Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
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The supreme accomplishment is the attainment of Buddhahood. Or-dinary accomplishments are miraculous powers acquired in the course of spiritual training. These powers, the reality of which is also recognized in spiritual traditions other than Buddhism, are not regarded as ends in themselves. They are, nevertheless, taken as signs of progress and are em-ployed for the benefit of the teachings and disciples. +
lit. noble. A being who has transcended sam-saric existence. There are four classes of Aryas: Arhats, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. +
Teachings and sacred objects concealed by Guru Rinpoche and other enlightened beings, to be revealed later, at a time when they would be most beneficial. The Terma teachings are com-posed in the symbolic letters of the dakinis, or other writing, and consist sometimes of a few words, sometimes of an entire text. The Treasures were concealed in the nature of the elements—water, rocks, etc.—or in the minds of the disciples. When they were with Guru Rinpoche, these disciples fully realized the meaning of these teachings and are for this reason the only ones who can rediscover them in the course of subsequent incar-nations. The purpose of the symbolic script is in fact to awaken in the terton's mind the memory of the teaching entrusted to him or her by Guru Rinpoche. +
Five aspects of Buddha's mind, corre-lated with the Dhyani Buddhas of the five Families: the wisdom of the absolute space (Vairochana), mirror-like wisdom (Vajrasattva), the wisdom of equality (Ratnasambhava), all-perceiving wisdom (Amitabha), and all-accomplishing wisdom (Amoghasiddhi). +
Lit., Mighty Lotus Garlanded with Skulls. A name of Guru Padmasambhava. +
A cross between a yak and a cow. +
A kind of bird, in Indian and Tibetan my-thology, traditionally of great size, the chicks of which are said to emerge from the shell already equipped with feathers and able to fly immediately. It is a symbol of Primordial Wisdom. +
Four thoughts directed to the entire aggregate of living beings, which arc therefore de-scribed as incomensurable. They are boundless love, boundless compassion, boundless sympathetic joy, and boundless impartiality. +
Name of a Bodhisattva person-ifying the wisdom of all the Buddhas. +
The five subjects traditionally mastered by a pandita, namely: art and handicrafts, medicine, philology, logic, and philosophy. +
A text elucidating the meaning of a tantra. +
The feminine principle, wisdom or emptiness. See Great Mother; Prajnaparamita +
A special three-pronged trident carried by tantric yogis and specifically by Guru Padmasambhava. No doubt in connection with the story given here of Tsogyal's being hidden in the Guru's trident, in representations of Guru Rinpoche, the katanga is re-garded as a symbol of the spiritual consort. +
The lowest of the hot hells, according to Buddhist teaching, characterized by the most in-tense and protracted form of suffering. +
In this text, the terms empowerment and initiation are treated as synonyms. Of these two, initiation, though in many ways unsatisfactory, has the advantage of indicating that it is the point of entry into tantric practice. On the other hand, empowerment is closer to the Tibetan term, which refers to the transference of wisdom power, from master to disciple, allowing and enabling them to engage in the practice and to reap its fruit. In general, there are four levels of tantric empower-ment. The first is the Vase Empowerment, which purifies the defilements and obscurations associated with the body, grants the blessings of the Vajra Body, authorizes the disciple to practice the yogas of the generation stage, and enables him or her to attain the Nirmanakaya. The second is the Secret Empowerment. This purifies the defilements and obscurations of the speech faculty; grants the blessings of Vajra Speech; authorizes the disciple to practice the yogas of the perfection stage connected with the subtle channels, wind-energies, and essence of his own body; and enables the disciple to attain the Sambhogakaya. The third empowerment is the Wisdom Empowerment. This purifies the defilements and obscurations associated with the mind; grants the blessings of the Vajra Mind; authorizes the practice of yogas of the "Skillful Path," and enables the disciple to attain the Dharmakaya. The final empowerment, which is often simply referred to as "the Fourth Initiation," is the Precious Word Empowerment. This purifies the defilements of body, speech, and mind and all karmic and cognitive obscurations, grants the blessings of Primordial Wisdom, authorizes the disciple to engage in the practice of Dzogchen, and makes possible the attainment of the Svabhavikakaya. This is a simplification of a highly complex subject. It is perhaps worth pointing out that these empowerments only truly occur when the transition of spiritual power from the master is actually experienced by the disciple, who is thereby completely transformed. Failing that, which is of course the case for most people, empowerment does not, strictly speaking, occur. Empowerment ceremonies arc, in the vast majority of cases, symbolic; they are, so to speak, "sacramental blessings." These blessings are nevertheless important and in fact indispensable, in that they constitute an authorization for the practice and create auspicious links that prepare the disciple for the moment when real empowerment can take place. It goes without saying that in the case of Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal, the empower-ments were truly transmitted and received.
Another name of Guru Padmasambhava. +
Sovereign god of the Heaven of the Thirty-three, a celestial realm located in the world of desire. INITIATION. See empowerment +
A deity of the Hindu pantheon, belonging, in the Buddhist system, to the world of form. +
