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| Explanations of some Buddhist terms. | |
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| Term | Definition | |
| Tantra | Also called Tantrayana (path of Tantra) or Vajrayana (path of Diamond) or Mantrayana (path of Mantra). It includes methods such as mantras and visualizations to work on ones subtle energies directly. Tantrayana is considered an abrupt path to the Enlightenment. It is an alternative to the safer, but longer Sutrayana path. Tantra employs skillful methods of using desire objects that usually bring reactions of confusion and dissatisfaction in the path to enlightenment. Without proper guidance the delusions (such as desire, anger or pride) are not self-consumed as they should be, but are strengthened instead. For this reason proper guidance is essential on the Tantra path. Tantra can be divided in four classes: 1. Kriya Tantra (cha gyu): Emphasizes external ritual practices such as ablution, diet, and fasting. We see ourselves as being deluded, while the deity is worshipped as having all the power to impart to us. 2. Charya Tantra (cho gyu): There is a more balanced emphasis on both meditative states and ritual observances. The deity is seen as closer to us, and is understood to be no different from ones own Buddha-nature, or the nature of mind. 3. Anuyoga Tantra (jesu nel jor gyu): The practitionner relies less and less on relative truth and aims more toward absolute truth. Here are explanations how defilements and delusions can be transformed into wisdom, and therefore the delusions are an important material we have to deal with - instead of abandonning - as it can give rise to insight and wisdom if dealt in a proper way. 4. Maha-anuttarayoga (la me chen poi gyu): It is the most difficult one to practice. From here, one must take the Tantric vows, and undertake some daily commitments (Samaya). The practitionner deal direclty with his or her conflicting emotions and delusions. | |
| Tantrayana | Also called Tantrayana (path of Tantra) or Vajrayana (path of Diamond) or Mantrayana (path of Mantra). It includes methods such as mantras and visualizations to work on ones subtle energies directly. Tantrayana is considered an abrupt path to the Enlightenment. It is an alternative to the safer, but longer Sutrayana path. Tantra employs skillful methods of using desire objects that usually bring reactions of confusion and dissatisfaction in the path to enlightenment. Without proper guidance the delusions (such as desire, anger or pride) are not self-consumed as they should be, but are strengthened instead. For this reason proper guidance is essential on the Tantra path. Tantra can be divided in four classes: 1. Kriya Tantra (cha gyu): Emphasizes external ritual practices such as ablution, diet, and fasting. We see ourselves as being deluded, while the deity is worshipped as having all the power to impart to us. 2. Charya Tantra (cho gyu): There is a more balanced emphasis on both meditative states and ritual observances. The deity is seen as closer to us, and is understood to be no different from ones own Buddha-nature, or the nature of mind. 3. Anuyoga Tantra (jesu nel jor gyu): The practitionner relies less and less on relative truth and aims more toward absolute truth. Here are explanations how defilements and delusions can be transformed into wisdom, and therefore the delusions are an important material we have to deal with - instead of abandonning - as it can give rise to insight and wisdom if dealt in a proper way. 4. Maha-anuttarayoga (la me chen poi gyu): It is the most difficult one to practice. From here, one must take the Tantric vows, and undertake some daily commitments (Samaya). The practitionner deal direclty with his or her conflicting emotions and delusions. | |
| Tathagata | (skt.: tathagata; tib.: de shin sheg pa) An epithet for a Buddha, translated usually as thus gone one. This title indicates that a Buddha embodies the fundamental truth of all phenomena and has grasped the law of causality spanning past, present, and future. There are two opinions about the Sanskrit and Pali word tathagata. One view interprets it as a compound of tatha and agata, meaning thus come one and indicating one who has arrived from the realm of truth. This is the interpretation generally used in Chinese translations. The other interprets the word tathagata as the compound of tatha and gata, meaning thus gone one and indicating one who has gone to the world of enlightenment. | |
| Ten bhumis | 1. Perfect Joy / Supreme Joy: the main practice is perfection of generosity; the Path of Meditation can be started. Joy rises from having overcome the chains of samsara (having realized Emptiness), benefiting others and proceeding on the path to Buddhahood. 2. Immaculate / Stainless: the main practice is perfection of ethics or discipline of vows; it leads the Bodhisattva to freedom of anxiety and all possible defilement, even the subtlest ones. This is the stage of purity. 3. Luminous / Illuminating: the main practice is perfection of Patience or equanimity, this is the source of the luminosity. In the supreme samadhi the Bodhisattva gives rise to the Three Wisdoms: the wisdom of hearing, the wisdom of consideration, and the wisdom of cultivation. From their attainment, he emits a sublime light. 4. Radiant / Bhumi of Blazing Wisdom: the main practice is perfection of Joyous Effort. This activity in the service of virtue creates a radiance of wisdom (dazzling wisdom light), which burns away false conceptions. 5. Hard to Keep / Very Difficult to Train For / The Unconquerable: the main practice is perfection of Meditation and other skillful means in preparation for the helping of all sentient beings. Upon this ground the Bodhisattva testifies to the interaction between wisdom of relative truth and the non-discriminating wisdom of absolute truth. Through the mutual and non-obstructive functioning of those two kinds of wisdom, he accomplishes clever expedient means, such as the Five Sciences, to teach living beings. On this level he transcends the world and yet completely accords with the world. 6. Clearly Manifest / Appearance Stage: the main practice is perfection of Wisdom. The Bodhisattva gives rise to the perfection of wisdom through contemplation of the Twelve Interdependent Links and is no longer caught up in the discrimination of purity and defilement. The appearance referred to is the Sunyata itself. This means from an abstract idea comes a concrete countenance. 7. Far Progressed / Gone-Afar: The main practice is the perfection of Skillful Means. The Bodhisattva is overcoming the subtlest ideas of self in order to save others. This ground is characterized by cultivation that is without an appearance and without effort. Since effortless functioning is accomplished, the Bodhisattva far transcends all the conducts of the Two Vehicles. 8. Immovable / Unwavering: attainment of being unperturbed. As a reward of the Bodhisattva conduct, the Bodhisattva has now reached the state which is without marks and without interval; hence the name \'Immovable.\' On this ground the Bodhisattva casts off the activities of production within the Three Realms (desire, form, formless). He also attains the Patience with Non-Production. 9. Perfect Intellect / The Wholesome Wisdom: the finest discriminatory wisdom, knowing where and how to save others. The Bodhisattva practices the acquisition of the Ten Powers and Six Supernatural Powers, attains the Four Unobstructed Eloquences and perfects the merit of being a great Dharma Master. Whereas in the fourth stage he attained wisdom of fire, here the Bodhisattva has the wisdom of goodness also which means he is able to speak Dharma that perfectly suits the potentials of all living beings. 10. Cloud of Dharma: attainment of the fertilizing powers of law cloud. Primordial awareness clears away whatever subtle defilements and tendencies might still be retained. By this stage the Bodhisattva attains a vast Dharma body, like a huge Dharma cloud that protects all beings, and which sends down Dharma rain to nourish them. In this way he benefits in boundlessly inconceivable ways. | |
| Ten non virtuous actions | (tib.: mi ge wa chu) These are the negative actions described in Buddhist scriptures as some of the most harmful. They are divided in: - three negative actions commited with body: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct - four negative actions commited verbally: lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, idle talk - three negative actions commited with mind: covetousness, ill will, wrong views | |
| Tengyur | (tib.: ten gyur) It is a large collection of texts, over 3500 books written mostly by Indian masters in Sanskrit from approximately 200 AD to 1000 AD and were later translated into Tibetan. These books are meant to explain Kangyur collection, but also include other subjects such as poetry, grammar, science, architecture, painting and medicine. It is one of the two (or three, if one includes Sungbum) parts of the Tibetan buddhist canon. | |
| Thangka | (tib.: thangka) The Thangka is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually depicting portraits of Buddhas, deities, stories from the lives of saints and great masters, mandalas, ... It consists of a picture panel which is painted or embroidered, over which a textile is mounted, and then over which is laid a cover, usually silk. Thangkas are usually rectangular in shape. They vary in size, ranging from a little over a few square centimeters to several square meters. A large thangka often takes large team of artists months, even years, to make. Thangkas can be easily rolled up and transported. | |
| Theravada | (tib.: ne ten ma wa) The Doctrine of the Elders. It is the only one of the early schools of Hinayana Buddhism to have survived into the present; currently the dominant form of Buddhism in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma. Today Theravada Buddhists number over 100 million worldwide. The main focus of Theravada teachings is on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path with the main aim to reach Nirvana for oneself. | |
| Three baskets | (tib.: de no sum) The three baskets. It refers to the collection of primarliy Pali language texts which form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism. Most of it has already been translated in English and it contains several thousand printed pages. Tripitaka is divided in three parts: 1. Vinaya Pitaka - the teachings on ethical discipline in six volumes; 2. Sutra Pitaka - more than 10.000 of Buddha Shakyamunis discourses and sermons; 3. Abhidharma Pitaka - contains seven books of philosophical discourses. | |
| Three jewels | (skt.: triratna; tib.: kon chog sum) Sometimes also translated as triple gem. The object of refuge for a Buddhist. They are so named because they are supremely valuable and rarley found. Each of the jewels has apparent and ultimate level. The Three Jewels are: - Buddha: ultimate level refers to Buddhas mind, Dharmakaya; apparent level refers to Buddhas body, Rupakaya. - Dharma: ultimate level refers to true pathways (realizations) which lead you out of suffering or true stoppings of negative qualities of the mind; apparent level refers to the teachings proclaimed by a Buddhas elightening speech. - Sangha: ultimate level refers true stoppings and true pathways of mind on the mental continuum of an arya; apparent level refers to highly realized being who has beheld reality. Apparent Sangha Jewel is often symbolically represented by a group of at least four ordinary ordained persons. | |
| Three poisons | (tib: duk sum) These three are the source of all passions and delusions. In The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom (skt.: Mahaprajnaparamita shastra), the three poisons are regarded as the source of all illusions and earthly desires. The three poisons are so called because they prevent people turning their hearts and minds to goodness. They are: 1. (tib: du chag) attachment, desire or greed 2. (tib: zhe dang) hatred or anger 3. (tib: ti mug) ignorance | |
| Tibetan medicine | History: A Tantric system of knowledge, combining Ayurvedic, Chinese, bon, and various other sources and techniques in order to establish a balanced state of body and mind. Its major texts are Gyushi, Four Medical Tantras (propounded by the Bhaishajyaguru, a Buddha of medicine, sometimes seen as a manifestation of the Shakyamuni Buddha), and the Blue Beryl, a commentary by the seventeenth century master, Sangye Gyamtso (who is sometimes considered as an emanation of the Medicine Buddha). Approach: Tibetan medicine works on the subtle levels of existence in order to remove the causes for gross symptoms of diseases. It is a tool that help others on their way towards Enlightenment. Based on three humours and five elements, it describes a complex psycho-physical forest of 404 diseases and 84.000 afflictions. Three humours correspond to the three poisons: lung (wind) - ignorance, tripa (bile) - desire, beygen (phlegm) - anger. In order to heal, to restore balance, Tibetan medicine uses and combines different techniques: diet, remedies (pills), operations, moxibution, acupuncture, lifestyle and religious practices, such as prayers, pujas or yogas. | |
| Tonglen | (tib.: tong len) Literally it means giving (tib. tong) and receiving (tib. len), so in English it is often called taking-and-giving meditation. This meditation is one of the methods to develop Bodhicitta. It involves your taking other beings suffering and its causes onto yourself when inhaling, destroying your ego, and giving your body, happiness, merit and all the good to other sentient beings when exhaling. Tara advised one Tibetan lama: Do the bodhicitta practice of tong-len, taking and giving, to develop merit and you will be able to actualize the Middle Way, devoid of the two extremes. Without delay you can then become enlightened. | |
| Torma | (tib.: torma) An offering cake used in tantric rituals. In Tibet, tormas were usually made of tsampa, but they can be made also of other edibles such as biscuits and so forth. | |
| Transmission | (tib.: lung) Transmission is usually translation for lung. Although lung has also different meanings, in this case, it refers to oral transmission of mantra or text given to a student by a lineage holder, which is a preliminary to doing the practice. Another meaning of lung is a ritual reading or recitation of the Vajrayana text. The mere hearing of the syllables transmits their inner meaning. | |
| Tripitaka | (tib.: de no sum) The three baskets. It refers to the collection of primarliy Pali language texts which form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism. Most of it has already been translated in English and it contains several thousand printed pages. Tripitaka is divided in three parts: 1. Vinaya Pitaka - the teachings on ethical discipline in six volumes; 2. Sutra Pitaka - more than 10.000 of Buddha Shakyamunis discourses and sermons; 3. Abhidharma Pitaka - contains seven books of philosophical discourses. | |
| Triratna | (skt.: triratna; tib.: kon chog sum) Sometimes also translated as triple gem. The object of refuge for a Buddhist. They are so named because they are supremely valuable and rarley found. Each of the jewels has apparent and ultimate level. The Three Jewels are: - Buddha: ultimate level refers to Buddhas mind, Dharmakaya; apparent level refers to Buddhas body, Rupakaya. - Dharma: ultimate level refers to true pathways (realizations) which lead you out of suffering or true stoppings of negative qualities of the mind; apparent level refers to the teachings proclaimed by a Buddhas elightening speech. - Sangha: ultimate level refers true stoppings and true pathways of mind on the mental continuum of an arya; apparent level refers to highly realized being who has beheld reality. Apparent Sangha Jewel is often symbolically represented by a group of at least four ordinary ordained persons. | |
| Tsatsa | (tib.: tsa tsa) Small statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or other religious symbols. Tsatsas are usually made from sun baked mud or pottery (clay). | |
| Twelve interdependent links | (skt.: pratitya samtrtpada; tib.: ten drel yan lag chu nyi) Twelve-linked chain of dependent origination. The twelve steps in the evolution of cyclic existence which is Shakyamuni Buddha\'s explanation of how delusion and karma bind sentient beings to samsara, causing them to be reborn into suffering again and again. The twelve links are: 1. (skt.: avidya; tib.: ma rig pa) Ignorance. We are ignorant how to apprehend the selflessness with our wisdom. We believe in a real existing Self. 2. (skt.: samskara; tib.: du je) Karmic formations. Ignorance leads to distrubing emotions, which results in actions. These actions leave karmic imprints on our consciousness. 3. (skt.: vijnana; tib.: nam she) Consciousness. On consciousness karmic imprints will remain. 4. (skt.: nama rupa; tib.: ming dang sug) Name and form. Name refers to the four aggregates (skandhas) of feeling, discrimination, other factors and consciousness. Form is the blood and sperm in their first stage of development into which the consciousness has been placed. 5. (skt.: shad ayatana; tib.: kye che) Six senses. As the form (body) develops, six senses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind also form. 6. (skt.: sparsha; tib.: reg pa) Contact. Six sense organs cause contact. 7. (skt.: vedana, tib.: tshor wa) Sensation. After the contact with an object, we can have pleasant, unpleasant or neutral sensation. 8. (skt.: trishna, tib.: se pa) Attachment. According to sensation we develop attachment (desire) or aversion. . (skt.: upadana, tib.: len pa) Craving. Because of attachment we try to get the objects we desire or try to avoid them. This leads to further imprints on consciousness. 10. (skt.: bhava, tib.: si pa) Becoming. Imprints on consciousness are causes for next rebirth. 11. (skt.: jati, tib.: kye wa) Birth. According to the imprints of past karma we take birth. 12. (skt.: jara marana, tib.: ga shi) Aging and death. After being born we are getting older and older and finally we die. There are two ways we can see the twelve links of dependent arising: 1. From the first viewpoint, ignorance gives rise to karmic seeds, karmic seeds causes consciousness, etc.; finally, birth causes aging and death. Thus one is caught in the cycle of delusion and suffering. 2. On the other hand, if ignorance is wiped out, so is karma; if karma is wiped out, so is consciousness, etc.; finally, if birth is wiped out, so are aging and suffering. In short, if one eliminates ignorance, which is the source of suffering, one becomes free from the cycle of delusion and suffering, or attains nirvana. Twelve links of dependent arising can be divided in three types of links - the delusion links - the links of suffering - the karma links As Arya Nagarjuna said: The first, eigth and ninth are delusion; The second and the tenth are karma; The remaining seven are suffering. | |
| Two collections | (tib.: tsog nyi) Two accumulations stand for the merit (tib.: so nam kyi tsog) and wisdom (tib.: ye she kyi tsog) accumulation. The purpose of accumulating merits is to change our negative patterns into virtuous ones, to loosen up our habitual fixation on negativity. Eventually, the gathering of conceptual merit brings fixation to an end, allowing wisdom to dawn. The accumulation of merit alone can lead to rebirth in the higher realms and accumulation of wisdom alone can lead to staying in the state of Nirvana not knowing the full Enlightenment. With building up both of them, we make a cause for Buddhahood, where the accumulation of wisdom is the basis for Dharmakaya and the collection of merit is the basis for Rupakaya. | |
| Two obscurations | (tib.: drib nyi) The two obscurations are the gross obscurations of disturbing thoughts (tib.: nyon drib) and the subtle obscurations to fully knowing all existence (tib.: she drib). They are also called passion obscurations and knowledge obscurations, the first being a hindrance mainly to deliverance from the cycles of existence, and the second one to omniscience. When the cessation of these is established on the mind, this is the purest happiness of full Enlightenment. Generally, one can say that the remedies for the two obscurations are the two collections. | |
| Two truths | (skt.: dvaya satya; tib.: den pa nyi) The two truths (sometimes translated also as two realities) or two levels of truth about reality are: 1. the relative or conventional truth (kun dzob denpa) 2. the deepest or ultimate truth (don dam den pa) The two truths are interdependent, but we usually perceive only the conventional one. A practitioner who has realized Emptiness perceives either ultimate truth (in a state of meditation) or relative truth (when he leaves the meditation state). Only a Buddha can perceive both truths at once. | |
| Definition | ||
