The realm of gods in Māra’s paradise, which is sometimes identified with the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations, the highest paradise of the desire realm.

In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.

In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.

A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”

The basic components of the self, usually listed as a set of five, namely, form, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness.

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 term used for any space in which large gatherings may witness a spectacle. Could be a hall or pavilion, a courtyard, or an open air enclosure.

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).

Attachment, desire, or attraction is the first of the three poisons that are the root of all suffering.

Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.

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 Brahmā Heavens are counted as the first, or lowest, of the heavens of the form realm.

A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.

A buddhafield refers the field of activity, or particular world system, in which a specific buddha resides, in which beings may follow the path to awakening. There are innumerable such fields in Mahāyāna Buddhist cosmology. Also understood as the pure realm manifested by that specific buddha.

One who has achieved perfect and complete awakening or buddhahood. Used of those who achieve buddhahood through the Great Vehicle, in contrast to the levels of realization achieved by śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas.

The fifth of the six perfections.

Refers to all phenomena produced by causes and conditions.

The ability to speak readily, fluently and with inspiration and confidence about the Dharma. Connected with the Sanskrit term pratibhā, which can have the sense of coming into view, appearing to the mind, becoming clear, and thus the sense of brilliance and clarity of thought expressed in speech. The Tibetan word literally means “confidence” or “courage.”

In a manner similar to the term dharma (Tib. chos), the Sanskrit term dhātu has a wide semantic range. In Buddhist usage it refers to all the parts, elements, and aspects of experience that together constitute the experience of saṃsāra. These include all the elements and realms. In most uses dhātu was translated into Tibetan with the word khams, but in the compound dharmadhātu, which denotes the ultimate nature of all phenomena, it was uniquely translated into Tibetan with dbyings, which means “space.”

Acquainting or familiarizing the mind through meditation with a virtuous quality or teaching.

An Indian preceptor and one of the translators of this sūtra.

One of the three poisons (dug gsum) along with aversion, or hatred, and attachment, or desire, which perpetuate the sufferings of cyclic existence. It is the obfuscating mental state which obstructs an individual from generating knowledge or insight, and it is said to be the dominant characteristic of the animal world in general. Commonly rendered as confusion, delusion, and ignorance, or bewilderment.

The principle of dependent origination asserts that nothing exists independently of other factors, the reason for this being that things and events only occur in dependence on the aggregation of causes and conditions. In general, the processes of cyclic existence, through which the external world and the beings within it revolve in a continuous cycle of suffering, propelled by the propensities of past actions and their interaction with afflicted mental states, originate dependent on the sequential unfolding of twelve links, commencing with ignorance and ending with birth, aging, and death. Only through deliberate reversal of these twelve links can one succeed in bringing the whole cycle to an end.

In Buddhist cosmology, this is our own realm, the lowest and most coarse of the three realms of saṃsāra. It is called this because beings here are characterized by their strong longing for and attachment to the pleasures of the senses. The desire realm includes hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras, and the lowest six heavens of the gods‍—from the Heaven of the Four Great Kings (cāturmahā­rājika) up to the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin). Located above the desire realm is the form realm (rūpadhātu) and the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu).

One of the “five eyes,” representing superior insights of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. The five eyes consist of five different faculties of vision: the physical eye (māṃsacakṣus), the divine eye (divyacakṣus), the wisdom eye (prajñācakṣus), the dharma eye (dharmacakṣus), and the buddha eye (buddhacakṣus).

The dharmadhātu refers to the ultimate nature of all phenomena, as emptiness. It is sometimes translated as the “realm of phenomena.” In this term, the multivalent Sanskrit term dhātu was translated into Tibetan with dbyings, meaning “space” or “expanse,” denoting the entirety of phenomena.

The fourth of the six perfections.

A monk of seniority within the assembly of the śrāvakas.

First of the three gateways to liberation.

Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.

Refers here to the awakened realization of the sameness or equality of all phenomena, since all phenomena share the ultimate nature in emptiness.

The antidote to attachment and aversion; a mental state free from bias toward sentient beings and experiences. Here, one the seven branches of awakening. Also counted among the four immeasurables.

The wrong view or belief that the self exists in (or as one or all of) the psycho-physical aggregates (Skt. skandha), or independent from them, and that it lives on unchanged and eternally after death; often mentioned together with the wrong view of nihilism (ucchedadṛṣṭi).

One of six or seven types of pride, it is the pride of overestimating one’s own accomplishments.

This term has three meanings: (1) the ultimate nature, (2) the experience of the ultimate nature, and (3) the quiescent state of a worthy one (arhat) to be avoided by bodhisattvas.

The five faculties are (1) faith (Skt. śraddhā, Tib. dad pa), (2) diligence (vīrya, brtson ’grus), (3) mindfulness (smṛti, dran pa), (4) meditative stability (samādhi, ting nge ’dzin), and (5) wisdom (prajñā, shes rab). They are the same as the five powers but at a prior stage of development. The five faculties are included among the thirty-seven factors for awakening.

The five powers are (1) faith (Skt. śraddhā, Tib. dad pa), (2) diligence (vīrya, brtson ’grus), (3) mindfulness (smṛti, dran pa), (4) meditative absorption (samādhi, ting nge ’dzin), and (5) wisdom (prajñā, shes rab). They are same as the five faculties but stronger and more developed. They are included among the thirty-seven factors for awakening.

The bodhisattvas’ realization that all phenomena are unproduced and empty. It sustains them on the difficult path of benefiting all beings so that they do not succumb to the goal of personal liberation. Different sources link this realization to the first or eighth bodhisattva level (bhūmi).

As the fourth of the five aggregates, this refers to formative factors, such as mental activity and volition, which are concomitant with the production of karmic seeds that cause and condition future saṃsāric existence.

The four applications of mindfulness are (1) the application of mindfulness that observes the physical body; (2) the application of mindfulness that observes feelings; (3) the application of mindfulness that observes the mind; and (4) the application of mindfulness that observes phenomena. They are included among the thirty-seven factors for awakening.

The four bases (lit. “legs”) of magical transformation achieved through samādhi, are intention (Skt. chandas, Tib. ’dun pa), diligence (vīrya, brtson ’grus), attention (citta, sems), and discernment (mīmāṃsā, dpyad pa). They are included among the thirty-seven factors for awakening.

The four correct exertions are (1) preventing negative states of mind from arising, (2) removing those that have already arisen, (3) giving rise to positive states that have not yet arisen, and (4) maintaining those that have already arisen.They are included among the thirty-seven factors for awakening.

The four truths that the Buddha transmitted in his first teaching: (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path to the cessation of suffering.

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.

Although the Sanskrit term jñāna means simply “knowledge,” it is often used in Buddhist texts to refer to the awareness of a realized being. In contrast to ordinary knowledge, which mistakenly perceives phenomena as real entities having real properties, gnosis perceives the emptiness of phenomena, that is, their lack of intrinsic essence.

Great compassion, or universal compassion, is a bodhisattva’s concern for all living beings, without discrimination or bias, to be free of suffering and to attain the supreme happiness. 

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000^³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­lokadhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Sumeru, continents, sun and moon, etc.