Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
T
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. +
A wrathful heruka of the padma family belonging to the anuyoga tantra of the Old Translation school. He is usually depicted with three faces, six arms, and four legs, with the wings of a heruka, in union with his consort. His special attribute is a horse's head surmounting his principal head. +
A key principle of mahāyāna Buddhism, describing the motivatīon and action of a bodhisattva, i.e., the practice of the pāramitās. Compassion is said to arise' from experiencing the suffering of sentient beings, including ourselves; insight into the four noble truths; seeing the suffering inherent in bewilderment about cause and effect; clinging to solid and permanent existence; and spontaneously, from śūnyatā. +
A mahāyāna school, founded by Nāgārjuna, which emphasized the doctrine of śūnyatā. Vajrayāna has many of its philosophical roots in Madhyamaka. Some of the principal texts of this tradition are the ''Mūlamādhyamikakārikā'' and ''Vigrahavyāvartanī'' by Nāgārjuna, the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' by Śāntideva, and the ''Prasannapadā'' and ''Madhyamakāvatāra'' by Candrakīrti. +
There is a vow for each of the three yānas, which marks the practitioner's entrance into that yāna. For the hīnayāna, it is the refuge vow; for the mahāyāna, it is the bodhisattva vow; for vajrayāna, it is the samāyā vow. +
The meditative transmission handed down especially by the Kagyü school, from Vajradhara Buddha to Tilopa up to the present lineage holders. In this state, all experiences are transformed into transcendental knowledge and skillful means. From the primordial intelligence and energy that arise, there comes great luminosity, so that the vividness pf experience becomes the display of the maṇḍala.<br> According to the ''Cakrasaṃvara Tantra'': ''phyag'' is the wisdom of emptiness, ''rgya'' is freedom from saṃsāra, and ''chenpo'' is their indivisibility; therefore, it is called chagyachenpo (S: mahāmudrā).<br> Or, as Saraha declared,<br> Having no shape or colour, being all-encompassing,<br> Unchanging, and stretching across the whole of time.<br> Like celestial space without end or beginning,<br> With no real meaning as when a rope is seen to be a snake,<br> Being the indivisibility of Dharmakāya, Sambhogakāya, and Nirmāṇakāya,<br> Its actuality transcends the regions of the intellect.<br> Mahāmudrā which is instantaneous experience of Buddhahood<br> Manifests itself in Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya for the benefit of sentient beings.<br> [from Herbert V. Guenther, The Life and Teachings of Nāropa, London: Oxford University Press, 1963, p. 223] +
The name of a mountain where Avalokiteśvara resides. Later, the name of the Dalai Lama's residence. +
The Tibetan word dkyil-'khor means "center and periphery." It is the unification of many vast elements into one, through the experience of meditation. ''See''ming complexity and chaos are simplified into a pattern and natural hierarchy.<br> A maṇḍala is usually represented by a diagram with a central deity, a personification of the basic sanity of buddha nature. The outer world, one's body and state of mind, and the totality can all be seen as maṇḍala. The constructed form of a maṇḍala has as its basic structure a palace with a center and four gates in the cardinal directions. They may be painted, made of colored-sand, heaps of rice, or represented by three-dimensional models. +
In vajrayāna, the guru personally communicates the essence of meditation practice to his students. In this manner, both the literal instructions and their intuitive sense are conveyed to the student. Even if the student came across the instructions in written form, it would still be necessary for him to receive them directly from the mouth of his teacher. ''See also'' hearing lineage. +
An epithet applied to either a great ruler who realized and fulfilled the vision of the Buddha's teaching, or to great teachers themselves. +
The village and mountain of Gampo lie in the region of Takpo, which is southeast of Ü. Gampopa was so-named because he took up residence at Gampo. Hence, he is also called Takpopa. The Kagyü lineage as a whole is sometimes referred to as the Takpo Kagyü. +
