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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

Abhidharma (Skt)

chö ngon pa (Tib); chos mngon pa (Wyl)

One of the three baskets (Tripitaka) of the Buddhist canon, the others being Vinaya and Sutra; the systematized philosophical and psychological analysis of existence that is the basis of the Buddhist systems of tenets and mind training.

Abhidharmakosha (Skt)

chö ngon pa dzö (Tib); chos mngon pa’i mdzod (Wyl)

Treasury of Knowledge, by Vasubandhu; one of the main philosophical texts studied in Tibetan monasteries.

Abhidharmasamucchaya (Skt)

chö ngon pa kun tü (Tib); chos mngon pa kun btus (Wyl)

Asanga’s Compendium of Higher Knowledge is one of the principal philosophical texts studied in Tibetan monasteries, particularly revered for its clarity and for the exposition of mind and mental factors.

Abhisamayalamkara (Skt)

ngon tog gyen (Tib); mngon rtogs rgyan (Wyl)

(Tib: shä rap kyi pa röl tu chin pä men ngak gi ten chö ngön par tok pä gyen chä jawa)
Ornament for Clear Realizations, by Maitreya; a philosophical text studied in Tibetan monasteries.

absolute guru

don dam lama (Tib); don dam bla ma (Wyl)

The dharmakaya, the omniscient mind of the buddha, which is free from all gross and subtle obscurations. See also conventional guru.

absolute refuge

don dam kyabne (Tib); don dam skyabs gnas (Wyl)

Also called ultimate refuge, absolute refuge is the ultimate attainment of the three refuges, as opposed to conventional refuge. Absolute Buddha is the dharmakaya, the buddha's omniscient mind, absolute Dharma is the true cessation of suffering and absolute Sangha is any being who has attained the true cessation of suffering and become an arya being.

afflictive mental consciousness

klishtamana (Skt); nyönyi (Tib); nyon yid (Wyl)

Also known as “the I-maker” this is the eighth main mind posited by the Cittamatra school, which asserts that there needs to be a separate consciousness where the sense of I resides. The other schools only posit six main consciousnesses, but the Cittamatra school posits two additional types—afflictive mental consciousness and mind basis of all.

aggregates

skandha (Skt); pung po (Tib); phung po (Wyl)

The psycho-physical constituents that make up a sentient being: form, feeling, discriminative awareness, compositional factors and consciousness. Beings of the desire and form realms have all five whereas beings in the formless realm no longer have the aggregate of form.

Ajatashatru (Skt)

An early Indian king who imprisoned and killed his father, Bimbisara. Realizing the enormity of this sin and guided by the Buddha, he purified this negativity and became an arhat.

Akshobhya (Skt)

mi kyö pa (Tib); mi bskod pa (Wyl)

Also called Mikyöpa, Mitrugpa or Mitugpa, one of the five buddha types (Dhyani Buddhas), blue in color, representing the wisdom of reality and the fully purified aggregate of consciousness.