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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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

aloke (Skt)

Light; one of the offering substances. Aloke is Tibetanized; the actual Sanskrit is aloka.

Amaravati

The site of an ancient Buddhist stupa in modern Andra Pradesh, India, and also the place where Buddha first gave the Kalachakra empowerment, according to the Vajrayana tradition. In 2006, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a Kalachakra empowerment there.

Amdo

The northeastern region of Tibet that borders on China.

Amitabha (Skt)

Ö pa me (Tib); ’od dpag med (Wyl)

One of the five buddha types (Dhyani Buddhas), red in color, representing the wisdom of analysis and the fully purified aggregate of discriminative awareness.

Amoghasiddhi (Skt)

dön yo drub pa (Tib); don yod grub pa (Wyl)

One of the five buddha types (Dhyani Buddhas), green in color, representing the wisdom of activities and the fully purified aggregate of compositional factors.

analytical meditation

vicarabhavana (Skt); che gom (Tib); dpyad sgom (Wyl)

Of the two main types of meditation, this is a meditation where the subject is examined using logical reasoning, as opposed to single-pointed concentration or fixed meditation (Tib: jog gom) where the mind focuses on one single object.

anatman (Skt)

dagme (Tib); bdag med (Wyl)

No-self; as opposed to atman (self); the term used for selflessness in the Four Noble Truths Sutra.

anger

A disturbing thought that exaggerates the negative qualities of an object and wishes to harm it; one of the six root delusions.

Angulimala (Skt)

A character in a classic Dharma story about choosing the wrong guru and committing horrendous actions. Angulimala killed 999 people and made a rosary out of their fingers. He was prevented from killing his thousandth victim by the Buddha, and he was able to purify and become an arhat.