GLOSSARY which uses the special techniques of the tantras to pursue the path of enlightenment for all beings more rapidly Synonym of Vajrayana Seven attributes of royalty - rgyal srid sna bdun, Skt saptaratna,seven possessions of a universal monarch, each of which has a symbolic significance They are the precious golden wheel, precious wishfulfilling jewel, precious queen, precious minister, precious elephant, precious horse and precious general Seven branches - yan lag bdun, Skt saptanga, a form of prayer which comprises seven parts: prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing, requesting the teachers to turn the wheel of Dharma, requesting them not to pass into nirva~a, and dedication of merit Seven noble riches- 'phags pa'i nor bdun, Skt saptadhanam, faith, discipline, generosity, learning, conscientiousness, modesty and wisdom Seven point ma~c;tala - mandai so bdun ma, ma~c;tala comprising Mount Meru, the four continents, the sun and the moon Seven point posture of Vairocana - rnam snang chos bdun, Skt saptadharmavairocana, the seven points of the ideal meditation posture: legs crossed in the vajra posture, back straight, hands in the gesture of meditation, eyes gazing along the nose, chin slightly tucked in, shoulders well apart "like a vulture's wings", and the tip of the tongue touching the palate Shang Rinpoche- bla ma zhang rin po che (brtson 'grus grags pa) (1121-1193 ), a great Kagyupa lama, founder of the Tsalpa Kagyu branch Shapkyu - zhabs kyu, lit foot hook A sign in the shape of a hook which is put under consonants to represent the u sound Sharawa -sha ba (yon tangrags) (1070-1141), name of a Kadampa geshe, disciple of Geshe Potowa Shiibu Palgyi Senge - shud bu dpal gyi seng ge, one of the twenty five disciples of Padmasambhava Siddha -grub thob, lit one who has attained the accomplishments Someone who has attained the fruit of the practice of the Secret Mantrayina Siddhi - dngos grub, see accomplishment Six classes of beings - 'gro drug, see six realms of existence Six consciousnesses - rnam shes tshogs drug, Skt $ar,/vijnanakaya, lit six gatherings of consciousness, meaning the gathering of a sense object, of a sense organ and of a consciousness They are the vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch and mental consciousnesses Six Ornaments - rgyan drug, the six great commentators of the Buddha's teachings: Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Dignaga and Dharmakirti Six realms of existence - 'gro drug, Skt $ar,/gati, six modes of existence caused 432 GLOSSARY and dominated by a particular mental poison: the realms of hells (anger), of pretas (miserliness), of animals (bewilderment or ignorance), of humans (desire), of demigods or asuras (jealousy), and of gods (pride) They correspond to deluded perceptions produced by beings' karma and apprehended as real One also speaks of five realms ('gro lnga, Skt pancagatt), counting gods and demigods together as one realm Six transcendent perfections • pha rol tu phyin pa drug, Skt ~at) ptlramita: transcendent generosity (sbyin pa'i pha rol tu phyin pa, Skt danaparamita), transcendent discipline (tshul khrims gyi pha rol tu phyin pa, Sila-paramita), transcendent patience (bzod pa'i pha rol tu phyin pa, ~anti-paramita), transcendent diligence (brtson 'grus kyi pha rol tu phyin pa, virya-paramita), transcendent concentration (bsam gtan gyi pha rol tu phyin pa, dhyana-paramita) and transcendent wisdom (shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa, prajna-paramita) See also transcendent perfection Skilful Means - thabs, Skt upaya, spontaneous, altruistic activity born from wisdom Skull cup • thod phor, Skt kapala The top of a skull is used in certain rituals and by some yogis as a bowl It symbolizes egolessness Small skull drum - thod pa'i t;la ma ru, small doublesided drum made of two skull-tops Smrtijiiana - (1Oth-11th century), famous Indian master and par;u;lita who contributed to the translation into Tibetan and correction of certain tantras and commentaries His death, in Tibet, marks the end of the period of the Old Translations So, Zur and Nub -so zur gnubs, the family names of three great masters who were the early holders of the lineage of the Nyingma Kahma (long transmission from master to disciple of the Nyingma teachings, as opposed to the Terma, or spiritual treasures hidden, then revealed, sometimes a very long time later) Their full names were So Yeshe Wangchuk, Zur Shakya Jungne and Nub Chen Sangye Yeshe Songtsen Gampo- srong btsan sgam po (617-698), 33rd king of Tibet and one of the three great religious kings It was during his time that the first Buddhist temples were built Source of good - dge ba'i rtsa ba, Skt kuialamula, positive actions which are like the roots (rtsa ba) of merit or good_ (dge ba) Spiritual companions - chos grogs, students of the same teacher, or with whom one has received teaching It is considered vital to have harmonious relations with such people, particularly in the Vajrayana Spiritual friend - dge ba'i gshes gnyen, Skt kalya~mitra, a synonym for spiritual teacher Spiritual treasure - gter ma, teachings, with statues and other objects, that 433 GLOSSARY were hidden by Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal and others in earth, rocks, lakes and trees, or even in more subtle locations such as space or mind for the sake of future generations, and then rediscovered in miraculous ways by incarnations of Padmasambhava's disciples, the treasure discoverers Sravaka - nyan thos, a follower of the root vehicle of Buddhism whose goal is to attain liberation from the sufferings of sarilsara as an Arhat Unlike the followers of the Great Vehicle, the Sravakas not aspire to full enlightenment for the sake of all beings Sravakayana - nyan thos kyi theg pa, the vehicle of the Sravakas Sri Sirilha - dpal gyi seng ge (4th century), the third human teacher in the lineage of transmission of the Great Perfection teachings, disciple of Maiijusrimitra Sro~;ta (Sro~;tajat) - gro byin skyes, a vi~;ti player who became a disciple of the Buddha and gained the ability to visit other realms, notably those of the pretas Study- thos pa, lit listening Traditionally, listening to the teachings was the main way of learning in Tibet Before studying from a text, it is imponant to receive the aural transmission by actually hearing the teacher's words The term "study" should therefore be understood as rather more than simply reading a text Stiipa - mchod rten, lit suppon of offering, symbolic representation of the Buddha's mind The most typical Buddhist monument, which often has a wide square base, a rounded mid-section, and a tall conical upper section topped by a sun and moon Stiipas frequently contain the relics of enlightened beings They vary in size from tiny day models to the vast stiipas at Borobodur in Indonesia and Bodha in Nepal Sublime being - skyes bu dam pa, "realized being who has the capacity to act for the benefit of others on a vast scale." mer Sublime Compassionate One - 'phags pa thugs rje chen po, one of the names given to Avalokitesvara (Chenrezi), the Bodhisattva of compassion Sublime levels - see Bodhisattva levels Sugata - bde bar gshegs pa, lit gone to happiness: a Buddha "Someone who, using the happy path of the Bodhisattva vehicle, reaches the happy fruit: perfect Buddhahood." DICT Sunak~atra -legs pa'i skar ma, the Buddha's cousin, who, despite spending twenty-five years as the Buddha's attendant and knowing all his teachings by heart, was still unable to see any good qualities in him He died shonly after leaving the Buddha and was reborn as a preta Supreme accomplishment - mchog gi dngos grub, see accomplishment 434 GLOSSARY Sustained calm - zhi gnas, Skt samatha, the basis of all concentrations "The distraction of the mind by other objects having been calmed (zh•), the mind stays (gnas) without wavering in concentration." DICT Siitra - mdo, a concise text spoken by the Buddha; one of the Three Pifakas See Tripitaka Suvan,advipa (Lord of)- gsergling pa, a Buddhist master, Dharmakirti, who lived in Sumatra in the lOth century Atisa considered him as the most important of the teachers from whom he received the teachings on bodhicitta Sviibhiivikakiiya - ngo bo nyid kyi sku, the Body of the Essential Nature; the fourth kiiya, the aspect of inseparability of the first three, Dharmakiiya, Sambhogakiiya and Nirmii"akiiya Symbol lineage of the Vidyiidharas - rig •dzin brda yi brgyud, lineage of transmission of the teachings by means of gestures or symbols Tainted (action) -zag bcas, Skt sasrava, done with the three concepts of subject, object and action Tangka- thang ka, a Tibetan scroll painting Tangtong Gyalpo - thang stong rgyal po (13 85-15 09), famous Tibetan siddha who travelled extensively in China, Tibet and other eastern countries, built numerous temples and metal bridges and founded monasteries at Derge and elsewhere Tantra- rgyud, text based on the original purity of the nature of mind, whose fruit is the realization of that nature The root texts of the Vajrayiina teachings Tantric- related to the tantras, to the Vajrayiina Tiirii - sgrol ma, female Bodhisattva born from a tear of Avalokitesvara; female manifestation of great compassion Tathiigata - bde bzhin gshegs pa, one who has reached the real nature, a Buddha Ten directions - phyogs bcu, the four cardinal points, the four intermediate ones, the zenith and the nadir Tendencies- see habitual tendencies Tenma- rten ma bcugnyis, twelve female local deities who took the vow, in the presence of Padmasambhava, to protect the Dharma Theurang - the•u rang, a kind of spirit appearing like a small dwarf with only one leg Thirty-five Buddhas- sangs rgyas so lnga or bde gshegs so lnga, the Thirty-five Buddhas of Confession, representing the omnipresence of the Buddhas, ready to purify beings from their faults in all thirty-five directions of space 435 GLOSSARY (the four main directions, the four intermediate directions, then the eight and sixteen subdirections, the centre, the nadir and the zenith) Thirty-three- gsum cu rtsa gsum, Skt Trayastrimsa, a god realm in the World of Desire, the abode of Indra and his thirty-two ministers See three worlds Thought - rnam rtog, Skt vikalpana, in general, whatever arises in the mind in a dualistic mode Threatening mudrii - sdigs mdzubs, Skt tarjani mudra, threatening gesture, pointing with the forefinger and little finger Three Brothers - sku mched gsum, the three principal disciples of Drom Tonpa: Potowa, Chengawa and Puchungwa Three concepts - 'khor gsum, subject, object and action, perceived as having a real and independent existence Three Jewels - dkon mchog gsum, Skt triratna, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha Three kiiyas - sku gsum, Skt trikaya, lit the Three Bodies: the three aspects of Buddhahood: dharmakiiya, sambhogakiya and nirma.,akiiya Three ma.,4alas - dkyil 'khor gsum, the ma.,4alas of body, speech and mind as manifestations of the primordial nature: forms as deity, sounds as mantra and thoughts as wisdom Three poisons - dug gsum, the three negative emotions of bewilderment, attachment and aversion See five poisons Three Roots - rtsa gsum, the lama, root or source of blessings; the yidam, source of accomplishments; and the 4akini (or protectors), source of activities Three supreme methods - dam pa gsum See preparation, main part and conclusion Three sweet foods - mngar gsum, sugar, molasses and honey Three times - dus gsum, Skt trikala, past, present and future Three vows - sdom pa gsum, Skt trisamvara, the vows of Pritimok~a, the precepts of the Bodhisattvas and the samayas of the Secret Mantrayiina Three white foods - dkar gsum, milk, butter and curd, which are traditionally considered as very pure foods Three worlds- 1) khams gsum, the world of desire, the world of form and the world of formlessness The first contains the beings of the hell, preta, animal, human and demigod realms, and some of the god realms The second two are god realms with a rarified experience which is the result of certain types of intense concentration (see worldly concentrations) 2) Occasionally used to translate sa gsum, Skt tribhvana, lit the three 436 ... transcendent perfections • pha rol tu phyin pa drug, Skt ~at) ptlramita: transcendent generosity (sbyin pa'i pha rol tu phyin pa, Skt danaparamita), transcendent discipline (tshul khrims gyi pha rol tu phyin... in Tibet, marks the end of the period of the Old Translations So, Zur and Nub -so zur gnubs, the family names of three great masters who were the early holders of the lineage of the Nyingma Kahma... Unlike the followers of the Great Vehicle, the Sravakas not aspire to full enlightenment for the sake of all beings Sravakayana - nyan thos kyi theg pa, the vehicle of the Sravakas Sri Sirilha - dpal