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).
A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”
An epithet of Maitreya, meaning “Unconquerable.”
The eighth and highest level of the Realm of Form (rūpadhātu), the last of the five pure abodes (śuddhāvāsa); it is only accessible as the result of specific states of dhyāna. According to some texts this is where non-returners (anāgāmin) dwell in their last lives. In other texts it is the realm of the enjoyment body (saṃbhogakāya) and is a buddhafield associated with the Buddha Vairocana; it is accessible only to bodhisattvas on the tenth level.
The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.
Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Meaningful to Behold.”
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “King of Illumination.”
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.
The name of a bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Abandoning Bad Transmigrations.”
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Unhindered Mind.”
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Unhindered Eloquence.”
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).
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.
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.
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 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).
Lit. “brahmā group,” this refers to deities who inhabit the brahmā realms, the heavens of the form realm.
A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.
The seven branches of awakening are (1) mindfulness, (2) investigation of the nature of reality, (3) energy, (4) joy, (5) tranquility, (6) concentration, and (7) equanimity.
The way to full awakening; another term for the Mahāyāna or Great Vehicle.
The protagonist of this sūtra, whose name means “Surpassing the Moon.”
Name of the male bodhisattva whom the girl Candrottarā transforms into at the end of the sūtra. Also the name of the future buddha he is predicted to become.
Brahman is a Sanskrit term referring to what is highest (parama) and most important (pradhāna); the Nibandhana commentary explains brahman as meaning here nirvāṇa, and thus the brahman conduct is the “conduct toward brahman,” the conduct that leads to the highest liberation, i.e., nirvāṇa. This is explained as “the path without outflows,” which is the “truth of the path” among the four truths of the noble ones. Other explanations (found in the Pāli tradition) take “brahman conduct” to mean the “best conduct,” and also the “conduct of the best,” i.e., the buddhas. In some contexts, “brahman conduct” refers more specifically to celibacy, but the specific referents of this expression are many.
A future rebirth of the girl Candrottarā during the time of the future buddha Maitreya.
A level of patience reached by bodhisattvas on the path. Concordant acceptance means acceptance that is concordant with the nature of reality. It precedes acceptance that all phenomena do not arise (anutpattikadharmakṣānti).
The destructible collection refers to the five aggregates. The erroneous view of the destructible collection refers to the view which takes the five aggregates as the basis as of an existent self and the reality of notions of “I” and “mine.”
In common use, the term is synonymous with ‘deva’. See also ‘god’.
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “King Among Lords of Dhāraṇīs.”
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Earth Holder.”
One of the “five eyes” with which buddhas and bodhisattvas see.
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Dharma Arisen”
Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Difficult in Occurring.”
The eight errors are the opposite of the eightfold path: wrong view, wrong thought, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong meditation.
The eight-branched purification vow, which may be taken as a temporary or a lifelong commitment, consists first of the five precepts—refraining from (1) killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual misconduct, (4) lying, and (5) consuming intoxicants—plus three further ones, namely refraining from (6) resting on a high or luxurious bed, (7) wearing ornaments, makeup or perfume, and (8) eating at improper times (after midday).
The eighty secondary physical characteristics of a buddha and of other great beings (mahāpuruṣa), which include such details as the redness of the fingernails and the blackness of the hair. Sometimes rendered as the “minor marks” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two major marks or signs of a great being.
The Tibetan, like the Sanskrit, literally means “confidence” or “courage” but in the Buddhist sūtras it refers specifically to inspired speech, to being perfectly eloquent in expressing the Dharma.
The name of a bodhisattva.
Included among the thirty-seven factors of awakening, the five faculties are often listed as (1) faith, (2) perseverance, (3) mindfulness, (4) meditative stability, and (5) wisdom.
Five impediments to meditation (bsam gtan, dhyāna): sensory desire (’dod pa la ’dun pa, kāmacchanda), ill will (gnod sems, vyāpāda), drowsiness and torpor (rmugs pa dang gnyid, styānamiddha), agitation and regret (rgod pa dang ’gyod pa, auddhatyakaukṛtya), and doubt (the tshom, vicikitsā).
The five powers, listed among the thirty-seven factors of awakening, are the same as the five faculties, but pursued to greater degree. They are (1) faith, (2) perseverance, (3) mindfulness, (4) meditative stability, and (5) wisdom.
The five eyes consist of five faculties of pure vision acquired by buddhas and bodhisattvas: the physical eye, the divine eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma eye, and the Buddha eye.
The five supernatural abilities attained through realization and yogic accomplishment: divine sight, divine hearing, knowing how to manifest miracles, remembering previous lives, and knowing the minds of others. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
The name of the current eon, so-called because one thousand buddhas are prophesied to appear during this time
The four errors are (1) taking that which is impermanent to be permanent, (2) taking that which is suffering to be happiness, (3) taking that which is impure to be pure, and (4) taking that which is not a self to be a self.
The four māras are symbolic personifications of the defects that prevent awakening. The four are the māra of the gods (Skt. devaputramāra, Tib. lha’i bu’i bdud), representing the distraction of pleasures; the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra, nyon mongs pa’i bdud), representing being controlled by afflictions; the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra, phung po’i bdud), representing identifying with the five aggregates; and the māra of the lord of death (mṛtyumāra, ’chi bdag gi bdud), representing having one’s life cut short by death.
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Sky Treasury.”
The name of a bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva meaning “Profound Eloquence.”
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