As expressed in the Sanskrit and translated literally into Tibetan, the term means “to dwell near.” The term comes from the older Vedic traditions in which during full moon and new moon sacrifices, householders would practice abstinence in various forms such as fasting and refraining from sexual activity. These holy days were called upavasatha days because it was said that the gods who were the recipients of these sacrifices would “dwell” (√vas) “near” (upa) the practitioners of these sacrifices. While sacrificial practices were discarded by Buddhists, the framework of practicing fortnightly abstinence evolved into the poṣadha observance, a term etymologically related to the term upavasatha.

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

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

The name of a buddha, the tathāgata who heads the karma family among the five tathāgata families.

A Buddhist monastery in Kashmir that is reported in Chinese sources to have existed as early as ca. 750 ᴄᴇ.

A nāga king, also another name of Śeṣa, the serpent upon whom Viṣṇu rests during the interlude between the destruction and recreation of the world.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Invincible,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

A class of nonhuman beings believed to cause epilepsy, fits, and loss of memory. As their name suggests‍—the Skt. apasmāra literally means “without memory” and the Tib. brjed byed means “causing forgetfulness”‍—they are defined by the condition they cause in affected humans, and the term can refer to any nonhuman being that causes such conditions, whether a bhūta, a piśāca, or other.

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.

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

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

The full name of the buddha popularly known as the Medicine Buddha.

The name of a female Buddhist deity meaning “Furrowed Brow,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

A deity from the Śaiva pantheon who appears in a grotesquely emaciated form.

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.

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

A 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 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).

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Eyes of an Awakened One,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

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.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Moon,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The deified moon.

A servant or a class of beings used as servants.

Female ceṭa.

“Shadow,” a class of supernatural beings considered a source of disease and misfortune.

The male equivalent to a ḍākinī. The term can refer to a mundane class of supernatural beings and to a class of Buddhist deities.

A class of powerful nonhuman female beings who play a variety of roles in Indic literature in general and Buddhist literature specifically. Essentially synonymous with yoginīs, ḍākinīs are liminal and often dangerous beings who can be propitiated to acquire both mundane and transcendent spiritual accomplishments. In the higher Buddhist tantras, ḍākinīs are often considered embodiments of awakening and feature prominently in tantric maṇḍalas.

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.

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 name of a buddha.

“Messenger,” a class of nonhuman beings often employed in the service of the practitioner.

Female dūta.

Literally the “great seizers,” there are traditionally nine: the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the eclipse (rahu), and comets/meteors (ketu). All are believed to exert influence on the world according to Indic astrological lore. When listed as eight, it is not certain which is excluded.

The assembly hall in the center of Sudarśana, the city in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Trāyastriṃśa). It has a central throne for Indra (Śakra) and thirty-two thrones arranged to its right and left for the other thirty-two devas that make up the eponymous thirty-three devas of Indra’s paradise. Indra’s own palace is to the north of this assembly hall.

Likely a reference to the practice of homa or similar fire rites. Homa rites, which date to the early Vedic period of Indian civilization, are the central rite for many esoteric rituals, especially those involving spells. It involves casting specific offerings articles into the ritual while reciting a dhāraṇī, spell, or mantra.

Acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages; they are killing an arhat, killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, causing a schism in the monastic community, and maliciously drawing blood from a tathāgata.

The “Four Sisters,” likely a reference to Jayā, Vijayā, Ajitā, Aparājitā, a group of female deities who, along with their brother Tumburu (an aspect of Śiva), are the focal point of a prominent cult in the early Śaiva tantric tradition.

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).

‟Lord of Gaṇas,” an epithet of Gaṇeśa, the elephant-headed god who is the son of Śiva.

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 term graha refers to a class of supernatural beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various kinds of misfortune. The term can also be applied generically to other classes of supernatural beings who have the capacity to adversely affect health and well-being.

A subclass of yakṣas, or an alternative name for yakṣas.

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

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.

A class of supernatural beings. This term is perhaps better read as yāmaka.

An unknown figure who is said to be one of three brothers, along with Madhukara and Siddhikarasarvārtha­sādhana

A class of supernatural beings typically associated with violent sorcery rites.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Lotus-Like Eyes,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The fifth of seven successive buddhas among whom Śākyamuni is the seventh. He is the second among these buddhas to appear in this eon.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Shines like Gold,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Garlanded with Gold,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

A class of supernatural beings.

A sect of Śaiva ascetics known for their cremation ground practices and aesthetics.

The son of Śiva and general of his armies. Also known as Skanda.

The sixth of seven successive buddhas among whom Śākyamuni is the seventh. He is the third among these buddhas to appear in this eon.

A class of supernatural beings.

A class of supernatural beings. Please see n.­66 concerning the relationship between the Sanskrit and Tibetan terms.

A class of supernatural beings

A subgroup of pūtanas, 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 of a pūtana is variously described in the texts as resembling that of a billy goat or a crow, and the smell of a kaṭapūtana, as its name suggests, could resemble a corpse, kaṭa being one of the names for “corpse.” The morbid condition caused by pūtanas 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.

A class of supernatural beings.

A class of supernatural beings who are utilized in service of the practitioner.

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

The fourth of seven successive buddhas among whom Śākyamuni is the seventh. He is the first among these buddhas to appear in this eon.

Rites of hostile magic that employ kṛtyās, a type of supernatural being, as magical agents. Taken literally, the Tibetan term sgyur ba’i las would mean “the karma/activities of transformation.”

The name of a deity.

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

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Saffron Jewel,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

A class of supernatural beings.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Eyes,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The twenty-seven or twenty-eight sectors along the ecliptic that exert influence on the world according to Indic astrological lore.

An unknown figure who is said to be one of three brothers, along with Jayakara and Siddhikarasarvārtha­sādhana.

A Kashmiri paṇḍita active in Tibet in the eleventh century.

Mahākāla (“Great Black One”) is a name for both a wrathful form of Śiva and one the most important Buddhist protector deities.

A nāga king.

The name of a Buddhist deity, typically male despite the feminine ending. The name, meaning “Great Illusion,” is here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

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).

A legendary sea monster often described as an amalgamation of several terrestrial and/or aquatic animals such as an elephant, a crocodile, and a boar. The term is sometimes associated with the crocodile or river dolphin.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Garland,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

A class of beings related to the demon Māra. Both Māra and the māras are portrayed as the primary adversaries and tempters of those who vow to take up the religious life, and māras can be understood as a class of demonic beings responsible for perpetuating the illusion that keeps beings bound to the world and worldly attachments and as the mental states those beings elicit.

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.

Vedic deities associated with the wind.

“Mothers,” a class of female deities, typically seven or eight in number, who are common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions.

A class of supernatural beings.

In this text, mudrā is used to refer to distinct forms of a deity.A seal, in both the literal and metaphoric sense. Mudrā is also the name given to an array of symbolic hand gestures, which range from the gesture of touching the earth displayed by the Buddha upon attaining awakening to the numerous gestures used in tantric rituals to symbolize offerings, consecrations, etc. Iconographically, mudrās are used as a way of communicating an action performed by the deity or a specific aspect a deity or buddha is displaying, in which case the same figure can be depicted using different hand gestures to signify that they are either meditating, teaching, granting freedom from fear, etc. In Tantric texts, the term is also used to designate the female spiritual consort in her various aspects.

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

A nāga king.

A favored member of Śiva’s horde (gaṇa).

Likely a reference to a prominent deity in the pantheon of tantric Śaivism.

A common epithet of the brahmanical deity Viṣṇu.

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.)

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.)

A class of supernatural beings believed to possess humans and cause physical and mental illness.

The name of a buddha.

The name of a female Buddhist deity that means “White-Clothed One,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

An Indian paṇḍita active in the eleventh century. He visited Tibet, where he worked with Ngok Loden Sherap (rngog blo ldan shes rab, ca. 1059–1109) and other translators, and is the author of a commentary on the Sūtrālaṅkāra (Toh 4030) preserved in the Tengyur.

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.

A class of supernatural beings.

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.­1281– 2.1482.

The name of a group of people positioned outside, and thus below, the primary caste hierarchies of Indic society

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.

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.

The name of a buddha.

The name of a buddha.

A class of deities, perhaps of astrological origins, that is associated with disease.

A class of celestial beings. The term ṛṣi is ancient Indian spiritual title, particularly applied to divinely inspired individuals credited with creating the foundations for all Indian culture.

A wrathful form of Śiva.

Both the name of specific group of people and a general reference to indigenous peoples living outside mainstream Indic society.

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.

A class of supernatural beings.

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.

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.

The name of a buddha.

A class of supernatural beings.

A nāga king.

An unknown figure who is said to be one of three brothers, along with Jayakara and Madhukara. It is possible his name is supposed to be Sarvārthasiddhikara or Sarvārthasiddhikarasādhana.

The second of seven successive buddhas among whom Śākyamuni is the seventh.

“White Umbrella Goddess,” a female Buddhist deity renowned for her power to avert or repel threats from supernatural beings, disease, and misfortune.

Major deity in the pantheon of the classical Indian religious traditions. He is sometimes portrayed as one part of the divine triad, which also includes Brahmā and Viṣṇu.

A class of nonhuman beings believed to be a cause of illness and death for children.

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

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.”

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 buddha realm of Amitābha.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Beautiful Eyes,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

In Sanskrit, “good winged,” an alternate name for garuḍas.

The name of a buddha.

The deified sun.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “White,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

A female deity (lit. “Deliverer”) known for giving protection. She is variously presented in Buddhist literature as a great bodhisattva or a fully awakened buddha.

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.

Ten sūtras said to have been recommended to the Tibetan king Tri Songdetsen by the Indian master Padmasambhava. Their mention in the Padma Kathang takes the form only of a brief list of their abbreviated titles and functions, and in some cases does not allow their certain identification with the canonical texts that have survived in the Kangyur. (1) as aspiration, Bhadracaryā­praṇidhāna (bzang spyod smon lam, the concluding verses in Chapter 56 in Toh 44-45, The Stem Array) and also The Prayer of Good Conduct , Toh 1095; (2) as ablution, Vajravidāraṇā­dhāraṇī (rdo rje rnam ’joms pa, Toh 750, Vajra Conqueror ); (3) as view, Prajñā­pāramitāhṛdaya (shes rab snying po, Toh 21 and Toh 531, The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed Mother ); (4) as cultivation, Atyayajñāna (’da’ ka ye shes, Toh 122, The Sūtra on Wisdom at the Hour of Death ); (5) as purification of karmic obscuration, bya ba ltung bshags from the Vinayaviniścayopāli­paripṛcchā (Toh 68, Determining the Vinaya: Upāli’s Questions, 1.43–1.52); (6) for longevity, Aparimitāyurjñāna (tshe dang ye shes dpag tu med pa’i mdo, most likely Toh 675, The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra [2] ); (7) for protection, gos sngon can gyi gzungs, one of the several texts on this form of Vajrapāṇi but possibly the Nīlāmbaradhara­vajrapāṇi­kalpa (Toh 748, The Dhāraṇī of Blue-Clad Vajrapāṇi ); (8) for averting, Sitātapatrāparājitā (gdugs dkar gzhan gyis mi thub pa, most probably Toh 592, The Invincible Sitātapatrā [1] ); (9) for increasing resources, Vasudhārā­dhāraṇī (nor rgyun ma’i gzungs, Toh 662, 663, or 664, The Dhāraṇī of Vasudhārā ); and (10) as the essence, Ekākṣarīmātā­prajñāpāramitā (sher phyin yi ge gcig ma, Toh 23, The Perfection of Wisdom Mother in One Syllable ).

The name of a female Buddhist deity, here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

This can refer to the underworlds, the earth, and the heavens, or it can be synonymous with the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness.

Considered to be the second great Dharma king of Tibet, he is thought to have been born in 742, and to have reigned from 754 until his death in 797 or 799. It was during his reign that the “early period” of imperially sponsored text translation gathered momentum, as the Buddhist teachings gained widespread acceptance in Tibet, and under whose auspices the first Buddhist monastery was established.

“Triple City” was a city of asuras built by the asura architect Maya. It consisted of three levels that extended from the underworld, through the earth, and up to the heavens. Brahmā blessed Tripura so that it could only be destroyed by a single arrow, making it essentially indestructible. However, when the asuras displeased Śiva by resuming their war with the devas, he fired a divine arrow that pierced all three levels of the city, reducing them to ash.

A being or type of being named “meteor face.”

A form of Śiva, so-named for being the spouse of Umā.

A class of nonhuman beings associated with intoxication and madness.

One of eight mythological nāga kings. The story of the two nāga kings Upananda and Nanda and their taming by the Buddha and Maudgalyāyana is told in the Vinayavibhaṅga (Toh 3, Degé vol. 6, ’dul ba, ja, F.221.a–224.a).

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.

The name of a buddha. Vairocana is the tathāgata at the head of the tathāgata family among the five families.

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.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Vajra Bearer,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The name of a buddha.

The name of a female deity and class of female deities. The name means “Youthful Vajra.”

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Vajra Garland,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

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

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Shines like a Vajra,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The name of a Buddhist deity who is typically male but here given in the feminine as an epithet of Sitātapatrā. The name means “Vajra Shackles.”

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Vajra Beaked,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Vajra Uṣṇīṣa,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The Vedic deity understood in later periods to be the lord of waters; thus the Tibetans translate his name as “God of Water” (chu’i lha).

A class of supernatural being who haunts charnel grounds and can take possession of corpses and reanimate them. The Tibetan translation means “risen corpse.”

A term that at once refers to a type or a class of deity (typically female) and the spell used to harness their power, thereby reflecting their inseparability.

Meaning those who wield (dhara) spells ( vidyā ), the term is used to refer to both a class of supernatural beings who wield magical power and human practitioners of the magical arts. The latter usage is especially prominent in the Kriyātantras, which are often addressed to the human vidyādhara. The later Buddhist tradition, playing on the dual valences of vidyā as “spell” and “knowledge,” began to apply this term more broadly to realized figures in the Buddhist pantheon.

A class of supernatural beings who create obstacles.

The name of a female Buddhist deity that is difficult to translate but could approximately mean “Haughty”; here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

The name of a buddha.

A class of obstacle-creating beings, their name means “those who lead astray.”

The first of seven successive buddhas among whom Śākyamuni is the seventh.

The third of seven successive buddhas among whom Śākyamuni is the seventh.

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, he judges the dead and rules over the hell realms.

“Yama’s Enemy,” an epithet of Yamāntaka, the wrathful form of Mañjuśrī.

A measure of distance corresponding to the distance a cart horse can travel without being unyoked. This unit of measurement lacks a uniform standard and can indicate a distance between four and ten miles or six and sixteen kilometers.

A Tibetan translator active in the second half of the eleventh century.