No More Learning

mahasiddha (drupchen) A practitioner of the vajrayana who has attained all the ordinary and extraordinary siddhis. See sid- dhi.
mahapandita An Indian title given to highly accomplished scholars.
mahayana See yana.
Maitripa (eleventh century) Also called Maitri. Indian mahas-
iddha from whom Marpa received the mahamudra transmis-
sion.
mandala (khyil khor) The term has several meanings: It refers:
(a) to the spiritual force-field of the buddhas; (b) to the utterly ? 127 ?
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beautiful universe full of previous objects that one visualizes mentally in order to offer it to the buddhas in the mandala offering; and (c) to the round disk on which this universe is constructed symbolically.
mantra (sang ngak) Words or syllables used in vajrayana medi- tations.
mantrayana Vajrayana. See yana.
Mara Difficulties and obstacles due to confusion, false views
about reality, and wrong behavior.
Marpa (1012-1097) The "Great Translator," considered an em- anation of Hevajra. Marpa traveled three times from Tibet to India in order to receive teachings from his main gurus Naropa and Maitripa. He was the first Tibetan lineage holder of the Kagyii school and Milarepa's guru.
merit (sonam) See two accumulations.
Milarepa (1040-1123) An important teacher of the Kagyii
school who attained complete enlightenment in one lifetime. He is also called the greatest of yogis. Milarepa was Gampopa's guru.
nadi See prana, nadi, hindu.
Naropa (1016-1100) Also called Naro. An Indian mahasiddha, disciple ofTilopa and Marpa's guru.
ngondro Preliminary practices for the path of mahamudra. A distinction is made between the four ordinary and the four special preliminaries. The ordinary preliminaries are the four reminders: precious human birth; impermanence; karma; and suffering of samsara. The special preliminaries are: refuge and bodhichitta, vajrasattva meditation; mandala offering; and gu- ruyoga.
nine techniques ofshamatha Experiences on the path of sha- matha meditation are presented in nine points in the commen- taries. They are: resting the mind, continuous resting, renewed resting, precise resting, disciplining, calming, calming com- pletely, one-pointedness, and evenly resting. The pith instruc-
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tions describe the development of mental calmness in five stages, which are illustrated through five images: a waterfall, a mountain torrent in a narrow gorge, a broad, slowly flowing river, a calm ocean, and a butter lamp in a room with no drafts.
nirmanakaya See kaya.
nirvana (nyangde) State of liberation from the circle of re-
births. Often used as a synonym for enlightenment.
obscurations Everything that prevents one from realizing bud- dhahood, the nature of one's mind.
paramita (parol-tu chinpa) The six paramitas or liberating ac- tions are the essence of the mahayana: generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and prajfia. According to some systems, there are four additional paramitas: skillful means, as- piration, strength, and wisdom.
path ofcauses and characteristics (gyu tsen nyi thekpa) Another name for the sutra path. In order to recognize emptiness, the characteristic, one practices the path, thus accumulating merit for enlightenment. See also yana.
path ofliberation See path of skillful means.
path ofinsight See five paths.
path of skillful means (thap lam) Although all yanas contain skillful means for attaining realization, the vajrayana is specifi- cally called the path of skillful means or upayayana because of its wealth of powerful techniques. Within the vajrayana a dis- tinction is made between meditations involving visualizations, which are the path of skillful means, and meditations without such visualizations, which are the path of liberation (drollam).
prajfia (sherap) The sixth paramita, transcendent knowledge. Only through prajfia do the first five paramitas become instru- ments of liberation. Prajfiaparamita is the realization that real- ity is beyond the duality of being versus nonbeing. Since it is this realization that leads to enlightenment, prajfiaparamita is often called the "mother of all the buddhas" and represented as a female buddha.
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prana, nadi, hindu (tsa, lung, thikle) On the vajrayana path of skillful means one meditates on the nadis or different pathways of energy in one's body, the energy winds or prana which cir- culate through them, and the hindus or essential components of the body. This type of meditation belongs to the special skill- ful means of the vajrayana.
Literally, the term hindu means "drop;" and describes the essence or pith of something. In shamatha meditation, the hin- dus are sometimes used as an "essential" support for concen- tration in the form of tiny visualized spheres. In the human body, hindu is the quintessence of maleness or femaleness through which life arises.
pratyekabuddha (rang sanggye) A state of liberation from sam- sara. Those who endeavor to achieve this state have the follow- ing characteristics: they fear samsara, strive for nirvana, have little compassion, are proud, keep their teacher secret, and long for solitude. Their path consists mainly in meditating on the twelve links of dependent origination. See also yana.
reality A distinction is made between relative and ultimate lev- els of reality. Relative reality is the world of one's experience, based on dependent origination. Ultimate reality is emptiness, the true unconditioned nature of things. These two aspects of reality or levels of truth are inseparable from each other.
realm ofdesire (do kham) See three realms of samsara.
realm ofform (zuk kham) See three realms of samsara.
refuge (kyap dro) Taking refuge involves the decision to inte-
grate the three gems into one's life. One takes refuge in the Buddha as an example of one who has attained the goal, in the dharma or teachings as the path, and in the sangha or com- munity of practitioners as helpers on the way. In addition, in the vajrayana one takes refuge in the three roots.
refuge tree A way of depicting the three gems and three roots, visualized during prostations. See ngondro.
Rinpoche (lit. , "precious one") A Tibetan title and form of ad- dress for a realized Buddhist teacher.
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Sakya Pandita (1181-1251) Title ofKiinga Gyaltsen, one ofthe most important teachers of the Sakya school.
samadhi (ting nge dzin) State of mental absorption.
sambhogakaya See kaya.
sampannakrama See utpattikrama and sampannakrama.
samsara (khorwa) A state of ignorance characterized by suffer- ing, in which one experiences a continuous round of rebirths.
sangha (gendiin) Community of Buddhist practitioners.
sevenfold service A type of prayer for accumulating merit, con- sisting of seven sections: prostrating, offering, confessing, re- joicing, requesting to teach, asking to remain, and dedicating the merit for the benefit of beings.
shamatha (shine) A form of meditation that involves dwelling in mental peace.
Shepa dorje "Laughing Vajra," name given to Milarepa by his teacher Marpa. See Milarepa.
shravaka (nyen tho) A state of liberation from samsara. Those who endeavor to achieve this state have the following charac- teristics: they are afraid of samsara, strive after nirvana, and have little compassion. Their path mainly involves meditating on the four noble truths and their sixteen subdivisions. See also yana.
siddha (drupthop) See mahasiddha.
siddhi (ngodrup) Special abilities developed through medita- tion. A distinction is made between general siddhis and the ultimate siddhi. General siddhis are extraordinary physical and mental abilities, whereas the ultimate siddhi is the realiza- tion of the nature of mind, that is, emptiness.
six consciousnesses The five sense consciousnesses and mind- consciousness.
six dharmas ofNaropa (Naro cho druk) Six intl~nsiw nwditu tion practices, sometimes called the six yo~as, dull huvc lwc? n handed down mainly through the Kagyii lincagt? : i1n1t"l lw? ? l
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(tummo), illusion body (gyulii), dreaming (milam), luminosity (osel), ejection of consciousness (phowa), and in-between state (bardo). The goal of these practices is to realize the nature of mind. Naropa received them from various teachers and passed them on to his student Marpa.
skandha (pungpo) The five skandhas are the aggregates of which an individual and his experiences are made up. These are form, feeling, perception/impulse, formation, and con- sciousness. As long as one is in a state ofconfusion, one believes that one ofthe skandhas or all ofthem are real. However, ifone looks into them, one cannot find an ego either in an individual skandha, in all five, or outside the skandhas.
sugatagarbha Buddha-nature, the potential for enlightenment inherent in every being.
sutra (do) Buddha's teachings can be divided broadly into the sutrayana and the tantrayana. The sutrayana comprises all the hinayana and mahayana teachings, and the tantrayana refers to the vajrayana. See also yana.
sutrayana See yana.
svabhavikakaya See kaya.
tathagata (deshin shekpa) "One who has gone to suchness"; a
name given to buddhas.
Takpo buddha See Kagyii Lineage.
tantrayana See yana.
ten bhumis See five paths.
ten directions The four cardinal directions, the four interme-
diate directions, plus zenith, and nadir. Can also mean "beyond
all directions. "
three gems (konchok sum) Buddha, dharma (teachings of the
Buddha), and sangha (community of practitioners). See also
refuge.
three realms ofsamsara (kham sum) The desire realm, the form
realm, and the formless realm. To the realm of desire belong the hell, hungry ghost, animal, human, jealous god, and
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"lower" god realms; in these realms, the senses are the most important element of one's existential experience. The other two realms correspond to the "higher" levels ofthe god realms. In the form realm, one still experiences the illusion of a subtle body, as opposed to the formless realm which is purely mental.
three roots (tsawa sum) Guru, yidam, and dharmapalas; an ex- panded form of refuge in the vajrayana. The guru is the source ofinspirationandenablesonetoexperiencethenatureofone's own mind. The yidams are the source of siddhis. Although these sambhogakaya forms-subtle manifestations of dhar- makaya- are only experienced by realized bodhisattvas, in the vajrayana they are visualized as objects of meditation. As med- itational deities, the yidams embody the practitioner's enlight- ened nature. The dharmapalas are also sambhogakaya forms. They are the source of actions and protect the practitioner from obstacles along the way to buddhahood. Both yidams and dharmapalas are in their essence inseparable from the guru.
three times (tii sum) Past, present, and future.
three-year retreat A traditional form of retreat which lasts three
years, three months, and three days.
Tilopa (988-1069) Also called Tilo. Indian mahasiddha and one of the forefathers of the Kagyii lineage. He was Naropa's guru.
transcendent knowledge See prajiia.
two accumulations The accumulation of merit (sonam-kyi tsok), that is, of positive impressions in the mind, and the ac- cumulation of wisdom (yeshe-kyi tsok), that is, insight into the nature of things.
Uddiyana (Orgyen) The pure land of the dakinis, the dwelling place ofTilopa.
utpattikrama and sampannakrama (kye rim, dzok rim) In the vajrayana path of skillful means, a distinction is made between two stages in meditation practice: the utpattikrama or devel- opment stage of stabilizing a particular visualization, and the
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? vajrayana (dorje thekpa) also yana.
Victorious One (Gyalwa) conquered all illusion.
vipashyana (lhakthong) nature of mind.
Another name for the tantrayana. See Name given to buddhas who have Clear awareness, clear insight into the
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sampannakrama or completion stage of dissolving the visuali- zation into emptiness.
vajra and ghanta Two of the most important ritual implements in the vajrayana.
The vajra (dorje) symbolizes indestructibility and compassion and is always held in the right hand. The bell or ghanta (drilbu) symbolizes supreme knowledge and is held in the left.
Vajradhara (Dorje chang) The enlightened state, or dharma- kaya, in sambhogakaya form. See kaya.
Vajrasattva (Dorje Sempa) Buddhahood in sambhogakaya form, expressing the purifying force of enlightenment. See kaya.
visualization Meditation technique used in the vajrayana which consists, for instance, in imagining a yidam.
vows Three types of vows are distinguished: outer, inner, and secret. Outer vows involve a form of discipline through which one avoids harming othes. They are called the vows of individ- ualliberation and consist of seven or eight subsets of vows, for monks, nuns, lay householders, and so on. The inner vow is the bodhisattva vow. Secret vows are tantric vows of the vajrayana.
wisdom (yeshe) See two accumulations.
yana (thekpa) Although the literal meaning is "vehicle," it is
applied to the Buddhist path. Three yanas are distinguished in Buddhism: the shravakayana, the pratyekabuddhayana, and the bodhisattvayana. The first two belong to the so-called hi- nayana (thek men) or "small vehicle. " Briefly stated, the main feature of these two yanas is that practitioners strive mainly for individual liberation.
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The third yana, or bodhisattvayana, is the so-called maha- yana (thek chen) or "large vehicle. " Briefly stated, the practi- tioner o f this yana strives to attain enlightenment through com- passion and wisdom for the benefit of all beings. Thus, his responsibility is far greater than in the hinayana. Mahayana can be subdivided into sutrayana and tantrayana, both of which lead toward the same goal. However, in the tantrayana, the practitioner has access to highly effective means for developing compassion and wisdom and transforming impurity to purity. Vajrayana and mantrayana are synonyms for tantrayana.
yidam See three roots.
yogin, yogini (naljorpa, naljorma) Male and female practition- ers of the vajrayana.
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