Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
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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. +
Another term for vajrayāna, whose meditation practices make extensive use of mantra. +
A term for enlightened masters in the tantric tradition. Siddha has the connotation of one who, besides being realized on the absolute level, is in tune with the magical possibilities of the phenomenal world. The eighty-four mahāsiddhas were a group of Indian yogins important to the Kagyü lineage in that they were the source of the vajrayāna that was brought to Tibet. Some were kings, some prostitutes, some wine-sellers, some humble tradesmen, some monks, some especially lazy. All were distinguished by their style of transforming unconventional circumstances into the path of realization. Tilopa, Nāropa, and Maitrlpa are among the eighty-four mahāsiddhas. "Mahāsiddha" has also come to refer generally to an accomplished or enlightened being. +
A region located in the vicinity of present-day Bengal. +
The two processes that constitute the ego of self and the ego of dharmas. Objects are fixated on (T: gzung-ba-yul) as solid independent existences, and the mind then grasps them (T: 'dzin-pa-sems). +
An important mahāyāna sūtra. +
There are several traditional expositions of the stages of faith on the spiritual path. The most relevant here is: (1) sincere interest (T: dang-ba) in the three jewels as the source and guide on the path, (2) longing (T: 'dod-pa), being eager to pursue the path, and (3) trust (T: yid-ches-pa) arising from conviction in the cause and effect of karma and in the four noble truths. Here the student knows the dharma to be true. +
The third of the three jewels of refuge. In the narrow sense, saṅgha refers to Buddhist monks and nuns. In a mahāyāna sense, the mahāsaṅgha or greater saṅgha also includes the lay community. The vajra saṅgha includes vajrayāna practitioners who may be living as householders or as solitary yogins. The noble saṅgha, as an object of refuge, may also refer to the assembly of bodhisattvas and arhats, those who have attained realization. +
The sambhogakāya buddha of the padma family. +
A protection amulet worn around the neck. Yantras contain mantras and sometimes pictures of deities. +
