One of the four means of attraction.

The afflictions that hold one back from awakening, often listed as desire (rāga), anger (pratigha), pride (māna), ignorance (avidyā), wrong views (kudṛṣti), and indecision (vicikitsā).

The fivefold basic grouping of the components out of which the world and the personal self are formed: forms, feelings, perceptions, formative factors, and consciousness.

The highest level of the form realm.

A bodhisatva and the main exponent of the sūtra The Teaching of Akṣayamati.

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.

Often described as demigods or warrior gods, these giants are at constant war with the gods.

The lowest hell; the eighth of the eight hot hells.

Eagerness, vigor, thought, and examination.

Name of a tathāgata.

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).

Name of a mountain range in Buddhist cosmology.

One of the seven limbs of awakening.

One of the four immeasurables.

One of the five powers, five abilities, and seven limbs of awakening.

Tibetan translator who worked on a large number of translations during the imperial period.

One of the seven limbs of awakening.

Primarily referring to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat by seeking self liberation. It is usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.”

One of the five supernormal knowledges.

One of the five supernormal knowledges.

One of the four bases of magical power.

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.

A person who is eight steps away in the arc of their development from becoming an arhat (Tib. dgra bcom pa). Specifically, this term refers to one who is on the cusp of becoming a stream-enterer (Skt. śrotāpanna; Tib. rgyun du zhugs pa), and is the first and lowest stage in a list of eight stages or classes of a noble person (Skt. āryapudgala). The person at this lowest stage in the sequence is still on the path of seeing (Skt. darśanamārga; Tib. mthong lam), and then enters the path of cultivation (Skt. bhāvanāmārga; Tib. sgoms lam) upon attaining the next stage, that of a stream-enterer (stage 7). From there they progress through the remaining stages of the śrāvaka path, becoming in turn a once-returner (stages six and five), a non-returner (stages four and three), and an arhat (stages two and one). This same “eighth stage” also appears in set of ten stages (Skt. daśabhūmi; Tib. sa bcu) found in Mahāyāna sources, where it is the third step out of the ten. Not to be confused with the ten stages of the bodhisattva’s path, these ten stages mark the progress of one who sequentially follows the paths of a śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and then bodhisattva on their way to complete buddhahood. In this set of ten stages a person “on the eighth stage” is similarly one who is on the cusp of becoming a stream-enterer.

One way of describing experience and the world in terms of eighteen elements (eye and form, ear and sound, nose and smell, tongue and taste, body and physical objects, and mind and mental phenomena, to which the six consciousnesses are added). Also refers here to the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.

The name for our world system, the universe of a thousand million worlds, or trichiliocosm, in which the four-continent world is located. Each trichiliocosm is ruled by a god Brahmā; thus, in this context, he bears the title of Sahāṃpati, Lord of Sahā. The world system of Sahā, or Sahālokadhātu, is also described as the buddhafield of the Buddha Śākyamuni where he teaches the Dharma to beings.

The name Sahā possibly derives from the Sanskrit √sah, “to bear, endure, or withstand.” It is often interpreted as alluding to the inhabitants of this world being able to endure the suffering they encounter. The Tibetan translation, mi mjed, follows along the same lines. It literally means “not painful,” in the sense that beings here are able to bear the suffering they experience.

Also translated here as “Enduring.”

One of the four immeasurables and the seven limbs of awakening.

One of the four bases of magical power.

The second of the two main branches of Buddhist meditation (along with “peaceful meditation”) aiming at developing insight into the nature of reality.

The concept of expedient means is central to the understanding of the Buddha’s enlightened deeds and the many scriptures that are revealed contingent to the needs, interests, and mental dispositions of specific types of individuals. According to the Great Vehicle, training in expedient means collectively denotes the first five of the six perfections when integrated with wisdom, the sixth transcendent perfection, to form a union of discriminative awareness and means.

See the “thirty-seven factors of awakening.”

One of the five powers and five abilities.

See “four kinds of fearlessness.”

These can be listed as twelve or as six sense sources (sometimes also called sense fields, bases of cognition, or simply āyatanas).

In the context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of twelve sense sources, which can be divided into inner and outer sense sources, namely: (1–2) eye and form, (3–4) ear and sound, (5–6) nose and odor, (7–8) tongue and taste, (9–10) body and touch, (11–12) mind and mental phenomena.

In the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, only six sense sources are mentioned, and they are the inner sense sources (identical to the six faculties) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

The abilities of faith, vigor, recollection, concentration, and insight.

Generosity, morality, patient acceptance, vigor, and meditation.

The powers of faith, vigor, recollection, concentration, and insight.

Ensuring that nonvirtuous qualities do not arise and are eliminated if they do; ensuring that virtuous qualities arise and ensuring that they remain and increase when they have arisen.

Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahā­rājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).

The meditations on love (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the states of mind and qualities of being that result from their cultivation. They are also called the four abodes of Brahmā (caturbrahmavihāra).

In the Abhidharmakośa, Vasubandhu explains that they are called apramāṇa‍—meaning “infinite” or “limitless”‍—because they take limitless sentient beings as their object, and they generate limitless merit and results. Love is described as the wish that beings be happy, and it acts as an antidote to malice (vyāpāda). Compassion is described as the wish for beings to be free of suffering, and acts as an antidote to harmfulness (vihiṃsā). Joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness beings already have, and it acts as an antidote to dislike or aversion (arati) toward others’ success. Equanimity is considering all beings impartially, without distinctions, and it is the antidote to both attachment to pleasure and to malice (kāmarāgavyāpāda).

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.

The knowledge of the meaning, the knowledge of phenomena, the knowledge of interpretation, and the knowledge of eloquence.

The reliance on the meaning but not on the letter, the reliance on wisdom but not on consciousness, the reliance on the sūtras of definitive meaning but not on the sūtras of implicit meaning, and the reliance on the true state of phenomena but not on the person.

“All conditioned things are impermanent; all conditioned things are suffering; all phenomena are selfless; and nirvāṇa is peace.”

One of the four immeasurables.

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 most important holy river in India, more commonly known in English as the Ganges.

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.

One of the six perfections, the five perfections, and the means of attraction.

In the most general sense the devas‍—the term is cognate with the English divine‍—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.

One of the four means of attraction.