Key Buddhist Terms

The basic space of awareness; the ground of all experience.

Heartfelt prayers and wishes, especially for the welfare of all beings.

The 11th century Indian master who brought mind training teachings to Tibet and founded the Kadampa tradition.

The basic knowing quality of mind; conscious presence.

The awakened heart that seeks enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

A being who has generated bodhicitta and committed to achieving enlightenment for all beings' benefit.

The innate potential for enlightenment present in all sentient beings.

Ethical guidelines and vows that protect and support spiritual practice.

The wish for all beings to be free from suffering and its causes.

The cessation of life; a key contemplation in the preliminaries and opportunity for ultimate practice.

The practice of offering the merit of our positive actions for the benefit of all beings.

The Buddhist teachings and the path of spiritual practice; natural law or truth.

The absence of inherent existence in all phenomena; the ultimate nature of reality.

Five essential strengths for spiritual practice: impetus, familiarization, wholesome seeds, revulsion, and aspiration.

The four boundless qualities: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

The four bodies of buddhahood: dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, nirmanakaya, and svabhavikakaya.

The 12th century Tibetan master who systematized the Seven Points of Mind Training.

The constant change and transient nature of all conditioned phenomena.

The interconnected nature of all phenomena; dependent origination.

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition emphasizing gradual training and practical application of teachings.

The law of cause and effect governing intentional actions and their results.

The Great Vehicle; the Buddhist path emphasizing bodhicitta and liberation of all beings.

Positive karmic energy accumulated through virtuous actions and beneficial intentions.

A system of practices for transforming the mind from self-centeredness to universal compassion.

A human rebirth with the freedoms and advantages necessary for practicing the Dharma.

Foundation practices that prepare the mind for more advanced training.

The compassionate aspect of bodhicitta; loving-kindness, compassion, and the wish to help all beings.

The turning away from samsaric pursuits; relinquishing neurotic attachment to impermanent pleasures.

The cycle of conditioned existence characterized by suffering, impermanence, and dissatisfaction.

The complete system of mind training teachings organized into seven main categories.

The unsatisfactory nature of conditioned existence; the first of the Four Noble Truths.

Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; the objects of refuge in Buddhism.

The practice of taking and giving; breathing in others' suffering and breathing out relief and happiness.

The wisdom aspect of bodhicitta; direct recognition of emptiness or the ultimate nature of reality.