Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

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.

One of the first five disciples of the Buddha.

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.

One of the first five disciples of the Buddha.

Meditation technique to calm the mind.

Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.

Four oceans believed to surround the central mountain, Mt. Meru, in Indian cosmology.

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

In the most general sense the devas‍—the term is cognate with the English divine‍—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.

A bodhisattva in the assembly.

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

One of the first five disciples of the Buddha.

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

One of the first five disciples of the Buddha.

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.

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.”

Four levels of meditation within the Form Realm.See also n.­11.

Sometimes has the alternative Sanskrit spelling Śiśumāragiri.

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

A tree, Ficus benghalensis, native to the Indian subcontinent, that can cover large areas by putting down aerial roots that become subsidiary trunks.

The sixth of the six perfections.

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

A hardwood tree, Shorea robusta, widespread on the Indian subcontinent.

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.”

Meditative concentration which views the five aggregates, the basis for the conception of a self, as faulty; the second of the three doors of liberation.

Fourth of the four formless absorptions.

Third of the four formless absorptions.

Second of the four formless absorptions.

First of the four formless absorptions.

Name shared by a close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha, and by a bodhisattva.

A member of the Śākya clan and śrāvaka disciple of the Buddha, part of the notorious “group of six” monks who often appear in the vinaya texts to exemplify certain wrong behaviors.(Please note that in some of the texts listed here, due to the lack of any supportive information supplied along with the name, it is not possible to be completely certain that it refers exactly to the same person. However, given the probability of being the same person, and the absence of conflicting information, these have been gathered here.)

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

One of the first five disciples of the Buddha.

Close Śravaka disciple of the Buddha.

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.

Meditative concentration which views nirvāṇa, which is the complete pacification of the aggregates; the third of the Three Doors of Liberation.