A city of yakṣas located on Mount Sumeru and ruled by Kubera.
A nāga king.
The name of a mātṛkā in Great Cool Grove.
The name of a mātṛkā in Great Cool Grove.
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 class of nonhuman beings believed to cause epilepsy, fits, and loss of memory. As their name suggests—the Skt. apasmāra literally means “without memory” and the Tib. brjed byed means “causing forgetfulness”—they are defined by the condition they cause in affected humans, and the term can refer to any nonhuman being that causes such conditions, whether a bhūta, a piśāca, or other.
A previous buddha.
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).
The name of a yakṣa.
A previous buddha.
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.
The name of a rākṣasī.
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 name of a yakṣa.
The name of a yakṣa.
The name of a rākṣasī.
A famous cremation ground near Bodh Gayā.
A class of nonhuman beings associated with misfortune and disease.
The name of a yakṣa.
One of the Four Great Kings, he presides over the east and rules over the gandharvas.
An optional set of practices that monastics can adopt in order to cultivate greater detachment. The list of practices varies in different sources. Common is a set of thirteen practices, which 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) being satisfied with whatever dwelling one has; and (13) sleeping in a sitting position, without ever lying down.
One of the most renowned of former buddhas.
The name of a rākṣasī.
The name of a yakṣa.
The name of a mātṛkā in Great Cool Grove.
The name of a yakṣa.
The communities of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen that make up the Buddhist spiritual community.
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.”
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.
Family name of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
The name of a yakṣa.
The term graha refers to a class of nonhuman beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various kinds of misfortune. The term can also be applied generically to other classes of supernatural beings who have the capacity to adversely affect health and well-being.
Another term for a yakṣa, often used to describe them as subjects of Kubera.
A yakṣiṇī with hundreds of children that the Buddha converted into a protector of children. In other texts she is considered a rākṣasī.
The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.
The name of a nāga or yakṣa.
One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.
The capital city of the Śākya kingdom, where the Buddha had grown up as Prince Siddhārtha.
A senior disciple of the Buddha Śākyamuni, famous for his austere lifestyle. He became the Buddha’s successor on his passing.
One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.
One of the ten principal pupils of the Buddha, he was foremost in explaining the Dharma.
Counted among the five wandering mendicants (parivrājaka) who initially ridiculed the Buddha’s austerities but later, after the Buddha’s awakening, became some of his first disciples and received his first discourse at Deer Park.
A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name—which means “is that human?”—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.
One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.
A class of nonhuman being, often female, who are ritually summoned to perform injurious acts against the target of the rite.
A previous buddha.
One of the Four Great Kings, he presides over the north and rules over the yakṣas. He is also known as Vaiśravaṇa.
A class of dwarf beings subordinate to Virūḍhaka, one of the Four Great Kings, associated with the southern direction. The name uses a play on the word aṇḍa, which means “egg” but is also a euphemism for a testicle. Thus, they are often depicted as having testicles as big as pots (from kumbha, or “pot”).
The name of a mātṛkā in Great Cool Grove.
bsil ba’i tshal gyi mdo chen po (Mahāśītavanīsūtra). Toh 562, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pha), folios 138.b–150.b.
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