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The term Dharma has many connotations but no precise English equivalent. It is most often used to refer to the teachings and doctrine of the Buddha, including the scriptural tradition as well as the way of life and spiritual real izations that result from the application of the teachings. Sometimes Buddhists use the word in a more general sense—to signify spiritual or religious practices in general, universal spiritual law, or the true nature of phenomena—and use the term Buddhadharma to refer more specifically to the principles and practices of the Buddhist path. The Sanskrit word Dharma is derived from the etymological root meaning “to hold,” and in this context the word has a broader meaning: any behavior or understanding that serves “to hold one back” or protect one from experiencing suffering and its causes.

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In Buddhist philosophy, “Buddha Nature” refers to an underlying, basic, and most subtle nature of mind. This state of mind, present in all human beings, is completely untainted by negative emotions or thoughts.

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The Cabinet of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

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Samsara (Skt.) is a state of existence characterized by endless cycles of life, death, and rebirth. This term also refers to our ordinary state of day-to-day existence, which is characterized by suffering. All beings remain in this state, propelled by karmic imprints from past actions and negative “delusory” states of mind, until one removes all negative tendencies of mind and achieves a state of Liberation.

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The Potala was the traditional winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, and a symbol of the religious and historical heritage of Tibet. Originally built by the Tibetan King Song-tsen Gampo in the seventh century, it was later destroyed and not rebuilt until the seventeenth century by the fifth Dalai Lama. The current structure rises a majestic 440 feet from the summit of the “Red Hill” in Lhasa. It is over a quarter mile long, thirteen stories high, and filled with over a thousand chambers, assembly halls, shrines, and chapels.

6

In the Bodhisattva vow, the spiritual trainee affirms his intention to become a Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva, literally translated as the “awakening warrior,” is one who, out of love and compassion, has attained a realization of Bodhicitta, a mental state characterized by the spontaneous and genuine aspiration to attain full Enlightenment in order to be of benefit to all beings.