A place, described in the opening lines of this sūtra as being on Khalatika Mountain, but not mentioned elsewhere in the Kangyur except (as thub pa’i drang srong chen po’i gnas) in the Vimala­prabha­paripṛcchā (Toh 168) and The Prophecy on Mount Gośṛṅga (Toh 357), in both cases in connection with the Gomasalaganda stūpa in Khotan.

See “tolerance.”

The titular figure of the present sūtra. An important bodhisattva, his name means “essence of space.” He is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha.”

One who has achieved the fourth and final level of attainment on the śrāvaka path, and who has attained liberation with the cessation of all mental afflictions.

Aruṇa is the deity of the dawn in Indian mythology, personified as the sun’s charioteer, and the name refers to the morning star Venus, according to de Visser (1931), p. 24, n. 1. In this context, Aruṇa functions as a messenger for Ākāśagarbha.

One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.

The twelve bases of perception are divided into two groups, consisting of six inner and six outer bases. These are the six sense faculties and the six corresponding outer objects. Together they are the causes for the production of the six sense consciousnesses.

The first of the four classes of gods of the formless realm. The activity field called “infinite as the sky,” or “boundless space,” is one of the 28 classes of gods in the formless realm.

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

“King of Medicine,” name of a bodhisattva.

The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.

A person belonging to the highly respected priestly caste of classical Indian society.

Prolific translator of Vinaya texts into Chinese during the fifth century.

An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13. Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.

The first of the two main branches of Buddhist meditation, aiming at rendering the mind stable, subtle, and pliable.

The observance of celibacy.

The collection of discourses of the Buddha.

A complete projection of the mind that has no valid basis in reality.

This term is also translated as “renunciation” and denotes the practitioner’s mind turning away from the bonds of saṃsāra and toward liberation.

In the most general sense the devas‍—the term is cognate with the English divine‍—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.

This term is used in various ways. For instance, it refers to the mental capacity of not forgetting, enabling one in particular to cultivate positive forces and to ward off negativity. It is also very commonly used as a term for mystical verses similar to mantras, the usage of which will grant a particular power.

One of the Four Great Kings, he presides over the eastern quarter and rules over the gandharvas.

The ordinary activity of the mental consciousness, also translated as conceptual thought.

See “transgression.”

The eight bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Vajrapāṇi, Kṣitigarbha, Ākāśagarbha, Sarva­nivaraṇa­viṣkambhin, Maitreya, and Samantabhadra.

Eighteen special features of a buddha’s behavior, realization, activity, and wisdom that are not shared by other beings. They are generally listed as: (1) he never makes a mistake, (2) he is never boisterous, (3) he never forgets, (4) his concentration never falters, (5) he has no notion of distinctness, (6) his equanimity is not due to lack of consideration, (7) his motivation never falters, (8) his endeavor never fails, (9) his mindfulness never falters, (10) he never abandons his concentration, (11) his insight (prajñā) never decreases, (12) his liberation never fails, (13) all his physical actions are preceded and followed by wisdom (jñāna), (14) all his verbal actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (15) all his mental actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (16) his wisdom and vision perceive the past without attachment or hindrance, (17) his wisdom and vision perceive the future without attachment or hindrance, and (18) his wisdom and vision perceive the present without attachment or hindrance.

The Buddhist path as presented in the Śrāvaka Vehicle: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samādhi.

The first of two extreme views that keep one deluded with regard to reality. Eternalism is the view that clings to some eternal, truly existent essence called “self,” based on the experience of a collection of, in fact, transitory phenomena.

This term has three meanings: (1) the ultimate nature, (2) the experience of the ultimate nature, and (3) the quiescent state of a worthy one (arhat) to be avoided by bodhisattvas.

Five actions that bring immediate and severe consequences at death. The person who engages in them will experience a rebirth in the lower realms directly after death. The five are (1) killing one’s father, (2) killing one’s mother, (3) killing an arhat, (4) causing a schism in the saṅgha, and (5) with evil intention making a buddha bleed.

Five particular aspects of lifespan that indicate the degenerate nature of a given age. They are the impurities of views, of afflictions, of sentient beings, of life, and of time.

A fundamental practice of Buddhist meditation: close application of mindfulness to the body, close application of mindfulness to feelings, close application of mindfulness to mind, and close application of mindfulness to phenomena.

The practices and resulting states of boundless loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.

The four truths the Buddha realized at his enlightenment: the truth of suffering, the truth of the origin, the truth of cessation, and the truth of the path.

The four downfalls for monastics resulting in the forfeit of the monastic vows: sexual intercourse, theft, murder, and claiming greater realization than one has.

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands‍—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta‍—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa‍—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.

In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.

A specific state of mind resulting from the four abodes of Brahma and defined as the wish to liberate all beings from suffering.

The four elements composing the physical world: earth, water, fire, and air.

Or “Great Spike of Purity,” the name of a bodhisattva. Possibly śaṅku is a misreading or misspelling of sanatku, which would be “the bodhisattva Sanatkumāra” (Pali: Sanaṅkumāra), who was a being of the class of Mahābrahmās‍—in Vedic legend, one of the four or seven “mind-born” sons of Brahmā‍—and who appears in various suttas in the Pali canon.

The path of a bodhisattva is divided into ten stages of spiritual attainment called grounds. The eleventh ground corresponds to complete enlightenment.

This term is the opposite of brahmacarya, “pure conduct” or “holy life,” which denotes the chaste life of those who have renounced the world. The term abrahmacarya therefore refers to sexual conduct, which is regarded as a root downfall for monastics on the śrāvaka path.

“Lord of Desire,” name of Kubera/Vaiśravaṇa.

Name of a mountain in present day Bihar, possibly at Barabar. The mention of it in this sūtra, as its setting, is the only mention at all in the Kangyur.

Mythical being with a horse’s head and a human body (or vice versa); literally “man or what?” Along with the gandharvas, kinnaras are celebrated as celestial musicians.

A measure of distance corresponding to one calling-distance. Four krośa equal one yojana.

The ruling caste in the traditional four-caste hierarchy of India, associated with warriors, the aristocracy, and kings.

“Essence of Earth,” one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” and one of the most popular bodhisattvas in East Asia. In China he has been venerated in particular for his ability to rescue beings reborn in the hells, and in Japan as a protector of children and travelers.

A class of dwarf beings subordinate to Virūḍhaka, one of the Four Great Kings, associated with the southern direction. The name uses a play on the word aṇḍa, which means “egg” but is also a euphemism for a testicle. Thus, they are often depicted as having testicles as big as pots (from kumbha, or “pot”).

The term can be understood to mean “great courageous one” or "great hero,” or (from the Sanskrit) simply “great being,” and is almost always found as an epithet of “bodhisattva.” The qualification “great” in this term, according to the majority of canonical definitions, focuses on the generic greatness common to all bodhisattvas, i.e., the greatness implicit in the bodhisattva vow itself in terms of outlook, aspiration, number of beings to be benefited, potential or eventual accomplishments, and so forth. In this sense the mahā- (“great”) is close in its connotations to the mahā- in “Mahāyāna.” While individual bodhisattvas described as mahāsattva may in many cases also be “great” in terms of their level of realization, this is largely coincidental, and in the canonical texts the epithet is not restricted to bodhisattvas at any particular point in their career. Indeed, in a few cases even bodhisattvas whose path has taken a wrong direction are still described as bodhisattva mahāsattva.Later commentarial writings do nevertheless define the term‍—variably‍—in terms of bodhisattvas having attained a particular level (bhūmi) or realization. The most common qualifying criteria mentioned are attaining the path of seeing, attaining irreversibility (according to its various definitions), or attaining the seventh bhūmi.

Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.

The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).

Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñā­pāramitā­sūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

Literally “Death” or “Demon.” The personification of everything that functions as a hindrance to awakening.

Literally “stability of mind,” denotes specific levels of concentration attained by the sustained practice of calm abiding (śamatha).

A general term for the practice of meditative absorption aimed at developing profound states of concentration.

A special type of samādhi (meditative absorption).

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote. Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.

In the general Mahāyāna teachings the mind of awakening (bodhicitta) is the intention to attain the complete awakening of a perfect buddha for the sake of all beings. On the level of absolute truth, the mind of awakening is the realization of the awakened state itself.

According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

“Child of No Craving,” a name of Viṣṇu.

The extreme philosophical view that rejects rebirth and the law of karma by considering that causes (and thus actions) do not have effects and that the self, being the same as one or all of the aggregates (skandhas), ends at death. Commonly translated as “nihilism” or, more literally, as “view of annihilation.” It is often mentioned along with its opposite view, the extreme of eternalism or permanence.

One who has achieved the third of the four levels of attainment on the śrāvaka path, and who will not be reborn in saṃsāra any longer.

One who has achieved the second of the four levels of attainment on the śrāvaka path, and who will have only one more rebirth before attaining liberation.

Class of demons; literally “flesh eater.”

“Prātimokṣa” is the name given to the code of conduct binding on monks and nuns. The term can be used to refer both to the disciplinary rules themselves and to the texts from the Vinaya that contain them. There are multiple recensions of the Prātimokṣa , each transmitted by a different monastic fraternity in ancient and medieval India. Three remain living traditions, one of them the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya of Tibetan Buddhism. Though the numbers of rules vary across the different recensions, they are all organized according to the same principles and with the same disciplinary categories. It is customary for monastics to recite the Prātimokṣa Sūtra fortnightly.

Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Someone who, in his or her last life, attains awakening entirely through their own contemplation, without relying on a teacher. Unlike the awakening of a fully realized buddha (samyaksambuddha), the accomplishment of a pratyeka­buddha is not regarded as final or ultimate. They attain realization of the nature of dependent origination, the selflessness of the person, and a partial realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of all that arises through interdependence. This is the result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary merit, compassion or motivation to teach others. They are named as “rhinoceros-like” (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa) for their preference for staying in solitude or as “congregators” (vargacārin) when their preference is to stay among peers.

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance.

Specifically refers to an awakened being’s wisdom. Also translated as “transcendental wisdom,” “original wakefulness,” and so forth.

Those who proclaim the nonexistence of causality, such as the Ājīvika or the Cārvāka, basically rejecting the law of karma.

Class of pretas that cause rotting or that have rotting corpses; literally “the rotting one.”

Eighth- to ninth-century Tibetan monk, preceptor, and translator (not to be confused with the thirteenth-century mahāpaṇḍita of the same name). See also n.­8.

This present world system or trichiliocosm. The term is variously interpreted as meaning the world of suffering, of endurance, of fearlessness (because the beings who inhabit it do not fear the three poisons), or of concomitance (of karmic cause and effect).

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.

Indian paṇḍita. Ninth century ᴄᴇ. See also n.­8.

“Entirely Excellent,” one of the eight principal bodhisattvas. He is known for embodying the conduct of bodhisattvas through his vast aspirations, offerings, and deeds for the benefit of beings.

The conditioned realm of cyclic existence in which beings are confined to perpetual suffering and unsatisfactoriness.

“The Melodious One,” the goddess of eloquence and learning.

An important bodhisattva, included among the “eight close sons of the Buddha.” His name means “One Who Completely Dispels All Obscurations” and, accordingly, he is said to have the power to exhaust all the obscurations of anyone who merely hears his name. According to The Jewel Cloud (1.10, Toh 231), Sarva­­nīvaraṇa­­viṣkam­bhin originally dwelt in the realm of the Buddha Padma­netra, but he was so touched by the Buddha Śākyamuni’s compassionate acceptance of the barbaric and ungrateful beings who inhabit this realm that he traveled to see the Buddha Śākyamuni, offer him worship, and inquire about the Dharma. He is often included in the audience of sūtras and, in particular, he has an important role in the The Basket’s Display, Toh 116, in which he is sent to Vārāṇasī to obtain Avalokitesvara’s mantra.

An ancient Indian spiritual title especially for divinely inspired individuals credited with creating the foundations for Indian culture.

The set of seven precious materials or substances includes a range of precious metals and gems, but their exact list varies. The set often consists of gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, emeralds, and white coral, but may also contain lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphire, chrysoberyl, diamonds, etc. The term is frequently used in the sūtras to exemplify preciousness, wealth, and beauty, and can describe treasures, offering materials, or the features of architectural structures such as stūpas, palaces, thrones, etc. The set is also used to describe the beauty and prosperity of buddha realms and the realms of the gods.In other contexts, the term saptaratna can also refer to the seven precious possessions of a cakravartin or to a set of seven precious moral qualities.

A set of practices found in many textual forms for recitation, often daily. The seven limbs are paying homage to the buddhas, presenting them with offerings, disclosing one’s negative deeds, rejoicing in the positive deeds of all beings, requesting the Dharma, supplicating the enlightened ones to remain with us, and dedicating all virtues to the benefit of sentient beings.

A bodhisattva’s practices of giving, ethical discipline, forbearance, perseverence, meditative concentration, and wisdom. To qualify as perfections, those practices must be motivated by bodhicitta‍—the mind of enlightenment‍—and embraced with an understanding of emptiness.

The second of the two main branches of Buddhist meditation, aiming at developing insight into the nature of reality.

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

“The Glorious One,” a name of Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune and beauty.

One who has achieved the first of the four levels of attainment on the śrāvaka path, and who is from then onward continuously approaching liberation.

A Buddhist monument and reliquary representing the enlightened mind of a buddha.

The ultimate nature of things, or the way things are in reality, as opposed to the way they appear to nonenlightened beings.

The caste of the laborers and servants of classical Indian society.

There are five supernatural faculties resulting from meditative concentration: divine sight, divine hearing, knowing others’ minds, recollecting past lives, and the ability to perform miracles.

A specific kind of mangosteen.

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha­(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

The three unwholesome actions of the body (killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct); the four of speech (lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech); and the three of the mind (covetousness, ill will, and wrong views).

The Buddhist path as presented in the Bodhisattva Vehicle: the four close applications of mindfulness, the four perfect abandonments, the four bases of miraculous power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven limbs of enlightenment, and the eightfold path.

The capacity to accept or tolerate experiences that ordinary beings cannot tolerate. This is the preparatory step to profound insight into reality. It also refers to the third stage of the path of joining (sbyor lam; prayogamārga). Also rendered here as “acceptance.”

The term is also translated as “blessing.” It literally denotes the circumstance of something being affected (brlabs) by a force that has the capacity to change the way of thinking or the appearance of others (byin).

Actions of body, speech, and mind that cause one to “fall from” the path to awakening, and in the worst cases fall to the lower realms of existence. Also rendered here as “downfall.”

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­lokadhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Sumeru, continents, sun and moon, etc.

A kind of sandalwood.

Blue lotus, waterlily.

One of the Four Great Kings, he presides over the northern quarter and rules over the yakṣas. He is also known as Kubera.

The caste of merchants and farmers of classical Indian society.

The term stands for indestructibility and perfect stability. According to Indian mythology, the vajra is the all-powerful god Indra’s weapon, likened to a thunderbolt, which makes him invincible. It also relates to the diamond which is the hardest physical material.

Vajrapāṇi means “Wielder of the Vajra.” In the Pali canon, he appears as a yakṣa guardian in the retinue of the Buddha. In the Mahāyāna scriptures he is a bodhisattva and one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha.” In the tantras, he is also regarded as an important Buddhist deity and instrumental in the transmission of tantric scriptures.

One of the Three Baskets (Tripiṭaka), the Vinaya is the body of literature on monastic discipline and training.

One of the Four Great Kings, he presides over the southern quarter and rules over the kumbhāṇḍas.

One of the Four Great Kings, he presides over the western quarter and rules over the nāgas.

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa. Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

The Lord of the Dead; name of the ruler over the netherworld.

Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.

A standard measure of distance used in ancient India. The Sanskrit literally means “yoking” or “joining.” It is the distance a yoked ox can travel in a day or before needing to be unyoked. Sources calculate the exact distance variably, somewhere between four and ten miles.