byung rgyal du btang / skyang;allow the natural expression;allow the natural expression;A phrase indicating how to deal with the various experiences that arise during meditation. According to Chogye Trichen Rinpoché, the essential point is to allow all experiences to arise naturally, without attachment to the pleasant ones and without viewing the disturbing ones as faults. +
lung;reading transmission;reading transmission;The reading aloud of a text by a teacher who has previously heard the reading of the text from his or her teacher. In this way, the reading transmission is traced back in an unbroken line to the author of the work. +
vowels such as ''a'' and consonant-syllables such as ''ka'' (''ā li kā li'');vowels such as ''a'' and consonant-syllables such as ''ka'' (''ā li kā li'');The fifty vowels and consonant-syllables of the Sanskrit language. The crooked channel syllables in the subtle body are in the shapes of these syllables. +
dwangs ma;clear essences;clear essences;The clear or pure essences of the nine or ten father and mother ḍākas and ḍākinīs, which are the nine or ten essential constituents of the vital winds and mind in a human body. +
mnyen lcug bzhi;four malleable qualities;four malleable qualities;The ability to totally control the vital winds, the channels, the syllables, and the nectars, which have become completely malleable. +
rten 'brel lnga;five dependently arisen connections;five dependently arisen connections;The Path with the Result emphasizes five dependently arisen connections: the outer dependently arisen connections, the inner dependently arisen connections, the secret dependently arisen connections, the dependently arisen connections of reality, and the ultimate dependently arisen connections. Sakya Paṇḍita said that the way to make this key Buddhist tenet of dependent arising into the path of meditation was only explained in full detail in the teachings of the Path with the Result. It is perhaps ''the'' fundamental theme of this tradition. +
sku;kāyas;The system of the Path with the Result speaks of five kāyas: the nirmāṇakāya (''sprul sku''), the sambhogakāya (''longs sku''), the dharmakāya (''chos sku''), the svābhāvikakāya (''ngo bo nyid kyi sku''), and the utterly pure svābhāvikakāya (''ngo bo nyid kyi sku shin tu rnam par dag pa''). +
spyi bo,spyi gtsug,tshangs pa'i bu ga,gtsug tor;top of the head,crown of the head,aperture of Brahmā,cranial dome;top of the head,crown of the head,aperture of brahmā,cranial dome;uṣṇiṣa;These terms are often very specific. The top of the head is eight finger-widths above the eyebrows. The crown of the head is twelve finger-widths above the eyebrows, and the aperture of Brahmā refers to the juncture of the bones of the skull at that point. The cranial dome is a knob or dome that protrudes from the crown of the head at the point of enlightenment. +
'khor lo gsum;Three spheres;three spheres;lit. three wheels. Conceptions of the inherent existence of the object, the subject, and the action itself. +
bdud;Demon;demon;mara;This term is used to designate either a malevolent spirit or, symbolically, a negative force or obstacle on the path. The Four Demons (''bdud bzhi'') are of the latter kind. The Demon of the Aggregates refers to the five skandhas (body, feeling, perception, conditioning factors, and consciousness), as described in Buddhist teaching, which form the basis of suffering in samsara. The Demon of the Defilements refers to the afflictive emotions, which provoke suffering. The Demon of Death refers not only to death itself but to the momentary transience of all phenomena, the nature of which is suffering. The Demon Child of the Gods refers to mental wandering and the attachment to phenomena apprehended as truly existent. +
thal 'gyur;Prasangika;Subdivision of the Madhyamika school of philosophy characterized by the use of prasanga, or consequence (i.e., reduction to absurdity), as the best method of dealing with false assertions in order to establish emptiness beyond the reach of conceptual construction. This particular approach was first explicitly formulated by Buddhapalita and later taken up and confirmed by Chandrakirti. +
tshad med bzhi;Four boundless attitudes;four boundless attitudes;Four highly virtuous states of mind, regarded as immeasurable because they focus on all beings without exception and are productive of boundless merits. They are: love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and impartiality. +
mnar med;Torment Unsurpassed;torment unsurpassed;avici;The lowest of the hot hells, according to Buddhist teaching, characterized by the most intense and protracted form of suffering. +
gter ma;Treasures;treasures;Terma;terma;These are teachings and sacred objects concealed mainly by Guru Padmasambhava, to be revealed later, at a time when they would be more beneficial for the world and its inhabitants. Guru Rinpoche concealed such treasures in the deepest recesses of the minds of his disciples, who were themselves practitioners of great accomplishment. In addition, although not in every case, the bestowal of these treasure teachings was accompanied by the creation of certain physical objects, often scrolls of yellow paper carrying the symbolic letters of the dakinis, or other writing (sometimes a few words, sometimes entire texts). These texts, together with other items, were entrusted for protection to the dakinis or Dharma protectors and were concealed, not in the ordinary sense, but within the very nature of the elements. According to the inconceivable workings of interdependence, when the appropriate historical period arrives, the disciples to whom a specific teaching was bestowed appear in the world and proceed to unfold the treasure teachings. In this they are often prompted by the discovery of the items just referred to, or else they spontaneously recollect the teaching received many centuries before from the mouth of the guru. The collection of terma is enormous and forms one of the main sources of teaching and practice of the Nyingma school. +
Anuyoga;The second of the inner tantras, according to the system of nine vehicles used in the Nyingma tradition. Anuyoga emphasizes the perfection stage of tantric practice, which consists of meditation on emptiness, as well as the subtle channels, energies, and essence of the physical body. +
dag mnyam chen po;Purity and equality;purity and equality;A central principle of the Vajrayana. It is the view of the Mahayoga expounded in the tantra ''sgyu 'phrul dra ba'' (Fantasmagorical Net). All appearances, in their purity, are the mandala of the kayas and wisdoms. This comprises the superior relative truth. Being pure, they are all equal, wisdom and emptiness united. This is superior absolute truth. The "pure" status of the appearing mode and the "equal" status of the absolute mode of being are present indivisibly in every phenomenon. This is referred to as the great Dharmakaya. +
chos;Dharma;This Sanskrit term is the normal word used to indicate the Doctrine of the Buddha. In fact the term has ten meanings (see note 82). The Dharma of transmission refers to the corpus of verbal teachings, whether oral or written. The Dharma of realization refers to the spiritual qualities resulting from the practice of these teachings. +