Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
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[Lit. "Performance Tantra"] - The second of the three outer tantras; the view of this tradition is similar to that of Yoga Tantra, while its conduct is equated with that of Kriyā Tantra. For this reason, it is also known as "dual tantra." [NS 271] This is also the second of the four classes of Tantra found in the New Schools. +
1) The character or nature of something; 2) the empty nature. [TD 836] +
The curved knife is a symbolic implement that symbolizes the severing of the four demons. [KR 51] +
The sixteen joys are a more detailed presentation of the four joys, a common principle in both the New Schools and Nyingma teachings on the conceptual completion stage +
The eight goddesses, such as the Beautiful One (''sgeg mo''), who make offerings to the deities. [TD 857] +
A female yidam deity that embodies the principle of knowledge. [TD 2585] ''See also'' male and female consorts. +
According to Jigme Lingpa, the four manifestations of enlightenment comprise an approach to development stage meditation unique to the ''Heruka Galpo Tantra'', in contrast to the more well-known five manifestations of enlightenment. These four are: 1) emptiness and the awakened mind, 2) the seed syllable, 3) the complete form of the deity, and 4) the placement of the seed syllable. [YT 375] +
This is an honorific term for body, which is often used to refer to the "body" or "form" of buddhahood, in all its various aspects. ''See also'' nirmāṇakāya, sambhogakāya, dharmakāya, svābhāvikakāya, vajrakāya, and abhisambodhikaya. +
The stake of absorption, the stake of the essence mantra, the stake of unchanging realization, and the stake of projection and absorption. k Tenpe Nyima explains, "All key points of the Vajrayana path of Secret Mantra are included in these four." [KR 59] Explaining further, Khenpo Ngaga writes, "It is traditionally said that these four stakes bring together our own ordinary body, speech, mind, and actions with the enlightened form, speech, mind, and activities of the wisdom deity. They are like stakes that bind these together ... In other words, these key instructions on the four stakes that bind the life-force purify the three gates and actions, which seem to be obscured from the perspective of the way things appear. Consequently, enlightened form, speech, mind, and activities - the way things really are - actually manifest. This is why these four are necessary." [ST 29] +
''See'' stable pride. +
In a general sense an empowerment is a tantric ritual that matures the students and allows them to engage in specific tantric practices. There are a great many divisions and descriptions pertaining to empowerment, such as those of the ground, path, and fruition. There are also unique empowerments associated with each tantric lineage and vehicle. Concerning the meaning of the term "empowerment," Jamgön Kongtrül explains that the original Sanskrit term has the literal meaning of "to scatter" and "to pour." The meaning, he explains, is that empowerments cleanse and purify the psycho-physical continuum by "scattering" the obscurations and then "pouring" the potential of wisdom into what is then a clean vessel, the purified psycho-physical continuum. [TK 3, 54] Stressing the importance of the empowerment ritual, Tsele Natsok Rangdröl writes, "Unless you first obtain the ripening empowerments, you are not authorized to hear even a single verse of the tantras, statements, and instructions. (Unauthorized) people who engage in expounding on and listening to the tantras will not only fail to receive blessings, they will create immense demerit from divulging the secrecy of these teachings. A person who has not obtained empowerment may pretend to practice the liberating instructions, but, instead of bringing accomplishment, the practice will create obstacles and countless other defects." [EM 39] +
''See Tantra of the Secret Essence''. +
According to Jamgön Kongtrül, the "natural nirmāṇakāya" is like a reflection cast by the sambhogakāya, referring to the five realms, kāyas, wisdoms, dharmas, and other elements that appear to tenth level bodhisattvas. In particular, this refers to the five nirmāṇakaya realms: the Unsurpassed (Akaniṣṭha, the realm of the buddha family and the Buddha Vairocana), Complete Joy (Abhirati, the realm of the vajra family and the Buddha Akṣobhya), the Glorious (Śrīmat, the realm of the jewel family and the Buddha Ratnasambhava), the Blissful or Lotus Mound (Sukhāvatī/Padmākūṭa, the realm of the lotus family and the Buddha Amitābha), and Accomplishment of Supreme Activity (Karmaprasiddhi, the realm of the karma family and the Buddha Amoghasiddhi). [TK 1, 84] +
There are three groupings of empowerments linked with the peaceful and wrathful deities of the ''Tantra of the Secret Essence''. Following the ten outer, beneficial empowerments and the five inner empowerments of potentiality, this third grouping consists of three empowerments that enable the student to practice the various types of completion stage, such as yogic heat, luminosity, and dream practice. These are the secret empowerment, the knowledge-wisdom empowerment, and the precious word empowerment. [PA 10-12] +
[Lit. "Indestructible Sow"] - A semiwrathful female yidam deity; the female counterpart of Cakrasaṃvara ('''"`UNIQ--nowiki-0002EF21-QINU`"'khor lo bde mchog''). [TD 1440] +
Along with recollecting purity and stable pride, this is one of the primary principles of development stage practice. Jigme Lingpa explains, "The forms of the central and surrounding deities ... should not be protruding like a clay statue or cast image, yet neither should they be flat like a painting. In contrast, they should be apparent, yet not truly existent, like a rainbow in the sky or the reflection of the moon in a lake. They should appear as though conjured up by a magician. Clear appearance involves fixing the mind one-pointedly on these forms with a sense of vividness, nakedness, lucidity, and clarity". [GD 219] ''See also'' clarity, purity, and pride. +
In the textual tradition of the Nyingma School, the three inner tantras comprise the final three of this tradition's nine vehicles. They are listed as the tantras of Mahāyoga, the scriptures of Anuyoga, and the key instructions of Atiyoga. [TD 1505] These three divisions are also associated with the practices of development, completion, and Great Perfection. As Dilgo Khyentse explains, "Development and Mahāyoga are like the basis for all the teachings, completion and Anuyoga are like the path of all the teachings, and the Great Perfection of Atiyoga is like the result of all the teachings." [WC 773] +
''See'' view, meditation, conduct, and fruition. +
To eliminate certain flaws that can occur in development stage practice, peaceful deities should be visualized as being soft, well proportioned, firm, supple, youthful, clear, radiant, attractive, and possessing an intense presence. [JL 233] In ''Notes on the Development Stage'', Tenpe Nyima equates these nine traits with, respectively: 1) the purification of pride, 2) the purification of anger, 3) the purification of desire, 4) the purification of envy, 5) the purification of stupidity, 6) the elimination of ignorance, 7) the unfolding of wisdom, 8) the complete presence of the marks and signs of enlightenment, and 9) superior qualities. "The first five," he writes, "are essential qualities, while the latter four are qualities related to [particular] attributes." [KR 43] +
Dual Tantra; an alternate name of Caryā Tantra. +
