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Glossary

This glossary contains an alphabetical list of Buddhist terms that you may find on this website. Many of the terms now include phoneticized Sanskrit (Skt) as well as two forms of Tibetan—the phonetic version (Tib), which is a guide to pronunciation, and transliteration using the Wylie method (Wyl). Search for the term you want by entering it in the search box or browse through the listing by clicking on the letters below. Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

four immeasurables

caturapramana (Skt); tsä mä zhi (Tib); tshad med bzhi (Wyl)

Also known as the four immeasurable thoughts or the four sublime attitudes (Skt: brahmavihara), these are four states of mind or aspirations: loving kindness (Skt: maitri; Tib: jam pa; Wyl: byams pa), compassion (Skt: karuna; Tib: nying je; Wyl: snying rje), sympathetic joy (Skt: mudita; Tib: ga ba; Wyl: dga' ba) and equanimity (Skt: upeksha; Tib: tang nyom; Wyl: btang snyoms). They are usually expressed in the prayer: may all sentient beings have happiness and its causes, be free from suffering and its causes, be inseparable from sorrowless bliss, and abide in equanimity—or longer variations of the same.