One usually begins the
Vajrayana
path by doing the four preliminary practices which involve about 100,000 refuge prayers and prostrations, 100,000 Vajrasattva mantras, 100,000 mandala offerings, and 100,000 guru yoga practices.
Khenchen-Thrangu-Rinpoche-The-Spiritual-Song-of-Lodro-Thaye
There are ten bodhisattva levels which begin with the
path ofseeing in the surra tradition. The tantric tradition has thineen levels. Blessings. (Tib. chin lap) Splendor wave, conveying the sense ofatmosphere descending or coming toward the practitioner. One's root guru and lineage are said to be the source of blessings. When the student can open themselves with uncontrived devotion, the grace of the lineage manifests as blessings, which dissolve into them and awaken them to a
sense of greater reality.
Bodhichitta. Literally, the mind of enlightenment. There are two kinds of
bodhichitta: absolute bodhichitta, which is completely awakened mind that sees the emptiness ofall phenomena, and relative bodhichitta which is the aspiration to practice the six paramitas and free all beings from the suffering ofsamsara. In regard to relative bodhichitta, there are also two kinds: aspiration bodhichitta and perseverance bodhichitta.
Bodhisattva. "Heroic mind. " Bodhi means blossomed or enlightened, and sattva means heroic mind. Literally, one who exhibits the mind of
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enlightenment. Also an individual who has committed him or herself to the Mahayana path ofcompassion and the practice ofthe six paramitas to achieve Buddhahood to free all beings from samsara. These are the heart or mind disciples of the Buddha.
Bodhisattva levels. (Skt. bhumz) The levels or stages a bodhisatrva goes through to reach enlightenment. These consist of ten levels in the surra tradition and thirteen in the tantra tradition. The ten are: 1. Overwhelming Joy, 2. Stainless, 3. Radiant, 4. Luminous, 5. Difficult to Practice, 6. Obviously Transcendent , 7. Far Gone, 8. Unshakeable, 9. Excellent Discriminating Wisdom, 10. Cloud of Dharma.
Buddha nature. (Tib. de shegs nying po) The essential nature of all sentient beings; the potential for enlightenment.
Chakrasamvara. A meditational deity which belongs to the Anuttarayoga tantra set of teachings. A main yidam or tantra of the New Schools.
Channels, winds and essences. Nadi, prana and bindu; the constituents of the vajra body. These channels are not anatomical structures, but more like meridians in acupuncture. There are thousands of channels, but the three main channels that carry the subtle energy are the right, left and central channel. The central channel runs roughly along the spinal column while the right and left are on the sides of the central channel.
According to the yogic teachings of the path of skillful means, realization is attained through synchronization ofbody and mind. This may be achieved through meditating on nadi (channels), prana {energy), and bindu (drops)- the psychic components in the illusory body. Prana is the energy, or "wind," moving through the nadis. As is said, "Mind consciousness rides the horse of prana on the pathways of the nadis. The bindu is mind's nourishment. "
Because of dualistic thinking, prana enters the left and right channels. This divergence ofenergy in the illusory body corresponds to the mental activiry that falsely distinguishes between subject and object and leads to karmically determined activiry. Through yogic practice, the pranas can be brought into the central channel and therefore transformed into wisdom-prana. Then the mind can recognize its fundamental nature, realizing all dharmas as unborn.
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143
This belongs to advanced practice and can only be learned through direct oral transmission from an accomplished guru. Once the meditator is well established in the experience ofthe fundamental nature ofmind, they can meditate on it directly, dissolving the nadi, prana, and hindu visualization. Meditation using the concept of psychic channels is regarded as being the completion stage with signs, and the formless practice which contemplates the nature of mind directly is the completion stage without signs.
Chittamatra school. A school founded by Asanga in the fourth century, usually translated as the Mind-only school. It is one of the four major schools in the Mahayana tradition (the others being the two Rangtong - Svatantrika and Prasangika - and Shentong) and its main tenet (to greatly simplify) is that all phenomena are mental events.
Clarity. (Tib. salwa) Also translated as luminosity. The nature of mind is that it is empty ofinherent existence, but the mind is not just voidness or completely empty because it has this clarity which is awareness or the knowing ofmind. So clarity is a characteristic ofemptiness (shunyata) of mind.
Co-emergent wisdom. (Skt. sahajajnana, Tib. /hen chik kye pay yeshe) The advanced realization of the inseparability of samsara and nirvana and how these arise simultaneously and together.
Cognitive obscurations. There are two types of obscuration that cover one's Buddha nature; the obscuration ofthe afflictive or disturbing emotions and the obscuration of dualistic perception, sometimes called the intellectual obscurations or cognitive obscurations. The cognitive obscuration is the subtle obscuration of holding on to the concepts of subject, object and action.
Completion stage. In the Vajrayana there are two stages of meditation: the creation/development stage and the completion stage. Completion stage with marks is the six doctrines. Completion stage without marks is the practice of essence Mahamudra, resting in the unfabricated nature of mind.
Conditioned (cyclic) existence. (Skt. samsara) Ordinary existence which
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contains suffering because one still possesses attachment, aggression,
and ignorance. It is contrasted to liberation or nirvana. Consciousnesses, sensory. These are the five sensory consciousnesses of sight,
hearing, smell, taste, touch, and body sensation.
Consciousnesses, eight. (Skt. vijfiana) These are the five sensory consciousnesses
ofsight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and body sensation. Sixth is mental consciousness, seventh is afflicted consciousness, and eighth is ground consciOusness.
Consciousnesses, six. The five sensory consciousnesses and the mental consciOusness.
Creation stage. (Skt. utpattikrama) In the Vajrayana there are two stages of meditation: the development and the completion stage. The creation stage is a method of tantric meditation that involves the visualization and contemplation of deities for the purpose of purifying habitual tendencies and realizing the purity of all phenomena. In this stage visualization of the deity is established and maintained.
Desire realm. Comprises the six realms ofgods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry spirits and hell-beings.
Dharmadhatu. Dharma is "the truth" and dhatu means, "space free from a centre. " The all-encompassing space, unoriginated and without beginning, out of which all phenomena arises. The Sanskrit means "the essence of phenomena'' and the Ttbetan means "the expanse of phenomena," but it usually refers to the emptiness that is the essence of phenomena. Dharmadhatu and dharmakaya are essentially the same; they are two indivisible aspects of the same thing. The dharmakaya emphasizes the wisdom aspect while dharmadhatu emphasizes the emptiness aspect.
Dharmakaya. (Tib. cho ku} One of the three bodies of Buddhahood. It is enlightenment itself, that is, wisdom beyond any point of reference. (see kayas, three. }
Dharmata. Dharmata is often translated as "suchness," "the true nature of things" or "things as they are. " It is phenomena as it really is or as seen by a completely enlightened being without any distortion or obscuration, so one can say it is "reality. " The nature of phenomena and mind.
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145
Dhatu. These are the six sensory objects of sight, sound, smell, taste and body sensation; the six sense faculties: the visual sensory faculty, the auditory sensory faculty, etc. , and the six sensory consciousnesses: the visual consciousness, the auditory consciousness, etc. They make up the eighteen constituents o f perception.
Doha. A spiritual song spontaneously composed by a Vajrayana practitioner. It usually has nine syllables per line.
Dzogchen. (Skt. mahasandht) Literally "the great perfection. " The teachings beyond the vehicles of causation, first taught in the human world by the great Vidyadhara Garab Dorje.
Eight Kagyu Lineages. Phagmo Drupa, one of the four greater lineage founders, had eight main disciples who founded eight additional lineages: 1. The Drikhung Kagyu was founded by Drikhung Kyopa Jigten Sumgyi Gonpo. 2. The Drukpa Kagyu was founded by Drupchen Lingrepa Perna Dorje and his disciple Choje Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje. 3. The Taklung Kagyu was founded by Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal. 4. The Yasang Kagyu was founded by Zarawa Kalden Yeshe Senge and his disciple Yasang Choje Chokyi Monlam. 5. The Trophu Kagyu was founded by Rinpoche Gyatsa, and his disciple Trophu Lotsawa Champa Pal. 6. The Shuksep Kagyu was founded by Gyergom Tsultrim Senge. 7. Yelpa Kagyu was founded by Yelpa Drupthop Yeshe Tsekpa. 8. Martsang Kagyu was founded by Martsang Sherab Senge
Eight mental constructs or complexities are mental formulations that phenomena have such attributes as arising and ceasing, being singular or plural, coming and going, and being the same or being different.
Eight worldly concerns. (Tib. jik ten chogysh) These keep one from the path; they are attachment to gain, attachment to pleasure, attachment to praise, attachment to fame, aversion to loss, aversion to pain, aversion to blame and aversion to a bad reputation.
Emptiness. (Tib. tongpa nyi Skt. shunyata) A central theme in Buddhism. It should not lead one to views of nihilism or the like, but is a term indicating the lack ofany truly existing independent nature ofany and all phenomena. Positively stated, phenomena do exist, but as mere
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appearances, interdependent manifestations ofmind with no limitation. It is not that it is just your mind, as mind is also free ofany true existence. This frees one from a solipsist view. This is interpreted differently by the individual schools.
Empowerment. (Skt. abhisheka) The conferring of power or authorization to practice the Vajrayana teachings, the indispensable entrance door to tantric practice. To do a Vajrayana practice one must receive the empowerment from a qualified lama. One should also receive the practice instruction (Tib. trt) and the textual reading (Tib. lung).
Eternalism. The belief that there is a permanent and causeless creator of everything; in particular, that one's identity or consciousness has a concrete essence which is independent, everlasting and singular.
Experience and realization. (Tib. myamtog) An expression used for insight and progress on the path. "Experience" refers to temporary meditation experiences and "realization" to unchanging understanding ofthe nature of things.
Fivepaths. According to the sutras there are five paths: the path ofaccumulation, the path ofapplication, the path ofseeing/insight (attainment ofthe first bodhisattva level), the path ofmeditation and the path ofno more learning (Buddhahood). The five paths cover the entire process from beginning dharma practice to complete enlightenment.
Five wisdoms. The dharmadhatu wisdom, mirror-like wisdom, wisdom of equality, discriminating wisdom and all-accomplishing wisdom. They should not be understood as separate but rather as different functions ofone's enlightened essence.
Form realm. God realms of subtle form.
Formless realm. The abode ofan unenlightened being who has practiced the
four absorptions: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothing
whatsoever, and neither presence nor absence (of conception).
Four common foundations. These are the four thoughts that turn the mind toward dharma. They are reflection on precious human birth, impermanence and the inevitability of death, karma and its effects,
and the pervasiveness of suffering in samsara.
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Four empowerments. The empowerments ofvase, secret, wisdom-knowledge and precious word.
Four extremes. (Tib. tha shz) Existence, non-existence, both and neither. Four joys. (Tib. dga' ba bzhz) These are joy, supreme joy, transcendent joy,
and co-emergent joy.
Four Kagyu Lineages. From Gampopa's disciple Phagmo Drupa, the Phagmo
Kagyu; from Baram Dharma Wangchuk, the Baram Kagyu; from Dusum Khyenpa, (the first Gyalwang Karmapa), the Kamtsang Kagyu, and; Ghampo Tsultrim Nyingpo's disciple Tsondru Trakpa, the Tshalpa Kagyu. These four are known as the four greater or senior schools.
Four uncommon foundations. (Tib. Ngondro and pronounced "nundro") Tibetan for preliminary practice.
One usually begins the Vajrayana path by doing the four preliminary practices which involve about 100,000 refuge prayers and prostrations, 100,000 Vajrasattva mantras, 100,000 mandala offerings, and 100,000 guru yoga practices.
Four Yogas o f Mahamudra. Four stages in Mahamudra practice: one- pointedness, simplicity, one taste and non-meditation.
Gampopa. (1079-1153 C. E. ) One ofthe main lineage holders ofthe Kagyu lineage in Tibet. A student of Milarepa, he established the first Kagyu monastic monastery and is known also for writing the jewel Ornament o f Liberation.
Garuda. A mythical bird that hatches fully grown.
Guru. (Tib. lama) A teacher in the Tibetan tradition who has reached
realization.
Guru yoga. A practice of devotion to the guru culminating in receiving his
blessing and blending indivisibly with his mind. Also refers to the fourth
practice o f the preliminary practices o f Ngondro.
Habitualpatterns. (Skt. vasana. Tib. bakchak) Patterns ofconditional response
that exist as traces or tendencies stored in the alaya-vijnana, the eighth consciousness sometimes called the store-house or all-base consciousness. So called because it is a repository ofall karmically conditioned patterns. All dualistic or ego-oriented experiences leave a residue, which is stored in rhe alaya-vijnana until a later time when some conscious occurrence
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activates the habitual pattern. The pattern then generates a response in the form of a perception or an action. This response leaves its own karmic residue, stored again in the unconscious repository, and the cycle continues. The explanation of this system is a central teaching of the Chittamatrin tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.
Hevajra. This is the "mother tantra" of the Anuttarayoga tamra, which is the highest of the four yogas. Hevajra is said to be an exclamation of joy. Hevajra transforms sense pleasures into joy through the realization ofthe identity ofform and emptiness. Hevajra is depicted in two, four, six, twelve, and sixteen-armed forms, dancing in union with his consort, usually Nairatmya.
jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye. A great non-sectarian master o f the nineteenth century and author of more than one hundred volumes of books.
jnana. (Tib. yeshe) Enlightened wisdom that is beyond dualistic thought. Kagyu. (Tib. ) Ka means oral and gyu means lineage; the lineage of oral transmission. One of the four major schools of Buddhism in Tibet. It was founded in Tibet by Marpa and is headed by His Holiness Karmapa. The other three are the Nyingma, the Sakya and the Gelugpa schools. Karma Kagyu. (Tib. ) One of the eight schools of the Kagyu lineage ofTibetan
Buddhism which is headed by His Holiness Karmapa.
Karmapa. The name means Buddha activities. The Karmapas are the head of the Kagyu school of Buddhism and were the first to implement the tradition of incarnate lamas. Karmapas are thought to be an emanation
of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
Karmic latencies or imprints. (Skt. vasana, Tib. bakchag) Every action that a
person does has an imprint which is stored in the eighth consciousness. These latencies express themselves later by leaving the eighth consciousness and entering the sixth consciousness upon being stimulated by external experience.
Kayas, three. There are three bodies of the Buddha: the nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya and dharmakaya. The dharmakaya, also called the "truth body," is the complete enlightenment or the complete wisdom of the Buddha that is unoriginated wisdom beyond form and manifests in the
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sambhogakaya and the nirmanakaya. The sambhogakaya, also called the "enjoyment body," manifests only to bodhisattvas. The nirmanakaya, also called the "emanation body," manifests in the world and in this context manifests as the Shakyamuni Buddha. The fourth kaya is the svabhavikakaya, which is the "essence body," the unity ofthe other three.
King Indrabhuti. An Indian king during the time o f the Buddha who become an accomplished master. He symbolizes the person ofthe highest caliber who can use sense pleasures as the path of practice.
Klesha. (Tib. nyon mong) Also called the "disturbing emotions," these are the emotional afflictions or obscurations (in contrast to intellectual obscurations) that disturb the clarity of perception. These are also translated as "poisons. " They include any emotion that disturbs or distorts consciousness. The three main kleshas are desire, anger and ignorance. The five kleshas are the three above plus pride and envy/jealousy.
Lama. (Skt. guru) La means nobody above himself or herself in spiritual experience and ma means expressing compassion like a mother. Thus the union ofwisdom and compassion, feminine and masculine qualities. Lama is also a title given to a practitioner who has completed some extended training.
Lineagegurus. The lineage gurus are the gurus of the line of transmission of what we study and practice. These transmissions date from the teachings of the Buddha himself. All of the line of gurus in that transmission from the Buddha, who first gave the teachings, up until the present time constitute what we call the lineage gurus.
Lotsawa. Sanskrit for "translator. "
Lower realm. The three lower realms are birth as a hell being, hungry ghost
and animal.
Luminosity. (Tib. selwa) In the third turning of the wheel of dharma, the
Buddha taught that everything is void, but this voidness is not completely empty because it has luminosity. Luminosity or clarity allows all phenomena to appear and is a characteristic of and inseparable from emptiness (Skt. shunyata).
Luminosity. (Tib. osel) Literally "free from the darkness of unknowing and
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endowed with the ability to cognize. " The two aspects are "empty luminosity," like a clear open sky; and "manifest luminosity," such as colored light images, and so forth. Luminosity is the uncompounded nature present throughout all of samsara and nirvana.
Madhyamaka. The most influential of the four schools of Indian Buddhism founded by Nagarjuna in the second century C. E. The name comes from the Sanskrit word meaning "the Middle-way" meaning that it is the middle way between eternalism and nihilism. The main postulate of this school is that all phenomena - both internal mental events and external physical objects - are empty of any true nature. The school uses extensive rational reasoning to establish the emptiness of phenomena. This school does, however, hold that phenomena do exist on the conventional or relative level of reality.
Mahamudra. (Tib. cha ja chm po) Literally means "great seal" or "great symbol," meaning that all phenomena are sealed by the primordially perfect true nature. This form of meditation is traced back to Saraha (tenth century) and was passed down in the Kagyu school through Marpa. This meditative transmission emphasizes perceiving mind directly rather than through rational analysis. It also refers to the experience ofthe practitioner where one attains the union ofemptiness and luminosity and also perceives the non-duality of the phenomenal world and emptiness; also the name of Kagyupa lineage.
Mahapandita. Maha means great and pandita Buddhist scholar. Mahasiddha. A practitioner who has a great deal o f realization. Maha means great and siddha refers to an accomplished practitioner. These were particularly Vajrayana practitioners who lived in India between the eight and twelfth century and practiced tantra. The biography ofsome ofthe
most famous is found in The Eighty-four Mahasiddhas.
Mahayana. (Tib. tek pa chen po) Literally, the "Great Vehicle. " These are the teachings ofthe second turning ofthe wheel ofdharma, which emphasize shunyata (see shunyata), compassion and universal Buddha nature. The purpose ofenlightenment is to liberate all sentient beings from suffering as well as oneself. Mahayana schools of philosophy appeared several
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hundred years after the Buddha's death, although the tradition is traced
to teachings he gave at Rajgriha, or Vulture Peak Mountain. Maitripa-was a guru ofMarpa, the Tibetan forefather of the Kagyu lineage. Thus it is through Maitripa that Maitreya and Asanga's crucial work on Buddha nature, the Uttaratantrashastra (Anuttara), became widely followed in Tibet. It is said that he had been a student ofNaropa when the latter was head of Nalanda monastic university. Maitripa also transmitted to Marpa the esoteric aspect of Buddha nature embodied in the Mahamudra teachings, which treat the topic of mind in great detail and provide a wide range of progressive, highly refined meditations. Maitripa was brought to enlightenment through Mahamudra under his guru Savari, who received the complete teachings ofMahamudra from Nagarjuna, who received them from Sahara, whom
Marpa encountered in his dream state.
Mantra. (Tib. ngags) 1) A synonym for Vajrayana. 2) A particular combination
of sounds symbolizing the nature of a deity, for example OM MANI PEME HUNG. These are invocations to various meditation deities which are recited in Sanskrit. These Sanskrit syllables, representing various energies, are repeated in different Vajrayana practices.
Mara. Difficulties encountered by the practitioner. The Tibetan word means heavy or thick. In Buddhism mara symbolizes the passions that overwhelm human beings as well as everything that hinders the arising ofwholesome roots and progress on the path to enlightenment. There are four kinds: skandha-mara, which is incorrect view of self; klesha- mara, which is being overpowered by negative emotions; matyu-mara, which is death and interrupts spiritual practice; and devaputra-mara, which is becoming stuck in the bliss that comes from meditation.
Marpa. (1012-1097 C. E. ) Marpa was known for being aTibetan who made three trips to India and brought back many tantric texts, including the Six Yogas of Naropa, the Guyhasamaja, and the Chakrasamvara practices. His root teacher was Tilopa, the founder of the Kagyu lineage and the teacher of Naropa. Marpa initiated and founded the Kagyu lineage in Tibet.
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Mental consciousness. The sixth consciousness is the faculty of thinking which produces thoughts based upon the experiences of the five sense- consciousnesses or its own previous content. (see eight consciousnesses).
Mentalfactors. Mental factors are contrasted to mind in that they are more long-term propensities of mind including eleven virtuous factors such as faith, detachment and equanimity; the six root defilements such as desire, anger and pride; the rwenty secondary defilements such as resentment, dishonesty and harmfulness.
Middle-way or Madhyamaka school. A philosophical school founded by Nagarjuna and based on the Prajnaparamita sutras ofemptiness. Milarepa. (1040-1123 C. E. ) Milarepa was a student ofMarpa who attained
enlightenment in one lifetime. Mila, named by the deities and repa means white cotton. His student Gampopa established the (Dakpo) Kagyu lineage in Tibet.
Mind-only school. Also called Chittamatra school. This is one of the major schools in the Mahayana tradition founded in the fourth century by Asanga that emphasized everything is mental events.
Mudra. In this book it is a "hand seal" or gesture that is performed in specific tantric rituals to symbolize certain aspects of the practice being done. Also can mean spiritual consort, or the "bodily form" of a deity.
Nadi. The channels in the vajra body through which the winds flow. Nagarjuna. An Indian master of philosophy. Founder of the Madhyamaka school and author of the Knowledge ofthe Middle "Way and other
important works. (second - third century)
Naropa. (956-1 040 C. E. ) An Indian master best known for transmitting
many Vajrayana teachings to Marpa who took these back to Tibet before
the Moslem invasion of India.
Nihilism. (Tib. chad Ita) Literally, "the view ofdiscontinuance. " The extreme
view ofnothingness: no rebirth or karmic effects, and the non-existence
of a mind after death.
Nirmanakaya. (Tib. tulku) There are three bodies of the Buddha; the
nirmanakaya or "emanation body" manifests in the world and in this context manifests as the Shakyamuni Buddha. (see kayas, three. )
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Nirvana. Literally, "extinguished. " Individuals live in samsara and with spiritual practice can attain a state ofliberation in which all false ideas and conflicting emotions have been extinguished. This is called nirvana. The nirvana ofa Hinayana practitioner is freedom from cyclic existence as an arhat. The nirvana of a Mahayana practitioner is Buddhahood, free from extremes ofdwelling in either samsara or the perfect peace of an arhat.
Sometimes it is categorized as three types: nirvana of naturalness, which is ground nirvana; nirvana ofcessation, which is path nirvana; and non-abiding nirvana, which is the reward or fruition nirvana.
Non-distraction. (Tib. yeng me) Not straying from the continuity of the practice.
Non-fabrication. (Tib.
path ofseeing in the surra tradition. The tantric tradition has thineen levels. Blessings. (Tib. chin lap) Splendor wave, conveying the sense ofatmosphere descending or coming toward the practitioner. One's root guru and lineage are said to be the source of blessings. When the student can open themselves with uncontrived devotion, the grace of the lineage manifests as blessings, which dissolve into them and awaken them to a
sense of greater reality.
Bodhichitta. Literally, the mind of enlightenment. There are two kinds of
bodhichitta: absolute bodhichitta, which is completely awakened mind that sees the emptiness ofall phenomena, and relative bodhichitta which is the aspiration to practice the six paramitas and free all beings from the suffering ofsamsara. In regard to relative bodhichitta, there are also two kinds: aspiration bodhichitta and perseverance bodhichitta.
Bodhisattva. "Heroic mind. " Bodhi means blossomed or enlightened, and sattva means heroic mind. Literally, one who exhibits the mind of
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enlightenment. Also an individual who has committed him or herself to the Mahayana path ofcompassion and the practice ofthe six paramitas to achieve Buddhahood to free all beings from samsara. These are the heart or mind disciples of the Buddha.
Bodhisattva levels. (Skt. bhumz) The levels or stages a bodhisatrva goes through to reach enlightenment. These consist of ten levels in the surra tradition and thirteen in the tantra tradition. The ten are: 1. Overwhelming Joy, 2. Stainless, 3. Radiant, 4. Luminous, 5. Difficult to Practice, 6. Obviously Transcendent , 7. Far Gone, 8. Unshakeable, 9. Excellent Discriminating Wisdom, 10. Cloud of Dharma.
Buddha nature. (Tib. de shegs nying po) The essential nature of all sentient beings; the potential for enlightenment.
Chakrasamvara. A meditational deity which belongs to the Anuttarayoga tantra set of teachings. A main yidam or tantra of the New Schools.
Channels, winds and essences. Nadi, prana and bindu; the constituents of the vajra body. These channels are not anatomical structures, but more like meridians in acupuncture. There are thousands of channels, but the three main channels that carry the subtle energy are the right, left and central channel. The central channel runs roughly along the spinal column while the right and left are on the sides of the central channel.
According to the yogic teachings of the path of skillful means, realization is attained through synchronization ofbody and mind. This may be achieved through meditating on nadi (channels), prana {energy), and bindu (drops)- the psychic components in the illusory body. Prana is the energy, or "wind," moving through the nadis. As is said, "Mind consciousness rides the horse of prana on the pathways of the nadis. The bindu is mind's nourishment. "
Because of dualistic thinking, prana enters the left and right channels. This divergence ofenergy in the illusory body corresponds to the mental activiry that falsely distinguishes between subject and object and leads to karmically determined activiry. Through yogic practice, the pranas can be brought into the central channel and therefore transformed into wisdom-prana. Then the mind can recognize its fundamental nature, realizing all dharmas as unborn.
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This belongs to advanced practice and can only be learned through direct oral transmission from an accomplished guru. Once the meditator is well established in the experience ofthe fundamental nature ofmind, they can meditate on it directly, dissolving the nadi, prana, and hindu visualization. Meditation using the concept of psychic channels is regarded as being the completion stage with signs, and the formless practice which contemplates the nature of mind directly is the completion stage without signs.
Chittamatra school. A school founded by Asanga in the fourth century, usually translated as the Mind-only school. It is one of the four major schools in the Mahayana tradition (the others being the two Rangtong - Svatantrika and Prasangika - and Shentong) and its main tenet (to greatly simplify) is that all phenomena are mental events.
Clarity. (Tib. salwa) Also translated as luminosity. The nature of mind is that it is empty ofinherent existence, but the mind is not just voidness or completely empty because it has this clarity which is awareness or the knowing ofmind. So clarity is a characteristic ofemptiness (shunyata) of mind.
Co-emergent wisdom. (Skt. sahajajnana, Tib. /hen chik kye pay yeshe) The advanced realization of the inseparability of samsara and nirvana and how these arise simultaneously and together.
Cognitive obscurations. There are two types of obscuration that cover one's Buddha nature; the obscuration ofthe afflictive or disturbing emotions and the obscuration of dualistic perception, sometimes called the intellectual obscurations or cognitive obscurations. The cognitive obscuration is the subtle obscuration of holding on to the concepts of subject, object and action.
Completion stage. In the Vajrayana there are two stages of meditation: the creation/development stage and the completion stage. Completion stage with marks is the six doctrines. Completion stage without marks is the practice of essence Mahamudra, resting in the unfabricated nature of mind.
Conditioned (cyclic) existence. (Skt. samsara) Ordinary existence which
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contains suffering because one still possesses attachment, aggression,
and ignorance. It is contrasted to liberation or nirvana. Consciousnesses, sensory. These are the five sensory consciousnesses of sight,
hearing, smell, taste, touch, and body sensation.
Consciousnesses, eight. (Skt. vijfiana) These are the five sensory consciousnesses
ofsight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and body sensation. Sixth is mental consciousness, seventh is afflicted consciousness, and eighth is ground consciOusness.
Consciousnesses, six. The five sensory consciousnesses and the mental consciOusness.
Creation stage. (Skt. utpattikrama) In the Vajrayana there are two stages of meditation: the development and the completion stage. The creation stage is a method of tantric meditation that involves the visualization and contemplation of deities for the purpose of purifying habitual tendencies and realizing the purity of all phenomena. In this stage visualization of the deity is established and maintained.
Desire realm. Comprises the six realms ofgods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry spirits and hell-beings.
Dharmadhatu. Dharma is "the truth" and dhatu means, "space free from a centre. " The all-encompassing space, unoriginated and without beginning, out of which all phenomena arises. The Sanskrit means "the essence of phenomena'' and the Ttbetan means "the expanse of phenomena," but it usually refers to the emptiness that is the essence of phenomena. Dharmadhatu and dharmakaya are essentially the same; they are two indivisible aspects of the same thing. The dharmakaya emphasizes the wisdom aspect while dharmadhatu emphasizes the emptiness aspect.
Dharmakaya. (Tib. cho ku} One of the three bodies of Buddhahood. It is enlightenment itself, that is, wisdom beyond any point of reference. (see kayas, three. }
Dharmata. Dharmata is often translated as "suchness," "the true nature of things" or "things as they are. " It is phenomena as it really is or as seen by a completely enlightened being without any distortion or obscuration, so one can say it is "reality. " The nature of phenomena and mind.
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Dhatu. These are the six sensory objects of sight, sound, smell, taste and body sensation; the six sense faculties: the visual sensory faculty, the auditory sensory faculty, etc. , and the six sensory consciousnesses: the visual consciousness, the auditory consciousness, etc. They make up the eighteen constituents o f perception.
Doha. A spiritual song spontaneously composed by a Vajrayana practitioner. It usually has nine syllables per line.
Dzogchen. (Skt. mahasandht) Literally "the great perfection. " The teachings beyond the vehicles of causation, first taught in the human world by the great Vidyadhara Garab Dorje.
Eight Kagyu Lineages. Phagmo Drupa, one of the four greater lineage founders, had eight main disciples who founded eight additional lineages: 1. The Drikhung Kagyu was founded by Drikhung Kyopa Jigten Sumgyi Gonpo. 2. The Drukpa Kagyu was founded by Drupchen Lingrepa Perna Dorje and his disciple Choje Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje. 3. The Taklung Kagyu was founded by Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal. 4. The Yasang Kagyu was founded by Zarawa Kalden Yeshe Senge and his disciple Yasang Choje Chokyi Monlam. 5. The Trophu Kagyu was founded by Rinpoche Gyatsa, and his disciple Trophu Lotsawa Champa Pal. 6. The Shuksep Kagyu was founded by Gyergom Tsultrim Senge. 7. Yelpa Kagyu was founded by Yelpa Drupthop Yeshe Tsekpa. 8. Martsang Kagyu was founded by Martsang Sherab Senge
Eight mental constructs or complexities are mental formulations that phenomena have such attributes as arising and ceasing, being singular or plural, coming and going, and being the same or being different.
Eight worldly concerns. (Tib. jik ten chogysh) These keep one from the path; they are attachment to gain, attachment to pleasure, attachment to praise, attachment to fame, aversion to loss, aversion to pain, aversion to blame and aversion to a bad reputation.
Emptiness. (Tib. tongpa nyi Skt. shunyata) A central theme in Buddhism. It should not lead one to views of nihilism or the like, but is a term indicating the lack ofany truly existing independent nature ofany and all phenomena. Positively stated, phenomena do exist, but as mere
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appearances, interdependent manifestations ofmind with no limitation. It is not that it is just your mind, as mind is also free ofany true existence. This frees one from a solipsist view. This is interpreted differently by the individual schools.
Empowerment. (Skt. abhisheka) The conferring of power or authorization to practice the Vajrayana teachings, the indispensable entrance door to tantric practice. To do a Vajrayana practice one must receive the empowerment from a qualified lama. One should also receive the practice instruction (Tib. trt) and the textual reading (Tib. lung).
Eternalism. The belief that there is a permanent and causeless creator of everything; in particular, that one's identity or consciousness has a concrete essence which is independent, everlasting and singular.
Experience and realization. (Tib. myamtog) An expression used for insight and progress on the path. "Experience" refers to temporary meditation experiences and "realization" to unchanging understanding ofthe nature of things.
Fivepaths. According to the sutras there are five paths: the path ofaccumulation, the path ofapplication, the path ofseeing/insight (attainment ofthe first bodhisattva level), the path ofmeditation and the path ofno more learning (Buddhahood). The five paths cover the entire process from beginning dharma practice to complete enlightenment.
Five wisdoms. The dharmadhatu wisdom, mirror-like wisdom, wisdom of equality, discriminating wisdom and all-accomplishing wisdom. They should not be understood as separate but rather as different functions ofone's enlightened essence.
Form realm. God realms of subtle form.
Formless realm. The abode ofan unenlightened being who has practiced the
four absorptions: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothing
whatsoever, and neither presence nor absence (of conception).
Four common foundations. These are the four thoughts that turn the mind toward dharma. They are reflection on precious human birth, impermanence and the inevitability of death, karma and its effects,
and the pervasiveness of suffering in samsara.
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Four empowerments. The empowerments ofvase, secret, wisdom-knowledge and precious word.
Four extremes. (Tib. tha shz) Existence, non-existence, both and neither. Four joys. (Tib. dga' ba bzhz) These are joy, supreme joy, transcendent joy,
and co-emergent joy.
Four Kagyu Lineages. From Gampopa's disciple Phagmo Drupa, the Phagmo
Kagyu; from Baram Dharma Wangchuk, the Baram Kagyu; from Dusum Khyenpa, (the first Gyalwang Karmapa), the Kamtsang Kagyu, and; Ghampo Tsultrim Nyingpo's disciple Tsondru Trakpa, the Tshalpa Kagyu. These four are known as the four greater or senior schools.
Four uncommon foundations. (Tib. Ngondro and pronounced "nundro") Tibetan for preliminary practice.
One usually begins the Vajrayana path by doing the four preliminary practices which involve about 100,000 refuge prayers and prostrations, 100,000 Vajrasattva mantras, 100,000 mandala offerings, and 100,000 guru yoga practices.
Four Yogas o f Mahamudra. Four stages in Mahamudra practice: one- pointedness, simplicity, one taste and non-meditation.
Gampopa. (1079-1153 C. E. ) One ofthe main lineage holders ofthe Kagyu lineage in Tibet. A student of Milarepa, he established the first Kagyu monastic monastery and is known also for writing the jewel Ornament o f Liberation.
Garuda. A mythical bird that hatches fully grown.
Guru. (Tib. lama) A teacher in the Tibetan tradition who has reached
realization.
Guru yoga. A practice of devotion to the guru culminating in receiving his
blessing and blending indivisibly with his mind. Also refers to the fourth
practice o f the preliminary practices o f Ngondro.
Habitualpatterns. (Skt. vasana. Tib. bakchak) Patterns ofconditional response
that exist as traces or tendencies stored in the alaya-vijnana, the eighth consciousness sometimes called the store-house or all-base consciousness. So called because it is a repository ofall karmically conditioned patterns. All dualistic or ego-oriented experiences leave a residue, which is stored in rhe alaya-vijnana until a later time when some conscious occurrence
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activates the habitual pattern. The pattern then generates a response in the form of a perception or an action. This response leaves its own karmic residue, stored again in the unconscious repository, and the cycle continues. The explanation of this system is a central teaching of the Chittamatrin tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.
Hevajra. This is the "mother tantra" of the Anuttarayoga tamra, which is the highest of the four yogas. Hevajra is said to be an exclamation of joy. Hevajra transforms sense pleasures into joy through the realization ofthe identity ofform and emptiness. Hevajra is depicted in two, four, six, twelve, and sixteen-armed forms, dancing in union with his consort, usually Nairatmya.
jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye. A great non-sectarian master o f the nineteenth century and author of more than one hundred volumes of books.
jnana. (Tib. yeshe) Enlightened wisdom that is beyond dualistic thought. Kagyu. (Tib. ) Ka means oral and gyu means lineage; the lineage of oral transmission. One of the four major schools of Buddhism in Tibet. It was founded in Tibet by Marpa and is headed by His Holiness Karmapa. The other three are the Nyingma, the Sakya and the Gelugpa schools. Karma Kagyu. (Tib. ) One of the eight schools of the Kagyu lineage ofTibetan
Buddhism which is headed by His Holiness Karmapa.
Karmapa. The name means Buddha activities. The Karmapas are the head of the Kagyu school of Buddhism and were the first to implement the tradition of incarnate lamas. Karmapas are thought to be an emanation
of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
Karmic latencies or imprints. (Skt. vasana, Tib. bakchag) Every action that a
person does has an imprint which is stored in the eighth consciousness. These latencies express themselves later by leaving the eighth consciousness and entering the sixth consciousness upon being stimulated by external experience.
Kayas, three. There are three bodies of the Buddha: the nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya and dharmakaya. The dharmakaya, also called the "truth body," is the complete enlightenment or the complete wisdom of the Buddha that is unoriginated wisdom beyond form and manifests in the
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sambhogakaya and the nirmanakaya. The sambhogakaya, also called the "enjoyment body," manifests only to bodhisattvas. The nirmanakaya, also called the "emanation body," manifests in the world and in this context manifests as the Shakyamuni Buddha. The fourth kaya is the svabhavikakaya, which is the "essence body," the unity ofthe other three.
King Indrabhuti. An Indian king during the time o f the Buddha who become an accomplished master. He symbolizes the person ofthe highest caliber who can use sense pleasures as the path of practice.
Klesha. (Tib. nyon mong) Also called the "disturbing emotions," these are the emotional afflictions or obscurations (in contrast to intellectual obscurations) that disturb the clarity of perception. These are also translated as "poisons. " They include any emotion that disturbs or distorts consciousness. The three main kleshas are desire, anger and ignorance. The five kleshas are the three above plus pride and envy/jealousy.
Lama. (Skt. guru) La means nobody above himself or herself in spiritual experience and ma means expressing compassion like a mother. Thus the union ofwisdom and compassion, feminine and masculine qualities. Lama is also a title given to a practitioner who has completed some extended training.
Lineagegurus. The lineage gurus are the gurus of the line of transmission of what we study and practice. These transmissions date from the teachings of the Buddha himself. All of the line of gurus in that transmission from the Buddha, who first gave the teachings, up until the present time constitute what we call the lineage gurus.
Lotsawa. Sanskrit for "translator. "
Lower realm. The three lower realms are birth as a hell being, hungry ghost
and animal.
Luminosity. (Tib. selwa) In the third turning of the wheel of dharma, the
Buddha taught that everything is void, but this voidness is not completely empty because it has luminosity. Luminosity or clarity allows all phenomena to appear and is a characteristic of and inseparable from emptiness (Skt. shunyata).
Luminosity. (Tib. osel) Literally "free from the darkness of unknowing and
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endowed with the ability to cognize. " The two aspects are "empty luminosity," like a clear open sky; and "manifest luminosity," such as colored light images, and so forth. Luminosity is the uncompounded nature present throughout all of samsara and nirvana.
Madhyamaka. The most influential of the four schools of Indian Buddhism founded by Nagarjuna in the second century C. E. The name comes from the Sanskrit word meaning "the Middle-way" meaning that it is the middle way between eternalism and nihilism. The main postulate of this school is that all phenomena - both internal mental events and external physical objects - are empty of any true nature. The school uses extensive rational reasoning to establish the emptiness of phenomena. This school does, however, hold that phenomena do exist on the conventional or relative level of reality.
Mahamudra. (Tib. cha ja chm po) Literally means "great seal" or "great symbol," meaning that all phenomena are sealed by the primordially perfect true nature. This form of meditation is traced back to Saraha (tenth century) and was passed down in the Kagyu school through Marpa. This meditative transmission emphasizes perceiving mind directly rather than through rational analysis. It also refers to the experience ofthe practitioner where one attains the union ofemptiness and luminosity and also perceives the non-duality of the phenomenal world and emptiness; also the name of Kagyupa lineage.
Mahapandita. Maha means great and pandita Buddhist scholar. Mahasiddha. A practitioner who has a great deal o f realization. Maha means great and siddha refers to an accomplished practitioner. These were particularly Vajrayana practitioners who lived in India between the eight and twelfth century and practiced tantra. The biography ofsome ofthe
most famous is found in The Eighty-four Mahasiddhas.
Mahayana. (Tib. tek pa chen po) Literally, the "Great Vehicle. " These are the teachings ofthe second turning ofthe wheel ofdharma, which emphasize shunyata (see shunyata), compassion and universal Buddha nature. The purpose ofenlightenment is to liberate all sentient beings from suffering as well as oneself. Mahayana schools of philosophy appeared several
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hundred years after the Buddha's death, although the tradition is traced
to teachings he gave at Rajgriha, or Vulture Peak Mountain. Maitripa-was a guru ofMarpa, the Tibetan forefather of the Kagyu lineage. Thus it is through Maitripa that Maitreya and Asanga's crucial work on Buddha nature, the Uttaratantrashastra (Anuttara), became widely followed in Tibet. It is said that he had been a student ofNaropa when the latter was head of Nalanda monastic university. Maitripa also transmitted to Marpa the esoteric aspect of Buddha nature embodied in the Mahamudra teachings, which treat the topic of mind in great detail and provide a wide range of progressive, highly refined meditations. Maitripa was brought to enlightenment through Mahamudra under his guru Savari, who received the complete teachings ofMahamudra from Nagarjuna, who received them from Sahara, whom
Marpa encountered in his dream state.
Mantra. (Tib. ngags) 1) A synonym for Vajrayana. 2) A particular combination
of sounds symbolizing the nature of a deity, for example OM MANI PEME HUNG. These are invocations to various meditation deities which are recited in Sanskrit. These Sanskrit syllables, representing various energies, are repeated in different Vajrayana practices.
Mara. Difficulties encountered by the practitioner. The Tibetan word means heavy or thick. In Buddhism mara symbolizes the passions that overwhelm human beings as well as everything that hinders the arising ofwholesome roots and progress on the path to enlightenment. There are four kinds: skandha-mara, which is incorrect view of self; klesha- mara, which is being overpowered by negative emotions; matyu-mara, which is death and interrupts spiritual practice; and devaputra-mara, which is becoming stuck in the bliss that comes from meditation.
Marpa. (1012-1097 C. E. ) Marpa was known for being aTibetan who made three trips to India and brought back many tantric texts, including the Six Yogas of Naropa, the Guyhasamaja, and the Chakrasamvara practices. His root teacher was Tilopa, the founder of the Kagyu lineage and the teacher of Naropa. Marpa initiated and founded the Kagyu lineage in Tibet.
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Mental consciousness. The sixth consciousness is the faculty of thinking which produces thoughts based upon the experiences of the five sense- consciousnesses or its own previous content. (see eight consciousnesses).
Mentalfactors. Mental factors are contrasted to mind in that they are more long-term propensities of mind including eleven virtuous factors such as faith, detachment and equanimity; the six root defilements such as desire, anger and pride; the rwenty secondary defilements such as resentment, dishonesty and harmfulness.
Middle-way or Madhyamaka school. A philosophical school founded by Nagarjuna and based on the Prajnaparamita sutras ofemptiness. Milarepa. (1040-1123 C. E. ) Milarepa was a student ofMarpa who attained
enlightenment in one lifetime. Mila, named by the deities and repa means white cotton. His student Gampopa established the (Dakpo) Kagyu lineage in Tibet.
Mind-only school. Also called Chittamatra school. This is one of the major schools in the Mahayana tradition founded in the fourth century by Asanga that emphasized everything is mental events.
Mudra. In this book it is a "hand seal" or gesture that is performed in specific tantric rituals to symbolize certain aspects of the practice being done. Also can mean spiritual consort, or the "bodily form" of a deity.
Nadi. The channels in the vajra body through which the winds flow. Nagarjuna. An Indian master of philosophy. Founder of the Madhyamaka school and author of the Knowledge ofthe Middle "Way and other
important works. (second - third century)
Naropa. (956-1 040 C. E. ) An Indian master best known for transmitting
many Vajrayana teachings to Marpa who took these back to Tibet before
the Moslem invasion of India.
Nihilism. (Tib. chad Ita) Literally, "the view ofdiscontinuance. " The extreme
view ofnothingness: no rebirth or karmic effects, and the non-existence
of a mind after death.
Nirmanakaya. (Tib. tulku) There are three bodies of the Buddha; the
nirmanakaya or "emanation body" manifests in the world and in this context manifests as the Shakyamuni Buddha. (see kayas, three. )
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Nirvana. Literally, "extinguished. " Individuals live in samsara and with spiritual practice can attain a state ofliberation in which all false ideas and conflicting emotions have been extinguished. This is called nirvana. The nirvana ofa Hinayana practitioner is freedom from cyclic existence as an arhat. The nirvana of a Mahayana practitioner is Buddhahood, free from extremes ofdwelling in either samsara or the perfect peace of an arhat.
Sometimes it is categorized as three types: nirvana of naturalness, which is ground nirvana; nirvana ofcessation, which is path nirvana; and non-abiding nirvana, which is the reward or fruition nirvana.
Non-distraction. (Tib. yeng me) Not straying from the continuity of the practice.
Non-fabrication. (Tib.
