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.
Acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages; they are killing an arhat, killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, causing a schism in the monastic community, and maliciously drawing blood from a tathāgata.
The six practices or qualities that a follower of the Great Vehicle perfects in order to transcend cyclic existence. They are generosity (dāna, byin pa), discipline (śīla, tshul khrims), patience or acceptance (kṣānti, bzod pa), diligence (vīrya, brtson ’grus), meditative concentration (dhyāna, bsam gtan), and insight (prajñā, shes rab).
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs. Toh 579, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folios 203.a–203.b.
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs. Toh 935, vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e), folio 281.a.
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 90, pp. 652–53.
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 104 (rgyud, pa), folios 194.b–195.a.
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs. Phukdrak Kangyur vol. 118 (rgyud, wa), folios 150.a–150.b.
Meisezahl, Richard O. “Die tibetischen Handschriften und Drucke des Linden-Museums in Stuttgart.” Tribus 7 (1957): 1–166, 103 (item 71 607, Nr. 1).
Pagel, Ulrich. Mapping the Path: Vajrapadas in Mahāyāna Literature. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2007.