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From Buddha-Nature
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The level of experience of the ordinary, dualistic mind. The phenomena of conventional reality seem real to the mind perceiving them, when in fact they are not ultimately real. A mind that has penetrated the ultimate, however, sees that the mind apprehending these phenomena is in fact concealing the true nature of reality. The various tenets of Buddhist thought define conventional reality in different ways. In the Abhidharma tradition, for instance, conventional reality refers to the world of concepts and ideas conjured by the mind. The individual components of the phenomena that are experienced (''dharmas''), on the other hand, are ultimately real. In mainstream Madhyamaka, conventional reality is defined as that which can be apprehended by the mind, including all phenomena and objects of knowledge. Ultimate reality is beyond the grasp of the mind and refers to the fact that the very nature of phenomena is their lack of inherent existence, which is nothing the mind can hold on to. In Yogācāra, the imagined and the dependent nature both constitute conventional reality. See also ''ultimate reality'' and ''three natures''. +
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The term ''dhātu'' has many meanings and is rendered in different ways in Tibetan translations, depending on the context (''khams, dbyings'', or ''byings''). In this text, ''dhātu'' refers to causal buddha-nature (see also ''buddha-nature''). +
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The true nature of things. Ultimate reality is defined in different ways by different authors throughout the history of Buddhist thought. In the Abhidharma tradition, the smallest physical particles and the shortest moment of consciousness are said to be ultimately real because they cannot be divided or broken down any further. According to the mainstream Madhyamaka position, ultimate reality is emptiness, the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena, because even particles and moments of consciousness can be mentally divided ad infinitum into ever smaller parts. In the Yogācāra tradition, emptiness is explained in terms of the three natures, where the dependent empty of the imagined is the perfected, that is to say the ultimate. In this text, ultimate reality also refers to the fact that all beings possess buddha-nature. +
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The "bodies" of perfect enlightenment. A buddha's awakening has three levels of manifestation, which are known as the three kāyas. These are (1) the dharmakāya, or dharma-body (Tib. ''chos sku''), which is a buddha's perfect realization of ultimate reality and is not perceptible by others; (2) the saṃbhogakāya, or body of enjoyment (Tib. ''longs sku''), which is the pure manifestation of this realisation in forms perceptible by bodhisattvas on the highest level of realisation; and (3) the nirmāṇakaya, or emanation body (Tib. ''sprul sku''), which is the manifestation of enlightenment accessible to ordinary beings. Sometimes a fourth kāya is added to this list, the svabhāvikakāya, or essence body (Tib. ''ngo bo nyid kyi sku''), which refers to the inseparability of the three other kāyas. +
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The periods in between formal meditation sessions. From the attainment of the first bhūmi onward, the path of bodhisattvas is divided into two types of activities: meditative equipoise (Tib. ''mnyam bzhag''), during which the mind abides in the direct, nonconceptual realisation of ultimate reality, and post-meditation, during which the bodhisattvas engage in various activities for the benefit of sentient beings. +
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A proponent of a non-Buddhist tradition. The term is mostly used to denote followers of Indian religious and philosophical schools that promote any form of extreme view, such as the beliefs in permanence and annihilation. +
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Ultimate reality as realised by means of the Mahāyāna path. Since the Mahāyāna combines the wisdom realising emptiness with the skillful means of the six pāramitās, the result of the practice is not a "dry" state of realisation, but one where the realisation of the ultimate is inseparable from the supreme aspects of the pāramitās, such as giving and so forth. +
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The true nature of phenomena, ultimate reality. Emptiness is the lack of inherent existence all of phenomena, including mind. In this text, the empty nature of the mind is called ''natural buddha-nature'', which is one of the three aspects of buddha-nature (see also ''buddha-nature''). +
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Literally, "Mind-only," one of the two philosophical systems of the Mahāyāna, the other being Madhyamaka. The Cittamātra school is known under various other names such as Vijñānavāda ("School of Consciousness"), Yogācāra ("School of the Practice of Yoga"), and Vijñāptimatra ("Cognition Only"). It can be traced back to the sūtras of the third turning of the Dharma wheel, such as the ''Saṃdhinirmocana'' and the ''Laṅkāvatāra'', the treatises attributed in the Tibetan tradition to Maitreya, and the writings of Asaṅga and his students. Asserting that all phenomena are objects of experience that are by nature inseparable from the mind perceiving them, this tradition holds the nondual nature of consciousness as one of its principal tenets. +
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A synonym for buddha-nature (''tathāgatagarbha/sugatagarbha'', ''bde gshegs snying po/de gshegs snying po''). See the introduction for a discussion of the term ''garbha''. +
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Literally, "buddha-family" or "buddha-lineage." See ''gotra''. +
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Literally, "hearer." A follower of the foundational path taught by the Buddha culminating in the attainment of arhathood. +
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In Buddhist logic, two ways to negate a thesis are used: the nonaffirming negation (Tib. ''med dgag'') and the affirming negation (Tib. ''ma yin dgag''). A nonaffirming negation negates the thesis without positing anything in its stead, while an affirming negating negates one thing to imply the existence of something else instead. For the followers of Ngog Loden Sherab's analytical school, buddha-nature is presented in terms of a nonaffirming negation because it is understood to be synonymous with emptiness, which negates the concept of inherent existence without positing anything at its place. For the followers of Tsen Khaboche's meditative school it is understood in terms of an affirming negation, negating the existence of adventitious defilements while affirming the presence of buddha qualities. +
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The ālayavijñāna or all-base consciousness is the eighth type of consciousness in the eight-consciousness model of the mind according to Yogācāra. It is comprised of two aspects: the seed part (''sa bon gyi cha''), which is the causal aspect that will produce future results, and the maturation part (''rnam smin gyi cha''), which is the resultant aspect of the produced experience. +
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Literally, "other-emptiness." Zhentong is term used to denote a group of Madhyamaka subschools based on the writings of various Tibetan masters, including Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292-1361), Shakya Chokden (1428-1507), and Situ Panchen (1700-1774). According to the ''zhentong'' view, the mind is by nature devoid of defilements, but inherently endowed with enlightened qualities which become manifest upon awakening. The term ''zhentong'' is used in contrast to the term rangtong (''rang stong'', "self-emptiness"), which refers to the schools adhering to the view that all phenomena, including the mind, are empty of self-nature. +
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also Secret Mantrayāna (Tib. ''gsang sngags kyi theg pa''). The tantric path of Mahāyāna Buddhism, also called Vajrayāna, based on a specific class of scriptures called tantras, and characterised by the great number of skilful means used to attain enlightenment. This name emphasises the use of mantras and the secret nature of this path, which is revealed only to those who have received the appropriate empowerments and subsequent permissions. +
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This term is translated as "aggregate," "heap," or "bundle." The five skandhas are the five groups of psychophysical phenomena making up the entirety of human experience. The five are form (''rūpa, gzugs''), feeling (''vedanā, tshor ba''), discrimination (''saṃjñā, 'du shes''), formative factors (''saṃskara, 'du byed''), and consciousness (''vijñāna, rnam shes''). The self of the individual is imputed on the basis of these five skandhas. +
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The qualities cultivated on the path to bring one's spiritual potential to full maturation. The six primary are giving (''dāna, sbyin pa''), ethical discipline (''śīla, tshul khrims''), forbearance (''kṣānti, bzod pa''), diligent perseverance (''vīrya, brtson 'grus''), meditative stability (''dhyāna, bsam gtan''), and wisdom (''prajñā, shes rab''). To this list four more pāramitās are added to complete the bodhisattva path: means (''upāya, thabs''), aspiration (''praṇidhāna, smon lam''), power (''bala, stobs''), and gnosis (''jñāna, ye shes''). +
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That which impedes awakening. On the Mahāyāna path, two veils are removed: the veil of afflictions (''kleśavaraṇa, nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa''), consisting of the mental afflictions such as desire, anger, and so forth, and the cognitive veil (''jñeyāvaraṇa, shes bya'i sgrib pa''), consisting of the latencies and residues of the afflictions. By removing the first, one attains liberation from samsara, and by removing the second, the omniscient state of buddhahood. +
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That which is to be eliminated by means of a given path. The discards to be eliminated by means of the path of seeing are the mental afflictions and their seeds. The discards to be eliminated through the path of cultivation are the imprints or latencies of these afflictions. +
