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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

Diamond Cutter Sutra

Arya vajra-chedika prajnaparamita mahayanasutra (Skt); pak pa she rab pa röl tu chin pa dor je chö pa she ja tek pa chen pö do (Tib)

Also known as the Diamond Sutra or Vajra Cutter Sutra, one of the most popular of the Prajnaparamita, or Perfection of Wisdom sutras. The Tibetan title is often abbreviated to Dorje Chöpa.

Dignaga

Choglang (Tib); phyogs glang (Wyl)

A sixth-century Indian scholar and disciple of Vasubandhu, Dignaga composed the Compendium of Valid Cognition (Skt: Pramana-samuccaya). He is one of six great Indian scholars, known as the Six Ornaments.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–91)

A great scholar and author of many popular works such as Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of Atisha's Seven-Point Mind Training and The Excellent Path to Enlightenment, Rinpoche was the head of the Nyingma school from 1987 until his death in Bhutan in 1991.

dingwa (Tib)

ding ba (Wyl)

Cloth meditation seat cover used by the Sangha.

divine pride

lhe ngargyäl (Tib); lha'i nga rgyal (Wyl)

The non-deluded pride in deity yoga practice, where the appearance of oneself as the deity is held, as an antidote to ordinary appearance. See generation stage.

dob dob (Tib)

ldob ldob (Wyl)

A monk within the Gelug monasteries in Tibet who had less interest in studying and more in worldly matters such as appearance, sport and fighting. Dob dobs usually did much of the manual labor, as well as cooking, serving tea in assemblies and caring for elderly monks.

Doga, Geshe (b. 1935)

Resident teacher for more than thirty years at Tara Institute, the FPMT center in Melbourne, Australia.