“Unconquered,” an alternate name for the bodhisattva Maitreya; the name of a bodhisattva; also an epithet of the deity Viṣṇu.

A class of celestial beings.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to the northeast of the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

A common epithet for a buddha.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to the northwest of the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to at the zenith above the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

The name of a buddhafield.

A class of celestial beings.

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 class of celestial beings.

The name of a bodhisattva prophesied to become the tathāgata presiding over the buddhafield Full of Pearls after the tathāgata King of Jewels passes into parinirvāṇa.

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

The abbreviated name of a tathāgata who presides over the buddhafield Full of Pearls. The name of a bodhisattva. The full name of this tathagata in this work is King of Jewels Devoid of Desire Whose Supreme Emanation Has Arisen from the Expanse of Phenomena, Who Is Ornamented by Boundless Sunlight from the Top of His Crown Protuberance and by an Aspiration Like Moonlight, Whose Body Is Bedecked and Elegantly Ornamented with Offerings of Excellent Perfumes, Who Has a Body Like a Lotus Flower Lovely as a Resplendent Blue Beryl Gemstone, the Light of the Good Qualities of Whom Are as Beautiful as a Glorious Pure Sky Free of Dust.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to the east of the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

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).

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to the north of the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra: (1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree‍—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1‍—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputra­māra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

A class of celestial beings.

The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha‍—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)‍—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to the southwest of the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to the west of the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

An alternate name of a bodhisattva prophesied to become the tathāgata presiding over the buddhafield Full of Pearls after the tathāgata King of Jewels passes into parinirvāṇa.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to the east of the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield to the south of the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

The name of a tathāgata presiding over a buddhafield at the nadir below the buddhafield Full of Pearls.

The name of one of the oldest of the Vedic gods, associated with the waters.

The abbreviated name that the bodhisattva Incomparable/Stainless is prophesied to adopt when he takes his place as the tathāgata presiding over the buddhafield Full of Pearls after the tathāgata King of Jewels passes into parinirvāṇa. The full name of this tathagata in this work is Victory Banner King Whose Light Rays Illuminate All the World Realms in the Ten-Directional Unimpeded Circular Maṇḍala, Adorned with Completely Illuminating Sunlight, Endowed with a Space-Like Body Resembling Youthful Varuṇa, the Light of the Sun, a Moon Flower, and a Beautiful Golden Lotus.

A hill located outside of Rājagṛha where Śākyamuni and others are said to have taught many of the Mahāyāna sūtras, most notably the Prājñā­pāramitā­sūtras.