Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
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The threefold structure according to which each Buddhist system expresses its overall view. Generally speaking, the ground is the true status of phenomena (as this is conceived in a given system), the path consists of the meditation performed within the framework of that view, and the fruit is the final result of the practice. In the tantra system, these are understood as forming a single continuum (this is the literal meaning of the word ''tantra''). In other words, the qualities of the path and fruit are already present, implicit in the ground. +
A representation of wisdom in female form. The dakinis are divided into several classes. There are wisdom dakinis who are fully enlightened and worldly dakinis who possess various spiritual powers. The wisdom dakinis are classified into five groups according to the five enlightened lineages ofTathagata, Vajra, Jewel, Lotus, and Action. ''See also'' five enlightened lineages. +
According to modern scholarship, an ancient kingdom located in the Swat valley, lying in what is now the northwest frontier province of Pakistan. It was renowned as the cradle of the Secret Mantra teachings and is often referred to in Tibetan literature as the land of dakinis (''mkha' 'gro gling''). +
lit. awareness-holder or knowledgeholder. A being of high attainment in the Vajrayana. According to the Nyingma tradition, there are four kinds of vidyadhara corresponding to the ten (or eleven) levels of realization of the sutra teachings. +
The Bodhisattva considered to be the embodiment of the compassion of all the Buddhas. He is also regarded as the sambhogakaya for the threefold grouping in which Amitabha is the dharmakaya and Guru Padmasambhava is the nirmanakaya. +
lit. body. According to the Mahayana, the support of the enlightened qualities of Buddhahood, generally subdivided into the dharmakaya, or "dharma body" (the emptiness aspect), and the rupakaya, or "form body" (the appearance aspect). The dharmakaya is the mode of being of Buddhahood itself; it is perceptible to Buddhas alone. The rupakaya is the means whereby a Buddha is perceptible to non-Buddhas. It is subdivided into the sambhogakaya, the "body of enjoyment" (the clarity aspect) perceptible to great Bodhisattvas on the tenth ground of realization, and the nirmanakaya, the "body of manifestation" perceptible to ordinary beings. +
Literally the "dharma-body." According to context, this refers simply to the dimension of emptiness of Buddhahood. Alternatively, it may indicate the union of emptiness and luminous primordial wisdom. +
lit. the essence of the Tathagata. ''See'' sugatagarbha. +
lit. holder of the vajra. The name of a sambhogakaya Buddha who is the union of the five enlightened lineages. Vajradhara is sometimes equated with Samantabhadra. +
The first of the Hinayana tenet systems, in which the indivisible particles of matter and the indivisible instants of consciousness are regarded as ultimate truths. +
(1403-78). A great tertön and the first compiler of the Nyingma tantras (''rnying ma rgyud 'bum''). +
(1487-1542). Otherwise known as Ngari Penchen Pema Wangyal (''mnga' ri pan chen pad ma dbang rgyal''), a tertön and a scholar renowned for his treatise on the three vows (''sdom gsum rnam nges''), in which he expounds and defends the position of the Nyingma school. +
(1813-99). The tertön name of Jamgön Kongtrul, recognized as the incarna tion of Vairotsana - one of the first, as well as the greatest, of Tibetan translators. Jamgön Kongtrul was instrumental in the development of the Rimé movement in Eastern Tibet. He was a prolific author of immense erudition, a highly realized master, and a tertön, or treasure-revealer. +
The all-embracing expanse of ultimate reality; the emptiness of phenomena that is inseparable from their appearance. +
lit. pith instructions. ''See also'' agama. +
Esoteric teachings that elucidate the tantras. In the tantra classification of the Nyingma school, the inner tantras are divided into three groups: mahayoga, anuyoga, and atiyoga. In this same system, these three groups are also referred to as ''rgyud, lung'', and ''man ngag'' (Skt. tantra, agama, and upadesha, respectively), where mahayoga is regarded as tantra (''rgyud''), anuyoga is regarded as elucidation (agama, or ''lung''), and atiyoga is regarded as pith instruction (upadesha, or ''man ngag''). +
lit. unsurpassable tantra. The fourth and highest class of the tantra according to the fourfold classification of the tantras preferred in the New tradition. It corresponds to the three inner tantras (maha, anu, and ati) as contrasted with the three outer tantras (kriya, charya, and yoga) of the sixfold Nyingma classification. +
A small ritual drum, traditionally made from the tops of two skulls fastened back-to-back. +
