Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
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A fully and completely enlightened being. All the historical Buddhist traditions — Theravada (Hinayana), Mahayana, and Vajrayana — enumerate many such beings, both preceding and following the buddha of this world age, Shakyamuni Buddha. Mahayana Buddhism counts the buddhas as limitless in number, appearing throughout endless time and space. In the Mahayana and Vajrayana, many celestial buddhas are known and become the objects of meditation and worship. +
The clan name of Buddha Shakyamuni prior to his enlightenment. +
The ''mandala'', or "sacred circle," is a central image within the Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet. In Vajrayana rites, the ''mandala'' is a geometrically delineated circle or three-dimensional "palace" that represents the cosmos when seen from an enlightened viewpoint. The principal tantric deity of the ritual is depicted at the center of the ''mandala'', while his or her retinue are typically stationed at the four primary and four intermediate directions, and in other locations, around the periphery. +
''See'' shamatha. +
The last and highest of the six ''paramitas'', or perfections. +
The three special refuges of Vajrayana practitioners. These include the guru who is the root of blessings; the ''yidam'' who is the root of accomplishment; and the dharma protectors (''dharmapalas'') or ''dakinis'' who are the root of enlightened action. +
Insight practice. ''Vipashyana'' literally means "extraordinary seeing" and refers to the experience of "seeing things as they are." At the Hinayana level, ''vipashyana'' refers to seeing that there is no substantial and continuous "self," only the five ''skandhas''. At the Mahayana level, ''vipashyana'' refers to the direct, nonconceptual experience of the emptiness of all phenomena. ''Shamatha'' (tending to mental stabilization) provides the ground for the arising of ''vipashyana''. +
The eight worldly ways of judging and discriminating experience that create karma and perpetuate our entrapment in samsara. These include gain and loss, fame and ill-repute, praise and blame, and pleasure and pain. Each of the eight worldly dharmas arises as a function of belief in a "self" that we are trying to maintain and protect. +
A fabulous mythological gem that was reputed to produce for its owner any benefit desired. In Buddhism, the wish-fulfilling gem came to symbolize the buddha-nature itself, which, once realized, brings through its wisdom, compassion, and power any and every fulfillment desired by the practitioner. +
The "great vehicle," the genre of Buddhism practiced in Tibet. ''See'' three yanas. +
The meditational tutelary deity that embodies a practitioner's enlightened being. Through meditating on the ''yidam'', the practitioner is enabled gradually to disengage from his or her illusory, personal "self" and identify more and more fully with the buddha-nature within. Each Tibetan school has its most characteristic ''yidams'', upon which most members of the school will meditate at one time or another. In addition, practitioners are often given a specific ''yidam'' that most closely reflects their own as yet hidden enlightened qualities.<br>Tantric meditation on the ''yidam'' typically contains two phases, ''utpattikrama'' (the stage of generation) and ''sampannakrama'' (the stage of completion). In the first, one visualizes the deity with all of his or her accoutrements and performs various ritual activities, including refuge, generation of ''bodhichitta'', confession of misdeeds, offerings, and praises, culminating in visualizing oneself as the ''yidam'' and reciting his or her mantra. In the completion stage, one dissolves the visualization and rests one's mind in emptiness, realizing the inborn wisdom that is immaculate and out of which all phenomena arise. +
One's principal teacher. ''See also'' guru. +
The beings who live in the six realms of samsara. ''See also'' samsara. +
One of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Sakya school has origins in the teachings of the Indian ''mahasiddha'' Virupa (ninth or tenth century) and was brought to Tibet by the Tibetan Drokmi (993-1077). The Sakya school is particularly renowned for its ''lamdre'' (path and fruit) teachings that combine Mahayana and Vajrayana into a unified synthesis. +
another name for Vajrayana. +
The various possible states of existence within samsara. +
'See'' dharmachakra. +
The "inner fire" that is aroused in the practice of the inner yogas, an important domain of practice in Tibetan Buddhism. +
The three primary ''kleshas'' of greed, hatred, and ignorance. +
The Indian ''siddha'' who brought Vajrayana Buddhism for the first time to Tibet, in the eighth century CE. His traditional biography says that he was miraculously born in a lotus, adopted by king Indrabhuti in Northwest India, and brought up as a prince. His unconventional behavior led to banishment, and he spent the rest of his life roaming the charnel grounds, jungles, and wastelands, learning from ''dakinis'' both human and superhuman, and practicing the tantric teachings. During his wanderings, he met and trained many disciples. At the request of the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen, Padmasambhava went to Tibet and was instrumental in the establishment of Buddhism there. He is considered the founder of the Nyingma tradition and also its principal guru, and many liturgies and meditations invoke his presence and request his blessings. +
