Key Buddhist Terms

Practices and contemplations that counter specific afflictions, applied until the nature of those afflictions is recognized.

The great Indian master who brought the complete lamrim teachings to Tibet, founding the Kadampa tradition.

The awakened mind — the aspiration to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.

The wish for all beings to be free from suffering, one of the two wings of the path alongside wisdom.

One-pointed meditative absorption — the second of the three trainings and the fifth of the six paramitas.

The degenerate age in which lifespan is short, afflictions are strong, and authentic Dharma is rare.

Trust and reverence toward the teacher and teachings, the gateway through which blessings and realization enter.

The expanse of reality — the boundless, open space of phenomena's true nature, free from all conceptual elaboration.

The 'truth body' of a buddha — the ultimate dimension of awakened mind, empty yet luminous.

Joyful effort in virtue — the sustained energy that carries the practitioner through obstacles and laziness.

Ethical conduct and moral restraint — the foundation of all Buddhist practice and the first of the three trainings.

The analytical wisdom that discerns the nature of reality — the third of the three trainings and sixth of the six paramitas.

Mental afflictions such as desire, anger, pride, jealousy, and ignorance that perpetuate samsaric suffering.

Grasping at a self as real and independent — the fundamental root of all samsaric suffering and confusion.

The four pairs of attachment and aversion that drive worldly life: gain and loss, pleasure and pain, praise and blame, fame and obscurity.

The ultimate nature of all phenomena — the absence of inherent, independent existence.

The five aspects of awakened awareness that manifest when the five disturbing emotions are recognized in their true nature.

The four contemplations that turn the mind toward Dharma: precious human birth, impermanence, karma, and the suffering of samsara.

The eight freedoms from unfavorable states and ten advantages that together constitute the precious human birth.

The author of the Precious Garland, also known as Dakpo Lhaje, who unified the Kadampa and Kagyu traditions.

The spontaneously present fruition of the path — the nature of reality as experienced by awakened mind.

All conditioned things are subject to change and decay — nothing within samsara remains fixed or permanent.

The natural state — the unconstructed, primordially pure nature of mind that is beyond fabrication.

The tradition founded by Atisha and Dromtonpa in Tibet, emphasizing the graduated path and ethical conduct.

The 'Oral Lineage' tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasizing meditation practice and the transmission of Mahamudra.

The law of cause and effect through actions, whereby virtuous deeds lead to happiness and unvirtuous deeds lead to suffering.

The graduated path literature that systematically presents the stages of Buddhist practice from beginning to enlightenment.

The wish for all beings to possess happiness and the causes of happiness, complementing compassion.

The 'Great Seal' — the direct recognition of the nature of mind, the supreme meditation practice of the Kagyu lineage.

Marpa Lotsawa, 'The Translator' (1012-1097), who brought the Mahamudra teachings from India to Tibet and was Milarepa's teacher.

Positive potential accumulated through virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind — one half of the two accumulations.

Tibet's most beloved yogi and poet, Gampopa's principal teacher in the Mahamudra and Kagyu lineage.

The faculty of non-distraction and present awareness that guards the practitioner's conduct and meditation.

The great Indian scholar-turned-yogi (1016-1100), Tilopa's disciple and Marpa's principal Indian teacher.

The innate, unconstructed nature of awareness — empty, luminous, and unceasing — the ground of all Mahamudra practice.

The 'emanation body' — the dimension of self-manifesting compassion, appearing for the benefit of beings.

Pith instructions transmitted from accomplished masters, distilling vast teachings into direct, experiential guidance.

The capacity to endure adversity without losing one's practice — comprising patience toward harm, toward suffering, and toward the Dharma.

The practice of ejecting consciousness at the moment of death into a pure buddha realm, especially Sukhavati.

The activities and awareness maintained after formal meditation sessions, bridging the gap between cushion and daily life.

The Kagyu lineage of meditation masters, emphasizing direct realization transmitted from teacher to student.

A human life endowed with the eight freedoms and ten advantages that make spiritual practice possible — exceedingly rare and precious.

The genuine determination to be free from samsara, arising from seeing its defects clearly.

Sacred commitments between teacher and student, and the vows that bind a practitioner to their practice and lineage.

The 'enjoyment body' — the dimension of self-existing compassion, free from the constructs of birth and death.

The cycle of existence driven by karma and afflictions, in which beings wander through repeated birth, suffering, and death.

The six perfections of the bodhisattva path: generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom.

Physical and mental seclusion that supports deepening meditation practice and realization.

The guide on the path who transmits the teachings through personal instruction, essential for authentic realization.

The three-part framework for every practice: preparation with bodhicitta, the main part free from concepts, and dedication of merit.

The three dimensions of awakened being: dharmakaya (truth body), sambhogakaya (enjoyment body), and nirmanakaya (emanation body).

The three fundamental trainings of Buddhist practice: superior discipline, concentration, and discriminating knowledge (wisdom).

The Indian mahasiddha (988-1069) who is the original human source of the Kagyu Mahamudra lineage.

The accumulation of merit (through compassionate action) and the accumulation of wisdom (through insight into emptiness).

The three aspects of practice: the philosophical view one holds, the meditation that cultivates it, and the conduct that expresses it.