Property:Gloss-term
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
T
bsam gtan gyi yan lag dgu;nine branches of meditation;nine branches of meditation;These are the nine uncommon preliminary practices for all the yogas of the path. They are explained fully in Lama Dampa's commentary in the section on the path of the secret initiation. Briefly, these are three purifications of body, speech, and mind;three key points of body, speech, and mind;and three preliminary meditations. +
ro ma;lalanā;One of the three main channels. The lalanā is located to the left of the central channel. +
phyag rgya;mudrā;A Sanskrit term that literally means "seal," but also has many other uses. In the translated texts, perhaps the most common meaning of the term is "female consort," whether imagined or actual. In other contexts the word is used to mean "seal," "ornament," "ritual gesture," "formal position," "yogic technique," and more. Keeping these possible meanings in mind, a careful reader will be able to understand the intended meaning of the term in each specific instance. +
thig le;drop,seminal drop;drop,seminal drop;The translation "seminal drop" has been used for the physical reproductive fluids. The term "drop" has been used in other contexts involving the visualization of drops not related to the reproductive fluids. +
zhing khams;vast domain;vast domain;Four vast domains are associated with the four kāyas. In this context alone, the English translation "vast domain" has been used to clearly distinguish between this specific meaning and the more common general meaning of "paradise" or "pure realm." +
byang sems;enlightenment mind;enlightenment mind;This term is oft en used in the tantric sense in the Tibetan texts translated in this book. It can refer to semen, to the reproductive fluids in both males and females, and to the clear essences of the essential constituents. Context dictates meaning. Often several layers of meaning exist simultaneously. +
thams cad mkhyen pa;omniscient one;omniscient one;A buddha. This term can also be used as an epithet for a great Buddhist master. The Omniscient One is Śākyamuni Buddha. +
shes rab ye shes kyi dbang;initiation of primordial awareness dependent on an embodiment of wisdom;initiation of primordial awareness dependent on an embodiment of wisdom;The term ''wisdom (shes rab)'' refers to the female consort, or mudrā, whether imagined or actual, who is the ''embodiment of wisdom (shes rab ma)''. Through the practices of the third initiation, which are dependent on her, the connate ''primordial awareness (ye shes)'' arises. Chogye Trichen Rinpoché glossed the name of the third initiation with the phrase "connate primordial awareness dependent on a female embodiment of wisdom" ('''''shes rab''' ma la brten nas lhan cig skyes pa'i '''ye shes'''''). His Holiness Sakya Trizin agreed with this definition and the meaning is also clear in Lama Dampa's commentary. +
tshogs gsog;accumulate the assemblies;accumulate the assemblies;The two assemblies of merit (''bsod nams'') and primordial awareness (''ye shes'') must be accumulated to reach full enlightenment. +
rlung sems;vital winds and mind;vital winds and mind;Synonymous with the ten essential constituents and with the ten inner father and mother ḍākas and ḍākinīs. Five of the essential constituents are the five vital winds of earth, water, fire, wind, and space, which are also referred to as the five ḍākinīs. In the phrase ''vital winds and mind'', the word ''mind (sems)'' is an abbreviation for the five enlightenment minds (''byang sems''), which are the clear essences of the physical constituents of feces, urine, blood, reproductive fluid, and flesh. These five are also referred to as the five father ḍākas or as the enlightened bodies of the tathāgatas. To complicate matters, the enlightenment mind, or ''mind'' in this phrase, is the support of the ''mind'' in the usual sense of the word. Thus a double level of meaning is always present. States of mind are dependent on the inner movements and locations of the vital winds and enlightenment minds within the channel network of the subtle body. +
khams 'dus pa;gathering of the essential constituents;gathering of the essential constituents;The first, the middle, and the final gatherings represent the gradual clearing and purification of the nine or ten essential constituents within the body. The four or five vital winds and the five enlightenment minds gather into different channel locations within the body due to the practice of yoga. When these nine or ten essential constituents (the ḍākinīs and ḍākas or buddhas) gather into those specific locations, the ordinary body is transformed into a rainbow body. +
mkha' 'gro;ḍākas,ḍākinīs;The neuter Tibetan term ''mkha' 'gro'' is purposely used throughout the Tibetan texts. This term is the Tibetan translation of the masculine Sanskrit term ''ḍāka'', but is also used as an abbreviation for the feminine Tibetan term ''mkha' 'gro ma'', which is the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit term ''ḍākinī''. Thus an inherent ambiguity is often present in the use of the Tibetan term without the feminine ending ''ma''. In the Tibetan texts translated in this book the term ''mkha' 'gro'' is used to embrace both the masculine and feminine meanings. In many instances the intended gender is clear from context. But when the meaning is ambiguous, the single term ''mkha' 'gro'' has been translated as "ḍākas and ḍākinīs." This decision is based on conversations with His Holiness Sakya Trizin, Khenchen Appey Rinpoché, and Dezhung Rinpoché. +
'gros bzhi thim;dissolution of the four pulsations;dissolution of the four pulsations;The four pulsations are the pulsations of: the channels;the syllables (that are channels in the crooked forms of syllables);the drops, enlightenment minds, or nectars (terms used synonymously at various times);and the vital winds. The advance and retreat ('' 'jug ldog'') of these four in and out of the saṃsāra channels of the rasanā and lalanā and the central channel of nirvāṇa is referred to as ''pulsation ('gros)''. When the four pulsations have gone into the central channel and no longer retreat, this is referred to as the ''dissolution of the four pulsations ('gros bzhi thim)''. +
rdo rje'i skyil krung;vajra position;vajra position;The sitting position most often used for meditation, with the side of the left foot placed upon the right thigh and the side of the right foot placed upon the left thigh. +
khams bcu / dgu;nine or ten essential constituents;nine or ten essential constituents;Five of the essential constituents are the five vital winds of earth, water, fire, wind, and space, which are also referred to as the five ḍākinīs. The essential physical constituents of feces, urine, blood, reproductive fluid, and flesh are also referred to as the five nectars, or as the ḍākas or the enlightened bodies of the tathāgatas. Sometimes the vital wind of space is considered to be all-pervasive, and so the reference is to just nine essential constituents. +
rig ma;female embodiment of pure awareness;female embodiment of pure awareness;One of the common terms used for the female consort, or mudrā, whether imagined or actual. Another similar term is ''female embodiment of wisdom (shes rab ma)''. +
srog;vital wind of life;vital wind of life;A term used both for the vital winds that circulate through the left channel of the lalanā and for the inhalation of breath. The path of the vital wind of life is thus the left nostril. +
gdan gsum;three seats;three seats;The word ''seat'' is used to designate a group of deities. The three seats are usually listed as the seat of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, the seat of the female embodiments of pure awareness and the goddesses, and the seat of the male and female wrathful beings. Sometimes the three are listed as the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and the wrathful beings. +
grub mtha';culmination of attainment;culmination of attainment;A culmination or limit of attainment is associated with each of the four initiations. These culminations of realization or attainment result from the specific practices of the respective initiations. These results arise at certain points along the path, and are not the ultimate and final results. The same Tibetan term also means "philosophical tenet," which is not applicable in this context. +
bha ga;bhaga;A Sanskrit word not translated into Tibetan. The term is used to designate a certain physical region of the body, mostly the abdomen below the navel, but sometimes also extending up to the heart cakra. Many of the key channel syllables are located in this region according to the Hevajra tradition. The same term is also used for the vulva. +
