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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

Samantabhadra

Kuntu Zangpo (Tib); kun tu bzang po (Wyl)

A bodhisattva renowned for his heroic aspiration and extensive offerings.

samaya (Skt)

dam tsig (Tib); dam tshig (Wyl)

Sacred word of honor; the pledges and commitments made by a disciple at an initiation to keep tantric vows for life or to perform certain practices connected with the deity, such as daily sadhana recitation, or offering the Guru Puja on the tenth and the twenty-fifth of each Tibetan month.

Samayavajra (Skt)

damtsig dorje (Tib); dam tshig rdo rje (Wyl)

One of 32 deities from the Guhyasamaja mandala, a Highest Yoga Tantra practice. This practice purifies broken samaya in relation to one’s spiritual guide.

Samkhya (Skt)

drang chen pa (Tib); grangs can pa (Wyl)

Early non-Buddhist philosophical school; the so-called "enumerators," because they advocate a definite enumeration of the causes that produce existents.

samsara (Skt)

khor wa (Tib); ‘khor ba (Wyl)

Cyclic existence; the six realms of conditioned existence, three lower—hell, hungry ghost (Skt: preta), and animal—and three upper—human, demigod (Skt: asura), and god (Skt: sura). The beginningless, recurring cycle of death and rebirth under the control of delusion and karma, fraught with suffering. Also refers to the contaminated aggregates of a sentient being.