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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, Geshe (1101–75)

The Kadampa geshe who was inspired by Geshe Langri Tangpa's Eight Verses of Thought Transformation and later composed the famous thought transformation text Seven-Point Mind Training.

chöd

chö (Tib); chod (Wyl)

A tantric practice aimed at destroying self-grasping, where the practitioner visualizes dissecting and distributing the parts of the ordinary body to spirits and other beings as a feast offering.

Chöden Rinpoche (1933-2015)

An ascetic, learned Gelugpa lama who meditated in a small room in Lhasa for nineteen years after the Chinese occupation; a guru of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Chökyi Dorje

The great fifteenth-century siddha whose chief disciple was Gyalwa Ensapa.

chömdze (Tib)

chos mdzad (Wyl)

The title given to a monk, usually a tulku, who has made a substantial offering to the monastery and is therefore exempt from work obligations.