A deva.

“Clear Light.” The highest of the three paradises that correspond to the second dhyāna in the form realm.

A buddha.

Acacia sundra, Acacia catechu. A tree that can grow to 50 feet. Also called catechu, cachou, cutch tree, black cutch, and black catechu. Its bark, gum, shoots, and fruits are used in Āyurvedic medicine. Ludvik suggests Albizzia lebbek. The Chinese term translates to “mimosa” (see Ludvik 2007, p. 309). (In Toh 556, Degé edition, it is shi ri shA).

These palaces served as both vehicles and residences for deities.

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. Also rendered here as “kleśa.”

Amyris agallocha. Also called agallochum and aloeswood. This is a resinous heartwood that has been infected by the fungus Phialophora parasitica. In India, agarwood is primarily derived from the fifteen Aquilaria (Aquilaria malaccensis) and nine Gyrinops species of lign-aloe trees.

A god who is the king of lightning in the eastern direction.

The god of fire.

A court priest in the Buddha’s father’s kingdom who predicted the Buddha’s enlightenment, he later became one of the Buddha’s five companions in asceticism. These five renounced the Buddha (then Siddhartha) when he abandoned asceticism, but after his enlightenment they became his disciples. Kauṇḍinya famously was the first to comprehend the Buddha’s teaching, and in that way became the first (after the Buddha) to gain the status of an arhat.

The eighth and highest level of the Realm of Form (rūpadhātu), the last of the five pure abodes (śuddhāvāsa); it is only accessible as the result of specific states of dhyāna. According to some texts this is where non-returners (anāgāmin) dwell in their last lives. In other texts it is the realm of the enjoyment body (saṃbhoga­kāya) and is a buddhafield associated with the Buddha Vairocana; it is accessible only to bodhisattvas on the tenth level.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

Lit. “Not Disturbed” or “Immovable One.” The buddha in the eastern realm of Abhirati. A well-known buddha in Mahāyāna, regarded in the higher tantras as the head of one of the five buddha families, the vajra family in the east.

The kingdom of yakṣas located on Mount Sumeru and ruled over by Kubera, also known as Vaiśravaṇa.

A bodhisattva.

The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.

The buddha of the western realm of Sukhāvatī. Also known as Amitābha.

A yakṣa.

The nectar of immortality possessed by the devas, it is used as a metaphor for the teaching that brings liberation.

A buddha.

“Cloudless.” In the Sarvāstivāda tradition, the lowest of the three paradises that correspond to the fourth dhyāna in the form realm. Translated in other texts as sprin dang bral ba.

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.

A nāga king whose domain is Lake Anavatapta. According to Buddhist cosmology, this lake is located near Mount Sumeru and is the source of the four great rivers of Jambudvīpa. It is often identified with Lake Manasarovar at the foot of Mount Kailash in Tibet.

A bodhisattva.

A buddha.

A buddha.

“Immeasurable Light.” The second highest of the three paradises that correspond to the second dhyāna in the form realm. Translated in other texts as tshad med snang ba.

“Immeasurable Goodness.” The second highest of the three paradises that correspond to the third dhyāna in the form realm.

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.

According to Ludvik, the Chinese corresponds to Laevocamphor, Malay camphor, from Blumea balsamiflora. Maue and Sertkaya, however, note that 艾 ai of 艾納 aina referred to a specific species of Artemisia. Gö Chödrup understood aina in this sense. See Ludvik 2007, p. 312, especially n. 19.

The Sanskrit ārya has the general meaning of a noble person, one of a higher class or caste. In Buddhist literature, depending on the context, it often means specifically one who has gained the realization of the path and is superior for that reason. In particular, it applies to stream enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and worthy ones (arhats) and is also used as an epithet of bodhisattvas. In the five-path system, it refers to someone who has achieved at least the path of seeing (darśanamārga).

A distinct number: 1 to the power of 60, according to the Abhidharmakośa. See also asaṃkhyeya eon.

The name of a certain kind of kalpa, literally meaning “incalculable.” The number of years in this kalpa differs in various sūtras that give a number. Also, twenty intermediate kalpas are said to be one asaṃkhyeya (incalculable) kalpa, and four incalculable kalpas are one great kalpa. In that case, those four incalculable kalpas represent the eons of the creation, presence, destruction, and absence of a world. Buddhas are often described as appearing in a second incalculable kalpa.

A bodhisattva.

The seven branches of enlightenment are mindfulness, analysis of phenomena, diligence, joy, tranquility, samādhi, and equanimity.

A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

One of the five companions with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and who later heard the Buddha first teach the four noble truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath. He was renowned for his pure conduct and holy demeanor, so the Buddha sent him to attract Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana to the order.

This is the fourth highest of the five Śuddhāvāsa paradises, the highest paradises in the form realm. In this sūtra it is the second highest. Here translated as meaning “Not Pained.” In other texts translated as ma dros pa (“Not Warm”).

A yakṣa king.

A lake in a wilderness.

First appeared as a bodhisattva beside Amitābha in the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra ( The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī , Toh 115). The name has been variously interpreted. In its meaning as “the lord of avalokita,” avalokita has been interpreted as “seeing,” although, as a past passive participle, it is literally “lord of what has been seen.” One of the principal sūtras in the Mahāsāṃghika tradition was the Avalokita Sūtra, which has not been translated into Tibetan, in which the word is a synonym for enlightenment, as it is “that which has been seen” by the buddhas. In the early tantras, he was one of the lords of the three families, as the embodiment of the compassion of the Buddhas. The Potalaka Mountain in South India became important in Southern Indian Buddhism as his residence in this world, but Potalaka does not feature in the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra ( The Basket’s Display , Toh 116), which is the most important sūtra dedicated to Avalokiteśvara.

The lowest hell, the eighth of the eight hot hells.

In the Sarvāstivāda tradition, this is the lowest of the five Śuddhāvāsa paradises, the highest paradises in the form realm, and is said to be the most common rebirth for the “non-returners” of the Śrāvakayāna. In this sūtra it is the third highest.

These can be listed as twelve or as six sense sources (sometimes also called sense fields, bases of cognition, or simply āyatanas).In the context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of twelve sense sources, which can be divided into inner and outer sense sources, namely: (1–2) eye and form, (3–4) ear and sound, (5–6) nose and odor, (7–8) tongue and taste, (9–10) body and touch, (11–12) mind and mental phenomena.In the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, only six sense sources are mentioned, and they are the inner sense sources (identical to the six faculties) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

The classical system of Indian medicine.

A king in the distant past.

An asura king. Indian literary sources describe how Bali wrested control of the world from the devas, establishing a period of peace and prosperity with no caste distinction. Indra requested Viṣṇu to use his wiles to gain back the world from him for the devas. Viṣṇu appeared as a dwarf asking for two steps of ground, was offered three, and then traversed the world in two steps. Bali, remaining faithful to his promise, accepted the banishment of the asuras into the underworld. A great Bali festival in his honor is held annually in South India.

Ficus benghalensis. Its branches can spread widely, sending down multiple trunks, and it is therefore the most extensive of trees.

Ocimum basilicum. Commonly known in India as tulsi, this is a sacred plant in the Hindu tradition.

Commiphora wighti, or Commiphora mukul. The resin, also known as guggul gum, is obtained from the bark of the tree. When burned, the smoke is said to drive away evil spirits.

A goddess.

One of Siddhārtha's five ascetic companions, who abandoned him when he renounced asceticism. When those five later became the Buddha’s first disciples, Bhadrika was the second of them to convert.

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 bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.

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).

The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.

A yakṣa.

Literally the “grounds” in which qualities grow, and also meaning “levels.” Here it refers specifically to levels of enlightenment, especially the ten levels of the bodhisattvas.For the omens, the meaning of the names of each bhūmi, the obscurations that persist in each one, and their practices, see 6.­28–6.­59.

A yakṣa.

Momordica monadelpha. A perennial climbing plant, the fruit of which is a bright red gourd. Because of its color it is frequently used in poetry as a simile for lips.

A bodhisattva.

More commonly known as the Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis). YJ has “deep blue color” instead of “blue jay.”

See “enlightenment mind.”

The place where the Buddha Śākyamuni achieved awakening and where every buddha will manifest the attainment of buddhahood. In our world this is understood to be located under the Bodhi tree, the Vajrāsana, in present-day Bodhgaya, India. It can also refer to the state of awakening itself.

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).

In addition to Brahmā being the name of the great deity, “Brahmā” (sometimes “Mahābrahmā”) can refer to all the devas that live in Brahmā’s paradise.

A buddha.

“Brahmā’s Multitude.” The lowest of the three paradises that form the paradises of the first dhyāna in the form realm.

“Brahmā’s Principals.” Often the second highest of the three paradises that correspond to the first dhyāna in the form realm. Here it is the third highest with the addition of another Brahmā paradise.

See “Brahmā.”

Same as the Brahmapurohita paradise.

A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.

In the Sarvāstivāda tradition, the highest of the three paradises that correspond to the fourth dhyāna in the form realm.

A teacher of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light in the distant past.

The Tibetan translates both stūpa and caitya with the same word, mchod rten, meaning “basis” or “recipient” of “offerings” or “veneration.” Pali: cetiya.A caitya, although often synonymous with stūpa, can also refer to any site, sanctuary or shrine that is made for veneration, and may or may not contain relics.A stūpa, literally “heap” or “mound,” is a mounded or circular structure usually containing relics of the Buddha or the masters of the past. It is considered to be a sacred object representing the awakened mind of a buddha, but the symbolism of the stūpa is complex, and its design varies throughout the Buddhist world. Stūpas continue to be erected today as objects of veneration and merit making.

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 fierce goddess.

The lowest and most disparaged class of people within the caste system of ancient India, they fall outside of the caste system altogether due to their low rank in society.

A fierce goddess.

A yakṣa king.The translation here follows the Chinese version for which there is an attested Sanskrit name. The Tibetan bdun pa should be rendered as Saptama, but there is no attestion for this name as a deity.

A fierce goddess.

Elettria cardamomum.

“The Division of the Four Mahārājas.” The paradise of the Four Mahārājas, which is situated at the base of Sumeru. The lowest of the six paradises of the desire realm.

A yakṣa king.

This is a product of the chir pine, also known as the long leaf pine: Pinus roxbhurghii or Pinus longifolia. It is used in Āyurvedic medicine. Also known in Sanskrit as śrīveṣṭa, which appears to be the version in the manuscript from which the Tibetan was transliterated.

Cinnamonum tamale. Specifically, the Indian species of cinnamon, which has medicinal properties.

A yakṣa king.

A yakṣa king.

A buddha.

The name of Rūpyaketu when he becomes the regent of the Buddha King of the Mountain of Gold and Jewels.

A buddha.

The sixth of the twelve links, or phases, of dependent origination: the contact between the sensory consciousnesses and organs with sensory objects.

One of the five trees of Indra’s paradise, its heavenly flowers often rain down in salutation of the buddhas and bodhisattvas and are said to be very bright and aromatic, gladdening the hearts of those who see them. In our world, it is a tree native to India, Erythrina indica or Erythrina variegata, commonly known as the Indian coral tree, mandarava tree, flame tree, and tiger’s claw. In the early spring, before its leaves grow, the tree is fully covered in large flowers, which are rich in nectar and attract many birds. Although the most widespread coral tree has red crimson flowers, the color of the blossoms is not usually mentioned in the sūtras themselves, and it may refer to some other kinds, like the rarer Erythrina indica alba, which boasts white flowers.

Saussurea lappa. This is a 3–4-foot-tall shrub. Alternatively identified as Saussurea costus and Costus speciosus. YJ’s translation refers to another plant, namely Aristolochia recurvilabra.

Short for Mahāsattva , dpa’ ba means “courage.” Elsewhere in the sūtra the prince’s name is translated as sems can chen po (“Great Being”) and in Toh 556 it is translated as snying stobs chen po (“Great Courage”). “Courage” and “being” are two possible meanings of sattva, which has a number of alternative meanings, such as “goodness” and “existence.”

A buddha.

A yellow stone that forms within the stomach of ruminants and is held to have medicinal properties.

A resin from the tree known as sarjarasa, sarja, white dammar, or Indian copal tree (Vateria indica). The white dammar resin is used in incense and Āyurvedic medicine. In the Chinese, 婆 po is probably a mistake for 娑 suo.

Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharma­kośa­bhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.

A buddha.

Also called devadāru (“divine wood”), Cedrus deodara, the Himalayan cedar. While the Chinese transliteration‍—苫弭哆shanmiche‍—corresponds to the Sanskrit śāmyaka, the Chinese translation‍—甘松 gansong‍—refers to yet another substance, namely spikenard. See the entry for “spikenard” and Ludvik 2007, p. 310.

This refers to the dependent nature of phenomena. One of the three natures that are a central philosophy of the Yogācāra tradition.

See “twelve phases of dependent origination.”

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.

A female being in the paradises from the base of Mount Sumeru upward. Also can refer to a female deity or goddess in the human world. See also “deva.”

Also rendered here as “retention.”

A bodhisattva.

An early term used to denote the Buddha’s teaching. “Dharma” refers to the sūtras and “Vinaya” to the rules of discipline.

In its earliest use it generally meant that though the corporeal body of the Buddha had perished, his “body of the Dharma” continued. It also referred to the Buddha’s realization of reality, to his qualities as a whole, or to his teachings as embodying him. It later came to be synonymous with enlightenment or buddhahood, a “body” that can only be “seen” by a buddha.

A yakṣa king. The Chinese translation corresponds to “Dharmapāla” or “Pāladharma”.

A synonym for emptiness or the ultimate nature of reality. The term is interpreted variously and can be translated according to context as “Dharma realm,” “Dharma element,” “the realm of phenomena,” or “the element of phenomena.”

A bodhisattva.

In early Buddhism a section of the saṅgha would be bhāṇakas (“proclaimers”), who memorized the teachings. Particularly before the teachings were written down, and were transmitted orally, the bhāṇakas were the key means of preserving the teachings. Various groups of bhāṇakas specialized in memorizing and reciting specific sets of sūtras or the vinaya.

A Licchavī youth.

See “Dharma realm.”

A buddha.

See “Dharma body.”

A great bodhisattva, residing in a divine city called Gandhavatī, who teaches the Prajñāpāramitā three times a day. He is known for becoming the teacher of the bodhisattva Sadāprarudita, who decides to sell his flesh and blood in order to make offerings to him and receive his teachings. This story is told in The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Toh 10, ch. 85–86). It can also be found quoted in several works, such as The Words of My Perfect Teacher (kun bzang bla ma’i zhal lung) by Patrul Rinpoche.

One of the Four Mahārājas, he is the guardian deity for the east and lord of the gandharvas.

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

The name of an eon.

A bodhisattva.

A designation used for a group of languages spoken in the south of India, including Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Tamil.

Another name for Sthāvarā, the goddess of the earth.

As specified in the Sanskrit, a conical or bowl-shaped kettledrum, with an upper surface that is beaten with sticks. The Tibetan and Chinese are not specific about the kind of drum it is.

The principal buddha of the northern direction.

Goddess of the Nairañjana River, near which the Buddha practiced asceticism and later attained enlightenment.

A series of progressively more subtle states of meditative realization or attainment. There are several presentations of these found in the canonical literature. One of the most common is as follows: (1) One observes form while the mind dwells at the level of the form realm. (2) One observes forms externally while discerning formlessness internally. (3) One dwells in the direct experience of the body’s pleasant aspect. (4) One dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite space by transcending all conceptions of matter, resistance, and diversity. (5) Transcending the sphere of infinite space, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite consciousness. (6) Transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of nothingness. (7) Transcending the sphere of nothingness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception. (8) Transcending the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, one dwells in the realization of the cessation of conception and feeling.

A set of circumstances that do not provide the freedom to practice the Buddhist path: being born in the realms of (1) the hells, (2) hungry ghosts (pretas), (3) animals, or (4) long-lived gods, or in the human realm among (5) barbarians or (6) extremists, (7) in places where the Buddhist teachings do not exist, or (8) without adequate faculties to understand the teachings where they do exist.

The eight vows taken by a layperson for just one day, usually a full-moon or new-moon day, to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual activity, lying, intoxicants, using high or luxurious seats, singing or dancing, and wearing adornments or perfumes.

A set of eighty bodily characteristics borne by buddhas and universal emperors. They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two major marks of a great being.These can be found listed, for example, in Prajñā­pāramitā sūtras (see Toh 9, Toh 10, Toh 11) or in The Play in Full (Toh 95, 7.­100) and many other sūtras.

A nāga king often present in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni. According to the Vinaya, in the time of the Buddha Kāśyapa he had been a monk (bhikṣu) who angrily cut down a thorny bush at the entrance of his cave because it always snagged his robes. Cutting down bushes or even grass is contrary to the monastic rules and he did not confess his action. Therefore, he was reborn as a nāga with a tree growing out of his head, which caused him great pain whenever the wind blew. This tale is found represented in ancient sculpture and is often quoted to demonstrate how small misdeeds can lead to great consequences. See, e.g., Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher.

Manifestations of a buddha, particularly as the principal buddha of an age, that are perceivable by ordinary beings.

The enjoyment body denotes the luminous, immaterial, and unimpeded reflection-like forms of enlightened mind, which become spontaneously present and naturally manifest to tenth level bodhisattvas.

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.

A cosmic period of time, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world system appears, exists, and disappears. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser eons. In the course of one great eon, the universe takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion; during the next twenty it remains; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction; and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of empty stasis. A fortunate, or good, eon (bhadrakalpa) refers to any eon in which more than one buddha appears.

A buddha.

A buddha.

A Licchavī youth.

Name of the future buddha whom the goddess Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light is prophesied to become.

A deva that does not appear in any other sūtra. Apart from the identification as a deva (天子 tianzi), the Chinese translation matches the name for Mañjuśrī.

A set of qualities necessary as a method to attain the enlightenment of a śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, or buddha. There are thirty-seven of these: (1–4) the four kinds of mindfulness: mindfulness of body, sensations, mind, and phenomena; (5–8) the four correct exertions: not to do bad actions that have not been done, to give up bad actions that are being done, to do good actions that have not been done, and to increase the good actions that are being done; (9–12) the foundations for miraculous powers: intention, diligence, mind, and analysis; (13–17) the five powers : faith, diligence, mindfulness, samādhi, and wisdom; (18–22) the five strengths : even stronger forms of faith, diligence, mindfulness, samādhi, and wisdom; (23–29) the seven limbs of enlightenment: correct mindfulness, correct wisdom of the analysis of phenomena, correct diligence, correct joy, correct serenity, correct samādhi, and correct equanimity; and (30–37) the eightfold noble path: right view, examination, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and samādhi.

A bodhisattva.

Trigonella corniculata. The YJ transliteration points to the Sanskrit term spṛkkā, but the translated Chinese term refers to Medicago sativaor alfalfa.

The mythological flower of the fig tree, said to appear on rare occasions, such as the birth of a buddha. The actual fig tree flower is contained within the fruit.

The five actions that lead to going instantly to hell upon death: killing one’s father; killing one’s mother; killing an arhat; splitting the saṅgha; and wounding a buddha so that he bleeds.

The five degenerations are (1) the degeneration of life span, (2) the degeneration of views, (3) the degeneration of the afflictions, (4) the degeneration of beings, and (5) the degeneration of the era.

These are traditionally listed as the five main branches of knowledge: crafts, medicine, grammar, logic, and philosophy.

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).

The five skandhas, or aggregates, are form, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. On the individual level the five aggregates refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected.

A buddha.

A buddha.

The father of Balendraketu and a king in the distant past.

The meaning of this term varies according to context. As one of the skandhas it refers to various mental activities. In terms of the twelve phases of dependent origination it is the second, “formation” or “creation,” referring to activities with karmic results.

The four qualities that are said to result in rebirth in the Brahmā World. They are limitless loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

The four confidences or fearlessnesses (as translated into Tibetan) of the Buddha: confidence in declaring that one has (1) awakened, (2) ceased all illusions, (3) taught the obstacles to awakening, and (4) shown the way to liberation.

The discernments of meaning, phenomena, language, and eloquence.

Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down.

Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahā­rājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).

The four truths that the Buddha transmitted in his first teaching: (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path to the cessation of suffering.

The four fruitions of the śrāvaka vehicle: stream entry, once-returning, non-returning, and worthy one. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming..)

The ancient Indian army was composed of four branches (caturaṅga)‍—infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants.

Also known as olibanum, this is a resin from trees of the genus Boswellia, in this case Boswellia serrata, “Indian frankincense.” It is also known as salai and śallakī, tilakalka, vṛścika, and turuṣka. The transliteration in YJ mostly corresponds to the Tibetan and Sanskrit, but the translated term 丁子 dingzi refers to Carophyllus aromaticus. See Ludvik 2007, p. 315.

A yakṣa.

A garuḍa king.

A mountain north of the Himalayas, said to be fifty yojanas from Mount Kailash. In other sūtras, it is translated as spos ngad can, spos ngad ldang, or spos nad ldan. Mount Gandhamardan in Orissa, India, was at one time a center for Buddhist study and practice.

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.”

A yakṣa king.

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.

The brother of Nadīkāśyapa and Uruvilvakāśyapa. A practitioner of fire offering at Uruvilva (Bodhgaya), he and his two hundred pupils were converted to becoming bhikṣus of the Buddha. He and his brothers and their students were the third group to become followers of the Buddha after his enlightenment.

A bodhisattva.

A prolific translator active in Dunhuang during the early ninth century (c. 755–849) who translated this sūtra from Chinese to Tibetan.

A goddess.

The great goddess Śrī, better known as Lakṣmī, who promises to aid those who recite this sūtra and to ensure its preservation so that beings will have good fortune. She dwells in a palace in the paradise of Alakāvati.

A bodhisattva.

A naga king.

A bodhisattva.

Female cow herders or milkmaids, the gopis are well known from their role in the mythology of Kṛṣṇa, particularly Rādhā, who became his lover.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A fierce goddess.

A Licchavī youth.

A bodhisattva.

An asura lord.

A buddha.

A buddha.

A yakṣa king.

A bodhisattva.

A buddha who resides in the Ratnavyūha realm.

A bodhisattva.

A yakṣa king.

A god.

A rākṣasī with hundreds of children whom the Buddha converted into a protector of children.

The higher cognitions are listed as either five or six. The first five are divine sight, divine hearing, knowing how to manifest miracles, remembering previous lives, and knowing what is in the minds of others. A sixth, knowing that all defects have been eliminated, is often added. The first five are attained through concentration (Skt. dhyāna ), and are sometimes described as worldly, as they can be attained to some extent by non-Buddhist yogis, while the sixth is supramundane and attained only by realization.

A buddha.

A buddha.

A yakṣa.

A nāga king.

This term is uncommon in the Kangyur as it seems to appear only in this sūtra and in Toh 556. It is found in Yijing’s Chinese version from which this Tibetan translation was produced. It may originally have been a reference to the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha.

A buddha.

Conceptual cognition; an alternative translation is “the imaginary.” One of the three natures that are a central philosophy of the Yogācāra tradition.

A god who is the king of lightning in the western direction.

Mesua ferrea. Evergreen tree up to 100 feet tall. Known as Assam ironwood, Ceylon ironwood, Indian rose chestnut, Cobra’s saffron, and nāgakesara. The flowers are large and fragrant, with four white petals and a yellow center.

A head merchant and physician in the distant past.

The name of the river in this story, which means “Arriving Water.”

The younger son of Jalavāhana and Jalāmbujagarbhā.

The elder son of Jalavāhana and Jalāmbujagarbhā.

The wife of Jalavāhana.

A learned physician in the distant past and son of Jaladhara; who, as a result of performing Dharma recitations while standing in a lake, ensured the rebirth of ten thousand fish into the paradise of Trāyastriṃśa.

The remains of the golden fruit fallen from the legendary jambu tree and carried away by this divine river. It is considered especially fine.

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.

An epithet for a buddha meaning “victorious one.” YJ rarely uses this epithet and instead mostly uses 佛 fo (“buddhas”) or 王 wang (“kings”).

A yakṣa king.

A yakṣa king and the son of Vaiśravaṇa.

Meaning unclear. See Ludvik 2007, p. 310.

A deity in the Trāyastriṃśa paradise.

In Buddhist literature refers to a mythical bird whose call is said to be far more beautiful than that of all other birds, and so compelling that it can be heard even before the bird has hatched. The call of the kalaviṅka is thus used as an analogy to describe the sound of the discourse of bodhisattvas as being far superior to that of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, even before bodhisattvas attain awakening. In some cases, the kalaviṅka also takes on mythical characteristics, being depicted as part human, part bird. It is also the sixteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of a tathāgata.While it is equated to an Indian bird renowned for its beautiful song, there is some uncertainty regarding the identity of the kalaviṅka; some dictionaries declare it to be a type of Indian cuckoo (probably Eudynamys scolopacea, also known as the asian koel) or a red and green sparrow (possibly Amandava amandava, also known as the red avadavat).

A spiritual teacher who can contribute to an individual’s progress on the spiritual path to awakening and act wholeheartedly for the welfare of students.

A yakṣa king.

A son of the king Suvarṇabhujendra.

A son of the king Suvarṇabhujendra.

A yakṣa king.

Possibly corresponds to the Borneo camphor tree. See Ludvik 2007, p. 315.

A coin that varied in value according as to whether it was made of gold, silver, or copper.

According to the Chinese translation, this is the family name (姓) of the brahmin master Vyākaraṇa, an interlocutor in The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light. See also n.­96

See “three bodies.” The term can also refer to the physical body generically, or to a group or aggregation of entities.

An asura king.

A buddha.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A yakṣa king.

The name of the future buddha Ruciraketu will become.

A buddha.

The name prophesied for the bhikṣus who will attain buddhahood in the eon Difficult to Conquer King of Radiance, in the realm called Vimalaprabhā.

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

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. Also translated here as “affliction.”

Known in the Avadāna literature as a previous life of the Buddha, his name is translated there as byas shes. In that tale, his brother (a previous life of Devadatta) gouges out his eyes. Nonetheless, a princess chooses him for a husband and is banished by her father, the king. When she speaks the words of truth of her love for him, one of Kṛtajña’s eyes is restored. When he speaks the words of truth that he has no hate for his brother, his other eye is restored, and he is enthroned by the king as his successor. YJ’s translation is slightly different and does not feature Kṛtajña as a personage but rather as an adjective (報恩語 bao’en yu “words of repaying kindness”).

The warrior or aristocratic class of the four social classes in the Indian caste system. Rulers were often from this class.

A bodhisattva.

The king of yakṣas and an important wealth deity, he is also one of the four great kings in Buddhist cosmology. In this capacity he is commonly known as Vaiśravaṇa.

A polite address for a young man, it can, in context, also mean “prince.”

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”).

A fierce goddess.

A clan with its capital, Vaiśālī, in present-day Bihar, north of the Ganges. Their capital was a place where the Buddha had many followers when they were an independent republic.

A buddha in the distant future who is Rūpyaprabha, the son of the bodhisattva Ruciraketu, in the time of Śākyamuni.

A nāga king.

Name of a Licchavī youth

A buddha.

A buddha.

A king in the distant past.

A yakṣa.

A yakṣa.

A nāga king.

A yakṣa king.

“Great Brahmā.” The highest of the three (or, in this sūtra, four) paradises that correspond to the first dhyāna in the form realm.

See “Brahmā.”

A prince in the past, the middle son of King Mahāratha.

An epithet of Śiva. Identified in this text as the brother of Vasu, a manifestation of Sarasvatī.

A nāga king.

A yakṣa king.

One of the Buddha’s principal pupils, who became a leader of the saṅgha after the Buddha’s passing.

See “Maudgalyāyana.”

One of the Buddha’s five companions in asceticism before his enlightenment and later one of his first five pupils, he attained the state of a stream entrant after three days, the fourth to attain that realization. He attained the state of an arhat on hearing The Sūtra on the Characteristics of Selflessness. Not to be confused with the cousin of the Buddha, who had the same name and was a significant lay follower and patron.

A bodhisattva.

A Licchavī youth.

The Buddha’s mother’s sister and his stepmother. She was also the mother of Nanda, whom the Buddha later inspired to become a monk, as recorded in two sūtras bearing his name and elsewhere. She became the first bhikṣuṇī after the death of the Buddha’s father.

A prince in the past, the eldest son of King Mahāratha.

A king in the past.

A prince in the past, the youngest son of King Mahāratha. A previous life of the Buddha, when he decided to give his body to the tigress. See entry for “ Courageous .”

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.

One of the two principal bodhisattvas in Sukhāvatī and prominent in Chinese Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism he is identified with Vajrapāṇi, though they are separate bodhisattvas in the sūtras.

When the Buddhist teachings are classified according to their power to lead beings to an awakened state, a distinction is made between the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle (Hīnayāna), which emphasizes the individual’s own freedom from cyclic existence as the primary motivation and goal, and those of the Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna), which emphasizes altruism and has the liberation of all sentient beings as the principal objective. As the term “Great Vehicle” implies, the path followed by bodhisattvas is analogous to a large carriage that can transport a vast number of people to liberation, as compared to a smaller vehicle for the individual practitioner.

An epithet of Śiva; sometimes refers specifically to one of the forms of Śiva or to Rudra.

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).

A king.

Literally a “disk” or “circle,” in the ritual context maṇḍala is a sacred space on the ground or a raised platform, arranged according to a pattern that varies from rite to rite.

A deva.

A yakṣa king, the brother of Kubera.

A yakṣa king.

A prominent yakṣa in Indian mythology.

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.

Sometimes said to be the principal deity in Paranirmita­vaśavartin, the highest paradise in the desire realm. He is portrayed as attempting to prevent the Buddha’s enlightenment. The word māra is also used as an impersonal term for the factors that keep beings in saṃsāra.

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra. He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyā­yana, “the son of Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahā­maudgalyā­yana, “Great Maudgalyāyana.”

The Buddha’s mother, more commonly called Māyādevī.

A deva.

A nāga king.

A title that, like buddha, is given to someone who has attained realization through their own contemplation and not by divine revelation.

Also called subhaga in Sanskrit. Derived from a gland on the musk deer.

The brother of Gayākāśyapa and Uruvilvakāśyapa. A practitioner of fire offering at Uruvilva (Bodhgaya), he and his three hundred pupils were converted to becoming bhikṣus of the Buddha. He and his brothers and their students were the third group to become followers of the Buddha after his enlightenment.

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.

A yakṣa king.

A nāga king.

A yakṣa king.

An alternate name for Viṣṇu (khyab ’jug).

A goddess.

A yakṣa king.

See “emanation body.”

“Delight in Emanations.” The second highest paradise in the desire realm.

In Sanskrit, the term nirvāṇa literally means “extinguishment” and the Tibetan mya ngan las ’das pa literally means “gone beyond sorrow.” As a general term, it refers to the cessation of all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence, as well as to the state in which all such rebirth and suffering has permanently ceased.More specifically, three main types of nirvāṇa are identified. (1) The first type of nirvāṇa, called nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), is the state in which arhats or buddhas have attained awakening but are still dependent on the conditioned aggregates until their lifespan is exhausted. (2) At the end of life, given that there are no more causes for rebirth, these aggregates cease and no new aggregates arise. What occurs then is called nirvāṇa without remainder ( anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), which refers to the unconditioned element (dhātu) of nirvāṇa in which there is no remainder of the aggregates. (3) The Mahāyāna teachings distinguish the final nirvāṇa of buddhas from that of arhats, the nirvāṇa of arhats not being considered ultimate. The buddhas attain what is called nonabiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa), which transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, i.e., existence and peace. This is the nirvāṇa that is the goal of the Mahāyāna path.For explanations on the true nature of nirvāṇa, according to the view of this sūtra, see 2.­67-2.­100.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

The third of the four attainments of śrāvakas, this term refers to a person who will no longer take rebirth in the desire realm (kāmadhātu), but either be reborn in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa) or reach the state of an arhat in their current lifetime. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Cyperus rotundus. Its tubers are used in Āyurveda.

One who has achieved the second of the four levels of attainment on the śrāvaka path and who will attain liberation after only one more birth.

Bletilla hyacinthina, hyacinth orchid. See Ludvik 2007, p. 310. Or possibly Rhizoma iridis. The root of the iris flower, specifically the Indian iris (Iris pallida). The root is said to resemble an arm, while the leaves resemble swords, and therefore there is a folktale of its having originated from Indra cutting off a yakṣa’s arm.

Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharma­kośa­bhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.

A nāga king.

Butea frondosa or Butea monosperma. A tree that grows up to 15 meters tall and has bright red flowers. Other names include flame of the forest, riddle tree, Judas tree, parrot tree, bastard teak, dhak (in Hindi), palas (in Hindi), porasum (in Tamil), and khakda (in Gujarati). There is a tradition of combining its leaves together to make a plate for food.

One of the fifteen lands in ancient India at the time of the Buddha. This was at the western end of the Ganges basin, corresponding in the present time to an area in the western part of Uttar Pradesh.

A gandharva said to live on Gandhamādana Mountain, on the central peak of five peaks, at the source of the Ganges. In the early sūtras he acts as a messenger between the devas and the Buddha. His depiction evolved into Mañjughoṣa or Mañjuśrī, who retains Pañcaśikha as one of his names.

A yakṣa king.

“Power Over the Emanations of Others.” The highest paradise in the desire realm.

“Lesser Light.” The lowest of the three paradises that correspond to the second dhyāna in the form realm. The lowest paradise that is never destroyed at the end of a kalpa, but continues through all kalpas. In other texts, translated as snang ba chung ngu.

“Lesser Goodness.” The lowest of the three paradises that correspond to the third dhyāna in the form realm.

This term is used to refer to the main trainings of a bodhisattva. Because these trainings, when brought to perfection, lead one to transcend saṃsāra and reach the full awakening of a buddha, they receive the Sanskrit name pāramitā, meaning “perfection” or “gone to the farther shore.” They are usually listed as six: generosity, correct conduct (or discipline), patience, diligence, meditation (or concentration), and wisdom; four additional perfections are often added to this, totalling ten perfections: skillful methods, prayer, strength, and knowledge.For a presentation of each one according to the view of this sūtra, see 6.­6–6.­27

A yakṣa king.

Ludvik gives Ervatamia divaricata or pinwheel flower for tagara. The Chinese refers to Ocimum basilicum or sweet yellow clover. See Ludvik 2007, p. 312.

A bodhisattva.

A Licchavī youth.

Faith, mindfulness, diligence, samādhi, and wisdom.

An asura king who waged a thousand-year war against the devas and was for a time victorious. He was the grandfather of Bali.

A deva.

A yakṣa king.

The name of ten thousand future buddhas.

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.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A past life of Śākyamuni where he was a woman and received The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light.

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. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.­1281– 2.1482.

A bodhisattva.

A deva.

A bodhisattva.

A Licchavī youth.

A Licchavī youth.

A Licchavī youth.

A Licchavī youth.

A Licchavī youth.

The subsidiary afflictive emotions that arise in dependence upon the six root afflictive emotions (attachment, hatred, pride, ignorance, doubt, and wrong view); they are (1) anger (krodha, khro ba), (2) enmity/malice (upanāha, ’khon ’dzin), (3) concealment (mrakśa, ’chab pa), (4) outrage (pradāsa, ’tshig pa), (5) jealousy (īrśya, phrag dog), (6) miserliness (matsarya, ser sna), (7) deceit ( māyā , sgyu), (8) dishonesty (śāṭhya, g.yo), (9) haughtiness (mada, rgyags pa), (10) harmfulness (vihiṃsa, rnam par ’tshe ba), (11) shamelessness (āhrīkya, ngo tsha med pa), (12) non-consideration (anapatrāpya, khril med pa), (13) lack of faith (aśraddhya, ma dad pa), (14) laziness (kausīdya, le lo), (15) non-conscientiousness (pramāda, bag med pa), (16) forgetfulness (muśitasmṛtitā, brjed nges), (17) non-introspection (asaṃprajanya, shes bzhin ma yin pa), (18) dullness (nigmagṇa, bying ba), (19) agitation (auddhatya, rgod pa), and (20) distraction (vikṣepa, rnam g.yeng) (Rigzin 329, 129).

Name of the park where the Goddess Śrī dwells, not far from Alakāvati, the kingdom of the great king Vaiśravaṇa.

In the Sarvāstivāda tradition, the second highest of the three paradises that correspond to the fourth dhyāna in the form realm. Translated in other texts as bsod nams ’phel ba.

One of the twenty-eight asterisms or constellations that the sun passes through during the course of a year, which are “lunar mansions” in the plane of the sky. It is composed of three star systems: Gamma Cancri, Delta Cancri, and Theta Cancri. In the Western zodiac it is equivalent to the very end of Cancer and nearly half of Leo‍—in other words, the end of July and the first part of August.

An incarnation of a goddess as a milkmaid, who became Kṛṣṇa’slover.

A buddha.

A bodhisattva.

An asura king said to cause eclipses.

The Buddha Śākyamuni’s son, who became the first novice monk and a prominent member of his monastic saṅgha.

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.

A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

A Licchavī youth. Also the name of a buddha.

A yakṣa king.

The principal buddha of the southern direction.

A buddha.

A buddha.

A buddha in the distant past.

A world realm east of the Sahā world realm.

Arsenic sulphide, which consists of bright orange-red soft crystals, also called “ruby sulphur” and “ruby of arsenic.” A number of Sanskrit synonyms include yavāgraja, pākya, mansil, manoguptā, nāgajihivikā, golā, śilā, kunṭī, and naipālī.

Also rendered here as “dhāraṇī.”

Syzygium jambos.

An ancient Indian spiritual title, often translated as “sage” or “seer.” The title is particularly used for divinely inspired individuals credited with creating the foundations of Indian culture. The term is also applied to Śākyamuni and other realized Buddhist figures.

A bodhisattva and one of the central figures in the present sūtra.

The name of a prince. Son of the king Balendraketu.

The older son of the bodhisattva Ruciraketu.

The younger son of the bodhisattva Ruciraketu.

The bodhisattva known from the account of his tireless pursuit of the Dharma in The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines.

Although YJ’s transliteration 茶矩麼 chajumo corresponds to kuṅkuma or saffron, his translation, 鬱金 yujin instead refers to turmeric or Curcuma longa.

The principal nāga king in The King of Samādhis Sūtra and The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara. This is also said to be another name for Vaṛuna, the god of the oceans.

A bodhisattva.

The name for our world system, the universe of a thousand million worlds, or trichiliocosm, in which the four-continent world is located. Each trichiliocosm is ruled by a god Brahmā; thus, in this context, he bears the title of Sahāṃpati, Lord of Sahā. The world system of Sahā, or Sahālokadhātu, is also described as the buddhafield of the Buddha Śākyamuni where he teaches the Dharma to beings. The name Sahā possibly derives from the Sanskrit √sah, “to bear, endure, or withstand.” It is often interpreted as alluding to the inhabitants of this world being able to endure the suffering they encounter. The Tibetan translation, mi mjed, follows along the same lines. It literally means “not painful,” in the sense that beings here are able to bear the suffering they experience.

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.

Name of the ancient tribe in which the Buddha was born as a prince; their kingdom was based to the east of Kośala, in the foothills near the present-day border of India and Nepal, with Kapilavastu as its capital.

An epithet for the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama: he was a muni (“sage”) from the Śākya clan. He is counted as the fourth of the first four buddhas of the present Good Eon, the other three being Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. He will be followed by Maitreya, the next buddha in this eon.

Shorea robusta. The dominant tree in the forests where it occurs.

A world realm in the distant future.

In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.

Presently classed as one of the eight principal bodhisattvas, he is distinct from the primordial buddha with the same name in the Tibetan Nyingma tradition. He is prominent in The Stem Array (Gaṇḍavyūha, Toh 44-45), and also in The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Toh 113, Saddharma­puṇḍarīka) and The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra (Toh 111, Mahākaruṇāpuṇḍarīkasūtra).

A buddha.

A buddha.

A bodhisattva.

See “enjoyment body.”

A yakṣa general.

A state of involuntary existence conditioned by afflicted mental states and the imprint of past actions, characterized by suffering in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. On its reversal, the contrasting state of nirvāṇa is attained, free from suffering and the processes of rebirth.

An asura king.

“A perfect buddha.” A buddha who teaches the Dharma, as opposed to a pratyeka­buddha, who does not teach.

Though often specifically reserved for the monastic community, this term can be applied to any of the four Buddhist communities‍—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen‍—as well as to identify the different groups of practitioners, like the community of bodhisattvas or the community of śrāvakas. It is also the third of the Three Jewels (triratna) of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Community.

The goddess of wisdom, learning, and music.

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was renowned for his discipline and for having been praised by the Buddha as foremost of the wise (often paired with Maudgalyā­yana, who was praised as foremost in the capacity for miraculous powers). His father, Tiṣya, to honor Śāriputra’s mother, Śārikā, named him Śāradvatīputra, or, in its contracted form, Śāriputra, meaning “Śārikā’s Son.”

A yakṣa king.

A buddha.

A god who is the king of lightning in the northern direction.

A nāga king.

A god who is the king of lightning in the southern direction.

A Licchavī youth.

When associated with the seven heavenly bodies, and therefore the seven days of the week, these are ruby for the sun, moonstone or pearl for the moon, coral for Mars, emerald for Mercury, yellow sapphire for Jupiter, diamond for Venus, and blue sapphire for Saturn. There are variant lists not associated with the heavenly bodies but retaining the number seven, which include gold, silver, and so on.In association with a cakravartin, the seven jewels can refer, according to the Abhidharma, to his magical wheel, elephant, horse, wish-fulfilling jewel, queen, minister, and leading householder. In the Tibetan mandala-offering practice, the householder is replaced by a general.

See “seven jewels.”

Prosopis cineraria. A tree believed to be auspicious due to the power of its purification properties.

A Licchavī youth.

A goddess.

The Indian god of war.

A Licchavī youth.

A bodhisattva.

A nāga king.

A buddha.

The deity of the moon.

A deva.

Nardostachys jatamansi. Also called “nard,” “nardin,” and “muskroot.” It is of the valerian family and grows in the Himalayas. Its rhizome is the source of an aromatic, amber-colored oil.

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 son of the lord of māras.

A buddha.

A buddha.

The goddess of the earth.

Literally “one who is stable”; usually translated as “elder,” a senior teacher in the early Buddhist communities. Also became the name of the Buddhist tradition within which Theravada developed.

The first of four stages of spiritual accomplishment on the śrāvaka path: stream entrant, once-returner, non-returner, and arhat.

The five strengths are a stronger form of the five powers : faith, mindfulness, diligence, samādhi, and wisdom.

The Tibetan translates both stūpa and caitya with the same word, mchod rten, meaning “basis” or “recipient” of “offerings” or “veneration.” Pali: cetiya.A caitya, although often synonymous with stūpa, can also refer to any site, sanctuary or shrine that is made for veneration, and may or may not contain relics.A stūpa, literally “heap” or “mound,” is a mounded or circular structure usually containing relics of the Buddha or the masters of the past. It is considered to be a sacred object representing the awakened mind of a buddha, but the symbolism of the stūpa is complex, and its design varies throughout the Buddhist world. Stūpas continue to be erected today as objects of veneration and merit making.

“Vast Goodness.” The highest of the three paradises that correspond to the third dhyāna in the form realm.

A buddha.

The royal capital of the cakravartin Susaṃbhava in the distant past.

A buddha.

A yakṣa king.

In the Sarvāstivāda tradition, this is the second highest of the Śuddhāvāsa paradises, the highest paradises in the form realm. In this sūtra it is the fourth highest.

The five Pure Abodes are the highest heavens of the Form Realm (rūpadhātu). They are called “pure abodes” because ordinary beings (pṛthagjana; so so’i skye bo) cannot be born there; only those who have achieved the fruit of a non-returner (anāgāmin; phyir mi ’ong) can be born there. A summary presentation of them is found in the third chapter of Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośa, although they are repeatedly mentioned as a set in numerous sūtras, tantras, and vinaya texts.The five Pure Abodes are the last five of the seventeen levels of the Form Realm. Specifically, they are the last five of the eight levels of the upper Form Realm‍—which corresponds to the fourth meditative concentration (dhyāna; bsam gtan)‍—all of which are described as “immovable” (akopya; mi g.yo ba) since they are never destroyed during the cycles of the destruction and reformation of a world system. In particular, the five are Abṛha (mi che ba), the inferior heaven; Atapa (mi gdung ba), the heaven of no torment; Sudṛśa (gya nom snang), the heaven of sublime appearances; Sudarśana (shin tu mthong), the heaven of the most beautiful to behold; and Akaniṣṭha (’og min), the highest heaven.Yaśomitra explains their names, stating: (1) because those who abide there can only remain for a fixed amount of time, before they are plucked out (√bṛh, bṛṃhanti) of that heaven, or because it is not as extensive (abṛṃhita) as the others in the pure realms, that heaven is called the inferior heaven (abṛha; mi che ba); (2) since the afflictions can no longer torment (√tap, tapanti) those who reside there because of their having attained a particular samādhi, or because their state of mind is virtuous, they no longer torment (√tap, tāpayanti) others, this heaven, consequently, is called the heaven of no torment (atapa; mi gdung ba); (3) since those who reside there have exceptional (suṣṭhu) vision because what they see (√dṛś, darśana) is utterly pure, that heaven is called the heaven of sublime appearances (sudṛśa; gya nom snang); (4) because those who reside there are beautiful gods, that heaven is called the heaven of the most beautiful to behold (sudarśana; shin tu mthong); and (5) since it is not lower (na kaniṣṭhā) than any other heaven because there is no other place superior to it, this heaven is called the highest heaven (akaniṣṭha; ’og min) since it is the uppermost.

The Buddha Śākyamuni’s father.

The fourth and lowest of the classes in the Indian caste system. It generally covers the laboring class.

“Perfect Light.” In the Sarvāstivāda tradition, this is the third highest of the five Śuddhāvāsa paradises, the highest paradises in the form realm. In this sūtra it is the lowest of those five.

One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).

A bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva.

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 buddha.

A buddha.

A yakṣa king.

A buddha.

A king in the distant past.

The god of the sun.

A yakṣa king.

A deva.

The Buddha’s previous life as a cakravartin in the distant past.

A bodhisattva.

The name of the buddha who Rūpyaprabha is predicted to become.

A world realm in the distant future.

A yakṣa king.

A yakṣa.

Acorus calamus. A plant found in marshes and wetlands, native to India. There are a number of variant Sanskrit names for this plant. Its leaves, stem, and roots are used in Āyurvedic medicine.

Concretio Silicea Bambusae (translated from the Chinese term). The corresponding term in Tibetan is unclear, seemingly translated from rocanā in the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra; see Gentry’s notes‍—https://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-090-002.html#UT22084-090-002-511 and https://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-090-002.html#node-420.

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 ten strengths are (1) the knowledge of what is possible; (2) the knowledge of the ripening of karma; (3) the knowledge of the variety of aspirations; (4) the knowledge of the variety of natures; (5) the knowledge of the different levels of capabilities; (6) the knowledge of the destinations of all paths of rebirth; (7) the knowledge of various states of meditation; (8) the knowledge of remembering previous lives; (9) the knowledge of deaths and rebirths; and (10) the knowledge of the cessation of outflows.

A fierce goddess.

These are the thirty-two major physical of marks of a great being, namely a buddha or a universal monarch. These are complemented by eighty minor features.These can be found listed, for example, in Prajñā­pāramitā sūtras (see Toh 9, Toh 10 and Toh 11) or in the The Play in Full (Toh 95) and many other sūtras.

The three kāyas, or bodies, are the Dharma body, enjoyment body, emanation body. See respective glossary entries and, for an explanation in this text, see 3.­3.

The worlds below the ground, on the ground, and above the ground. This may also refer to the desire, form, and formless realms.

These are emptiness, the absence of features, and the absence of aspiration.

See “three bodies.”

Knowledge through divine sight (lha’i mig gi shes pa), knowledge through remembering past lives (sngon gyi gnas rjes su dran pa’i rig pa), and the knowledge that defilements have ceased (zag pa zad pa’i rig pa).

These comprise the imputed, dependent, and ultimately real natures, which are elaborated particularly in the discourses associated with the third turning of the wheel.

The three realms of desire, form, and formlessness.

In the context of the sūtras, the three yānas, or vehicles, are the Śrāvaka, the Pratyekabuddha, and the Bodhisattva yānas.

Those of other religious or philosophical orders, contemporary with the early Buddhist order, including Jains, Jaṭilas, Ājīvikas, and Cārvākas. Tīrthika (“forder”) literally translates as “one belonging to or associated with (possessive suffix –ika) stairs for landing or for descent into a river,” or “a bathing place,” or “a place of pilgrimage on the banks of sacred streams” (Monier-Williams). The term may have originally referred to temple priests at river crossings or fords where travelers propitiated a deity before crossing. The Sanskrit term seems to have undergone metonymic transfer in referring to those able to ford the turbulent river of saṃsāra (as in the Jain tīrthaṅkaras, “ford makers”), and it came to be used in Buddhist sources to refer to teachers of rival religious traditions. The Sanskrit term is closely rendered by the Tibetan mu stegs pa: “those on the steps (stegs pa) at the edge (mu).”

The paradise of Śakra, also known as Indra, on the summit of Sumeru. The name means “Thirty-Three,” from the thirty-three principal deities that dwell there. The fifth highest of the six paradises in the desire realm.

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.

See “four noble truths.”

A bodhisattva.

Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications, such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu. When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 2.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a description of this realm, see The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy , (Toh 199).

See “twelve forms of the teaching.”

The “twelve branches of excellent speech” or the “twelve categories of the Buddha’s teachings” are discourses (Tib. mdo’i sde, Skt. sūtra), verse narrations (Tib. dbyangs kyis bsnyad pa’i sde, Skt. geya), prophecies (Tib. lung du bstan pa’i sde, Skt. vyākaraṇa ), poetic verses (Tib. tshigs su bcad pa’i sde, Skt. gāthā), aphorisms (Tib. ched du brjod pa’i sde, Skt. udāna), ethical narrations (Tib. gleng gzhi brjod pa’i sde, Skt. nidāna), narrative discourses (Tib. rtogs pa brjod pa’i sde, Skt. avadāna), parables (Tib. de lta bu byung ba’i sde, Skt. itivṛttaka), past-life stories (Tib. skye pa’i rabs kyi sde, Skt. jātaka), extensive sayings (Tib. shin tu rgyas pa’i sde, Skt. vaipulya), marvels (Tib. rmad du byung ba’i chos kyi sde, Skt. abidhutadharma), and resolutions (Tib. gtan la bab par bstan pa’i sde, Skt. upadeśa).

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.

A buddha.

The direct perception of the nature of the mind and its objects. An alternative translation is “the absolute.” One of the three natures that are central to the philosophy of the Yogācāra tradition.

A goddess.

There are eighteen such qualities unique to a buddha, which consist of the ten strengths, the four fearlessnesses, the three mindfulnesses, and great compassion.

In India, a person’s particular preceptor within the monastic tradition, guiding that person for the taking of full vows and the maintenance of conduct and practice. The Tibetan translation mkhan po has also come to mean “a learned scholar,” the equivalent of a paṇḍita, but that is not the intended meaning in the sūtras.

A nāga king.

A man who has taken the layperson’s vows.

A woman who has taken the layperson’s vows.

One of the thirty-two marks of a great being. It consists of a soft, long, fine, coiled white hair between the eyebrows capable of emitting an intense bright light. Literally, the Sanskrit ūrṇā means “wool hair,” and kośa means “treasure.”

The brother of Gayākāśyapa and Nadīkāśyapa. A practitioner of fire offering at Uruvilva (Bodhgaya), he and his five hundred students were converted to becoming bhikṣus of the Buddha. He and his brothers and their students were the third group to become followers of the Buddha after his enlightenment.

A buddha in the distant past.

As one of the Four Mahārājas he is the lord of the northern region of the world and the northern continent, though in early Buddhism he is the lord of the far north of India and beyond. Also known as Kubera, he is the lord of yakṣas and a lord of wealth.

The third of the four classes in the Indian caste system. It generally includes merchants and farmers.

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.

A buddha.

A yakṣa king. The name means “Lord of Rain.”

The name of the deity of water. In the Vedas, Varuṇa is an important deity and in particular the deity of the sky, but in later Indian tradition he is the god of only the water and the underworld. The Tibetan does not attempt to translate his name, but instead has “god of water.”

One of Siddhārtha's five ascetic companions, who abandoned him when he renounced asceticism. When those five later became the Buddha’s first disciples, Vāṣpa attained the state of a stream entrant.

A buddha.

A buddha.

The name of a goddess, identified as the sister of Mahādeva.

A nāga king, well known in Indian mythology as being the serpent coiled around Sumeru that was used to churn the ocean at the origin of the world.

The god of the air and the winds.

The king of the asuras. Also translated as bzang ris.

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

A class of powerful beings that typically haunt charnel grounds and enter into and animate corpses. Hence, the Tibetan translation means “risen corpse.”

Andropogon muricatus; Andropogon zizanioides. A type of grass.

A buddha.

A type of incantation or spell used to accomplish a ritual goal. This can be associated with either ordinary attainments or those whose goal is awakening.

A nāga king.

The Tibetan is literally “the view of the perishable accumulation,” and the Sanskrit is “the view that the body is real.” This refers to the mistaken view that the transitory aggregates are a self.

A goddess.

The future realm where five hundred thousand bhikṣus in the Buddha’s saṅgha will become buddhas.

A buddha.

A mountain range, actually a series of mountain ranges, which extends across central India. The usual translation is bigs byed.

An important form of Buddhist meditation focusing on developing insight into the nature of phenomena. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being śamatha, “calm abiding”.

One of the Four Mahārājas, he is the guardian of the southern direction and the lord of the kumbhāṇḍas.

One of the Four Mahārājas, he is the guardian of the western direction and traditionally the lord of the nāgas.

One of the primary gods of the Brahmanical tradition, he is associated with the preservation and continuance of the universe.

Name of a bodhisattva.

Name of a bodhisattva.

The Gṛdhra­kūṭa, literally Vulture Peak, was a hill located in the kingdom of Magadha, in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir, in the state of Bihar, India), where the Buddha bestowed many sūtras, especially the Great Vehicle teachings, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.

The brahmin master, interlocutor in The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light. See also n.­96.

A bodhisattva.

Goshenite: pure beryl without the impurities that give it its various colors.

Nymphaea pubescens. The night-blossoming water lily, sometimes referred to as a “night lotus.” It can be white, pink, or red.

A nāga king.

A goddess bodhisattva.

A set of deities, each guarding a certain direction. Most commonly these are Indra (Śakra) for the east, Agni for the southeast, Yama for the south, Sūrya or Nirṛti for the southwest, Varuṇa for the west, Vāyu (Pavana) for the northwest, Kubera for the north, and Soma (Candra), Iśāni, or Pṛthivī for the northeast.

The land of the dead ruled over by the Lord of Death. In Buddhism it refers to the preta realm, where beings generally suffer from hunger and thirst, which in traditional Brahmanism is the fate of those departed without descendants to make ancestral offerings.

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.

A female yakṣa.

The third highest of the six paradises in the desire realm. Its name means “Free of Conflict.”

The Lord of Death.

The land of the dead ruled over by the Lord of Death. In Buddhism it refers to the preta realm, where beings generally suffer from hunger and thirst, which in traditional Brahmanism is the fate of those departed without descendants to make ancestral offerings.

The longest unit of distance in classical India. The lack of a uniform standard for the smaller units means that there is no precise equivalent, especially as its theoretical length tended to increase over time. Therefore, it can indicate a distance of between four and ten miles.