See “five acts with immediate retribution.”

Roughly synonymous with abhicāra (assaulting), this broad category of rites includes those ritual practices and magical acts that are used to curse, exorcise malevolent influences, deter, harm, and kill enemies, and otherwise engage in hostile activities directed towards human and nonhuman targets.

A yakṣa, a guardian of the southeast.

One of the five primary tathāgatas, he presides over the vajra family.

The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.

Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.

One of the five primary tathāgatas, he presides over the karma family.

The ambrosia that prevents death or spiritual death (hence the Tibetan term meaning “crushes spiritual death”). The Sanskrit term literally means “immortality.” It is often used metaphorically to mean the Dharma.

The fire that will destroy the universe at the end of the eon, according to Indic cosmogony.

One of the four primary categories of ritual activities that includes rites for aggressively overcoming adversarial influences, both human and nonhuman.

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.

Pentapetes phoenicea.

A wrathful form of the goddess Tārā.

The female form of the epithet commonly applied to buddhas and other awakened beings. The Sanskrit word bhaga means, among other factors, “good fortune,” “happiness,” “prosperity,” and “excellence.” The suffix -vat indicates possession. A common English translation is thus “blessed one” or “fortunate one.” The three syllables of the Tibetan translation mean that the being has “overcome” or “conquered” (Tib. bcom), is “endowed [with qualities]” (Tib. ldan), and has “gone beyond [saṃsāra]” (Tib. ’das).

The male form of the epithet commonly applied to buddhas and other awakened beings. The Sanskrit word bhaga means, among other factors, “good fortune,” “happiness,” “prosperity,” and “excellence.” The suffix -vat indicates possession. A common English translation is thus “blessed one” or “fortunate one.” The three syllables of the Tibetan translation mean that the being has “overcome” or “conquered” (Tib. bcom), is “endowed [with qualities]” (Tib. ldan), and has “gone beyond [saṃsāra]” (Tib. ’das).

Literally “the mind of awakening,” but more technically a person’s aspiration to become fully awakened for the specific purpose of liberating all sentient beings. This is the necessary and sufficient condition to be a bodhisattva.

Gesture in which the arm is extended down and the palm faces outward.

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).

Literally “The Eye of the Buddha,” a female deity in the esoteric Buddhist pantheon.

A piece of cloth that covers corpses being carried to a cremation ground and that remains draped over them on the funeral pyre.

Chel Lotsāwa Chökyi Sangpo (d. 1216) was a Tibetan translator active in the thirteenth century.

Cloud formations that look like elaborate celestial cities, one classical example of illusory phenomena.

A kettledrum played horizontally that is wider in the middle, with the skin at both ends played by the hands. One drumhead is smaller than the other. A South Indian drum, it maintains the rhythm in Karnatak music.

A word that can refer, in different formulations, to the fundamental constituents of material and/or mental phenomena, or to the realms of existence. It also has the general meaning of the nature of something.

Crystalized bile deposits of cattle. 

An incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula that distils essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. It also has the sense of “retention,” referring to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings.

In distinction to the rūpakāya, or form body of a buddha, this is the eternal, imperceivable realization of a buddha. In origin it was a term for the presence of the Dharma, and it has since become synonymous with the true nature.

An Indian paṇḍita active in the eleventh century.

Eight manifestations of the female buddha Tārā who grant protection from the eight fears, which are commonly enumerated as the fear of lions, elephants, fire, snakes, water, imprisonment, thieves, and cannibals.

Dangers posed by lions, elephants, fire, snakes, drowning, bondage, thieves, and demons.

Circumstances that do not provide the freedom to practice the Buddhist path, i.e., being born in the realms of (1) the hells, (2) pretas, (3) animals, and (4) long-lived gods; in the human realm (5) among barbarians, (6) among extremists, and (7) in places where the Buddhist teachings do not exist; and (8) without adequate faculties to understand the teachings where they do exist.

One of the four primary categories of ritual activities, it involves summoning and controlling a desired target. Though the target is often a person, this category of rite also includes “magnetizing” (ākarṣaṇa; dgug pa) objects, wealth, and so forth.

The ultimate nature of things, the way things are in reality as opposed to the way they appear to beings who have not awakened.

The casting of a prescribed offering into a ritual fire. The practice of homa is first attested in pre-Buddhist Vedic literature and serves as a core, pervasive ritual paradigm in exoteric and esoteric rites in both Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions into modern times. In Buddhist esoteric rites, the ritual offerings are made repeatedly, with each throw accompanied by a single repetition of the respective mantra.

Five actions that bring immediate and severe consequences at death, such that the person who commits them will take rebirth in the lower realms directly after they die. The five are patricide, matricide, killing an arhat, intentionally injuring a buddha, and causing a schism within the saṅgha.

The vajra family, lotus family, tathāgata family, jewel family, and karma family.

Fragrances, flowers, incense, lamps, and food items.

Here the five are listed as gold, pearl, crystal, coral, and sapphire.

A subsidiary set of actions that bring immediate and severe consequences at death, such that the person who commits them will take rebirth in the lower realms directly after they die. These five are damaging a caitya, killing a bodhisattva, violating a woman who has exhausted her afflictions, killing a novice student, and stealing from the saṅgha.

Milk, yogurt, clarified butter, cow urine, and cow dung.

The four primary categories of ritual activities: pacifying, increasing, enthralling, and assaulting.

Seemingly the four families cited in this section; namely the lotus, tathāgata, jewel, and karma families.

The meditations on love (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the states of mind and qualities of being that result from their cultivation. They are also called the four abodes of Brahmā (caturbrahmavihāra).

In the Abhidharmakośa, Vasubandhu explains that they are called apramāṇa‍—meaning “infinite” or “limitless”‍—because they take limitless sentient beings as their object, and they generate limitless merit and results. Love is described as the wish that beings be happy, and it acts as an antidote to malice (vyāpāda). Compassion is described as the wish for beings to be free of suffering, and acts as an antidote to harmfulness (vihiṃsā). Joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness beings already have, and it acts as an antidote to dislike or aversion (arati) toward others’ success. Equanimity is considering all beings impartially, without distinctions, and it is the antidote to both attachment to pleasure and to malice (kāmarāgavyāpāda).

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.

Possibly a poisonous plant of the Ranunculaceae family, known more commonly by names such as wolfsbane and monkshood.

Cognate with the English term divine. The devas are most generically a class of divine, celestial beings who populate the narratives of Indian mythology. The term can also be used to refer to the major gods of the brahmanical pantheon.

A class of nonhuman beings able to enter and possess the human body. They have a harmful effect on physical and mental health, and are specifically said to cause seizures and insanity. Often this term is used to broadly refer to multiple classes of beings who can affect a person’s physical and mental health.

The most essential mantra of a deity.