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. +
(eighth century). One of the first Tibetan disciples of Guru Rinpoche and of Shantarakshita (by whom he was ordained and from whom he received his name). He was also a disciple of the Chinese master Shri Simha, and in addition received teachings in pure vision directly from Garab Dorje himself, thus becoming one of the conduits through which the Great Perfection teachings were introduced into Tibet. He was one of the earliest and greatest of the Tibetan translators of Buddhist sutras and tantras. +
Syllables or formulas that, when recited with appropriate visualization, and so on, protect the mind of the practitioner from ordinary perceptions. They are invocations to the yidam deity and manifestations of the deity in the form of sound. +
lit. method of practice. A systematized practice of the stage of generation comprising many steps and including the yogas related to the body, speech, and mind of the deity. +
lit. the loving one. The tenth-ground Bodhisattva now residing as the Buddha's regent in the heaven of Tushita. When the age of Shakyamuni ends, Maitreya will manifest in the world as the fifth Buddha of this fortunate kalpa. ''See also'' fortunate kalpa. +
A general term for a sphere or dimension in which a Buddha dwells. Buddhafields are categorized according to the three kayas, which are perceptible only to beings with corresponding realization. There are, in addition, pure lands or fields, emanated by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of very high attainment, to which beings of appropriate karma and merit have access and where they are able to progress unhindered on the path. These pure lands are similar to the nirmanakaya buddhafields and are categorized according to their location, whether in the sky (''mkha' spyod''), on the earth's surface (''sa spyod''), or even in subterranean regions ('' 'og spyod''). The Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain of Guru Padmasambhava, the mountain of Potala of Avalokiteshvara, the hidden land of Shambhala, and so on are regarded as pure lands of this kind. +
A classification of worldly spirits into the categories of ging, dü, tsen, yaksha, rakshasa, mamo, rahula, and naga. On the inner level, they correspond to the eight kinds of consciousness, namely, the five sense consciousnesses, the mental consciousness, the defiled consciousness that conceives of "I," and the consciousness of the ''alaya'', the foundation of the mind that is the repository of karmic seeds and habitual tendencies. +
One of the most important monastic universities of medieval India. It was located at the birthplace of Shariputra to the north ofBodh Gaya (in present-day Bihar), not far from Vulture Peak, where the Buddha expounded his teachings on the Perfection of Wisdom. Nalanda grew to an immense size; it was famous all over Asia and was attended and administered by many of the greatest masters of Mahayana Buddhism. Founded in the second century and destroyed by the armies of Muhammad Khalji in 1235, Nalanda existed for a thousand years. +