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).

An epithet of the Buddha. The Tibetan rendering can be explained as “one who has conquered the four māras and is endowed with the six excellent qualities.”

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 ancient kingdom of the Darada people in the Gilgit region of larger Kashmir.

The forest outside of Vārāṇasī where the Buddha first taught the Dharma.

Five trainings for all vehicles in general: avoiding killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and taking intoxicants (alcohol, etc.).

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.”

The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands‍—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta‍—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.

According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa‍—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.

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.”

Another name for Vārāṇasī or Benares, a city known for its fine garments and embroidery.

Refers to the aspiration for oneself and others to attain spiritual awakening in order to live a life of maximum benefit to all beings.

An Indian Bengali preceptor resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. Arriving in Tibet on an invitation from the Tibetan king, he assisted in the translation of numerous canonical scriptures. He is also the author of a few philosophical commentaries contained in the Tengyur collection.

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.

They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.­1281– 2.1482.

A place in the Deer Park (Mṛgadāva) outside Vārāṇasī where the Buddha Śākyamuni first turned the wheel of Dharma. The name, meaning “speech of ṛṣis (sages or seers),” may refer to a story that in this same place during the time of the previous Buddha, Kāśyapa, five hundred seers (in some versions pratyekabuddhas) uttered prophecies and attained nirvāṇa on hearing that the Buddha Śākyamuni was to come. Also known as Ṛṣipatana.

Lit. “The Mountain of Sindhu.” A king of the ancient Darada kingdom, which lay in the Gilgit region of larger Kashmir, the mountainous area through which the river Indus (Sindhu) flows.

The trainings of the bodhisattva path: generosity (dāna, byin pa), discipline (śīla, tshul khrims), patience or acceptance (kṣānti, bzod pa), diligence or effort (vīrya, brtson ’grus), meditative concentration (dhyāna, bsam gtan), and insight (prajñā, shes rab).

One who, in their last birth in saṃsāra, attains the realization of the selflessness of the person and a partial realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of all that arises through interdependence on their own, without relying on a teacher.

Lit. “Splendor and Wealth.” A young merchant from Vārāṇasī.

One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).

An Indian preceptor actively involved in translation in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

Ten unethical and harmful behaviors. They consist of actions of the body (killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct), speech (lying, slandering, harsh words, and gossip), and the mind (covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong view).

The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. In the Tibetan rendering, “the three rare and excellent ones.”

The awakening of a worthy one, the awakening of a solitary buddha, and the awakening of a buddha.

The vehicles of the hearers, solitary buddhas, and bodhisattvas.

One who has attained ultimate awakening through the path of suchness that transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. An epithet of the Buddha.

Also known as Benares, one of the oldest cities of northeast India on the banks of the Ganges, in modern-day Uttar Pradesh. It was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kāśi, and in the Buddha’s time it had been absorbed into the kingdom of Kośala. It was an important religious center, as well as a major city, even during the time of the Buddha. The name may derive from being where the Varuna and Assi rivers flow into the Ganges. It was on the outskirts of Vārāṇasī that the Buddha first taught the Dharma, in the location known as Deer Park (Mṛgadāva). For numerous episodes set in Vārāṇasī, including its kings, see The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340.

A person who has accomplished the final fruition of the path of the hearers and is liberated from saṃsāra. The Tibetan rendering, “foe destroyer,” can be explained as “one who has destroyed and defeated the four māras.”