GLOSSARY

animal All forms of visible life other than humans, e.g., insects, fish, birds, and mammals. Symbolically, animals represent the shortsightedness of humans.

arhant Lit., “foe destroyer.” Generally used to indicate one who has completed the Hinayana path, or “destroyed the foe” of delusions such as attachment, anger, ignorance, etc., as well as their instincts. When used in a general sense, it can also include high bodhisattvas and Buddhas, for they, too, have destroyed these elements.

Arya Lit., “High One.” One who has a direct realization of emptiness.

Avalokiteshvara Tib., sPyan-ras-gzigs. The Bodhisattva of Compassion, of whom the Dalai Lamas are considered to be incarnations. In the tantric systems, Avalokiteshvara becomes the symbol of a yogic means for the accomplishment of enlightenment.

bardo The state between death and rebirth, of which there are three phases: the bardo of death, the bardo of reality, and the bardo of rebirth.

Beatific Body Skt., Sambhogakaya. The ethereal body of a Buddha, which is perceivable only by those with knowledge of emptiness.

bodhimind Lit., “the awakened mind.” This is of two main types: conventional and ultimate. The former is also of two types: that which aspires to highest enlightenment as a means of benefiting the world and that which engages in the practices leading to enlightenment. Ultimate bodhimind is the latter of these placed within an understanding of emptiness.

bodhisattva A Mahayana adept. Bodhisattvas are of two types: ordinary bodhisattvas, who have embarked on the path but have not yet gained direct perception of the meaning of emptiness; and Aryas, who in meditation can directly experience it.

Bodhisattvayana The path of a bodhisattva, the Mahayana.

Buddha Tib., Sangs-rgyas. Sangs means one who is purified of the obscurations to liberation and omniscience; rgyas indicates one who has expanded his or her mind to encompass all excellences and knowledges.

buddhahood The state of full enlightenment, wherein all negative aspects of mind and being are transcended, and compassion, wisdom, power, and spiritual qualities are fully attained.

completion stage See two stages of highest tantra.

dakini Tib., mKha’-’gro-ma, or “Sky-goer.” The class of tantric female deities embodying wisdom.

delusion Skt., Klesha. The three principal delusions are ignorance, aversion, and attachment. The destruction of these and their instincts bestows nirvana.

development stage Also, generation stage. See two stages of highest tantra.

Dharma The Doctrine of Buddha, which incorporates both scriptural and realization traditions. Also any object of knowledge.

Drepung The monastery in which the early Dalai Lamas were educated. Tibet’s largest monastery at the time of the Chinese invasion of the 1950s, it housed more than ten thousand monks.

Emanation Body Skt., Nirmanakaya. The coarsest of the four mystic bodies of a Buddha. This is the only Buddha-aspect perceivable by ordinary beings.

enlightenment Tib., Byang-chub. Byang refers to the total purification of the two obscurations; chub refers to the expansion of wisdom to the encompassment of the two levels of truth.

four classes of tantra Kriya, which uses many external rituals, such as washing, etc.; Charya, which balances outer methods with inner ones; Yoga, which emphasizes internal methods; and Anuttarayoga, or Mahanuttarayoga, which exclusively relies upon internal methods.

four initiations Vase, secret, wisdom, and word. The first introduces one to the five Buddha wisdoms, purifies the negativities of the body, gives permission to practice the development phase of tantra, and provides the seed of the Emanation Body of a Buddha. The second introduces one to the secrets of the tantric interpretation of sexuality, purifies the negativities of speech, gives permission to practice the illusory body yoga, and provides the seeds of the Beatific Body of a Buddha. The third introduces one to the tantric meaning of the “consort,” purifies the negativities of mind, gives permission to practice clear light yoga, and plants the seeds of the Truth Body of a Buddha. The fourth initiation introduces one to the combination of the two truths, simultaneously purifies the negativities of body, speech, and mind, gives one permission to practice the yoga of great unification, and plants the seeds of the Essence Body of a Buddha.

The three lower divisions of Tantra involve only the vase initiation. The three higher initiations are exclusive to Highest Tantra.

Four Noble Truths The truths that unenlightened existence is permeated by suffering, that the cause of that suffering is delusion operating through compulsive karmic patterns, that there is a spiritual state beyond suffering, and that there is a distinct path leading to that state of cessation of suffering.

four opponent forces Four practices used to counteract the karmic imprints of negative actions.

four seals All phenomena are impermanent; all contaminated things have the nature of suffering; all phenomena are selfless; and nirvana is peace.

Ganden Monastery The monastic community established by Tsongkhapa and which thereafter served as the head of the Geluk lineage. It has been totally destroyed by the Chinese invaders, but a small replica of it has been reestablished by the Tibetan refugees in Mungod, South India, to preserve the tradition.

garuda bird A mystic bird symbolizing the energy that destroys negativity within.

Geluk Lit., “The Wholesome Way.” The eclectic order of Buddhism founded by Tsongkhapa as a fusion of the older lineages.

Guhyasamaja Lit., “The Secret Assembly.” The main tantric system brought to Tibet by Marpa the Translator. Marpa’s lineage of Guhyasamaja now serves as the principal tantric practice within the Geluk, whereas it has been largely substituted within the Kagyu system by the Heruka Tantra.

Guru See lama.

hearing Tib., Thos-pa. This actually means the study of a text or subject, rather than the passive act of hearing. In Buddhism, however, a text is first read and explained to a student by someone who has similarly received it. This imparts the oral transmission of the text. Hence the word thos-pa, or “hearing” is used.

Hinayana Lit., the “Smaller Vehicle.” A term given to a particular category of practice in which refuge is taken only in the scriptures revealed during Buddha’s life, the aim is personal nirvana, and the path consists largely of the trainings of ethics, concentration, and wisdom.

Kadam The lineage of Tibetan Buddhism established by Atisha, who came to Tibet in 1042. The Kadam acted as a general foundation for all the new orders—Sakya, Kagyu, and Geluk—and provided the springboard for the philosophical sophistication of the Geluk.

Kagyu The order of Tibetan Buddhism rooted in Marpa the Translator, who spent twelve years studying in India during the mid-eleventh century under various gurus, most significant of whom were Naropa and Maitreya. Marpa passed his lineages to Milarepa, who in turn passed them on to Gampopa, a monk of the Kadam Order. This led to a fusion of these two traditions, as expressed in Gampopa’s Jewel Ornament of Liberation. After Gampopa’s death the Kagyu splintered into four and then twelve subsects. Of these, Tsongkhapa studied with the Drikung Kagyu for five years and from them received the Guhyasamaja Tantra, the Six Yogas of Naropa, the Five Treatises on Mahamudra, etc.

karma Lit., “action” or “deed.” Karma is most often used to denote the process of physio-psychic evolution, which is controlled by actions of body, speech, and mind. According to the laws of karma, no experience is causeless; rather, everything that occurs has its seed in a previous action, and every action sows its seed on the mind that will eventually ripen in accordance with its nature. In brief, an evil deed produces the seed of future suffering, and goodness produces the seed of happiness.

Technically, karma is of two main types: contaminated and non-contaminated. The latter refers to a deed done with awareness of emptiness; this produces no effect on the doer. Contaminated karmas are bad, good, or steady, resulting in lower rebirth, good rebirth, and rebirth in the realm of form, respectively.

lama Lit., “Possessing No Ceiling” or “Possessing No Equal.” This is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit term guru. In tantric practice, the guru’s body is seen as the Sangha, his or her speech as the Dharma, and his or her mind as the Buddha.

Lam Rim Lit., “Stages on the [spiritual] path.” A general name for the form of Buddhism brought to Tibet by Atisha in 1042. This tradition has been integrated into the Kagyu, Sakya, and Geluk orders of Tibetan Buddhism, though it is a speciality of the Geluk.

liberation Tib., Thar-pa. Refers to freedom from compulsive karmic patterns and the mental and para-mental obscurations.

Mahamudra Lit., “The Great Seal.” A general name for the approach of completion stage tantra to emptiness. However, it is used in another context by the Kagyu order, where it is applied more generally.

Mahayana Lit., “The Great Vehicle.” The vehicle in which refuge is taken in the scriptures revealed after Buddha’s death that were propagated by masters such as Nagarjuna and Asanga, as well as in the earlier scriptures accepted by the Hinayana. Also, unlike the Hinayana, whose basis is renunciation, the basis of the Mahayana is great compassion, and its aim, rather than personal nirvana, is fully omniscient buddhahood.

mandala Symbol of the innate harmony and perfection of being.

mantra A collection of mystic sounds that, if recited in connection with correct meditation, produces a magical or magico-spiritual effect. Each tantric system utilizes many mantras.

Mantrayana The vehicle of mantras; a synonym for the Vajrayana.

nirvana Generally refers to the Hinayana attainment of arhantship, or personal liberation from samsara, but can also include full buddhahood. In the former case, delusions and their instincts are destroyed, giving freedom from cyclic compulsions; in the latter, the innate tendency of the mind to grasp at inherent existence is destroyed as well, granting omniscience.

Nyingma The “old orders” of Tibetan Buddhism, i.e., the orders that adhere to the scriptural translations made prior to the eleventh century.

obscuration Skt., Avarana. This is of two types: obscurations to liberation from cyclic existence and obscurations to omniscience. A Mahayana practitioner destroys both; a Hinayana practitioner destroys only the former.

Prajnaparamitayana Lit., “The Perfection of Wisdom Vehicle.” The exoteric Mahayana.

pratyekabuddha The Hinayana practitioner who attains nirvana by following his personal path and living in solitude. He is contrasted to the sravaka arhant, who attains it largely by listening to teachings and living in groups.

red hat sects These are all sects of Tibetan Buddhism other than the Geluk, which is characterized by a yellow hat. The yellow hat had been used in early India, but, at the advice of a dakini, was changed to red. The significance of yellow is earth and the increase of the sublime, whereas red symbolizes fire and the destruction of enemies. The color was changed in India because the Buddhists were consistently being beaten in debate by the Hindus, which was weakening the movement. Tsongkhapa felt that the use of the red hat was obsolete, for debate in Tibet had become used not to defeat other philosophers but as a means of spiritual training and development. Therefore, he changed the hat back to yellow, the color of increase.

refuge See Three Jewels.

Sakya The order of Tibetan Buddhism founded in the mid-eleventh century under Drogmi the Translator and later propagated by the line of Sakya Panditas.

samadhi Meditative powers of mind. As a mental faculty, samadhi is the ability to concentrate one-pointedly. In meditation, samadhi becomes the ability to totally absorb the mind in an object of concentration.

samyaksambodhi Lit., “complete, pure, perfect enlightenment.”

Sangha Conventionally, the monastic community; however this is sometimes broadened to include the entire community of spiritual aspirants. Ultimately, the Sangha are those with direct experience of ultimate reality, or emptiness. These are the High Ones.

Sarma The “new sects” of Tibetan Buddhism—Sakya, Kagyu, Kadam, and Geluk—i.e., the sects that adhere to the scriptural translations made after the eleventh century.

shamata A degree of concentration characterized by mental and physical ecstasy. The nine stages leading to shamata are degrees of concentration.

six perfections The practices of generosity, ethical discipline, patience, perseverance, meditation, and wisdom, based upon the altruistic aspiration to attain buddhahood as a tool to benefit the world.

six realms The dimensions of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras, and gods.

spiritual friend Skt., Kalyanamitra. A synonym for the guru.

Sravaka Arhant The Hinayana practitioner who has attained nirvana mainly through listening to teachings.

sutra A text containing the exoteric teaching of Buddha. Sutras are of two kinds: Hinayana and Mahayana.

Sutrayana The Vehicle of the Sutras, i.e., the exoteric aspect of the Buddhist path. This includes both the Hinayana and the Prajnaparamitayana, or Bodhisattvayana.

tantra In one sense, the esoteric teachings of Buddha. Tantra literally means “stream” or “thread,” the “stream” or “thread” of innate wisdom embracing all experience.

Three Baskets The three categories of scripture—Vinayapitaka, Sutrapitaka, and Abhidharmapitaka.

three higher trainings Ethical discipline, concentration, and wisdom. These are the principal themes of the Three Baskets of Scriptures and are the very substance of the Hinayana path.

Three Jewels The three objects of spiritual support as viewed within a Buddhist framework. In the Tibetan tradition, the guru or lama is also mentioned, but rather than being a fourth object of refuge, he or she is the “three-in-one.” See Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Three scopes of spiritual application Application on the basis of the wishes to gain higher rebirth, personal liberation from samsara, and liberation possessed of omniscience as a means to benefit all other beings. Two levels of truth Conventional and ultimate. The latter is emptiness; all other levels belong to the former category.

Two stages of tantra In the three lower classes of tantra this term refers to the “yoga with symbols” and the “yoga without symbols.” In Highest Tantra it refers to the generation and completion phases. The former is largely concerned with the generation of the vision of the world as mandala, sounds as mantra, and thoughts as the innate wisdom of bliss and voidness. The latter stage mostly deals with completion of this process by the practice of channeling all the vital energies to the heart, producing the illusory body, realizing the two types of clear light, and attaining the state of great union.

Vajra Tib., rDor-je, or “best stone,” that is, the diamond or, more correctly, the diamond scepter of five points. Just as a diamond is indestructible, so are the body, speech, and mind of an Awakened One. The five points represent the transformation of the five ordinary aggregates—form, feeling, distinguishing awareness, volition, and primary consciousness—into the five wisdoms—mirror-like wisdom, and the wisdoms of equanimity, discrimination, accomplishing, and ultimate reality.

Vajradhara Lit., “The Holder of the Vajra.” The primordial Buddha, the primordial state of enlightenment. To attain to the state of Vajradhara is the goal of the Vajrayana.

Vajrayana “The Diamond Vehicle.” A synonym for the Tantrayana, the path of secret mantras, the tantric way.

vipashyana Meditation upon emptiness.

yellow hat sect A popular name for the Geluk, who reverted to the use of the yellow pandit’s hat of early Indian Buddhism in contradistinction to the red hat later in vogue in neo-classical India and thereafter used by all other sects of Tibetan Buddhism. See Red Hat Sects.

yoga Tib., rNal-’byor, or “true spiritual application.” This does not refer to physical exercises, as it so often seems to do in the Hindu system, but to spiritual practices. Etymologically, mal means “true” and ’byor means “path.”

yogi One who follows yoga, or a true spiritual path.