Property:Gloss-def
From Buddha-Nature
This is a property of type Text.
T
one of the five Dhyāni buddhas. +
lit. 'the Bearer of the Vajra'; all-embracing
Buddha nature. +
giving, kind words, assisting the development of
others, consistency between words and actions. +
Bodhisattva of Wisdom. Mañjuśrī manifested in
Tibet as King Khri-srong lde'u-btsan in order to help the Tibetans firmly establish
the Dharma. +
the twelve-fold cycle of causal connections which binds
beings to samsaric existence and thus perpetuates suffering: ignorance (Tib. ma-
rig-pa) which gives rise to karmic dispositions (Tib. 'du-byed) which gives rise to
consciousness (Tib. rnam-par-shes-pa) which gives rise to name and form (Tib.
ming-dang gzugs) which give rise to the six senses (Tib. skye-mched drug) which
give rise to contact (Tib. reg-pa) which gives rise to feeling (Tib. 'tshor-ba) which
gives rise to craving (Tib. sred-pa) which gives rise to grasping (Tib. nye-bar-len-
pa) which gives rise to existence (Tib. srid-pa) which gives rise to birth (Tib.
skye-ba) which gives rise to old age and death (Tib. rga-shi). +
a female tantric initiation deity. +
systematic teachings which analyze elements of experience and
investigate the nature of existence, thus dispelling wrong views and establishing
analytic insight. +
known as the Bodhisattva of Compassion,
he is an emanation of the Dhyānibuddha Amitābha. Avalokiteśvara manifested in
Tibet as King Srong-btsan sgam-po in order to help the Tibetan people and to lay
the foundation for the spread of the Dharma. +
a non-conceptual
stage in tantric practice; in the Perfecting Stage, the visualizations of the
Development Stage dissolve into an experience of openness. +
the all-pervasive primordial Buddha from whom radiates the five
Dhyānibuddhas; the representation of dynamic energy that brings form into
existence. +
one of the five Dhyāni buddhas. +
Tibetan translators of the canonical texts who usually worked with
Indian paṇditas. +
the clan into which the Buddha was born; their lands in northern India
bordered on Nepal. The Sākyas were destroyed by neighboring peoples during the
Buddha's lifetime. +
see Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. +
the 'Lotus-born' Guru of Odiyan; his eight major manifesta-
tions are: Padma 'byung-gnas, Padma rgyal-po, rDo-rje gro-lod, Nyi-ma 'od-zer,
Sākya seng-ge, Seng-ge sgra-sgrog, Blo-ldan mchog-sred, and rDo-rje 'chang. +
lit.'Ever-weeping'; a great Bodhisattva in
the Prajñāpāramitā literature who manifested great fortitude in attempting to
obtain the Prajñāpāramitā teachings during the time of the Buddha Dharmodgata. +
lit. expanse of the Dharma; ultimate
reality, synonym of voidness or openness. +
these come under the two general headings of
rNying-ma (the ancient ones) and gSar-ma (the new ones). The rNying-ma maintain the lineages that were carried to Tibet during the early
transmission of the Dharma from the 7th through the 9th centuries. These lineages
were established in Tibet by the great masters Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra,
Sāntarakṣita, and Vairotsana, and were supported by texts translated at that time
by outstanding paṇḍitas and lotsāwas. This early transmission was furthered by the
patronage of the great Dharma Kings Srong-btsan sgam-po, Khri-srong lde'u-
btsan, and Ral-pa-can. rNying-ma-pas maintain a complete Sūtra and Mantra tradition, and recog-
nize nine different vehicles for realization. Principal types of transmission are
bka'-ma and gter-ma. Practices are based on both outer and inner Tantras, with
practice of the inner Tantras being a distinguishing characteristic of the rNying-ma
school. There is an emphasis on the balance of study and practice as a foundation
for the higher practices which lead to complete realization. The gSar-ma is the general heading of all the Tibetan schools of Buddhism
which developed after the 10th century. The bKa'-gdams was the first of the gsar-ma, or new, schools, and was based on
the teachings of Atīśa (lOth-llth century), the great Buddhist teacher from
Vikramaśīla who spent thirteen years in Tibet. Three lineages branched from
Atīśa's teaching, carried by three of Atīśa's disciples; Khu-ston Shes-rab brtson-
'grus, rNgog, and 'Brom-ston, who established the structure of the bKa'-gdams
school. The bKa'-gdams-pa teachings were continued by Po-to-pa Rin-chen gsal
(11th century) and Blo-gros grags-pa. The bKa'-gdams-pa were noted for the rigor
of their Vinaya practice and for the study of Prajñāpāramitā and Mādhyamika
śāstras. Their teachings were later assimilated by other schools, especially by the
bKa'-rgyud and dGe-lugs schools. The bKa'-rgyud school was founded by Marpa (lOth-llth century), the great
yogi and translator who was the disciple of the Mahāsiddhas Maitri-pa and Nāropa.
His own disciple, Mi-la-ras-pa, was the teacher of Ras-chung-pa and sGam-po-pa.
From these two disciples came a number of flourishing subschools such as the
'Brug-pa and Karma bKa'-rgyud. The bKa'-rgyud traditions emphasize devotional
and yogic practices and have produced numerous siddhas. The Shangs-pa teachings were based on the lineage brought to Tibet by the
siddha Khyung-po rnal-'byor (11th century?), a great tantric master who has
studied with many teachers, including ḍākinīs. Khyung-po lived in Shangs in
gTsang, central Tibet, where six disciples became his spiritual sons. Thus, this
school is sometimes known as the Seven Treasures lineage (the Master and his six
sons) or as the Dākinī lineage. The teachings of this school, which are powerful and
practice-oriented, have been assimilated into the other schools, particularly the
bKa'-rgyud and dGe-lugs schools. The Zhi-byed teachings were brought to Tibet by Dam-pa sangs-rgyas, a siddha
who visited Tibet several times around the 12th century and introduced the gCod
teachings. His disciple, sKyo-ston bSod-nams bla-ma, founded the Father lineage
of gCod which followed the Sūtrayāna teachings according to Āryadeva; Ma-
gcig Slab-sgron, a great female siddha, founded the Mother lineage, based on
Prajñāpāramitā. Zhi-byed emphasizes teachings suited to the individual's con-
sciousness rather than adhering to specific texts. gCod teachings continue with-
in other schools, especially rNying-ma and bKa'-rgyud. The Sa-skya school traces its lineage to 'Brog-mi Śākya ye-shes (b. 1147),
who studied with the Mahāsiddha Virūpa. Five great masters continued the
lineage: Kun-dga' snying-po, bSod-rnams rtse-mo, Grags-pa rgyal-mtshan, Kun-
dga' rgyal-mtshan (Sa-skya Pandita), and 'Gro-mgon chos-rgyal ('Phags-pa). The
Sa-skya tradition emphasizes both study and practice, especially favoring the
Hevajra Tantra. The Jo-nang-pa teachings emphasize the practices and doctrines of the
Kālacakra Tantra and developed a controversial interpretation of śūnyatā. The
Jo-nangs traced their Kālacakra lineage to Yu-mo Mi-bskyod rdo-rje (12th cen-
tury), a Kālacakra master and siddha. His spiritual son Dharmeśvara continued
the lineage which later included the siddha Dol-bu-pa (Dol-po) and Tārānatha
(Kun-dga' snying-po), one of the last Jo-nang-pa scholars. Officially closed in
the 17th century, its teachings have endured within other schools. The dGe-lugs school was founded by Tsong-kha-pa (15th century), a master of
the Vinaya lineage who was revered as an incarnation of Mañjuśrī. His Lam-rim
chen-mo, based on Atĩśa's lam-rim texts, became the central focus of the practice
and study of this school, which thus assimilated much of the bKa'-gdams-pa
tradition. Tsong-kha-pa's two main disciples, rGyal-tshab-rje and mKhas-grub-rje,
continued the lineage.
