The application of mindfulness with regard to body, feelings, mind, and phenomena.

The asuras, sometimes called the demigods, are the enemies of the gods, fighting with them for supremacy. They are powerful beings who live around Mount Sumeru and are usually classified as belonging to the higher realms.

The four supports for supernatural abilities: determination, discernment, diligence, and meditative concentration.

This term refers to the mistaken view that identifies the self with the ultimately transient collection of mind and body.

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).

This term refers to a list of four: relinquishing negative acts that have been committed and will be committed in the future, and increasing current and future positive acts.

This term describes a circular open space or a space for assembly.

An Indian paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

Eighteen special features of a buddha’s behavior, realization, activity, and wisdom that are not shared by other beings. They are generally listed as: (1) he never makes a mistake, (2) he is never boisterous, (3) he never forgets, (4) his concentration never falters, (5) he has no notion of distinctness, (6) his equanimity is not due to lack of consideration, (7) his motivation never falters, (8) his endeavor never fails, (9) his mindfulness never falters, (10) he never abandons his concentration, (11) his insight (prajñā) never decreases, (12) his liberation never fails, (13) all his physical actions are preceded and followed by wisdom (jñāna), (14) all his verbal actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (15) all his mental actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (16) his wisdom and vision perceive the past without attachment or hindrance, (17) his wisdom and vision perceive the future without attachment or hindrance, and (18) his wisdom and vision perceive the present without attachment or hindrance.

Faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and knowledge.

Fearlessness in declaring that one has (1) awakened, (2) ceased all illusions, (3) taught the obstacles to awakening, and (4) shown the way to liberation.

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.

Gods from the higher subdivision of the world of Brahmā.

An Indian Kashmiri paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. He worked with several Tibetan translators on the translation of several sūtras. He is also the author of the Nyāya­bindu­piṇḍārtha (Toh 4233), which is contained in the Tibetan Tengyur (bstan ’gyur) collection.

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

Recollection, analysis, diligence, joy, pliancy, absorption, and equanimity.

The ruler of the lower realms.

Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.

This is generally given as a list of four qualities or methods for attracting students: generosity, kind talk, meaningful actions, and practicing what one preaches.

An Indian paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

One who teaches a false doctrine.

The Tibetan and Sanskrit terms both carry a dual sense of “servant” or “retinue.”

Literally meaning “ocean,” he is a king of the nāgas, a class of semidivine snake creatures.

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.

These are “secondary” in the sense that they flow from the primary disturbing emotions of desire, aversion, and ignorance. There appears to be no set list.

The classical list of the Buddha’s ten powers, which appears frequently throughout both Pali and Sanskrit sources, refers to the following powers of knowing (jñānabala): (1) Knowing what is possible and what is impossible (sthānāsthāna), (2) Knowing the ripening of karma (karmavipāka), (3) Knowing the various inclinations (nānādhimukti), (4) Knowing the various elements (nānādhātu), (5) Knowing the supreme and lesser faculties (indriya­parāpara), (6) Knowing the paths that lead to all destinations (sarvatra­gāminī­pratipad), (7) Knowing the concentrations, liberations, absorptions, and attainments (dhyāna­vimokṣa­samādhi­samāpatti), (8) Knowing the recollection of past existences (pūrva­nivāsānusmṛti), (9) Knowing death and rebirth (cyutyupapatti), and (10) Knowing the exhaustion of the defilements (āsravakṣaya).

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.

Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

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.