A type of prayer (of which there are innumerable examples) comprising the seven elements of homage and refuge, offering, confession, rejoicing in the virtues of others, the request for teachings, the supplication that the enlightened beings should not pass into nirvana, and the dedication of merit. +
(1) The accumulation of merit performed on the basis of the discursive mind (''bsod nams kyi tshogs''), in other words, the positive energy arising from wholesome action and (2) the accumulation of wisdom beyond discursive thought (''ye shes kyi tshogs'') arising from the understanding that in all experience, subject, object, and action are devoid of inherent existence. +
(1) those who aspire to happiness in the higher states of samsaric existence; (2) those who aspire to liberation from samsara altogether; and (3) those who aspire to buddhahood for the sake of all beings. +
The traditional class distinctions of Indian society associated with different psychological types and the kind of work or social function deemed appropriate to them. Over the centuries the caste system developed and is now extremely complex. Buddhist texts refer only to the original fourfold system and repudiate it in the sense of rejecting the idea, still current in Indian society, that such distinctions are immutable and are dictated by the circumstances of birth. The four types or classes are the royal or ruling class (''kshatriya, rgyal rigs''), the priestly class (''brahmin, bram ze rigs''), the merchant class (''vaishya, rje 'u rigs''), and the menial class (''shudra, dmangs rigs''). +
(1846—1912). One of the greatest scholars of the Nyingma tradition, famed for his immense erudition and versatility. He was a close disciple of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and thus associated with the Rimé, or nonsectarian movement. Through his learning and realization, he greatly contributed to the reinvigoration of study and practice in nineteenth-century Tibet. +
The first of the hinayana tenet systems, in which the indivisible particle of matter and the indivisible instant of consciousness are regarded as ultimate truth. +
According to the teachings of the Mahayana, the transcendent reality of perfect buddhahood is described in terms of two, three, four, or five bodies, or kayas. The two bodies, in the first case, are the Dharmakaya, the Body of Truth, and the Rupakaya, the Body of Form. The Dharmakaya is the absolute or "emptiness" aspect of buddhahood. The Rupakaya is subdivided (thus giving rise to the three bodies mentioned above) into the Sambhogakaya, the Body of Perfect Enjoyment, and the Nirmanakaya, the Body of Manifestation. The Sambhogakaya, or the spontaneous clarity aspect of buddhahood, is perceptible only to beings of extremely high realization. The Nirmanakaya, the compassionate aspect, is perceptible to ordinary beings and appears in the world most often, though not necessarily, in human form. The system of four bodies consists of the three just referred to together with the Svabhavikakaya, or Body of Suchness, which refers to the union of the previous three. Occasionally there is mention of five bodies: the three kayas together with the immutable Diamond or Vajra Body (the indestructible aspect of buddhahood) and the Body of Complete Enlightenment (representing the aspect of enlightened qualities). +
A Buddhist scripture, a transcribed discourse of the Buddha. There are Hinayana sutras and Mahayana sutras (as distinct from the tantras). Of the Mahayana sutras, some are categorized as being of expedient meaning (''drang don'') and their purpose, as the ''Akshayamatinirdesha-sutra'' explains, is to lead disciples onto the path. Other Mahayana sutras are classified as being of ultimate meaning (''nges don'') and introduce the hearers directly to the Buddha's wisdom. +
The "Lord who Sees," name of the Bodhisattva who embodies the speech and compassion of all the Buddhas; the Sambhogakaya emanation of the Buddha Amitabha; sometimes referred to as Lokeshvara, the Lord of the World. +
A system of teachings providing the means for traveling the path to enlightenment. There are three main vehicles: Shravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana, and Bodhisattvayana. +
(1) the suffering of suffering—pain as such; (2) the suffering of change—the fact that happiness is impermanent and liable to turn into its opposite; and (3) all-pervading suffering in the making—the fact that all actions grounded in the ignorance of the true nature of things will, sooner or later, bring forth suffering. +
One of the four conditions systematized by Vasubandhu in his ''Abhidharmakosha'' to explain the functioning of causality. The other three are the causal condition (''rgyu'i rkyen''), the immediately preceding condition (''de ma thag pa'i rkyen''), and the objective condition (''dmigs pa'i rkyen''). +