The Buddha’s teachings regarding subjects such as wisdom, psychology, metaphysics, and cosmology.

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.

Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.

Indra’s elephant.

The nectar of immortality possessed by the gods (deva). It is frequently used as a metaphor for the teachings that brings liberation.

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.

A nāga king.

Lit. “Unobstructed.” One of the ten great śrāvaka disciples, famed for his meditative prowess and superknowledges. He was the Buddha's cousin‍—a son of Amṛtodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana‍—and is often mentioned along with his two brothers Bhadrika and Mahānāma. Some sources also include Ānanda among his brothers.

In many formulations, there are four modes of mindfulness: mindfulness of the body, sensations, mind, and phenomena. In this text there are six additional modes of the application of mindfulness: the mindfulness of recollecting the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, discipline, giving, and divinties.

Eighth of the ten perfections, the formulation of one’s intentions and commitments regarding the path to awakening.

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 optional set of thirteen practices that monastics can adopt in order to cultivate greater detachment. They consist of 1) wearing patched robes made from discarded cloth rather than from cloth donated by laypeople; 2) wearing only three robes; 3) going for alms; 4) not omitting any house while on the alms round, rather than begging only at those houses known to provide good food; 5) eating only what can be eaten in one sitting; 6) eating only food received in the alms bowl, rather than more elaborate meals presented to the Saṅgha; 7) refusing more food after indicating one has eaten enough; 8) dwelling in the forest; 9) dwelling at the root of a tree; 10) dwelling in the open air, using only a tent made from one’s robes as shelter; 11) dwelling in a charnel ground; 12) satisfaction with whatever dwelling one has; and 13) sleeping in a sitting position without ever lying down.

A bodhisattva and interlocuter in The Dharma Council.

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.

A king of horses.

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.

There are typically four bases of miraculous power: determination, discernment, diligence, and meditative concentration.

The real nature, true quality, or condition of things. Throughout Buddhist discourse this term is used in two distinct ways. In one, it designates the relative nature that is either the essential characteristic of a specific phenomenon, such as the heat of fire and the moisture of water, or the defining feature of a specific term or category. The other very important and widespread way it is used is to designate the ultimate nature of all phenomena, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms and is often synonymous with emptiness or the absence of intrinsic existence.

These basic precepts are five in number for the laity: (1) not killing, (2) not stealing, (3) chastity, (4) not lying, and (5) avoiding intoxicants. For monks, there are three or five more; avoidance of such things as perfumes, makeup, ointments, garlands, high beds, and afternoon meals. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Fourth of the four formless dhyānas.

A range of mountains in Jambudvīpa.

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”).

The ten levels or stages traversed by a bodhisattva that culminate in buddhahood: (1) Joyful (pramuditā; rab tu dga’ ba), (2) Stainless (vimalā; dri ma med pa), (3) Luminous (prabhākarī; ’od byed pa), (4) Radiant (arciṣmatī; ’od ’phro can), (5) Invincible (sudurjayā; shin tu sbyang dka’ ba), (6) Facing Directly (abhimukhī; mngon du gyur), (7) Far-Reaching (dūraṅgamā; ring du song ba), (8) Immovable (acalā; mi g.yo ba), Auspicious Intellect (sādhumatī; legs pa’i blo gros), and (10) Cloud of Dharma (dharmameghā; chos kyi sprin).

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).

The first of the seventeen heavens of the form realm; also the name of the gods living there. In the form realm, which is structured according to the four concentrations and pure abodes‍‍, or Śuddhāvāsa, it is listed as the first of the three heavens that correspond to the first of the four concentrations.

The four qualities that are said to result in rebirth in the heaven of Brahmā: limitless love, compassion, rejoicing, and equanimity. The term can also refer to the resultant states. This formulation was already prevalent in India before Śākyamuni’s teaching on them.

A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.

There are seven branches of awakening: mindfulness, discrimination, diligence, joy, pliancy, absorption, and equanimity.

The tenth bodhisattva bhūmi.

This patience is an acceptance of the true nature of things. It is a patience that is in accord with the nature of phenomena.

The capacity of realized beings to speak in a confident and inspiring manner.

Consciousness is generally classified into the five sensory consciousnesses and mental consciousness. Fifth of the five aggregates and third of the twelve links of dependent origination.

Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharma­kośa­bhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.

Lit. “to shape/form/create,” the term refers to volitional activity that creates karmic patterns and results.

The abandonment of nonvirtuous mental states and resultant actions of body, speech, and mind, and the cultivation of virtuous mental states and resultant actions of body, speech, and mind. This set is often interpreted as “right exertions,” reflecting the Skt. term samyakpradhāṇa, rather than samyakprahāṇa, which is the basis for the Tibetan term yang dag par spong ba.

Correct and accurate discernment, typically in regard to four sets of factors: phenomena, meaning, language, and confident eloquence.

A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”

The relative nature of phenomena, which arise in dependence on causes and conditions. Together with the four truths of the noble ones, this was one of the first teachings given by the Buddha.

A term that is essentially synonymous with deva, “god.” See the entry for “god.”

The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings‍—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula‍—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.

Sometimes translated “truth body,” “reality body,” or “body of qualities,” the term dharmakāya stands in distinction to the rūpakāya, or “form body” of a buddha. In its earliest uses the term refers to the Buddha’s qualities as a collective whole, or to his teachings as the embodiment of him. It now primarily indicates the eternal, imperceivable realization of a buddha and is synonymous with the true nature of reality.

The fifth of the six or ten perfections, the term refers to the ability of the mind to remain undistracted in a state free of afflicted mental states. See also the entry for “dhyāna.”

The fourth of the six or ten perfections, this refers to a state of mind characterized by joyful persistence when engaging in virtuous activity.

Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. Second of the six or ten perfections.

The ability to see all forms whether they are near or far, subtle or gross; also the ability to see the births and deaths of sentient beings. This ability is also included among the higher cognitions.

A bodhisattva and interlocuter in The Dharma Council.

“Eight domains of mastery over the senses” is a classic formula describing the process of stabilizing the mind through meditation. They are divided by form (attractive, unattractive, limited, and unlimited) and color (blue, yellow, red, and white).

A series of progressively more subtle states of meditative realization or attainment. There are several presentations of these found in the canonical literature. One of the most common is as follows: (1) One observes form while the mind dwells at the level of the form realm. (2) One observes forms externally while discerning formlessness internally. (3) One dwells in the direct experience of the body’s pleasant aspect. (4) One dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite space by transcending all conceptions of matter, resistance, and diversity. (5) Transcending the sphere of infinite space, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite consciousness. (6) Transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of nothingness. (7) Transcending the sphere of nothingness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception. (8) Transcending the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, one dwells in the realization of the cessation of conception and feeling.

Hoping for happiness, fame, praise, and gain, and fearing suffering, insignificance, blame, and loss.

These are typically enumerated as (1) inner emptiness, (2) outer emptiness, (3) inner and outer emptiness, (4) the emptiness of emptiness, (5) great emptiness, (6) the emptiness of ultimate reality, (7) the emptiness of the compounded, (8) the emptiness of the uncompounded, (9) the emptiness of what transcends limits, (10) the emptiness of no beginning and no end, (11) the emptiness of nonrepudiation, (12) the emptiness of a basic nature, (13) the emptiness of all dharmas, (14) the emptiness of its own mark, (15) the emptiness of not apprehending, (16) the emptiness of a nonexistent thing, (17) the emptiness of an intrinsic nature, and (18) the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.

A monk with senior status in the monastic community.