Bodhisattvas’ realization that all phenomena are unproduced and empty. It sustains them on the difficult path of benefitting 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 five aggregates (skandha) of matter (rūpa), sensation (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), karmic dispositions (saṃskāra), and consciousness (vijñāna). They are referred to as the “bases for clinging” (upādāna) insofar as all conceptual grasping arises on the basis of these aggregates.

One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.

Name of a bodhisattva; “Nonconceptual.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Light of Nonconceptuality.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Moon of Nonconceptuality.”

The stages a bodhisattva must traverse before reaching perfect buddhahood; traditionally ten in number, though some systems present more.

A “conceptual sign” should here be understood to refer to those signs that arise through conceptual engagement with the phenomenon under examination or discussion. See also “sign.”

The nonconceptual, boundless field (dhātu) in which all phenomena (dharma) appear. A term for ultimate reality.

Ca. eighth century. A Chinese master of the Chan tradition who tradition holds lost a debate with Kamalaśīla regarding sudden versus gradual paths to awakening. He upheld the view of the sudden path.

The sixth of the six perfections.

This term denotes the ontological status of phenomena, according to which they are said to possess existence in their own right‍—inherently, in and of themselves, objectively, and independent of any other phenomena such as our conception and labelling. The absence of such an ontological reality is defined as the true nature of reality, emptiness.

Ca. late eighth century. An Indian monastic scholar important in the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet.

One of the five aggregates; the very subtle karmic tendencies that give shape to an individual’s saṃsāric experience. In Abhidharma literature there are typically fifty-one saṃskāras.

This term has three meanings: (1) the ultimate nature, (2) the experience of the ultimate nature, and (3) the quiescent state of a worthy one (arhat) to be avoided by bodhisattvas.

“Great Lord”; the name of a bodhisattva in the Avikalpraveśdhāraṇī. This is more commonly used as an epithet of Śiva.

See “sign.”

The first of the five aggregates, defined in Abhidharma literature as anything comprised of the four major elements (earth, air, fire, and water), either alone or in combination. Also rendered here as “material form.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Skilled in Teaching the Dharma of Nonconceptuality.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Lord of Nonconceptual Great Love.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Wise in Nonconceptuality.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Roar of Nonconceptuality.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Pervading Nonconceptuality.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Having the Nature of Nonconceptuality.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Lord of Nonconceptuality.”

Name of a bodhisattva; “Hero of Nonconceptuality.”

The state of nonconceptuality.

To not conceptually engage or even direct the mind toward an object of perception.

Ca. eleventh century. An early Tibetan master of the Nyingma tradition.

A description of the mode of omniscience in which all possible phenomena as well as their ultimate nature are known.

The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha‍—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)‍—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.

Ca. late tenth–early eleventh century. An important Indian monastic scholar who commented on both Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna texts.

A subsidiary set of afflictive emotions that differ in number depending on the system of Abhidharma that presents them.

Generosity (Skt. dāna; Tib. byin pa), discipline (Skt. śīla; Tib. tshul khrims), patience (Skt. kṣānti; Tib. bzod pa), diligence (Skt. vīrya; Tib. brtson ’grus), meditative concentration (Skt. dhyāna; Tib. bsam gtan), and insight (Skt. prajñā; Tib. shes rab).

Ca. sixth century. An important Indian commentator on the Yogācāra system.

A common term describing ultimate reality.

Ca. eighth century. An Indian master important in the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet.

Also rendered here as “knowing.”

According to Buddhist tradition, one who has conquered the enemy of the afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata) and reached the supreme purity. The term can refer to buddhas as well as to those who have reached realization of the disciple vehicle.