Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
T
"Crossing over." The second stage of Dzogchen. +
The ''ngöndro'' are the four (in the Nyingma, five) Vajrayana "preliminary practices" that are commonly done in preparation for full initiation into the ''vajra'', or tantric, vehicle. The ''ngöndro'' include one hundred thousand repetitions each of: full-body prostrations, including refuge formula; the 108-syllable mantra of the deity Vajrasattva; offerings of one's body, speech, and mind to the lineage; and the mantra of one's guru known as guru yoga. In the Nyingma, the first of the four ''ngöndro'' may be divided into two separate practices of prostrations and recitations of the refuge formula, making five ''ngöndro'' in all. Each of the practices is accompanied by a visualization, ''mudras'', and ''mantras'' or other utterances. +
The ultimate, ''dharmakaya'' buddha in the New Translation schools. +
three bodies of the Buddha. +
"Action." One of the central teachings of the Buddha and of Buddhism, expressed in the second noble truth, which details how suffering comes about. There are two principal types of karma, the karma of result and the karma of cause. The karma of result refers to the fact that our current circumstances and the events of our present life are the result of causes and conditions laid down by us in previous times. The karma of cause indicates that whatever we do in the present will contribute toward the circumstances and events that we will experience in the future. +
Practices through which one develops compassion toward others and fearlessness in relation to one's own experience. These include (in Sanskrit) ''maitri'' (loving-kindness), ''karuna'' (compassion), ''mudita'' (sympathetic joy), and ''upeksha'' (equanimity). +
(1040-1123). The best-known and perhaps most well-loved hermit and ''yogin'' in Tibetan Buddhist history. He was the principal disciple of the translator Marpa (1012-1097), Tibetan founder of the Kagyü lineage received in India from the ''siddha'' Naropa (1016-1100). After an extraordinarily difficult youth filled with suffering and much evildoing, Milarepa met Marpa, studied under him, and finally received Vajrayana transmission. Then, at Marpa's direction, Milarepa entered solitary retreat in the mountains and spent the rest of his life meditating and training disciples. His principal students were Rechungpa and Gampopa. +
They may be either "wisdom ''dakinis''" who are embodiments of the reality and message of enlightenment, or "worldly ''dakinis''" who can be either helpful or harmful to the practitioner on the path. Sometimes ''dakinis'' are human women, and sometimes they appear in visions and dreams in a vivid but nonphysical form. +
"Generosity," one of the six perfections +
The Madhyamaka is the most important Mahayana philosophical school in Tibet. Founded by Nagarjuna (ca. second century), the Madhyamaka is a commentarial tradition on the ''Prajnaparamita Sutra'' (a collection of sutras on the "perfection of wisdom") that involves the study and, eventually, the experiential understanding of emptiness (Skt., ''shunyata''). Within Tibetan Buddhism, the most important Madhyamaka line has been that of the Prasangika Madhyamaka, which seeks to show the fallacy (or emptiness) of any position that may be advanced without, however, advancing any position of its own. +
While ''rigpa'' can refer to ordinary, worldly knowledge, in the Nyingma lineage it is the primary term designating the inherent wisdom within, the awakened state itself. +
''See'' three yanas. +
Discourse of the Buddha. The Buddha is held to have given two sorts of teachings, sutras and tantras. Sutras are discourses on the conventional vehicles of Hinayana and Mahayana and include teachings on ethical conduct, the practice of meditation, Buddhist philosophy and psychology, and the like. +
The teachings and heritage of Shakyamuni Buddha. This term is preferred by many Asian and Western Buddhists, rather than the Western designation "Buddhism," because the latter term implies an "ism," a fixed entity, while "buddha-dharma" implies a living and ever-changing body of teaching, practice, and realization. +
One of the four "preliminary practices" (Tib. ''ngöndro'') carried out by practitioners aspiring to receive ''abhisheka'', or full initiation into the Vajrayana. +
One of the three principal celestial bodhisattvas in Tibet (including also Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani). Manjushri is thought to be the essence of wisdom, and great scholars or teachers may be said to be the human incarnations of this bodhisattva. +
The guru is simply the person from whom one receives Buddhist instruction. While commonly one or a few teachers may play principal teaching roles in a person's life (functioning as "root guru," or "primary teacher"), Tibetans may have several individuals whom they think of as their lamas or gurus. +
"The Lord who looks down from on high (with compassion)." Considered the essence of compassion, Avalokiteshvara is one of the three most important celestial bodhisattvas in Tibetan Buddhism (Manjushri and Vajrapani are the other two). Certain high lamas, such as the Dalai Lamas and the Karmapas, are considered to be human embodiments of Avalokiteshvara. +
"Cutting through," the first stage of Dzogchen. +
''Samadhi'' is most often a general term comprising all forms of meditation. In this context, Buddhist texts speak of the Buddhist path as threefold, including ''shila'' (ethical conduct), ''samadhi'' (meditation), and ''prajna'' (knowledge). +
