“Indestructible”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
Literally the “truth of the highest meaning,” this is the knowledge that can only be directly realized, but not grasped conceptually.
The first of the four seals associated with the four bodies of a buddha, this term is typically used to refer to the physical sexual consort. It represents the first level of practice on the stage of the arisen, where the
The negative states of mind that bind one to saṃsāra. The main three are delusion, anger, and desire.
The five aggregates of individual existence are form (
The Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit rendering of Adhomukhā, a Buddhist goddess.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the eastern quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the vajra family.
A posture in which the right foot is extended forward and the left knee is slightly bent.
There are two types of
Another name of Amitābha.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the southern quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the karma family.
One of the eight nāga kings. He is also the cosmic serpent that Viṣṇu sleeps upon.
Another name of Yama.
One of the secondary kṣetras.
An offering that consists primarily of water, which is made ritually to the deity as an act of welcome and to bid farewell. The ritual act is based on the similar practice of receiving a guest in the home.
Another name for Amitābha.
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.
The eternal principle of individual self, taught in the Brahmanical Upaniṣads and espoused by the Vedānta tradition. It is a concept rejected by Buddhism.
Literally meaning “heat,” the term refers to intense, austere practices intended to generate yogic energy.
One of the three main subtle channels associated with the experience of emptiness; it is located in the center of the body. In the Hevajra system, this channel is identified with Nairātmyā.
The worst of all hells, where the suffering is most intense.
An offering to the deity or spirits that consists chiefly of food.
The ritual activity of banishing or exorcising hostile forces. A type of hostile rite (
A polyvalent term that refers in tantric scriptures to the
“Generating”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
A Buddhist goddess.
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. Also, the name of a yoginī in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.
Also called
In the general Mahāyāna teachings, the “mind of awakening” (
The levels or stages through which a bodhisattva progresses before becoming fully awakened. There are between ten and thirteen levels, depending on the traditions of explanation.
A code word for male genitalia.
One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon in which he is considered a creator god. Brahmā occupies an important place in Buddhism as one of two deities (the other being Śakra) who are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. He is also considered to be the “Lord of the Sahā world” (our universe).
“Brahmin woman,” one of the five mudrās, representing the activity family in the Hevajra system.
Literally “wheel,” cakra is an energy center in the subtle body where subtle channels converge. In tantric Buddhism there are either four or five main cakras. The
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. She is roused as a mystic heat or fire during a yoga practice of the same name. She is also one of the five mudrās, representing the tathāgata family in the Hevajra system. Also, the name of a yoginī in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
“Fierce One”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
The god of the moon, or the moon personified.
One of the pīlavas.
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. Also, one of the yoginīs in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
The third of the
“Place of delight.” A type of a sacred site.
The defining quality of a thing. When used in the plural the term can denote the thirty-two physical characteristics of a buddha.
A place for the disposal or cremation of corpses, counted among the six types of sacred site.
The deity with whom one has a special karmic or astrological connection.
Secondary conditions that contribute to the arising of a given result.
Citta (“Thought”) or Citteśa (“Lord of Thoughts”) is, in the context of the five lords of the families, another name of Akṣobhya.
Obscurations caused by conceptuality and dualistic thinking.
A technical term in the Yoginī tantras that refers to categories that are concealed or hidden because of their highly esoteric implications. The esoteric category is said to be “concealed” within an exoteric one. The concealed content and its container are regarded as indivisible. In the context of pledges and vows,
Similar in meaning to the “relative truth” (
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