bīja

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Sanskrit Noun

bīja

seed
बीज
ས་བོན་
無漏種

Basic Meaning

A seed, commonly used figuratively in the sense of something which has the potential to develop or grow, and likewise as the basic cause for this development or growth.

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Term Variations
Key Term bīja
Topic Variation bīja
Tibetan ས་བོན་
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration sa bon
Devanagari Sanskrit बीज
Romanized Sanskrit bīja
Chinese 無漏種
Chinese Pinyin zhongzi
Japanese Transliteration shuji
Buddha-nature Site Standard English seed
Richard Barron's English Term potential(ity)
Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term seed
Dan Martin's English Term seed
Gyurme Dorje's English Term seed [of consciousness]
Ives Waldo's English Term seed, germ
Term Information
Source Language Sanskrit
Basic Meaning A seed, commonly used figuratively in the sense of something which has the potential to develop or grow, and likewise as the basic cause for this development or growth.
Term Type Noun
Definitions
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism See page 119: In Sanskrit, “seed,” a term used metaphorically in two important contexts: (1) in the theory of karman, an action is said to plant a “seed” or “potentiality” in the mind, where it will reside until it fructifies as a future experience or is destroyed by wisdom; (2) in tantric literature, many deities are said to have a “seed syllable” or seed mantra that is visualized and recited in liturgy and meditation in order to invoke the deity.