Property:Gloss-term
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
T
Three Roots;three roots;In addition to the Three Jewels, in Vajrayana the practitioner also takes refuge in the Three Roots: the guru as the source of all blessings, the yidam as the source of all siddhi, and the dharma protectors as the source of enlightened activity. +
one taste;one taste;Realization of the non-dual nature of mind and phenomenon. One of the four yogas of Mahamudra. +
four transmissions;four transmissions;Tilopa, the father of the Kagyu lineage, received four sets of yogic practice from several gurus, which he in turn transmitted to his disciple, Naropa. These four transmissions are often said to be: the illusory body yoga, dream yoga, clear light or luminosity yoga, and tummo or candali yoga. These became the main source of the Six Yogas of Naropa. For a different account of the four transmissions, see Nalanda and Chogyam Trungpa, ''The Life of Marpa the Translator'', pp. xxxii-xxxiii. +
Dharma;Truth, law, way, path. The teachings of the Buddhas. In other contexts "dharma" refers to phenomena or mental and physical objects. +
Jetsun;jetsun;Venerable, reverend. A Tibetan honorific term used in addressing highly respected masters. +
dharmadhatu;The unborn realm of all-encompassing space in which all things arise, exist, and cease. +
sadhana;This term refers both to tantric ritual texts and to the practices presented in those texts. +
Mahamudra;A term virtually synonymous with Buddhahood. It means the "Great Seal" or "Sublime Stance," the spontaneous embodiment of the all-knowing wisdom and limitless compassion of a Buddha. Mahamudra is also the name of the specific systems of spiritual practice inherited by the Tibetans from the Indian mahasiddhas. +
puja;Offering ritual or ceremony of worship. +
vipashyana;Insight. After calming and clearing the mind through shamatha meditation, the yogin will begin to have insight into the nature of mind, phenomena, and emptiness. There are progressive levels of insight meditation leading ultimately to the perfection of wisdom. While there is a systematic series of analytical meditations, as well as questions similar to Zen koans, the goal is not simply to gain an intellectual understanding of mind, but rather for the yogi to clearly realize the true nature of mind experientially. +
yidam;yidam;The personal meditation deity of a Vajrayana practitioner. Although some yidams are prescribed and taught to everyone within a particular lineage at a preliminary level, the guru will later select a specific yidam for each practitioner in accordance with one's characteristic expression of Buddha nature.
:As a preliminary to yidam practice, the yogi must be accomplished in guru yoga and have great faith and devotion in the guru. This enables the practitioner to identify with the lineage and to establish a deep inner connection with the yidam. In this way one can transform the energy of one's neurosis into its enlightened expression, as represented in the yidam. Identification with the yidam also cuts through deeply entrenched attachment to one's physical form. +
guru yoga;The most important daily tantric practice, wherein one visualizes one's spiritual teacher in the center of the mandala, supplicates him, receives empowerments, blessings, and siddhis from him, and ultimately merges one's own mind inseparably with his. One must see the guru as none other than a fully realized Buddha to experience the full power and blessings of guru yoga.
:The different lineages have different visualizations of the guru. In the Kagyu lineage, one visualizes the guru either in the form of Vajradhara or in the form of the founders of the particular branch of the Kagyu lineage. In the Karma Kagyu, the guru is usually visualized in the form of the Karmapa. There are also special guru yogas of the founding Kagyu fathers: Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa. In the Nyingma lineages, generally one visualizes one's guru in the form of Padmasambhava. +
generation stage;generation stage;The first of the two main stages of tantric practice, wherein one's relative perceptions of reality are purified through mudra, mantra, and visualization of the deity. This serves to eliminate one's negative habitual tendencies of mind, and prepares one for the completion stage. See also ''completion stage''. +
Guhyasamaja;The most important father tantra of Highest Yoga Tantra. Guhyasamaja belongs to the vajra family of the five buddha families, and represents the power of anger transformed into mirror-like wisdom. Blue in color, he is usually depicted with six arms and four faces. Guhyasamaja was one of Marpa's special practices. +
Hevajra;A semi-wrathful (ecstatic or blissful) male Heruka. One of the major yidams of both the Kagyupa and Sakyapa lineages. Hevajra was the main yidam of Marpa the Translator. Hevajra is blue in color, and appears in four, six, and twelve armed forms, in blissful union with his female consort, Nairatmya. The Hevajra Tantra is one of the main cycles of Buddhist tantra. +
Short Ah Tummo Yoga;short ah tummo yoga;This short AH is visualized in the navel area for the purpose of igniting the inner fire or tummo. This is one of the completion stage yogas of Highest Yoga Tantra. For further reading see Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, ''Clear Light of Bliss'', pp. 33-66. For a concise description of the practice see Kathleen MacDonald, How To Meditate, pp. 134-138. +
yogini;A female yoga practitioner. +
damaru;A two-headed hand-held drum used in Vajrayana ritual. +
seven aryan riches;seven aryan riches;Arya means "superior being," one who has had a direct experience of ultimate truth. The seven riches of a bodhisattva, one on the path to ultimate awakening, are: faith, discipline, generosity, learning, moral behavior, modesty, and knowledge. +
Lam Rim;lam rim;or Gradual Stages of the Path to Enlightenment is a system of teaching and meditation initially introduced into Tibetan Buddhism by Atisha. This approach integrates all the teachings of the three yanas (Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana) into one progressive system of training and realization on the path to Buddhahood. +
