“Indestructible”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
Literally the “truth of the highest meaning,” this is the knowledge that can only be directly realized, but not grasped conceptually.
The first of the four seals associated with the four bodies of a buddha, this term is typically used to refer to the physical sexual consort. It represents the first level of practice on the stage of the arisen, where the four joys are merely recognized during the four
The negative states of mind that bind one to saṃsāra. The main three are delusion, anger, and desire.
The five aggregates of individual existence are form (
The Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit rendering of Adhomukhā, a Buddhist goddess.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the eastern quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the vajra family.
A posture in which the right foot is extended forward and the left knee is slightly bent.
The eleventh bodhisattva level.
A system of code words and terms with symbolic meaning that are used in the higher tantras.
Another name of Amitābha.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the southern quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the karma family.
One of the eight nāga kings. He is also the cosmic serpent that Viṣṇu sleeps upon.
Another name of Yama.
In a Yogācāra context, this term refers to the appearance of objects as mere “appearances” in the mind. These appearances are then erroneously perceived in dualistic terms. This term synonymous with
One of the secondary kṣetras.
There are two types of
An offering that consists primarily of water, which is made ritually to the deity as an act of welcome and to bid farewell. The ritual act is based on the similar practice of receiving a guest in the home.
Another name for Amitābha.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas.
The eternal principle of individual self, taught in the Brahmanical Upaniṣads and espoused by the Vedānta tradition. It is a concept rejected by Buddhism.
The ninth bodhisattva level.
Literally meaning “heat,” the term refers to intense, austere practices intended to generate yogic energy.
One of the three main subtle channels associated with the experience of emptiness; it is located in the center of the body. In the Hevajra system, this channel is identified with Nairātmyā.
The worst of all hells, where the suffering is most intense.
An offering to the deity or spirits that consists chiefly of food.
The ritual activity of banishing or exorcising hostile forces. A type of hostile rite (
The nature of phenomena as they truly are, free of conceptual distortion.
A polyvalent term that refers in tantric scriptures to the
“Generating”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
This name can be used for fear personified, or more generally for “terrifying” (
A Buddhist goddess.
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. Also, the name of a yoginī in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.
Another name of Śiva, possibly reflecting his being the lord of bhūtas.
Also called
In the general Mahāyāna teachings, the “mind of awakening” (
The levels or stages through which a bodhisattva progresses before becoming fully awakened. There are between ten and thirteen levels, depending on the traditions of explanation.
This appears to be another term for the body of true nature (
A code word for male genitalia.
One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon in which he is considered a creator god. Brahmā occupies an important place in Buddhism as one of two deities (the other being Śakra) who are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. He is also considered to be the “Lord of the Sahā world” (our universe).
“Brahmin woman,” one of the five mudrās, representing the activity family in the Hevajra system.
Toh 424. A Yoginī tantra featuring a maṇḍala centered on a heruka-type deity.
Literally “wheel,” cakra is an energy center in the subtle body where subtle channels converge. In tantric Buddhism there are either four or five main cakras. The
An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13.
Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. She is roused as a mystic heat or fire during a yoga practice of the same name. She is also one of the five mudrās, representing the tathāgata family in the Hevajra system. Also, the name of a yoginī in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
“Fierce One”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
The god of the moon, or the moon personified.
One of the pīlavas.
A class of tantra that is typically listed second in traditional doxographies. Classified between Kriyā and Yoga tantra, these tantras include features of deity yoga that are not present in the Kriyā Tantras, but that are not as fully evolved as in the Yoga Tantras.
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84000. Emergence from Sampuṭa (Sampuṭodbhava, yang dag par sbyor ba, Toh 381). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Four Factors (Caturdharmaka, chos bzhi pa, Toh 250). Translated by Adam Pearcey. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Four Stanzas (Caturgāthā, tshigs su bcad pa bzhi pa, Toh 324). Translated by the Pema Yeshé Dé Translation Team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, rgya cher rol pa, Toh 95). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Prayer of Good Conduct (Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna, bzang spyod smon lam, Toh 1095). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Single Stanza (Ekagāthā, tshigs su bcad pa gcig pa, Toh 323). Translated by the Pema Yeshé Dé Translation Team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Ten Bhūmis (Daśabhūmika, sa bcu pa, Toh 44-31). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
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