One of the bodhisattvas attending the delivery of this teaching.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

A tathāgata.

“Worthy.” A being who has eliminated afflictive emotions and hence is liberated from suffering. The Tibetan, following the traditional Sanskrit semantic gloss of ari han, understands the term as “foe destroyer.”

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

A tathāgata.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

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).

Demi-gods, titans.

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.

One of the bodhisattvas attending the delivery of this teaching and main interlocutor.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

A general term of respect given to persons of spiritual attainment. Translations into English have been “Holy One,” “Blessed One,” and “World-Honored One.” It is here given in the Sanskrit nominative case, bhagavān.

The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.

In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).

The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.

For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

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.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

Vedic creator god. In Buddhist texts Brahmā refers to various gods in high situations of cyclic existence.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

A member of priestly caste.

A tathāgata.

A tathāgata.

One of the bodhisattvas attending the delivery of this teaching.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

A tathāgata.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

Dhāraṇīs are long strings of syllables which sum up some meaning of Dharma. Their use allows the meaning to be retained in memory. Hence the name, which means “that which holds / retains.”

A tathāgata.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

A tathāgata.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

A cosmological era that has buddhas appear in it.

The textual base for Brahmanism in India is the Vedas: 1) Ṛgveda, 2) Yajurveda, 3) Sāmaveda, and 4) Atharvaveda.

A tathāgata.

A tathāgata.

A tathāgata.

The name of a kind of preta (ghost). These spirits are said to live on odours, hence their name “smell-eater.” Known for their music.

One of the names of Śrī Mahādevī.

A tathāgata.

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.

A tathāgata.