Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
T
A single syllable conceived as one expression of enlightened mind. It represents a primal vibration and corresponds to the seminal source of being. Each deity springs from a single seed syllable. +
The esoteric instructions of Virūpa within the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. +
Literally, "the Great Vehicle." Originally propagated in India and currently practiced in Tibet, China, Mongolia, Japan, and Korea, the Mahāyāna teachings emphasize the idea of emptiness and universal compassion, and in particular the practices of the bodhisattva. +
The collections of scripture or "baskets" (Skt. piṭaka), refers to the three collections which constitute the Buddhist canon: the vinaya piṭaka, the books of discipline or rules; the sutra piṭaka, books of the Buddha's sermons; and the abhidharma piṭaka, the teachings on all phenomena (dharmas). Sometimes the tantras are called the fourth basket. In general the term refers to the basic Buddhist teachings. +
The first phase of yidam practice, in which one visualizes oneself as the yidam deity. First one visualizes the form deity (the pledge being) and then joins it with the wisdom of the actual deity (the wisdom being). For more information on these two phases, see Kongtrul (1996). +
Literally, "hearer." The śrāvaka vehicle of practice is connected to hearing the Buddha's teaching. From a Mahāyāna perspective, śrāvakas lack the compassionate intention of the bodhisattva to remain in cyclic existence and to work for the benefit of beings, but rather seek to gain the bliss of enlightenment for themselves. +
A common type of dharma protector deity. +
''See'' Tripiṭaka. +
Literally, "kings," gyalpos are spirits that impersonate leaders, bring illness, and supposedly cause insanity. +
Sacred sounds, or formulations of seed syllables that protect the mind of the practitioner. They are regarded as the speech aspect of yidam practice. +
Also called the ten ''bhūmis'' or ten grounds. The ten levels of advanced realization of one following the path of a bodhisattva. +
One of the most important wisdom beings in Tibetan Buddhism, a bodhisattva or goddess who serves as a yidam and a protector and an inspiration to practitioners. +
The four different types or levels of tantra, the kriyātantra, ubhayatantra or caryātantra, yogatantra, and unsurpassed yogatantra. ''See also'' Tantras. +
An important Vajrayāna practice common to all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, in which one requests and symbolically receives the blessings of one's root lama. +
Empowerment is an important practice of Vajrayāna Buddhism in which students are symbolically invested with the ability to do particular practices by a qualified lama. The four empowerments are (1) the vase empowerment, the empowerment of body; (2) the secret empowerment, the empowerment of speech; (3) the wisdom empowerment, the empowerment of mind; and (4) the word empowerment, the nonconceptual empowerment. +
Four subjects of meditation and important virtues that one cultivates for others on the bodhisattva path. The four are love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. +
A buddha considered the head of all the buddha families, regarded as a dharmakāya buddha in the new schools of Tibetan Buddhism. +
"Treasure-lord harm-bringer," class of spirits who guard treasure or wealth and can be treacherous. ''See'' Nöchin. +
The mind and the subtle energy currents or winds are very intimately connected, like a rider on a mount. +
Small images of stūpas used as reliquaries. Often tsa-tsas are made as a way to accumulate merit. +
