thirty-two major marks of a buddha. See MAHĀPURUṢALAKṢAṆA.

Thissa Zedi. A pagoda located on a small hill named Hkamin-wei in the southern Sagaing Range in Upper Burma (Myanmar). It was built in 1108 CE by the king of PAGAN, Kyansittha (r. 1084–1112), in fulfillment of an oath (Burmese, thissa; P. sacca) he made while still a soldier (Burmese, sit-tha). The similarity of these two words has led to this pagoda receiving several names, viz., Thissa Zedi (Pagoda of the Oath), Sittha Hpaya (Pagoda of the Soldier), and Thissa-hpaya Zedi (a spoonerism based on “Sit-tha Hpaya” meaning, again, Pagoda of the Oath).

thod rgal. (tögel). In Tibetan, “crossing the crest” or “leap over” (in the sense of skipping over one or more of the stages in a sequence); a special practice of ATIYOGA and one of the two main practices in the SNYING THIG tradition of RDZOGS CHEN, the other being “breakthrough” (KHREGS CHOD). Falling specifically within the “instruction class” (MAN NGAG SDE) of rdzogs chen, thod rgal follows khregs chod, in which the experience of innate awareness or RIG PA is cultivated. With this foundation, in thod rgal, the meditator uses specific physical postures to induce visions that reveal the luminous nature of external phenomena. Whereas thod rgal signifies a type of cultivated spontaneous imagery culminating in visions of MAṆḌALAs of buddhas, and is paired with the spontaneous energy (lhun grub) of pure awareness (rig pa), khregs chod (literally, “breaking through the hard”) is paired with the essential purity (ka dag) of awareness. It is said that thod rgal is a method of contemplating light that enables rdzogs chen practitioners to attain the ’JA’ LUS (rainbow body) without leaving any bodily traces at death. The term also renders the Sanskrit vyutkrāntaka, described in the ABHIDHARMA as jumping at will from one meditative state (a DHYĀNA or SAMĀPATTI) to any other without having to go through the intermediate stages. Thod rgal ba is also used in Tibetan commentarial literature to describe a type of meditator who does not go sequentially through each of the four fruitions of the religious life, viz., the stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNA), once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIN), nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIN), and ARHAT, but rather jumps over the intermediate results to the final goal. Some sources suggest thod rgal may also be a translation of the pluta (sometimes rendered “floater”), a meditator who jumps over the intermediate heavens in the subtle-materiality and immaterial realms and proceeds directly to the AKANIṢṬHA and BHAVĀGRA heavens.

Tho ling gtsug lag khang. (Toling Tsuklakang). One of the principal religious institutions of the GU GE kingdom in the western Tibetan region of Mnga’ ris, established in 996 by King YE SHE ’OD and translator RIN CHEN BZANG PO; also spelled Mtho lding, Tho gling, and ’Thon ’thing. It was the first residence of the Bengali scholar ATIŚA DĪPAṂKARAŚRĪJÑĀNA during his stay in Tibet, where he composed his famous treatise, the BODHIPATHAPRADĪPA. It also served as the seat for much of Rin chen bzang po’s literary career. The main image in the central temple was of the buddha VAIROCANA.

Thomas, Edward Joseph. (1869–1958). British scholar of Pāli and Sanskrit Buddhism. He was the son of a Yorkshire gardener and worked as a gardener himself in his early life before studying at St. Andrews and then Cambridge, where he received his BA in 1905. He spent the remainder of his life at Cambridge, holding various positions at the university library, where he was renowned for his knowledge of languages (along with his work in Indian languages, he also published a book on Danish conversational grammar). He wrote both general works on Buddhist thought and translated Buddhist texts, including a collection of JĀTAKA stories from the Pāli. His most influential work was The Life of the Buddha as Legend and History (1927), in which he focused upon the structure of various biographical fragments and texts, and their role within the wider tradition. Thomas stressed the importance of studying all available language sources and the need to understand the mythic and fabulous elements of the religion as important traditions in their own right.

Thomas, Frederick William. (1867–1956). British scholar of Sanskrit and Tibetan who served as librarian at the India Office Library in London before being appointed Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford, a position he held from 1927 to 1937. His research, some in collaboration with Jacques Bacot, included work on ancient Tibetan historical texts discovered at DUNHUANG. He catalogued the Tibetan manuscripts from SIR MARC AUREL STEIN’s third expedition to Dunhuang.

Thommayut. (Thai). See THAMMAYUT.

Thông Biện. (通辦) (d. 1134). The first Vietnamese Buddhist author to write a history of Vietnamese Buddhism based on the model of the “transmission of the lamplight” (CHUANDENG) histories of the Chinese CHAN school. He was a native of Đan Phượng (which is now in Hà Tây province, North Vietnam). His family name was Ngô and he was born into a Buddhist family. He was respected by the Lý court and was bestowed the title quềc sư (state preceptor; C. GUOSHI). The THIỀN UYỂN TẬP ANH relates that in a lecture in 1096 he interpreted Vietnamese Buddhist history as the continuation of the transmission of both the scriptural school and the mind (or Chan) school of Chinese Buddhism. According to Thông Biện, the Scriptural School began with Mou Bo and Kang Senghui, and the Chan school was transmitted by BODHIDHARMA. He further claimed that Chan came to Vietnam through two streams, represented, respectively, by VINĪTARUCI (d. 594) and VÔ NGÔN THÔNG (d. 826). Vinītaruci and Vô Ngôn Thông thus were the ancestral teachers of the two streams of Chan that produced numerous side branches in Vietnam. Later in his life, Thông Biện founded a great teaching center and taught the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA. His contemporaries referred to him as Ngộ Pháp Hoa (Awakened to the Lotus). Thông Biện’s model of Vietnamese Buddhist history was subsequently adopted by Buddhist authors of later generations and thus exercised lasting influence on the traditional understanding of Vietnamese Buddhist history. Many modern Vietnamese Buddhist leaders still accept Thông Biện’s views about the history of Buddhism in Vietnam.

Thorani. In Thailand and Laos, Phra Mae (Mother) Thorani or Nang (Lady) Thorani; a female deity depicted in mural depictions of the life of the Buddha. The name Thorani is the Thai and Lao pronunciation of the Sanskrit term DHĀRAṆĪ, which, in addition to its common Buddhist denotation of “code” or “spell,” also means “the earth,” “soil,” or “ground.” In a variation of the story of STHĀVARĀ, as the future Buddha sat in meditation about to attain enlightenment, he was attacked by MĀRA and his minions. Māra taunted him, saying that the bodhisattva had no one to attest to his worthiness of becoming a buddha, whereas his vast retinue was present to attest that he, Māra, should be acknowledged as the awakened one. The Buddha then touched the earth with his right hand and summoned the earth to bear witness to his meritorious acts (see BHŪMISPARŚAMUDRĀ), particularly acts of giving (DĀNA), that he had performed in past existences. Lady Thorani then appeared from out of the earth in the form of a beautiful woman with long wet hair. As she wrung out her hair, all the water that had accumulated on the earth each time the Buddha offered donative libations during his myriad past lives became such a torrential deluge that it swept away Māra and all his minions. (Pouring a ceremonial libation of water is a common way to conclude many ceremonies and offering rituals in Southeast Asian Buddhism.) In paintings, Lady Thorani stands beneath the VAJRĀSANA of the Buddha while Māra and his retinue are off to either side, caught in the floodwaters. Central city shrines to Lady Thorani can be found in both Laos and northeastern Thailand, and in the past, it was common for households in northeastern Thailand to have a small shrine dedicated to Lady Thorani in their household compounds.

Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara. See SĀHASRABHUJASĀHASRANETRĀVALOKITEŚVARA.

three bodies (of the buddhas). See TRIKĀYA.

three catties of flax (gong’an). See MA SANJIN.

three doors/gates. See TRIDVĀRA.

three jewels. See RATNATRAYA.

three marks of existence. See TRILAKṢAṆA.

three natures. See TRISVABHĀVA.

three periods of the teachings. See MOFA.

three poisons. See TRIVIṢA.

three realms of existence. See TRAIDHĀTUKA.

three refuges. See TRIŚARAṆA.

Three Stages/Third Stage Sect. See SANJIE JIAO.

three trainings. See TRIŚIKṢĀ.

three turnings of the wheel of the dharma. See SAṂDHINIRMOCANASŪTRA.

three vehicles. See TRIYĀNA.

three vows. See TRISAṂVARA.

Thub bstan rgya mtsho. (Tupten Gyatso) (1876–1933). The thirteenth DALAI LAMA of Tibet, remembered as a particularly forward-thinking and politically astute leader. Born in southeastern Tibet, he was recognized as the new Dalai Lama in 1878 and enthroned the next year. Surviving an assassination attempt (using black magic) by his regent, he assumed the duties of his office in 1895 during a period of complicated international politics between Britain, Russia, and China. British troops under the command of Col. Francis Younghusband entered Tibet in 1903. Before the British arrived in LHA SA the following year, the Dalai Lama fled to Mongolia and then continued to China, not returning to Lha sa until 1909. The following year, Chinese Manchu troops invaded Tibet and the Dalai Lama fled to India, returning in 1912. In 1912, the Manchu troops were expelled, and in 1913 the Dalai Lama declared Tibet’s de facto independence. A progressive thinker, the thirteenth Dalai Lama made direct contact with Europe and the United States, and befriended Sir Charles Bell, the British political officer in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet. He tried, unsuccessfully, to have Tibet admitted to the League of Nations, developed Tibet’s first modern army, and sent the first young Tibetans to be educated in England. Most of his progressive plans, however, were thwarted by conservative religious and political forces within Tibet. The thirteenth Dalai Lama died in 1933, leaving behind a chilling prophecy, which read in part: “The monasteries will be looted and destroyed, and the monks and nuns killed or chased away. The great works of the noble dharma kings of old will be undone, and all of our cultural and spiritual institutions persecuted, destroyed, and forgotten. The birthrights and property of the people will be stolen. We will become like slaves to our conquerors, and will be made to wander helplessly like beggars. Everyone will be forced to live in misery, and the days and nights will pass slowly, with great suffering and terror.”

Thubten Yeshe. (Thub bstan ye shes) (1935–1984). Influential teacher of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. Born to a farming family, in a village near LHA SA, Thubten Yeshe’s first experience with monasticism began when, as a toddler, he was discovered to be an incarnation of the abbess of ’Chi med lung monastery. He displayed strong leanings toward the monastic life from a very early age and, when he was six, his parents put him in the care of an uncle at SE RA monastery outside Lha sa. He spent the next nineteen years at Se ra, where he studied diligently but was unable to complete his DGE BSHES (geshe) degree prior to fleeing Tibet at the time of the Lha sa uprising of 1959. He escaped to India with two of his brothers, going to the refugee camp in Buxador in northeast India. He began teaching Western students at Kopan monastery, near BODHNĀTH in Kathmandu, Nepal. He also traveled the world with his main disciple and fellow monk, Zopa Rinpoche. Together they created the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahāyāna Tradition in 1975, along with Wisdom Publications, the Root Institute in BODHGAYĀ, the Tushita Dharma Center in DHARMAŚĀLĀ, India, and Nalanda monastery near Toulouse, France.

Thudhamma. (P. Sudhamma). The majority Buddhist monastic fraternity (B. GAING; P. gaṇa, cf. NIKĀYA) in contemporary Myanmar (Burma), comprising 85–90 percent of the monastic population of the country. The name derives from the Thudhamma Council, an ecclesiastical body appointed by royal decree in 1782, which was charged with reforming the Burmese saṅgha (S. SAṂGHA) and uniting its various factions into a single fraternity under Thudhamma leadership. The Thudhamma Council established a common monastic curriculum and in general promoted uniformity of doctrinal interpretation and VINAYA practice among the kingdom’s monasteries. With the exception of a short hiatus in the 1810s, the council remained a permanent governing body of the Burmese saṅgha until the late nineteenth century, when it was dissolved following the British conquest of Upper Burma in 1885 and the deposition of the Burmese king. Even before that event, the authority of the council had declined in Lower Burma as a consequence of Britain’s seizure of Burma’s maritime provinces in 1824 and 1852. During the reign of MINDON MIN (1853–1878), Burmese monks living in British-controlled Lower Burma refused to recognize the authority of the Thudhamma Council and organized themselves into an independent fraternity called the DWAYA GAING (P. Dvāragaṇa). In the Burmese kingdom itself, the council’s policies were not supported by ultra-orthodox monks who, because of their prominent disciplinary observances and scriptural expertise, gained popular support and royal patronage. From among these reformist monks, two prominent factions emerged, the SHWEGYIN and Hngettwin, both of which eventually organized themselves into independent fraternities with their own network of monasteries. After the disestablishment of Buddhism as the state religion of Burma by the British, all “unreformed” monasteries, which were the vast majority in the country, came to be designated Thudhamma by default, even though there was no longer an ecclesiastical umbrella under which they operated nor a hierarchy to which they were answerable. This allowed for the politicization of Thudhamma monks during the British colonial period, some of whom became leaders of the Burmese independence movement. In 1980, the Burmese government’s Ministry of Religious Affairs recognized the Thudhamma gaing as one of nine officially sanctioned monastic fraternities comprising the Burmese saṅgha. Somewhat more relaxed in matters of outward deportment than especially the Shwegyin and Dwaya, the Thudhamma gaing is renowned for its scholarship and maintains major monastic colleges in Yangon (Rangoon), Mandalay, and Pakokku.

thudong. (P. dhutaṅga). In Thai, “ascetics”; the tradition of forest monks (P. ARAÑÑAVĀSI) who observe the strict set of thirteen austerities (DHUTAṄGA), such as eating only one meal a day, living in the forest or at the root of a tree, meditating in charnel grounds, eating only from the alms bowl, etc. In Thailand, the thudong tradition is strongest in the Northeast, near the Laotian border, and is particularly, but not exclusively, associated with the reformed THAMMAYUT (P. Dhammayuttika) order. The thudong tradition experienced a resurgence in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when it was revitalized through the efforts of AJAHN MUN BHŪRIDATTA, Ajahn Sao Kantasīla (1861–1941), and, later, AJAHN CHAH BODHIÑĀṆA.

Thun mong ma yin pa’i mdzod. (Tunmong Mayinpe Dzö). In Tibetan, “The Uncommon Treasury”; an encyclopedic work written by the nineteenth-century Tibetan scholar ’JAM MGON KONG SPRUL BLO GROS MTHA’ YAS. The text is counted among the five treasuries of Kongtrül (KONG SPRUL MDZOD LNGA). It preserves numerous tantric ritual and liturgical texts of the RNYING MA sect of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as works on philosophy, poetry, astrology, and descriptions of local Buddhist practices and sites.

Thūpārāma. In Pāli, “Monastery of the STŪPA”; a monastery situated to the south of the Sinhalese capital of ANURĀDHAPURA in the MAHĀMEGHAVANA grove. Built by King DEVĀNAṂPIYATISSA, the monastery derives its name from the thūpa reliquary mound located within its precincts. The thūpa houses the Buddha’s collarbone and was the first shrine of its kind on the island. The spot where the thūpa stands is where Gotama (S. GAUTAMA) Buddha and other buddhas were thought to have once meditated. Also within the grounds of the Thūpārāma was planted a sapling taken from a branch of the BODHI TREE that had been brought to Sri Lanka by the nun SAṄGHAMITTĀ. Once, during the first century BCE, the monks of the Thūpārāma conspired with counselors to deny kingship to the island’s rightful heir, the crown prince Lañjatissa, giving it instead to his younger brother, Thūlatthana. When Lañjatissa regained the throne, he chastised the saṅgha by causing its junior monks to be honored first, and its senior monks last—thus repaying them in kind. During the reign of King Mahāsena, the heretical monk, Saṅghamitta, planned to disassemble the Thūpārāma, but was assassinated before he could carry out the deed. The Thūpārāma has been restored and renovated numerous times and is richly ornamented with plates and bricks made of gold and silver.

Thūpavaṃsa. In Pāli, “Chronicle of the Thūpa”; a twelfth-century Pāli work in verse in sixteen chapters. (Thūpa is the Pāli term for S. STŪPA.) The text is attributed to Vācissara. The text includes accounts of the lives of previous buddhas, the life and parinibbāna (S. PARINIRVĀṆA) of Gotama (S. GAUTAMA) Buddha, the distribution of his relics, the meritorious deeds of AŚOKA, the dispatch of missions to Sri Lanka and other foreign lands, culminating with the construction of the MAHĀTHŪPA, or “Great Stūpa,” by the Sinhala hero–king, DUṬṬHAGĀMAṆĪ, at ANURĀDHAPURA.

ti. (J. tai; K. ch’e 體). In Chinese, lit. “body,” and by extension “essence,” or “substance”; a term widely used in East Asian religious traditions, including Buddhism. “Essence” often constitutes a philosophical pair together with the term “function” (YONG). In early Confucian texts, such as the Lunyu (“Analects”) and the Mengzi, ti simply referred to a “body” or the “appearance” of a person or a thing. It was Wang Bi (226–249), the founder of the “Dark Learning” (XUANXUE) school of Chinese philosophy, who imbued the term with philosophical implications, using ti as a synonym for the Daoist concepts of “nonbeing” (WU) or “voidness” (xu). However, ti, along with its companion yong, was not widely used until the Buddhists adopted both terms to provide a basic conceptual frame for reality or truth. For example, the Later Qin (384–417) monk SENGZHAO (384–414?) identified ti as the nature of calmness (ji) and advocated its unity with yong, which he defined as the function of illumination (zhao). The SAN LUN ZONG master JIZANG (549–623), in discussing the two-truth (SATYADVAYA) theory of MADHYAMAKA, argued that “neither ultimate nor conventional” (feizhen feisu) was the ti (“essence”) of the two truths, while “both ultimate and conventional” (zhensu) were their yong (“function”). The LIUZU TAN JING (“Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch”) associates ti and yong with two modes of meditation: concentration (SAMĀDHI) is the ti or essence of wisdom (PRAJÑĀ); wisdom is the yong or function of concentration. GUIFENG ZONGMI (780–841), the Tang master of both the HUAYAN ZONG scholastic and the Heze Chan traditions, systematized the Chinese discourse of the terms. Based on the DASHENG QIXIN LUN (“Awakening of Faith According to the Mahāyāna”), Zongmi interpreted ti as the unchanging essence of true thusness (ZHENRU), calling this absolute aspect of mind the “void and calm, numinous awareness” (KONGJI LINGZHI; see LINGZHI). Yong instead referred to the diverse functional aspects of true thusness, which corresponded to the “production-and-cessation” aspect of mind (shengmie). He also aligned ti and yong with other indigenous Chinese philosophical polarities such as, respectively, “nature” (XING) and “characteristics” (xiang), “principle” (LI) and “phenomena” (SHI), and “root” (ben) and “branches” (mo). Subsequently, Neo-Confucian thinkers, such as Cheng Yi (1033–1107) and Zhu Xi (1130–1200), adopted this paradigm into their own philosophical systems. In particular, Zhu Xi connected ti to the “nature bestowed by the heavenly mandate” (tianming zhixing) and yong to the “physical nature” (qizhi zhixing).

Tiantai. (C; J. Tendai; K. Ch’ont’ae 天台). See TIANTAI ZONG.

Tiantai bajiao. (J. Tendai hakkyō; K. Ch’ŏnt’ae p’algyo 天台八教). In Chinese, “The Eight [Classes of] Teachings according to the TIANTAI.” According to the TIANTAI ZONG’s system of doctrinal classification (JIAOXIANG PANSHI), the entirety of the Buddhist canon and its teachings can be divided into two groups of four teachings each. The first group of four was called “the four modes of transformative teachings” (huafa sijiao), which categorizes Buddhist teachings based on the content of their teachings and different doctrinal themes and their scriptural bases. The second group of four was called “the four styles of transformative edification” or “four modes of exposition” (huayi sijiao), which categorizes different strands of Buddhism primarily according to their means of conversion or pedagogical styles. ¶ The first group of four teachings, the transformative teachings (huafa sijiao), classifies Buddhism into four categories based on content: (1) zangjiao, the “TRIPIṬAKA teachings,” the basic teachings that are foundational to the HĪNAYĀNA schools, such as the notions of impermanence, suffering, and no-self, and the imperative of attaining NIRVĀṆA; (2) tongjiao, the “joint” or “common teachings,” a basic strand of MAHĀYĀNA teaching that shares many of the preceding doctrinal themes jointly with the “hīnayāna teachings,” the main difference being that it additionally embraces the BODHISATTVA aspiration of helping others; (3) biejiao, the “distinct” or “separate teachings,” so named because, unlike the previous category, this strand of Mahāyāna includes notions exclusive to that tradition and not shared with the “hīnayāna”; (4) yuanjiao, the “consummate” or “perfect teaching,” which is the exclusive domain of the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA, the main scripture the Tiantai school itself espouses. ¶ The second group of four teachings, the modes of exposition or conversion (huayi sijiao), contains the following divisions based on pedagogical style: (1) dunjiao, the “sudden teachings” or a direct pedagogical style. Epitomized by the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA, this mode of teaching is characterized by a direct revelation of the stage of buddhahood, circumventing the gradual, and more conventional, stages of beginning bodhisattva practices and the “hīnayāna” tradition. (2) Jianjiao, the “gradual teachings” or pedagogical style. Representing these sequential, step-by-step soteriological approaches and pedagogical styles are the ĀGAMAs, the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ sūtras, and the VAIPULYA sūtras. (3) Budingjiao, the “indefinite teachings” or pedagogical style. The same utterance of the Buddha might be given without differentiation to various members of the audience, but the depth to which they were able to penetrate to that message, and the different interpretations they gave to it, varied depending on their spiritual maturity. (4) Mimijiao, the “esoteric teachings” or pedagogical style. Not to be confused with tantric teachings, “esoteric” here refers to the Tiantai belief that the Buddha sometimes preached in such a way that his same utterance resonated differently with various members within the audience, so that each received the instruction most suitable to his needs and temperament; with this pedagogical style, the Buddha essentially left members of the audience free to fathom an inexhaustibly elastic teaching and be benefited from it according to their unique conditions. See also WUSHI; CH’ŎNT’AE SAGYO ŬI.

Tiantai sijiao. (C) (天台四教). See TIANTAI BAJIAO.

Tiantai wushi. (J. Tendai goji; K. Ch’ŏnt’ae osi 天台五時). In Chinese, “the five periods [of the Buddha’s teaching]”; the TIANTAI ZONG’s temporal taxonomy of Buddhist doctrines, according to which the Buddha’s teachings differ because he preached them at different points during his pedagogical career. The five are (1) Huayan (AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA), (2) ĀGAMA, (3) VAIPULYA, (4) PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ, and (5) Lotus (SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA) and Nirvāṇa (MAHĀPARINIRVĀṆASŪTRA). See WUSHI; WUWEI.

Tiantai xiaozhiguan. (C) (天台小止觀). See XIUXI ZHIGUAN ZUOCHAN FAYAO.

Tiantai Zhiyi. (J. Tendai Chigi; K. Ch’ŏnt’ae Chiŭi 天台智顗) (538–597). One of the most influential monks in Chinese Buddhist history and de facto founder of the TIANTAI ZONG. A native of Jingzhou (in present-day Hunan province), Zhiyi was ordained at the age of eighteen after his parents died during the wartime turmoil that preceded the Sui dynasty’s unification of China. He studied VINAYA and various MAHĀYĀNA scriptures, including the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA (“Lotus Sūtra”) and related scriptures. In 560, Zhiyi met NANYUE HUISI (515–577), who is later listed as the second patriarch of the Tiantai lineage, on Mt. Dasu in Guangzhou and studied Huisi’s teachings on the suiziyi sanmei (cultivating SAMĀDHI wherever mind is directed, or the samādhi of freely flowing thoughts), the “four practices of ease and bliss” (si anle xing), a practice based on the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra, and the lotus repentance ritual. Zhiyi left Huisi at his teacher’s command and headed for the southern capital of Jinling (present-day Jiangsu province) at the age of thirty (567) to teach the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra and the DAZHIDU LUN for eight years at the monastery of Waguansi. The Shi chanboluomi cidi famen [alt. Cidi chanmen] are his lecture notes from this period of meditation and teaching. In 575, he retired to Mt. Tiantai (present-day Zhejiang province), where he built a monastery (later named Xiuchansi by the emperor) and devoted himself to meditative practice for eleven years. During this time he compiled the Fajie cidi chumen and the Tiantai xiao zhiguan. After persistent invitations from the king of Chen, Zhiyi returned to Jinling in 585 and two years later wrote the FAHUA WENJU, an authoritative commentary on the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra. Subsequently in Yangzhou, Zhiyi conferred the bodhisattva precepts on the crown prince, who later became Emperor Yang (r. 604–617) of the Sui dynasty. Zhiyi was then given the title Great Master Zhizhe (Wise One). Zhiyi also established another monastery on Mt. Dangyang in Yuquan (present-day Hunan province), which Emperor Wen (r. 581–604) later named Yuquansi. Zhiyi then began lecturing on what became his masterpieces, the FAHUA XUANYI (593) and the MOHE ZHIGUAN (594). At the request of the king of Jin, in 595 Zhiyi returned to Yangzhou, where he composed his famous commentaries on the VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEŚA, i.e., the Weimojing xuanshou and the Weimojing wenshou, before dying in 597. Among the thirty or so works attributed to Zhiyi, the Fahua xuanyi, Fahuawenju, and Mohe zhiguan are most renowned and are together known as the Tiantai san dabu (three great Tiantai commentaries).

Tiantai zong. (J. Tendaishū; K. Ch’ŏnt’ae chong 天台宗). In Chinese, “Terrace of Heaven School”; one of the main schools of East Asian Buddhism; also sometimes called the “Lotus school” (C. Lianhua zong), because of its emphasis on the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA (“Lotus Sūtra”). “Terrace of Heaven” is a toponym for the school’s headquarters on Mt. Tiantai in present-day Zhejiang province on China’s eastern seaboard. Although the school retrospectively traces its origins back to Huiwen (fl. 550–577) and NANYUE HUISI (515–577), whom the school honors as its first and second patriarchs, respectively, the de facto founder was TIANTAI ZHIYI (538–597), who created the comprehensive system of Buddhist teachings and practices that we now call Tiantai. Zhiyi advocated the three truths or judgments (SANDI): (1) the truth of emptiness (kongdi), viz., all things are devoid of inherent existence and are empty in their essential nature; (2) the truth of being provisionally real (jiadi), viz., all things are products of a causal process that gives them a derived reality; and (3) the truth of the mean (zhongdi), viz., all things, in their absolute reality, are neither real nor unreal, but simply thus. Zhiyi described reality in terms of YINIAN SANQIAN (a single thought contains the TRICHILIOCOSM [TRISĀHASRAMAHĀSĀHASRALOKADHĀTU]), which posits that any given thought-moment perfectly encompasses the entirety of reality; at the same time, every phenomenon includes all other phenomena (XINGJU SHUO), viz., both the good and evil aspects of the ten constituents (DHĀTU) or the five sense organs (INDRIYA) and their respective objects and the three realms of existence (TRAIDHĀTUKA) are all contained in the original nature of all sentient beings. Based on this perspective on reality, Zhiyi made unique claims about the buddha-nature (FOXING) and contemplation (GUAN): he argued that not only buddhas but even sentient beings in such baleful existences as animals, hungry ghosts, and hell denizens, possess the capacity to achieve buddhahood; by the same token, buddhas also inherently possess all aspects of the unenlightened three realms of existence. The objects of contemplation, therefore, should be the myriad of phenomena, which are the source of defilement, not an underlying pure mind. Zhiyi’s grand synthesis of Buddhist thought and practice is built around a graduated system of calmness and insight (jianzi ZHIGUAN; cf. ŚAMATHA and VIPAŚYANĀ), which organized the plethora of Buddhist meditative techniques into a broad, overarching soteriological system. To Zhiyi is also attributed the Tiantai system of doctrinal classification (panjiao; see JIAOXIANG PANSHI) called WUSHI BAJIAO (five periods and eight teachings), which the Koryŏ Korean monk CH’EGWAN (d. 970) later elaborated in its definitive form in his CH’ŎNT’AE SAGYO ŬI (C. Tiantai sijiao yi). This system classifies all Buddhist teachings according to the five chronological periods, four types of content, and four modes of conversion. Zhiyi was succeeded by Guanding (561–632), who compiled his teacher’s works, especially his three masterpieces, the FAHUA XUANYI, the FAHUA WENJU, and the MOHE ZHIGUAN. The Tiantai school declined during the Tang dynasty, overshadowed by the newer HUAYAN and CHAN schools. The ninth patriarch JINGXI ZHANRAN (711–782) was instrumental in rejuvenating the school; he asserted the superiority of the Tiantai school over the rival Huayan school by adapting Huayan concepts and terminologies into the tradition. Koryŏ monks such as Ch’egwan and Ŭit’ong (927–988) played major roles in the restoration of the school by helping to repatriate lost Tiantai texts back to China. During the Northern Song period, Wu’en (912–988), Yuanqing (d. 997), Zhiyuan (976–1022), and their disciples, who were later pejoratively called the SHANWAI (Off-Mountain) faction by their opponents, led the resurgence of the tradition by incorporating Huayan concepts in the school’s thought and practice: they argued that since the true mind, which is pure in its essence, produces all phenomena in accord with conditions, practitioners should contemplate the true mind, rather than all phenomena. Believing this idea to be a threat to the tradition, SIMING ZHILI (960–1028) and his disciples, who called themselves SHANJIA (On-Mountain), criticized such a concept of pure mind as involving a principle of separateness, since it includes only the pure and excludes the impure, and led a campaign to expunge the Huayan elements that they felt were displacing authentic Tiantai doctrine. Although Renyue (992–1064) and Congyi (1042–1091), who were later branded as the “Later Off-Mountain Faction,” criticized Zhili and accepted some of the Shanwai arguments, the Shanjia faction eventually prevailed and legitimized Zhili’s positions. The orthodoxy of Zhili’s position is demonstrated in the FOZU TONGJI (“Comprehensive History of the Buddhas and Patriarchs”), where the compiler Zhipan (1220–1275), himself a Tiantai monk, lists Zhili as the last patriarch in the dharma transmission going back to the Buddha. Tiantai theories and practices were extremely influential in the development of the thought and practice of the Chan and PURE LAND schools; this influence is especially noticeable in the white-lotus retreat societies (JIESHE; see also BAILIAN SHE) organized during the Song dynasty by such Tiantai monks as Zhili and Zunshi (964–1032) and in Koryŏ Korea (see infra). After the Song dynasty, the school declined again, and never recovered its previous popularity. ¶ Tiantai teachings and practices were transmitted to Korea during the Three Kingdoms period through such Korean monks as Hyŏn’gwang (fl. sixth century) and Yŏn’gwang (fl. sixth century), both of whom traveled to China and studied under Chinese Tiantai teachers. It was not until several centuries later, however, that a Korean analogue of the Chinese Tiantai school was established as an independent Buddhist school. The foundation of the Korean CH’ŎNT’AE CHONG is traditionally assumed to have occurred in 1097 through the efforts of the Koryŏ monk ŬICH’ŎN (1055–1101). Ŭich’ŏn was originally a Hwaŏm monk, but he sought to use the Ch’ŏnt’ae tradition in order to reconcile the age-old tension in Korean Buddhism between KYO (Doctrine) and SŎN (Meditation). In the early thirteenth century, the Ch’ŏnt’ae monk WŎNMYO YOSE (1163–1245) organized the white lotus society (PAENGNYŎN KYŎLSA), which gained great popularity especially among the common people; following Yose, the school was led by Ch’ŏn’in (1205–1248) and CH’ŎNCH’AEK (b. 1206). Although the Ch’ŏnt’ae monk Chogu (d. 1395) was appointed as a state preceptor (K. kuksa; C. GUOSHI) in the early Chosŏn period, the Ch’ŏnt’ae school declined and eventually died out later in the Chosŏn dynasty. The contemporary Ch’ŏnt’ae chong is a modern Korean order established in 1966 that has no direct relationship to the school founded by Ŭich’ŏn. ¶ In Japan, SAICHŌ (767–822) is credited with founding the Japanese TENDAISHŪ, which blends Tiantai and tantric Buddhist elements. After Saichō, such Tendai monks as ENNIN (793–864), ENCHIN (814–891), and ANNEN (b. 841) systematized Tendai doctrines and developed its unique forms, which are often called TAIMITSU (Tendai esoteric teachings). Since the early ninth century, when the court granted the Tendai school official recognition as an independent sect, Tendai became one of the major Buddhist schools in Japan and enjoyed royal and aristocratic patronage for several centuries. The Tendai school’s headquarters on HIEIZAN became an important Japanese center of Buddhist learning: the founders of the so-called new Buddhist schools of the Kamakura era, such as HŌNEN (1133–1212), SHINRAN (1173–1263), NICHIREN (1222–1282), and DŌGEN KIGEN (1200–1253), all first studied on Mt. Hiei as Tendai monks. Although the Tendai school has lost popularity and patrons to the ZENSHŪ, PURE LAND, and NICHIRENSHŪ schools, it remains still today an active force on the Japanese Buddhist landscape.

Tiantong Rujing. (J. Tendō Nyojō; K. Ch’ŏndong Yŏjŏng 天童如浄) (1162–1227). Chinese CHAN master in the CAODONG ZONG, also known as Jingchang (Pure Chang) and Changweng (Old Man Chang); he received his toponym Tiantong after the mountain where he once dwelled. Rujing was a native of Shaoxing in Yuezhou (present-day Zhejiang province) and was ordained at a local monastery named Tianyisi. Rujing later went to the monastery of Zishengsi on Mt. Xuedou to study under Zu’an Zhijian (1105–1192) and eventually became his dharma heir. Rujing spent the next few decades moving from one monastery to the next. In 1220, he found himself at Qingliangsi in Jiankang (Jiangsu province) and then at Rui’ansi in Taizhou and Jingcisi in Linan. In 1224, Rujing was appointed by imperial decree to the abbotship of the famous monastery of Jingdesi on Mt. Tiantong, where the Chan master HONGZHI ZHENGJUE had once resided. Rujing’s teachings can be found in his recorded sayings (YULU), which were preserved in Japan. Although Rujing was a relatively minor figure in the history of Chinese Chan, he was profoundly influential in Japanese ZEN, due to the fact that the Japanese SŌTŌSHŪ founder DŌGEN KIGEN (1200–1253) considered himself to be Rujing’s successor. Dōgen attributes many of the distinctive features of his own approach to practice, such as “just sitting” (SHIKAN TAZA) and “body and mind sloughed off” (SHINJIN DATSURAKU) to this man whom he regarded as the preeminent Chan master of his era. Little of this distinctively Sōtō terminology and approach actually appears in the records of Rujing’s own lectures, however. Instead, he appears in his discourse record as a fairly typical Song-dynasty Chan master, whose only practical meditative instruction involves the contemplation of ZHAOZHOU’s “no” (see WU GONG’AN). This difference may reflect the differing editorial priorities of Rujing’s Chinese disciples. It might also derive from the fact that Dōgen misunderstood Rujing or received simplified private instructions from him because of Dōgen’s difficulty in following Rujing’s formal oral presentations in vernacular Chinese.

Tiantong Zhengjue. (C) (天童正覺). See HONGZHI ZHENGJUE.

Tianxizai. (J. Tensokusai; K. Ch’ŏnsikchae 天息災) (d. 1000). Kashmiri monk-translator, who arrived in China in 980. While residing at a cloister to the west of the imperial monastery of Taiping-Xingguosi in Yuanzhou (present-day Jiangxi province), he translated (sometimes working in collaboration with DĀNAPĀLA and Fatian) seventeen MAHĀYĀNA and prototantric scriptures into Chinese, including the BODHICARYĀVATĀRA, KĀRAṆḌAVYŪHA, Alpākṣarāprajñāpāramitāsūtra, Āyuṣparyantasūtra, (Ārya)Tārābhaṭṭarikāyanāmāṣṭottaraśataka, Māricīdhāraṇī, and the MAÑJUŚRĪMŪLAKALPA.

Tianzhu. (J. Tenjiku; K. Ch’ŏnch’uk 天竺). Early Chinese phonetic transcription of Sindhu, viz., India, which becomes the most common designation in Chinese sources for the Indian subcontinent. See also ZHU.

Tibetan Book of the Dead. See BAR DO THOS GROL CHEN MO.

tichang. (J. teishō; K. chech’ang 提唱). In Chinese, “lecture,” a type of discourse associated especially with the CHAN ZONG and widely known in the West by its Japanese pronunciation teishō; also called tigang (J. teikō, K. chegang) or tiyao (J. teiyō, K. cheyo). Such lectures, which were often delivered in highly colloquial language, sought to point to the main purport of a Chan tradition, text, or “case” (GONG’AN) by drawing on the peculiar Chan argot and extensively citing Chan literature and Buddhist scriptures. Chan masters might also deliver a sequential series of lectures on each of the Chan cases in a larger gong’an collection, such as the BIYAN LU or the WUMEN GUAN. Such lectures were sometimes delivered in conjunction with the formal “ascending the hall” (SHANGTANG) procedure; the term may also refer to the master’s expository comments regarding questions that visitors might raise in the course of listening to a formal lecture. The tichang lecture is the Chan counterpart of expositions of Buddhist teachings given by lecturers in doctrinal schools, but making more use of Chan rather than commentarial and scriptural materials. The term was widely used in the Chan tradition especially from the Song dynasty onward. Although the term appears only rarely in such Chan codes as the BAIZHANG QINGGUI (“Baizhang’s Pure Rules”) and the CHANYUAN QINGGUI (“Pure Rules of the Chan Garden”), these sources do describe the general procedures to be followed in delivering such a lecture. The forty-two roll Liezu tigang lu (“Record of the Lectures of Successive Patriarchs,” using the alternate term tigang), compiled by the Qing-dynasty Chan master Daiweng Xingyue (1619–1684), collects about four hundred Chinese masters’ lectures delivered at various special occasions, such as the reigning emperor’s birthday or funeral, and in conjunction with daily services.

tīkṣṇendriya. (P. tikkhindriya; T. dbang po rnon po; C. ligen; J. rikon; K. igŭn 利根). In Sanskrit, “sharp faculties,” the highest of the “three capacities” (TRĪNDRIYA), used to describe those disciples of the Buddha whose intellectual and spiritual abilities are greater than that of those of average (MADHYENDRIYA) and dull capacities (MṚDVINDRIYA). The term appears particularly in discussions of UPĀYA, the Buddha’s ability to adapt his teachings to the intellects, interests, and aspirations of his disciples, with his highest teachings said to be reserved for disciples of sharp faculties. Thus the term is also often used polemically to describe one’s preferred teaching as intended only for those of sharp faculties, while dismissing other competing teachings as intended for those of dull or average faculties. See also MAHĀPURUṢA; INDRIYA.

Tilokaracha. [alt. Tilokarat] (P. Tilokarājā) (r. 1441–1487). Thai name of an important Lānnā king of Chiangmai in northern Thailand who expanded the boundaries of the Lānnā kingdom militarily while promoting the reform Sinhalese monastic order led by Medhaṅkara throughout the territories under his domain. Tilokaracha promoted himself as a wheel-turning monarch (P. cakkavattin; S. CAKRAVARTIN), acting in emulation of AŚOKA. He constructed hundreds of monasteries and ordination halls throughout the kingdom, and directed that BODHI TREE saplings be planted at the sites. In 1445, built a replica of the MAHĀBODHI temple named Wat Photharam Maha Wihan (P. Bodhi-Ārāma Mahāvihāra), known also as Wat Chet Yot (Temple of the Seven Spires). In 1477, he convened a saṅgha (S. SAṂGHA) council at Wat Photharam for the editing of the Buddhist canon (P. tipiṭaka; S. TRIPIṬAKA), possibly also for the purpose of reconciling the new Sinhalese order with the older Sumana order. This meeting came to be recognized as an eighth Buddhist council by the Thais. In 1481, he restored the Wat Chedi Luang located in Chiangmai and installed the Emerald Buddha (PHRA KAEW MORAKOT) in its pinnacle. The political unification and religious and cultural integration of northern Thailand achieved under Tilokaracha laid the foundation for an efflorescence of Lānnā civilization during the reign of Phra Muang Kaew (r. 1495–1528), considered to be the golden age of Lānnā Buddhist scholarship.

Tilopa. (T. Ti lo pa) (988–1069). An Indian tantric adept counted among the eighty-four MAHĀSIDDHAs and venerated in Tibet as an important source of tantric instruction and a founder of the BKA’ BRGYUD sect. Little historical information exists regarding Tilopa’s life. According to his traditional biographies, Tilopa was born a brāhmaṇa in northeast India. As a young man he took the vows of a Buddhist monk, but later was compelled by the prophecies of a ḌĀKINĪ messenger to study with a host of tantric masters. He lived as a wandering YOGIN, practicing TANTRA in secret while outwardly leading a life of transgressive behavior. For many years Tilopa acted as the servant for the prostitute Barima (in truth a wisdom ḍākinī in disguise) by night while grinding sesame seeds for oil by day. The name Tilopa, literally “Sesame Man,” derives from the Sanskrit word for sesamum. Finally, Tilopa is said to have received instructions in the form of a direct transmission from the primordial buddha VAJRADHARA. Tilopa instructed numerous disciples, including the renowned Bengali master NĀROPA, who is said to have abandoned his prestigious monastic position to become Tilopa’s disciple, undergoing many difficult trials before receiving his teachings. Those teachings were later received by MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS, who brought Tilopa’s teachings to Tibet. As with many Indian siddhas, Tilopa’s main instructions are found in the form of DOHĀ, or songs of realization. Many of his songs, together with several tantric commentaries and liturgical texts, are included in the Tibetan canon. Among the teachings attributed to him are the BKA’ ’BABS BZHI (“four transmissions”), the LUS MED MKHA’ ’GRO SNYAN RGYUD CHOS SKOR DGU (“nine aural lineage cycles of the formless ḍākinīs”), and the MAHĀMUDROPADEŚA.

tingqian boshuzi. (J. teizen no hakujushi; K. chŏngjŏn paeksuja 庭前柏樹子). In Chinese, “cypress tree in front of the courtyard”; a CHAN expression that becomes a popular meditative topic (HUATOU) and is used in Chan questioning meditation (KANHUA CHAN). The phrase appears in a GONG’AN exchange attributed to the Tang-dynasty monk ZHAOZHOU CONGSHEN (778–897): Once when Zhaozhou was asked, “Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?” (XILAI YI), he replied, “Cypress tree in front of the courtyard,” suggesting that enlightenment, the reason that Bodhidharma traveled to China, is to be found in everyday experience. This gong’an appears as case no. 37 in the WUMEN GUAN (“Gateless Checkpoint”). See also XILAI YI.

Ti phu pa. “Pigeon Man,” the Tibetan name for a twelfth-century Indian MAHĀSIDDHA in the lineage of NĀROPA who transmitted the LUS MED MKHA’ ’GRO SNYAN RGYUD CHOS SKOR DGU (“nine aural lineage cycles of the formless ḌĀKINĪs”) to MI LA RAS PA’s disciple RAS CHUNG PA during the latter’s sojourn in India. Ti phu pa was said to be DAR MA MDO SDE, the son of MAR PA the Translator, according to the following story. Dar ma mdo sde was fatally injured for an equestrian accident, but before his death his father gave him instructions for “entering a corpse” (grong ’jug) whereby one can force one’s consciousness to enter another body. Dar ma mdo sde was able to cause his consciousness to enter the body of a dead pigeon, which came back to life and flew across the Himālayas to India. There it entered the corpse of a sixteen-year-old boy who was about to cremated. He came back to life and put into practice the teachings he had received from Mar pa as Dar ma mdo sde, while also studying with other masters, including Nāropa, from whom he received the full transmission of the lus med mkha’ ’gro snyan rgyud chos skor dgu (“nine aural lineage cycles of the formless ḍākinīs”). Nāropa’s disciples had only taught five of these nine cycles to Mar pa during his visit to India, and hence Mi la ras pa had only received partial instruction. Mi la ras pa thus sent Ras chung pa to India to receive the full transmission of the lus med mkha’ ’gro snyan rgyud chos skor dgu. Ras chung pa received that transmission from Ti phu pa.

tiraścīna. (S). See TIRYAK.

tīrtha. (S). See PĪṬHA.

tīrthika. (P. titthiya; T. mu stegs pa; C. waidao; J. gedō; K. oedo 外道). In Sanskrit, lit. “ford-maker”; referring specifically in Buddhist materials to “adherent of a non-Buddhist religion” and often seen translated as “heretic.” Tīrthika is typically used to refer to a follower of one of the non-Buddhist Indian schools, such as ŚRAMAṆA schools of the ĀJĪVAKA and JAINA, which were contemporaries of the Buddha or the later Sāṃkhya tradition. The term probably referred originally to priests of temples near river crossings where travelers propitiated a deity before crossing, suggesting metaphorically that those teachings offered a ford across the raging river of SAṂSĀRA. See also ŚRAMAṆA.

tiryak. [alt. tiryaścīna, tiryañc] (P. tiracchāna; T. dud ’gro; C. chusheng; J. chikushō; K. ch’uksaeng 畜生). In Sanskrit, lit. “going horizontally” (i.e., not erect), viz., an animal; one of five or six rebirth destinies (GATI) in SAṂSĀRA. Among these, animals are classified as the one of the three (or four) unfortunate rebirth destinies (APĀYA; DURGATI), along with denizens of hell (NĀRAKA), ghosts (PRETA), and in some lists demigods or titans (ASURA). The category of animals includes both land and sea creatures, as well as insects. The specific kinds of suffering that animals undergo are frequently mentioned in Buddhist texts; these include the constant need to search for their own food while always seeking to avoid becoming food for others. Unlike humans, animals are generally killed not for some deed they have done but for the taste of their flesh or the texture of their skin. The possibility of achieving rebirth out of the realm of animals is said to be particularly difficult because of either the inevitable killing in which predators engage or because of animals’ constant fear of becoming prey; neither mental state is conducive to higher rebirth. Despite this difficulty, there are many stories in Buddhist literature of predators who have willed themselves to stop killing (the first of the lay precepts) in order to create a karmic propensity that will be more conducive to rebirth out of the animal destiny. See also DAOTU.

tiryañc. (S). See TIRYAK.

Tiwei [Boli] jing. (提謂[波利]經). In Chinese, “Book of Trapuṣa [and Bhallika]”; an indigenous Chinese SŪTRA (see APOCRYPHA), written c. 460–464 during the Northern Wei dynasty, which praises the value of lay practice. The scripture is a retelling of the story of the encounter between the merchants TRAPUṢA and (in some versions) his brother BHALLIKA, who offered the Buddha his first meal after his enlightenment. Following the meal, the Buddha is said to have taught the brothers and transmitted to them the first two of the three refuges (see TRIŚARAṆA) (the SAṂGHA not yet existing at the incipiency of the religion), rendering them the first lay disciples (UPĀSAKA) of the Buddha. The Chinese text offers an extended account of what the Buddha taught during that first informal discussion of his experience. The Buddha’s account of the dharma discusses the Buddhist value of keeping the five precepts (PAÑCAŚĪLA) and the lay practice of giving (DĀNA), but all set within a philosophical framework that draws heavily on indigenous Chinese concepts of the five phases or elements, the five viscera, etc., as well as the importance of karmic cause and effect.

tōban. (東班). In Japanese, lit. “east rank”; the offices of the six administrators or stewards (C. ZHISHI) at a Zen monastery, which were typically located to the east side of the monastery, hence the name. On the west are the prefects (C. TOUSHOU), who are thus referred to as the west rank. Similarly, the CHANYUAN QINGGUI refers to the stewards as the east section (C. dongxu) and the prefects as the west section (C. xixu).

toch’am. (圖讖). In Korean, “geomancy and divination”; a new theory of geomancy promulgated by the monk MYOCH’ŎNG (d. 1135), which was ultimately used to justify a rebellion against the Koryŏ dynasty. See MYOCH’ŎNG.

Tocharian. Generic term for Tocharian A (East Tocharian, or Turfanian) and Tocharian B (West Tocharian, or Kuchean), two related, but probably mutually unintelligible, Indo-European languages in which many Central Asian Buddhist texts from the Tarim River Basin along the SILK ROAD were composed. The languages were written in a variant of the BRAHMĪ script, which was first deciphered in 1908 by the German Indologists Emil Sieg and Wilhelm Siegling. Virtually all the extant Tocharian Buddhist manuscripts are translations of earlier Indian materials, many in bilingual editions that speeded the deciphering process. The languages were unknown until SIR MARC AUREL STEIN (1862–1943) discovered their manuscripts during his expeditions into the Tarim Basin. The name Tocharian derives from the Greek term for the people of this region. Texts in Tocharian A have been discovered in the oasis petty-kingdom of TURFAN and in the vicinity of Shorchuk/Yanqi. Tocharian B texts range much more widely across the Tarim Basin, but are especially prominent in the KUCHA region. Of the two languages, Tocharian B is the older of the two, with manuscripts ranging in age from the fifth through eighth centuries CE, and the most diverse linguistically. Tocharian A is more consistent linguistically and its manuscripts are later than those of its counterpart. The languages may have been spoken as late as the middle of the ninth century, when both became extinct; their peoples assimilated into the Uighurs who now populate the region in present-day Chinese Xinjiang.

Tōdaiji. (東大寺). In Japanese, “Great Monastery of the East”; a major monastery in the ancient Japanese capital of Nara affiliated with the Kegon (HUAYAN) school of Buddhism, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The monastery was founded by the Hossōshū (FAXIANG ZONG) monk GYŌGI (668–749). The monastery is renowned for its colossal buddha image of VAIROCANA (J. Birushana nyorai), which is commonly known as the NARA DAIBUTSU; at forty-eight feet (fifteen meters) high, this image is the largest extant gilt-bronze image in the world and the Daibutsuden where the image is enshrined is the world’s largest wooden building. The Indian monk BODHISENA (J. Bodaisenna) (704–760), who traveled to Japan in 736 at the invitation of Emperor Shōmu (r. 724–749), performed the “opening the eyes” (KAIYAN; NETRAPRATIṢṬHĀPANA) ceremony for the 752 dedication of the great buddha image. Tōdaiji was founded on the site of Konshūsenji by order of Emperor Shōmu and became the headquarters of a network of provincial monasteries and convents in the Yamato region. The first abbot, Ryōben (689–773), is commemorated in the kaisandō (founder’s hall; see KAISHAN). Other halls include the inner sanctuary of the hokkedō (lotus hall), which was probably once Konshusenji’s main hall. The hall enshrines the Fukūkensaku Kannon, a dry lacquer statue of the BODHISATTVA AVALOKITEŚVARA, which dates from 746. The monastery was renamed Konkōmyōji in 741 and, in 747 when major construction began on the large compound, it finally became known as Tōdaiji, the name it retains today. The Tōdaiji complex was completed in 798; monastery records state that 50,000 carpenters, 370,000 metal workers, and 2.18 million laborers worked on the compound, its buildings, and their furnishings, almost bankrupting the country. Entering the monastery through the Great Gate to the South (Nandaimon), itself a Japanese national treasure, a visitor would have passed through two seven-storied, 328-foot high pagodas to the east and west (both subsequently destroyed by earthquakes), before passing through the Inner Gate to the Daibutsuden. North of the Daibutsuden, which is flanked by a belfry and a SŪTRA repository, is the kōdō (lecture hall), which is surrounded on three sides by the monk’s quarters. An ordination hall displays exceptional clay-modeled shitennō (four heavenly kings; see LOKAPĀLA) dating from the Tenpyō Era (729–749). Of the eighth-century buildings, only the tegaimon (the western gate) and the Hokkedō’s inner sanctuary have survived. After a conflagration in 1180, then-abbot Chōgen (1121–1206) spearheaded a major reconstruction in a style he had seen in Southern Song-dynasty China. This style is exemplified by the south gate, which is protected by two humane-kings statues, both twenty-eight feet in height, carved in 1203. The Tokugawa Shogunate sponsored a second reconstruction after another fire in 1567 and the current Daibutsuden dates from about 1709. The Shōsōin repository at the monastery, itself a Japanese national treasure (kokuhō), contains over nine thousand precious ornamental and fine-art objects that date from the monastery’s founding in the eighth century, including scores of objects imported into Japan via the SILK ROAD from all over Asia, including cut-glass bowls and silk brocade from Persia, Byzantine cups, Egyptians chests, and Indian harps, as well as Chinese Tang and Korean Silla musical instruments, etc. Every spring, the two-week long Omizutori (water-drawing) festival is conducted at Tōdaiji, which is thought to cure physical ailments and cleanse moral transgressions.

Tōji. (東寺). In Japanese, “Eastern Monastery,” also known as Kyōō Gokokuji; a famous temple in Kyōto, Japan. Currently, Tōji is the headquarters (honzan) of the Tōji branch of the SHINGONSHŪ. Construction of Tōji and its sister temple Saiji (Western Monastery) began in 796, after the Japanese capital was moved from Nara to Kyōto and the capital divided into eastern and western precincts, following traditional Chinese city plans. The two monasteries seem to have been built for the purpose of protecting spiritually the southern borders of the new capital. In 812, construction of the golden hall (kondō) at the monastery was completed. In 823, the emperor bestowed the temple upon the eminent Japanese monk KŪKAI and the monastery was then named the Konkōmyō Shitennō Kyōō Gokokuji Himitsu Denbōin (Radiance of Golden Light, Four Heavenly Kings, King of Teachings, Protection of the State Temple, Esoteric Transmission of the Dharma Cloister). Sixteen years later, the central altar (SHUMIDAN) was completed and eyes of the central icons were opened (see KAIYAN). The famous five-story pagoda at Tōji, a national treasure (kokuhō), was completed in the second half of the ninth century. The pagoda was consumed in flames after it was struck by lightning in 1055, but with the support of the Edo bakufu, the pagoda was reconstructed to its current shape.

Tokushō. (J) (得勝) (1327–1387). See BASSUI TOKUSHŌ.

Tominaga Nakamoto. (富永仲基) (1715–1746). Important Japanese thinker during the Edo period. The third son of a soy sauce manufacturer in Ōsaka, Tominaga was raised in the merchant community. Tominaga’s social position and subsequent education resulted in an eclectic and fairly impartial understanding of the varying schools of Confucian thought, Buddhism, and Daoism. Tominaga received a classical Confucian education at Kaitokudō, a private academy funded by his father and a few other Ōsaka manufacturers. He began his education at age nine, and eventually studied Buddhist scripture in great breadth and depth, even though he was never ordained. Tominaga was forced to leave Kaitokudō after writing a critical piece on competing Confucian schools of thought. The work, which is no longer extant, was called Setsuhei, or “A Critical Examination of [Confucian] Doctrine.” Tominaga did the majority of his study of sūtras and MAHĀYĀNA Buddhism between 1730 and 1738. He published two titles that are still extant, Shutsujō kōgo (“Emerging from Meditation”) (1745), and Okina no fumi (“Writings of an Old Man”), which was published six months after he died of lung disease in 1746. In these works, he took a historical approach that critiqued all claims to authenticity by the existing schools of Japanese religion, suggesting that the different sects of Buddhism evolved by reformations of preceding schools, reformations that were then justified by appeals to the authority of the Buddha himself. He even made the radical claim that the Buddha could not have taught the Mahāyāna sūtras because their language and teachings differed so dramatically from other types of Buddhist sūtras. Although he was vigorously criticized by the Buddhist ecclesia, his historical approach to Buddhism helped to establish the foundation for the Japanese scholarly study of Buddhism in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

tōmitsu. (J) (東密). See MIKKYŌ.

T’ongdosa. (通度寺). In Korean, “Breakthrough Monastery” (lit. “Penetrating Crossing-Over Monastery”); the fifteenth district monastery (PONSA) in the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located at the base of Yŏngch’uksan (S. GṚDHRAKŪṬAPARVATA, or Vulture Peak) in Yangsan, South Kyŏngsang province. Along with HAEINSA and SONGGWANGSA, T’ongdosa is one of the “three-jewel monasteries” (SAMBO SACH’AL) that represent one of the three jewels (RATNATRAYA) of Buddhism; T’ONGDOSA is the buddha-jewel monastery (pulbo sach’al), because of its ordination platform and the relics (K. sari; S. ŚARĪRA) of the Buddha enshrined in back of its main shrine hall (TAEUNG CHŎN). The oldest of the three-jewel monasteries, T’ongdosa has long been regarded as the center of Buddhist disciplinary studies (VINAYA) in Korea, and has been one of the major sites of ordination ceremonies since the Unified Silla period (668–935). Relics, reputed to be those of the Buddha himself, are enshrined at the monastery, and its taeung chŏn is famous for being one of four in Korea that does not enshrine an image of the Buddha; instead, a window at the back of the main hall, where the image ordinarily would be placed, looks out on the Diamond Ordination Platform (Kŭmgang kyedan), which includes a reliquary (STŪPA) that enshrines the Buddha’s relics. This focus on vinaya and the presence of these relics, both of which are reminders of the Buddha, have led the monastery to be designated the buddha-jewel monastery of Korea. T’ongdosa is said to have been established by the vinaya master CHAJANG (608–686) in 646 to enshrine a portion of the relics that he brought back with him from his sojourn into China. While on pilgrimage at WUTAISHAN, Chajang had an encounter with the bodhisattva MAÑJUŚRĪ, who entrusted Chajang with a gold studded monk’s robe (K. kasa; S. KAṢĀYA) wrapped in purple silk gauze, one hundred pieces of relics of the Buddha’s skull bone and his finger joint, beads, and sūtras. One portion of the relics was enshrined together with the Buddha’s robe in a bell-shaped stone stūpa at the center of the Diamond Ordination Platform; another portion was enshrined in the nine-story pagoda at HWANGNYONGSA in the Silla capital of Kyŏngju. Under Chajang’s leadership, the monastery grew into a major center of Silla Buddhism and the monastery continued to thrive throughout the Silla and Koryŏ dynasties, until the whole monastery except the taeung chŏn was destroyed by invading Japanese troops in the late sixteenth century. In 1641, the monk Uun (d.u.) rebuilt the monastery in its current configuration. The Diamond Ordination Platform was periodically damaged during the sporadic Japanese invasions that occurred during the Chosŏn dynasty. In the fourth month of 1377, Japanese pirates invaded, seeking to plunder the śarīra; to keep them from falling into Japanese hands, the abbot went into hiding with the relics. Two years later, on the fifteenth day of the fifth month of 1379, the pirates came again, and the monks quickly whisked away the relics and hid them deep in the forest behind the monastery. The Japanese went in pursuit of the relics, but the abbot Wŏlsong (d.u.) took them to Seoul to keep them safe, returning with them once the danger had passed. During the Hideyoshi Invasions in the late sixteenth century, the relics were also removed in order to keep them safe. SAMYŎNG YUJŎNG, who was leading a monk’s militia fighting the Japanese invaders, sent the relics to the Diamond Mountains (KŬMGANGSAN) in the north, where his teacher and the supreme commander, CH’ŎNGHŎ HYUJŎNG, was staying. Hyujŏng decided that the relics were no safer there than back at their home monastery, so he returned them to T’ongdosa. Yujŏng covered the hiding place of the relics with weeds and thorn bushes and, once the Japanese threat was rebuffed, he restored the site to its former glory and the relics were reenshrined in 1603. The platform was repaired again in 1653 and on a grand scale in 1705. The Diamond Ordination Platform remains the site where BHIKṢU and BHIKṢUṆĪ ordinations are held in Korea. In 1972, T’ongdosa was elevated to the status of an ecumenical monastery (CH’ONGNIM), and is one of the five such centers in the contemporary Chogye order, which are all expected to provide training in the full range of practices that exemplify the major strands of the Korean Buddhist tradition; the monastery is thus also known as the Yŏngch’uk Ch’ongnim.

Tonghwasa. (桐華寺). In Korean, “Paulownia Flower Monastery”; the ninth district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on Mount P’algong near the city of Taegu. The monastery was founded by the monk Kŭktal (d.u.) in 493, during of the reign of the Silla king Soji (r. 479–500), and was originally called Yugasa (Yoga monastery). When the royal preceptor (wangsa) Simji (d.u.) reconstructed the monastery in 832, Paulownia trees miraculously bloomed in the middle of the winter, so it was renamed Paulownia Flower monastery (Tonghwasa). The monastery was reconstructed several times: in 934, by a late-Silla monk; in 1190, by the mid-Koryŏ reformer POJO CHINUL (1158–1210); and in 1298 by the state preceptor (K. kuksa; C. GUOSHI) Hongjin (1228–1294). In 1606, following the depradations of the Japanese Hideyoshi invasions, the Sŏn master SAMYŎNG YUJŎNG (1544–1610) again reconstructed the monastery. The monastery contains many hermitages, including Kŭmdangam, Piroam, Naewŏnam, Pudoam, Yangjinam, and Yŏmburam. During the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945), Tonghwasa was designated one of the thirty-one head monasteries (PONSA) and it managed fifty-five branch temples (malsa). The monastery contains many cultural treasures, including the three-story pagodas at Piroam, the seated image of MAHĀVAIROCANA, and the seated image of the buddha carved into the cliff face. A more recent addition to the monastery campus is a massive fifty-five foot (seventeen meter) standing image of the healing buddha BHAIṢAJYAGURU.

Tongrong. (C) (通容) (1593–1661). See FEIYIN TONGRONG.

tongxu. (C) (通序). See ER XU.

tonsure. A somewhat antiquated term occasionally still found in discussions of East Asian and especially Japanese Buddhism, referring to the shaving of the head that occurs in conjunction with entering a monastery and taking ordination as a monk or nun. See PRAVRAJITA; UPASAṂPADĀ.

tooth relic. (S./P. dantadhātu). A left cuspid tooth presumed to be that of the buddha Gotama (S. GAUTAMA), which is the most sacred relic in Sri Lanka and one of the most famous Buddhist relics in the world. It is said that after the Buddha’s cremation, the tooth relic was retrieved from the ashes of the funeral pyre by the monk Khema. It was passed down among several royal dynasties until coming into the possession of king Guhasīva of Kaliṅga in the fourth century CE. Fearing that the tooth would be destroyed by Hindus, he entrusted it to his daughter, Hemamālā, who hid the tooth in her hair. Together with her husband, prince Dantakumāra, they traveled to Sri Lanka and presented the relic to the king, who enshrined it in ANURĀDHAPURA. In 1280 it was captured by invaders and taken back to India but was returned shortly thereafter. In 1560, the tooth relic (in Jaffna at the time) was captured by the Portuguese viceroy of Goa, Dom Constantino de Braganza, and taken to Goa. There, he received word that the King of Pegu in Burma (Myanmar) would offer a huge sum as ransom for the tooth. The viceroy was inclined to accept, but the agreement was vetoed by the Archbishop of Goa who, in a public ceremony, ground the tooth to dust with a mortar and pestle, burned the dust in a brazier, and then cast the ashes into the sea. The Sinhalese later explained that this had not been the real tooth relic but was instead a replica; the real tooth was safe in Kandy. The relic is housed in the Dalada Maligawa Temple in the city of Kandy. Construction of the temple began in 1592, with the temple complex being enlarged by several kings during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Possession of the tooth relic is said to confer the right to rule the island, so much so that when the British captured the tooth in 1815, this was interpreted as a sign of the legitimacy of their sovereignty. The authenticity of the tooth relic has been called into question at certain points in its history; HENRY STEEL OLCOTT declared it to be an animal bone, leading to his estrangement from the monastic authorities. The tooth relic remains an object of veneration and Dalada Maligawa Temple is an important place of pilgrimage in the South and Southeast Asian Buddhist world. See also DĀṬHĀVAṂSA.

Tōshōdaiji. (唐招提寺). In Japanese, “Monastery for a Tang Wanderer”; located in the ancient Japanese capital of Nara and the head monastery of the VINAYA school (J. Risshū). Tōshōdaiji was originally a residence for Prince Niitabe, who donated it to the Tang-Chinese monk GANJIN (C. Jianzhen; 688–763), the founder of the vinaya school (RISSHŪ) in Japan. Ganjin came to Japan in 759 at the invitation of two Japanese monks who had studied with him in China at his home monastery of Damingsi (J. Daimyōji) in present-day Yangzhou. Ganjin tried to reach Japan five times before finally succeeding; then sixty-six and blind, he established an ordination platform at TŌDAIJI before moving to Tōshōdaiji, where he passed away in 763. The monastery’s name thus refers to Ganjin, a “wandering monk from Tang.” The kondō, the golden hall that is the monastery’s main shrine, was erected after Ganjin’s death and finished around 781, followed three decades later by the monastery’s five-story pagoda, which was finished in 810. The kondō is one of the few Nara-period temple structures that has survived and is one of the reasons why the monastery is so prized. It was built in the Yosemune style, with a colonnade with eight pillars, and enshrines three main images: the cosmic buddha VAIROCANA at the center, flanked by BHAIṢAJYAGURU, and a thousand-armed AVALOKITEŚVARA (see SĀHASRABHUJASĀHASRANETRĀVALOKITEŚVARA), only 953 of which remain today, with images of BRAHMĀ and INDRA at the sides and statues of the four heavenly king protectors of Buddhism standing in each corner. The kōdō, or lecture hall, was moved to the monastery from Heijō Palace and is the only extant structure that captures the style of a Tenpyō palace; it houses a statue of the bodhisattva MAITREYA. A kyōzō, or SŪTRA repository, holds the old library. The monastery also includes a treasure repository, a bell tower, and an ordination platform in the lotus pond. In 763, as Ganjin’s death neared, he had a memorial statue of himself made and installed in his quarters at Tōshōdaiji. This dry-lacquer statue of a meditating Ganjin is enshrined today in the mieidō (image hall), but is brought out for display only on his memorial days of June 5–7 each year; it is the oldest example in Japan of such a memorial statue. Tōshōdaiji was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

Tosŏn. (道詵) (827–898). Korean SŎN master during the Later Silla and the early Koryŏ kingdoms, who is said to have been the first Korean to combine geomancy (K. p’ungsu; C. fengshui) and Buddhism in order to assess and correct adverse energy flows in the indigenous Korean landscape. Tosŏn was probably a relatively little-known figure during his own lifetime, but he became the stuff of legend for supposedly predicting the rise to prominence of the founder of the Koryŏ dynasty, Wang Kŏn (r. 918–943), and using his geomatic prowess to locate the most auspicious site for the founding of its new capital, Kaesŏng. Tosŏn developed a theory of deploying Buddhist architectural sites as a palliative to geographic anomalies. This theory, called “reinforcing [the land] through monasteries and STŪPAs” (K. PIBO SAT’AP SŎL), proposed that building monasteries and pagodas at geomantically fragile locations could alleviate or correct weaknesses in the native topology, in much the same way that acupuncture could correct feeble energy flows within the physical body. His geomantic theory is unusual, because Chinese geomancy of the time focused more on the discovery of hidden propitious sites within the landscape, not correcting geomantic weaknesses. This term pibo (lit. “assisting and supplementing,” and thus “reinforcing,” or “remediation”) is also unattested as a technical term in Chinese geomancy. The term may derive from similar terms used in the geomantic theories of the Chinese CHAN school and thence the Korean Nine Mountains Sŏn school (KUSAN SŎNMUN), with which Tosŏn was affiliated. The geomancy of Yang Yunsong (834–900) was popular in the Jiangxi region of China; this type of geomancy sought to interpret the lay of the land as a way of locating the most auspicious sites for constructing buildings. This tradition seems to have entered into the Chan lineages in that region, whence it might have been introduced in turn into Korea by the several Sŏn masters in the Nine Mountains school who studied in Jiangxi. The frequency with which late Silla and early Koryŏ period Sŏn monks located their monasteries following geomantic principles may well derive from the fact that seven of these nine early lineages of Korean Sŏn were associated with the Hongzhou school and the Jiangxi region. Some scholars instead propose that the source of Tosŏn’s geomancy is to be found in esoteric Buddhism: Tosŏn viewed the country as a MAṆḌALA and, in order to protect the nation, proposed to situate monasteries at locations chosen through the ritual of demarcating a sacred site (sīmābandha). Finally, Korean indigenous religion and Togyo (Daoism) are also sometimes presented as sources of Tosŏn’s geomantic teachings. Tosŏn’s theory of geomancy also played a role in resituating the religious center of Korean Buddhism, which had previously been focused on the Silla capital of KYŎNGJU or such indigenous sacred mountains as the five marchmounts (o’ak). The Silla royal and aristocratic families founded monasteries around the capital of Kyŏngju based on the belief that this region had previously been a Buddha land (Pulgukt’o). Tosŏn’s theory resulted in an expansion of the concept of “Buddha land” to take in the entire Korean peninsula, instead. After the establishment of the new Koryŏ dynasty in 918, Tosŏn’s theory was appropriated as a means of integrating into the dynastic political structure local power groups and monasteries. In the posthumous “Ten Injunctions” (hunyo sipcho) attributed to Wang Kŏn, the Koryŏ founder is reputed to have instructed that monasteries should only be constructed at sites that had been specifically designated as auspicious by Tosŏn. For this reason, the term pibo later comes to be used as an official ecclesiastical category in Korea to designate important monasteries that had figured in the founding of the Koryŏ dynasty. Tosŏn’s thought also subsequently became associated with the theory of geomancy and divination (TOCH’AM) taught by the diviner–monk MYOCH’ŎNG (d. 1135), who eventually led an unsuccessful rebellion against the Koryŏ dynasty.

Toṭagamuwa, Śrī Rāhula. (1408–1491). A Sinhalese monk of the fifteenth century and one of the most celebrated poets of Sri Lanka. His most famous works include Selalihini Sandesa (“The Bird Sela’s Message”) and Kaviyasekera (“The Crown of Poetry”). Despite his status as a monk, his verse includes many secular themes, such as the power of kings and the beauty of women. His erudition also secured him a reputation as a great debater. TOṬAGAMUWA received much praise and support from the Sinhalese king PARĀKRAMABĀHU VI, who came to the throne in 1410.

touguang. (J. zōkō; K. tugwang 頭光). In Chinese, lit. “head light”; a “nimbus” encircling the head of holy figures in Buddhist painting and sculpture. See KĀYAPRABHĀ.

toushou. (J. chōshu; K. tusu 頭首). In Chinese, “prefect”; the prefects or chief officers at a CHAN monastery. Ideally, there are six prefects who govern different aspects of the daily activities of the monastic community. Because their offices were often located on the west side of the monastery, they were also often referred to as the west section or rank. The six prefects are the chief seat (C. SHOUZUO), scribe (C. SHUJI), library prefect (C. ZANGZHU), guest prefect (C. ZHIKE), bath prefect (C. ZHIYU), and hall prefect (C. ZHIDIAN). Cf. TŌBAN.

Touzi Yiqing. (J. Tōsu Gisei; K. T’uja Ŭich’ŏng 投子義青) (1032–1083). Chinese CHAN master in the CAODONG ZONG. Touzi was a native of Qingzhou prefecture in present-day Shandong province. He entered the monastery of Miaoxiangsi at the age of seven and was ordained at age fifteen. During this period, Touzi is said to have studied Buddhist doctrine and the AVATAṂSAKASŪTRA. Later, Touzi became a disciple of the LINJI ZONG master Fushan Fayuan (991–1067), from whom he received the portrait (DINGXIANG), leather shoes, and patched robes of the deceased DAYANG JINGXUAN, a Caodong lineage holder. Touzi thus became a holder not of his teacher Fushan’s but of Dayang’s Caodong lineage. In 1073, he began his residence at the Chan monastery of Haihui Chansi on Mt. Baiyun in Shuzhou prefecture, present-day Anhui province. Eight years later, he moved to the nearby Mt. Touzi, whence he acquired his toponym. His teachings are recorded in the Shuzhou Touzi Qing heshang yulu and Touzi Qing heshang yuyao.

tracing back the radiance. See FANZHAO.

traidhātuka. (P. tedhātuka; T. khams gsum; C. sanjie; J. sangai; K. samgye 三界). In Sanskrit, the “triple realm” or “three realms [of existence]”; the three realms of SAṂSĀRA, in which beings take rebirth: the sensuous, or desire, realm (KĀMADHĀTU); the subtle-materiality, or form, realm (RŪPADHĀTU); and the immaterial, or formless, realm (ĀRŪPYADHĀTU). See also AVACARA; LOKADHĀTU.

trailokya. (T. ’jig rten gsum; C. sanjie; J. sangai; K. samgye 三界). In Sanskrit, the “three realms.” See TRILOKA[DHĀTU]; TRAIDHĀTUKA; AVACARA; LOKADHĀTU.

Trailokyavijaya. (T. Khams gsum rnam rgyal; C. Xiangsanshi mingwang; J. Gōzanze myōō; K. Hangsamse myŏngwang 降三世明王). In Sanskrit, “Victor of the Three Realms”; a wrathful deity, he is considered a wrathful form of VAJRAPĀṆI. He is depicted in Indian Buddhist iconography and plays an important role in the SARVATATHĀGATATATTVASAṂGRAHA. It is in the form of Trailokyavijaya that Vajrapāṇi conquers Maheśvara (the Hindu god Śiva). It was often the case that Buddhists gave Hindu deities Buddhist forms, especially in the tantras. In this case, Trailokyavijaya may have his antecedent in the Hindu god Tripurāntaka, “Destroyer of the Three [Demon] Cities,” a form of Śiva whose worship was still current at the time the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha was being formulated. Iconographic similarities as well as the Buddhist Trailokyavijaya’s subjugation of the rival tradition’s Maheśvara support the connection; a Hindu deity is appropriated by Buddhists, with the appropriated form then subduing the Hindu god. The cult of Trailokyavijaya entered China with the translations of the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha, the MAHĀVAIROCANĀBHISAṂBODHISŪTRA, and several other texts translated by AMOGHAVAJRA in the second half of the eighth century, whence they quickly entered Japan. He is described as being terrible to behold, with four heads and eight arms, although in the GARBHADHĀTU MAṆḌALA, he has a single face with three eyes and two arms. He stands on prone figures of Śiva and Umā, whom he has thus subdued. His worship was largely replaced by that of HERUKA in the CAKRASAṂVARATANTRA cycles, who performs the same function in the taming of Maheśvara.

Traiphum Phra Ruang. In Thai, “The Three Worlds According to King Ruang”; the title of a Thai cosmological treatise written by Prince Lithai (d. 1374), before he became monarch of the central Thai kingdom of SUKHOTHAI. The treatise consists of descriptions of the three worlds or realms of existence (S. TRAIDHĀTUKA) into which beings are born, that is, the sensuous realm (KĀMADHĀTU), the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPADHĀTU), and the immaterial realm (ĀRŪPYADHĀTU). Each of the various places of rebirth within each of these realms is described, along with the deeds that lead to rebirth there. The treatise has played an important role in teaching Buddhist morals and values in Thai society and portions of it are often depicted in temple mural paintings.

traividya. (S). See TRIVIDYĀ.

Trần Nhân Tông. (陳仁宗) (1258–1308). The third king of the Vietnamese Trần dynasty (1225–1400) and the founding patriarch of the TRÚC LÂM (Bamboo Grove) school, the first authentic Vietnamese Thiền (CHAN) school. He was also the national hero who led Vietnam to victory over the Mongols in 1285 and 1288. In 1293, he abdicated, after being on the throne for fifteen years, to become thượng hoàng (retired emperor). When he was crown prince, he revered Buddhism and received instructions from eminent monks, including his uncle Huệ Trung Thượng Sĩ, an eminent Chan master of the time. In 1299 he went to Mount Yên Tửto become a monk and took the sobriquet Trúc Lâm Đại Sĩ. He was reverentially referred to as Trúc Lâm Điều Ngự or simply Điều Ngự. Even after taking residence in Yên Tử, he continued to travel to various temples to give instructions to monks, devoting himself to establishing a unified saṃgha. The Tam Tổ Thực Lục (“True Records on the Three Patriarchs”) relates that he traveled extensively to shut down “depraved temples” and to encourage people to receive the ten precepts. Many eminent monks of the Trần were his disciples. According to historical records, Trần Nhân Tông left behind several treatises on Chan and a few collections of poems in both classical Chinese and Nôm (demotic script). Unfortunately, none of his writing are extant apart from a few poems collected in the Việt Âm Thi Tập in Chinese and two long poems in Nôm.

transference of consciousness. See ’PHO BA.

transfer of merit. See PUṆYĀNUMODANA.

transmigration. See REBIRTH; PUNARBHAVA; PUNARJANMAN; SPRUL SKU.

transmission. Many strands of Buddhism employ the concept of transmission to describe the dissemination of a particular doctrine or practice from teacher to student, with an unbroken dissemination line going back to the originator of the teaching (usually the Buddha) often considered essential for maintaining the authenticity and authority of the teaching and those who propound it. This line of transmission is often spoken of as the “lineage.” Various forms of transmission are set forth in a number of Buddhist traditions, including the famous seal of transmission (YINKE) and “mind-to-mind transmission” (YIXIN CHUANXIN) of the East Asian CHAN schools, which is considered to be a “special transmission outside the teachings” (JIAOWAI BIECHUAN). In Tibetan Buddhism, reference is often made to the “aural transmission” (NYAN BRGYUD), the teachings received orally from a master as opposed to those derived from a text. The aural transmission often refers to practical instructions for meditation practice that have not been recorded in a text. See also CHUANDENG LU; CHUANFA; FASI; PARAṂPARĀ.

transmission of the lamplight. See CHUANDENG LU; JINGDE CHUANDENG LU.

Trần Thái Tông. (陳太宗) (1218–1277). Buddhist leader and literary figure of medieval Vietnam, who was also the founder of the Trần dynasty (1225–1400), one of the most illustrious dynasties in Vietnamese history. He ascended the throne as a child of eight after his uncle, Trần Thủ Độ, overthrew the Lý dynasty (1010–1225). During his youth he attempted to escape from the capital city to Mount Yên Tử to become a monk but was forced to return to court by his uncle. Trần Thái Tông related this incident and many events of his life in one of his writings, the preface to “A Guide to the Chan School.” He reported that, even when he was a king, whenever he had free time he would gather together learned and virtuous monks to practice Chan and discuss the path of Buddhism. He also related that he often read the VAJRACCHEDIKĀPRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀSŪTRA (“Diamond Sūtra”) and that when he came across the phrase “one should not generate a mind based on any object,” he gained realization. This and other incidents suggest that he interpreted his religious experience in accordance with that of HUINENG, the sixth patriarch (LIUZU) of Chinese Chan. In 1258, Trần Thái Tông abdicated and became thượng hoàng (retired emperor). From then until his death, he devoted himself to practicing Chan and studying Buddhist scriptures. It was during this period that he composed most of his works, including the KHÓA HƯ LỤC.

Trapuṣa. (P. Tapussa/Tapussu; T. Ga gon; C. Tiwei; J. Daii; K. Chewi 提謂). Sanskrit proper name of one of the two merchants (together with his brother BHALLIKA) who became the first lay Buddhists (UPĀSAKA). Following his enlightenment under the BODHI TREE, the Buddha remained in the vicinity for seven weeks, each week spent at a different site (see BODHGAYĀ). At the end of the seventh week (or in some versions the sixth), he sat under a Rājāyatana tree, where he continued his meditation. Two merchants, Trapuṣa and his younger brother Bhallika, who were leading a large trading caravan with some five hundred carts, saw him there. Realizing that he had not eaten for weeks (as many as seven weeks), upon the encouragement of a deity, the brothers offered the Buddha sweet rice cakes with butter and honey. The Buddha, however, did not have a bowl in which to receive the food and said it was inappropriate for him to receive the food directly into his hands. The divine kings of the four directions (LOKAPĀLA) then offered him bowls. (According to one account, he received four bowls and collapsed them into one, which is the origin of the “four-bowl” meals served in some East Asian monastic refectories.) In response to their act of charity (DĀNA), the Buddha spoke with them informally and they took refuge (ŚARAṆA) in the Buddha and the DHARMA (there being no third refuge, the SAṂGHA, at this early point in the dispensation), thus making them the first lay Buddhists. The Buddha is said to have given the two brothers eight strands of hair from his head, which they took back to their homeland and interred for worship as relics (ŚARĪRA) in a STŪPA. According to this account, it is interesting to note that the first thing the Buddha provided to another person after his enlightenment was not a teaching but a relic. In the account of the period of the Buddha’s enlightenment in the NIDĀNAKATHĀ, this incident occurs immediately before the god BRAHMĀ descends from heaven and asks the Buddha to teach the dharma. According to Mon–Burmese legend, Trapuṣa and Bhallika were Mon natives, and their homeland of Ukkala was a place also called Dagon in the Mon homeland of Rāmañña in lower Burma. The stūpa they constructed at Ukkala/Dagon, which was the first shrine in the world to be erected over relics of the present Buddha, was to be enlarged and embellished over the centuries to become, eventually, the golden SHWEDAGON PAGODA of Rangoon. Because of the preeminence of this shrine, some Burmese chroniclers date the first introduction of Buddhism among the Mon in Rāmañña to Tapussa and Bhallika. Trapuṣa achieved the stage of “stream-enterer” (SROTAĀPANNA); Bhallika eventually ordained and became an ARHAT. The merchants were also the subject of a prototypical Chinese apocryphal text, the TIWEI [BOLI] JING, written c. 460–464, which praises the value of the lay practices of giving (dāna) and keeping the five precepts (PAÑCAŚĪLA).

trāyastriṃśa. (P. tāvatiṃsa; T. sum cu rtsa gsum pa; C. sanshisan tian/daoli tian; J. sanjūsanten/tōriten; K. samsipsam ch’ŏn/tori ch’ŏn 三十三天/忉利天). In Sanskrit, lit. “thirty-three”; the heaven of the thirty-three, the second lowest of the six heavens of the sensuous realm (KĀMADHĀTU), just above the heaven of the four heavenly kings (CĀTURMAHĀRĀJAKĀYIKA) and below the YĀMA heaven. Like all Buddhist heavens, it is a place of rebirth and not a permanent post-mortem abode. The heaven is situated on the flat summit of Mount SUMERU and is inhabited by thirty-three male divinities and their attendants, presided over by the divinity ŚAKRA, the king of the gods (ŚAKRO DEVĀNĀM INDRAḤ). The divinities live in palaces of gold among beautiful parks and have life spans of thirty million years. The heaven is commonly mentioned in Buddhist texts. In the seventh year after his enlightenment, after performing the ŚRĀVASTĪ MIRACLES, the Buddha magically traveled to the heaven of the thirty-three, where he spent the three months of the rains retreat (VARṢĀ) teaching the ABHIDHARMA to his mother MĀYĀ. (She had descended to meet him there from her abode in the TUṢITA heaven, where she had been reborn as a male deity after her death as Queen Māyā.) At the conclusion of his teaching, the Buddha made his celebrated return to earth from the heaven on a bejeweled ladder provided by Śakra, descending at the city of SĀṂKĀŚYA. MAHĀMAUDGALYĀYANA also made numerous visits to the heaven to learn from its inhabitants about the virtuous deeds they performed in the past that resulted in their rebirth there. It was said that when a human performed a particularly virtuous deed, a mansion for that person would appear in trāyastriṃśa for that person to inhabit upon being reborn there. When Prince SIDDHĀRTHA renounced the world, he cut off his hair with his sword and cast it into the sky; the hair was caught by Śakra in trāyastriṃśa, who enshrined it in a CAITYA that is worshipped by the gods. Scholars have noted the correspondence between the number of divinities in this heaven and the traditional number of thirty-three gods of the Ṛgveda, suggesting that this heaven represents an attempt by Buddhists to absorb the pre-Buddhistic Indian pantheon.

trepiṭaka. (P. tipeṭaka/tepiṭaka; T. sde snod gsum pa; C. sanzang fashi; J. sanzō hosshi; K. samjang pŏpsa 三藏法師). In Sanskrit, “a master of the canon”; an honorific title attached to the name of a renowned Buddhist teacher who is well versed in the three divisions of the Buddhist canon (TRIPIṬAKA), viz., the collection of monastic rules and regulations (VINAYAPIṬAKA; C. lü), the discourses collection (SŪTRAPIṬAKA; C. jing), and the treatise collection (ABHIDHARMAPIṬAKA, or *ŚĀSTRAPIṬAKA; C. lun). The Pāli form of this term appears first in the MILINDAPAÑHA, which is presumed to have been compiled around the beginning of the Common Era. In the East Asian Buddhist traditions, this term has been used as an honorific title for monks who mastered the Buddhist canon and were involved in translating Indic Buddhist literature into Chinese. Thus, such monks are also called “trepiṭaka who translate the scriptures” (YIJING SANZANG), or simply sanzang. There are many great translator-monks who carried this title of sanzang or sanzang fashi, including KUMĀRAJĪVA (344–413), PARAMĀRTHA (499–569), XUANZANG (600/602–664), and AMOGHAVAJRA (705–774). Later, this term was often commonly used to refer specifically to Xuanzang, as in the “Biography of the Master of the Buddhist Canon at the Beneficence of Great Compassion Monastery” (DACI’ENSI sanzang fashi zhuan), which is a biography of Xuanzang written by Huili (615–?). The Sanskrit of trepiṭaka is sometimes (mistakenly) reconstructed from the Chinese as *tripiṭakācārya.

trichiliocosm. See TRISĀHASRAMAHĀSĀHASRALOKADHĀTU; YINIAN SANQIAN.

tricīvara. (P. ticīvara; T. chos gos gsum; C. sanyi; J. san’e/sanne; K. samŭi 三衣). In Sanskrit, the “three robes” or “triple robe” worn by a monk or nun: the larger outer robe (S. SAṂGHĀṬĪ; P. saṅghāṭī), the upper robe (S. UTTARĀSAṂGA; P. uttarāsaṅga), and a lower robe or waist cloth (S. ANTARVĀSAS; P. antaravāsaka). According to the VINAYA account, the Buddha was concerned that too many monks had begun to hoard robes, which might cause them to “revert to luxury”; and after sitting through the cold one evening, he decided that the triple robe was sufficient to stay warm. The antarvāsas is the smallest of the three robes: normally made of one layer of cloth, it is worn around the waist and is intended to cover the body from the navel to the middle of the calf. The uttarāsaṃga is large enough to cover the body from the neck to the middle of the calf; it is also normally made of one layer of cloth. The saṃghāṭī or outer robe is the same size as the uttarāsaṃga but is normally made of two layers of cloth rather than one; it is worn over one or both shoulders, depending on whether one is inside or outside the monastery grounds. The saṃghāṭī was required to be tailored of patches, ranging in number from nine up to twenty-five, depending on the VINAYA recension; this use of patches of cloth is said to have been modeled after plots of farmland in MAGADHA that the Buddha once surveyed. All three robes must be dyed a sullied color, interpreted as anything from a reddish- or brownish-yellow saffron color to an ochre tone. For this reason, robes as also known as the KĀṢĀYA, or “dyed” (lit. “turbid-colored”) robes, which were traditionally required to be sewn from pieces of soiled cloth and “dyed.” Robes were one of the four major requisites (S. NIŚRAYA; P. NISSAYA) allowed to monks and nuns, along with such basics as a begging bowl (PĀTRA) and lodging, and were the object of the KAṬHINA ceremony, in which the monastics were offered cloth for making new sets of robes at the end of each rains retreat (S. VARṢĀ; P. vassa).

tridhātu. (S). See TRAIDHĀTUKA; AVACARA.

tridvāra. (P. dvārattaya; T. sgo gsum; C. sanmen; J. sanmon, K. sammun 三門). In Sanskrit, lit. “three doors” or “three gates”; referring to the body (KĀYA), speech (VĀK; see VĀKKARMAN), and mind (CITTA) as means for the performance of physical, verbal, and mental deeds (KARMAN). It is also understood that these are the three doors through which one may enter into the physical, verbal, and mental practice of the dharma. Since it is through these three doors that beings accumulate the fruits (VIPĀKA) of either negative or positive karman, the adept is taught to guard sense faculties (INDRIYASAṂVARA) throughout the activities of everyday life, in order to control the inveterate tendency toward craving. In tantric Buddhism, these three doors are known as the three mysteries (T. gsang ba gsum; J. SANMITSU), which are transformed into the three bodies of a buddha (TRIKĀYA) through tantric practice. The body is transformed into the emanation body (NIRMĀṆAKĀYA), speech into the enjoyment body (SAṂBHOGAKĀYA), and mind into the truth body (DHARMAKĀYA). Body, speech, and mind are said to be purified by the mantra oṃ āḥ hūṃ.

trikāla. (P. tikāla; T. dus gsum; C. sanshi; J. sanze; K. samse 三世). In Sanskrit, the “three times,” used to refer collectively to the three time periods of past, present, and future; often mistakenly translated from the Chinese as “three worlds” (the Chinese term shi in this compound means an “age” or “generation”). The term often occurs in such phrases as trikāla-buddha, “the buddhas of the past, present, and future.” Trikāla is also used to refer to the three periods of one day—dawn, daylight, and dusk. There are a range of views on the ontological status of the three temporal dimensions of the past, present, and future. One of the more common arguments is that, while the past no longer exists and the future does not yet exist, the present exists as an endless series of instances or moments in which a host of mental and physical constituents arise and cease instantaneously (see KṢAṆIKAVĀDA). On the other hand, the SARVĀSTIVĀDA school argued that dharmas exist, and can thus exert specific types of causal efficacy, in all three time periods, requiring a special set of “dissociated forces” (CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAṂSKĀRA) to account for the process of change (see CATURLAKṢAṆA; SAṂSKṚTALAKṢAṆA), essentially moving a dharma from past mode, to present and future modes.

trikāya. (T. sku gsum; C. sanshen; J. sanshin; K. samsin 三身). In Sanskrit, lit. “three bodies”; one of the central doctrines of MAHĀYĀNA buddhology. The three bodies refer specifically to three distinct bodies or aspects of a buddha: DHARMAKĀYA, the “dharma body” or “truth body”; SAṂBHOGAKĀYA, the “enjoyment body” or “reward body”; and NIRMĀṆAKĀYA, “emanation body” or “transformation body.” The issue of what actually constituted the Buddha’s body arose among the MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS over such questions as the body he used on miraculous journeys, such as the one that he took to TRĀYASTRIṂŚA heaven to teach his mother MĀYĀ; the conclusion was that he had used a “mind-made body” (MANOMAYAKĀYA), also called a nirmāṇakāya, to make the trip. The notion of different buddha bodies was also deployed to respond to the question of the nature of the Buddha jewel (buddharatna), one of the three jewels (RATNATRAYA) or three refuges (TRIŚARAṆA) of Buddhism. Since the physical body of the Buddha was subject to decay and death, was it a suitable object of refuge? In response to this question, it was concluded that the Buddha jewel was in fact a body or group (kāya) of qualities (dharma), such as the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha (ĀVEṆIKA[BUDDHA]DHARMA). This “body of qualities,” the original meaning of dharmakāya, was sometimes contrasted with the physical body of the Buddha, called the RŪPAKĀYA (“material body”) or the vipākakāya, the “fruition body,” which was the result of past action (KARMAN). With the development of Mahāyāna thought, the notion of dharmakāya evolved into a kind of transcendent principle in which all buddhas partook, and it is in this sense that the term is translated as “truth body.” In the later Mahāyāna scholastic tradition, the dharmakāya was said to have two aspects. The first is the SVABHĀVIKAKĀYA, or “nature body,” which is the ultimate nature of a buddha’s mind that is free from all adventitious defilements (āgantukamala). The second is the jñānakāya, or “wisdom body,” a buddha’s omniscient consciousness. The dharmakāya was the source of the two other bodies, both varieties of the rūpakāya: the saṃbhogakāya and the nirmāṇakāya. The former, traditionally glossed as “the body for the enjoyment of others,” is a resplendent form of the Buddha adorned with the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks (MAHĀPURUṢALAKṢAṆA), which appears only in buddha fields (BUDDHAKṢETRA) to teach the Mahāyāna to advanced bodhisattvas. Some śāstras, such as the BUDDHABHŪMIŚĀSTRA (Fodijing lun) and CHENG WEISHI LUN, distinguish between a “body intended for others’ enjoyment” (PARASAṂBHOGAKĀYA) and a “body intended for personal enjoyment” (SVASAṂBHOGAKĀYA). In the trikāya system, the nirmāṇakāya is no longer a special body conjured up for magical travel, but the body of the Buddha that manifests itself variously in the world of sentient beings in order to teach the dharma to them. It also has different varieties: the form that manifests in the mundane world as the Buddha adorned with the major and minor marks is called the UTTAMANIRMĀṆAKĀYA, or “supreme emanation body”; the nonhuman or inanimate forms a buddha assumes in order to help others overcome their afflictions are called the JANMANIRMĀṆAKĀYA, or “created emanation body.”

trilakṣaṇa. (P. tilakkhaṇa; T. mtshan nyid gsum/phyag rgya gsum; C. sanxiang; J. sansō; K. samsang 三相). In Sanskrit, the “three marks”; three characteristics of all conditioned phenomena in SAṂSĀRA: impermanence (ANITYA), suffering (DUḤKHA), and nonself (ANĀTMAN). According to the VISUDDHIMAGGA, realization of the truth and reality of the three marks constitutes enlightenment (BODHI), which eradicates belief in the existence of a perduring self (P. atta; S. ĀTMAN), otherwise called “personality belief” (P. sakkāyadiṭṭhi; S. SATKĀYADṚṢṬI), and delivers one to the noble path (P. ariyamagga; S. ĀRYAMĀRGA). Through this attainment, one becomes a stream-enterer (P. sotāpanna; S. SROTAĀPANNA) and is assured of becoming an ARHAT and entering NIRVĀṆA in at most seven lifetimes.

triloka[dhātu]. (P. tiloka; T. ’jig rten gsum; C. sanjie; J. sangai; K. samgye 三界). In Sanskrit, “three realms of existence”; a common Buddhist term for “everywhere” or “the whole world,” glossed in one of two ways: (1) the three realms (TRAIDHĀTUKA), viz., the sensuous realm (KĀMADHĀTU), the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPADHĀTU), and the formless or immaterial realm (ĀRŪPYADHĀTU); (2) the three regions, viz., the region above the earth, the region on the surface of the earth, and the region below ground. See also TRISĀHASRAMAHĀSĀHASRALOKADHĀTU.

Triṃśikā. (T. Sum cu pa; C. Weishi sanshi lun song; J. Yuishiki sanjūronju; K. Yusik samsip non song 唯識三十論頌). In Sanskrit, lit., the “Thirty”; a work in thirty verses by the fourth or fifth century CE YOGĀCĀRA master VASUBANDHU; also known as the Triṃśatikā and the Triṃśikāvijñaptimātratā. Together with his VIṂŚATIKĀ (the “Twenty”), it is considered a classic synopsis of Yogācāra doctrine. In this work, which is extant in Sanskrit as well as in Chinese and Tibetan translations, Vasubandhu introduces the major categories of Yogācāra thought, including the foundational consciousness or ĀLAYAVIJÑĀNA, and the mental concomitants (CAITTA) that accompany consciousness; the afflicted mental consciousness or KLIṢṬAMANAS (simply called MANAS in the text), which falsely perceives the ālayavijñāna as self; the three natures (TRISVABHĀVA); the three absences of intrinsic nature (NIḤSVABHĀVA); “consciousness-only” or “representation-only” (VIJÑAPTIMĀTRATĀ); and “revolution of the basis,” or ĀŚRAYAPARĀVṚTTI. Among the commentaries on the text, the most influential is that by STHIRAMATI.

trīndriya. (T. dbang po gsum; C. sangen; J. sankon; K. samgŭn 三根). In Sanskrit, “three capacities,” or “three faculties”; a division of disciples of the Buddha or of a particular teaching, based on relative levels of aptitude, understanding, or profundity. The three are as follows: those of dull faculties (MṚDVINDRIYA), those of intermediate faculties (MADHYENDRIYA), and those of sharp faculties (TĪKṢṆENDRIYA). The term is often used polemically to describe one’s preferred teaching as intended only for those of sharp faculties, while dismissing other competing teachings as intended for those of dull or intermediate faculties. See also INDRIYA.

triniḥsvabhāva. (S.; T. ngo bo nyid med pa gsum). In Sanskrit, “three types of absence of intrinsic existence.” See NIḤSVABHĀVA.

tripiṭaka. (P. tipiṭaka; T. sde snod gsum; C. sanzang; J. sanzō; K. samjang 三藏). In Sanskrit, “three baskets”; one of the most common and best known of the organizing schema of the Indian Buddhist canon. These three baskets were the SŪTRAPIṬAKA (basket of discourses), VINAYAPIṬAKA (basket of disciplinary texts) and ABHIDHARMAPIṬAKA [alt. *ŚĀSTRAPIṬAKA] (basket of “higher dharma” or “treatises”). The use of the term piṭaka for these categories is thought to come from the custom of storing the palm-leaf or wooden slips of written texts in baskets (S. piṭaka). (The Chinese translates piṭaka as a “repository,” thus tripiṭaka is the “three repositories.”) The various MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS in India had their own distinctive version of each of the piṭakas; the Pāli version transmitted to Sri Lanka is the most complete to survive in an Indic language, although sections of those of other schools, such as the DHARMAGUPTAKA, SARVĀSTIVĀDA, and MŪLASARVĀSTIVĀDA, are preserved in Chinese, Tibetan, and in Sanskrit or Middle Indic fragments. Some schools used different organizing schema. The Dharmaguptaka school, for example, is said to have had five piṭakas; the usual three, plus a bodhisattvapiṭaka (on various doctrines and practices related to the BODHISATTVA) and a dhāraṇīpiṭaka (of DHĀRAṆĪ codes and spells). The MAHĀYĀNA sūtras were not organized under this rubric, although it is sometimes said that they can be when the three baskets are interpreted more figuratively, with the vinayapiṭaka including those teachings connected to the training in morality (ŚĪLA), the sūtrapiṭaka including those teachings connected to the training in meditation (SAMĀDHI), and the abhidharmapiṭaka including those teachings connected to the training in wisdom (PRAJÑĀ). The East Asian traditions arranged their own indigenous canons as a DAZANGJING (scriptures of the great repository), rather than a tripiṭaka; the two terms are not synonymous. See also BKA’ ’GYUR; DAZANGJING; KORYŎ TAEJANGGYŎNG; TAISHŌ SHINSHŪ DAIZŌKYŌ.

*tripiṭakācārya. (S). See TREPIṬAKA.

triratna. In Sanskrit, the “three jewels” of the BUDDHA, DHARMA, and SAṂGHA. See RATNATRAYA.

trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu. (T. stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi khams; C. sanqian daqian shijie; J. sanzendaisensekai; K. samch’ŏn taech’ŏn segye 三千大千世界). In Sanskrit, lit. “three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world system,” but typically translated as “TRICHILIOCOSM”; the largest possible universe, composed of (according to some interpretations of the figure) one billion world systems, each of which have a similar geography, including a central axis at Mount SUMERU, four surrounding continents, etc. These worlds follow similar cosmic cycles of creation, abiding, disintegration, and annihilation. See YINIAN SANQIAN.

Triśākuni. (S). One of the twenty-four sacred sites associated with the CAKRASAṂVARATANTRA. See PĪṬHA.

trisaṃvara. (T. sdom gsum). In Sanskrit, “three vows” or “three restraints”; a collective term for three different sets of precepts. The Trisaṃvaranirdeśaparivarta of the RATNAKŪṬASŪTRA collection sets forth the three types of vows as the three types of bodhisattva morality found in the śīlaparivarta (“morality chapter”) of the BODHISATTVABHŪMI. Usually, however, trisaṃvara refers to the three sets of precepts a practitioner of the VAJRAYĀNA may take: the prātimokṣasaṃvara or monastic precepts (see PRĀTIMOKṢA), the BODHISATTVASAṂVARA or bodhisattva precepts, and the guhyamantrasaṃvara (“secret mantra precepts”) or tantric vows (SAṂVARA) or pledges (SAMAYA). The relations between and among these three types of precepts are the subject of an extensive, and often polemical, literature in Tibet, the most famous treatment being the SDOM GSUM RAB DBYE, or “Differentiation of the Three Vows,” by SA SKYA PAṆḌITA. See also SAṂVARA; SDOM GSUM; PUSA JIE.

triśaraṇa. (P. tisaraṇa; T. skyabs gsum; C. sanguiyi; J. sankie; K. samgwiŭi 三歸依). In Sanskrit, the “three refuges” or the “triple refuge”; the three “safe havens” in which Buddhists seek refuge from the sufferings of SAṂSĀRA: the BUDDHA, the DHARMA, and the SAṂGHA. The recitation of the three refuges is one of the foundational Buddhist ritual practices: “I go for refuge to the Buddha (buddhaṃ śaraṇaṃ gacchāmi). I go for refuge to the dharma (dharmaṃ śaraṇaṃ gacchāmi). I go for refuge to the saṃgha (saṃghaṃ śaraṇaṃ gacchāmi).” Reciting these refuges three times is attestation that one is a Buddhist adherent; thus, the formula figures in a wide range of ceremonies across the Buddhist world. These three refuges are identical to the “three jewels” (RATNATRAYA).

triśikṣā. (P. tisikkhā; T. bslab pa gsum; C. sanxue; J. sangaku; K. samhak 三學). In Sanskrit, the “three trainings”; three overarching categories of Buddhist practice. First is the training in higher morality (ADHIŚĪLAŚIKṢĀ), which encompasses all forms of restraint of body and speech, including lay and monastic precepts that serve as the foundation for the cultivation of the succeeding stages of concentration and wisdom. Second is the training in higher concentration (ADHISAMĀDHIŚIKṢĀ, also called adhicitta), which encompasses all forms of meditative practice directed toward the achievement of states of concentration. Third is the training in higher wisdom (ADHIPRAJÑĀŚIKṢĀ), which includes all forms study and reflection that are directed toward developing insight into the true nature of reality. These three trainings are said to subsume all of the constituents of the noble eightfold path (ĀRYĀṢṬĀṄGAMĀRGA): adhiprajñāśikṣā comprises the first two constituents, viz., right views (SAMYAGDṚṢṬI) and right intention (SAMYAKSAṂKALPA); adhiśīlaśikṣā, the middle three constituents, viz., right speech (SAMYAGVĀC), right action (SAMYAKKARMĀNTA), and right livelihood (SAMYAGĀJĪVA); and adhisamādhiśikṣā, the last three constituents, viz., right effort (SAMYAGVYĀYĀMA), right mindfulness (SAMYAKSMṚTI), and right concentration (SAMYAKSAMĀDHI).

triskandhaka. (T. phung po gsum pa; C. sanju; J. sanju; K. samch’wi 三聚). In Sanskrit, lit. “three sections”; a three-part Mahāyāna liturgy that may have served as the foundation for more elaborate tantric liturgies (PŪJĀ), such as the sevenfold ritual (SAPTĀṄGAVIDHI). There are two versions of the three: (1) confession of transgressions (PĀPADEŚANĀ), (2) rejoicing in other’s virtues (ANUMODANA), and (3) dedication of merit (PARIṆĀMANĀ). A second version is: (1) confession of transgressions, (2) appreciation of other’s virtues, and (3) requesting the buddhas to turn the wheel of the dharma (dharmacakrapravartanacodana). See also PŪJĀ.

trisvabhāva. (T. mtshan nyid gsum/rang bzhin gsum; C. sanxing; J. sanshō; K. samsŏng 三性). In Sanskrit, “the three natures”; one of the central doctrines of the YOGĀCĀRA school. The three are PARIKALPITA, the “fabricated” or “imaginary” nature of things; PARATANTRA, literally “other-powered,” their “dependent” nature; and PARINIṢPANNA, their “consummate” or “perfected” nature. The terms appear in several MAHĀYĀNA sūtras, most notably the sixth chapter of the SAṂDHINIRMOCANASŪTRA, and are explicated by both ASAṄGA and VASUBANDHU. Although the terms are discussed at length in Yogācāra literature, they can be described briefly as follows. The three natures are sometimes presented as three qualities that all phenomena possess. The parikalpita or imaginary nature is a false nature, commonly identified as the contrived appearance of an object as being a different entity from the perceiving consciousness. Since, in the Yogācāra analysis, objects do not exist independently from the perceiving subject, they come into existence in dependence upon consciousnesses, which in turn are produced from seeds that (according to some forms of Yogācāra) reside in the foundational consciousness, or ĀLAYAVIJÑĀNA. This quality of dependency on other causes and conditions for their existence, which is a characteristic of all objects and subjects, is the paratantra, or dependent nature. The nonduality between the consciousnesses and their objects is their consummate nature, the pariniṣpanna. Thus, it is said that the absence of the parikalpita in the paratantra is the pariniṣpanna.

Trisvabhāvanirdeśa. (T. Rang bzhin gsum nges par bstan pa). In Sanskrit, “Exposition of the Three Natures”; a work by the YOGĀCĀRA philosopher VASUBANDHU (fourth or fifth century CE). Possibly a late work of the author, it is less famous than several of his other works, in part because it lacks either an autocommentary or commentaries by subsequent figures in Indian Yogācāra. The work, extant in the original Sanskrit, consists of thirty-eight verses, dealing (as the title suggests) with the central Yogācāra doctrine of the three natures (TRISVABHĀVA): the PARIKALPITA or imaginary nature, the PARATANTRA or dependent nature, and the PARINIṢPANNA or consummate nature. According to this doctrine, briefly stated, objects do not exist apart from the perceiving consciousness. External objects are thus illusory and constitute the imaginary nature, the appearance of objects that arises in dependence on consciousness is the dependent nature, and the absence of duality between subject and object is the consummate nature. Among the most famous passages in the text is the metaphor of the magician’s illusion, in which a magician recites a MANTRA over a piece of wood that causes the members of the audience to see an elephant in place of the wood. In explaining the metaphor, Vasubandhu says that the elephant seen by the audience is the imaginary nature, the appearance of the elephant through the conjuring trick is the dependent nature, and the actual nonexistence of the elephant is the consummate nature. He also likens the mantra to the foundational consciousness (MŪLAVIJÑĀNA, viz., ĀLAYAVIJÑĀNA) from which all appearances arise, and the wood to reality, or suchness (TATHATĀ).

trividyā. [alt. traividyā] (P. tevijjā; T. rig gsum; C. sanming; J. sanmyō; K. sammyŏng 三明). In Sanskrit, lit. “three knowledges”; three specific types of knowledge (VIDYĀ) that are the products of the enlightenment experience of an ARHAT or buddha, and a sequential set of insights achieved by the Buddha during the three watches of the night of his own enlightenment. They are: (1) the ability to remember one’s own former lives (PŪRVANIVĀSĀNUSMṚTI; P. pubbenivāsānunssati) in all their detail, due to direct insight into the inexorable connection between action (KARMAN) and its fruition (VIPĀKA), viz., karmic cause and effect; (2) insight into the future rebirth destinies of all other beings (S. CYUTYUPAPATTIJÑĀNA [alt. cyutyupapādānusmṛti]; P. cutūpapātañāna), a by-product of the “divine eye” (DIVYACAKṢUS); (3) knowledge of the extinction of the contaminants (ĀSRAVAKṢAYA; P. āsavakhaya), which ensures complete liberation from the cycle of rebirth (SAṂSĀRA). The first and third types are also included in the superknowledges (ABHIJÑĀ; P. abhiññā). At various points in the literature of the MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS (e.g., the Pāli ITIVUTTAKA), the Buddha describes the above list as the three knowledges of a true brāhmaṇa; in such accounts, the Buddha is intentionally contrasting his three knowledges (vidyā) with that of brāhmaṇa priests who have merely memorized the traditional three Vedas of Brahmanical religion. See also TEVIJJASUTTA.

trivikalpa. (T. rnam par rtog pa gsum; C. san fenbie; J. sanfunbetsu; K. sam punbyŏl 三分別). In Sanskrit, “three types of discrimination”; three aspects of the discriminative activities of mind, generally portrayed in the negative sense of fantasy and imagination. Three types are typically described in the literature. (1) Intrinsic discrimination (SVABHĀVAVIKALPA) refers to the initial advertence of thought (VITARKA) and the subsequent sustained thought or reasoning (VICĀRA) regarding a perceived object of the six sensory consciousnesses (VIJÑĀNA), i.e., the discrimination of present objects, as when visual consciousness perceives a visual object, etc. (2) Conceptualizing discrimination (ABHINIRŪPAṆĀVIKALPA) refers to discursive thought on ideas that arise in the sixth mental consciousness when it adverts toward a mental object that is associated with any of the three time periods (TRIKĀLA) of the past, present, or future. (3) Discrimination involving reflection on past events (ANUSMARAṆAVIKALPA) refers to discriminative thought involving the memory of past objects. It is said that there is no svabhāvavikalpa from the second stage of meditative absorption (DHYĀNA) onward, since vitarka and vicāra, the first two of the five constituents of dhyāna (DHYĀNĀṄGA), are then no longer present. There is no abhinirūpaṇāvikalpa from the first stage of dhyāna onward, since the mind is then temporarily isolated from any awareness of the passage of time. Only anusmaraṇavikalpa is involved in all three realms of existence (TRILOKADHĀTU), including both the subtle-materiality realm (RŪPADHĀTU) and the immaterial realm (ĀRŪPYADHĀTU).

triviṣa. (P. tivisa; T. dug gsum; C. sandu; J. sandoku; K. samdok 三毒). In Sanskrit, “three poisons”; the three primary afflictions (MŪLAKLEŚA) of sensuality, desire, or greed (RĀGA or LOBHA), hatred or aversion (DVEṢA), and delusion or ignorance (MOHA), regarded as poisons because of the harm they cause to those who ingest them or the way they poison the mind. This same list of three is also known as the three “unwholesome faculties” (AKUŚALAMŪLA), which will fructify as unhappiness in the future and provide the foundation for unfavorable rebirths (APĀYA). In the “wheel of existence” (BHAVACAKRA) that the Buddha is said to have instructed to be painted at the entrances of monasteries, showing the six realms of rebirth (ṢAḌGATI) as well as the twelve links of dependent origination (PRATĪTYASAMUTPĀDA), the three poisons are often depicted at the center of painting, suggesting their role as root causes of cycle of rebirth, with greed represented by a rooster, hatred by a snake, and delusion by a pig in a circle, each biting the tail of the other.

triyāna. (T. theg pa gsum; C. sansheng; J. sanjō; K. samsŭng 三乘). In Sanskrit, “three vehicles,” three different means taught in Buddhist soteriological literature of conveying sentient beings to liberation. There are two common lists of the three: (1) the vehicles of the ŚRĀVAKA, PRATYEKABUDDHA (both of which lead to the state of an ARHAT), and BODHISATTVA (which leads to buddhahood); (2) the HĪNAYĀNA, MAHĀYĀNA, and VAJRAYĀNA, although the vajrayāna is considered by its adherents to be a form of the Mahāyāna; the vajrayāna would speak instead of the HĪNAYĀNA, PĀRAMITĀYĀNA, and VAJRAYĀNA. According to some Mahāyāna sūtras, most famously the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA (“Lotus Sūtra”), the three vehicles (in the first sense above) are an expedient device (UPĀYA) developed by the Buddha to entice beings of differing spiritual capacities toward enlightenment; in fact, however, there is really only one vehicle (EKAYĀNA) by which all beings proceed to buddhahood. Thus, in the Mahāyāna philosophical schools, the question arises of whether or not there are “three final vehicles,” that is, whether the state of the arhat is a permanent dead end or whether arhats would also eventually continue on to buddhahood. For example, the position that there are three separate and final vehicles is associated with the YOGĀCĀRA school of ASAṄGA and the Chinese FAXIANG ZONG. The position that there are not three, but instead a single decisive vehicle, is associated with the MADHYAMAKA school of NĀGĀRJUNA and CANDRAKĪRTI and the Chinese TIANTAI ZONG.

tṛṣṇā. (P. taṇhā; T. sred pa; C. ai; J. ai; K. ae 愛). In Sanskrit, lit. “thirst,” or “craving,” viz., the desire not to be separated from feelings of pleasure, the desire to be separated from feelings of pain, and the desire that feelings of neutrality not diminish. Typically, three types of craving are listed in the literature, such as the DHARMACAKRAPRAVARTANASŪTRA: craving for sensuality (KĀMA), craving for continued existence (BHAVA), and craving for nonexistence (vibhava). Craving is thus the cause or “origination” (SAMUDAYA) of suffering (DUḤKHA), viz., the second of the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS. Craving is also the eighth link in the twelvefold chain of dependent origination (PRATĪTYASAMUTPĀDA), where it is a product of the preceding link of sensation (VEDANĀ) and leads to even stronger clinging or attachment (UPĀDĀNA). Tṛṣṇā thus manifests itself as the thirst for sensory experience of visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental objects.

Trúc Lâm. (竹林). In Vietnamese, “Bamboo Grove”; the first indigenous Vietnamese school of THIỀN (C. CHAN), founded by TRẦN NHÂN TÔNG (1258–1308), the third king of the Trần dynasty (1225–1400). During the Trần period, Chan learning became established with the arrival of Chinese monks and Chan literature. Due to its literary bent (see WENZI CHAN), Chan was embraced by the Trần aristocratic circle, many of whom received instructions from Chan masters. Some Trần kings themselves would later in their lives be ordained and devote themselves to the practice of Chan. From the few extant writings of its three patriarchs, it is clear that Trúc Lâm Chan displays a conscious effort to emulate Chinese patriarchal Chan. There were also typical motifs that appear in Chinese Chan literature, including the use of dialogues (see WENDA) as an instructional tool, transmission directly from teacher to disciple, the construction of lineages, the teacher leaving behind instructional verses for his disciples, the teacher bequeathing his robe and begging bowl to his principal student as a mark of succession, the teacher publicly conferring precepts on both monks and laypeople, and so forth. The school died out after the death of its third patriarch Huyền Quang (1254–1334). Although the Trúc Lâm school was short-lived, it marked the first serious effort to establish a Buddhist community in medieval Vietnam, functioning essentially as a form of high-culture Buddhism for aristocrats. There were efforts among some Buddhist monks in the Later Lê (1428–1788) and Nguyễn (1802–1945) dynasties to connect themselves to Trúc Lâm Chan.

Trungpa, Chögyam. (Chos rgyam Drung pa) (1939–1987). One of the most influential Tibetan teachers of the twentieth century in introducing Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Chögyam Trungpa (his name, Chos rgyam Drung pa, is an abbreviation of chos kyi rgya mtsho drung pa) was born in Khams in eastern Tibet and identified while still an infant as the eleventh incarnation of the Drung pa lama, an important lineage of teachers in the BKA’ BRGYUD sect, and was enthroned as the abbot of Zur mang monastery. He was ordained as a novice monk at the age of eight and received instruction from some of the leading scholars of the Bka’ brgyud and RNYING MA sects. In 1958, he received the degrees of skyor dpon and mkhan po, as well as BHIKṢU ordination. After the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupying forces in March 1959, he escaped across the Himalayas to India on horseback and on foot, accompanied by a group of monks. In 1963, he traveled to England to study at Oxford University. In 1967, he moved to Scotland, where he founded a Tibetan meditation center called Samye Ling. While there, he suffered permanent injury in a serious automobile accident and decided thereafter to give up his monastic vows and continue as a lay teacher of Buddhism. In 1969, he moved to the United States, where he established a meditation center in Vermont called Tail of the Tiger. Trungpa Rinpoche’s extensive training in Tibetan Buddhism, his eclectic interests, and his facility in English combined to make him the first Tibetan lama (apart from the fourteenth DALAI LAMA) to reach a wide Western audience through his many books, including Born in Tibet (1966), Meditation in Action (1969), and Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism (1973). In 1974, he founded the Naropa Institute (now Naropa University) in Boulder, Colorado, a center devoted to the study of Buddhism, psychology, and the arts. He also developed a network of centers around the world called Dharmadhatus, as well as the Shambhala Training Program. He invited several important Tibetan lamas to the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including DIL MGO MKHYEN BRTSE, BDUD ’JOMS RIN PO CHE, and the sixteenth KARMA PA. In 1986, he moved his headquarters to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and died there the following year.

truths, three. See SANDI.

truths, two. See SATYADVAYA.

Tsa ri. Also spelled Tsā ri; an important pilgrimage region in the sacred geography of Tibet, its central feature is the Pure Crystal Mountain (Dag pa shel ri). The BKA’ BRGYUD sect, in particular, considers the site to be one of three quintessential pilgrimage destinations connected with the CAKRASAṂVARATANTRA (together with KAILĀSA and LA PHYI). According to the Cakrasaṃvaratantra tradition, two of the twenty-four sacred lands (PĪṬHA), viz., Cārita and Devīkoṭa, are believed to be located in the region. Hunting and even cultivation are banned in some parts of the valley. Situated on the remote border between Tibet and Assam, Tsa ri is also one of the Himalayan region’s most difficult and dangerous locations to access. The circumambulation trails skirting the mountain traverse high passes, deep ravines, and dense jungle. They also pass through territory controlled by tribal groups who are often unfriendly to outside visitors. For this reason, the state-sponsored pilgrimage season was traditionally preceded by government negotiations (and payments) in order to guarantee safe passage for pilgrims. The area is said to have been sanctified by visits from PADMASAMBHAVA and VIMALAMITRA, who are thought to have deposited there numerous treasure texts (GTER MA). Tsa ri later became primarily associated with the ’BRUG PA BKA’ BRGYUD through the activity of GTSANG PA RGYA RAS YE SHES RDO RJE, who is often said to have “opened” the site as a powerful place for spiritual practice.

Tshad ma rigs gter. (Tsema Rikter). In Tibetan, “Treasure of Valid Knowledge and Reasoning”; an influential Tibetan work on logic and epistemology (PRAMĀṆA) by the renowned scholar SA SKYA PAṆḌITA KUN DGA’ RGYAL MTSHAN, composed circa 1219. The Tshad ma rigs gter inaugurated a new period of pramāṇa studies in Tibet by focusing particularly on DHARMAKĪRTI’s most famous work, the PRAMĀṆAVĀRTTIKA; prior to this time in Tibet, pramāṇa had been approached through summaries (bsdus pa) of the seven works of Dharmakīrti (see TSHAD MA SDE BDUN). Written in verse, the Tshad ma rigs gter seeks accurately to represent the positions of the late Indian traditions of logic and epistemology and to identify the errors of earlier Tibetan scholars, notably the summaries associated with GSANG PHU NE’U THOG monastery, especially the works of RNGOG BLO LDAN SHES RAB, PHYWA PA CHOS KYI SENG GE, and their disciples. The Tshad ma rigs gter is said to have been so highly regarded that it was translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit and circulated in northern India.

tshad ma sde bdun. (tsema dedün). In Tibetan, “group of seven on valid knowledge”; the name for a collection of seven Indian treatises on logic and epistemology (PRAMĀṆA) written by the Indian scholar DHARMAKĪRTI. They are the PRAMĀṆAVĀRTTIKA, the PRAMĀṆAVINIŚCAYA, the NYĀYABINDU, the Hetubindu, the Sambandhaparīkṣā, the Saṃtānāntarasiddhi, and the Vādanyāya. The collection is also known as tshad ma’i bstan bcos sde bdun, or the “seven treatises on valid knowledge.”

Tshal pa bka’ brgyud. (Tshalpa Kagyü). One of the four major and eight minor subsects of the BKA’ BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism (BKA’ BRGYUD CHE BZHI CHUNG BRGYAD), originating with Zhang tshal pa Brtson grus grags pa (Shangtsalpa Tsöndrü Drakpa, 1123–1193), better known as BLA MA ZHANG, a disciple of Dwags po Sgom tshul (Dakpo Gomtsül, 1116–1169). In about 1175, Bla ma Zhang established Tshal Gung thang monastery near LHA SA, which served as a seat of the Tshal pa bka’ brgyud.

Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho. (Tsangyang Gyatso) (1683–1706). The sixth DALAI LAMA, and among the most famous and beloved of the Dalai Lamas, but not for the same qualities of sanctity and scholarship for which several other members of the lineage are known. He was born into a RNYING MA family near the border with Bhutan. The fifth Dalai Lama had died in 1682 but his death was concealed until 1697 by his minister, SDE SRID SANGS RGYAS RGYA MTSHO, so that the construction of the PO TA LA palace could continue unabated. The sixth Dalai Lama was identified at the age of two, but his identification was kept secret; he and his family lived in seclusion in Mtsho na (Tsona) for twelve years. The death of the fifth Dalai Lama and the identity of the sixth were finally disclosed in 1697. In that year, the sixth Dalai Lama was brought to LHA SA, where he received the vows of a novice from the PAṆ CHEN LAMA. He received instructions in Buddhist doctrine and practice from the Paṇ chen Lama and other scholars for the next four years. In 1701, he was urged to take the percepts of a fully ordained monk (BHIKṢU). However, he refused to do so and also asked to give up his novice vows (which included the vow of celibacy), threatening to commit suicide if he were not permitted to do so. He gave up his vows and lived as a layman, with long hair, although he still remained in the position of Dalai Lama. He had liaisons with women in Lha sa; the houses he visited were said to have been painted yellow in his honor. He is credited with a series of famous love songs, some of which contain Buddhist references. In 1705, the Qoshot Mongol leader Lha bzang Khan declared himself king of Tibet and executed Sde srid Sang rgyas rgya mtsho. In 1706, Lha bzang Khan declared, with the support of the Manchu Kangxi emperor, that Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho was not the true Dalai Lama and sent him into exile in Beijing. He died en route, although a legend developed that he escaped death and lived in disguise for another forty years.

Tshangs pa dkar po. (Tsangpa Karpo). A Tibetan wrathful deity who figures frequently in the retinues of major DHARMAPĀLA, such as MAHĀKĀLA and PE HAR RGYAL PO, of whom Tshangs pa dkar po is an emanation. Although the name “Tshangs pa” was given to the Indian god BRAHMĀ, Tshangs pa dkar po was in all probability a native Tibetan deity, who lost his individual identity through associations with Brahmā and Pe har.

Tshar chen Blo gsal rgya mtsho. (T). See TSHAR PA.

Tshar pa. An offshoot of the NGOR subsect of the SA SKYA sect, established by Tshar chen Blo gsal rgya mtsho (Tsarchen Losal Gyatso, 1502–1567), founder of ’Dar Grang mo che (Dar Drangmoche) monastery. It represents a distinctive tradition of the LAM ’BRAS (path and result) teaching, including the distinction between the “assembly exegesis” (tshogs bshad) and “student exegesis” (slob bshad). It is said that the Ngor tradition became influential in the dissemination of the Sa skya tantric teachings, and the Tshar tradition in the esoteric transmission known as the slob bshad. Bco brgyad khri chen rin po che (Chogye Trichen Rinpoche, 1920–2007), a recent influential scholar of the Sa skya tradition, was head of the Tshar pa sect until his death.

tshe lha rnam gsum. (tshe lha nam sum). In Tibetan, the “three deities of long life”; three deities who are propitiated in order to extend one’s life, especially in order to practice the dharma. They are the buddha AMITĀYUS and the female bodhisattvas white TĀRĀ (SITATĀRĀ) and Uṣṇīṣavijayā.

tshe ring mched lnga. (T). See BKRA SHIS TSHE RING MCHED LNGA.

tshogs zhing. (tsok shing). In Tibetan, “field of assembly” or “field of accumulation”; the assembly of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other deities visualized in meditation practice (and represented in Tibetan scroll paintings, or THANG KA). The term is generally glossed to mean “the field for the collection of merit” because the assembly of deities are the objects of various virtuous practices through which the meditator accumulates merit. The most common practice performed in the presence of the field of assembly would be the sevenfold offering (SAPTĀṄGAVIDHI): obeisance (vandana), offering (pūjana), confession of transgressions (PĀPADEŚANĀ), rejoicing in others’ virtues (ANUMODANA), requesting that the buddhas turn the wheel of the dharma (dharmacakrapravartanacodana), beseeching the buddhas not pass into NIRVĀṆA (aparinirvṛtādhyeṣaṇa), and the dedication (PARIṆĀMANĀ) of merit. In paintings of the field of assembly, the central figure is often depicted with previous figures in the lineage in a vertical line above, with various disciples on either side and protector deities at the bottom.

Tsi’u dmar po. (Tsi’u Marpo). The DHARMAPĀLA of BSAM YAS monastery; he succeeded PE HAR when the later moved to GNAS CHUNG outside of LHA SA. Tsi’u dmar is the leader of the BSTAN class of Tibetan spirits. His medium traditionally resided in the Tsi’u dmar lcog dbug khang at BSAM YAS, where each year the Lha sa glud ’gong would arrive bearing all the negative fortune of the city. Inside, Tsi’u dmar was said to sit in judgment of the dead, chopping up their spirits with such frequency that each year the chopping block would need to be replaced. According to legend, the deity Dza sa dmar po, the spirit of a nobleman who died of an illness caused by the Bsam yas protector, once defeated Tsi’u dmar, forcing the god to abandon his seat at Bsam yas. Dza sa dmar po later voluntarily left when he discovered he was unable to shoulder the burden of Tsi’u dmar po’s helmet, and hence the responsibility of guarding Bsam yas; having established peaceful relations with the dharmapāla, he was installed by the monks at Bsam yas in his own protector temple at the monastery. In memory of the conflict, the mediums of Tsi’u dmar po begin their trance by thrusting their swords in the direction of Dza sa dmar po’s temple.

Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa. (Tsong kha pa Losang Drakpa) (1357–1419). A Tibetan scholar and teacher venerated as the founder of the DGE LUGS sect of Tibetan Buddhism; typically known simply as Tsong kha pa. Born in the Tsong kha region of A mdo in northeastern Tibet, he received his initial lay vows under the fourth KARMA PA and began his religious education in the BKA’ GDAMS tradition. In 1372, he traveled to central Tibet for further study. He became a disciple of the SA SKYA scholar Red mda’ ba Gzhon nu blo gros (Rendawa Shönu Lodrö, 1349–1412) but went on to study under many of the leading scholars of the day, including masters of various schools and sectarian affiliations. Another influential teacher was the lama Dbu ma pa (Umapa), from whom he received instructions on the KĀLACAKRATANTRA. He distinguished himself as a brilliant scholar and exegete of both SŪTRA and TANTRA. According to his traditional biographies, Tsong kha pa experienced visions of Indian masters such as NĀGĀRJUNA and BUDDHAPĀLITA, who helped to clarify difficult points of doctrine. He is also said to have maintained a special relationship with MAÑJUŚRĪ, the bodhisattva of wisdom, who appeared in visions throughout Tsong kha pa’s life offering instruction and advice; Tsong kha pa is sometimes called ’Jam mgon, or “protected by Mañjuśrī.” Tsong kha pa’s biographies speak of four major deeds undertaken during his lifetime. The first, in 1399, was his restoration of an image of the future buddha, MAITREYA. The second was a council to reform the code of VINAYA, convened in 1403 and attended by monks representing all sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The third was the Great Prayer Festival (SMON LAM CHEN MO) inaugurated in 1409 at the JO KHANG in LHA SA, in which he offered the ornaments of a SAṂBHOGAKĀYA to the famous statue of JO BO SHĀKYAMUNI, celebrating the Buddha’s performance of the ŚRĀVASTĪ MIRACLES. The festival became an important annual event, drawing thousands of participants from all quarters of the Tibetan Buddhist world. The fourth was the founding in 1409 of DGA’ LDAN monastery, which would become one of principal religious institutions in the Lha sa region and seat of the leader of the Dge lugs sect. Tsong kha pa was an original and penetrating philosopher, who saw reason and intellectual development as key aspects of the path to enlightenment. Born during a period when the Tibetan Buddhist canon had been newly formulated, he sought a comprehensive explanation of the Buddhist path, with the PRĀSAṄGIKA-MADHYAMAKA of BUDDHAPĀLITA and CANDRAKĪRTI as the highest philosophical view. His works are marked with a concern with systematic consistency, whether it be between sūtra and tantra or PRAMĀṆA and MADHYAMAKA. A prolific author, Tsong kha pa’s works fill eighteen volumes. Among his best known writings are the LAM RIM CHEN MO (“Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment”), composed in 1402 at RWA SGRENG monastery, the SNGAGS RIM CHEN MO (“Great Treatise on the Stages of Mantra”), and the Drang nges LEGS BSHAD SNYING PO (“Essence of Eloquence on the Definitive and Interpretable”). Tsong kha pa called his system of religious practice the Bka’ gdams gsar ma, or “New Bka’ gdams,” after the sect founded by the Bengali master ATIŚA DĪPAṂKARAŚRĪJÑĀNA. His followers were later known as Dga’ ldan pa (Gandenpa), “those of Dga’ ldan,” after the monastic seat established by Tsong kha pa. This was sometimes abbreviated as Dga’ lugs pa, “those of the system of Dga’ ldan,” eventually evolving into the current name Dge lugs pa, “those of the system of virtue.” Tsong kha pa’s fame was greatly elevated through the political power of the Dge lugs sect after the establishment of the institution of the DALAI LAMA. His tomb at Dga’ ldan became an important site of pilgrimage prior to its destruction during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Tsong kha pa’s fame in Tibet was sufficiently great that he is commonly known simply as Rje rin po che, the “precious leader.”

Tucci, Giuseppe. (1894–1984). One of the leading European Tibetologists of the twentieth century. Born in Macerata, Italy, Guiseppe Tucci attended the University of Rome, where he later became professor of the religions and philosophies of India and the Far East. Between 1925 and 1930, he taught Italian, Chinese, and Tibetan in India at the University of Calcutta and the University of Santiniketan. During this time, he made numerous expeditions into Nepal and Tibet, gathering historical, religious, and artistic materials. In 1937, the Fascist government of Italy sent him to Japan in order to promote understanding between the two countries. In 1948, he was named president of the Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East. Over the next two decades, he led expeditions in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran and remained an active scholar until shortly before his death. Tucci published extensively in Italian and English on a wide range of topics using Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan sources. His works include Indo-Tibetica (published in seven volumes 1932–1942), To Lhasa and Beyond (1946), Minor Buddhist Texts (1956), and what many consider his magnum opus, Tibetan Painted Scrolls (1949).

Tuệ Trung. (V) (1230–1291). See HUỆ TRUNG.

tulku. (T). See SPRUL SKU.

Turfan. Central Asian petty kingdom located along the northern track of the SILK ROAD through the Takla Makhan desert, in what is now the Chinese province of Xinjiang. This and other oasis kingdoms in Central Asia served as crucial stations in the transmission of Buddhism from India to China. Buddhism had a strong presence in Turfan from the seventh century through the fourteenth century, with important texts being translated, cave temples built, and works of art produced. The oldest physical manuscripts of the Indian Buddhist tradition are manuscripts in the KHAROṢṬHĪ script (see GĀNDHĀRĪ), dated to the fourth to fifth centuries CE, which were discovered at Turfan. These and other discoveries were made by a team of German researchers led by Albert Grünwedel and Albert von Le Coq in a series of expeditions between 1902 and 1914. Turfan was also the locus where TOCHARIAN A (East Tocharian, or Turfanian) was used; manuscripts in Tocharian A date primarily from the eighth century. Western expeditions into the area led to the discovery of tens of thousands of textual fragments, in a variety of languages and scripts, which came to be known collectively as the “Turfan Collection.” These texts belong to a variety of genres and schools, but the SARVĀSTIVĀDA is prevalent, leading to the conclusion that the school was prominent in Turfan. As with other locations in this region, the dry desert air helped to preserve the various materials on which these texts were written. In Turfan were found translations of Sanskrit and Chinese Buddhist texts, as well as some original Buddhist poetry and lay literature. Also discovered in Turfan were the Bezaklik rock caves, dating from around the ninth century, which contain the painted images of thousands of buddhas. Albert von le Coq removed many of these and transported them to Berlin, where many were destroyed by Allied bombing during the Second World War. Although this area was a melting pot of Indian, Chinese, and Central Asian traditions, Buddhist activity in the Turfan region saw a sharp rise in the ninth century, when the Uighur people moved from Mongolia into the Turfan region and many Turfan texts are recorded in the Uighur script. Buddhism seems to have survived in this region until as late as the fifteenth century.

tuṣita. (P. tusita; T. dga’ ldan; C. doushuai tian; J. tosotsuten; K. tosol ch’ŏn 兜率天). In Sanskrit, “contentment”; in Buddhist cosmology, the fourth highest of six heavens within the sensuous realm (KĀMADHĀTU). This heaven is of particular importance to the Buddhist tradition because it is understood that BODHISATTVAs are born here before taking their final birth in the human world and attaining buddhahood. It was from this heaven that the deity ŚVETAKETU (the future ŚĀKYAMUNI) departed to enter MĀYĀ’s womb for his final rebirth, and it is understood that the bodhisattva MAITREYA currently resides in the tuṣita heaven awaiting his own final rebirth when he will in turn achieve buddhahood. Consequently, many Buddhists throughout history have aspired for rebirth in the tuṣita heaven so that they may learn from Maitreya and accompany him when he takes his final birth as a buddha. Beings reborn in tuṣita enjoy unimaginable pleasure and live for hundreds of thousands of years. One day in this heaven is equal to four hundred earth years. In some texts, this heaven is described as having an inner and outer courtyard, the former of which is said to be utterly indestructible.

twelve categories of scripture. See AṄGA; DVĀDAŚĀṄGA[PRAVACANA].

twelve deeds of a buddha. (S. buddhakārya; T. sangs rgyas kyi mdzad pa). A list of twelve acts said to be performed or “displayed” by the “transformation body” (NIRMĀṆAKĀYA) of each buddha. Although the specific deeds in the list of twelve vary, the notion of the twelve deeds seems to have become popular during the Pāla dynasty in India, where it is often depicted. The Dvādaśakāranāmanayastotra (Mdzad pa bcu gnyis kyi tshul la bstod pa), “Praise of the Twelve Deeds of a Buddha,” is extremely popular in Tibet and is often a part of a monastery’s daily liturgy. One version of the list of deeds is (1) descent from TUṢITA, (2) entry into the womb (viz., conception), (3) taking birth in the LUMBINĪ Garden, (4) proficiency in the arts, (5) enjoyment of consorts, (6) renouncing the world, (7) practicing asceticism on the banks of the NAIRAÑJANĀ River, (8) seeking enlightenment in BODHGAYĀ, (9) subjugating MĀRA, (10) attaining enlightenment, (11) turning the wheel of the dharma (DHARMACAKRAPRAVARTANA), and (12) passing into PARINIRVĀṆA in KUŚINAGARĪ. Although the notion of twelve deeds seems to have developed in the MAHĀYĀNA, the idea of a specific set of actions common to all the buddhas is also found in the MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS; for example, the Pāli tradition notes that thirty facts are common to all buddhas. For a similar East Asian list of eight stereotypical episodes in a buddha’s life, see BAXIANG.

twelve links of dependent origination/twelvefold chain of dependent origination. See PRATĪTYASAMUTPĀDA.

twin miracles. See YAMAKAPRĀTIHĀRYA; MAHĀPRĀTIHĀRYA.

two truths. See SATYADVAYA.

Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi. (V) (尼多流支). See VINĪTARUCI.