A substance akin to adamant or diamond. Sometimes referred to as a thunderbolt, it is an emblem of indestructibility. In the form of a ritual implement, regularly used in tantric ceremonies, the vajra is the symbol of skillful means, that is, compassion, and is coupled with the bell (Skt. ''ghanta''; Tib. ''dril bu''), symbolizing the wisdom of emptiness. +
A way of referring to the schools of Tibetan Buddhism founded during the later period of translation of Sanskrit texts into Tibetan, which coincided with the period of restoration of the teaching following the persecution by King Langdarma in the eleventh century. +
A transcendent perfection or virtue, the practice of which leads to Buddhahood. There are six paramitas: generosity, ethical discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. +
The Vajrayana, or the Secret Mantra, which takes the pure nature of the mind not as a goal to be attained at some point in the future, but as the actual path of practice. +
lit. center and circumference. A term with numerous meanings. Most basically, it means a simple circular arrangement of offerings. More profoundly, it refers to the configuration of the deities within their sacred environment as visualized in the generation-stage practice. Finally, it may refer to the natural, spontaneously present expanse of primordial wisdom. +
A practice of the Great Perfection that focuses on the spontaneously present "clarity aspect" of ultimate reality. By contrast, trekchö focuses on the aspect of primordial purity. +
Generally speaking, the three dimensions are above, on, and under the earth. Occasionally this term refers to the three realms of Buddhist cosmology. ''See also'' three realms. +
lit. treasure-revealer. Reincarnations of the accomplished disciples of Guru Padmasambhava, who discover and reveal the spiritual treasures concealed by him and his consort Yeshe Tsogyal. +
A time period corresponding to a cycle of formation, duration, and destruction of a universe, followed by a period of voidness, according to the cosmology of ancient India. +
The foremost disciple and the Tibetan consort of Guru Padmasambhava. She was a great teacher in her own right and played a crucial role in concealing the term as, or treasure teachings. See her autobiography, ''Lady of the Lotus-Born''. +
The names of eight celebrated manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava as described in his mystic biographies. They are Padmasambhava, Loden Chokse, Padma Gyalpo, Nyima Özer, Senge Dradok, Shakya Senge, Dorje Drolö, and Vajradhara of Oddiyana. +
Accomplishments gained in the course of the spiritual path. Siddhis are of two kinds: the "ordinary" accomplishments of various preternatural powers and the supreme accomplishment, namely, the attainment of Buddhahood. +