See Shugden.

Sherab Gyatso; a disciple of Geshe Potowa and compiler of Blue Manual.

A famous ascetic meditator in his early life who later established monastic communities in the Tibet-Nepal border area and in Darjeeling; the guru of Lama Govinda, who wrote The Way of the White Clouds.

The magical weapon of the Vedic god Indra, made of metal and very sharp and hard; adamantine. A thunderbolt. A tantric implement symbolizing method (compassion or bliss), held in the right hand (the male side), usually in conjunction with a bell, which symbolizes wisdom and is held in the left hand (the female side).

A deity who functions to purify negativities through a burning offering practice. In the Gelug tradition, making burning offerings to this deity is one of the preliminary practices.

See Vajrayogini.

See Vajravarahi.

See Shugden.

A great scholar and early teacher of the Sakya school; uncle and guru of Sakya Pandita.

The largest of the three major Gelugpa monasteries; founded near Lhasa by one of Lama Tsongkhapa's disciples. Now re-established in exile in south India.

A great translator and the main teacher of Khön Könchog Gyälpo, the founder of the Sakya lineage. He was also one of the first teachers of the Kagyü patriarch Marpa Lotsawa and, like him, studied with many Indian masters.

The Kagyü lama, a disciple of Lingrepa, who was the founder of a branch of the Drukpa Kagyü and of many monasteries, including in Bhutan.