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 Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

Konchog, Geshe Lama (1927–2001)

A great meditator who spent over twenty years (including six years in strict austerity with chulen practice) in retreat in Tsum, a valley in Nepal, before becoming one of the main teachers at Kopan Monastery, Nepal.

Kopan Monastery

The monastery near Boudhanath in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, founded in 1969 by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

kor (Tib)

dkor (Wyl)

A multi-layered term that can mean wealth or material offerings given to the Sangha and the Three Jewels, and can also have a negative connotation of misusing offerings. Read more about the term dkor here.

Krishnacharya (Skt)

Nagpo Chöpa (Tib); nag po spyod pa (Wyl)

Also known as Krishnachari and Kanhapa; one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas.

Kuan Yin

A female form of Avalokiteshvara, revered in Chinese countries, her name is short for Guanshiyin, "She who hears the cries of the world."

kundalini yoga

Blissful energy dormant within the physical body, aroused through tantric practice and used to generate penetrative insight into the true nature of reality.