Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
T
Used in vajrayāna rituals; usually contains amṛta. +
Guru, yidam, and dharmapāla. These three are objects of refuge in the vajrayāna in addition to the three jewels. The lineage gurus are the root or source of blessings (S: adhiṣṭhāna). The yidams are the root of attainment (S: siddhi). The dharmapālas are the root of enlightened action (the four karmas: pacifying, enriching, magnetizing, and destroying). The root guru embodies them all. +
The central nāḍī of the illusory body. +
An epithet of Avalokiteśvara. +
Ḍākinī code-word for corpse. +
A type of cross-legged meditation posture in which the legs are very loosely crossed, the right leg being slightly extended out in front. +
An epithet for Marpa, who was from the southern region of Lhotrak +
A common honorific. +
The activity of an enlightened one. +
An honorific Tibetan term applied to revered teachers. +
Siddhis or accomplishments are either ordinary or supreme. The eight ordinary siddhis involve mastery over the phenomenal world. An example is the siddhi of the sword, the touch of which is said to grant whatever is wished. Supreme siddhi is enlightenment. +
The four ways a bodhisattva gathers students and spreads the dharma: (1) generosity, providing necessities so that students will be attracted to the dharma; (2) praise, being generous in a pleasing and kind way; (3) acting in accord with local customs, so that students will understand the bodhisattva's actions; and (4) actions that benefit students. +
A wrathful or semi-wrathful female yidam, signifying compassion, emptiness, and prajñā. The ḍākinīs are tricky and playful, representing the basic space of fertility out of which the play of sarṃsāra and nirvāṇa arises. They inspire the union of skillful means and prajñā. More generally, a ḍākinī can be a type of messenger or protector. +
A technical term describing the very special situation of a human birth that allows one to hear and practice the dharma. +
One who is accomplished in the vajrayāna teachings and capable of transmitting them to others. +
E is the seed syllable for the feminine principle-emptiness, prajñā; VAṂ is the seed syllable for the masculine principle-form, upāya. EVAṂ is the union of prajñā and upāya-space and indestructibility. +
A term in fruition tantra. This refers to a yogin who has completely transmuted physical experience into basic space. Though he retains an apparent body during his lifetime, at death his body may dissolve into luminosity. It is said that sometimes only hair and nails remain. +
Maitrī (friendliness), karuṇa (compassion), muditā (joy), and upekṣā (impartiality). These are a catalyst to the bodhisattva's attitude. When these have a conditional reference point, they are also referred to as the" dwelling places of Brahmā" (S: brahmavihāra). The bodhisattva sees these as indivisible with śūnyatā, and in this case, they are called "immeasurables." As Longchenpa says,<br><small>A man who has become a site for spiritual growth by having taken refuge<br>Will cultivate his mind for the welfare of beings.<br>By letting the flower of compassion blossom in the soil of friendliness<br>And tending it with the pure water of equanimity in the cool shade of joy.</small><br><small>[Herbert V. Guenther, trans. ''Kindly Bent to Ease Us'', Vol. I, Emeryville, CA: Dharma Publishing, 1975, p. 113]</small> +
The name of the next buddha. It is said that Maitreya presides over Tuṣita heaven. +
An epithet for the Kagyü lineage, whose tradition emphasized the oral instructions passed from teacher to student. +
