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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

Vajrapani (Skt)

Chagna Dorje (Tib); phyag na rdo rje (Wyl)

The buddha of power. A male meditational deity embodying the power of all enlightened beings to accomplish their goals.

Vajrasattva (Skt)

Dorje Sempa (Tib); rdo rje sems dpa’ (Wyl)

A meditational deity embodying the purity of the enlightened mind. The practice of Vajrasattva uses the four opponent powers to remove obstacles caused by negative karma and broken vows.

Vajrayana (Skt)

dor je theg pa (Tib); rdo rje theg pa (Wyl)

The adamantine vehicle; the second of the two Mahayana paths. It is also called Tantrayana or Mantrayana. This is the quickest vehicle of Buddhism as it allows certain practitioners to attain enlightenment within a single lifetime. See also tantra.

valid awareness

pramana (Skt); tshema (Tib); tshad ma (Wyl)

A new non-deceptive cognition. There are two types: valid perception, such as the eye consciousness seeing a flower, and valid inference, such as inferring fire from seeing smoke.

valid inference

jepag tshema (Tib); rjes dpag tshad ma (Wyl)

A new non-deceptive outer cognition directly generated in dependence on its support, a correct reason.