|
achala
|
Tib.
|
"sister"
|
Honorary term for sister.
|
|
amala
|
Tib.
|
"mother"
|
Honorary term for
mother.
Used as an honorific for any senior woman
who is in that role to the person.
|
|
amban
|
Manchu
|
"minister of state"
(Chinese "ta-ch'en")
|
Ambans lived in
Tibet
as representatives of the Manchu government.
|
|
Adi-Buddha
|
Skt.
|
|
The original, essential, primeval Buddha.
He is
Svayam-Bhu,
self-existent, i.e., his existence is not conditioned
by matter, time or space.
[ ref]
The
Dhyani-Buddhas,
and later all the
Buddha
and
Bodhisattva
essences emanated, or manifested, from him.
[ref]
"The Adi-buddha arose as a flame springing up from a
lotus flower."
[ref]
|
|
Akshobhya
|
Skt.
|
|
The second of the
Dhyani-Buddhas
(Five-fold buddhas), and also of the
Seven-fold Buddhas.
he represents the spiritual element
vijnana.
He represents the winter season of introvert reflection,
and the color blue.
His spiritual son is
Vajrapani.
[ref]
|
|
Amida
|
Jap.
|
|
Japanese
Amitabha,
Buddha
in his incarnation of
compassionate
spirituality.
[ref]
|
|
Amitabha
|
Skt.
|
|
The oldest of the
Dhyani-Buddhas.
(Five-fold buddhas), and also one of the
Seven-fold Buddhas.
He resides in Sukhavati,
the Happy Land of Eternal Bliss,
presiding silently over our present
kalpa,
the
Bhadrakalpa.
He represents the cosmic element of insight,
sanjna,
self-knowledge,
which leads to
compassion
with other human souls.
This is the vital fluid in soul and society,
so Amitabha represents the summer season,
vital for the fruits,
and the color red.
it was Amitabha (Japanese:
Amida)
who incarnated in
Gautama.
[ref]
|
|
Amoghasiddhi
|
Skt.
|
|
The fifth of the five
Dhyani-Buddhas
(Five-fold buddhas), and also of the
Seven-fold Buddhas.
He represents the important philosophical concept
of
sanskara,
composition, synthesis.
[ref]
The embodiment of "All-accomplishing Wisdom"
(Tibetan: "work-accomplishing wisdom");
"Realizer of the Aim";
related to
karma.
the path of action,
|
|
Amrita Surabhi
|
Skt.
|
|
The original begging bowl of the
Buddha,
which provided food for him and his followers.
The country where it was taken would always have
enough water and food.
But most of the time it is hidden in the water of a lake,
from which it emerges annually on Buddha's birthday.
it rises up and flies toward the virtuous lady,
Manimekhalai,
who will receive it and gtravel with it to a town where
there are many desitute people because of ddrought, disease
and other disasters.
At once, Indrda will order rain to fall so the
crops cwill grow.
Out of the one bowl,
Manimekhalai will feed all the hungry townspeople,
and all the sick and usffering will be healthy and happy
as soon as they touch the bowl.
Similar concept the the Western Holy Grail,
which word comes ultimately from the Greek krater,
mixing bowl.
[ref]
|
|
Ananda
|
Skt.
|
"joy, happiness"
|
Ananda (also called Nanda "bull")
was a half-brother of the
Buddha
who became his bosom friend.
One day Ananda told
Gautama
that there would soon be a feast when he would marry.
The Buddha told him that for him his whole life was a feast
since he had overcome all
desires
and acquired
enlightenment,
so that he knew, saw and heard more than ever before;
indeed he knew Absolute Truth.
Ananda was converted and remained a lifelong friend and follower,
becoming the Buddha's most devoted disciple,
to whom the Buddha addressed many sermons.
Ananda never married, but slept in the woods
together with the Buddha.
[ref]
Also, an epithet of
Shiva.
|
|
ani
|
Tib.
|
"auntie"
|
Buddhist
nun
|
|
Annapurna
|
Skt.
|
"food-filled"
|
Filled with food, Goddess of Daily Bread.
Shiva as a mendicant priest, was very hungry.
He was given food by his wife
Parvati,
or Ambi Annapurna,
the mountain-goddess who is identified with
the mountain
Annapurna.
He was so grateful that he embraced her until he became
one with her. This unity in love has been represented
in sculptures known as
Ardhanari.
[ref]
|
|
Ardhanari
|
Skt.
|
"half-woman"
|
Half-man, half-woman:
Shiva together with
Parvati
(Sita, Durga,
the impenetrable fortress, also the loving
mother
Ambi
Annapurna),
Shiva embraced with Parvati in happines after
receiving food from her.
[ref]
|
|
Ardhanari-Ishvara
|
Skt.
|
"half-woman Lord"
|
"The lord who is both male and female".
While Braham was engaged in creating the universe,
the earth, the animals, demons and human beings,
he perceived that for the creation of lving beings male gods
were not adequate.
Thus he called Shiva, who appeared to him as
Ardha-nari
with the left side as a woman, the right side as a man.
[ref]
|
|
Arupa Loka
|
Skt.
|
"The World of the Formless"
(rupa = "form")
|
One of 10 heavens where only the
Arhats
and
Buddhas
live who are exempt from returning in physical form.
[ref]
|
|
Avalokita
|
Skt.
|
"looking down, looking around"
|
Looking down with compassion to earth.
Compassion
personified, and in
Mahayana
Buddhism,
deified,
as
Avalokiteshvara,
or the
Bodhisattva
[ref]
|
Avalokiteshvara
Tib. chenresig
Kor. kwan-se um-bosal
Jap. kannon
Ch. kwan yin
|
Skt.
|
|
The most prominent of the
Bodhisattvas,
the fourth
Buddha,
of
Compassion.
He is the manifestation of the
Dhyani-Buddha
Amitabha
on earth.
Brought into existence by
Amitabha
as
Padmapani-Avalokiteshvara.
For the present time
he is ruler of our world and its living Buddha,
though not living in the earthly sense.
For that he would have to incarnate, which, according to some schools,
he does from time to time.
It should be stressed that, as with the Hindu deities,
the spiritual essence of the buddhas and
Bodhisattvas
is always identical.
Thus, Avalokiteshvara is described as
"the Bhagavan", (i.e., the Lord),
who takes the form of a
Bodhisattva
and whose duty it is to
"look around"
for the purpose of the welfare and happiness of the
people on earth, and to teach them the way towards
enlightenment.
There are 9
Bodhisattvas,
of whom Avalokiteshvara is the most revered.
He in turn is presented in sculptured form in
15 different rupas
(shapes).
Some say there are 333 known incarnations of Avalokiteshvara
during the past 2,500 years since
Gautama buddha went into
paranirvana.
Avalokiteshvara has been worshipped as a god from perhaps as
early as the third century AD.
Hymns have been composed in his honor, describing his numerous
appearances.
Avaolkiteshvara is often depicted accompanied by the goddess
Tara.
Avalokiteshvara has vowed that he will not accept the
eternal peace of
Nirvana
until all human souls have found enlightement,
because he decided that it would be selfish to
enjoy peace and knowledge while the people are still
suffering
in ignorance.
Their misery is his misery.
He sheds tears in his sorrow for their pain.
Tibetan Chenresig
In China became the female
Kwan Yin.
|
|
Avici
|
Skt.
|
|
In
Buddhist
cosmology, the lowest hell for those who mock
Buddha and
dharma.
[ref]
|
|
bhikku
|
Skt.
|
|
Buddhist monk; student of scripture,
has taken vows of celibacy and follow
other rules.
Literally, a disciple studying
Buddhism
Also bhiksu, bhikshu, (Japanese) bonze,
(Tibetan) gelong.
A monk who has received the higher ordination,
a full member of the
Sangha.
[ref]
|
|
bhikkuni
|
Skt., Tib.
|
|
Buddhist nun; student of scripture;
Literally, a disciple studying
Buddhism
Also,
ani.
|
|
Bhu
|
Skt.
|
the earth
|
The Earth.
A goddess who, before Creation, rested at the bottom
of the primeval ocean.
here Brahma found her and raised her to the surface
in the shape of a many-petalled
lotus flower.
Brahma Prajapati the Creator,
is often depicted seated on the rising lotus absorbed in
meditation.
[ref]
|
|
Bodhidharma
|
Skt.
|
"awakening law"
|
A Buddhist scholar,
the first to leave
India
to teach
dhyana
in China.
[ref]
|
|
Bodhisattva
|
|
"enlightenment- destined"
|
Someone who has attained
nirvana,
achieved
bodhi,
but
reincarnates
to help others attain it.
"The Bodhisattva ideal is the aspiration to practice
infinite
compassion
with infinite
wisdom".
-- XIV
Dalai Lama
[ref]
The most prominent Bodhisattvas, with the
primal Bodhisattva, or
Dhyani Buddha,
of whom he is an emanation:
The last of the Bodhisattvas is
Maitreya
who lives in "heaven"
and will descend on earth when the end of times is
approaching, to lead all people to salvation.
The Bodhisattvas are the saviours of humanity because
of their charity (karuna).
They help us because their merit is transferred to
lesser humans, and their
bodhi
helps others to find their way.
the basic philosophy feeding this belief is the concept of
identity (tat tvam asi)
according to which we all form part of a cosmic system of
merits and faults in which the merits or demerits
(i.e., the karma)
of one being affects those of all the others.
(See mahayana.)
[ref]
|
|
Brahmavihara
|
Skt.
|
"brahma
dwelling"
|
Divine dwelling.
The state to which a
Buddhist would aspire,
by following the four rules of
metta,
karuna,
mudita,
upekkha.
[ref]
|
|
Buddha
|
|
"the awakened one"
|
First of the
Three Jewels
"Mahayana
Buddhism contemplates many incarnations and manifestations
of the Buddha."
[ref]
The historic Buddha,
Gautama.
Some believe he is the
Buddha-Avatara,
one of the 10 incarnations of the god
Vishnu
[ref]
|
|
Buddha-Avatara
|
|
"the awakened one descended"
|
The concept of the
Buddha
as an incarnation of
Vishnu.
This concept is not acceptable to the Buddhists.
They regard it as a misguided attempt to fit
Buddhism
into a small compartment of
Hinduism,
whereas in fact Buddhism has an entirely different
philosophy, in which the many gods play only
a subordinate role.
[ref]
|
Chenresig
chenresi
Skt. avalokiteshvara
Kor. kwan-se um-bosal
Jap. kannon
Ch. kwan yin
|
Tib.
|
|
The
Bodhisattva
of
Compassion
The
Dalai Lama
is a
reincarnation
of Chenresig.
|
|
Chogyal of Sikkim
|
Tib.
|
|
The title of the former sovereign of
Sikkim.
|
|
chola
|
Tib.
|
|
Honorary term for eldest brother.
|
|
dakini
|
|
"She who goes in the sky"
|
A feminine aspect of divinity; a goddess.
In the largest sense, a symbol of
shunyata
|
|
Dalai Lama
|
|
"Ocean of Wisdom",
"Ocean Teacher"
|
Honorific for the spiritual and temporal leader
of Tibet,
and leader of
Buddhism,
especially
mahayana Buddhism.
Head of the
Gelukpa
School,
but also studies the teachings of the three other
schools.
|
|
Dharma
|
Skt.
|
|
Husband of
Shraddha,
Faith,
and father of
Kamadeva,
the God of Love.
Also see the concept of
dharma.
[ref]
|
|
Dharmaketu
|
Skt.
|
"righteous banner"
|
"Whose Banner is Justice",
praise-name of
Buddha.
[ref]
|
|
Dhyani-Buddhas
|
Skt.
|
"meditation buddha"
|
Buddhas of
Meditation.
They also represent the attitudes of
beneficence, instruction, and protection,
and the
Pancha-Tathagata
(Five-fold Buddha).
They emanate from (are manifestations of)
the
Adi-Buddha.
There are five, representing the five cosmic elements,
(not including
Adi-Buddha):
1st: Vairocana,
2nd: Akshobhya,
3rd: Ratnasambhava,
4th: Amitabha,
5th: Amoghasiddhi
[ref]
Each Dhyani-Buddha inspires a cycle of world-evolution
(kalpa),
and they may
incarnate
as a
Buddha
living on earth in each of these periods of history,
through manifestation as a
Bodhisattva,
a
Dhyani-Bodhisattva.
[ref]
Represented in
sculptures
as absorbed in
meditation.
They sit in the
lotus position
in
dhyanamudra,
with or without a cup resting on the opened
hands, signifying receptivity.
[ref]
|
|
Dhyani-Bodhisattva
|
Skt.
|
|
|
|
Dolma
|
Tib.
|
|
Tara.
A goddess accompanying
Avalokiteshvara.
Created from a tear from his eye.
Sometimes perceived as his
shakti.
Like Avalokiteshvara, she too appears in a confusing number of
different forms,
including the so-called "Color Taras":
green, yellow, white, red and blue.
One of her many names is Vidyarajni, "Queen of Knowledge".
She is full of
compassion
and devoted to alleviating the
suffering of people on earth.
Indeed, gradually she became the personification of
compassion
(karuna)
and
love (maitri).
So, Tara was elevatd to the status of
mother
of all the
Buddhas,
shown with the royal
vajra
in her hand and a crown on her head.
[ref]
Shveta Tara,
White Tara,
Tara of the White Lotus,
is the spouse of
Avalokiteshvara.
pictured with a
wheel
on her chest, and
playing the lute.
Tara Utpala,
Green Tara,
the green of the closed lotus,
the goddess who helps us at night.
Shown with a
rosary
and a
book,
leading us across the
dark Ocean of Existence.
Tara-Amba,
Tara the
mother,
Nila Tara,
Blue Tara,
the
Shakti
of
Akshobhya,
the second
Dhyani Buddha.
[ref]
|
|
Dorje Drakden
|
Tib.
|
|
A protector deity of the
Dalai Lama.
It serves as the state oracle, the
Nechung Oracle.
Manifests in the
kuten.
He is actually a set of five figures,
the heads of the five Buddha families.
This has one figure within them which
is the collection of the essence of them,
and which speaks through the kuten.
|
|
Five-fold Buddha
|
|
|
The
Pancha-tathagata,
also,
Dhyani-Buddhas
|
|
gegen
|
Tib.
|
"teacher"
Also genla.
|
teacher
|
|
gelong
|
Tib.
|
"fully ordained Buddhist monk"
|
Buddhist monk; student of scripture,
has taken vows of celibacy and follow
other rules.
a full member of the
Sangha.
(Sanskrit bhikku)
|
|
genyen
|
|
|
"One who has received the primariy ordination
[of
Buddhism];
this is imparted at one level to lay adherents,
and at another to celibates training for an eventual
monastic ordination in the full sense."
(to become
bhikkus.)
[ref]
|
|
Future Buddha
|
|
|
The
Maitreya
Buddha
|
|
geshe
|
Tib.
|
|
One who has completed advanced study in
Tibetan Buddhist
teachings.
"The highest scholastic qualification in the
Gelukpa
and
Sakyapa
orders; a 'doctorate' in religious studies."
[ref]
There are different grades, such as
tsokrampa
and
lharampa.
|
|
getsül
|
Tib.
|
|
"A novice Tibetan
Buddhist
monk."
[ref]
|
|
gönpo
|
Tib.
|
"Protective Divinity one"
|
A protective aspect of Divinity.
[ref]
|
|
guru
|
Skt.
|
"teacher"
|
Teacher.
Especially spiritual master,
one's personal spiritual guide.
|
|
Gyalwa Karmapa
|
Tib.
|
"Victorious Buddha-action"
|
The head
lama,
Karmapa Lama,
of the Karma Kagyü Order,
(Kagyud
School).
Gyalwa is a title meaning victorious.
Karma
means action and here refers to the
activities of a
Buddha.
[ref]
The first
Gyalwa Karmapa
was in the 20th c. CE.
The present Karmapa Lama is
Orgyen Trodul.
[ref]
|
|
Gyalwa Rinpoche
|
Tib.
|
"Precious Protector'
|
Honorific for the
Dalai Lama.
|
|
Gyalyap
|
Tib.
|
|
Honorary term for the
Dalai Lama's
father.
|
|
Gyalyum
|
Tib.
|
|
Honorary term for the
Dalai Lama's
mother.
|
|
Harihara
|
Skt.
|
|
"The twin-gods Vishnu and Shiva,
merged into one great god, signifying the oneness
of the divine essence.
When Shiva saw Vishnu in his appearance as Mohini,
even he fell in love with that beautiful woman,
so he embraced her and merged with her,
i.e., with Vishnu, who at that moment resumed his
'true' form.
This myth illustrates again the Hindu philosophy
that multiplicity is an
illusion
of the human
mind,
but that all forms are delusive,
whereas unity of essence is the only true principle."
[ref]
|
|
Hemakuta
|
Skt.
|
"golden peaks"
|
A mythical mountain range,
lying to the north of the
Himalayas
towards
Mount Meru.
[ref]
|
|
Hors
|
Tib.
|
|
Tibetan
tribe living in the region of
Kham.
|
|
Ida/Ila
|
Skt.
|
"food", and by extension
"praise" (food for the soul)
|
Ida became the goddess of food, of offerings and of eloquence;
the goddess of law, because eating and apportioning of food
need to be regulated. And also of the earth, i.e., the cultivated field.
In one myth, she is Manu's daughter and married Budha,
the planetary god Mercury.
She led a double life, being a woman for one month (Ida),
and then changing in one night and living as a mamn (Ila)
during the next month.
This double life may symbolize the alternating phases of the moon.
[ref]
|
|
Jambhala
|
|
|
"The god of wealth in the Buddhist tradition.
(Kubera in the Hindu tradition.)
Carrying a bag of gold, sometimes holding a mongoose
(the animal that fights snakes,
nagas.
The nagas are the keepers of the treasures
in the earth, so Jambhala wins gold with his mongoose.
He also holds a jambhara, a lemon;
its seeds are the seeds of the world."
[ref]
|
|
Janguli
|
|
|
"The
Buddhist
serpent-goddess who is recognizable in sculpture by a
sarpa-kundala,
an ear ornament of a coiled cobra in each ear,
and a sarpa-mekhala, a snake-necklace.
She is also shown playing with a long cobra.
She cures snakebites and can prevent them.
Special
mantras
are dedicated to her,
which can extract snake poison if properly recited.
She plays the
vina
or other musical instrument.
Her colors are white and gold.
She is one of the oldest goddesses of
India."
[ref]
|
|
Kailasa
|
Skt.
|
"silver mountain"
|
Where Shiva has his palace,
Mount Kailash
|
|
Kalachakra
|
Tib.
|
|
"Divinity of Tibetan
Tantric
Buddhism
and his related
teachings."
[ ref ]
|
|
Kalon
|
Tib.
|
|
Minister, or Deputy, of the Tibetan
Kashag.
|
|
Kama
|
Skt.
|
"passion"
|
The god of love
(kama,
'desire', Greek Eros, Roman Cupid).
The
Veda
says that Kama was the cause of life because it was
desire
that made the first being move."
His father was
Dharma
and his
mother
was
Shraddha.
[ref]
|
|
Karmapa Lama
|
Tib.
|
|
The leader of the
Kagyud
school
of
Buddhism;
the
Gyalwa Karmapa.
His present incarnation is
Orgyen Trödul.
[ref]
|
|
Kashag
|
Tib.
|
|
Council of ministers
(kalons)
of the Tibetan government in exile.
|
|
Kashyapa
|
Skt.
|
|
Kasyapa.
"The third
Manushi Buddha,
who lived on earth for 20,000 years preceding
Gautama Buddha.
[ref]
|
|
kundun
|
Tib.
|
"presence", "His Presence"
|
Another honorific for the
Dalai Lama.
Also
kundam.
|
Kwan Yin
kuan yin
Skt. avalokiteshvara
Kor. kwan-se um-bosal
Jap. kannon
Tib. chenresig
|
Chin.
|
|
Chinese, female form of
Avalokiteshvara,
compassion.
|
|
lama
|
Tib.
|
"master"
"spiritual teacher"
|
A Tibetan Buddhist sage and
teacher.
'Important lamas, often
incarnate
ones, are accorded the title
Rinpoche,
meaning "precious one".
Many lamas, though by no means all,
are
monks ...
Conversely, there are many monks who
would not necessarily be considered lamas,
even though the use of the word is often extended
in everyday speech as a polite form of address for
any senior monk.'
[ref]
|
|
lharampa
|
Tib.
|
|
Highest
Tibetan Buddhist
doctorate
awarded to
monks
at the end of their studies.
|
|
Lokeshvara
|
Skt.
|
|
One of the
Seven-fold Buddhas.
Form of
Avalokiteshvara,
compassion?
|
|
lonchen
|
Tib.
|
|
minister (in government).
|
|
Mahasattva
|
Skt.
|
"great truth"
|
One of the manfestations of the
bodhisattva,
in which he laid down near a hungry tigress
inviting her to eat him, to save her from her
suffering.
|
Maitreya
Tib. maitri
|
Skt.
|
from mitri, "one who has friendship"
|
The Buddha to come, a representative of the
Dhyani Buddha
of
Amoghasiddhi.
The last of the five great
Bodhisattvas.
He is now living in
Tushita heaven,
since the time when he "died" on earth as
Gautama Buddha.
When he comes to earth,
5,000 years after
Gautama Buddha
(or 4,000, or 3,000 according to some),
all the people of the earth will follow him,
peace will prevail, and humanity will end
as all souls will be merged in
nirvana.
Since Maitreya exists now,
he can be communed with and give advice.
Chinese: Mila-Fu
Sri Lanka: Metteya
Japan: Miroku
Tibet: Maitri
Mongolia, Manchuria: Maidari
In
images
he has a
stupa
in his hair (symbol of future life),
the flask of
amrita
in one hand (symbol of his life in heaven),
and a
lotus
flower in the other, (symbol of self-creation),
since the
Bodhisattvas
emanated from
Adi Buddha
via the
Dhyani-Buddhas.
|
|
Manjushri
|
|
|
"The oldest of the
Bodhisattvas,
in terms of worship.
He confers
wisdom,
memory, intelligence, and eloquence.
In the beginning, he lived on
Mount Panchashirsha ('five peaks') in the far north.
One night he saw to the south a great flame of fire on a
lotus.
His intuition told him that this must signify the birth of the
Adi Buddha.
At once he set out to find the source of the light,
and discovered that it burnt below the surface of a great lake
surrounded by mountains.
He drew his sword and carved a deep trench through the rocks.
The water flowed away and exposed the becautiful valley which
is now called
Nepal,
through which the River Baghmati still flows.
Another legend relates that
Buddha
himself emitted a ray of light from his forehead.
This ray hit a jambu tree from which at once a
lotus
flower sprouted.
From the inner pistil 'sprouted a man, the beginning of
the great master Manjushri, prince of sages'.
Some Buddhists call him the founder of culture and
learning in Nepal.
He is venerated by some as the architect of the universe
and the god of agriculture to whom the first day
of the year is dedicated.
[ref]
The goddess
Saraswati
is sometimes his
shakti.
|
|
Manushi Buddha
|
|
|
"A Buddha who has (temporarily)
taken the shape of a man in order to live and work in the world,"
out of
compassion
for the
suffering
of living beings.
"There are seven:
Vipasyin,
Sikhi,
Vishvabhu,
Krakucchanda,
Kanakamuni,
Kasyapa,
Shakyamuni
(Gautama).
The last four belong to our present
Kalpa.
[ref]
|
|
Mara
|
Skt.
|
|
The god of
death,
physical love, seduction, and temptation.
The personification of the ego.
He sent his shapely daughters to dance in front
of the
Buddha
Gautama
as he sat in
meditation.
|
|
mola
|
Tib.
|
|
Grandmother.
|
|
mother
|
|
|
"Mother is the first
lama/Guru
of
compassion.
Our spiritual lamas come later in life.
The foundation of love and compassion built by our first lama
or mother determines our propensity and ability to
internalize these values when they are taught to us
later in life by our spritual lamas.
Take the case of we Tibetans,
our
Mahayana
lamas may teach us the values of compassion.
But that comes later in life, when we are at least
about 15 years old.
On the other hand, our mother teaches us the power
and value of compassion right from our birth,
and that too through its sheer practice and application."
(His Holiness the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama,
in a speech to the Tibetan Women's Association)
[ ref ]
|
|
Mount Meru
|
|
|
Supposed to be in the central
Himalayas.
The center of the world,
the hub of the World
Lotus
from which the continents stretch out as the petals,
resting on the surface of the seven oceans.
The continent called Jambu-dwipa, 'rose-apple land',
is the
Indian/Asian continent.
[ref]
Also called Deva-parata, Sumeru, Ratansanu.
[ref]
|
|
naga
|
Skt.
|
snake
|
-
A snake, mostly the Cobra Capella.
-
An elephant, so-called because its trunk is reminiscent of a snake.
-
A mythical intelligent being with a human face and a long tail
like a reptile.
The Nagas are the descendants of Kadru,
wife of Kasyapa.
Their purpose in life is to inhabit the region of Patala
under the earth.
They have splendid palaces there and live in luxury.
Some of their daughters have a completely human aspect and
can even be beautiful, like Ulupi, who married Arjuna.
-
A member of a tribe or nation still living in eastern
India.
-
A historical people,
a clan or dynasty of kings who once ruled Naga-Dwipa.
[ref]
|
|
Nechung Oracle
|
Tib.
|
|
The state oracle of the Tibetan government.
The oracle is a deity named
Dorje Drakden.
|
|
nyönpa
|
Tib.
|
sMyonPa - "madman"
|
crazy
yogin.
A tradition in 14th and 15 c.
Tibet,
and maybe other times/places?
|
|
Padmapani
|
Skt.
|
|
The manifestation of
Avalokiteshvara.
One day when
Amitabha's
meditation
was particularly intense,
a ray of white light issued from his right eye which brought
Padmapani-Avalokiteshvara
into existence.
Amitabha blessed him, whereupon Avalokiteshvara pronounced his
first prayer:
om mani padme hum,
which means:
The Jewel of Creation in the Lotus.
Avalokiteshvara
is thus the child of Amitabha and his
shakti
Pandara.
Together with his "parents",
he presides over the present
kalpa
called Bhadrakalpa, "the Age of Prosperity".
he will rule the universe from the
Paranirvana
of the
Buddha
Gautama
to the appearance of the future
Buddha,
Maitreya,
five thousand yers later, when this, the Fourth World,
will have come to an end.
Then
Vishvapani
will create the Fifth World and become its ruler as
Maitreya,
when all people will acquire
bodhi.
He, Padmapani, created this world himself:
from between his shoulders sprang Brahma,
from his two eyes the sun and the moon,
from his mouth the wind,
from his navel the water,
from his knees Lakshmi (the earth),
from his hair Indra, from his teeth Sarasvati.
[ref]
|
|
pala
|
Tib.
|
"father"
|
Honorary term for father.
Used as an honorific for any senior man
who is in that role to the person.
|
|
Pancha-Tathagata
|
Skt.
|
"five path-walkers"
|
The
Five-fold Buddha,
i.e., the
Dhyani Buddhas.
The five types of
knowledge
needed for perfect
bodhi:
-
pure knowledge of the
dharma
-
knowledge which reflects facts like a mirror.
-
awareness that all existing things are appearances
of the essential sameness.
-
perceptive knowledge
-
knowledge of what is necessary, both of things and activities
[ref]
|
|
Panchen Lama
|
|
"Great Scholar"
|
The first Panchen Lama was recognized in Tibet
in the 17th c. CE under the
Fourth Dalai Lama,
in
Lozang Chosgyan.
[ref]
The current Panchen Lama is being held prisoner
by the Chinese government.
[ref]
|
|
Pandara
|
|
|
Shakti
or "wife" of the
Dhyani Buddha,
Amitabha.
Spiritual
mother
of
Avalokiteshvara.
|
|
Parvati
|
Skt.
|
"mountain goddess",
"daughter of the mountains"
|
Devi-Uma, Durga ("impenetrable fortress"),
Girija, Adrija (both "mountain-born"),
Pithasthana, Sati, Kali, Uma
("mother").
Goddess of the
Himalayas;
consort of
Shiva,
who she lives with on
Mount Kailash.
|
|
Prajnaparamita
|
Skt.
|
"highest wisdom",
|
Saraswati
merged with him.
|
|
Ratnasambhava
|
Skt.
|
"excellence ..."
|
The third of the
Dhyani-Buddhas
(Buddhas
of Meditation, Five-fold buddhas),
and also of the
Seven-fold Buddhas.
Represents the spritual element of
vedana,
sensation, feeling, the gateway of knowledge.
Presides over the spring season when new life begins.
his color is yellow.
He is represented with a
ratna,
a jewel called a
cintimani.
|
|
Sakyamuni
|
Skt., Tib.
|
"Sage of Sakya"
|
Praise-name of
Gautama
Buddha.
|
|
Samantaka
|
Skt.
|
"The destroyer of peace"`
|
Another name for
Kama.
|
|
Samsara-Guru
|
Skt.
|
"The teacher of the world"`
|
Kama
as
guru.
Another name for
Kama,
the god of
love.
|
|
Saraswati
|
Skt.
|
|
A
Hindu
goddess of the arts.
Originally,
the holy river flowing from the
Himalayas
along the borders between Punjab and Haryana
into the Indian Ocean.
Inventor of Sanskrit.
In
Buddhism,
she is
shakti
of
Manjushri,
the god of learning,
as goddess of poetry and music.
She has three eyes, a
book,
and a white
lotus,
and the moon in her crown.
She gives
buddhi
(intelligence),
medha
(memory),
prajna
(wisdom),
Also called Sarasvati;
also associated with
Vajravina
and
Prajnaparamita.
She is
Arya Sarasvati
in
Tantric
Buddhism.
Her Tantric form has three faces and six arms,
and is bright red and belligerent.
In Japan she is called Benten.
[ref]
|
|
Seven-fold Buddha
|
|
|
The
Buddhas
Vairocana,
Akshobhya,
Ratnasambhava,
Amitabha,
Amoghasiddhi,
(the
Dhyani Buddhas),
and
Vajrapani
and
Lokeshvara.
Vajrapani is a
Bodhisattva.
[ref]
|
|
Shakti
|
Skt.
|
"the power"
|
Another name for
Uma,
Parvati,
or Kali.
Associated with
Tantra.
Same word as the concept of
shakti?
[ref]
|
|
Shraddha
|
Skt.
|
"faith"
|
Wife of
Dharma,
the God of Justice,
and
mother
of
Kamadeva,
the God of Love.
[ref]
|
|
Siddartha
|
Skt.
|
"the one who has achieved his purpose"
|
Praise-name of
Gautama
Buddha.
[ref]
|
|
Sugata
|
Skt.
|
"going well"
|
i.e., "walking the right path";
a name for the
Buddha.
[ref]
|
|
Tara
|
Skt.
|
|
Tibetan: Dolma.
|
|
Tathagata
|
Skt.
|
"the one who walks the path"
|
Praise-name of
Gautama
Buddha.
[ref]
|
|
teacher
|
|
|
See also
gegen,
geshe,
guru,
lama,
togden.
|
|
togden
|
Tib.
|
|
Spritually advanced
teacher.
See also
gegen,
geshe,
guru,
lama.
|
|
Trungpa Tulku
|
Tib.
|
|
Tulku
of the
Kagyupa
school,
abbot of
Surmang.
The tenth was
XXX,
and the eleventh was
Chögyam Trungpa.
[ref]
|
|
Tsi-Pon
|
Tib.
|
|
Minister of Finance.
|
|
tsokrampa
|
Tib.
|
|
Second-class
geshe
(doctor).
Examination results are announced during the
Tsokchoe festival.
|
tulku
rinpoche
Mong. gegeen,
huhuktu
Eng. reincarnation
|
Tib.
|
|
A
reincarnation
of a highly realized master.
Also called a
rinpoche.
"A highly realized master has the ability to be reborn
in whatever body will most help
suffering
sentient beings."
[ref]
A
bodhisattva.
"A life becomes the result of a previous one through a kind
of kinetic energy.
Any individual who has reached a high level of spiritual
develoment is supposed to be able to direct this energy
in a special way at the time of his
death,
so that it gives birth to a tulku -
a reincarnated
lama.
The tulku is not the same person as the prevous lama,
but represents the active continuation of his positive qualities,
wisdom and blessings.
The phenomenon always existed in Buddhism,
but no particular attention was given to it.
It was not until the
eleventh century
that a Tibetan lama,
Karmapa,
talked about his tulku.
The tulku was given the same name as his predecessor,
thus initiating the first lineage of reincarnation.
AS the sytem proved to be useful at both
spiritual and material levels,
it developed over the course of the centuries,
giving birth,
in the fifteenth century,
to the lineage of the
Dalai Lama,
and to that of the
Panchen Lama
in the
seventeenth century."
[ ref ]
"Multiple incarnations ... most frequently occur in fives,
of which one in particular will embody the visible presence
of the departed
Lama,
another his powers of speech,
and yet another his powers of thought;
again, one will represent his activities and another his
qualities."
[ref]
"Lamas
... are embodiments of particular spiritual influences.
One such influence may in fact manifest itself through
several individuals at once ..."
[ref]
"When such a child is recognized --
most all tulkus are male --
he is taken into a
monastery
and trained to assume his position."
[ref]
|
|
Tushita
|
|
|
The heaven where the
Buddhas
live.
|
|
Vairocana
|
Skt.
|
|
In Nepal the first,
in
India
the fourth, of the
Buddhas
of
meditation,
the
Dhyani-Buddhas
(Five-fold buddhas), and also of the
Seven-fold Buddhas.
In Nepal he resides in the inner sanctum of the
stupa.
His color is white, his season his autumn.
he represents the philosophical concept of
rupa,
form.
Without form there is no individual existence.
Autumn is the season of disintegration of forms,
which teaches us that we must distinguish form from essence.
[ref]
|
|
Vajrapani
|
Skt.
|
|
One of the
Seven-fold Buddhas.
Also, one of the eight principal
Bodhisattvas.
The spiritual son of the
Dhyani-Buddha
Akshobhya
and his
shakti
Mamaki.
His
mantra
is om vajrapani hum.
He carries a
vajra
and a
lotus.
His color is white.
[ref]
|
|
Vajravina
|
|
|
A form of
Saraswati.
In medieval sculpture, holds the
vina
in her right hand.
|
|
Yama
|
|
|
God of the Dead.
Holds the
Wheel of Life,
|
|
yi-dag
|
Tib.
|
|
Pretas, hungry ghosts --
"living spirits who are afflicted constantly with
the miseries of huger and thirst"
[ref]
One of the Six Worlds in the
Wheel of Life
|
|
yidam
|
|
|
A deity visualized in
deity yoga.
|
|
yogin
|
|
|
A person practicing
yoga.
|