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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

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.