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The Perfection Vehicle, another name for Bodhisattvayana or Sutrayana; the non-tantric Mahayana path.

The final nirvana the Buddha attained when he passed away in Kushinagar, India. See also liberation.

A Sakya practice, the equivalent of the four aspects of the transformed mind in the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions and the three principal aspects of the path in the Gelug, where the renunciation of this life and of the whole of samsara are conjoined. They are: 1) if you cling to this life you are not a Dharma practitioner; 2) if you cling to future lives’ samsara, your mind is not in renunciation; 3) if you cling to cherishing the I, that is not bodhicitta; 4) if you cling to the I, that is not the right view.

See five paths.

See path of merit.

The fourth of the five paths leading to buddhahood.

The first of the five paths leading to buddhahood. Usually translated as path of accumulation. Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s preferred term is path of merit because the activity of this path is the accumulation of merit.

The fifth and last path leading to buddhahood; buddhahood itself. See five paths.

The second of the five paths leading to buddhahood.

See right-seeing path.

A county in Tibet, near Lhasa.

The rare human state, qualified by eight freedoms and ten richnesses, which provide the ideal conditions for practicing Dharma and attaining enlightenment.

See Prajnaparamita.

See six perfections.

See Charya Tantra.

The most subtle of the three types of suffering, it refers to the nature of the five aggregates, which are contaminated by karma and delusions.

Slang for urine.

One of four ways we can experience the result of an action, also called environmental result; possessed result is the environment we find ourselves in when we take rebirth.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama's former residence in Lhasa, Tibet.

One of the three great disciples of Dromtönpa and a patriarch of the Kadampa Treatise lineage; he entered Reting Monastery in 1058 and became its abbot for a short time.

The Highest Yoga Tantra practice whereby the consciousness is forcibly ejected from the body into a pure land just before the moment of death.

The Perfection of Wisdom. The Prajnaparamita sutras are the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha in which the wisdom of emptiness and the path of the bodhisattva are set forth. These texts form the basis of Nagarjuna's philosophy. The three main Prajnaparamita texts are: the Prajnaparamita of 100,000 verses (Tib: bum; Wyl: 'bum), collected in twelve volumes; the Prajnaparamita in 25,000 verses (Tib: nyitri; Wyl: nyi khri), collected in three volumes, and the Prajnaparamita in 8,000 verses (Tib: gyetongpa; Wyl: brgyad stong pa), in one volume.

Or Pramanavarttikakarika. Dharmakirti's Commentary on Dignaga's Compendium of Valid Cognition (Pramanasamuccaya); one of five major treatises studied in Tibetan monasteries.

The Middle Way Consequence school, a sub-school of the Middle Way school of Buddhist philosophy. The Consequence school accepts mere consequences known to others and does not assert true establishment even conventionally. Examples of Middle Way Consequentialists are Buddhapalita, Chandrakirti and Shantideva. See also Svatantrika Madhyamaka and the four Buddhist philosophical schools.

The various levels of individual liberation vows for lay and ordained, including the five lay vows, and the novice vows and full ordination that monks and nuns take.

A solitary realizer or self-realizer; a Hinayana practitioner who attains liberation from cyclic existence autonomously, without relying on an external teacher or teachings. Cf. shravaka.

The Solitary Realizer Vehicle. One of the branches of the Hinayana. The path of solitary realizers (pratyekabuddhas), practitioners who attain liberation from cyclic existence autonomously without relying on an external teacher or teachings. See also Shravakayana.

See five lay vows.

The practices that prepare the mind for successful tantric meditation by removing hindrances and accumulating merit. These practices are found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and are usually done 100,000 times each; the four main practices are recitation of the refuge formula, mandala offerings, prostrations and Vajrasattva mantra recitation. The Gelug tradition adds five more: guru yoga, water bowl offerings, Damtsig Dorje purifying meditation, making tsatsas and the Dorje Khadro burning offering practice.

Hungry ghost, or spirit. The preta realm is one of the three lower realms of cyclic existence.

See principal consciousness.

The main cognition posited by means of apprehending the entity of its object. Synonymous with main mind, it is one of the two divisions of mind, the other being mental factors. There are six main minds, one for each sense consciousness (eye, ear and so forth) and mental consciousness.

They are: 1) the continuation of the consciousness; 2) the result must be similar to the cause; 3) the habitual tendencies that are there at birth; and 4) the experience of those who remember previous lives.

The act of showing respect to the objects of refuge, the Guru and the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha; the first of the seven-limb practice and one of the preliminary practices.

Also called “Dharma protector,” can be worldly or a manifestation of the enlightened mind who protects Buddhism and its practitioners. Often confused in prayers with the word gon which actually means savior, and refers to the guru.

Literally, offering; a religious ceremony, usually used to describe an offering ceremony such as the Offering to the Spiritual Master (Guru Puja).