The father of the future buddha Kāruṇika.

A buddha in the distant past.

The fifth of the eight liberations.

The fourth of the eight liberations.

The seventh of the eight liberations.

The sixth of the eight liberations.

The 9th century Tibetan translator of this text.

See “karma.”

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.

See “ten afflictions.”

Here used as a synonym for kleśa (“afflictive emotion”).

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.

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.

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

A buddha in the distant past.

May refer to the four analytical abilities, listed here as analytical ability in relation to objects, analytical ability in relation to phenomena, analytical ability in relation to language, and analytical ability in relation to eloquence.

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.

Sage and author of the hymns of the Ṛgveda.

Lit. “Unobstructed.” One of the ten great śrāvaka disciples, famed for his meditative prowess and superknowledges. He was the Buddha's cousin‍—a son of Amṛtodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana‍—and is often mentioned along with his two brothers Bhadrika and Mahānāma. Some sources also include Ānanda among his brothers.

The wife of the householder Kṣema during the time of the past buddha Vipaśyin.

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.

The name of four hundred beings from the city of Rājagṛha when they attain Buddhahood in the distant future.

A general term applied to spiritual practitioners who live as ascetic mendicants. In Buddhist texts, the term usually refers to Buddhist monastics, but it can also designate a practitioner from other ascetic/monastic spiritual traditions. In this context śramaṇa is often contrasted with the term brāhmaṇa (bram ze), which refers broadly to followers of the Vedic tradition. Any renunciate, not just a Buddhist, could be referred to as a śramaṇa if they were not within the Vedic fold. The epithet Great Śramaṇa is often applied to the Buddha.

The son of the future buddha Kāruṇika.

Imagining things that are not the case.

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).

A buddha in the distant past, in a realm to the east.

Describes someone who has attained the highest goal of Buddhism. Also rendered here as “buddha.”

The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this being a first stage leading to full ordination.

The tenth of the twelve links of dependent origination.

A resident of Rājagṛha and the main interlocutor in chapter 1 of the Bodhisatva­piṭaka.

A buddha in the distant past.

This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.

The king of Magadha and a great patron of the Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s, and his father, King Mahāpadma, named him “Essence of Gold” after mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (“Goldie”). Accounts of Bimbisāra’s youth and life can be found in The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1, Pravrajyāvastu).King Śreṇya Bimbisāra first met with the Buddha early on, when the latter was the wandering mendicant known as Gautama. Impressed by his conduct, Bimbisāra offered to take Gautama into his court, but Gautama refused, and Bimbisāra wished him success in his quest for awakening and asked him to visit his palace after he had achieved his goal. One account of this episode can be found in the sixteenth chapter of The Play in Full (Toh 95, Lalitavistara). There are other accounts where the two meet earlier on in childhood; several episodes can be found, for example, in The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340, Karmaśataka). Later, after the Buddha’s awakening, Bimbisāra became one of his most famous patrons and donated to the saṅgha the Bamboo Grove, Veṇuvana, at the outskirts of the capital of Magadha, Rājagṛha, where he built residences for the monks. Bimbisāra was imprisoned and killed by his own son, the prince Ajātaśatru, who, influenced by Devadatta, sought to usurp his father’s throne.

The Kāla Mountains of Bhāratvarṣa (i.e., India) are listed in the Mahābhārata as the mountain ranges Vindhya (separating the Deccan from north India), Mahendra (the eastern Ghats), Malaya (southern half of the Western Ghats), Sahya (the northern half of the Western Ghats), Rakṣavat (northeast extension of the Vindhya), Pāripātra, and the Sūktimat (or Śuktimat), which is presumably another name for the one remaining significant mountain range, the Arbuda in the northwest.

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

A class of gods presided over by Brahmā .

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).

See “brahmā.”

A collective name for the first three heavens of the form realm, which correspond to the first concentration (dhyāna): Brahmakāyika, Brahmapurohita, and Mahābrahmā (also called Brahmapārṣadya). These are ruled over by the god Brahmā. According to some sources, it can also be a general reference to all the heavens in the form realm and formless realm. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

The first god realm of form, meaning “Stratum of Brahmā ,” it is the lowest of the three heavens that make up the first meditative state.

The third god realm of form, meaning “Retinue of Brahmā ,” it is the third of the three heavens that make up the first meditative state.

The second god realm of form, meaning “High Priests of Brahmā ,” it is the second of the three heavens that make up the first meditative state.

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

The vehicle of the buddhas.

Name of a mountain range in Buddhist cosmology.

One of the basic forms of Buddhist meditation, which focuses on calming the mind. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other technique being “insight meditation.”

A seer (ṛṣi), a past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

See “thirty-two characteristics of a great being.”

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.

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.

Thought constructions.

Inspiration and courage that particularly manifest in endowing one with brilliant abilities in oration.

The cognizant quality of the mind.

A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”

One of the thirty-two signs, or major marks, of a great being. In its simplest form it is a pointed shape of the head like a turban (the Sanskrit term, uṣṇīṣa, in fact means “turban”), or more elaborately a dome-shaped extension. The extension is described as having various extraordinary attributes such as emitting and absorbing rays of light or reaching an immense height.

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.

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.

The fact that all phenomena arise in dependence on causes and conditions, without which they cannot appear.

To invest something with meaning.

The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings‍—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula‍—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

In distinction to the rūpakāya, or form body of a buddha, this is the eternal, imperceivable realization of a buddha. In origin it was a term for the presence of the Dharma and has become synonymous with the true nature.

A bodhisatva in the distant part, a hundred years after the final nirvāṇa of the Buddha Padmottara. He is given the same name in his next rebirth.

A bodhisatva in the distant past.

A previous buddha who gave Śākyamuni the prophecy of his buddhahood.

The brahmin attendant of King Jitaśatru who gave him half his kingdom. During the time of the Buddha Dīpaṅkara.

See “śrāvaka.”

See “god.”

Wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration.

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.

See “eight kinds of mistakes.”

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.

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

See “eighteen unique buddha qualities.”

See “noble eightfold path.”

A person who is “eight steps” away in the arc of their development from becoming an arhat (Tib. dgra bcom pa). Specifically, this term refers to one who is on the cusp of becoming a stream enterer (Skt. srotaāpanna; Tib. rgyun du zhugs pa), and it is the first and lowest stage in a list of eight stages or classes of a noble person (Skt. āryapudgala). The person at this lowest stage in the sequence is still on the path of seeing (Skt. darśanamārga; Tib. mthong lam) and then enters the path of cultivation (Skt. bhāvanāmārga; Tib. sgom lam) upon attaining the next stage, that of a stream enterer (stage seven). From there they progress through the remaining stages of the śrāvaka path, becoming in turn a once-returner (stages six and five), a non-returner (stages four and three), and an arhat (stages two and one). This same “eighth stage” also appears in a set of ten stages (Skt. daśabhūmi; Tib. sa bcu) found in Mahāyāna sources, where it is the third out of the ten. Not to be confused with the ten stages of the bodhisattva’s path, these ten stages mark the progress of one who sequentially follows the paths of a śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and then bodhisattva on their way to complete buddhahood. In this set of ten stages a person “on the eighth stage” is similarly one who is on the cusp of becoming a stream enterer.

A set of eighty bodily characteristics and insignia borne by both buddhas and kings of the entire world (cakravartins). They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two characteristics of a great being.

A monk of seniority within the assembly of the śrāvakas.

In the context of Buddhist philosophy, one way to describe experience in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, smell, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; and mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).This also refers to the elements of the world, which can be enumerated as four, five, or six. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added, and the sixth is consciousness.

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.

Refers to Māra.

See “seven factors of awakening.”

May refer to the sense faculties (sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste, and the mental faculty). May also refer to the “five faculties”: faith, vigor, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.

Constructing the idea of an autonomous individual.

This refers to what occurs at the end of an arhat’s or a buddha’s life. When nirvāṇa is attained at awakening, whether as an arhat or buddha, all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence have ceased, but due to previously accumulated karma, the aggregates of that life remain and must still exhaust themselves. It is only at the end of life that these cease, and since no new aggregates arise, the arhat or buddha is said to attain parinirvāṇa, meaning “complete” or “final” nirvāṇa. This is synonymous with the attainment of nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa). According to the Mahāyāna view of a single vehicle (ekayāna), the arhat’s parinirvāṇa at death, despite being so called, is not final. The arhat must still enter the bodhisattva path and reach buddhahood (see Unraveling the Intent, Toh 106, 7.14.) On the other hand, the parinirvāṇa of a buddha, ultimately speaking, should be understood as a display manifested for the benefit of beings; see The Teaching on the Extraordinary Transformation That Is the Miracle of Attaining the Buddha’s Powers (Toh 186), 1.32. The term parinirvāṇa is also associated specifically with the passing away of the Buddha Śākyamuni, in Kuśinagara, in northern India.

Faith, vigor, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. These are the same as the five powers but at a lesser stage of development. See also 11.­168.

These comprise (1) the eye of flesh, (2) the eye of divine clairvoyance, (3) the eye of wisdom, (4) the eye of the Dharma, and (5) the eye of the buddhas.

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 practice of the bodhisatva, which consists of generosity (dāna), morality (śīla), patient acceptance (kṣānti), vigor (vīrya), meditation (dhyāna).

Faith, vigor, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. These are the same as the five faculties but at a greater stage of development. See also 11.­175.

These comprise gods and humans of the higher realms within cyclic existence, along with animals, anguished spirits, and the denizens of the hells, whose abodes are identified with the lower realms.

Form, feeling, perception, mental conditioning, and consciousness. At the level of an individual person, the five skandhas refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected. They are referred to as the “bases for appropriation” (Skt. upādāna) or the “five skandhas of grasping” insofar as all conceptual grasping arises based on these aggregates.

See “five skandhas.”

See “five realms.”

The five supernatural abilities attained through realization and yogic accomplishment: divine sight, divine hearing, knowledge of the thoughts of others, clear experiential recollection of previous states of existence, and the realization of magical methods.

The four foundations of magical abilities are learning, vigor, volition, and investigation. These are among the thirty-seven elements that are conducive to awakening.

Monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.

According to traditional Buddhist cosmology, our universe consists of a central mountain, known as Mount Meru or Sumeru, surrounded by four island continents (dvīpa), one in each of the four cardinal directions. The Abhidharmakośa explains that each of these island continents has a specific shape and is flanked by two smaller subcontinents of similar shape. To the south of Mount Meru is Jambudvīpa, corresponding either to the Indian subcontinent itself or to the known world. It is triangular in shape, and at its center is the place where the buddhas attain awakening. The humans who inhabit Jambudvīpa have a lifespan of one hundred years. To the east is Videha, a semicircular continent inhabited by humans who have a lifespan of two hundred fifty years and are twice as tall as the humans who inhabit Jambudvīpa. To the north is Uttarakuru, a square continent whose inhabitants have a lifespan of a thousand years. To the west is Godānīya, circular in shape, where the lifespan is five hundred years.

Using the body to cultivate mindfulness by observing the body, using feelings to cultivate mindfulness by observing feelings, using the mind to cultivate mindfulness by observing the mind, and using phenomena to cultivate mindfulness by observing phenomena. Part of the thirty-seven elements that are conducive to awakening.

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 meditations on love (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the states of mind and qualities of being that result from their cultivation. They are also called the four abodes of Brahmā (caturbrahmavihāra). In the Abhidharmakośa, Vasubandhu explains that they are called apramāṇa‍—meaning “infinite” or “limitless”‍—because they take limitless sentient beings as their object, and they generate limitless merit and results. Love is described as the wish that beings be happy, and it acts as an antidote to malice (vyāpāda). Compassion is described as the wish for beings to be free of suffering, and acts as an antidote to harmfulness (vihiṃsā). Joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness beings already have, and it acts as an antidote to dislike or aversion (arati) toward others’ success. Equanimity is considering all beings impartially, without distinctions, and it is the antidote to both attachment to pleasure and to malice (kāmarāgavyāpāda).

The Awakened One’s confidence in himself: (1) certainty in knowing all phenomena, (2) certainty in knowing that the defilements are completely exhausted, (3) certainty in predicting that past hindrances will not return, and (4) certainty in the path of renunciation that leads to the attainment of all perfections.

Not giving rise to any negativity that has not yet arisen, abandoning those negativities that have arisen, actively giving rise to virtues that have not yet arisen, and causing those virtues that have arisen to increase. Part of the thirty-seven elements that are conducive to awakening.

The deities ruled over by Māra are also symbolic of the defects within a person that prevent awakening. These four personifications are (1) devaputramāra (lha’i bu’i bdud), the divine māra, which is the distraction of pleasures, (2) mṛtyumāra (’chi bdag gi bdud), the māra of the Lord of Death, (3) skandhamāra (phung po’i bdud), the māra of the skandhas, which is the body, and (4) kleśamāra (nyon mongs pa’i bdud), the māra of the afflictive emotions.

The four levels of meditative absorption of the beings of the form realms.

Generosity, pleasant speech, conscientiousness, and egalitarianism. See F.191.b.

This refers to the four torrents of cyclic existence, craving, ignorance, and wrong view.

See “four types of confidence of the Tathāgata.”

The four types of confidence possessed by all buddhas: that (1) they are fully awakened, (2) they have removed all defilements, (3) they have taught about the obstacles to liberation, and (4) they have shown the path to liberation. See F.29.a.

Listed in the Bodhisatva­piṭaka as approaching things with yearning and approaching things with anger, confusion, or fear.

The essentials through which the buddhas impart their teachings‍: (1) exact knowledge of meanings, (2) exact knowledge of dharmas, (3) exact knowledge of their language and lexical explanations, and (4) exact knowledge of their eloquent expression.

An epithet of a buddha.

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

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

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

The Buddha’s family name.

The first of the six or ten perfections, often explained as the essential starting point and training for the practice of the others.

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.

See “brahmā.”

This term, although commonly translated as “appropriation,” also means “grasping” or “clinging,” but it has a particular meaning as the ninth of the twelve links of dependent origination, situated between craving (tṛṣṇā, sred pa) and becoming or existence (bhava, srid pa). In some texts, four types of appropriation (upādāna) are listed: that of desire (rāga), view (dṛṣṭi), rules and observances as paramount (śīla­vrata­parāmarśa), and belief in a self (ātmavāda).

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 form realms, listed here between the previous brahmā realms and the Heaven of Lesser Light, the first of the realms of the second dhyāna in the form realm.

See “Four Great Kings.”

An epithet of a buddha.

Sixth god realm of form, it is the highest of the three heavens that make up the second meditative state.

The third of the pure abodes and the fifteenth heaven of the form realm.

The fourth of the pure abodes and the sixteenth heaven of the form realm.

The twelfth heaven of the form realm, it is the third of the three heavens that correspond to the fourth dhyāna.

Fifth of the god realms of form, it is the second of three heavens that make up the second meditative state.

Fourth god realm of form, meaning “Lesser Light,” it is the lowest of the three heavens that make up the second meditative state in the form realm.

The fourth of the four formless realms.

The second of the pure abodes and the fourteenth heaven of the form realm.

A heavenly realm listed in this text between the twelfth heaven of the form realm, the Heaven of Great Results, and the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Nonperception, the fourth of the four formless realms.

The first of the pure abodes and the thirteenth heaven of the form realm.

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 heavenly realm listed in this text between the twelfth heaven of the form realm, the Heaven of Great Results, and the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Nonperception, the fourth of the four formless realms.

One of the form realms, listed here between the brahmā realms and the Heaven of Lesser Light, the first of the realms of the second dhyāna in the form realm.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, lowest among the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu, ’dod khams). Dwelling place of the Four Great Kings (caturmahārāja, rgyal chen bzhi), traditionally located on a terrace of Sumeru, just below the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Each cardinal direction is ruled by one of the Four Great Kings and inhabited by a different class of nonhuman beings as their subjects: in the east, Dhṛtarāṣṭra rules the gandharvas; in the south, Virūḍhaka rules the kumbhāṇḍas; in the west, Virūpākṣa rules the nāgas; and in the north, Vaiśravaṇa rules the yakṣas.

The fifth of the six heavens of the desire realm; also the name of the gods living there. Its inhabitants magically create the objects of their own enjoyment.

The highest of the six heavens of the desire realm, its inhabitants enjoy objects created by others.

The second heaven of the desire realm located above Mount Meru and reigned over by Śakra/Indra and thirty-two other gods.

The ninth heaven of the form realm, it is the third of the three heavens that correspond to the third dhyāna.

An epithet of a buddha, also used in a general sense.

This is a collective term used by proponents of the Mahāyāna to refer to the Śrāvakayāna and the Pratyekabuddhayāna. The name stems from their goal‍—nirvāṇa and personal liberation‍—being seen as small or lesser than the goal of the Mahāyāna‍—buddhahood and the liberation of all sentient beings.

The term is usually used for wealthy lay patrons of the Buddhist community. It also refers to a subdivision of the vaiśya (mercantile) class of traditional Indian society, comprising businessmen, merchants, landowners, and so on.

The basic misapprehension that propels one to take rebirth in saṃsāra.

An epithet of a buddha.

See “four immeasurables.”

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

The lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven on the summit of Mount Sumeru. As one of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter. In Buddhist sūtras, he is a disciple of the Buddha and protector of the Dharma and its practitioners. He is often referred to by the epithets Śatakratu, Śakra, and Kauśika.

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”.

Indian religious tradition established by Mahāvīra (ca. sixth century ʙᴄᴇ).

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.

Legendary river carrying the remains of the golden fruit of a legendary jambu (rose apple) tree.

A royal capital in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Ratnāṅga, ruled by the king Sudarśana .

A king in the past, during the time of the Buddha Dīpaṅkara.

A highly skilled healer and personal physician of the Buddha Śākyamuni and King Bimbisāra, he figures into many stories of the Buddha and his disciples and is often, as here, referred to as the “king of physicians” or “king of medicine.”

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

Meaning “action” in its most basic sense, karma is an important concept in Buddhist philosophy as the cumulative force of previous physical, verbal, and mental acts, which determines present experience and will determine future existences.

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

The name of the unnamed son of the householder Kṣema when he attains buddhahood in the future, as prophesied by the past buddha Vipaśyin.

A yakṣa of Rājagṛha who interacts with the Buddha in chapter 2 of the Bodhisatva­piṭaka.

An epithet of a buddha.

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 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.

An epithet of a buddha.

A quarter of a yojana, a distance that could be between one and over two miles. The milestones or kos-stones along the Indian trunk road were just over two miles apart. The Tibetan means “earshot.”

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

A householder in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

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 city in the distant past.

Someone learned in the five major and five minor sciences.

Liberation from cyclic existence. See “three liberations” and “eight liberations.”

In its most general sense, this term refers to the state of freedom from suffering and cyclic existence, or saṃsāra, that is the goal of the Buddhist path. More specifically, the term may refer to a category of advanced meditative attainment such as those of the “eight liberations.”

In Mahāyāna understood as pure conduct in the sense of compassion and so on; in other traditions understood as chastity.

An epithet of a buddha.

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”).

An ancient Indian kingdom that lay to the south of the Ganges River in what today is the state of Bihar. Magadha was the largest of the sixteen “great states” (mahājanapada) that flourished between the sixth and third centuries ʙᴄᴇ in northern India. During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was ruled by King Bimbisāra and later by Bimbisāra's son, Ajātaśatru. Its capital was initially Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir) but was later moved to Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna). Over the centuries, with the expansion of the Magadha’s might, it became the capital of the vast Mauryan empire and seat of the great King Aśoka.This region is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, where the Buddha attained awakening; Vulture Peak (Gṛdhra­kūṭa), where the Buddha bestowed many well-known Mahāyāna sūtras; and the Buddhist university of Nālandā that flourished between the fifth and twelfth centuries ᴄᴇ, among many others.

Also rendered here as “magical powers.”

See “magical abilitites.”

See “magical abilities.”

Name of a mountain range in Buddhist cosmology.

One of the Buddha’s principal disciples, also known as Kāśyapa.

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.”

A buddha in the distant past.

A minister who was a past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, his story is told as a jātaka story in the Mahosadhā or Mahāummaga Jātaka, story 546 of the Pali Jātaka collection.

The name of the bodhisatva Śūradatta when he attains buddhahood in the future.

An epithet of Śiva.

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).

Mandara is a mountain that appears in various purāṇas describing the origin of amṛta, the drink of immortality. In these, Mount Mandara is used by the gods as a churning rod to churn the ocean of milk, whereby amṛta is produced.

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.

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.

The name of five hundred musician followers of the merchant Naradatta when they attain buddhahood in the distant future.

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

The deities ruled over by Māra. The term can also refer to the devas in his paradise, which is sometimes identified with Paranirmitavaśavartin, the highest paradise in the realm of desire. This is distinct from the four personifications of obstacles to awakening, also known as the four māras (devaputramāra, mṛtyumāra, skandhamāra, and kleśamāra).

Followers of the materialist philosophy expounded by Cārvāka.

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 mother of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

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.

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.

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.

A young brahmin during the time of the Buddha Dīpaṅkara, he was past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni in which he received his prophecy of awakening.

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).Also rendered here as “monk.”

The reactive patterns of the mind.

See “four methods for bringing people together.”

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.

This is the faculty that enables the mind to maintain its attention on a referent object, counteracting the arising of forgetfulness, which is a great obstacle to meditative stability. The root smṛ may mean “to recollect” but also simply “to think of.” Broadly speaking, smṛti, commonly translated as “mindfulness,” means to bring something to mind, not necessarily something experienced in a distant past but also something that is experienced in the present, such as the position of one’s body or the breath.Together with alertness (samprajāna, shes bzhin), it is one of the two indispensable factors for the development of calm abiding (śamatha, zhi gnas). See also “four foundations of mindfulness.”

See “eighty minor marks.”

Rebirth in the three lower realms of hell beings, pretas, and animals.

The systematic presentation of the ethical mode of conduct regulating the life of a monastic.

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).Also rendered here as “mendicant.”

Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”

A legendary mountain north of the Himalayas, with Lake Anavatapta, the source of the world’s great rivers, at its base. It is said to be south of Mount Kailash, though both have been identified with Mount Tise in west Tibet.

Name of mountain; one of ten kings of mountains.

One of seven golden mountains enumerated in Abhidharma cosmology.

One of ten “kings of mountains” according to Abhidharma cosmology.

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.

One of ten “kings of mountains” according to Abhidharma cosmology.

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.

The psychophysical elements of a sentient being.

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

A merchant in the assembly of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

The primeval man; an epithet of Viṣṇu.

The nectar of the gods that confers immortality.

The dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo lists the nine as (1) among those with different (tha dad) bodies and perceptions, such as humans and some gods, (2) among those with different bodies and a single perception, such as the Brahmakāyika gods, (3) among those with a single body and different perceptions, such as the Ābhāsvara gods, (4) among those with a single body and a single perception, such as the Śubhakṛtsna gods, and (5) among beings in Asaṃjñisattva, (6) in the abode of limitless space, (7) in the abode of limitless consciousness, (8) in the abode of nothing whatsoever, and (9) in the abode of neither perception nor nonperception.

See “nine types of harmful acts.”

Nine meditative absorptions in a series: four in the form realm, four in the formless realms, and finally the absorption of cessation.

Thinking “I have been treated unjustly” and giving rise to animosity, thinking “I am being treated unjustly” and giving rise to animosity, thinking “I will be treated unjustly” and giving rise to animosity, thinking “my dear ones have been, are being, or will be treated unjustly” and giving rise to animosity, and thinking “my enemy has gained, is gaining, or will gain an advantage” and giving rise to animosity.

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.

Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. See also 11.­145.

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).

See “noble eightfold path.”

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.)

A spirit.

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.

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. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

The acts with immediate results are the five extremely negative actions that result, at the time of one’s death, in immediate rebirth in the hells without the experience of the intermediate state. They are killing an arhat, killing one’s mother, killing one’s father, creating a schism in the Saṅgha, and maliciously drawing blood from a tathāgata’s body.

The capital city of King Jitaśatru during the time of the Buddha Dīpaṅkara.

A buddha in the distant past.

A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”

The bodhisattvas’ realization that all phenomena are unproduced and empty. It sustains them on the difficult path of benefiting all beings so that they do not succumb to the goal of personal liberation. Different sources link this realization to the first or eighth bodhisattva level (bhūmi).

An epithet of a buddha.

The trainings of the bodhisatva path. The five perfections are generosity (dāna), morality (śīla), patient acceptance (kṣānti), vigor (vīrya), meditation (dhyāna). When listed as six, wisdom (prajñā) is included.

The sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. It is often personified as a female deity, worshiped as the “Mother of All Buddhas” (sarva­jina­mātā).

One of the meanings of the Skt. term dharma. This applies to “phenomena” or “things” in general, and, more specifically, “mental phenomena” which are the object of the mental faculty (manas, yid).

A class of nonhuman beings that, like several other classes of nonhuman beings, take spontaneous birth. Ranking below rākṣasas, they are less powerful and more akin to pretas. They are said to dwell in impure and perilous places, where they feed on impure things, including flesh. This could account for the name piśāca, which possibly derives from √piś, to carve or chop meat, as reflected also in the Tibetan sha za, “meat eater.” They are often described as having an unpleasant appearance, and at times they appear with animal bodies. Some possess the ability to enter the dead bodies of humans, thereby becoming so-called vetāla, to touch whom is fatal.

See “five powers.”

Synonym for “pratyekebuddha.”

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.

The vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas.

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.

An epithet of a buddha.

A name of Śakra. The Sanskrit means “destroyer of strongholds.”

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.

A class of disease-causing spirits associated with cemeteries and dead bodies. The name probably derives from the Skt. pūta, “foul-smelling,” as reflected also in the Tib. srul po. The smell is variously described in the texts as resembling that of a billy goat or a crow. The morbid condition caused by the spirit shares its name and comes in various forms, with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, skin eruptions, and festering wounds, the latter possibly explaining the association with bad smells.

The son of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

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 female rākṣasa.

A brahmin preceptor during the time of the Buddha Dīpaṅkara.

A buddha from a realm to the east, in the distant past.

A buddha in the distant past.

See “Yāma Heaven.”

This is the faculty that enables the mind to maintain its attention on a referent object, counteracting the arising of forgetfulness, which is a great obstacle to meditative stability. The root smṛ may mean “to recollect” but also simply “to think of.” Broadly speaking, smṛti, commonly translated as “mindfulness,” means to bring something to mind, not necessarily something experienced in a distant past but also something that is experienced in the present, such as the position of one’s body or the breath.Together with alertness (samprajāna, shes bzhin), it is one of the two indispensable factors for the development of calm abiding (śamatha, zhi gnas).

“Grasping at the unreal,” creating concepts about an object’s status as real beyond it being a dependently arising phenomenon.

The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this being a first stage leading to full ordination.

One of Yama’s two watchdogs.

An epithet of a buddha.

Son of the yakṣa Kimbhīra.

See “Śakra”; as each world system has its own śakra, it may be regarded in the plural.

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

The clan into which the Buddha was born.

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.

A buddha in the distant past, he was previously the bodhisatva Smṛtipratilabdha.

The name of the merchant Naradatta when he attains buddhahood in the distant future.

A māra who appears to the brothers Samvara and Samvarasthita.

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.

Lit. Disciplined; a son of the householder Suvicaya. See also “Samvarasthita.” These are the same words that were translated as “vows” (Samvara) and “keeping to vows” (Samvarasthita) above.

Lit. Firm Discipline; a son of the householder Suvicaya. See also “Samvara.” These are the same words that were translated as “vows” (Samvara) and “keeping to vows” (Samvarasthita) above.

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.

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 buddha in this sūtra.

May refer to a specific genre or style of scholastic Sanskritic literature, or simply to scholastic literature in general; in Buddhist traditions the term śāstra usually signifies a text that was composed by a human author, as opposed to texts first spoken, composed, or revealed by an enlightened being.

A former life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, he fed his flesh to the people of the city of Kuru, who were suffering from a plague.

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.

The idea of an autonomous individual.

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 set of seven factors or aspects that characteristically manifest on the path of seeing: (1) mindfulness (smṛti, dran pa), (2) discrimination between dharmas (dharmapravicaya, chos rab tu rnam ’byed/shes rab), (3) diligence (vīrya, brtson ’grus), (4) joy (prīti, dga’ ba), (5) mental and physical ease (praśrabdhi, shin sbyangs), (6) meditative absorption (samādhi, ting nge ’dzin), and (7) equanimity (upekṣā, btang snyoms).See also 11.­136.

Listed here as faith, morality, conscience, moral sensitivity, learning, renunciations, and wisdom.

The seven possessions of a king of the entire world: the precious wheel, the precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious jewel, the precious queen, the precious householder, and the precious minister.

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

An Indian paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

The practice of the bodhisatva, which consists of generosity (dāna), morality (śīla), patient acceptance (kṣānti), vigor (vīrya), meditation (dhyāna), and wisdom (prajñā).

May refer to the six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and thinking mind) together with their respective objects (forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and dharmas). In the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, only six sense sources are mentioned, and they are the inner sense sources (similar to the six faculties) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

The same as the five superior abilities‍—divine sight, divine hearing, knowledge of the thoughts of others, clear experiential recollection of previous states of existence, and the realization of magical methods‍—with the addition of the ability to destroy all mental defilements (ā srava, zag pa).

The sixty-two false views, as enumerated in the Brahma­jāla­sūtra (tshangs pa’i dra ba’i mdo, Toh 352), comprise eighteen speculations concerning the past, based on theories of eternalism, partial eternalism, extensionism, endless equivocation, and fortuitous origination, as well as forty-four speculations concerning the future, based on percipient immortality, non-percipient immortality, neither percipient nor non-percipient immortality, annihilationism, and the immediate attainment of nirvāṇa in the present life.

Psychophysical constituents that make up the individual, divided into five group. See “five skandhas.”

A bodhisatva in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Agragaṇin.

A bodhisatva in the distant past.

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 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 vehicle of the śrāvakas.

During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was the capital city of the powerful kingdom of Kośala, ruled by King Prasenajit, who became a follower and patron of the Buddha. It was also the hometown of Anāthapiṇḍada, the wealthy patron who first invited the Buddha there, and then offered him a park known as Jetavana, Prince Jeta’s Grove, which became one of the first Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha is said to have spent about twenty-five rainy seasons with his disciples in Śrāvastī, thus it is named as the setting of numerous events and teachings. It is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh in northern India.

Eight or ten levels or stages through which the bodhisatva traverses on the journey to complete awakening.

One who has achieved the first level of attainment on the path of the śrāvakas, and who has entered the “stream” of practice that leads to nirvāṇa. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

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.

A buddha in the past, formerly the bodhisatva Samvarasthita.

See “nine successive states of absorption.”

The quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms.

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

A king in the past.

The father of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

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).

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

See “Meru.”

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

A past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, when he was chief of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, following his receiving the prophecy of awakening from the Buddha Dīpaṁkara as the bodhisatva Megha.

Confused thought processes that lead to misunderstanding.

Superior knowledge or higher perception particular to a Buddha; it is of six types: divine sight (divyacakṣu), divine hearing (divyaśrotra), knowing the minds of others (paracittajñāna), knowing their particular dispositions (cetaḥ­paryāya­jñāna), the ability to remember past lives (pūrva­nivāsānu­smṛti­jñāna), and possessing miraculous powers (ṛddhividhi­jñānaṃ).

A merchant in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Ratnāṅga. A past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

A bodhisatva in the distant past, in a realm to the east, during the appearance of the Buddha Atyuccagāmin.

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

A buddha in the distant past, a future life of the weaver Sūtracunaka.

A weaver in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Bhāṅgīrasi.

A householder in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Abhyudgata.

One of Yama’s two watchdogs.

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.

See “ten powers.”

The vehicle of the tathāgatas.

An epithet of a buddha.

An epithet of a buddha.

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

These are listed in the Bodhisatva­piṭaka as the affliction s of birth, old age, disease, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, depression, grief, and cyclic existence.

Ten kinds of error that cause one to be immersed in the world, doomed to error: wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, wrong concentration, wrong liberation, and wrong understanding.

A set of ten metaphors for cyclic existence. See 1.­133.

Ten things that a buddha knows: (1) what is possible and what is impossible, (2) karmic maturation, (3) various elements, (4) various inclinations, (5) levels of ability, (6) every path of travel, (7) the pure and afflicted sides of concentration, meditative states, and absorptions, (8) memory of former abodes, (9) death and rebirth, and (10) that the defilements have been eliminated. These are listed in more detail at F.10.b.

See “ten situations that lead to malice.”

Ten situations that give rise to malicious thoughts. These are listed in the Bodhisatva­piṭaka (F.258.b and F.263.b.

The ten levels of a bodhisatva’s development into a fully enlightened buddha.

See “ten unwholesome forms of conduct.”

Taking life, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, lying, slander, uttering harsh words, inane chatter, covetousness, maliciousness, and holding wrong views

See “ten unwholesome forms of conduct.”

These are the opposite of the ten unwholesome forms of conduct, i.e., refraining from engaging in the ten unwholesome form of conduct and (in some contexts) doing the opposite.

See “ten wholesome forms of conduct.”

Thirty-seven practices that lead the practitioner to the awakened state: the four foundations of mindfulness, the four kinds of perfect exertion, the four foundations of magical abilities, the five faculties, the five powers, the noble eightfold path, and the seven factors of awakening.

See “thirty-two characteristics of a great being.”

The main identifying physical characteristics of both buddhas and kings of the entire world (cakravartins), to which are added the “eighty minor marks.”

See “thirty-two characteristics of a great being.”

See “three liberations.”

The three realms (desire realm, form realm, and formless realm), or the three levels of existence (subterranean [nāgas], surface [humans], and heavenly [gods]).

Emptiness, being without attributes, and being without aspiration. Also known as the “three doors of liberation.”

The realms of hell beings, pretas, and animals.

The desire realm, form realm, and formless realm.

The triad of a subject, the doer; an object (direct or indirect) to which something is done; and the action of doing it. When a bodhisatva acts, none of these three aspects of the action are to be apprehended or conceptualized.

A division of beings into three according to their potential for receiving the Dharma. These categories are altered by the appearance of a buddha. The three are (1) those whose receptivity is certain (nges pa’i phung po, samyaktva­niyata­rāśi), (2) those whose receptivity is unpredictable (ma nges pa’i phung po, aniyatarāśi), and (3) those whose nonreceptivity is certain (log par nges pa’i phung po, mithyātvaniyata­rāśi).

Also known as the three poisons, they are passion (lobha, chags pa), aggression (dveṣa, zhe sdang), and ignorance (moha, gti mug).

The vehicles of the śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and complete buddhas.

See also “three realms.”

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.

The three kinds of knowledge obtained by the Buddha on the night of his enlightenment. These consist of the knowledge of the death and rebirth of sentient beings, the knowledge of past lives, and the knowledge of the cessation of defilements. These are the last three of the ten powers of the tathāgatas.

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.

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 links of dependent origination.”

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.

See “summit of existence.”

See “summit of existence.”

See “eighteen unique buddha qualities.”

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 name of the bodhisatva Samvara when he attains awakening.

An epithet of Kubera, the god of riches and treasure.

This term generally indicates indestructibility and stability. In the sūtras, vajra most often refers to the hardest possible physical substance, said to have divine origins. In some scriptures, it is also the name of the all-powerful weapon of Indra, which in turn is crafted from vajra material. In the tantras, the vajra is sometimes a scepter-like ritual implement, but the term can also take on other esoteric meanings.

A buddha in the distant past.

The god of the wind.

A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”

An epithet of a buddha.

A great physician who lived on the mountain Himavat.

The mother of the future buddha Kāruṇika.

One of the six perfections.

The capital city of King Vijitāyus in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Mahāskandha.

A king in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Mahāskandha.

In early Buddhism the first of seven buddhas, with Śākyamuni as the seventh. The first three buddhas‍—Vipaśyin, Śikhin, and Viśvabhuk‍—appeared in a kalpa earlier than our Bhadra kalpa, and therefore Śākyamuni is more commonly referred to as the fourth buddha.

The son of King Vijitāyus in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Mahāskandha.

A genuine understanding and realistic view of the state of things.

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.

Here listed as water that is soothing, agreeable, mild, clear, not murky, pure, delicious, and not harmful even if enjoyed in excess.

See “water that possesses eight qualities.”

Proper and conducive to good results.

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

The lord of death, the ruler of hell.

The third of the six heavens of the realm of desire; also the name of the gods living there. The Tibetan translation ’thab bral, “free from strife or combat,” derives from the idea that these devas, because they live in an aerial abode above Sumeru, do not have to engage in combat with the asuras who dwell on the slopes of the mountain.

See also “Yāma Heaven”.

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

A measure of distance sometimes translated as “league,” but with varying definitions. The Sanskrit term denotes the distance yoked oxen can travel in a day or before needing to be unyoked. From different canonical sources the distance represented varies between four and ten miles.