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| Explanations of some Buddhist terms. | |
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| Term | Definition | |
| Sakya | (tib.: sa kya) Name means place of white earth. Khon Konchok Gyelpo (1034-1102) was the founder of the Sakya order. The leader of Sakya is His Holiness Sakya Trizin. This is the second newest of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism (nyingma, kagyu, sakya, gelug). | |
| Samadhi | (skt.: samadhi; tib.: ting nge dzin) One pointed state of mind. Ability of the mind to concentrate on an object single pointedly without losing it. The highest evolution of samadhi is shine (shamatha, calm abiding). | |
| Sambhogakaya | (tib.: long ku) Enjoyment body. Body in form of a deity, subtle and pure body made of light, celestial body. | |
| Samsara | (skt.: samsara; tib.: khor wa) Cyclic existence. It is the beginningless, recurring cycle of death and rebirth and the nature of it is suffering due to our past bad karma, mental delusions and ignorance. Through the force of karma motivated by ignorance, desire and anger one is forced to take on the impure aggregates and circle the wheel of existence until liberation. A being is reborn in one of these six realms, according to his karma: 1. As a human 2. As a halfgod 3. As a god 4. As a hell being 5. As a hungry ghost 6. As an animal First three realms are called higher realms, and the last three are called lower realms. There is another division of Samsara: 1. desire realm 2. form realm 3. formless realm Only gods live in form and formless realms, other beings (including (lesser) gods, halfgods, humans, ...) live in desire realm. | |
| Sangha | (skt.: sangha; tib.: ge dun) Literally harmonious community. It has two meanings: 1. Relative Sangha: according to the sutra of Buddha Shakyamuni, sangha stands for a group of at least four fully ordained monks or nuns. 2. Arya Sangha or Bodhisattva Sangha, also Ultimate Sangha: these are realized beings who have seen emptiness directly. Its members may be either lay or ordained people. It is the third of the Three Jewels of refuge. | |
| Self | (skt.: atman; tib.: dag) Self. Simply put, self can be compared to unchanging eternal soul. Buddhism does not accept such a self. More technically, the concept of self could be basically divided in two ways: 1. When Hinayana schools (Vaibashika and Sautrantika tenets) speak about self, they refer to a self, which if it existed, would be unchanging (eternal, not changing from moment to moment), and would be in control of the five aggregates. They negate such a self and usually they call the fact that self does not exist in this way selflessness. They speak mostly about self of a person. 2. When Mahayana schools (Chittamatra and Madhyamika tenets) speak about self, they refer to a self, which if it existed, would be inherently or truly existent (this is actually extension of Hinayana view). So, they negate self which would be inherently or truly existent. They speak about self of a person and about self of phenomena. They usually call the fact that self or objects does not exist in this way emptiness. These negations of Hinayana and Mahayana do not mean that self does not exist at all, rather it means that self is a mere imputation on a valid basis. | |
| Self Made Buddha | (skt.: pratyekabuddha; tib.: rang gyel, rang sang gye) Usually translated as Self Made Buddha or Solitarily Enlightened one. It refers to those Hinayana practitioners who, with the motivation of renouncing the Samsara and to achieve permanent happines for themselves, strive to reach Nirvana. They do not rely on a teacher in that lifetime to reach their aim. However, they had been taught by teachers in previous lifetimes. They attain Nirvana mainly through contemplation on the Twelve links of dependant origination in reverse order. Despite the name Self Made Buddha, they are not real Buddhas, since they achieve only Nirvana, but not full Buddhahood. They live during dark ages when the teachings of a Buddha are no longer available. They do not study with spiritual teachers, because there are none, and they teach only by gestures, since others are not receptive. Living either singly or in small groups, they must rely on their instincts to learn of the Dharma. | |
| Sentient being | (tib.: sem chen) Any living being, not just human, in samsara who has not yet attained liberation. | |
| Seven branch prayer | (tib.: yan lag dun/dag pa dun) Seven Branch or Seven Limb Prayer serves as the basic structure of many Buddhist prayers, sadhanas and pujas. It consists of following seven branches: 1. Prostrations - antidote to pride and ego-clinging; the result of the practice is that one will never be separated from the Three Jewels and will be held with kindness, love and compassion of Lamas until Awakening. 2. Offerings - antidote for desire and attachment; cultivating generosity and offerings (material and visualized) result in liberation of attachments and habits of attachments and it accumulates merit. 3. Confession - antidote for negativities accumulated since time without beginning; results of such practice brings experiences of better forms of rebirth, for instance a body which is an appropriate vessel for the practice of Dharma. 4. Rejoicing - antidote for habitual patterns of envy and jealousy; it brings about support and inspiration of good Dharma friends and conditions favorable for practice of Dharma. 5. Requesting the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to teach Dharma - antidote for ignorance; by the power of this aspiration one can develop the wisdom to understand the profound meaning of the Teachings. 6. Requesting the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas not to pass away - antidote to wrong views; this request purifies disturbing emotions arising from our wrong perceptions and gives rise to the proper view. 7. Dedication - antidote to unskillful or stupid acts; proper dedication is characterized by two facts: one dedicates whatever merit for nothing less then Enlightenment and aspires for it in order to benefit all sentient beings; it results in development of skillful means of Bodhisattvas and attaining complete Awakening. | |
| Shakyamuni Buddha | (tib.: Shakya Thubpa) Shakyamuni Buddha (563-483 BC) was an Indian prince, born to queen Mahamaya and king Shudhodana, belonging to the Shakya clan in northern India. Before he became enlightened his name was Prince Siddharta. He had a very nice life as a prince, full of luxuries, he married a beautiful woman called Yasodhara and they had a son, whom they named Rahula. But at the age of 29 when he was travelling outside the palace, Prince Siddharta saw a sick man, an old man, a corpse and a spiritual seeker. Accustomed to the pleasures of the royal life, he was struck when he saw how much suffering exists in this world and he decided that he will find a way to stop all suffering. Therefore he renounced his royal life and became an ascetic and engaged in very austere practices, but after six years he realized that this is not the path to liberation. He walked to Bodhgaya, sat down under a tree and meditated until he became fully enlightened. Then he began teaching and turned the wheel of Dharma three times and continued to teach until his passing in parinirvana at the age of 80 in Kushinagar. He is the fourth of the one thousand Buddhas of this fortunate eon. | |
| Shamatha | (skt.: shamatha; tib.: shi ne) Also translated as mental quietness. It is a stilled and peaceful state of mind, without any obstacles to concentration and it is settled single pointedly on an object for as long as we wish. In addition, it has a further mental factor accompanying it: a sense of physical and mental fitness (tib.: shin jang; pliability, flexibility), which is both exhilarating and blissful, but in a nondisturbing way. As a side product, shamatha brings extrasensory awareness, such as the ability to see and hear things at a great distance and to be aware of others thoughts. In Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Lam Dron), the late tenth-century Indian master Atisha emphasizes the importance of gaining these abilities to be better able to help others. | |
| Shantideva | (skt.: Shantideva; tib.: Zhi Wa Lha) Master Shantideva was born at around 700 AD in India, the west of Bodhgaya. His father was a king named Armor of Virtue, and his mother was said to be an emanation of Vajra Yogini. He was able to choose the details of his birth, and when he was born he was given the name Armor of Peace. When he was six years old he met a great practitioner of the secret teachings, and received an initiation and a practice for reaching the enlightened being named Manjushri. As a child he made great efforts in this practice, doing its meditations and reciting its secret words, and was soon able to meet Manjushri himself and receive many teachings from him directly. When his father the King passed away, all the people of the land requested Prince Shantideva to be King. Because he had practiced the bodhisattva path in many previous lives, he had no desire to live a life of royalty, but so as not to upset the people he agreed. The night before his crowning ceremony though he had a dream. In the dream he saw Manjushri sitting on the Kings throne, and He said: Son, this is my seat and I am your Teacher. It would be improper for us to sit on the same seat. Upon waking he realized that it was wrong for him to enjoy the pleasures of owning a kingdom, and he ran away. Master Shantideva first went to Nalanda Monastery where he met the supreme leader of all the learned scholars there and it also was from this master that he received the name Shantideva, which means God of Peace. He served him well, studied the three collections of scripture, and became a great scholar. He continued to receive many teachings from Manjushri himself, and was able to grasp the meaning of all the Buddhas teachings, both open and secret. This was his inner life, but to the eyes of impure people Shantideva seemed to be interested in only three things: eating, sleeping, and going to the toilet. He thus became known by the name Bhusuku, which means Mister Three Thoughts. Because the only fitting activity for a man who has left the home life is to involve himself in teaching, some of the monks who could not see who he really was perceived Master Shantideva as someone who was just living off the kindness of the laypeople, and decided that they should expel him from the monastery. They asked him to recite a scripture from memory before a gathering of the monastery, hoping that their request would cause him to decide to leave on his own. The entire monastery was then invited to this gathering, and a very high throne was set up, one without any stairs so there was no way for anyone to climb atop it. But when the bodhisattva Shantideva reached the front of the throne, he touched it gently, and without the slightest effort he appeared sitting on top of it. He then began to recite that book which we call the Guide to the Bodhisattvas Way of Life. He began at the very beginning of the text, and by the time he had gotten about a third of the way through the ninth chapter he began to rise up into the sky. He rose higher and higher, and it seemed as though the sky and his knowledge were pitted in competition, until he could no longer be seen at all, only heard. Then he totally disappeared. Later on some of the monks who had clairvoyance of the ear, and others who were masters of total recall, pieced the whole book together. The group who were from Kashmir said that it had nine chapters, and the group from central India said it had ten. People then began to get curious about two of his other books which were mentioned in the fifth chapter of the Guide, and so they sent two monks to the place where Master Shantideva was living. They travelled to a stupa in the south of India called Pelyun Chen to invite him to come back to Nalanda. The master refused to come, but he did tell them that the people from central India were correct, and that the two books they sought could be found written in tiny letters hidden in the rafters of his old room at the monastery. He then gave these monks a complete explanation of the both the Guide to the Bodhisattvas Way of Life and the Compendium of Trainings. This biography recounts only some events of the great life of the great Master Shantideva. It is a paraphrase of sections from the Life Stories of the Lineage Teachers of the Steps of the Path (Lam-rim bla-ma brgyud-pai rnam-thar) written by Yongdzin Yeshe Gyeltsen (1713-1793), the teacher of the eighth Dalai Lama. | |
| Shine | (skt.: shamatha; tib.: shi ne) Also translated as mental quietness. It is a stilled and peaceful state of mind, without any obstacles to concentration and it is settled single pointedly on an object for as long as we wish. In addition, it has a further mental factor accompanying it: a sense of physical and mental fitness (tib.: shin jang; pliability, flexibility), which is both exhilarating and blissful, but in a nondisturbing way. As a side product, shamatha brings extrasensory awareness, such as the ability to see and hear things at a great distance and to be aware of others thoughts. In Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Lam Dron), the late tenth-century Indian master Atisha emphasizes the importance of gaining these abilities to be better able to help others. | |
| Shravaka | (skt.: shravaka; tib.: nyen tho) Shravaka literally means Hearer or Listener. It refers to those Hinayana practitioners who, with the motivation of renouncing the Samsara and to achieve permanent happines for themselves, strive to reach Nirvana. They focus on the Four Noble Truths and on understanding that there is no independent self. In this process they listen to the teachings of a Buddha, and achieve this goal by realizing the nonexistence of personal self. In order to attain their goal, they go through what is called four results of spiritual practice: 1. by understanding that there is no personal self, they achieve the stage of Stream enterer at the path of seeing (Shravaka Arya) 2. this is followed by the stage of Once-Returner, who will be reborn only one more time in desire realm of Samsara 3. this is followed by the stage on Non-Returner, who will never be reborn in desire realm of Samsara again 4. and finally they reach Nirvana, so they are called Shravaka Arhats | |
| Shunyata | (skt.: shunyata; tib.: tong pa nyi) Emptiness (sometimes also translated as voidness) is a Buddhist idea which states that all phenomena are empty of any kind of self existence or inherent existence. Emptiness is the reality of the existence of ourselves and all the phenomena around us. | |
| Siddhi | (skt.: siddhi; tib.: ngo drub) Supernatural power or accomplishment. There are two types of siddhis: 1. accomplishments on the spiritual path like renunciation, compassion, unshakeable faith, realization of the correct view, the supreme accomplishment of complete enlightenment, ... 2. eight mundane accomplishments such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, flying in the sky, becoming invisible, everlasting youth, powers of transmutation, ... | |
| Six bardos | First three are linked to the period from birth to death and the last three to the period from the beginning of the process of dying until the rebirth. The classifications can be also a bit different. Six bardos offer different opportunities for proceeding toward Enlightenment: 1. Bardo between Birth and Death (che shi bar do): our waking existence. The most crucial point on the Path towards Enlightenment. Here we can give up laziness and engage without distraction in listening, meditating upon and practicing the Teachings. 2. Bardo of Dreams (mi lam bar do): the dream state we experience in sleep. Advanced masters can use the time of dreaming for Dharma practice to proceed on the Path quicker; ordinary practitioners can enter in a sleeping state with Bodhicitta aspiration. 3. Bardo of Meditative Stability (sam ten bar do): the interval of effective meditation. Here we can give up distractions and the world of delusions. The third aspect of bardo is to realize the ultimate potential, the ultimate nature of everything, the ultimate nature of mind itself. (Tai Situ Rinpoche) 4. Bardo of Dying (chi khe bar do): a reversed process of conception and the consequence of birth. Here we can abandon the attachments and fixations of life and engage one-pointedly on the Path illuminated by Instructions. 5. Bardo of Dharmata / Bardo of Clear Light (cho nyi bar do): the True Nature of Reality; the moment when all gross and subtle obscurations are dissolved, a completely egoless state of mind. Our reaction to this state depends on our previous life and can be experienced as terrifying or as perfect conditions for meditation. For a peaceful mind, trained in spirituality, meditation in the state of Clear Light of death is the opportunity for achieving complete Enlightenment. 6. Bardo of Becoming / Bardo of Possibility (si pa bar do): an interval between Clear Light and conception. It can last maximum 49 days (seven times 7-day periods of living and dying in a bardo body). By focusing the mind on unique intention and following the manifestations of the positive karma one can influence the course of rebirth and be born in good conditions for Dharma practice. | |
| Six Perfections | (skt.: paramita; tib.: par chin drug/pa rol tu chin pa) Perfection. Literal translation of Tibetan is went to the other side. These are the six virtues, or perfections, that the Bodhisattva must perfect during his development in order to reach Buddhahood. Six perfections belong to the sutra part of the Mahayana path which is called also Paramitayana, the Perfection Vehicle. 1. (skt.: dana, tib.: jin pa) Perfection of Generosity. There are three types: - giving of material things - giving of protection from fear - teaching the Buddhas doctrine, the dharma 2. (skt.: shila; tib.: tsultrim) Perfection of Ethics (or Morality). There are three types: - Restraint from harmful actions of body, speech, and mind by keeping the pratimoksha vows. - Cultivating, protecting, and increasing virtue. - Helping and benefiting living beings. 3. (skt.: kshanti; tib.: so pa) Perfection of Patience. There are three types: - Taking no account of those who harm, applying patience as the antidote to anger. - Accepting hardships and suffering and see it as a help to ripen the fruit, the outcome of those past negative actions, and in that way consuming negative karma. - Persistent study of the dharma, the Shakyamuni Buddhas teachings. This is the patience of continuous investigation of the Shakyamuni Buddhas doctrine. 4. (skt.: virya; tib.: tsun dru) Perfection of Joyous Effort. Arya Shantideva described Perfection of Joyous Effort as: What is joyous effort? It is enthusiasm for virtue. There are three kinds: - Enthusiastic effort as armor: The courage and energy that prepares one to withstand difficulties and continue until ones goal is achieved. - Diligence in positive actions: Striving to create virtue through the practice of the perfections. - Insatiable enthusiastic effort: Devoting all energy in working for others. 5. (skt.: dhyana; tib.: samten) Perfection of Meditation (or Concentration). There are two essential kinds of meditation: - Calm abiding meditation (skr.: shamata; tib.: shi ne). Calm abiding is called the perfect absorption of mind within mind. It is to cultivate a mind that is not being disturbed by mental wandering. - Special insight meditation (skt.: vipashyana; tib.: lhak thong). It is analytical meditation that makes it possible to gain insight into the true nature of reality. In that way it is the perfection of wisdom. 6. (skt.: prajna; tib.: she rab) Perfection of Wisdom. The Mahayana teachings on insight into emptiness. There are three types: - hearing the teachings - thinking about them - meditating on them Six perfections are called perfections for two reasons: 1. (tib.: pa rol tu chin pa) When you reach Buddhahood, they can be done perfectly. 2. (tib.: pa rol tu chin je) They will bring you to perfection - to Buddhahood. As Arya Nagarjuna said: These six paramitas are able to cause a person to cross over the great sea of miserliness, over the other afflictions and beyond defiled attachment so that one reaches to the other shore. It is for this reason that they are referred to as paramitas. | |
| Skillful means | (skt.: upaya; tib.: thabs) Skillful means are efficacious skills or expedient methods, which enable a Buddha or Bodhisattva to help sentient beings in the best possible way (according to the capacities, circumstances and the needs of each sentient being). The path of Skillful Means or Method, parallel with the path of Wisdom, paves the Path of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattvabumi-Shastra specifies that there are two sets of skillful means. With the first set Bodhisattvas accomplish the qualities of Buddhahood. Thanks to the second group, Bodhisattvas bring beings to maturation. Chandrakirti said in the Madhyamakavatara: Conventional reality therefore becomes their means and by this means, the ultimate is reached. | |
| Special insight | (skt.: vipashyana; tib: lag thong) The principal meditation taught in the Theravada tradition. It is sometimes called mindfulness meditation. In the Mahayana, vipashyana can have a different meaning: investigation of and familiarization with the actual way in which things exist and is used to develop the wisdom of emptiness. If a state of mind is one of vipashyana, it is combined with shamatha. Therefore, although we may work on vipashyana before attaining shamatha, we cannot actually attain vipashyana without having first attained shamatha. | |
| Storehouse consciousness | (skt.: alayavijnana; tib.: kunshi namshe) According to the Chittamatra (or Yogachara, Mind Only) this is the eighth consciousness. They believe that this consciousness contains karmic seeds. | |
| Stupa | (skt.: stupa; tib.: chorten) Buddhist reliquary objects ranging in size from huge to a few inches in height and representing the enlightened mind. Stupas often contain holy texts, mantras or relics and remains of the Buddha or great bodhisattvas. Stupas are usually dome- or mound-shaped. The first stupas were built after Shakyamuni\'s death, when his ashes were divided into eight parts and eight stupas were erected in eight districts to hold the Buddha\'s relics. | |
| Subsequent permission | (tib.: jenang) A tantric ritual for a specific Buddha received in order to strengthen further the Buddha-nature factors that were previously activated with a full empowerment. | |
| Suffering | (skt.: dukkha; tib.: dug ngel) Suffering. The root word of dukkha implies the axle of a wheel that is out of place, so that the wheel wobbles and creates inappropriate stresses on the axle. Thus dukkha is the pain and dissatisfaction in life that arises from thoughts, speech, and actions which are out of alignment. Lord Buddha Shakyamuni in Samyutta Nikaya described dukkha as: Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha. There are three types of suffering (dukkha): - suffering of suffering, which refers to most obvious kinds of suffering, like some kind of physical or mental pain - suffering of change, which refers to suffering which is brought by change, for example the happiness of enjoying something disappears eventually - all pervading suffering, which refers to the fact that we are limited and that we always have the potential to suffer | |
| Sungbum | (tib.: sung bum) Commentaries on Kangyur and Tengyur collections by Tibetan authors. It contains more than 200.000 different books. It is one of the three parts of the Tibetan Buddhist canon. | |
| Surrounding hells | (tib.: nye khor we nyel wa) When karma of beings in the hells run out, they go to surrounding hells. There are also some beings who go straight to surrounding hells. There are four types of these hells: 1. Fiery Trench: as beings run away from the hells, their legs burn up to their kness, and as they pull their legs out of the trench, they heal. They run like this for hundreds of thousnads of years. 2. Putrid Swamp: then they come to this swamp and sink into it up to their necks and many worms peneterate their bodies and eat them. They spemnd many hundreds of thousands of years crossing the swamp too. 3. Plain of Razor-sharp Knives: then they come to this plain full of sharp iron knives which are cutting their legs till they come to the forest where trees have swords for leaves. They walk under them and sword leaves cut their bodies. They hear the cries of people dear to them above and they climb the trees to the top where terrifiying birds pluck out their eyes and brains. Then they climb back down where wild beasts eat them. 4. Uncrossable Torrent: then they arrive at water which is mixed with fire which burns and cookes their bodies. | |
| Sutra | (skt.: sutra; tib.: do) Literally thread. It has two meanings: 1. A sutra is a teaching given by Buddha Shakyamuni to his disciples. 2. Abbreviation of the Sutrayana, the path of Sutra. | |
| Sutrayana | (tib.: do kyi theg pa) Path of Sutra which is based on the sutras of Buddha Shakyamuni. It is divided in three types: - The Hearer Vehicle (Shravakayana) - belonging to Hinayana. Practitioners motivation is renunciation of samsara and they strive to reach Nirvana. They do so by listening to the teachings and contemplating them. - The Solitary Realizer Vehicle (Pratyekabuddhayana) - belonging to Hinayana. Practitioners motivation is renunciation and they strive to reach Nirvana. They prefer to live in solitary places alone or in small groups and have no teacher in this life (but they had teachers in previous lives). - The Perfection Vehicle (Paramitayana) - first of the two Mahayana paths (the second one is Vajrayana or Mantrayana). Practitioners strive to attain Buddhahood to help all beings. | |
| Definition | ||
