A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.

According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.

Refers to the Indian custom of tying an auspicious thread, normally around the wrist.

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.

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”).

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

Often translated as “element,” dhātu (Tib. khams) is a term with a wide semantic range. Here, in a manner similar to the term dharma (Tib. chos), it refers to all the constituents or elements of experience.

The experience of those in training.

The experience of those who have passed beyond training.

Conditioned phenomena.

The phenomena of saṃsāra influenced by the defilements (Tib nyon mongs, Skt. kleśa) and karma are classified as contaminated.

Unconditioned phenomena.

The phenomena of saṃsāra not influenced by the defilements (nyon mongs, kleśa) and karma are classified as uncontaminated.

The teaching that everything arises in dependence on something else, which is also applied to the entire process of life and death. This became standardized into twelve sequences of dependent origination, beginning with ignorance, followed by formation, and concluding in death. In the Pali suttas, this was more often taught as a greater number of successive sequences, commencing with ignorance and formation being simultaneous and codependent, like two sticks leaning against each other.

The eighteen constituents through which sensory experience is produced: the six sense faculties (indriya); the six corresponding sense objects (ālambana); and the six sensory consciousnesses (vijñāna).When grouped these are: the eye constituent, form constituent, and eye consciousness constituent; the ear constituent, sound constituent, and ear consciousness constituent; the nose constituent, smell constituent, and nose consciousness constituent; the tongue constituent, taste constituent, and tongue consciousness constituent; the body constituent, touch constituent, and body consciousness constituent; the thinking-mind constituent, dharma constituent, and thinking-mind consciousness constituent.See also “constituents.”

Five impediments to meditation (bsam gtan, dhyāna): sensory desire (’dod pa la ’dun pa, kāmacchanda), ill will (gnod sems, vyāpāda), drowsiness and torpor (rmugs pa dang gnyid, styānamiddha), agitation and regret (rgod pa dang ’gyod pa, auddhatya­kaukṛtya), and doubt (the tshom, vicikitsā).

Mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of sensations or feelings, mindfulness of the mind, and mindfulness of phenomena. These relate to a form of meditation in which one sees the body as impure, sensations as painful, the mind as transient, and phenomena as without self.

One of the standard epithets of the Buddha Śākyamuni, and also a term of respect used for Buddhist monks, akin to the modern address, bhante.

That which is untenable or cannot reasonably be expected to occur. Knowing what is possible and what is impossible (Tib. gnas dang gnas ma yin, Skt. sthānāsthāna) is counted among the ten powers of a buddha (Tib. stobs bcu, Skt. daśabala).

This refers to the awakening of pratyekabuddhas (Tib. rang sangs rgyas).

One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors. Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.

“The Ever-Youthful Mañjuśrī,” or “Youthful Gentle Splendor,” an epithet of Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva of wisdom and one of the Buddha’s principal interlocutors in many sūtras.

The principal deity in the highest paradise in the desire realm who attempted to prevent the Buddha’s enlightenment. Also a name for the deities ruled over by him, and further used in the sense of a demon or demonic influence in general that creates obstacles for spiritual practice and enlightenment. Symbolically, the defects within a person that prevent enlightenment.

The attainment of a buddha, who has gained total freedom from conditioned existence, overcome all tendencies imprinted on the mind as a result of a long association with afflicted mental states, and fully manifested all aspects of buddha body, speech, and mind.

That which is tenable or can reasonably be expected to occur. Knowing what is possible and what is impossible (Tib. gnas dang gnas ma yin, Skt. sthānāsthāna) is counted among the ten powers of a buddha (Tib. stobs bcu, Skt. daśabala).

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.

The senses as sources of perception and their respective objects. The twelve sense sources consist of the six sense organs and their respective six objects. They are sometimes called collectively “the six sense fields,” meaning six pairs of two (this set of six is the fifth of the twelve links of dependent origination), or the “twelve sense fields.”

Mindfulness or recollection (Tib. dran pa, Skt. smṛti); discrimination (shes rab, prajña); diligence (brtson ’grus, vīrya); joy (dga’ ba, prīti); pliability (shin sbyangs, praśrabdhi); absorption (ting nge ’dzin, samādhi); and equanimity (btang snyoms, upeksa).

Fifth of the twelve links of dependent origination. The senses as sources of perception and their respective objects. They are sometimes known collectively as “the six sense sources,” meaning six pairs, but are also sometimes taken as two separate groups, making twelve. See also the twelve sense fields.

During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was the capital city in the kingdom of Kośala, in present-day Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The city was at that time ruled by one of the Buddha’s royal patrons, King Prasenajit. The Buddha often dwelt in his monastery in the Jeta Grove situated here.

Surendrabodhi came to Tibet during reign of King Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He is listed as the translator of forty-three texts and was one of the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.

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 classical list of the Buddha’s ten powers, which appears frequently throughout both Pāli and Sanskrit sources, refers to the following powers of knowing (Skt. jñānabala): (1) Knowing what is possible and what is impossible (Skt. sthānāsthāna). (2) Knowing the ripening of karma (Skt. karmavipāka). (3) Knowing the various inclinations (Skt. nānādhimukti). (4) Knowing the various elements (Skt. nānādhātu). (5) Knowing the supreme and lesser faculties (Skt. indriyaparāpara). (6) Knowing the paths that lead to all destinations (Skt. sarvatragāminīpratipad). (7) Knowing the concentrations, liberations, absorptions, and attainments (Skt. dhyānavimokṣasamādhisamāpatti). (8) Knowing the recollection of past existences (Skt. pūrvanivāsānusmṛti). (9) Knowing death and rebirth (Skt. cyutyupapatti). (10) Knowing the exhaustion of the defilements (Skt. āsravakṣaya).

Usually translated as the “three realms” that make up saṃsāra: the desire realm (Tib. ’dod khams, Skt. kāmadhātu), the form realm (gzugs khams, rūpadhātu), and the formless realm (gzugs med khams, ārūpyadhātu).

The principle of dependent origination asserts that nothing exists independently of other factors, the reason for this being that things and events come into existence only by dependence on the aggregation of multiple causes and conditions. In general, the processes of cyclic existence, through which the external world and the sentient beings within it revolve in a continuous cycle of suffering, propelled by the propensities of past actions and their interaction with afflicted mental states, originate dependent on the sequential unfolding of twelve links: (1) fundamental ignorance, (2) formative predispositions, (3) consciousness, (4) name and form, (5) sense field, (6) sensory contact, (7) sensation, (8) craving, (9) grasping, (10) rebirth process, (11) actual birth, (12) aging and death. It is through deliberate reversal of these twelve links that one can succeed in bringing the whole cycle to an end.

The twelve fields or sense sources consist of (a) the six sense organs or inner sense fields (Tib. nang gi skye mched drug, Skt. ṣaḍādhyātmikāyatana)‍—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind‍—and (b) their respective six objects or outer sense fields (Tib. phyi’i skye mched drug, Skt. ṣaḍbāhyāyatana): sights, sounds, odors, tastes, tangible objects, and mental phenomena. They are sometimes collectively called “the six sense sources,” meaning the six pairs of inner and outer sense fields.

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.

A respectful form of address between monks, and also between lay companions of equal standing. It literally means “one who has a [long] life.”