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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.
Another term for a Buddhist, so called because the person has entered "inside" the teachings of the Buddha by taking heartfelt refuge in the Three Jewels, thus differentiating from an outer being who relies on non-Buddhist philosophies and external phenomena as sources of happiness.
The Dharma practiced by Buddhists, as opposed to "outer Dharma" which is practiced by non-Buddhists.
The energy residing at the navel chakra, aroused during the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra, and used to bring the energy winds into the central channel. It is also called inner or psychic heat.
A tantric offering whose basis of transformation is one’s five aggregates visualized as the five meats and the five nectars.
The principal meditation taught in the Theravada tradition. It is based on the Buddha’s teachings on the four foundations of mindfulness. It is sometimes called mindfulness meditation. In the Mahayana, vipashyana (Skt) has a different connotation, where it means investigation of and familiarization with the actual way in which things exist and is used to develop the wisdom of emptiness.
Sometimes translated as "faculty of imagination." A human being’s capacity for thinking and imagination that enables us to project into the future, recollect past experiences and so forth; a faculty that often leads us into conflict. The insight, or wisdom, that enables us to judge between long- and short-term benefit and detriment.
Various hindering spirits who try to prevent pure Dharma practice.
The state between death and rebirth.
One of two main ways of understanding a Dharma teaching, this one is where the content is not to be taken literally but needs interpretation, as opposed to the definitive meaning.
Of the four continents surrounding Mount Meru in Buddhist cosmology, this is the southern continent where human beings live. The other three continents are Godaniya in the west; Kuru in the north and Videha in the east.
Also called Jamyang. See Manjushri.
Nephew of Lha Lama Yeshe Ö, the king who first wished Atisha to come to Tibet to regenerate the Dharma. When his uncle died, Jangchub Ö sent emissaries to India and brought Atisha to Tibet.
