See sinking thought.

See Hinayana.

A foggy mind which causes sleepiness, apathy and the inability to focus on the object of meditation. Lethargy, which is a grosser mind than sinking thought, is an afflictive mental state which occurs in ordinary people as well as meditators. See also scattering.

The king who first wished Atisha to come to Tibet to regenerate the Dharma. Before he was able to, he was thrown into prison and died, leaving his nephew, Jangchub Ö to complete the task.

The highest of the geshe degrees awarded in the Tibetan Gelug tradition.

Arrived at Kopan Monastery to teach the young monks at Lama Yeshe's request in 1973. He was acting abbot from 1984 to 2001, when he was officially appointed abbot and remained in that position until two months before he passed away in September 2011.

The state of complete freedom from samsara; the goal of a practitioner seeking his or her own escape from suffering. "Lower nirvana" is used to refer to this state of self-liberation, while "higher nirvana" refers to the supreme attainment of the full enlightenment of buddhahood. Natural nirvana (Tib: rang zhin nyang dä) is the fundamentally pure nature of reality, where all things and events are devoid of any inherent, intrinsic or independent reality. See also Hinayana.

The publishing house and research institute in Dharamsala foremost in preserving and publishing Tibetan Dharma texts.

A spiritual teacher who is in the line of direct guru-disciple transmission of teachings, from the Buddha to teachers of the present day.