A nāga king.
A nāga king.
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.
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.
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 being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.
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 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.
A charnel ground in Kashmir.
The kinnara king Druma is a well-known figure in canonical Buddhist literature, where he frequently appears, mostly in minor roles. For example, King Druma appears in The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Toh 113), where he is one of the four kinnara kings attending the Buddha’s teaching. He is also included in The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Toh 127), where he arrives with his queens to make an offering of his music to the Buddha. He is also a bodhisattva who teaches and displays a profound understanding of the doctrine of emptiness in The Questions of the Kinnara King Druma (Toh 157), where his future awakening is also prophesied by the Buddha.
(His name has been translated into Tibetan both as “sdong po” and “ljon pa.”)
A set of eight types of supernatural beings. The list varies from text to text, but almost always includes devas, yakṣas, nāgas, gandharvas, and asuras among the eight. This text lists them as devas, nāgas, gandharvas, yakṣas, asuras, kumbhāṇḍas, garuḍas, and kinnaras.
A set of eighty bodily characteristics borne by buddhas and universal emperors. They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two major marks of a great being.
Five acts said to lead to immediate and unavoidable birth in the hell realms: killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, sowing discord within the saṅgha, and drawing the blood of a tathāgata with ill intent.
Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahārājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).
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.”
The Tibetan translator credited with translating this Dhāraṇī along with the female Indian master Vajrasattvī.
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.
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
A garuḍa king.
A class of nonhuman being known to exert a harmful influence on the human body and mind, they are thought to be responsible for epilepsy and seizures.
An epithet of Avalokiteśvara.
The name of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī in a former life.
An important wrathful deity of the lotus (padma) family and thus closely associated with Avalokiteśvara. Hayagrīva is also a deity in the Brahmanical pantheon.
1847-1914. A master of the Sakya tradition.
A nāga king.
A term used in hostile magical rites that can alternatively refer a class of nonhuman being or type of magical device employed against the target of the rite. They are often mentioned together with kṛtyās, who serve a similar function.
One of the seven buddhas of the Fortunate Eon.
One of the seven buddhas of the Fortunate Eon.
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 seven buddhas of the Fortunate Eon.
A class of nonhuman being, often female, who are ritually summoned to perform injurious acts against the target of the rite. They are often mentioned together with khākorḍas, who serve a similar function.
A nāga king.
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”).
A name of Avalokiteśvara.
The name of a king.
An ancient Indian kingdom that lay to the south of the Ganges River in what today is the state of Bihar. Magadha was the largest of the sixteen “great states” (mahājanapada) that flourished between the sixth and third centuries ʙᴄᴇ in northern India. During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was ruled by King Bimbisāra and later by Bimbisāra's son, Ajātaśatru. Its capital was initially Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir) but was later moved to Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna). Over the centuries, with the expansion of the Magadha’s might, it became the capital of the vast Mauryan empire and seat of the great King Aśoka.
This region is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, where the Buddha attained awakening; Vulture Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa), where the Buddha bestowed many well-known Mahāyāna sūtras; and the Buddhist university of Nālandā that flourished between the fifth and twelfth centuries ᴄᴇ, among many others.
A nāga king.
The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”
For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).
Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.
The thirty-two physical characteristics that identify both buddhas and universal monarchs. This set is often combined with the eighty excellent signs.
1846–1912. A well-known polymath of the Nyingma (rnying ma) tradition.
The mountain in Avalokiteśvara’s pure realm.
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.
A nāga king.
A kumbhāṇḍa king.
A nāga king.
A gandharva king.
The name of a female Buddhist deity of the lotus family that means “White-Clothed One.”
The sacred thread worn by a member of the so-called “twice-born” higher castes in India.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug seng ge sgra’i gzungs (Āvalokiteśvarasiṃhanādadhāraṇī). Toh 703, Degé Kangyur vol. 93 (rgyud, rtsa), folios 165.b–171.a.
seng ge sgra’i gzungs. Toh 704, Degé Kangyur vol. 93 (rgyud, rtsa), folios 171.a–171.b. English translation The Dhāraṇī of Siṃhanāda 2024
seng ge sgras dam bcas pa’i gzungs. Toh 912, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs ’dus, e), folios 242.a–242.b. English translation The Dhāraṇī of Siṃhanāda’s Promise 2024
seng ge sgra’i gzungs. Toh 3156, Degé Tengyur vol. 75 (rgyud ’grel, phu), folio 178.a.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug seng ge sgra’i gzungs. bka’ ’gyur (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. 93, pp. 483–500.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug seng ge sgra’i gzungs. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 107 (rgyud, ma), folios 38.a–45.b.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug seng ge sgra’i gzungs. Phugdrak Kangyur vol. 114 (rgyud, ma), folios 89.b–90.a.
Siṃhanādadhāraṇī. In Sādhanamālā vol. 1, edited by Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, 52. Baroda: Central Library, 1925.
sgrub thabs kun btus [Compendium of Sādhanas]. Reproduced from the sde dge xylograph edition 1902. Dehra Dun: G.T.K. Lodoy, N. Gyaltsen, N. Lungtok, 1970. [BDRC W23681].
Mipham Gyatso (mi pham rgya mtsho). seng ge sgra’i gzungs kyi lo rgyus. In Mipham Gyatso’s Collected Works (gsung ’bum/ mi pham rgya mtsho), Chengdu: gangs can rig gzhung dpe rnying myur skyobs lhan tshogs, 2007, vol. 25 (ra), folios 51.a–51.b.
84000. The Dhāraṇī of Siṃhanāda (seng ge sgra’i gzungs, Toh 704). Translated by Catherine Dalton. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
84000. The Dhāraṇī of Siṃhanāda (seng ge sgra’i gzungs, Toh 3156). Translated by Catherine Dalton. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
84000. The Dhāraṇī of Siṃhanāda’s Promise (seng ge sgras dam bcas pa’i gzungs, Toh 912). Translated by Catherine Dalton. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
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