Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.
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.
One of the first five disciples of the Buddha.
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 first five disciples of the Buddha.
Meditation technique to calm the mind.
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.
Four oceans believed to surround the central mountain, Mt. Meru, in Indian cosmology.
Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.
Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.
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 bodhisattva in the assembly.
Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.
One of the first five disciples of the Buddha.
Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.
One of the first five disciples of the Buddha.
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.
One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra. He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyāyana, “the son of Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Great Maudgalyāyana.”
Four levels of meditation within the Form Realm.
See also n.11.
Sometimes has the alternative Sanskrit spelling Śiśumāragiri.
Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.
Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.
A tree, Ficus benghalensis, native to the Indian subcontinent, that can cover large areas by putting down aerial roots that become subsidiary trunks.
The sixth of the six perfections.
Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.
’phags pa byams pas zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryamaitreyaparipṛcchānāmamahāyānasūtra), Toh 85, Degé Kangyur, vol. 44 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 104b–116b.
’phags pa byams pas zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo, 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), 2006-2009, vol. 44, pp. 289–316.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [Perfection of Wisdom in 18,000 Lines], Toh 10, Degé Kangyur, vol. 29 F.1a–vol. 31 F.206a.
de bzhin gshegs pa’i gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa bstan pa (Tathāgatacintyaguhyanirdeśa), Toh 47, Degé Kangyur, vol. 39, F.100a–203a.
dpal sbas kyi mdo (Śrīguptasūtra), Toh 217, Degé Kangyur, vol. 62, F.269a-284a. English translation The Śrīgupta Sūtra 2021.
Choné Trakpa Shedrup (co ne grags pa bshad sgrub). byams pa’i smon lam gyi rnam par bzhad pa dga’ ldan du bgrod pa’i lam bzang, in co ne grags pa bshad sgrub kyi gsung ’bum. Beijing: Mes po’i shul bzhag series, krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House, 2009). (BDRC W1PD90129).
Drukpa Padma Karpo (’brug pa pad+ma dkar po). ’phags pa byams pa’i smon lam gyi ’grel pa thogs med kyi dgongs pa gsal bar bstan pa. In gsung ’bum, vol. 7 (ja), pp. 349-376. Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang (1973-1974). (BDRC W10736).
Kyedor Khenpo Ngawang Khedrup (kye rdor mkhan po ngag dbang mkhas grub). byams pa’i smon lam gyi tshig don rnam bshad. In gsung ’bum, vol. 2, pp 315-360. Leh, Ladakh: S.W. Tashigangpa (1972–1974). (BDRC W16912).
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Shākya Chokden (shAkya mchog ldan). byams pas btab pa’i smon lam gyi rnam par bshad pa byams pa’i chos la ’jug pa’i sgo. In gsung bum, vol. 8 (nya), pp 407-430. New Delhi: Ngawang Topgyel, (1995). (BDRC W23200).
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84000. The Chapter on Medicines Chapter 6, sman gyi gzhi (Bhaiṣajyavastu), of ’dul ba’i gzhi (Vinayavastu, Toh 1). Translated by the Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
84000. Maitreya’s Setting Out (Maitreyaprasthāna, byams pa ’jug pa, Toh 198). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
84000. The Question of Maitreya (3) (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, byams pas zhus pa, Toh 149). Translated by the Kīrtimukha Translation Group. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
84000. The Śrīgupta Sūtra (Śrīguptasūtra, dpal sbas kyi mdo, Toh 217). Translated by Karen Liljenberg. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
84000. The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po, Toh 113). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and Emily Bower. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
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