyitri; Wyl: nyi khri), collected in three volumes, and the Prajnaparamita in 8,000 verses (Tib: gyetongpa; Wyl: brgyad stong pa), in one volume.

Pramanavarttika (Skt)

tshäma nam drel gyi tsik leur jä pa (Tib); tshad ma rnam ‘grel gyi le’ur byas pa (Wyl)

Or Pramanavarttikakarika. Dharmakirti’s Commentary on Dignaga’s Compendium of Valid Cognition (Pramanasamuccaya); one of five major treatises studied in Tibetan monasteries.

Prasangika Madhyamaka (Skt)

u ma thäl gyur pa (Tib); dbu ma thal ‘gyur pa (Wyl)

The Middle Way Consequence school, a sub-school of the Middle Way school of Buddhist philosophy. The Consequence school accepts mere consequences known to others and does not assert true establishment even conventionally. Examples of Middle Way Consequentialists are Buddhapalita, Chandrakirti and Shantideva. See also Svatantrika Madhyamaka and the four Buddhist philosophical schools .

pratimoksha vows

pratimokshasamvara (Skt); so thar gyi dompa (Tib); so mthar gyi sdom pa (Wyl)

The various levels of individual liberation vows for lay and ordained, including the five lay vows, and the novice vows and full ordination that monks and nuns take.

pratyekabuddha (Skt)

rang sang gye (Tib); rang sangs rgyas (Wyl)

A solitary realizer or self-realizer; a Hinayana practitioner who attains liberation from cyclic existence autonomously, without relying on an external teacher or teachings. Cf. shravaka.

Pratyekabuddhayana (Skt)

rang sang gyä kyi thegpa, rang gyälwäi thegpa (Tib); rang sangs rgyas kyi theg pa, rang rgyal ba’i theg pa(Wyl)

The Solitary Realizer Vehicle. One of the branches of the Hinayana. The path of solitary realizers (pratyekabuddhas), practitioners who attain liberation from cyclic existence autonomously without relying on an external teacher or teachings. See also Shravakayana.

precepts, five

See five lay vows.

preliminary practices

ngondro (Tib); sngon ‘gro (Wyl)

The practices that prepare the mind for successful tantric meditation by removing hindrances and accumulating merit. These practices are found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and are usually done 100,000 times each; the four main practices are recitation of the refuge formula, mandala offerings, prostrations and Vajrasattva mantra recitation. The Gelug tradition adds five more: guru yoga, water bowl offerings, Damtsig Dorje purifying meditation, making tsatsas and the Dorje Khadro burning offering practice.

preta (Skt)

Hungry ghost, or spirit. The preta realm is one of the three lower realms of cyclic existence.

primary consciousness

See principal consciousness.

principal consciousness

vijnana (Skt); nam shë (Tib); rnam shes (Wyl)

The main cognition posited by means of apprehending the entity of its object. Synonymous with main mind, it is one of the two divisions of mind, the other being mental factors. There are six main minds, one for each sense consciousness (eye, ear and so forth) and mental consciousness.

proofs of reincarnation, four

They are: 1) the continuation of the consciousness; 2) the result must be similar to the cause; 3) the habitual tendencies that are there at birth; and 4) the experience of those who remember previous lives.

prostrations

chag tsel (Tib); phyag ‘tshal (Wyl)

The act of showing respect to the objects of refuge, the Guru and the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha; the first of the seven-limb practice and one of the preliminary practices.

protector

dharmapala (Skt); sungma OR chökyong (Tib); srung ma OR chos skyong (Wyl)

Also called “Dharma protector,” can be worldly or a manifestation of the enlightened mind who protects Buddhism and its practitioners. Often confused in prayers with the word gon which actually means savior, and refers to the guru.

puja (Skt)

chö pa (Tib); mchod pa (Wyl)

Literally, offering; a religious ceremony, usually used to describe an offering ceremony such as the Offering to the Spiritual Master (Guru Puja).

pure land

kshetra-zhuddhi (Skt); zhingdag (Tib); zhing dag (Wyl)

A pure land of a buddha is a place where there is no suffering. In some but not all pure lands, after taking birth, the practitioner receives teachings directly from the buddha of that pure land, actualizes the rest of the path and then becomes enlightened.

purification

jongwa (Tib); sbyong ba (Wyl)

The eradication from the mind of negative imprints left by past non-virtuous actions, which would otherwise ripen into suffering. The most effective methods of purification employ the four opponent powers of regret, reliance, virtuous activity and resolve.

pushpe (Skt)

Flowers; one of the offering substances.

rabjung (Tib)

pravrajya (Skt); rab byung (Wyl)

An abbreviation of the Tibetan rabtu jungwa, (Wyl: rab tu byung ba), literally “one who goes forth.” A rabjung has taken the five lay vows and promises to abide by the renunciate vows of novice ordination (Tib: getsul; getsulma) in preparation for formally taking the vows later. The rabjung also pledges to renounce lay clothes and signs, wear the robes of an ordained person and shave the head, and follow the teachings of the Buddha.

rabjungma (Tib)

pravrajyi (Skt); rab byung ma (Wyl)

The female equivalent of a rabjung.

Rabten Rinpoche, Geshe (1920–86)

The learned Gelugpa lama who was a religious assistant to His Holiness the Dalai Lama before moving to Switzerland in 1975; a guru of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Rachevsky, Zina (1930–73)

Lama Yeshe’s and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s first Western student, she helped them establish Kopan Monastery and died in retreat in Solu Khumbu, Nepal.

Rajgir

A town in Bihar, northern India; the ancient capital of Magadha kingdom. Vulture’s Peak is nearby.

rakshasa (Skt)

sinpo (Tib); srin po (Wyl)

Human-like beings, usually depicted as being very evil, even man-eaters. A shortened version, raksha, is often used.

Ratnasambhava (Skt)

rin chen jung nä (Tib); rin chen ’byung gnas (Wyl)

One of the five buddha types (Dhyani Buddhas), yellow in color, representing the wisdom of equality and the purification of the feeling aggregate.

real I

The I that appears to exist inherently from its own side without depending on causes and conditions, parts or the mind’s imputation. It is the object to be refuted.

realization

A mind that holds a stable, correct understanding of a Dharma subject, such as emptiness, that effects a deep change within the continuum of the person. The effortless experience resulting from study, contemplation and meditation that is ripened and nurtured by purification and accumulation of merit and supported by guru devotion practices. Realization begins with a conceptual understanding then progresses toward a non-conceptual direct experience where the mind and its object become indistinguishable, like water into water.

Rechungpa (1083–1161)

Also known as Dorje Drakpa; the “moon-like” disciple of Milarepa.

refuge

sharana (Skt); kyab (Tib); skyabs (Wyl)

The door to the Dharma path. Having taken refuge from the heart we become an inner being or Buddhist. There are three levels of refuge—Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana—and two or three causes necessary for taking refuge: fearing the sufferings of samsara in general and lower realms in particular; faith that Buddha, Dharma and Sangha have the qualities and power to lead us to happiness, liberation and enlightenment; and (for Mahayana refuge) compassion for all sentient beings. See also absolute refuge, causal refuge, conventional refuge and resultant refuge.

relative bodhicitta

See conventional bodhicitta.

relics

sharira (Skt); rig sel (Tib); ring bsrel (Wyl)

Small, pearl-like pills that manifest spontaneously from holy objects such as statues, stupas or the cremated bodies of great practitioners.

renunciation

nihsarana (Skt); nge jung (Tib); nges ‘byung (Wyl)

Literally “definite emergence,” an abbreviation of nges ‘byung gi bsam pa, “the mind of definite emergence,” which means to emerge from the depths of samsara. The state of mind not having the slightest attraction to samsaric pleasures for even a second and having the strong wish for liberation. The first of the three principal aspects of the path. See also bodhicitta and emptiness.

resultant refuge

drabüi kyab (Tib); ‘bras bu’i skyabs (Wyl)

The potential of our own mind to achieve the absolute refuge, to become a buddha ourselves (resultant Buddha), to actualize the true path within our mental continuum (resultant Dharma) and to attain the state of an arya being (resultant Sangha). To achieve resultant Buddha, Dharma and Sangha we need to first practice causal refuge by relying on the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha already achieved by others. See also conventional refuge.

Ribur Rinpoche (1923–2006)

Recognized as a reincarnation by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama; a geshe of Sera Me Monastery; suffered under Chinese oppression for twenty-one years; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche; lived in the USA and taught in many Western countries. He was given the name Phulchung Gyatso by Phagpa-la Gyatso and Gyalten Ngawang Gyatso by Pabongka Rinpoche when he was ordained, but he never used this name.

rig sel (Tib)

See relics.

right view

See emptiness.

right-seeing path

darshana-marga (Skt); tong lam (Tib); mthong lam (Wyl)

The third of the five paths to buddhahood; attained with the direct perception of emptiness. Also called the path of seeing.

rinpoche (Tib)

rin po che (Wyl)

Literally, “precious one.” Epithet for an incarnate lama, that is, one who has intentionally taken rebirth in a human form to benefit sentient beings on the path to enlightenment.

ripening result

One of the four ways we can experience the results of an action; the ripening result is the actual realm we are born into when we take rebirth.

Rolwaling

The valley in Solu Khumbu, Nepal, were Lama Zopa Rinpoche was sent as a young boy to study.

root delusions

mulaklesha (Skt); tsa wä nyonmong (Tib); rtsa ba’i nyong mongs (Wyl)

One of the six groups of mental factors, these are the afflicted or nonvirtuous minds that subsequently lead to the secondary delusions. There are six: attachment, anger, pride, ignorance, afflicted doubt and afflicted view.

root guru

tsa wä lama (Tib); rtsa ba’i bla ma (Wyl)

The teacher who has had the greatest influence upon a particular disciple’s entering or following the spiritual path.

rupakaya (Skt)

form body; zug ku (Tib); gzugs sku (Wyl)

The form body of a fully enlightened being; the result of the complete and perfect accumulation of merit. It has two aspects: sambhogakaya (enjoyment body), in which the enlightened mind appears in order to benefit highly realized bodhisattvas, and nirmanakaya (emanation body), in which the enlightened mind appears in a form that can benefit ordinary beings. See also dharmakaya, two kayas, three kayas and four kayas.

Sada Prarudita (Skt)

Tagtu ngu (Tib); rtag tu ngu (Wyl)

The ever-weeping bodhisattva (sada is “always” and prarudita is in “tears”); he is mentioned in the Perfection of Wisdom sutras (Prajnaparamita) and is used as an example of unwavering devotion to the guru. Sada Prarudita is often translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as the Bodhisattva Always Crying One.

sadhana (Skt)

drubthab (Tib); sgrub thabs (Wyl)

Method of accomplishment; the step-by-step instructions for practicing the meditations related to a particular meditational deity.

sadhu (Skt)

A wandering Hindu yogi.

Saka Dawa (Tib)

sa ga zla ba (Wyl)

One of four great holy days of the Tibetan calendar, falling on the fifteenth of the fourth Tibetan month, Saka Dawa commemorates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinirvana. Engaging in virtuous activities at this time by making extensive offerings or doing beneficial pujas and practices creates vast merit.

Sakya (Tib)

sa skya (Wyl)

One of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, it was founded in the province of Tsang in 1073 by Khön Könchog Gyälpo (1034–1102), the main disciple of Drogmi Lotsawa (Drogmi Shakya Yeshe). See also Nyingma, Kagyü and Gelug.

Sakya Pandita (1182–1251)

The title of Kunga Gyaltsen, a master of the Sakya tradition, who spread Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia and China.

samadhi (Skt)

See single-pointed concentration.

Samantabhadra

Kuntu Zangpo (Tib); kun tu bzang po (Wyl)

A bodhisattva renowned for his heroic aspiration and extensive offerings.

samaya (Skt)

dam tsig (Tib); dam tshig (Wyl)

Sacred word of honor; the pledges and commitments made by a disciple at an initiation to keep tantric vows for life or to perform certain practices connected with the deity, such as daily sadhana recitation, or offering the Guru Puja on the tenth and the twenty-fifth of each Tibetan month.

Samayavajra (Skt)

damtsig dorje (Tib); dam tshig rdo rje (Wyl)

One of 32 deities from the Guhyasamaja mandala, a Highest Yoga Tantra practice. This practice purifies broken samaya in relation to one’s spiritual guide.

sambhogakaya (Skt)

enjoyment body; long ku (Tib); longs sku (Wyl)

The enjoyment body; the form in which the enlightened mind appears in order to benefit highly realized bodhisattvas. See also five certainties, dharmakaya, nirmanakaya, rupakaya, two kayas, three kayas and four kayas.

Samkhya (Skt)

drang chen pa (Tib); grangs can pa (Wyl)

Early non-Buddhist philosophical school; the so-called “enumerators,” because they advocate a definite enumeration of the causes that produce existents.

samsara (Skt)

khor wa (Tib); ‘khor ba (Wyl)

Cyclic existence; the six realms of conditioned existence, three lower—hell, hungry ghost (Skt: preta), and animal—and three upper—human, demigod (Skt: asura), and god (Skt: sura). The beginningless, recurring cycle of death and rebirth under the control of delusion and karma, fraught with suffering. Also refers to the contaminated aggregates of a sentient being.

sang gye (Tib)

See buddha.

Sangha (Skt)

gen dun (Tib); dge ‘dun (Wyl)

Spiritual community; the third of the Three Jewels of Refuge. In Tibetan gen dun literally means intending (dun) to virtue (ge). Absolute Sangha are those who have directly realized emptiness; relative Sangha refers to a group of at least four fully ordained monks or nuns.

Saraha

A great eighth century Indian yogi; one of the 84 mahasiddhas and founders of the Vajrayana, particularly the Mahamudra tradition. He composed many famous tantric songs.

Saraswati (Skt)

Yangchenma (Tib); dbyangs can ma (Wyl)

A female buddha embodying creativity and wisdom, (the Tibetan means “Melodious Lady”). Her wrathful aspect is Palden Lhamo, the chief protector of the Tibetan people.

Sarnath

A small town near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India; the site of Deer Park, where the Buddha first turned the wheel of Dharma, giving his famous discourse on the four noble truths.

Sautrantika (Skt)

do de pa (Tib); mdo sde pa (Wyl)

The Sutra school, one of the two main Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) philosophical schools. The Sutra school accepts both self-knowers and external objects. See also the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

Sautrantika-Svatantrika-Madhyamika (Skt)

mdo sde spyod pa’i dbu ma rang rgyud pa (Wyl)

The Sutra Middle Way Autonomy school, a division of the Svatantrika (Autonomy school) of Buddhist philosophy. The proponent asserts a presentation of conventionalities through mostly conforming with the Sautrantika (Sutra school). Examples of Sutra Middle Way Autonomists are Bhavaviveka and Jnanagarbha. See also Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka and the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

savior

natha (Skt); gon (Tib); mgon (Wyl)

One who liberates us from both the lower and the upper realms and leads us to enlightenment, the guru. Lama Zopa Rinpoche advises to avoid “protector” in this context.

scattering

visarana (Skt); trowa (Tib); ’phro ba (Wyl)

The mind wanders from the object of meditation to an unintended object. Scattering to another object is induced through either (1) the force of attachment; (2) the force of anger; or (3) virtuous thoughts. Scattering through attachment is most common, the other two less so, but all are obstacles to single-pointed concentration. See also attachment-scattering thought, sinking thought and lethargy.

secondary delusions

upaklesha (Skt); nye wä nyon mong (Tib); nye ba’i nyon mongs (Wyl)

One of the six groups of mental factors, these are the afflicted or nonvirtuous minds that arise in dependence on the root delusions such as attachment, anger and so forth. There are twenty: belligerence, resentment, concealment, spite, jealousy, miserliness, deceit, dissimulation, haughtiness, harmfulness, non-shame (shamelessness), non-embarrassment (inconsideration), lethargy, excitement, non-faith (faithlessness), laziness, non-conscientiousness, forgetfulness, non-introspection (non-alertness) and distraction.

Secret Mantra

sang ngag (Tib); gsang sngags (Wyl)

Another name for Vajrayana, so called because it should not be revealed to those not ready.

seed syllable

dru (Tib); ‘bru (Wyl)

In tantric visualizations, a Sanskrit syllable arising out of emptiness and out of which the meditational deity in turn arises. A single syllable representing a deity’s entire mantra.

self generation

dagkye (Tib); bdag bskyed (Wyl)

The practice in Vajrayana where the meditator visualizes him- or herself as the deity. See also front generation.

self-cherishing

dag che par dzin pa (Tib); bdag gces par ’dzin pa (Wyl)

The self-centered attitude of considering one’s own happiness to be more important than that of others.

self-grasping

dag dzin (Tib); bdag ’dzin (Wyl)

The mind that apprehends the self as inherently existent. This refers to both the self of persons and the self of phenomena.

self-initiation

dagjug (Tib); bdag ‘jug (Wyl)

A Highest Yoga Tantra meditation practice performed without the presence of an empowering lama, following initiation and completion of a long retreat and fire puja.

selflessness of person

gang zag gi dag me (Tib); gang zag gi bdag med (Wyl)

According to the Prasangika Madhyamaka school, the most subtle view of selflessness of person is the lack of inherent existence of the person or self. The five aggregates of body and mind are the mere basis of imputation of the self or “I”, which does not exist from its own side. See also selflessness of phenomena.

selflessness of phenomena

chö kyi dag me (Tib); chos kyi bdag med (Wyl)

According to the Prasangika Madhyamaka school, the most subtle view of selflessness of phenomena—all things other than the self or person—is their lack of inherent existence, thus phenomena are empty of existing from their own side, by their own characteristics. See also selflessness of person.

sentient being

sem chen (Tib); sems can (Wyl)

Any being who has not abandoned the two obscurations.

Sera Monastery

One of the three great Gelugpa monasteries near Lhasa; founded in the early fifteenth century by Jamchen Chöje, a disciple of Lama Tsongkhapa; now also established in exile in south India. It has two colleges, Sera Je, with which Lama Zopa Rinpoche is connected, and Sera Me.

Serkong Dorje Chang (1855–1918)

The first in the line of incarnations, this great Tibetan yogi was the incarnation of Marpa, the translator. He was famous for his scholarship and wisdom, and after practicing tantra in solitary retreat, manifested signs of realizations.

Serkong Dorje Chang (1921–79)

The second in the line of incarnations, this great yogi studied sutra and tantra at Ganden and Gyüme monasteries in Tibet. After fleeing Tibet, he lived for many years in Swayambhunath, Nepal, where he became a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Serkong Dorje Chang (b. 1981)

Born in India and recognized as the third in the line of incarnations by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. He received a geshe degree in 2010 and completed his studies at Gyüme Tantric College in 2013. Since then he has been travelling and giving Buddhist teachings, as well as looking after his monastery, Serkong Dorjee Chang Monastery, in Swayambunath, Nepal.

Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche

See Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche (1914–83) and Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche 2.

Serlingpa (Tib)

Suvarnadvipa Dharmakirti (Skt); gser gling pa (Wyl)

A renowned tenth century master from Muara Jambi in Suvarnadvipa, the “golden island,” now known as Sumatra. Serlingpa was the main teacher of Lama Atisha, who travelled to Sumatra and studied thought transformation with him for twelve years.

seven points of cause and effect

One of two methods used in Tibetan Buddhism for developing bodhicitta. The seven points are: 1) seeing all beings as your mother; 2) remembering the kindness of the mother; 3) wishing to repay the kindness; 4) love; 5) compassion; 6) special intention; 7) generating the mind of enlightenment. The other method is equalizing and exchanging the self with others.

seven precious objects of a universal monarch

gyälsi dün (Tib); rgyal srid bdun (Wyl)

Symbolizing the seven factors of enlightenment, they are: the precious wheel (mindfulness), the precious elephant (wisdom) the precious horse (energy), the precious jewel (joy), the precious queen (tranquility), the precious minister (concentration) and the precious general (equanimity).

seven treasures of an arya being

phagnor dün (Tib); ‘phags nor bdun (Wyl)

They are: faith, ethics, learning, generosity, consideration for others, integrity and wisdom.

seven-limb practice

The seven limbs are: prostrating, making offerings, confession, rejoicing, requesting to turn the Dharma wheel, requesting the teachers to remain in the world and dedicating.

seven-point meditation posture of Vairochana

namnang chödün (Tib); rnam snang chos bdun (Wyl)

They are: 1) legs in vajra (full lotus) position or crossed; 2) hands in meditation mudra; 3) back straight; 4) jaw relaxed, tongue against palate; 5) head tilted forward; 6) eyes slightly open, gaze directed downwards; 7) shoulders level and relaxed.

shabda (Skt)

Music; one of the offering substances.

Shakya (Skt)

The clan of Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, located in present-day Nepal.

Shakya Shri Bhadra (1127–1225)

The last of the great Indian scholars to travel to Tibet. He remained in Tibet for ten years, where he taught many Buddhist texts and founded four major monastic centres in Ü and Tsang regions.

Shakyamuni Buddha (563-483 BC)

Fourth of the one thousand founding buddhas of this present world age. Born a prince of the Shakya clan in north India, he taught the sutra and tantra paths to liberation and enlightenment; founder of what came to be known as Buddhism. (From the Skt: buddha—”fully awake.”)

Shakyaprabha

An eighth century Indian scholar and disciple of Shantarakshita, Shakyaprabha was learned in the Vinaya (ethical discipline). He is usually thought to be one of the Two Supreme Ones.

shamatha (Skt)

zhi nä (Tib); zhi gnas (Wyl)

Calm abiding; a state of concentration in which the mind is able to abide steadily, without effort and for as long as desired, on an object of meditation. There are nine stages in its development.

Shantideva

Zhiwa lha (Tib); zhi ba lha (Wyl)

Eighth century Indian Buddhist philosopher and bodhisattva who propounded the Prasangika Madhyamaka (Middle Way Consequence) view. Shantideva wrote the quintessential Mahayana text, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (Skt: Bodhicarayavatara; Tib: jang chub sem pä chö pa la jug pa).

Sharawa, Geshe (1070–1141)

Ordained by Geshe Potowa and guru of Geshe Chekawa.

Shariputra

One of the two principal disciples of the Buddha, with Maudgalyayana.

shemthab (Tib)

sham thabs (Wyl)

The lower part of a Tibetan monk’s or nun’s robes.

Sherpa

A native of the Everest region of Nepal. Two famous Sherpas are Sherpa Tenzin, the first person to climb Mt. Everest, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

shi nä (Tib)

See shamatha.

shravaka (Skt)

nyen thö (Tib); nyan thos (Wyl)

A hearer; a Hinayana practitioner who strives for liberation from cyclic existence on the basis of listening to teachings from a teacher. There are four divisions: stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner and arhat. Each of these divisions has two stages, a developing level and a resultant level, thus there are eight levels in total. Cf. pratyekabuddha.

Shravakayana (Skt)

nyen thö kyi thegpa (Tib); nyan thos kyi theg pa (Wyl)

The Hearer Vehicle. One of the branches of the Hinayana. The path of hearers (shravakas), practitioners who strive for liberation from cyclic existence on the basis of listening to teachings from a spiritual guide or teacher. See also Pratyekabuddhayana.

Shugden (Tib)

Dorje Shugden, also known as Dolgyal, is a worldly spirit previously practiced by many followers of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has stated that Shugden is a spirit, not an enlightened being or Dharma protector, as claimed by some, and strongly advises against it. See Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice on Shugden.

shunyata (Skt)

See emptiness.

Siddhartha, Prince

The prince of the Shakya clan who became Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha.

siddhi (Skt)

ngö drub (Tib); dngos grub (Wyl)

A realization or attainment, either common or supreme. Common siddhis refer to psychic powers acquired as a by-product of the spiritual path; supreme siddhi refers to great liberation or enlightenment. See also eight common siddhis.

sindura (Skt)

A red powder used in tantric practices, especially Vajrayogini.

single-pointed concentration

samadhi (Skt); tin nge dzin (Tib); ting nge ‘dzin (Wyl)

A state of deep meditative absorption; single-pointed concentration on the actual nature of things, free from discursive thought and dualistic conceptions. See also analytical meditation.

sinking thought

laya (Skt); jingwa (Tib); bying ba (Wyl)

Also called laxity or sluggishness, sinking thought is a mental factor which causes the object of meditation to appear in a dull manner. Gross laxity is a dull and heavy mind which holds the object of meditation but lacks clarity and lucidity. Subtle laxity is a stable mind which holds the object of meditation clearly but lacks intensity. Sinking thought and scattering are the two main hindrances to single-pointed concentration. See also lethargy.

six abodes of the desire realm gods

From the lowest to the highest, they are: 1) The heaven of the four great kings (Tib: gyalchen rizhi; Wyl: rgyal chen ris bzhi); 2) The heaven of the thirty-three (Tib: sumchu tsa sum; Wyl: sum cu rtsa gsum); 3) Free from conflict (Tib: thab dräl; Wyl: ‘thab bral); 4) Joyful (Tib: ganden; Wyl: dga’ ldan); 5) Joyful emanation (Tib: trulga; Wyl: ‘phrul dga’); and 6) Power over others’ emanations (Tib: zhentrul wangje; Wyl: gzhan ‘phrul dbang byed). See also desire realm, which is one of three realms of samsara.

six equanimities

ro nyom kor drug (Tib); ro snyonyms skor drug (Wyl)

The six equanimities are defined in The Great Gomde Dictionary as a tradition of Mahamudra practice advice coming from the Drukpa Kagyu lineage of Tsangpa Gyarey (1161-1211) and so forth. The six are: taking discursive thoughts onto the path (rnam rtog lam ‘khyer), taking afflictions onto the path (nyon mongs lam ‘khyer), taking sickness onto the path (na tsha lam ‘khyer), taking deities and demons onto the path (lha ‘dre lam ‘khyer), taking suffering onto the path (sdug bsngal lam ‘khyer), and taking death onto the path (‘chi ba lam ‘khyer). This practice was concealed as a terma by Jetsun Rechungpa and revealed by Drogon Tsangpa Gyarey.

six helpful attitudes

The practitioner is like the patient, the Dharma is medicine, the guru is like a skilled doctor and the Sangha are like nurses, Dharma practice is like the cure, the guru is as holy as the buddhas, the Dharma should remain a long time.

Six Ornaments

Gyändrug (Tib) rgyan drug (Wyl)

The six great Indian scholars, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Dignaga and Dharmakirti, who together with the Two Supreme Ones, Gunaprabha and Shakyaprabha, wrote extensive commentaries on the Buddha’s teachings.

six perfections

paramita (Skt); pha rol tu chin pa drug OR pharchin drug (Tib); pha rol tu phin pa drug OR phar phyin drug (Wyl)

The practices of a bodhisattva. On the basis of bodhicitta, a bodhisattva practices the six perfections: generosity, morality, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration and wisdom. See also Paramitayana.

six preparatory practices before meditation

1) Cleaning the space and preparing the altar; 2) making offerings on the altar; 3) sitting comfortably, checking the state of the mind, taking refuge and generating bodhicitta; 4) visualizing the merit field; 5) offering the seven-limb prayer and a mandala; 6) requesting the guru for inspiration.

six realms

The general way that Buddhism divides the whole of cyclic existence; there are three lower realms (hell, hungry ghost and animal) and three upper realms (human, demigod and god).

six root delusions

See root delusions.

six types of suffering

A six-fold classification of how sentient beings suffer. They are: nothing is definite in samsara, nothing gives satisfaction in samsara, we have to leave this samsaric body again and again, we have to take rebirth again and again, we forever travel between higher and lower in samsara, we experience pain and death alone. See also eight types of suffering and three types of suffering.

Six Yogas of Naropa

naro chö drug (Tib); na ro chos drug (Wyl)

Six advanced tantric practices devised by the great Indian pandit, Naropa; they are: the yoga of inner fire (Tib: tummo), of illusory body, of clear light, of the dream state, of the intermediate state (Tib: bardo), and of the transference of consciousness (Tib: powa).

six-session guru yoga

thundrug lamäi näljor (Tib); thun drug bla ma’i rnal ‘byor (Wyl)

A daily commitment for Highest Yoga Tantra initiates, incorporating refuge, offerings and so forth, recited six times a day.

skandha (Skt)

See aggregates.

sleeping yoga

nyälwäi näljor (Tib); nyal ba’i rnal ‘byor (Wyl)

A Highest Yoga Tantra practice where the practitioner goes to sleep visualizing themselves as the guru-deity in the mandala in order to make it easier to attain the clear light mind. In the generation stage, without the realization of emptiness, this is called “with fabrication” or “with sign”; in the completion stage, with a realization of emptiness, this is called “without fabrication” or “without sign.” See also waking yoga.

sluggishness

See laxity.

Sojong (Tib)

possadha (Skt); gso sbyong (Wyl)

The bi-monthly practice by ordained Sangha of purifying broken vows by confession in front of other Sangha members.

solitary realizer

See pratyekabuddha.

Solitary Realizer Vehicle

See Pratyekabuddhayana.

Solu Khumbu

The area in north-eastern Nepal, bordering Tibet, where Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born; populated by the Sherpas.

Sopa Rinpoche, Geshe Lhundub (1923–2014)

Geshe Sopa was an eminent Buddhist scholar based at Deer Park in Wisconsin, USA. He is a guru of both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

sources, twelve

dvadasa ayatana (Skt); kye chä chu nyi (Tib); skye mched bcu gnyis (Wyl)

The six internal sources (of consciousness) are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mental sense powers; the six external sources (of consciousness or fields of consciousness) are the form source, sound source, odor source, taste source, object-of-touch source and phenomenon source.

special attitude

adhyashaya (Skt); lhag sam (Tib); lhag bsam (Wyl)

The sixth of the seven points of cause and effect technique for developing bodhicitta, where the practitioner takes on the responsibility to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment by him- or herself. This is the final step before actually attaining bodhicitta.

special insight

See insight meditation.

spirits

Beings not usually visible to ordinary people; can belong to the hungry ghost or god realms; can be beneficent as well as harmful.

Sravasti

The ancient kingdom of the Kosalas now situated in modern Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the site of the Jeta Grove, where the Buddha would spend the rainy season in retreat and where many ruins from that time have been excavated.

stages of the path to enlightenment

See lamrim.

stupa (Skt)

chö ten (Tib); mchod rten (Wyl)

Buddhist reliquary objects ranging in size from huge to a few inches in height and representing the enlightened mind. Also known as chorten.

subtle dependent arising

See merely labeled.

subtle obscurations

she drib (Tib); shes sgrib (Wyl)

See obscurations to knowledge.

Sudhana

The main character in the Gandavyuha Sutra, the last chapter of the Avatamsaka (Flower Ornament) Sutra. Sudhana is a youth whose search for enlightenment takes him on a journey to 53 spiritual teachers; he is used as an example of perfect guru devotion.

suffering of change

viparinama-duhkhata (Skt); gyurwäi dug ngäl (Tib); ‘gyur ba’i sdug bsngal (Wyl)

What is normally regarded as pleasure, which because of its transitory nature sooner or later turns into suffering. See the three types of suffering.

suffering of pain

See suffering of suffering.

suffering of suffering

duhkha-duhkhata (Skt); dug ngäl gyi dug ngäl (Tib); sdug bsngal gyi sdug bsngal (Wyl)

Aka the suffering of pain; the commonly recognized suffering experiences of pain, discomfort and unhappiness. See the three types of suffering.

sugata (Skt)

Tib: de war sheg pa; Wyl: bde bar gshegs pa

An epithet for a buddha, literally “excellent (su) gone one (gata).”

suji (Hindi)

Semolina.

Sukhavati (Skt)

Dewachen (Tib); bde ba can (Wyl)

The pure realm of the Buddha Amitabha. Literally Land of Bliss, it is located in the western direction.

supreme siddhi

parama-siddhi (Skt); chog gi ngö drub (Tib); mchog gi dngos grub (Wyl)

Also called supramundane siddhi, this refers to enlightenment, often in reference to the attainment of clear light within the Mahamudra system. See also common siddhi, eight common siddhis and siddhi.

sur practice (Tib)

A tantric practice where tsampa is burned and offered to the spirits.

sura (Skt)

Another term for deva or god.

sushumna (Skt)

See central channel.

sutra (Skt)

sutta (Pali); do (Tib); mdo (Wyl)

A discourse of the Buddha recognized as a canonical text.

Sutra (Skt)

One of the three baskets (Tripitaka) of the Buddha’s teachings. See also Abhidharma and Vinaya.

Sutra school

See Sautrantika.

Sutrayana (Skt)

döi thegpa (Tib); mdo’i theg pa (Wyl)

The Sutra Vehicle, another name for Bodhisattvayana or Paramitayana; the non-tantric path that encompasses both Hinayana practices such as the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment and Mahayana practices such as the six perfections, in order to gather the two accumulations of merit and wisdom, the respective causes of the rupakaya and the dharmakaya, hence its other name, the causal vehicle.

svabhavikakaya (Skt)

nature body; ngo wo nyi ku (Tib); ngo bo nyid sku (Wyl)

The essential purity of the mind that is the dharmakaya (truth body). See also jnanakaya.

Svatantrika Madhyamaka (Skt)

u ma rang gyü pa (Tib); bdu ma rang rgyud pa (Wyl)

The Middle Way Autonomy school, a sub-school of the Middle Way school of Buddhist philosophy. The Autonomy school accepts autonomous reasons and does not assert true establishment even conventionally. There are two divisions: 1) Sutra Middle Way Autonomists (Skt: Sautrantika-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka) and 2) Yogic Middle Way Autonomists (Skt: Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka). See also Prasangika Madhyamaka and the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

Swayambhu

Also called Swayambhunath; the ancient stupa complex in Kathmandu Valley, west of the city.

taking and giving

tonglen (Tib); gtong len (Wyl)

The meditation practice of generating bodhicitta by taking on the suffering of others and giving them happiness. See also equalizing and exchanging the self with others.

taking the essence

See chulen.

tantra (Skt)

gyü (Tib); rgyud (Wyl)

Literally, thread, or continuity. The secret teachings of the Buddha; a scriptural text and the teachings and practices it contains. Also called Vajrayana or Mantrayana.

tantric vows

sang ngag kyi dom pa (Tib); gsang sngags kyi sdom pa (Wyl)

Vows taken by tantric practitioners.

Tara (Skt)

Drolma (Tib); sgrol ma (Wyl)

A female meditational deity who embodies the enlightened activity of all the buddhas; often referred to as the mother of the buddhas of the past, present and future. The Twenty-one Praises to Tara prayer is usually recited before debate sessions at Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.

Tara Cittamani (Skt)

A Highest Yoga Tantra aspect of Tara that is especially practiced by the Gelug lineage.

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (Tib)

bkra shis lhun po (Wyl)

The Panchen Lama’s monastery in Shigatse in Tibet; built by the First Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gendun Drub; now re-established in exile in south India.

tathagata (Skt)

de zhin sheg pa (Tib); de bzhin gshegs pa (Wyl)

Epithet for a buddha; literally, “one who has gone to suchness.”

Tehor Khampa (Tib)

tre hor khams pa (Wyl)

Anyone from the Tehor region in the eastern part of Kham in Tibet. Tehor is the largest of the fourteen regional house groups at Sera Je Monastery.

temporal happiness

jigtenpäi dewa (Tib); ‘jig rten pa’i bde ba (Wyl)

The worldly happiness of humans and gods.

ten great mantras

With the five great mantras, these are especially beneficial at the time of death. They are: 1) Chenrezig long and short mantra; 2) Namgyälma long and short mantra; 3) Milarepa’s mantra; 4) the mantra of Kunrig; 5) Medicine Buddha mantra (short); 6) Zung of the Exalted Completely Pure Stainless Light; 7) Stainless Pinnacle mantra; 8) Lotus Pinnacle of Amoghapasha; 9) Buddha Mitukpa mantra; 10) the mantras of Buddha Maitreya’s promise.

ten grounds or stages

dasha-bhumi (Skt); sa chu (Tib); sa bcu (Wyl)

The ten stages a bodhisattva progresses through once reaching the path of seeing, the first level being there, the second to seventh during the path of meditation and the eighth to tenth during the path of no more learning. See also bhumi.

ten nonvirtuous actions

mi gewa chu (Tib); mi dge ba bcu (Wyl)

Three of body (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct); four of speech (lying, speaking harshly, slandering and gossiping); and three of mind (covetousness, ill will and wrong views). General actions to be avoided so as not to create negative karma. See also the ten virtuous actions.

ten perfections

pharchun chu (Tib); phar phyin bcu (Wyl)

The six perfections plus four perfections mentioned in the Heart of Wisdom sutras (Prajnaparamita sutras) as aspects of the sixth perfection, wisdom; they are method, skillful means, prayers and transcendental wisdom.

ten richnesses

jorwa chu (Tib); ‘byor ba bcu (Wyl)

Along with the eight freedoms, the defining features of the perfect human rebirth: being born as a human being, in a Dharma country and with perfect mental and physical faculties; not having committed any of the five immediate negativities; having faith in the Buddha’s teachings; being born when a buddha has descended, the teachings have been revealed, the complete teachings still exist and there are still followers of the teachings; and having the necessary conditions to practice Dharma, such as the kindness of others.

ten virtuous actions

gewa chu (Tib); dge ba bcu (Wyl)

Actions of body, speech and mind which are the opposite of the ten nonvirtuous actions, therefore, one refrains from killing, speaks the truth and so forth.

tenet system

drubtha(Tib); grub mtha’ (Wyl)

A general term for a religious and/or philosophical system, whether Buddhist or non-Buddhist. It is often used as shorthand to refer to the four major Buddhist tenet systems that emerged from India. See the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

tenets

See four Buddhist philosophical schools.

Tengyur (Tib)

bstan ’gyur (Wyl)

The part of the Tibetan Canon that contains the Indian pandits’ commentaries on the Buddha’s teachings. Literally, “translation of the commentaries.” It contains about 225 volumes (depending on the edition).

Tenzin Gyatso

See Dalai Lama.

Tenzin Ösel Hita (b. 1985)

The Spanish reincarnation of Lama Thubten Yeshe.

thangka (Tib)

thang ka (Wyl)

A painted or appliquéd depiction of a deity, mandala or motif such as the Wheel of Life, usually set in a framework of colorful brocade. Artists follow strict guidelines and traditional techniques, and thangkas are rich in symbolic meaning.

Thangme

The village in Solu Khumbu, Nepal, where Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born.

Theravada (Pali)

Sthaviravada (Skt); nätenpa (Tib); gnas brtanpa (Wyl)

A tradition of Buddhism that upholds the Pali Canon and the noble eightfold path, which leads practitioners to liberation (nirvana), a state free from the suffering of conditioned existence. Theravada is one of the four root divisions of the Hinayana schools and is widely practiced in Sri Lanka and most of continental South-east Asia.

Thirteen Golden Dharmas

serchö chusum (Tib); gser chos bcu gsum (Wyl)

The Thirteen Golden Dharmas of the Sakya are said to have come from the time of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092–1158). They are: the three Khechara Vajrayoginis, the three major red deities, the three minor red deities, Amaravajradevi, Red Zhambala, Simhamukha and Black Manjushri.

Thirty-five Buddhas

tungshag kyi sang gye so nga (Tib) ltung bshags kyi sangs rgyas so lnga (Wyl)

Also called Thirty-five Confession Buddhas. Used in the practice of confessing and purifying negative karma, the group of thirty-five buddhas visualized while reciting the Sutra of the Three Heaps and performing prostrations.

thirty-seven harmonies with enlightenment

jang chog sodün (Tib); byang phyogs so bdun (Wyl)

Also called the thirty-seven aids to, or factors of, enlightenment. They are: 1) the four foundations of mindfulness; 2) the four thorough abandonments; 3) the four legs of magical manifestation; 4) the five powers; 5) the five strengths; 6) the seven branches of enlightenment; and 7) the eight branches of superiors’ path.

Thirty-seven Practices of a Bodhisattva

gyälsä laglen sodünpa (Tib); rgyal sras lag len so bdun pa (Wyl)

A set of practices that embraces all the aspects of the bodhisattva’s path to enlightenment, based on a mind training text by Thogme Zangpo.

Thirty-three realm

See Heaven of Thirty-three.

thirty-two major marks of a buddha

mahapurusalakshana (Skt); tsen zang po sum chu tsa nyi (Tib); mtshan bzang po gsum cu rtsa gnyis (Wyl)

A buddha in the sambhogakaya aspect displays thirty-two major marks and eighty minor signs; the major signs are: 1) feet with a level tread; 2) thousand-spoked wheel marks on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; 3) projecting heels; 4) long fingers and toes (often taken as fingers the same length and likewise the toes); 5) soft and tender hands and feet; 6) web-like (reticulated) hands and feet; 7) high-raised ankles; 8) legs like antelopes; 9) ability to touch the knees without bending; 10) male organ enclosed in a sheath; 11) complexion like gold; 12) skin so smooth no dust can adhere to it; 13) separate body-hairs, one to each pore; 14) the body-hairs are bluish-black, curling in rings to the right; 15) the body is divinely straight; 16) the body has seven convex surfaces (the backs of the four limbs, the two shoulders and the trunk); 17) the front part of the body is like a lion’s; 18) no hollow between the shoulders; 19) proportioned like a banyan—the height of the body is equal to the span of outstretched arms; 20) the bust is evenly rounded; 21) a perfect sense of taste; 22) jaws like a lion; 23) forty teeth; 24) the teeth are even; 25) no spaces between the teeth; 26) the canine teeth are very bright; 27) the tongue is very long; 28) a Brahma-like voice; 29) the eyes are deep blue; 30) the eyelashes like a cow’s; 31) the hair (mole) between the eyes is soft like cotton down; 32) the head is like a royal turban (Skt: ushnisha). See also Study Buddhism, by Berzin Archives, Rigpa Shedrup Wiki and the Dhammakaya International Society of Belgium.

Thogme Zangpo (1295–1369)

Also known as Gyalse Ngulchu Thogme. A great master of the Nyingma and Sakya traditions and author of Thirty-seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and a famous commentary on Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life.

thought transformation

lojong (Tib); blo sbyong (Wyl)

Also known as “mind training” or “mind transformation”. A powerful approach to the development of bodhicitta, in which the mind is trained to use all situations, both happy and unhappy, as a means to destroy self-cherishing and self-grasping.

Three Baskets

tripitaka (Skt)

See Tripitaka.

three bodies of a buddha

See three kayas.

three Dharma seals

Impermanence, non-self, nirvana.

three doors

go sum (Tib); sgo gsum (Wyl)

Body, speech and mind.

three great meanings

The happiness of future lives, liberation and enlightenment. See also the three ways a perfect human rebirth is highly meaningful.

three higher trainings

lhagpäi lab pa sum (Tib); lhag pa’i bslab pa gsum (Wyl)

The three higher trainings of ethics, concentration and wisdom when conjoined with refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. See three trainings.

three holy places of Heruka

Three places in the Himalayas that represent Heruka’s body, speech and mind, they are: Mt. Kailash, Tsari and Lapchi.

Three Jewels

triratna (Skt); kon chog sum (Tib); dkon mchog gsum (Wyl)

Also called the Triple Gem or the Three Rare Sublime Ones. The objects of Buddhist refuge: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Lama Zopa Rinpoche prefers “Three Rare Sublime Ones” as a more direct translation of kon chog sum.

three kayas

trikaya (Skt); ku sum (Tib); sku gsum (Wyl)

The classification of a buddha’s body into three: the dharmakaya (truth body), sambhogakaya (enjoyment body) and nirmanakaya (emanation body). These three bodies are manifestations of the enlightened mind. See also two kayas and four kayas.

three levels of practice

See the graduated path of the three capable beings.

three levels of vows

dompa sum (Tib); sdom pa gsum (Wyl)

The pratimoksha, bodhisattva and tantric vows.

three modes of apprehending an object

Also known as the three I’s when the referent object is the self; they are the three possible ways we can experience any object: seeing it as truly existent, seeing it as not truly existent and seeing it without qualifying it one way or the other.

three poisons

dug sum (Tib); dug gsum (Wyl)

Attachment, anger and ignorance.

three principal aspects of the path

lamtso nam sum (Tib); lam gtso rnam gsum (Wyl)

The three main divisions of the lamrim: renunciation, bodhicitta and the right view (of emptiness). Also the title of a short prayer composed by Lama Tsongkhapa that is commonly recited during prayer services.

Three Rare Sublime Ones

See Three Jewels.

three realms

traidhatu (Skt); kham sum (Tib); khams gsum (Wyl)

The desire, form and formless realms.

Three Saviors

rig sum gon po (Tib); rigs gsum dgon po (Wyl)

Chenrezig, Manjushri and Vajrapani, who encompass infinite compassion, infinite wisdom and infinite power.

three scopes

kyebu sum (Tib); skyes bug sum (Wyl)

See the graduated path of the three capable beings.

three thousand great thousand universes

trisahasra (Skt); jigten tong sum (Tib); ‘jig rten stong gsum (Wyl)

Aka trichiliocosm, so called because a thousand world systems makes a great world system and a thousand of those makes a second-order thousand-fold world system, and a thousand of those makes a third-order thousand-fold world system or three thousand great thousand universes.

three trainings

shiksha-traya (Skt); lab pa sum (Tib); bslab pa gsum (Wyl)

Ethics, concentration and wisdom. See three higher trainings.

three types of morality

tshultrim sum (Tib); tshul khrims gsum (Wyl)

Three aspects of the perfection of morality: the morality of restraining from wrong-doing, the morality of accumulating merit and the morality of benefiting sentient beings.

three types of nirvana

nyangdä sum (Tib); myang ‘das gsum (Wyl)

Cessation (or nirvana) with residue, cessation (or nirvana) without residue and non-abiding nirvana.

three types of suffering

dug ngäl sum (Tib); sdug bsngal gsum (Wyl)

The suffering of suffering, the suffering of change and pervasive compounding suffering. See also eight types of suffering and six types of suffering.

three vajras

dorje sum (Tib); rdo rje gsum (Wyl)

The holy body, speech and mind of a buddha.

three ways a perfect human rebirth is highly meaningful

The three ways are: temporary happiness, ultimate happiness (liberation and enlightenment) and making life useful in every moment. See also the three great meanings.

three ways sentient beings are kind

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches that sentient beings are kind in three ways: 1) all our happiness, including enlightenment, comes from sentient beings’ kindness; 2) our perfect human rebirth comes from their kindness; and 3) our shelter, food, and clothing come from their kindness.

three white and three red substances

A human body is said to be constituted of the three white substances received from the father—sperm, bone and marrow—and the three red substances from the mother—skin, blood and flesh.

throwing karma

phen jä kyi lä (Tib); ‘phen byed kyi las (Wyl)

Also called projecting karma, the karmic imprint that ripens at the time of death to propel us into the next rebirth. See also completing karma.

Thubten Jinpa, Geshe (b. 1958)

See Jinpa, Geshe Thupten.

thugpa (Tib)

A popular noodle soup made in the Himalayan Nepal and Tibet.

Tilopa (988–1069)

Indian mahasiddha and guru of Naropa; source of many lineages of tantric teachings.

tirthika (Skt)

mu teg pa (Tib); mu stegs pa (Wyl)

An outer being, a proponent of a non-Buddhist system of beliefs with tenets that assert either eternalism or nihilism, views which bind them to samsara. Also known as an outsider (Tib: phy rol pa), one who adheres to an outsider doctrine (Tib: gzhan sde pa).

tonglen (Tib)

See taking and giving.

torma (Tib)

balimta (Skt); gtor ma (Wyl)

An offering cake used in tantric rituals. In Tibet, tormas were usually made of tsampa, but other edibles such as biscuits and so forth will suffice.

transmigratory beings

dro wa (Tib); ’gro ba (Wyl)

Sentient beings who pass from one realm to another, taking rebirth within cyclic existence.

Treasury of Knowledge

See Abhidharmakosha.

trichiliocosm

See three thousand great thousand universes.

Trijang Rinpoche, His Holiness (1901–81)

The late Junior Tutor of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and root guru of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche; also editor of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.

Tripitaka (Skt)

denö sum (Tib); sde snod gsum (Wyl)

The three divisions of the Dharma: Vinaya, Sutra and Abhidharma.

Triple Gem

See Three Jewels.

true existence

den par yö pa (Tib); bden par yod pa (Wyl)

The concrete, real existence from its own side that everything appears to possess; in fact, both self and phenomena are empty of true existence.

truth body

See dharmakaya.

truth for the all-obscuring mind

samvriti satya (Skt); kun dzob den pa (Tib); kun rdzob bden pa (Wyl)

Also known as all-obscuring truth or concealer truth; a more literal translation of kun dzog den pa, usually translated as conventional truth.

tsa tsa (Tib)

A print of a buddha’s image made in clay or plaster from a carved mold.

tsampa (Tib)

Roasted barley flour; a Tibetan staple food.

tsenshab (Tib)

The title given to master debating partners of the Dalai Lama.

Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche (1914–83)

Born in Lhokha, South Tibet, the son of the first Serkong Dorje Chang and an incarnation of Darma Dodé. After studying at Ganden Monastery, he became a lharampa geshe, and was one of seven tsenshaps or “master debate partners” to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. See also Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche 2.

Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche 2 (b. 1984)

Born in Spiti Valley, India, and recognized as the incarnation of Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Rinpoche commenced his studies at Ganden Jangtse Monastery in South India at the age of six and continued his education at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, where he attained the status of Master of Madhyamika Buddhist Philosophy. Rinpoche is now based in Dharamsala and teaches Buddhist philosophy in India and abroad.

tsog (Tib)

ganachakra (Skt); tshogs (Wyl)

Literally, gathering—a gathering of offering substances and a gathering of disciples to make the offering.

Tsongkhapa, Lama Je Losang Dragpa (1357–1419)

tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa (Wyl)

Founder of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and revitalizer of many sutra and tantra lineages and the monastic tradition in Tibet.

Tsum

A region in Nepal, where Geshe Lama Konchog (and his reincarnation) was born.

tukdam (Tib)

thugs dam (Wyl)

A state of meditation in which a great spiritual master with deep insight into emptiness remains absorbed in clear light after their death. The meditative absorption may last for days, weeks or months. Read more about tukdam here.

tulku (Tib)

sprul sku (Wyl)

A reincarnated lama; one who through the mind of bodhicitta can choose where to be reborn in order to best serve all sentient beings. The title given to such a lama in most Tibetan traditions. (In the Gelug tradition the term used is Rinpoche.)

tummo (Tib)

gtum mo (Wyl)

See inner fire.

Tushita (Skt)

Ganden (Tib); dga’ ldan (Wyl)

The Joyous Land. There are two Tushita realms. One is the pure land of the thousand buddhas of this eon, where the future buddha, Maitreya, and Lama Tsongkhapa reside. The other is the abode of one of the six divisions of desire realm gods (Tib: död lha rig drug; Wyl: ‘dod lha rigs drug). See also the six abodes of the desire realm gods.

twelve deeds of the Buddha

The twelve deeds that Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and all buddhas perform. They are : descending from Tushita Heaven, entering his mother’s womb, birth, studying arts and handicrafts, enjoying life in the palace, renunciation, undertaking ascetic practices, going to Bodhgaya, defeating the negative forces (Mara), attaining enlightenment, turning the wheel of Dharma, entering parinirvana.

twelve links of dependent origination

pratitya samutpada (Skt); ten drel yen lag chu nyi (Tib); rten ‘brel yan lag bcu gnyis (Wyl)

Also called the twelve dependent-related limbs or branches; the twelve steps in the evolution of cyclic existence: 1) ignorance; 2) karmic formation; 3) consciousness; 4) name and form; 5) sensory fields; 6) contact; 7) feelings; 8) craving; 9) grasping; 10) becoming (existence); 11) birth; 12) and aging and death. This is Shakyamuni Buddha’s explanation of how delusion and karma bind sentient beings to samsara, causing them to be reborn into suffering again and again; depicted pictorially in the Wheel of Life.

twenty-five absorptions

The various visions that a person sees at the time of death, due to the winds (subtle energies) absorbing into the central channel. They are: the four elements, the five aggregates, the six sense sources, the five external sense objects and the five base-time transcendental wisdoms.

twenty-four holy places

Sacred sites in India and Nepal associated especially with Chakrasamvara; also Hindu holy sites.

two accumulations

sambharadvaya (Skt); tsog nyi (Tib); tshogs gnyis (Wyl)

Also called the two collections or two types of merit, they are: the merit of virtue, which develops the method side of the path by practicing generosity and so forth, and the merit of (transcendental) wisdom, which develops the wisdom side of the path by meditation on emptiness and so forth. See also merit.

two bodhicittas

They are: conventional bodhicitta, wishing to attain enlightenment in order to free all sentient beings from suffering, and ultimate bodhicitta, the realization of emptiness within a bodhisattva’s mental continuum. See also bodhicitta.

two bodies of a buddha

sang gye kyis ku nyi (Tib); sangs rgyas kyi sku gnyis (Wyl)

The truth body or dharmakaya, the result of the wisdom side of the practice and the form body or rupakaya, the result of the method side of the practice.

two collections

See two accumulations.

two extremes

tha nyi (Tib); mtha’ gnyis (Wyl)

Eternalism, seeing things as having an intrinsic reality, and nihilism, seeing things as having no reality at all.

two kayas

ku nyi (Tib); sku gnyis (Wyl)

The classification of a buddha’s body into two: dharmakaya (truth body) and rupakaya (form body). See also three kayas and four kayas.

two obscurations

dvi-avarana (Skt); drib pa nyi (Tib); sgrib pa gnyis (Wyl)

Deluded mental states that block the attainment of liberation and enlightenment. They are: the grosser kind, called disturbing-thought obscurations or obscurations to liberation, and the subtle obscurations, the imprints left when those are purified, called obscurations to knowledge or obscurations to enlightenment.

two stages of Highest Yoga Tantra

See generation stage and completion stage.

Two Supreme Ones

chog nyi (Tib); mchog gnyis (Wyl)

Two great Indian scholars, Gunaprabha and Shakyaprabha, who were learned in the Vinaya (ethical discipline). See also the Six Ornaments.

two truths

den pa nyi (Tib); bden pa gnyis (Wyl)

The two ways of relating to phenomena, as conventional or all-obscuring truth, the truth to a worldly mind, and ultimate truth, the truth to a mind engaged in ultimate analysis.

two types of merit

See two accumulations.

ultimate bodhicitta

don dam jang chub sem (Tib); don dam byang chub sems (Wyl)

The nondual transcendental realization of emptiness within a bodhisattva’s mental continuum. See also conventional bodhicitta.

ultimate happiness

Liberation and enlightenment.

ultimate truth

paramartha satya (Skt); don dam den pa (Tib); don dam bden pa (Wyl)

Or absolute truth; one of the two truths, the other being conventional truth. It is the understanding of the ultimate nature of reality, that things are empty of true existence.

umdze (Tib)

dbu mdzad (Wyl)

The chant master in a Tibetan monastery.

union of clear light and illusory body

zung jug (Tib); zung ‘jug (Wyl)

The final stage of completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra, where the practitioner is able to unite the clear light mind called the meaning clear light (which is a direct realization of emptiness) with the pure illusory body, the experience of the winds entering the indestructible drop at the central channel.

upasaka (Skt)

genyen (Tib); dge bsnyen (Wyl)

A male lay follower of Buddhism.

upasika (Skt)

genyenma (Tib); dge bsnyen ma (Wyl)

A female lay follower of Buddhism.

upper realms

The three higher realms in samsara of human, asura and sura.

Upper Tantric College

See Gyüto.

Urgyen

See Orgyen.

ushnisha (Skt)

urgyän (Tib); dbu rgyan (Wyl)

The crown protrusion of a buddha. Not to be confused with the place known in Tibetan as Orgyen (Wyl: o rgyan).

Vaibhashika (Skt)

jedrag mawa (Tib); bye brag smra ba (Wyl)

The Great Exposition school, one of the two main Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) philosophical schools. The Great Exposition school asserts truly established external objects but does not assert self-knowers. See also the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

Vairochana (Skt)

nampar nangdze, namnang (Tib); rnam par snang mdzad, rnam snang (Wyl)

One of the five buddha types (Dhyani Buddhas), white in color, representing mirror-like wisdom and the purification of the form aggregate.

Vaishali

The ancient capital of the Licchavis, located in modern Bihar. The Buddha visited the city many times and it was here that he turned the final wheel of Dharma.

vajra (Skt)

dorje (Tib); rdor rje (Wyl)

Literally, “adamantine”, often translated as “thunderbolt” but usually left untranslated, the vajra is the four- or five-spoke implement used in tantric practice.

vajra and bell

Implements used during tantric rituals: the vajra, held in the right hand, symbolizes bliss and the bell, held in the left, emptiness.

Vajra Cutter Sutra

See Diamond Cutter Sutra.

Vajrabhairava (Skt)

See Yamantaka.

Vajradhara (Skt)

Dorje Chang (Tib); rdo rje ‘chang (Wyl)

Male meditational deity; the form through which Shakyamuni Buddha revealed the teachings of secret mantra.

Vajrapani (Skt)

Chagna Dorje (Tib); phyag na rdo rje (Wyl)

The buddha of power. A male meditational deity embodying the power of all enlightened beings to accomplish their goals.

Vajrasattva (Skt)

Dorje Sempa (Tib); rdo rje sems dpa’ (Wyl)

A meditational deity embodying the purity of the enlightened mind. The practice of Vajrasattva uses the four opponent powers to remove obstacles caused by negative karma and broken vows.

Vajravarahi (Skt)

Dorje Phagmo (Tib); rdo rje sems dpa’ (Wyl)

Female meditational deity; consort of Heruka.

Vajrayana (Skt)

dor je theg pa (Tib); rdo rje theg pa (Wyl)

The adamantine vehicle; the second of the two Mahayana paths. It is also called Tantrayana or Mantrayana. This is the quickest vehicle of Buddhism as it allows certain practitioners to attain enlightenment within a single lifetime. See also tantra.

Vajrayogini (Skt)

Dorje Naljorma (Tib); rdo rje rnal ‘byor ma (Wyl)

Female meditational deity from the mother class of Highest Yoga Tantra; sometimes a consort of Heruka.

valid awareness

pramana (Skt); tshema (Tib); tshad ma (Wyl)

A new non-deceptive cognition. There are two types: valid perception, such as the eye consciousness seeing a flower, and valid inference, such as inferring fire from seeing smoke.

valid inference

jepag tshema (Tib); rjes dpag tshad ma (Wyl)

A new non-deceptive outer cognition directly generated in dependence on its support, a correct reason.

Varanasi

The holiest town in India for Hindus; on the Ganges, very close to Sarnath, where the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths Sutra.

Vasubandhu

An Indian scholar and brother of Asanga, Vasubandhu wrote many commentaries and philosophical texts, including the Abhidharmakosha. He co-founded the Cittamatra school and is one of six great Indian scholars, known as the Six Ornaments.

view of the changeable aggregates

satkayadrsti (Skt); jig tsog la ta wa (Tib); ‘jig tshogs la lta ba (Wyl)

One of the five extreme views where we see our constantly changing aggregates as permanent and without cause. Also called the “reifying view of the perishable aggregates” or “view of the transitory collection.”

Vinaya (Skt)

dul wa (Tib); ’dul ba (Wyl)

The Buddha’s teachings on ethical discipline (morality), monastic conduct and so forth; one of the three baskets (Tripitaka) of the Buddhist canon. See also Sutra and Abhidharma.

vipashyana (Skt)

See insight meditation.

vipassana (Pali)

See insight meditation.

virtue

kushala (Skt); gewa (Tib); dge ba (Wyl)

Positive karma; that which results in happiness.

virtuous friend

kalyana mitra (Skt); ge wä she nyen (Tib); dge ba’i bshes gnyen (Wyl)

The “noble friend” or “friend of virtue”, the term refers to the spiritual teacher or guru.

virtuous mental factors

kushala-chaitta (Skt); ge wä sem jung (Tib); dge ba’i sems byung (Wyl)

One of the six groups of mental factors, the virtuous mental factors are positive qualities of the mind that counteract the non-virtuous mental factors—the root delusions and secondary delusions. There are eleven: faith, shame (or self-respect), embarrassment (or consideration for others), non-attachment, non-hatred, non-ignorance, effort, pliancy, conscientiousness, equanimity, and non-harmfulness.

voidness

See emptiness.

vows

dom pa (Tib); sdom pa (Wyl)

Precepts taken on the basis of refuge at all levels of Buddhist practice. The pratimoksha vows (individual liberation vows) include the five lay vows and the vows taken by monks and nuns. There are also the eight Mahayana precepts, as well as bodhisattva vows, which are given in various Mahayana contexts, and tantric vows, which are given only with Highest Yoga Tantra initiations.

Vulture’s Peak

The mountain near Rajgir, India, where the Buddha taught the Heart Sutra.

waking yoga

nyingyi näljor (Tib); nyin gyi rnal ‘byor (Wyl)

A Highest Yoga Tantra practice where the practitioner awakens visualizing themselves as the guru-deity in the mandala in order to make it easier to attain the clear light mind. In the generation stage, without the realization of emptiness, this is called “with fabrication” or “with sign”; in the completion stage, with a realization of emptiness, this is called “without fabrication” or “without sign.” See also sleeping yoga.

wang (Tib)

dbang (Wyl)

See initiation.

Wheel of Life

bhavachakra (Skt); si pä khor lo (Tib); srid pa’i ‘khor lo (Wyl)

The depiction of cyclic existence, showing the six realms cycling around the hub of ignorance, greed and hatred symbolized by a pig, a rooster and a snake, with the twelve links of dependent origination as the outer rim, all in the jaws and claws of Yama, the Lord of Death.

wheel-turning days

There are four days of the Tibetan lunar calendar considered especially auspicious, when extensive prayers are made. They are: the Day of Miracles, two weeks after the Tibetan New Year, Saka Dawa on the 15^th of the fourth month, commemorating Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinirvana, the First Turning of the Dharma Wheel on the 4^th of the sixth month and the Buddha’s Descent from Heaven on the 15^thof the ninth month.

wheel-turning king

chakravartin (Skt); khor lo gyu wä gyel po (Tib); ‘khor los bsgyur ba’i rgyal po (Wyl)

A king who rules over all four continents, according to Buddhist cosmology, with love and ethics, according to the Dharma. Ashoka is a prime example of a wheel-turning king.

white and black actions

Virtuous and nonvirtuous actions respectively. See also karma.

White Umbrella Deity

Arya Sitatapatra (Skt); du kar (Tib); gdugs dkar (Wyl)

A female form of Avalokiteshvara, the buddha of compassion. She has a thousand eyes that watch over living beings and a thousand arms that protect and assist them, thus she symbolizes the power of active compassion. The White Umbrella Deity practice is recommended for healing sickness, dispelling spirit harm and bringing auspiciousness.

wind

lung (Tib); rlung (Wyl)

Energy-winds. Subtle energies that flow in the channels in the body, which enable the body to function and which are associated with different levels of mind. See also lung (wind disease).

wind disease

See lung.

wisdom

Different levels of insight into the nature of reality. There are, for example, the three wisdoms of hearing, contemplation and meditation. Ultimately, there is the wisdom realizing emptiness, which frees us from cyclic existence and eventually brings us to enlightenment. The complete and perfect accumulation of wisdom results in dharmakaya. In order to attain buddhahood, practitioners must engage in both wisdom and method.

wisdom body

See jnanakaya.

wisdom mother

sherabma (Tib); shes rab ma (Wyl)

A tantric consort.

wish-granting jewel

cintamani (Skt); yizhin norbu (Tib); yid bzhin nor bu (Wyl)

Also called “wish-fulfilling jewel”. A jewel that brings its possessor everything that they desire.

wishing bodhicitta

See aspirational bodhicitta.

worldly concern

See eight worldly dharmas.

wrong view

mithya-drishti (Skt); logta (Tib); log lta (Wyl)

A mistaken or deluded understanding that leads to suffering. In Buddhism there are various ways of defining wrong views. The most common one is as the last of the ten nonvirtues, also known as heresy, but it can also be either all five of the afflicted views among the unwholesome mental factors—the view of the transitory aggregates, extreme views, views of superiority of belief, the views of superiority of morality and discipline, and mistaken or wrong views—or the last one alone.

yabyum (Tib)

yab yum (Wyl)

Literally, “father mother,” the image of a male and female tantric deity in union, signifying the union of method and wisdom.

yaksha (Skt)

nö jin (Tib); gnod sbyin (Wyl)

Spirits, usually described in Tibetan Buddhism as blood-drinking, flesh-eating cannibals, but in other forms of Buddhism they can be either malevolent or benevolent.

yama (Skt)

shinje (Tib); gshin rje (Wyl)

A guardian of the hell realm.

Yama (Skt)

shinchi dagje (Tib); gshin ‘chi bdag rje (Wyl)

The Lord of Death, seen on the Wheel of Life.

Yamantaka (Skt)

shinje she (Tib); gshin rje gshed (Wyl)

The “Destroyer of Death,” also known as Vajrabhairava, “Terrifying Vajra” (Tib: Droje Jigje; Wyl: rdo rje ‘jigs byed). A wrathful meditational deity from the father tantra class of Highest Yoga Tantra.

yana (Skt)

Literally, vehicle; a spiritual path that leads to an awakened state. The vehicle and spiritual journey depends on the attitude of the practitioner. See also Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana.

Yangsi Rinpoche (b. 1968)

Recognized as a reincarnation of Geshe Ngawang Gendun, Yangsi Rinpoche became a lharampa geshe at Sera Je Monastery in south India and completed his studies at Gyüme Tantric College. Having a particular wish to benefit Western students, he founded Maitripa College in 2005 in Portland, Oregon.

Yeshe Karda (Tib)

Transcendental Wisdom Star-Arrow, a deity used in water offering practices.

Yeshe, Lama Thubten (1935–1984)

Born and educated in Tibet, he fled to India, where he met his chief disciple, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. They began teaching Westerners at Kopan Monastery in 1969 and founded the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) in 1975.

yidam (Tib)

ishtadevata (Skt); yi dam (Wyl)

Literally, “mind-bound.” One’s own personal, main—or, as Lama Yeshe used to say, favorite—deity for tantric practice. The deity with which a practitioner has the strongest connection.

yoga (Skt)

näljor (Tib); rnal ‘byor (Wyl)

Literally, “to yoke” or “to unite.” In Tibetan Buddhism, yoga refers to the spiritual discipline a practitioner commits to in order to attain realizations, for example, deity yoga.

Yoga Tantra (Skt)

näljor gyi gyü (Tib); rnal ‘byor gyi rgyud (Wyl)

The third of four classes of Buddhist tantra, literally meaning “union” due to the increased emphasis on internal activities compared with the previous two tantras.

yoga with signs

tsän chä kyi näljor (Tib); mtshan bcas kyi rnal ‘byor (Wyl)

Within the lower tantras, the practice that involves conceptuality (“sign”), before the realization of emptiness, comparable to the generation stage in Highest Yoga Tantra.

yoga without signs

tsänma me päi näljor (Tib); mtshan ma med pa’i rnal ‘byor (Wyl)

Within the lower tantras, when the practice is imbued with a realization of emptiness and hence beyond conceptuality (“sign”), comparable to the completion stage in Highest Yoga Tantra.

Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamika (Skt)

rnal ‘byor spyod pa’i dbu ma rang rgyud pa (Wyl)

The Yogic Middle Way Autonomy school, a division of the Svatantrika (Autonomy school) of Buddhist philosophy. The proponent asserts a presentation of conventionalities through mostly conforming with the Cittamatra (Mind Only school). Examples of Yogic Middle Way Autonomists are Shantarakshita, Haribhadra, and Kamalashila. See also Sautrantika-Svatantrika-Madhyamika and the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

Yogachara (Skt)

näljor chöpa (Tib); rnal ‘byor spyod pa (Wyl)

Often used as a synonym for the Cittamatra school, it can also refer to a subdivision of the Svatantrika Madhyamaka school. Its followers assert a coarse selflessness of phenomena that is the same as the Cittamatrins’ subtle selflessness of phenomena—the lack of difference in entity between subject and object.

yogi (Skt)

näljor pa (Tib); rnal ‘byor pa (Wyl)

A highly realized meditator.

yojana (Skt)

A measure of distance used in ancient India, said to be somewhere between six and fifteen km (four to nine miles).

yum (Tib)

Literally, “mother”; a female consort of a male tantric deity (the “father”; Tib: yab), as in Yum Dorje Nyemma Karmo, the consort of Heruka Vajrasattva.

Yum Dorje Nyemma Karmo (Tib)

The female consort of the male tantric deity Heruka Vajrasattva.

Zangpo, Thogme (1295–1369)

See Thogme Zangpo.

zen (Tib)

gzan (Wyl)

The upper robe of a monk or nun.

zhi dag (Tib)

gzhi bdag (Wyl)

Landlord; place owner. Tibetan Buddhism teaches that each place has associated with it a sentient being who considers that he owns it. Offerings are made to this being to request the temporary use of that place for, e.g., retreat.

zhi nä

See shamatha.

Zong Rinpoche (1905–1984)

A powerful Gelugpa lama renowned for his wrathful aspect, who had impeccable knowledge of Tibetan Buddhist rituals, art and science.

Zopa Rinpoche, Kyabje Lama Thubten ((1945–2023))

Born in Thangme, near Mt. Everest, and recognized as the reincarnation of the Lawudo Lama, Kunsang Yeshe, Lama Zopa Rinpoche became the heart disciple of Lama Yeshe, who later established the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). As spiritual director of the extensive network of centers, projects and services of the FPMT for almost forty years, Rinpoche’s philanthropic work has seen a proliferation of charitable projects and beneficial activities worldwide. Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away on 13 April 2023.