Alphabetical Link Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Abandonment See pahāna
Abhidhamma Pali / Skt: The third ‘basket’ (piṭaka) of the Pali Canon; literally ‘higher Dhamma’ or ‘Dhamma in detail.’ A systematic philosophical and psychological analysis of all experience in terms of ultimate realities (paramattha dhammā), as distinct from the conventional language of the suttas. It catalogues 89 types of consciousness (citta), 52 mental factors (cetasika), 28 forms of materiality (rūpa), and the unconditioned Nibbāna. 1. Read article → 2. Read article →
Abhiṣeka Skt Tantric empowerment or ‘ripening initiation’; the formal initiatory rite authorising a practitioner to engage with a specific deity’s mandala and practice. Four levels exist in the Anuttarayoga system: vase, secret, wisdom, and word. Without abhiṣeka, construction or visualisation of the relevant mandala lacks its ritual basis. Read article →
Tib: dbang Empowerment or initiation; a formal tantric ceremony in which a qualified Guru transmits the blessings and authorisation to practise a specific deity. Abhiṣeka “ripens” the practitioner’s mindstream for deeper tantric work and is a prerequisite for all higher Vajrayāna practice. Read article →
Abhidharma, Northern Skt The scholastic philosophical literature of early Indian Buddhist schools such as the Vaibhāṣika and Sautrāntika. Distinct from the Pali Abhidhamma (Theravāda); the two share family resemblance but diverge on key points. Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa is its most influential synthesis. The Northern Abhidharma framework underpins the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths. Read article →
Abhidharmakośa Skt ‘Treasury of Higher Knowledge’; the systematic philosophical compendium composed by Vasubandhu (4th–5th century CE), the canonical source for the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths in the Northern Abhidharma tradition. Read article →
Absorption, meditative See Jhāna.
Action Tantra See Kriya Tantra.
Adhiṣṭhāna Skt Blessings; the positive karmic energy and auspicious influence transmitted through a sacred object, practice, or lineage master. In the sand mandala ritual, accumulated adhiṣṭhāna is distributed to all beings through the water offering. Note: distinct from the Pali adhiṭṭhāna (determination/resolve), already in this glossary. Read article →
Adhiṭṭhāna Pali Determination or resolve; the eighth of the ten pāramī. The quality of unwavering commitment to the path and to the welfare of beings. Read article →
Ādarśa-jñāna Skt Mirror-like Wisdom; the transcendent wisdom associated with Akṣobhya. Perceives all phenomena with perfect clarity and without distortion or reaction. One of the five transcendent wisdoms encoded in the colour system of the sand mandala. Read article →
Aging-and-death See Jarāmaraṇa.
Aggregates, Five See Khandha.
Ahāra Pali Nutriment; anything that sustains and maintains life, whether physical or mental. The Buddha identified four types: edible food (kabaḷīkāra āhāra), sensory contact (phassa āhāra), mental intention (manosañcetanā āhāra), and consciousness (viññāṇa āhāra). All four are sustained by craving (taṇhā). Read article →
Ajāta Pali/Skt Not-born; one of four negations the Buddha used to characterise Nibbāna as the Unconditioned — that which is not born, not become, not made, and not fabricated. See also Asaṅkhata. Read article →
Ajahn Thai, from Pali: ācariya Teacher; a title used in Thai Forest Theravāda for senior monastics. Commonly used as a form of address for respected teachers such as Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Brahm. Read article →
Akṣobhya Skt ‘The Immovable’; one of the five tathāgatas (buddha families) of Vajrayāna, associated with the colour blue, Mirror-like Wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna), the element Water, and the transformation of aversion (dveṣa). Encoded in the colour symbolism of the sand mandala. Read article →
Akusala Pali: Actions or mental states rooted in greed, hatred, or delusion that lead to suffering and agitation. Read article → and Read article →
Amitābha Skt / Jpn: Amida The ‘Infinite Light’ buddha; central figure of Pure Land Buddhism. Beings who recite his name with sincere faith are said to be reborn in his Pure Land, Sukhāvatī. Read article →
Amoghasiddhi Skt ‘Unfailing Accomplishment’; one of the five tathāgatas, associated with the colour green, All-Accomplishing Wisdom (kṛtyānuṣṭhāna-jñāna), the element Air/Wind, and the transformation of envy (īrṣyā). Read article →
Anattā Pali / Skt: anātman Not-self. The teaching that no permanent, independent self exists in persons or phenomena. One of the three marks of existence; its direct insight severs identity-view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi). Read article →
Anāgāmī Pali Non-returner; the third stage of enlightenment. An anāgāmī has severed the five lower fetters and will not return to the sensory realm, attaining liberation in a higher sphere. Read article →
Anicca Pali / Skt: anitya Impermanence. All conditioned phenomena are in constant flux; nothing lasts. One of the three marks of existence and the first insight of vipassanā practice. Read article →
Anurakkhaṇā Pali: The effort to protect, strengthen, and bring to maturity the wholesome states already present. Read article →
Anuttarayoga Tantra Skt ‘Unsurpassed Yoga Tantra’; the highest of the four classes of tantra in the Sarma (New Translation) schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Encompasses the Generation and Completion Stage practices and the most complex sand mandalas, including the Kālacakra. 1. Read article → 2. Read article →
Apratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa Skt Non-abiding Nibbāna; the Mahāyāna teaching that a fully awakened buddha does not rest in a transcendent peace but remains dynamically engaged with the world out of compassion (karuṇā) to liberate all beings. Contrasted with the Theravāda conception of final Nibbāna (parinibbāna) at death. Read article →
Arahant Pali / Skt: arhat A ‘worthy one’ who has fully uprooted all ten fetters and attained Nibbāna — the fourth and final stage of enlightenment in the Theravāda path. Read article →
Asaṅga Skt 4th–5th century CE Indian Mahāyāna philosopher and founder of the Yogācāra school, to whom traditional accounts attribute the transmission of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra — the primary text through which the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths are studied in the Tibetan monastic curriculum. Read article →
Asaṅkhata Pali / Skt: asaṃskṛta The Unconditioned; that which does not arise from causes and conditions and therefore does not change or pass away. Nibbāna is described as the one asaṅkhata dhamma — in contrast to all conditioned phenomena, which are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not-self. Read article →
Āsava Pali Cankers or taints; the four deep-seated defilements: sensuality, existence, views, and ignorance. Their complete eradication marks arahantship. Read article →
Ātmagrāha Skt Ego-clinging; the deep-seated grasping at a permanent, solid self. In Mahāyāna and Tibetan Buddhism, the ultimate renunciation is the letting go of ātmagrāha — the root of all suffering and the object of the most fundamental wisdom practice. Read article →
Avijjā Pali / Skt: avidyā Ignorance; the first link in dependent origination and the root of all defilements. Not mere lack of information but a fundamental misperception of the nature of self and reality. Read article →
Amida Buddha See Amitābha.
Anger See Dosa.
Aversion See Dosa.
Awakening factors, Seven See Bojjhaṅga.
Awakening mind See Bodhicitta.
Āyatana Pali Sense bases; the six internal (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind) and six external (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, mental objects) bases through which all experience arises. Read article →
Āyudha Skt Ritual implement or hand attribute held by a deity — such as a lotus, sword, or wheel — encoding that deity’s specific enlightened quality. Used alongside mudrā to identify each deity within a mandala. Read article →
B – Index
Bhāvanā Pali: The active cultivation or “calling into being” of wholesome qualities through practice. Read article →
Bardo Tib: bar do Intermediate state; in Tibetan Buddhism, the transitional phases of consciousness between death and rebirth, described in the Bardo Thödol. Three bardos are identified: waking, dream, and dying. Read article →
Bardo Yoga See Six Yogas of Naropa.
Beginner’s Mind See Shoshin.
Being present See Sati.
Bhāvanā Pali Mental cultivation or development; the general Pali term for meditation. Divided into samatha (calm) and vipassanā (insight) bhāvanā. Read article →
Bindu Skt Drops or essence-points; one of the three components of the subtle body in Vajrayāna (alongside channels and winds). Bindus are subtle carriers of consciousness whose movement and dissolution are central to completion-stage practices such as tummo and clear light realisation. Read article →
Bodhicitta Skt The awakening mind; the aspiration to attain full Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. The motivating spirit of the Mahāyāna path; classified as aspirational and engaged bodhicitta. Read article →
Bodhipakkhiyā Dhammā Pali ‘Qualities belonging to awakening’; the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, comprising seven overlapping groups: the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Four Right Exertions, Four Bases of Power, Five Spiritual Faculties, Five Spiritual Powers, Seven Factors of Awakening, and the Noble Eightfold Path. Preserved throughout the Pali Canon and honoured across all Buddhist schools. Read article →
Bodhisattva Skt / Pali: bodhisatta A being on the path to full Buddhahood who dedicates their awakening to the liberation of all beings. The Mahāyāna ideal; in Theravāda, the term refers specifically to the Buddha before his own awakening. Read article →
Bojjhaṅga Pali The seven factors of awakening: mindfulness, investigation, energy, rapture, tranquillity, concentration, and equanimity. Their cultivation leads to liberation. Read article →
Brahmaviharā Pali / Skt: brahmavihāra The four divine abodes or immeasurables: loving-kindness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), sympathetic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekkhā). Cultivated through specific meditation practices. Read article →
Bskyed-rim Tib Generation Stage; the first of two stages in Anuttarayoga Tantra practice. The practitioner dissolves ordinary self-perception and mentally reconstitutes their body, speech, and mind as the mandala palace, its inhabiting deities, and mantra respectively. The sand mandala serves as the architectural blueprint for this practice. Read article →
Buddha Pali/Skt An ‘Awakened One’. Historically, Siddhārtha Gautama, who attained full enlightenment and taught the Dharma in 5th–4th century BCE India. One of the Three Jewels (ti-ratana). Read article →
Buddhaghosa Pali 5th century CE Theravāda commentator, author of the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification), the most comprehensive systematic treatment of the path in the Theravāda tradition. The Visuddhimagga treats the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment as a central organising principle. Read article →
Buddha-nature See Tathāgatagarbha.
Buddhist ethics See Sīla.
C – Index
Calm abiding See Shamatha.
Caṅkama Pali Walking meditation as practised in Theravāda Buddhism — deliberate, mindful stepping with attention to bodily sensation and movement, often performed on a dedicated path. Read article →
Cankers See Āsava.
Cetanā Pali Intention or volition; the mental factor that, according to the Buddha, constitutes karma: ‘It is intention (cetanā), monks, that I call karma’ (AN 6.63). Read article →
Cetasika Pali Mental factor; one of the 52 mental factors catalogued in the Theravāda Abhidhamma that arise and cease together with a moment of consciousness (citta), sharing its object and sense-base. Cetasikas include universal factors present in every moment of consciousness (contact, feeling, perception, volition), wholesome factors (saddhā, sati, paññā), and unwholesome factors (lobha, dosa, moha). They collectively determine the ethical quality and psychological character of any given moment of mind. Read article →
Chak-pur Tib (lcags spyor) The narrow copper or brass conical funnel used to apply coloured sand during mandala construction. A consecrated ritual implement; the monk scrapes a metal rod along its serrated edge to vibrate sand in a controlled stream. Mastery requires years of training. Read article →
Chanda Pali Wholesome aspiration or desire — specifically the desire for liberation and the welfare of beings. Distinguished from taṇhā (craving): chanda is directed toward what is beneficial and does not bind. Read article →
Channels, subtle See Nāḍī.
Charya Tantra Skt Performance Tantra; the second of the four classes of tantra, balancing external ritual with internal meditation. The practitioner engages in both physical actions and mental visualisations, treating the deity as an equal companion. The Mahāvairocana Tantra is its primary text. Read article →
Citta Pali Mind or consciousness; the knowing quality of experience. In Buddhist psychology, citta is analysed into 89 or 121 types of wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral mental states. Read article →
Cittamātra Skt ‘Mind-only’; the position associated with the Yogācāra school that all experienced phenomena arise within and are not independent of consciousness. Often rendered as ‘mind-only’ or ‘consciousness-only’, though the precise interpretation remains debated in modern scholarship. See also Yogācāra. Read article →
Clear Light Skt: prabhāsvara / Tib: ösal The luminous, empty nature of mind that underlies all experience. Accessed during completion-stage practice when the subtle winds dissolve and ordinary mental activity subsides; also said to arise naturally at the moment of death. Recognition and stabilisation of the clear light is the defining realisation of highest yoga tantra. Read article →
Clinging See Upadāna.
Compassion See Karuṇā.
Completion Stage Skt: sampannakrama The second phase of deity yoga, following the generation stage. Attention shifts from visualised deity form to the practitioner’s own subtle body — working with channels, winds, and drops to bring about direct realisation of the clear light. Key practices include tummo, illusory body, dream yoga, and phowa. Read article →
Concentration, meditative See Samādhi.
Conditioned existence See Saṃsāra.
Conscious transference See Phowa.
Contact See Phassa.
Conventional truth Pali: sammuti sacca / Skt: saṃvṛti-satya The level of everyday, relative reality — including persons, actions, causes and effects, ethical conduct, and social conventions. Functionally real and the domain where karma operates. One of the Two Truths; contrasted with ultimate truth (paramattha sacca). Read article →
Craving See Taṇhā.
D – Index
Dag snang Tib Pure perception; the Vajrayāna practice of training to perceive all phenomena as the display of enlightened qualities rather than through the distorting lens of the three poisons. The sand mandala is one of its primary supports. Sanskrit: viśuddhadṛṣṭi. Read article →
Ḍākinī Skt / Tib: khandroma Literally “sky-goer”; an enlightened feminine principle embodying wisdom energy in Vajrayāna. Ḍākinīs are understood as transmitters of esoteric teachings, protectors of practice, and expressions of the awakened mind in its dynamic, wrathful, or joyful aspects. Together with dharma protectors, they form the third of the Three Roots. Read article →
Dāna Pali Generosity; giving. The first of the ten perfections and a foundational virtue in all traditions. Dāna is the primary antidote to greed (lobha) and a support for virtue. Read article →
Deity Yoga Skt: devatāyoga The defining practice of Vajrayāna, in which the practitioner visualises themselves as a meditational deity (yidam), displacing ordinary self-perception with the recognition of innate buddha nature. Proceeds through two stages — generation and completion — uniting method (the deity’s form) with wisdom (recognition of the deity’s emptiness). Read article →
Delusion See Moha.
Dependent Origination Pali: paṭicca-samuppāda The twelve-linked chain describing how suffering arises through conditioned causality — from ignorance through to aging-and-death. Also demonstrates how liberation is possible by removing root conditions. Read article →
Desire, wholesome See Chanda.
Determination See Adhiṭṭhāna.
Deva Pali A heavenly being; in Buddhist cosmology, devas inhabit celestial realms but remain subject to impermanence and rebirth. Not creators or objects of worship. Read article →
Devatā-yoga Skt Deity yoga; the central meditation practice of Vajrayāna in which the practitioner identifies with the form, qualities, and wisdom-mind of a specific deity. The sand mandala may be the environmental support for this practice during the Generation Stage. Read article →
Development See bhāvanā
Dharmadhātu Skt ‘Realm of phenomena’; the totality of all phenomena as they are in their ultimate nature — empty of inherent existence and pervaded by awakened awareness. Vairocana’s Dharmadhātu Wisdom is the direct recognition of this nature. Read article →
Dharmapāla Skt Dharma protector; a fierce guardian deity depicted in the outer rings of advanced mandalas, particularly within the Eight Charnel Grounds. Protects practitioners and the integrity of lineage transmission. Read article →
Dhamma Pali / Skt: dharma The teaching of the Buddha; the truth of the nature of reality; the path of practice. One of the Three Jewels. ‘Dharma’ is preferred in Mahāyāna contexts; ‘Dhamma’ in Pali and Theravāda. Read article →
Dhammapada Pali A canonical collection of 423 verses attributed to the Buddha, organised into 26 chapters. One of the most widely read texts in Buddhism across all traditions. Read article →
Dhammasaṅgaṇī Pali ‘Enumeration of Phenomena’; the first book of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka and the foundational text of the entire Abhidhamma system. Catalogues and defines all ultimate realities: the 89 (or 121) types of consciousness, 52 mental factors, 28 types of materiality, and Nibbāna, together with their concomitants and ethical quality (wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate). Read article →
Dhammavicaya Pali Investigation of phenomena; the second of the seven factors of awakening. The quality of penetrating inquiry that examines the nature of arising and passing phenomena. Read article →
Dharmakāya Skt / Pali: dhammakāya ‘Truth body’; the first of the three bodies (trikāya) of a fully awakened Buddha. The Buddha’s omniscient wisdom-mind, identical with the nature of reality (dharmadhātu) — formless, unconditioned, and beyond ordinary perception. In Vajrayāna, Dzogchen and Completion Stage practices aim at the direct recognition of the dharmakāya as the nature of one’s own mind. Read article →
Diamond Vehicle See Vajrayāna.
Diṭṭhi Pali / Skt: dṛṣṭi View; specifically wrong view (miccā-diṭṭhi) as a fetter and cause of suffering, and right view (sammā-diṭṭhi) as the foundation of the path. Read article →
Divine Abodes, Four See Brahmaviharā.
Divine pride See Generation Stage.
Dkyil ‘khor Tib Mandala; literally ‘centre and circumference.’ The Tibetan rendering of the Sanskrit maṇḍala. See Maṇḍala. Read article →
Dosa Pali Hatred, aversion, or ill will; one of the three poisons. Its antidote includes mettā meditation and the cultivation of patience (khanti). Read article →
Dream Yoga Tib: milam A completion-stage practice in which the practitioner cultivates lucid awareness during the dream state, recognising dream appearances as arising without inherent substance. Directly applicable to the waking state and the bardo; the fifth of the Six Yogas of Naropa. Read article →
Drops, subtle See Bindu.
Dukkha Pali / Skt: duḥkha Suffering, unsatisfactoriness, or the pervasive sense that conditioned experience cannot ultimately satisfy. The first of the three marks and the subject of the First Noble Truth. Read article →
Dzogchen Tib: rdzogs chen The Great Perfection; the highest teaching of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, pointing directly to the nature of mind as primordially pure awareness (rigpa). Read article →
E – Index
Effort / Exertion See Padhāna / Vīriya
Ego-clinging See Ātmagrāha.
Eightfold Path Pali: aṭṭhaṅgika-magga The fourth Noble Truth; the Buddha’s prescription for the cessation of suffering. Eight factors in three trainings — wisdom (right view, right intention), ethics (right speech, right action, right livelihood), and meditation (right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration). Read article →
Eight Worldly Winds See Worldly Concerns, Eight.
Empowerment, tantric See Abhiṣeka.
Emptiness See Śūnyatā.
Engaged Buddhism A movement applying Buddhist ethical and contemplative principles to social, political, and environmental issues. Associated with Thich Nhat Hanh, Sulak Sivaraksa, and the concept of interbeing. Read article →
Energy, spiritual See Viriya.
Equanimity See Upekkhā.
Existential urgency See Saṃvega.
F – Index
Feeling-tone See Vedanā.
Fetters, Ten See Ten Fetters.
Five Aggregates Pali: pañca-khandha Form, feeling-tone, perception, mental formations, and consciousness — the five components analysed to demonstrate the absence of a permanent self. See also Khandha. Read article →
Five Buddha families See Tathāgatakula.
Five Hindrances Pali: pañca-nīvaraṇa Five mental obstacles obstructing meditation and clear perception: sensual desire, ill will, sloth-and-torpor, restlessness-and-worry, and doubt. Each has specific antidote practices. Read article →
Five Precepts Pali: pañca-sīla The foundational ethical guidelines for lay Buddhists: to refrain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and intoxicants. Read article →
Five Remembrances Pali: upajjhaṭṭhāna / AN 5.57 Five contemplations on aging, illness, death, separation from the beloved, and karma — practised to dissolve the three intoxications and cultivate existential urgency (saṃvega). Read article →
Five Strengths Pali: pañca-bala Five powers supporting the path: faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. The same five qualities as the spiritual faculties (indriya), seen as strengthened through sustained practice. Read article →
Five transcendent wisdoms Skt: pañca jñāna The five enlightened cognitive modes associated with the five tathāgatas: Mirror-like Wisdom (Akṣobhya), Wisdom of Equality (Ratnasambhava), Discriminating Wisdom (Amitābha), All-Accomplishing Wisdom (Amoghasiddhi), and Dharmadhātu Wisdom (Vairocana). Each corresponds to the transformation of a root affliction and is encoded in the colour scheme of the sand mandala. Read article →
Forbearance See Khanti.
Four Activities See Upāya.
Four Bases of Power Pali: iddhipāda The four mental qualities that serve as foundations for accomplishment: wholesome desire (chanda), persistent energy (viriya), focused intention (citta), and investigative inquiry (vīmaṃsā). Part of the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment; taught in the Iddhipāda Saṃyutta (SN 51). Read article →
Four Foundations of Mindfulness Pali: cattāro satipaṭṭhānā Sustained observation of body, feeling-tones, mind-states, and mental objects — the classical framework for meditative attention; source of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10). Read article →
Four Great Bodhisattva Vows Skt: catvāri praṇidhānāni The four Mahāyāna vows: to save all beings, to end all defilements, to master all teachings, and to attain perfect Buddhahood. Read article →
Four Noble Truths Pali: cattāri ariyasaccāni The Buddha’s foundational teaching: the truth of suffering (dukkha), its origin in craving (taṇhā), its cessation (nirodha), and the Eightfold Path leading to cessation. Read article →
Four Nutriments Pali: cattāro āhārā The four types of nutriment sustaining conditioned existence: edible food (kabaḷīkāra āhāra), sensory contact (phassa āhāra), mental intention (manosañcetanā āhāra), and consciousness (viññāṇa āhāra). All are sustained by craving; their cessation with craving’s cessation is taught in the Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta (MN 9). Read article →
Four Right Exertions Pali: sammappadhāna The Buddha’s fourfold framework for directing mental energy: preventing new unwholesome states from arising, abandoning unwholesome states already arisen, generating new wholesome states, and maintaining wholesome states already present. Part of the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment; the detailed exposition of Right Effort in the Eightfold Path. Read article →
Four Seals Skt: chatush-mudra Four doctrinal positions common to all Buddhist schools: all conditioned phenomena are impermanent; all conditioned phenomena are unsatisfactory; all phenomena are without self; Nirvāṇa is peace. Read article →
Four Stages of Enlightenment Pali: sotāpatti, sakadāgāmī, anāgāmī, arahant The Theravāda map of progressive liberation — from stream-entry (first three fetters severed) through once-returning and non-returning to full arahantship (all ten fetters gone). Read article →
Four Tantric Purities Tib: dag pa bzhi A Vajrayāna framework describing the transformation of perception: (1) purity of body — one’s own body recognised as the deity’s body; (2) purity of environment — the world seen as the deity’s pure realm; (3) purity of enjoyment — sensory experience seen as offering and nourishment; (4) purity of actions — all activity understood as enlightened compassionate activity. Forms the philosophical basis for deity yoga and pure vision. Read article →
G – Index
Generation Stage Skt: utpattikrama The first phase of deity yoga, in which the practitioner vividly visualises the complete form of a deity — body, colours, implements, mandala, and surrounding figures — cultivating “divine pride”: the recognition of one’s own body, speech, and mind as inseparable from those of the Buddha. Purifies ordinary perception and prepares the practitioner for completion-stage work. Read article → also see Bskyed-rim.
Generosity See Dāna.
Gotama Pali / Skt: gautama The clan name of the historical Buddha. ‘Gotama’ is the Pali form used in the suttas when others address the Buddha directly. Read article →
Gradual Path Pali: anupubbikathā The step-by-step teaching sequence — generosity, virtue, heaven, the danger of sensual pleasure, renunciation — offered to gradually prepare listeners to receive the Four Noble Truths. Read article →
Grasping See Upadāna.
Greed See Lobha.
Great Perfection See Dzogchen.
Great Seal See Mahāmudrā.
Great Vehicle See Mahāyāna.
Guhyasamāja Tantra Skt One of the earliest and most influential Anuttarayoga tantras (c. 8th century CE), containing detailed descriptions of mandala construction using powdered colours. Widely considered foundational to Tibetan Vajrayāna. Read article → also See Anuttarayoga Tantra.
Guru Yoga Tib: lama’i naljor A core Vajrayāna preliminary practice and ongoing daily practice in which the practitioner merges their mind with the wisdom mind of the Guru, receiving blessings that empower the path. One of the four ngöndro practices; considered the most essential in many lineages. Read article →
H – Index
Happiness, meditative See Sukha.
Hatred See Dosa.
Heavenly beings See Deva.
Hidden treasures See Terma.
Highest Yoga Tantra See Anuttarayoga Tantra.
Hīnayāna Skt ‘Lesser Vehicle’; a polemical Mahāyāna designation for pre-Mahāyāna schools. Scholars and practitioners today prefer Śrāvakayāna or ‘Theravāda’ for the surviving school of that lineage. Read article →
Hindrances, Five See Five Hindrances.
I – Index
Idappaccayatā Pali Specific conditionality; the principle that ‘this arises because that is’ — the foundational logic of dependent origination, without positing a first cause or creator. Read article →
Iddhipāda Pali See Four Bases of Power. Read article →
Identity view See Sakkāya-diṭṭhi.
Indriya Pali Spiritual faculties; the five controlling powers — faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom — whose balanced development is central to the path. Read article →
Ignorance See Avijjā.
Illusory Body Skt: māyādeha A completion-stage realisation in which the practitioner recognises that the subtle body arising from the winds is not a fixed or substantial entity but an appearance without inherent existence — like a dream image or a reflection. The third of the Six Yogas of Naropa. Read article →
Ill will See Dosa.
Immeasurables, Four See Brahmaviharā.
Impermanence See Anicca.
Initiation See Abhiṣeka.
Inner heat See Tummo.
Insight meditation See Vipassanā.
Intention, karmic See Cetanā.
Interbeing coined by Thich Nhat Hanh A term expressing the Mahāyāna understanding of dependent origination — that nothing exists in isolation but only in relationship to everything else. Foundational to Engaged Buddhism. Read article →
Intermediate state See Bardo.
Investigation of phenomena See Dhammavicaya.
J – Index
Jarāmaraṇa Pali Aging-and-death; the twelfth and final link in the chain of dependent origination. Its cessation — through the cessation of ignorance — is the goal of the path. Read article →
Jhāna Pali / Skt: dhyāna Meditative absorption; states of deeply unified attention characterised by progressive stillness. Four form jhānas and four formless attainments are described in the Pali Canon. The basis of right concentration. Read article →
Jñāna Skt Wisdom or gnosis; the awakened, non-dual knowing of a buddha. Distinguished from ordinary sense-cognition (vijñāna) and from discursive intellectual knowledge. In the sand mandala context, the deity’s jñāna is understood to be genuinely present in a correctly consecrated mandala. Read article →
Joy, empathetic See Muditā.
Joy, meditative See Pīti.
K – Index
Kālacakra Tantra Skt The “Wheel of Time Tantra”; one of the most important Anuttarayoga Tantras, classified as a Non-dual Tantra. Associated with the mythical kingdom of Shambhala, it presents an integrated system of outer (cosmological), inner (psychophysical), and other (meditative) cycles, and is the source of the Tibetan calendar system. Read article →
Kalyāṇa-mitta Pali Spiritual friendship; a noble or virtuous friend. The Buddha called spiritual friendship ‘the whole of the holy life’ (SN 45.2). Applied to teachers, sangha members, and trusted mentors. Read article →
Kāma Pali Sensual pleasure or desire; the broad domain of sensory gratification that renunciation (nekkhamma) turns away from. Distinguished from wholesome desire (chanda): kāma refers to the craving-driven pursuit of sensory objects rather than purposeful volition. Read article →
Kamma Pali / Skt: karma Intentional action of body, speech, or mind; the causal process by which intentions shape future experience. Not fatalism — kamma includes the present moment’s potential for change. Read article →
Kangyur Tib: bka’ ‘gyur The “Translated Words”; the first division of the Tibetan Buddhist canon, containing the Buddha’s own teachings including approximately 500 tantras. Classified into four tantra classes (Kriya, Charya, Yoga, Anuttarayoga) together with sutras and vinaya. 1. Read article →
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Karma See Kamma.
Karma, fruit of See Vipāka.
Karuṇā Pali/Skt Compassion; the wish that all beings be free from suffering. The second of the four brahmavihārās. In Mahāyāna, paired with wisdom (prajñā) as the two wings of awakening. Read article →
Kataññutā Pali Gratitude; recognition of benefits received. Praised in the Pali Canon as the quality of noble persons and a basis for spiritual friendship. Read article →
Kāyānupassanā Pali Contemplation of the body; the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (cattāro satipaṭṭhānā). Encompasses mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati), awareness of bodily postures, clear comprehension of activities, analysis of the body’s material elements, and cemetery contemplations. In the Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118), the first tetrad of sixteen steps falls under this foundation. Read article →
Kenshō Jpn In Zen, a direct glimpse of one’s true nature — an initial breakthrough insight into emptiness and the nature of mind, to be deepened through continued practice. Read article →
Khanti Pali / Skt: kṣānti Patience, forbearance, or tolerance; one of the ten pāramī. The Buddha called patience the highest austerity: khanti paramaṃ tapo titikkhā. Read article →
Khandha Pali / Skt: skandha Aggregate; one of the five constituents of a person — form, feeling-tone, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. Analysis of the khandhas demonstrates the absence of a permanent self. Read article →
Kindness, loving See Mettā.
Kinhin Jpn Walking meditation in Zen Buddhism; slow, rhythmic movement practised between periods of seated zazen, with breath coordinated to each step. Read article →
Knowledge, true See Vijjā.
Kōan Jpn / Chin: gōng’àn A paradoxical question or story used in Zen training to exhaust conceptual thinking and provoke direct insight. Famous examples: ‘What is the sound of one hand?’ and ‘What was your face before your parents were born?’ Read article →
Kriya Tantra Skt Action Tantra; the first and most accessible of the four tantra classes, emphasising external ritual — purification, specific dress, elaborate altars — over internal meditation. The deity is regarded as a superior figure to be propitiated rather than identified with. The Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa is a primary text. Read article →
Kusala Pali: Actions or mental states rooted in generosity, kindness, and wisdom that lead to peace, clarity, and true happiness. Read article → and Kusala Pali Wholesome; mental states and actions rooted in non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion. The Four Right Exertions involve cultivating kusala states and abandoning their opposite, akusala (unwholesome) states. Read article →
L – Index
Lama Tib: bla ma A Tibetan Buddhist teacher; a translation of the Sanskrit ‘guru’. A lama may be a reincarnated teacher (tulku) or a highly trained practitioner authorised to transmit teachings. Read article →
Lamdré Tib: lam ‘bras Literally “Path and Its Fruit”; the root teaching system of the Sakya school, based on the Hevajra Tantra and the Vajra Verses of Virūpa. Integrates the entire path from foundational ethics to highest yoga tantra into a single unified framework of three visions (impure, experiential, and pure) and three continuums. Read article →
Lamrim Tib: lam rim Graduated Path; a systematic framework presenting the entire Buddhist path in three progressive scopes — initial (ethical conduct and avoiding lower rebirths), intermediate (aspiration for personal liberation), and great (cultivation of bodhicitta). Derived from Atiśa’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment and foundational to the Gelug school. Distinct from the Pali anupubbikathā tradition. Read article →
Lesser Vehicle See Hīnayāna.
Liberation See Nibbāna.
Liberation through sight See Mthong grol.
Links, twelve causal See Nidāna.
Lobha Pali Greed, attachment, or craving; one of the three poisons. Its antidote is dāna (generosity) and the cultivation of non-attachment. Read article →
Lokuttara Pali Supramundane; transcending the conditioned world of saṃsāra. In Theravāda Abhidhamma, lokuttara citta refers to the eight supramundane types of consciousness — four path-moments (magga) and four fruition-moments (phala) — associated with the four stages of awakening. These have Nibbāna as their object and are the only forms of consciousness that directly apprehend the unconditioned. Read article →
Longchenpa Tib (1308–1364 CE) Nyingma master and philosopher, author of the Treasury of the Dharmadhātu (Chos dbyings mdzod), which elaborates the five-wisdom schema from a Dzogchen perspective. Among the most important systematisers of Nyingma doctrine. Read article →
Loving-kindness See Mettā.
M – Index
Madhyamaka Skt The ‘Middle Way’ philosophical school founded by Nāgārjuna (c. 2nd century CE), establishing the doctrine of śūnyatā (emptiness) through logical analysis of dependent origination. Read article →
Mahāmudrā Skt The Great Seal; the highest teaching of the Kagyu and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism, pointing to the naked awareness of the nature of mind. Read article →
Mahāparinibbāna Sutta Pali DN 16; one of the longest discourses in the Pali Canon, recording the Buddha’s final months, death, and funeral. Contains the Buddha’s statement that as long as disciples cultivate the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, the holy life will endure for the benefit of many. Read article →
Mahāsiddha Skt / Tib: grub thob chenpo Great Adept; a class of realised Indian yogis (roughly 4th–12th century CE) who emphasised direct engagement with the body, emotions, and the phenomenal world as the path to awakening. Their unconventional methods and biographies — compiled in texts such as the Caturaśīti-siddha-pravṛtti — shaped the development of Vajrayāna and gave rise to the major Tibetan lineages. 1. Read article → 2. Read article →
Mahāyāna Skt The Great Vehicle; the broad Buddhist tradition encompassing Zen, Pure Land, Tibetan Buddhism, and East Asian schools. Defined by the bodhisattva ideal, bodhicitta, and the six perfections. Read article →
Maintenance See Anurakkhaṇā
Maṇḍala Skt A ritual diagram representing the cosmos or the pure realm of a buddha; in Tibetan practice used in visualisation, offering, and the sand mandala ceremony as an enacted teaching on impermanence. Read article →
Mantra Skt A sacred syllable, word, or phrase recited in meditation and ritual. In Vajrayāna, mantras are considered the speech aspect of a buddha and are used to invoke and identify with awakened qualities. Read article →
Mantrayāna See Vajrayāna.
Māra Pali/Skt The personification of death, desire, and delusion in Buddhist cosmology and narrative. Māra attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening. Used symbolically for the forces that obstruct liberation. Read article →
Merit See Puñña.
Mettā Pali / Skt: maitrī Loving-kindness; the wish that all beings be happy and well. The first of the four brahmavihārās. Cultivated through mettā-bhāvanā meditation directed through expanding circles of beings. Read article →
Micchā-diṭṭhi Pali Wrong view; the first of the ten courses of unwholesome action. Includes denial of karma, rebirth, moral causality, and the possibility of liberation. Its antidote is sammā-diṭṭhi. Read article →
Middle Way Pali: majjhimā paṭipadā The path between extreme asceticism and sensual indulgence, discovered by the Buddha before his awakening. Applied broadly to balance between being present and structured practice. Read article →
Mind See Citta.
Mindfulness Pali: sati / Skt: smṛti Clear, present-moment, non-reactive awareness. One of the seven factors of awakening and the seventh factor of the Eightfold Path. Read article →
Moha Pali Delusion or ignorance; the third of the three poisons. The root misperception of self, permanence, and inherent existence that underlies all other defilements. Read article →
Monastic code See Vinaya.
Mthong grol Tib ‘Liberation through sight’; the Vajrayāna doctrine that simply gazing upon a correctly constructed and consecrated mandala plants a karmic seed of liberation in the mind-stream of any witness, regardless of their level of Buddhist understanding. The primary traditional justification for public mandala displays. Read article →
Muditā Pali Sympathetic joy; the capacity to take joy in others’ happiness without jealousy. The third of the four brahmavihārās. Read article →
Mudrā Skt Ritual hand gesture used in Vajrayāna meditation and ceremony to embody and invoke enlightened qualities. Each mudra corresponds to a specific buddha or teaching — common examples include the dhyāna mudrā (meditation), abhaya mudrā (fearlessness), and bhūmisparśa mudrā (touching the earth at the moment of enlightenment). Used alongside mantra and visualisation as the body dimension of tantric practice. 1. Read article → 2. Read article →
N – Index
Nāḍī Skt Channels; the network of subtle energy pathways in the Vajrayāna subtle body through which winds (prāṇa) and drops (bindu) flow. Three principal channels are described — central (avadhūtī), right (rasanā), and left (lalanā) — with the central channel being the site of realisation in completion-stage practice. Read article →
Nāgārjuna Skt 2nd-century CE Indian philosopher and founder of the Madhyamaka school. His Mūlamadhyamakākārikā demonstrated śūnyatā through reductio ad absurdum argumentation. Read article →
Nāmarūpa Pali Name-and-form; the fourth link in dependent origination — the psychophysical complex that constitutes a sentient being. Read article →
Name-and-form See Nāmarūpa.
Nekkhamma Pali Renunciation; the third of the ten pāramī. The Buddha’s own renunciation of palace life is its exemplary expression. The antithesis of sensual craving (kāmacchanda). Read article →
Nembutsu Jpn / Chin: niànfó Recitation of Amitābha’s name (‘Namu Amida Butsu’) in Pure Land practice — the primary means of establishing a connection with Amitābha and facilitating rebirth in the Pure Land. Read article →
Ngöndro Tib: sngon ‘gro Preliminary or foundational practices in Vajrayāna, undertaken before engaging in advanced deity yoga. Typically consist of four practices each completed 100,000 times: refuge and bodhicitta generation, Vajrasattva purification, mandala offering, and guru yoga. They purify the mindstream and accumulate the merit and wisdom necessary for higher practice. Read article →
Nibbāna Pali / Skt: nirvāṇa The ‘unbinding’ of greed, hatred, and delusion. The ultimate goal of Buddhist practice: freedom from conditioned suffering. Not a place but a quality of liberation — the unconditioned. 1. Read article → and 2. Read article →
Nidāna Pali Link or cause; the twelve nidānas are the twelve links of dependent origination, from ignorance (avijjā) through to aging-and-death (jarāmaraṇa). Read article →
Nimitta Pali Sign or mental image; in samatha meditation, a visual or luminous mental sign that arises as concentration deepens around a meditation object — particularly during mindfulness of breathing. Theravāda commentarial tradition (Visuddhimagga) distinguishes three: the preliminary sign (parikamma-nimitta), the learning sign (uggaha-nimitta), and the counterpart sign (paṭibhāga-nimitta). The stable appearance of the counterpart sign marks access concentration (upacāra-samādhi), the threshold of full absorption (jhāna). Read article →
Nirmāṇakāya Skt / Pali: nimmāṇakāya ‘Emanation body’; the third of the three bodies (trikāya) of a Buddha — the physical form in which a Buddha appears in the world to teach sentient beings. Historically, the human form of Siddhārtha Gautama. In Tibetan Buddhism, recognised reincarnations (tulku) are understood as emanation bodies of previous masters. Read article →
Nirodha Sacca Pali Truth of cessation; the Third Noble Truth: the complete cessation of craving (taṇhā) and its synonymous identification with Nibbāna. Nirodha (cessation, ending) functions as a direct synonym for Nibbāna in many canonical contexts. Read article →
Nirvāṇa See Nibbāna.
Non-abiding Nibbāna See Apratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa.
Non-attachment See Nekkhamma.
Non-returner See Anāgāmī.
Non-self See Anattā.
Not-self See Anattā.
Nutriment See Ahāra.
Nyingma Tib: rnying ma ‘The Ancient School’; the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, tracing its origins to the first transmission of Vajrayāna to Tibet under Padmasambhava in the 8th century CE. Distinguished by its emphasis on Dzogchen as the highest teaching and its corpus of terma (treasure texts) revealed over centuries by successive tertön (treasure revealers). Read article →
O – Index
Ogha Pali Floods; the four floods of sensuality, existence, views, and ignorance that sweep beings through the cycle of rebirth. Corresponds closely to the āsavas. Read article →
Once-returner See Sakadāgāmī.
P – Index
Padhāniyaṅga Sutta AN 5.53 A discourse from the Aṅguttara Nikāya listing five factors of striving: faith, good health, honesty, energy, and wisdom. Read article →
Padhāna, Vīriya Pali: Padhāna refers to the sustained striving or exertion; vīriya is the energy or vigour that fuels it. Read article → and Padhāna Pali Striving or exertion; the quality of sustained, well-directed mental energy underlying the Four Right Exertions (sammappadhāna). Related to but distinct from viriya (energy): padhāna emphasises the directed application of energy toward a specific aim. Read article →
Padmasambhava Skt / Tib: Guru Rinpoche The “Lotus-Born”; the 8th-century Indian tantric master credited with establishing Vajrayāna Buddhism in Tibet. Invited by King Trisong Detsen, he subdued hostile forces, founded Samye Monastery alongside Śāntarakṣita, and transmitted the Nyingma lineage. Revered as a “second Buddha” in the Nyingma school; said to have concealed numerous teachings as terma for future discovery. 1. Read article → 2. Read article →
Pahāna Pali: The act of letting go, releasing, or overcoming unwholesome mental states that have already appeared. Read article →
Paññā Pali / Skt: prajñā Wisdom; the direct, experiential insight into the three marks of existence. Distinguished from intellectual knowledge — paññā transforms rather than merely informs. Read article →
Paramattha dhammā Pali Ultimate realities; the four irreducible categories into which the Theravāda Abhidhamma analyses all experience: consciousness (citta), mental factors (cetasika), materiality (rūpa), and Nibbāna. As distinct from conventional reality (sammuti sacca), the paramattha dhammā are realities whose defining characteristics hold regardless of cultural convention or conceptual designation. Citta, cetasika, and rūpa are conditioned; Nibbāna alone is unconditioned. Read article →
Paramattha sacca Pali Ultimate truth; the level of reality as analysed without the overlay of conventional concepts and labels — in Theravāda scholasticism, the momentary physical and mental phenomena (dhammas) that are ultimately real. One of the Two Truths. See also Conventional truth. Read article →
Pāramī Pali / Skt: pāramitā Perfections; virtues cultivated over many lifetimes. Theravāda lists ten (dāna, sīla, nekkhamma, paññā, viriya, khanti, sacca, adhiṭṭhāna, mettā, upekkā); Mahāyāna lists six. Read article →
Parinibbāna Pali Final Nibbāna; the complete cessation of conditioned existence at the death of an arahant, without remainder of the aggregates. Distinguished from Nibbāna attained in life (sa-upādisesa-nibbāna, Nibbāna with residue). Read article →
Pariṇāmanā Skt Merit dedication; the Mahāyāna practice of redirecting all accumulated virtue outward for the benefit of all sentient beings rather than retaining it for personal gain. Enacted physically by the water offering at the conclusion of the sand mandala ritual. Expressed in Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra, chapter 10. Read article →
Passaddhi Pali Tranquillity; the fifth factor of awakening. Mental and physical stillness that arises naturally as concentration deepens and rapture (pīti) subsides. Read article →
Paṭicca-samuppāda Pali Dependent origination; see Dependent Origination. Read article →
Patience See Khanti.
Paṭisandhi Pali Relinking consciousness; the first moment of consciousness at conception, which ‘links’ a new existence to the preceding life-stream. In Theravāda Abhidhamma, paṭisandhi citta is conditioned by the last volitional act or mental image at the moment of death of the preceding existence, its quality determined by the accumulated karma of that life. Read article →
Path and Its Fruit See Lamdré.
Paṭṭhāna Pali The seventh and final book of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka; the most voluminous text in the entire Pali Canon. Sets out a systematic analysis of 24 conditional relations (paccaya) showing how the ultimate realities (paramattha dhammā) arise in mutually conditioned processes. Regarded in the Theravāda tradition as the most profound philosophical achievement of the Abhidhamma. Read article →
Perfection of Wisdom sutras See Prajñāpāramitā.
Perfections (Mahāyāna) See Six Perfections.
Perfections (Theravāda) See Ten Perfections.
Performance Tantra See Charya Tantra.
Phassa Pali / Skt: sparśa Contact; the sixth link in dependent origination — the meeting of sense organ, object, and consciousness from which feeling-tone (vedanā) arises. Read article →
Phowa Tib: ‘pho ba Conscious transference of consciousness; a completion-stage practice in which the practitioner trains to eject consciousness from the body at the moment of death, directing it toward a pure land or favourable rebirth. The sixth of the Six Yogas of Naropa. Read article →
Pīti Pali Rapture or meditative joy; one of the jhāna factors and the fifth factor of awakening. Distinct from sukha (happiness) — pīti is energetic and thrilling, sukha more settled. Read article →
Prajñāpāramitā Skt Perfection of wisdom; a genre of Mahāyāna sūtras — including the Heart Sūtra and Diamond Sūtra — centred on śūnyatā. Also the wisdom that directly perceives emptiness. Read article →
Prāṇa Skt / Tib: rlung Wind or subtle energy; one of the three components of the Vajrayāna subtle body. Prāṇas are the vital energies that move through the channels (nāḍī) and carry the drops (bindu); their dissolution into the central channel through tummo and related practices is the mechanism of completion-stage realisation. Read article →
Preliminaries See Ngöndro.
Prevention See Saṃvara
Pure Land Buddhism Jpn: jōdo / Skt: sukhāvatī A major Mahāyāna tradition centred on devotion to Amitābha Buddha and aspiration for rebirth in his Pure Land — a realm conducive to awakening. Practice centres on nembutsu recitation. Read article →
Pure Vision Tib: dag snang The Vajrayāna practice and view of perceiving all phenomena — bodies, environments, enjoyments, and actions — as the pure display of enlightened wisdom. Underpinned by the Four Tantric Purities; not a deliberate overlay but the recognition of what is already the case at the ultimate level. Read article →
Poisons, Three See Three Poisons.
Puñña Pali Merit; the positive force generated by ethical action, generosity, and meditation. Not a permanent quantity but a condition for favourable future experience. Read article →
Pure awareness See Rigpa.
Pure perception See Dag snang.
R – Index
Raft Metaphor Pali: kullūpama / MN 22 The Buddha’s simile comparing the Dharma to a raft — useful for crossing the river of suffering but not to be carried on one’s head once the far shore is reached. A caution against clinging to teachings. Read article →
Rapture, meditative See Pīti.
Ratnasambhava Skt ‘Jewel-Born’; one of the five tathāgatas, associated with the colour yellow, the Wisdom of Equality (samatā-jñāna), the element Earth, and the transformation of pride (māna). Read article →
Reincarnate teacher See Tulku.
Renunciation See Nekkhamma.
Resolve See Adhiṭṭhāna.
Resultant Vehicle See Vajrayāna.
Right Action Pali: sammā-kammanta The fourth factor of the Eightfold Path: refraining from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct — the bodily dimension of the ethical training (sīla). Read article →
Right Concentration Pali: sammā-samādhi The eighth factor of the Eightfold Path: the cultivation of unified attention, classically developed through the four jhānas. Read article →
Right Effort Pali: sammā-vāyāma The sixth factor of the Eightfold Path: the fourfold effort to prevent unwholesome states from arising, abandon those already arisen, cultivate wholesome states, and maintain them. Read article →
Right Intention Pali: sammā-saṅkappa The second factor of the Eightfold Path: intentions of renunciation, non-ill-will, and non-cruelty — the motivational counterpart to right view in the wisdom training. Read article →
Right Livelihood Pali: sammā-ājīva The fifth factor of the Eightfold Path: earning a living in ways that do not cause harm — avoiding trades in weapons, living beings, meat, intoxicants, and poisons. Read article →
Right Mindfulness Pali: sammā-sati The seventh factor of the Eightfold Path: sustained, clear attention to the four foundations — body, feelings, mind-states, and mental objects (dhammas). Read article →
Right Speech Pali: sammā-vācā The third factor of the Eightfold Path: refraining from false speech, divisive speech, harsh speech, and idle chatter; speaking what is true, timely, gentle, and beneficial. Read article →
Right View Pali: sammā-diṭṭhi The first factor of the Eightfold Path: understanding the Four Noble Truths, karma, and the nature of reality. The foundation of wisdom (paññā) that guides the entire path. Read article →
Rigpa Tib Pure awareness; the primordial knowing quality of mind that is the central recognition in Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā practice. Not a product of meditation but its rediscovery. Read article →
Rten ‘brel Tib Auspicious connection; the understanding that encountering a sacred object, teacher, or text creates a karmic link with the dharma that ripens toward liberation over time. Related to the broader teaching of dependent origination. Read article →
Rūpa Pali / Skt Materiality or physical phenomena; the third of the four ultimate realities (paramattha dhammā) in Theravāda Abhidhamma. Defined as that which does not know or experience anything, in contrast to mental phenomena (nāma). The Abhidhamma enumerates 28 types of rūpa, including the four primary elements (earth/solidity, water/cohesion, fire/heat, air/motion) and 24 derived forms. Arises in material groups (kalāpa) and ceases more slowly than consciousness. Read article →
S – Index
Sacca Pali Truthfulness; the seventh of the ten pāramī. Commitment to truth in speech and conduct as a basis for trust and the realisation of the Four Noble Truths. Read article →
Sādhana Skt A structured Vajrayāna practice incorporating deity visualisation, mantra recitation, and ritual gesture (mudrā), aimed at transforming experience into the buddha’s enlightened qualities. Read article →
Sakadāgāmī Pali Once-returner; the second stage of enlightenment. Has weakened — but not yet severed — sensual desire and ill will, and will return to the sensory realm at most once more. Read article →
Sakkāya-diṭṭhi Pali Identity view; the first and most fundamental of the ten fetters — the belief in a fixed, permanent self. Severed permanently at stream-entry (sotāpatti). Read article →
Sakya Tib: sa skya One of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, founded in 1073 CE by Khön Könchok Gyalpo. Known for the ‘Lamdre’ (lam ‘bras, Path and Fruit) teaching, which integrates sūtra and tantra into a unified system. Played a central role in Tibetan political and religious history during the 13th–14th centuries under Mongol patronage. Read article →
Samādhi Pali Meditative concentration; the unified, collected quality of mind arising through sustained attention. One of the three trainings (sīla, samādhi, paññā). Read article →
Samaya Skt / Tib: dam tshig Sacred tantric vows and commitments that constitute the “vajra bond” between teacher and student and between practitioner and deity. Include loyalty to the Guru, the yidam, the Dharma, and the sangha. Maintaining samaya is essential for progress on the tantric path; if broken, the tradition teaches that it may be repaired through confession and renewed commitment. 1. Read article → 2. Read article →
Sambhogakāya Skt ‘Enjoyment body’; one of the three bodies (trikāya) of a buddha — the purified form perceived by advanced practitioners through pure perception. The ontological register in which the mandala’s celestial palace exists. See also Trikāya. Read article →
Sammappadhāna Pali See Four Right Exertions. Read article →
Sammati sacca Pali See Conventional truth. Read article →
Sammuti sacca Pali Conventional truth or consensual reality; the level of everyday discourse in which persons, objects, and events are described using culturally agreed-upon names and concepts. In Theravāda Abhidhamma, contrasted with ultimate truth (paramattha sacca): conventional designations (‘table’, ‘person’, ‘self’) are not false but are not ultimate realities. Valid for practical purposes; not to be grasped as final. Read article →
Saṃsāra Pali/Skt The cycle of conditioned existence — birth, aging, death, and rebirth driven by craving and ignorance. Liberation from saṃsāra, not a better rebirth within it, is the aim of practice. Read article →
Saṃvara Pali: The act of guarding the mind and sense doors to stop unwholesome states from arising. Read article →
Saṃvega Pali Spiritual urgency; the sense of existential alarm that motivates practice, arising from clear contemplation of impermanence, suffering, and death. Read article →
Samye Monastery Tib: bSam yas Tibet’s first Buddhist monastery (c. 779 CE), founded under King Trisong Detsen with the assistance of Padmasambhava and Śāntarakṣita. Traditional accounts associate its founding with the first sand mandala rituals on Tibetan soil; its architectural design was conceived as a three-dimensional mandala cosmogram. Read article →
Saṃyojana Pali Fetter; one of the ten mental chains binding beings to conditioned existence. See Ten Fetters. Read article →
Sand Mandala Tib: dültsön kyilkhor A Tibetan Buddhist ritual in which monks construct an elaborate geometric mandala from coloured sand over several days, then ritually destroy it — an enacted teaching on impermanence. Read article →
Sangha Pali/Skt: saṅgha Community. Narrowly, the community of monastics; broadly, all practitioners of the path. One of the Three Jewels. Read article →
Śāntarakṣita Skt Indian Buddhist philosopher and abbot of Nālandā (8th century CE), invited to Tibet alongside Padmasambhava by King Trisong Detsen. His contribution to the Tibetan transmission was primarily philosophical, associated with the Yogācāra-Mādhyamika synthesis. Read article →
Sarvāstivāda Skt An early Indian Buddhist school that maintained positions differing from the Theravāda on several Abhidharma doctrines, including the claim that dharmas exist in all three times (past, present, future). Its Abhidharma texts form part of the Northern Abhidharma tradition underpinning the sixteen aspects. Read article →
Sati Pali / Skt: smṛti Mindfulness; see Mindfulness. Read article →
Satipaṭṭhāna Pali The four foundations of mindfulness — body, feelings, mind-states, and dhammas — as set out in MN 10. The basis of vipassanā practice across Theravāda and contemporary mindfulness traditions. Read article →
Sa-upādisesa-nibbāna Pali ‘Nibbāna with remainder’; the attainment of full liberation from all defilements (āsavā) experienced by an Arahant during their lifetime, while the conditioned body and mind (khandhas) continue as the ‘remainder’ of past karma. Distinguished from parinibbāna (final Nibbāna without remainder), which occurs at the Arahant’s death. Read article →
Secular Buddhism A contemporary approach centred on empirically verifiable, this-life-focused teachings — mindfulness, impermanence, the Noble Truths — without metaphysical commitments to rebirth or cosmology. Read article →
Sense bases See Āyatana.
Seven Factors of Awakening Pali: satta bojjhaṅga Seven qualities that reinforce each other in the awakened mind: mindfulness, investigation (dhammavicaya), energy, rapture, tranquillity, concentration, and equanimity. Read article →
Shamatha Skt: śamatha / Pali: samatha Calm-abiding meditation; the cultivation of tranquillity, stability, and concentration. One of the two wings of Buddhist meditation, paired with vipassanā. Read article →
Shoshin Jpn Beginner’s Mind; a Zen ideal of approaching each moment with openness and lack of preconception, free from fixed views. Associated with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Read article →
Sīla Pali / Skt: śīla Virtue or ethical conduct; the first of the three trainings. Sīla is the indispensable foundation without which concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā) cannot arise. Read article →
Sitting meditation See Zazen.
Six Perfections Skt: ṣaḍ-pāramitā The six virtues cultivated by a bodhisattva: generosity (dāna), ethics (śīla), patience (kṣānti), energy (vīrya), meditation (dhyāna), and wisdom (prajñā). Read article →
Six Yogas of Naropa Tib: nā ro chos drug Six advanced completion-stage practices transmitted through the Indian master Naropa and central to the Kagyu school: tummo (inner heat), clear light, illusory body, dream yoga, bardo yoga, and phowa (conscious transference). Require extensive preparation and direct instruction from a qualified teacher. Read article →
Sixteen Aspects of the Four Noble Truths Pali: bden pa bzhi’i rnam pa bcu drug (Tib.) An elaboration of the Four Noble Truths into sixteen specific characteristics — four for each truth — used in the Northern Abhidharma schools and Tibetan Mahāyāna as a framework for systematic meditation on impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and not-self. Read article →
Sky-goer See Ḍākinī.
Sotāpatti Pali Stream-entry; the first stage of enlightenment. Permanently severs the first three fetters — identity view, doubt, and clinging to rules-and-rituals — ensuring liberation within seven lives. Read article →
Spiritual community See Sangha.
Spiritual faculties See Indriya.
Spiritual friendship See Kalyāṇa-mitta.
Stream-entry See Sotāpatti.
Subtle body See Nāḍī.
Suffering See Dukkha.
Sukha Pali Happiness, ease, or pleasant feeling-tone; one of the jhāna factors. Distinguished from pīti (rapture) by its settled, contented quality. Read article →
Śūnyatā Skt / Pali: suññatā Emptiness; the Mahāyāna teaching that all phenomena are empty of inherent, independent existence. Related to dependent origination and not-self but extending the analysis. Read article →
Svabhāva Skt Inherent, independent, self-generated existence; the property that Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka analysis demonstrates to be absent in all phenomena. The central target of śūnyatā teaching. See Śūnyatā. Read article →
Sympathetic joy See Muditā.
T – Index
Taṇhā Pali / Skt: tṛṣṇā Craving or thirst; the Second Noble Truth identifies taṇhā — craving for sensual pleasure, for existence, and for non-existence — as the origin of suffering. Read article →
Tantra See Vajrayāna.
Tantric vows See Samaya.
Tathāgata Pali/Skt ‘Thus-gone’ or ‘thus-come’; the Buddha’s preferred self-designation in the suttas. Deliberately ambiguous — pointing beyond the conventional categories of existence and non-existence. Read article →
Tathāgatakula Skt Buddha family; one of the five groupings of awakened qualities organised around the five primordial buddhas: Vairocana, Akṣobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitābha, and Amoghasiddhi. The colour system of the sand mandala is structured around these five families, each associated with a transcendent wisdom, an element, and an affliction transformed. Read article →
Tathāgatagarbha Skt Buddha-nature or buddha-womb; the Mahāyāna teaching that all sentient beings possess the seed of full Buddhahood. Developed in the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra and Ratnagotravibhāga. Read article →
Teaching of the Elders See Theravāda.
Ten Fetters Pali: dasa-saṃyojana Ten mental chains binding beings to conditioned existence, progressively abandoned across the four stages of enlightenment. Read article →
Ten Good Deeds Pali: dasa-puñña-kiriya-vatthū Ten bases of meritorious action: giving, morality, meditation, reverence, service, transference of merit, rejoicing in others’ merit, hearing the Dharma, teaching the Dharma, and straightening one’s views. Read article →
Ten Perfections Pali: dasa-pāramī The ten virtues cultivated by a Theravāda bodhisatta: generosity, ethics, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, resolve, loving-kindness, and equanimity. Read article →
Tengyur Tib: bstan ‘gyur The “Translated Treatises”; the second division of the Tibetan Buddhist canon, comprising approximately 3,400 commentaries by Indian masters on the teachings of the Kangyur. Provides the philosophical frameworks, meditation instructions, and ritual details essential for proper Vajrayāna practice. 1. Read article → 2. Read article →
Terma Tib: gter ma Hidden treasure; a category of teaching concealed — according to tradition, by Padmasambhava and his consort Yeshe Tsogyal — for discovery by future masters (tertöns) when the time is ripe. Termas may take the form of texts, sacred objects, or mind treasures. A defining feature of the Nyingma school. Famous termas include the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Longchen Nyingthig. Read article →
Tertön Tib: gter ston Treasure revealer; a master in the Nyingma tradition who discovers terma (hidden teachings) concealed by Padmasambhava. Tertöns are understood as reincarnations of original disciples who received the teachings directly and are karmically destined to reveal them. Read article →
Theravāda Pali The ‘Teaching of the Elders’; the oldest surviving Buddhist school, dominant in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. Based on the Pali Canon; emphasises monastic life, the arhat ideal, and vipassanā. Read article →
Thirty-Seven Factors of Enlightenment See Bodhipakkhiyā Dhammā. Read article →
Three Jewels Pali: ti-ratana / Skt: tri-ratna The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Taking refuge in the Three Jewels is the foundational commitment of a Buddhist of any tradition. Read article →
Three Marks of Existence Pali: tilakkhaṇa The three characteristics of all conditioned phenomena: impermanence (anicca), unsatisfactoriness (dukkha), and not-self (anattā). Understanding any one leads into the others. Read article →
Three Poisons Pali: tīṇi akusalamūlāni The three root defilements: greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha). All unwholesome mental states are rooted in one or more of these three. Read article →
Three Roots Tib: rtsa gsum The three primary sources of blessings, accomplishment, and activity in Vajrayāna: the Guru (root of blessings), the Yidam (root of accomplishment), and the Ḍākinīs and Dharma Protectors (root of activity). The tantric counterpart to the Three Jewels, providing the structural framework within which empowerments, practices, and lineage relationships are organised. Read article →
Three Trainings Pali: sikkhā-ttaya The integrated threefold path: ethics (sīla), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (paññā). Each training supports and depends on the others. Read article →
Tibetan Buddhism Tib: bod nang chos The Vajrayāna tradition of Tibet, comprising four schools — Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug — integrating Mahāyāna philosophy, tantric practice, and the institution of reincarnated lamas. Read article →
Tibetan Book of the Dead See Bardo.
Tipiṭaka Pali The ‘Three Baskets’; the Pali Canon of Theravāda Buddhism, comprising the Vinaya (monastic rules), Sutta (discourses), and Abhidhamma (philosophical analysis). Read article →
Tögal Tib: thod rgal Literally “leap-over” or “direct crossing”; the second of the two main Dzogchen practice streams. Involves directly experiencing spontaneously arising visions of pure realms and buddha forms, recognised as expressions of the nature of mind rather than external phenomena. Traditionally practised after establishing a stable foundation in trekchö. Read article →
Tolerance See Khanti.
Tranquillity See Passaddhi.
Trikāya Skt The three bodies of a buddha: dharmakāya (truth body — the buddha’s awakened mind as it is in itself), sambhogakāya (enjoyment body — the purified form perceived by advanced practitioners), and nirmāṇakāya (emanation body — the form in which buddhas appear to ordinary beings). Read article →
Treasure revealer See Tertön.
Trekchö Tib: khregs chod Literally “cutting through”; the first of the two main Dzogchen practice streams. Involves cutting through all conceptual fabrication to arrive at naked recognition of the nature of mind (rigpa) in its primordial purity — the foundation for tögal practice. Read article →
Triple Gem See Three Jewels.
Trisvabhāva Skt The Three Natures of the Yogācāra school: the imagined nature (phenomena as they appear to deluded minds), the dependent nature (phenomena as they actually arise through dependent origination), and the perfected nature (phenomena as they are when fully understood). The Yogācāra framework for the Two Truths. Read article →
Truthfulness See Sacca.
Tsongkhapa Tib (Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa, 1357–1419 CE) Founder of the Gelug school; author of the Lam rim chen mo (Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path). His systematic exposition of the graduated path — including detailed teaching on impermanence at coarse and subtle levels — is foundational to Gelug Vajrayāna. Read article →
Tulku Tib: sprul sku Reincarnate lama; a recognised reincarnation of a previous teacher in Tibetan Buddhism. The institution of tulkus is central to the transmission of Vajrayāna lineages. Read article →
Tummo Tib / Skt: caṇḍālī Inner heat yoga; the foundational completion-stage practice in which inner warmth is deliberately generated through breath retention, physical locks, and visualisation. Dissolves ordinary winds into the central channel, inducing states of bliss and clarity considered necessary for the remaining completion-stage practices. The first of the Six Yogas of Naropa. Read article →
Two Truths Pali: dve sacca / Skt: dve satye The foundational Buddhist framework distinguishing conventional truth (sammuti sacca) — the functional reality of everyday experience — from ultimate truth (paramattha sacca) — phenomena as they are when analysed without conceptual overlay. Accepted across all major Buddhist schools, though explained differently. Nāgārjuna: “Without relying on conventional truth, the ultimate cannot be taught; without understanding the ultimate, liberation is not achieved.” Read article →
U – Index
Udānavarga Skt Sanskrit counterpart to the Pali Dhammapada, preserved in Tibetan translation in the Kangyur. Canonical source within the Northern transmission for the impermanence teaching: anityā bata saṃskārāḥ — ‘conditioned formations are indeed impermanent.’ Read article →
Ultimate truth See Paramattha sacca.
Unbinding See Nibbāna.
Unconditioned, the See Asaṅkhata.
Unwholesome roots See Three Poisons. Akusala
Upacāra-samādhi Pali Access concentration or neighbourhood concentration; the stable level of mental unification that precedes full absorption (appanā-samādhi / jhāna). In ānāpānasati practice, marked by the stable appearance of the counterpart sign (paṭibhāga-nimitta). At this level the five hindrances are suppressed but not yet fully transcended; sufficient for vipassanā insight in some Theravāda approaches. Read article →
Upadāna Pali Clinging or grasping; the ninth link in dependent origination, arising from craving (taṇhā). Four types: clinging to sensuality, views, rules-and-rituals, and a doctrine of self. Read article →
Upajjhaṭṭhāna Sutta AN 5.57 The ‘Subjects for Contemplation’ discourse; source of the Five Remembrances — five daily contemplations on aging, illness, death, separation, and karma. Read article →
Upāya Skt 1. Skilful means; the compassionate capacity to engage with suffering beings in whatever way most effectively leads them toward liberation. A central Mahāyāna virtue, paired with wisdom (prajñā) as the two wings of awakening. In Tibetan Vajrayāna, also the basis for ‘renunciation within samsara’ — remaining engaged with the world while internally unattached. 2. Skillful means; the adaptive strategies and methods employed by buddhas and bodhisattvas to guide beings toward awakening, tailored to their capacities and circumstances. In Vajrayāna, the term encompasses the full range of tantric methods — deity yoga, mantra, ritual — understood as the method aspect of practice, inseparable from wisdom (prajñā). 1. Read article → 2. Read article →
Upekkhā Pali / Skt: upekṣā Equanimity; the fourth brahmavihārā and seventh factor of awakening. Not indifference but stable, open balance that neither clings nor rejects. Read article →
V – Index
Vairocana Skt The primordial, all-encompassing buddha of the central family, associated with the colour white, Dharmadhātu Wisdom (dharmadhātu-jñāna), the element Space, and the transformation of ignorance (moha). Read article →
Vajra Skt A ritual implement and symbolic object representing the indestructible, non-dual nature of awakened mind. Translated alternately as “diamond” (indestructibility) or “thunderbolt” (power to shatter delusion). Held in the right hand during Vajrayāna ritual, paired with the bell (ghaṇṭā) in the left; the symbol from which the “Diamond Vehicle” (Vajrayāna) takes its name. Read article →
Vajrasattva Skt / Tib: Dorje Sempa The “Diamond Being”; a buddha figure in Vajrayāna representing the primordial purity of mind and the power of purification. Vajrasattva practice — centred on recitation of the hundred-syllable mantra — is the second of the four ngöndro, used to cleanse negative karma and mental obscurations before advanced tantric practice. Read article →
Vajrayāna Skt The Diamond Vehicle; the tantric dimension of Mahāyāna Buddhism, especially prominent in Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia. Uses visualisation, mantra, and ritual to accelerate the awakening process. Read article →
Vasubandhu Skt 4th–5th century CE Indian Buddhist philosopher, author of the Abhidharmakośa and associated with the founding of the Yogācāra school. His systematic analysis of the Northern Abhidharma is the canonical basis for the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths. Read article →
Vedanā Pali Feeling-tone; the second aggregate and seventh link in dependent origination. Every moment of experience carries a hedonic quality — pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral — which conditions craving. Read article →
Vibhaṅga Pali ‘The Book of Analysis’; the second text of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka. Analyses 18 key doctrinal topics from the Suttas — including the aggregates, sense bases, Noble Truths, and dependent origination — using three methodologies: Sutta-style exposition, Abhidhamma-style definition, and catechistic questioning. Bridges the discursive style of the Suttas and the rigorous analytical method of the Abhidhamma proper. Read article →
Vijjā Pali / Skt: vidyā True knowledge or clear seeing; the opposite of avijjā (ignorance). Its arising breaks the chain of dependent origination: ‘with the cessation of ignorance comes the cessation of formations.’ Read article →
Vijñāna Skt Ordinary sense-cognition or dualistic awareness; awareness that perceives through the lens of subject and object. Distinguished from jñāna (non-dual awakened wisdom). In Generation Stage practice, the practitioner’s vijñāna is reconstituted as the jñāna of the mandala’s deities. Read article →
Vīmaṃsā Pali Investigative inquiry; the fourth of the Four Bases of Power. The quality of careful, penetrating examination of one’s methods and progress — distinguishing what is working from what is not. Read article →
Vimutti Pali / Skt: vimukti Liberation or release; freedom from bondage to conditioned existence. In Theravāda, encompasses both cetovimutti (liberation of mind through concentration) and paññāvimutti (liberation through wisdom). At its deepest level synonymous with the realisation of Nibbāna and the complete cessation of all defilements. Read article →
Vinaya Pali/Skt The monastic code; the first basket of the Pali Canon, containing the rules (pātimokkha) and their origin stories governing the conduct of monks and nuns. Read article →
Vipāka Pali The fruit or result of karma; the experienced consequence of past intentional actions. Not punishment but the natural unfolding of kamma’s causal force. Read article →
Vipassanā Pali / Skt: vipaśyanā Insight meditation; the direct investigation of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and not-self in present-moment experience. One of the two wings of Buddhist meditation, paired with shamatha. Read article →
Viriya Pali / Skt: vīrya Energy or effort; one of the five faculties, five strengths, seven factors of awakening, and ten pāramī. Right effort (sammā-vāyāma) is viriya applied to the path. Read article →
Virtue See Sīla.
Visuddhimagga Pali ‘Path of Purification’; the definitive Theravāda commentarial manual composed by Buddhaghosa (5th century CE), synthesising the entire path of practice from the Pali Canon. Structured around the three trainings (sīla, samādhi, paññā), it provides the most detailed classical account of ānāpānasati, the nimitta, and the progressive development through the jhānas. The standard scholastic reference of the Theravāda tradition. Read article →
Volition See Cetanā.
W – Index
Walking meditation (Theravāda) See Caṅkama.
Walking meditation (Zen) See Kinhin.
Wholesome See Kusala
Winds, subtle See Prāṇa.
Wings to Awakening English rendering of Bodhipakkhiyā Dhammā; a translation popularised by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, capturing the role of the thirty-seven factors in ‘lifting’ the mind toward liberation. See Bodhipakkhiyā Dhammā. Read article →
Wisdom See Paññā.
Worldly Concerns, Eight Pali: aṭṭha-loka-dhamma Eight pairs of conditions ordinary people cling to and resist: gain/loss, praise/blame, fame/disrepute, pleasure/pain. The path is learning neither to grasp nor recoil from them. Read article →
Wrong view See Micchā-diṭṭhi.
Y – Index
Yidam Tib: yi dam A personal meditation deity in Vajrayāna practice; a buddha or bodhisattva visualised as an expression of one’s own awakened nature and used as the focus of tantric sādhana. Read article →
Yoga Tantra Skt The third of the four tantra classes, focusing primarily on internal yoga and visualisation. The practitioner identifies with the deity while maintaining some degree of distinction. The Tattvasaṃgraha Tantra is a major text of this class, synthesising teachings of many deities into a unified system. Read article →
Yogācāra Skt ‘Practice of yoga’; a major Mahāyāna philosophical school founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu (4th–5th century CE). Analyses experience through the Three Natures (trisvabhāva) and the doctrine of store-consciousness (ālayavijñāna). Sometimes described as ‘mind-only’ (cittamātra), though the scope of this claim is debated. Read article →
Yoniso manasikāra Pali Wise attention or thorough attention; attending to experience in a way that sees things in terms of arising and cessation, the three marks, and cause and effect — rather than being carried along by habitual reactive patterns. An important tool for interrupting the chain of sensory contact → feeling → craving in the teaching on the Four Nutriments. Read article →
Z – Index
Zazen Jpn The seated meditation practice central to Zen Buddhism — ‘just sitting’ without agenda or goal. Understood as the expression of the awakened state, not merely a means toward it. Read article →
Zen Buddhism Jpn: zen / Chin: chán A Mahāyāna school emphasising direct transmission of insight beyond words, zazen, and the use of paradoxical kōans. Brought to China by Bodhidharma; transmitted to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Read article →