In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.
In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.
The bodhisattvas’ realization that all phenomena are unproduced and empty. It sustains them on the difficult path of benefiting all beings so that they do not succumb to the goal of personal liberation. Different sources link this realization to the first or eighth bodhisattva level (bhūmi).
The king of Magadha and son of King Bimbisāra and his queen Vaidehī, he reigned during the last ten years of the Buddha’s life and for about twenty years after. While he was a prince, he became friends with Devadatta, who convinced him to usurp his father’s throne. After he had his father imprisoned and killed, he was tormented by guilt and regret and converted to Buddhism. Thereafter he supported the Buddhist community and the compilation of the Buddha’s teachings during the First Council.
A member of the Malla clan who worships the Buddha at his parinirvāṇa.
A close śrāvaka disciple of the Buddha.
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
A nāga king whose domain is Lake Anavatapta. According to Buddhist cosmology, this lake is located near Mount Sumeru and is the source of the four great rivers of Jambudvīpa. It is often identified with Lake Manasarovar at the foot of Mount Kailash in Tibet.
Lit. “Unobstructed.” One of the ten great śrāvaka disciples, famed for his meditative prowess and superknowledges. He was the Buddha's cousin—a son of Amṛtodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana—and is often mentioned along with his two brothers Bhadrika and Mahānāma. Some sources also include Ānanda among his brothers.
A member of the Malla clan who worships the Buddha at his parinirvāṇa.
A general term applied to spiritual practitioners who live as ascetic mendicants. In Buddhist texts, the term usually refers to Buddhist monastics, but it can also designate a practitioner from other ascetic/monastic spiritual traditions. In this context śramaṇa is often contrasted with the term brāhmaṇa (bram ze), which refers broadly to followers of the Vedic tradition. Any renunciate, not just a Buddhist, could be referred to as a śramaṇa if they were not within the Vedic fold. The epithet Great Śramaṇa is often applied to the Buddha.
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 (gods).
Literally “The Ascended,” the fourth of eight named buddhas of the past (with the addition of Śākyamuni making nine) in The Four Boys’ Absorption. It has been assumed that this is a variant Tibetan spelling of a buddha of the past whose attested Sanskrit name is elsewhere found in Tibetan as mthor ’phags pa (The Chapter on Medicines [Bhaiṣajyavastu, Toh 1-6], e.g., 9.1506) and shin tu mtho bar gshegs pa (The Stem Array [Gaṇḍavyūha, Toh 44-45], 28.15–28.18), among other variants.
A fully awakened being; when spelled with a capital letter it refers to the Buddha Śākyamuni, one of the Three Jewels, unless another buddha is specified.
See “bad rebirth.”
The bamboo grove near Rājagṛha where the Buddha regularly stayed and gave teachings. It was situated on land donated by King Bimbisāra of Magadha. It was the first of several landholdings donated to the Buddhist community during the time of the Buddha.
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
A buddha to the south, from whose buddha field, the world called Ratnavyūha, the bodhisattva child Thoroughly at Peace comes.
An epithet of the Buddha.
In Sanskrit, the term nirvāṇa literally means “extinguishment” and the Tibetan mya ngan las ’das pa literally means “gone beyond sorrow.” As a general term, it refers to the cessation of all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence, as well as to the state in which all such rebirth and suffering has permanently ceased.
More specifically, three main types of nirvāṇa are identified. (1) The first type of nirvāṇa, called nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), is the state in which arhats or buddhas have attained awakening but are still dependent on the conditioned aggregates until their lifespan is exhausted. (2) At the end of life, given that there are no more causes for rebirth, these aggregates cease and no new aggregates arise. What occurs then is called nirvāṇa without remainder ( anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), which refers to the unconditioned element (dhātu) of nirvāṇa in which there is no remainder of the aggregates. (3) The Mahāyāna teachings distinguish the final nirvāṇa of buddhas from that of arhats, the nirvāṇa of arhats not being considered ultimate. The buddhas attain what is called nonabiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa), which transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, i.e., existence and peace. This is the nirvāṇa that is the goal of the Mahāyāna path.
The term is used interchangeably in this text with “pass into parinirvāṇa” to refer to the Buddha passing away.
A deity from the Brahmā realms.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.
The collected teachings of the Great Vehicle or Mahāyāna.
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
A collective name for the first three heavens of the form realm, which correspond to the first concentration (dhyāna): Brahmakāyika, Brahmapurohita, and Mahābrahmā (also called Brahmapārṣadya). These are ruled over by the god Brahmā. According to some sources, it can also be a general reference to all the heavens in the form realm and formless realm. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
See “seven branches of awakening.”
In this text, the world system in which a particular buddha has appeared.
In Buddhist usage, a general term for non-Buddhist religious mendicants, often paired with parivrājakas in stock lists of followers of heretical movements.
One who abstains from sexual activity as a religious observance.
A “thousandfold universe,” also called a “small chiliocosm” (sāhasracūḍiko lokadhātu), consisting of a thousand worlds each made up of their own Mount Meru, four continents, sun, moon, and god realms.
See also “community.”
The five crimes of immediate retribution, acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages: killing an arhat, killing one’s mother, killing one’s father, creating schism in the saṅgha, and maliciously drawing blood from a tathāgata’s body.
A monk who trained under the buddha Flawless Eye. A previous life of the bodhisattva child Without Reference.
The cousin and adversary of the Buddha Śākyamuni. Devadatta befriended Ajātaśatru and convinced him to usurp the throne of his father Bimbisāra.
The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.
The buddha of the past who prophesied the future awakening of the Buddha Śākyamuni. The first of eight named buddhas of the past (with the addition of Śākyamuni making nine) in The Four Boys’Absorption.
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”
The eight great hot hells are usually listed as the Reviving Hell, the Black Line Hell, the Crushing Hell, the Wailing Hell, the Great Wailing Hell, the Hell of Heat, the Hell of Intense Heat, and the Hell of Unceasing Torture.
A nāga king.
The eldest and most venerable among the monastic Buddhist disciples.
One of four words that emanate from every pore of the bodhisattva child Without Reference who arrives at the scene of the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa.
Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.
A cosmic period of time, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world system appears, exists, and disappears. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser eons. In the course of one great eon, the universe takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion; during the next twenty it remains; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction; and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of empty stasis. A fortunate, or good, eon (bhadrakalpa) refers to any eon in which more than one buddha appears.
A merchant in the city of Vārāṇasī, in whose household appears the bodhisattva child Without Reference.
One of the five “eyes” (pañcacakṣus) or higher perceptions of buddhas, it refers to the ability to see across great distances and through physical objects.
A member of the Malla clan who worships the Buddha at his parinirvāṇa.
The fearlessnesses of a buddha are usually counted as four and refer to the four assurances proclaimed by buddhas: fearlessness in declaring that one has awakened, that one has ceased all illusions, that one has taught the obstacles to awakening, and that one has shown the way to liberation.
A synonym for ultimate reality; the dimension (dhātu) of all phenomena (dharma). While the Sanskrit term dhātu was regularly translated into Tibetan as khams (“field,” “element,” or “realm”), in this multivalent compound it was translated into Tibetan as dbyings, meaning “space,” thereby expressing the ultimate reality of all phenomena as boundless, immaterial, and nonconceptual.
Refers to the five fundamental precepts of abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and consuming intoxicants.
The five degenerations are usually enumerated as (1) degeneration of lifespan, (2) degeneration of views, (3) degeneration of the afflictions (4) degeneration of beings, and (5) degeneration of the era.
The buddha from whom the bodhisattva child Without Reference received teachings in a former life.
khye’u bzhi’i ting nge ’dzin. Toh 136, Degé Kangyur vol. 56 (mdo sde, na), folios 144.b–179.a.
khye’u bzhi’i ting nge ’dzin. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 56, pp. 390–483.
khye’u bzhi’i ting nge ’dzin. Stok 73, Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 59 (mdo sde, nya), folios 212.a–263.b.
rgya cher rol pa (Lalitavistara) [The Play in Full]. Toh 95, Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1.b–216.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee, 2013.
sdong pos brgyan pa (Gaṇḍavyūha) [The Stem Array]. Toh 44-45, Degé Kangyur vols. 37–38 (phal chen, ga–a), folios 274.b (ga)–363.a (a). English translation in Roberts 2021.
sman gyi gzhi (Bhaiṣajyavastu) [The Chapter on Medicines]. Toh 1-6, Degé Kangyur vols. 1–3 (’dul ba, ka–ga), folios 277.b (ka)–50.a (ga). English translation in Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team 2021.
za ma tog bkod pa (Kāraṇḍavyūha) [The Basket’s Display]. Toh 116, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, pa), folios 200.a–247.b. English translation in Roberts and Tulku Yeshi 2013.
sher phyin khri brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines]. Toh 10, Degé Kangyur vols. 29–31 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ka–ga), folios 1.a (ka)–206.a (ga). English translation in Sparham 2022.
bsod nams thams cad bsdus pa’i ting nge ’dzin (Sarvapuṇyasamuccayasamādhi) [The Absorption That Encapsulates All Merit]. Toh 134, Degé Kangyur vol. 56 (mdo sde, na), folios 70.b–121.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2016.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan[/lhan] dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Mahāvyutpatti (bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa chen po). Toh 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (sna tshogs, co), folios 1.b–131.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team, trans. The Chapter on Medicines (Bhaiṣajyavastu, Toh 1-6). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
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Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Absorption of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace (Praśāntaviniścayaprātihāryasamādhi, Toh 129). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Absorption the Encapsulates All Merit (Sarvapuṇyasamuccayasamādhi, Toh 134). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016.
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Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. The Stem Array (Gaṇḍavyūha, Toh 44-45). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Roberts, Peter Alan, and Tulku Yeshi, trans. The Basket’s Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha, Toh 116). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
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