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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

eight hot hells

The hell of being alive again and again, the black-line hell, the gathered and crushed hell, the hell of crying, the hell of great crying, the hot hell, the extremely hot hell and the inexhaustible hot hell.

eight Mahayana precepts

thegchen sojong (Tib); theg chen bso sbyong (Wyl)

One-day vows to abandon killing; stealing; lying; sexual contact; intoxicants; high seats; eating at the wrong time; and singing, dancing and wearing perfumes and jewelry. The eight Mahayana precepts ceremony and tradition comes from a lineage of Action Tantra, not from the pratimoksha or Vinaya lineage.

eight offerings

Traditional offerings to the Three Jewels (the Three Rare Sublime Ones), they are: water for drinking (Skt: argham), water for cleaning the feet (Skt: padyam), flowers (Skt: pushpe), incense (Skt: dhupe), light (Skt: aloke), perfume (Skt: gandhe), food (Skt: naivedya), music (Skt: shabda).

eight remedies

The antidotes to the five faults when trying to attain single-pointed concentration. Faith, aspiration, effort, and pliancy are the antidotes to laziness; mindfulness is the antidote to forgetfulness; introspection is the antidote to laxity and excitement; application (of an antidote) is the antidote to non-application; and equanimity is the antidote to over-application.

eight ripening qualities

Eight qualities that are said to be most conducive to developing spiritually. They are: long life, handsome or beautiful body, noble caste, wealth, power and fame, trustworthy speech, a male body and a strong body and mind. See also the four Mahayana Dharma wheels.

eight worldly dharmas

jig ten chö gyä (Tib); ‘jig rten chos brgyad (Wyl)

The worldly concerns that generally motivate the actions of ordinary beings: being happy when given gifts and unhappy when not given them; wanting to be happy and not wanting to be unhappy; wanting praise and not wanting criticism; wanting a good reputation and not wanting a bad reputation.

eighteen constituents

dhatu (Skt); kham (Tib); khams (Wyl)

The six sense powers, the six consciousnesses and the six objects.

eighty conceptions

The subtle minds that exist below the conscious level, controlling our conscious mental activities. These minds dissolve during the latter stages of the death process.