object of negation (pratiṣedhya, T. dgag bya). What is to be refuted — for example, a self-sufficient substantially existent I or inherent existence.
observed object (ālambana, T. dmig yul). The basic object that the mind refers to or focuses on while apprehending certain aspects of that object.
once-returner (sakṛdāgāmin). The second level of a Fundamental Vehicle ārya who, in addition to eliminating three of the five lower fetters, has subdued sensual attachment and malice to a certain degree and will only be born in the desire realm one more time before attaining arhatship.
ordinary beings (pṛthagjana, puthujjana). Sentient beings who have not realized emptiness directly and are not āryas.
parinirvāṇa. The nirvāṇa after death attained when an arhat or buddha dies.
perceptible form (vijñapti-rūpa). Forms that can be perceived by the sense faculties.
permanent (nitya). Unchanging, static. It does not mean eternal. Permanent phenomena do not depend on causes and conditions.
permanent, unitary, independent self. A soul or self (ātman) asserted by non-Buddhists.
person (pudgala). A living being designated in dependence on the four or five aggregates.
polluted (āsava). Under the influence of ignorance and its latencies.
Prāsaṅgika. The Buddhist philosophical tenet system whose views are most accurate.
prātimokṣa. The different sets of ethical precepts for monastics and lay followers that assist in attaining liberation.
primary consciousness (vijñāna). A consciousness that apprehends the presence or basic entity of an object, which are of six types: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental.
pure grounds. The eighth, ninth, and tenth bodhisattva grounds. These bodhisattvas have eliminated all afflictive obscurations.
pure land. Places created by the unshakable resolve and merit of buddhas where all external conditions are conducive for Dharma practice.
reliable cognizer (pramāṇa). A nondeceptive awareness that is incontrovertible with respect to its apprehended object and that enables us to accomplish our purpose.
reliable cognizer based on authoritative testimony. An inferential cognizer knowing very obscure phenomena that cannot be established through direct perceivers or other inferential reliable cognizers but only by depending on the authoritative testimony of a trustworthy source, such as a credible person or scripture.
rigpa. According to Dzogchen, an undefiled, subtle consciousness that pervades all mental states. It is comparable to the fundamental innate mind of clear light in the New Translation schools.
ripening result of karma. The karmic result that is a rebirth; the five aggregates a being takes.
Sautrāntika. A Buddhist tenet school that espouses Fundamental Vehicle tenets and asserts both external objects and apperception to be truly existent. It is considered higher than the Vaibhāṣika school.
self (ātman). Refers to a person or to inherent existence.
self-grasping (ātmagrāha). Grasping inherent existence.
self-sufficient substantially existent person (T. gang zag rang rkya thub pa’i rdzas yod). A self that is the controller of the body and mind. Such a self does not exist.
sense faculty. The subtle material in the gross sense organ (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body) that enables perception of sense objects.
sentient being (sattva). Any being with a mind, except for a buddha.
serenity (śamatha). A concentration arising from meditation and accompanied by the bliss of mental and physical pliancy in which the mind abides effortlessly without fluctuation for as long as we wish on whichever virtuous object it has been placed.
six perfections (ṣaḍpāramitā). The practices of generosity, ethical conduct, fortitude, joyous effort, meditative stability, and wisdom that are motivated by bodhicitta.
solitary realizer (pratyekabuddha). A person following the Fundamental Vehicle who seeks liberation and who emphasizes understanding the twelve links of dependent arising.
space particle. Subtle particles that bear traces of the other four elements and are the source of all matter. They persist during the dormant stage between one world system and the next and act as the substantial cause for the coarser elements that arise during the evolution of the next world system.
śrāvaka (hearer). Someone practicing the Fundamental Vehicle path leading to arhatship who emphasizes meditation on the four truths of the āryas.
stream-enterer (srotāpanna). The first level of a Fundamental Vehicle ārya who has eliminated three of the five lower fetters.
substantial cause. Whatever is the main thing that turns into a result. For example, wood is the substantial cause of a table; the carpenter is a cooperative condition.
subtlest mind-wind. The indivisible subtlest mind and subtlest wind that is its mount.
suchness. Emptiness.
superknowledge (abhijñā). Special powers gained through having deep states of concentration.
supreme dharma stage of the path of preparation. The fourth and last stage of the path of preparation. At this time, one is an ordinary being. After this, one becomes an ārya.
syllogism (prayoga). A statement consisting of a subject, predicate, and reason, and in many cases an example.
tathāgata. A buddha.
tathāgatagarbha (buddha essence). Its general meaning is buddha nature; sentient beings’ potential to become fully awakened.
transforming buddha nature (samudānītagotra, T. rgyas ’gyur gi rigs). Any mind that is not freed from defilements, whose continuity goes on to awakening, and that serves as the basis for the emptiness that is the naturally abiding buddha nature.
true cessation (nirodhasatya). The cessation of a portion of afflictions or a portion of cognitive obscurations.
true existence (satyasat). Existence having its own mode of being; existence having its own reality. According to the Mādhyamikas, true existence does not exist.
truth body (dharmakāya). The buddha body that includes the nature truth body (the emptiness of a buddha’s mind) and the wisdom truth body (omniscient mind).
twelve links of dependent arising. A system of twelve factors that explains how we take rebirth in saṃsāra and how we can be liberated from it.
ultimate analysis. A probing awareness seeking an object’s ultimate mode of existence.
ultimate truth (paramārthasatya). The ultimate mode of existence of all persons and phenomena; emptiness; objects that are true and appear true to their main cognizer.
unfortunate states (apāya). Unfortunate states of rebirth as a hell being, hungry ghost, or animal.
union of serenity and insight on emptiness. A meditative concentration on emptiness in which analytical meditation has induced special pliancy and serenity.
unpolluted (anāsrava). Not under the influence of ignorance.
unreliable awareness. An awareness that does not correctly apprehend its object and cannot help us accomplish our purpose. These include correct assumers, inattentive perceivers, doubt, and wrong awarenesses.
Vaibhāṣika. A Buddhist tenet school that espouses Fundamental Vehicle tenets, does not accept apperception, and asserts external objects to be truly established. It is considered the lowest tenet school.
veiled truths (saṃvṛtisatya). Objects that appear true to ignorance; objects that appear to exist inherently to their main cognizer, although they do not. Synonymous with conventional truths.
view of a personal identity (view of the transitory collection, satkāyadṛṣṭi). Grasping an inherently existent I or mine (according to the Prāsaṅgika system).
white appearance, red increase, and black near attainment. Three subtle minds that manifest after coarser minds have absorbed and before the subtlest clear light mind arises.
wisdom truth body (jñāna dharmakāya). The buddha body that is a buddha’s omniscient mind.
wrong or erroneous consciousness (viparyaya-jñāna). An awareness that
is erroneous with respect to its apprehended object and, in the case of conceptual cognizers, with respect to its conceived object; a consciousness that cannot certify its object.
yogic direct reliable cognizers. Nondeceptive mental consciousnesses that know their objects by depending on a union of serenity and insight.
Further Reading
Bodhi, Bhikkhu. The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering. Onalaska, WA: Pariyatti Publishing, 1994.
———. Transcendental Dependent Arising. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1980.
Chodron, Thubten. Don’t Believe Everything You Think. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2012.
———. Open Heart, Clear Mind. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1990.
Dunne, John. Foundations of Dharmakīrti’s Philosophy. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2004.
Dza Patrul Rinpoche. Words of My Perfect Teacher. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1998.
Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen. The Sublime Continuum Super-Commentary (Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i tikka) with the Sublime Continuum Treatise Commentary (Mahayanottaratantasastravyakhya; Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa) by Maitreyanātha and Aryasaṅga. Translation and introduction by Marty Bo Jiang. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Columbia University Press, 2017.
Gyatso, Lobsang. The Four Noble Truths. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1994.
Gyatso, Tenzin, Bhiksu, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Beyond Religion. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.
———. Buddha Heart, Buddha Mind: Living the Four Noble Truths. New York: Crossroad, 2013.
———. The Four Noble Truths. London: Thorsons, 1997.
———. How to See Yourself as You Really Are. New York: Atria Books, 2007.
———. The Meaning of Life: Buddhist Perspective on Cause and Effect. Translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000.
———. The Wheel of Life: Buddhist Perspectives on Cause and Effect. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2015.
———. The World of Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995.
Gyatso, Tenzin, Bhiksu, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, and Thubten Chodron. Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2014.
Ireland, John. The Udāna and the Itivuttaka. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 2007.
Lati Rinpochey, and Elizabeth Napper. Mind in Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1986.
Maitreya, Arya, and Jamgon Kongtrul. Buddha Nature: The Mahāyāna Uttaratantra Shastra with Commentary. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
Reat, Ross, trans. The Śālistamba Sūtra. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1998.
Rinchen, Geshe Sonam, and Ruth Sonam. How Karma Works: The Twelve Links of Dependent-Arising. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2006.
———. The Three Principal Aspects of the Path. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1999.
Sopa, Geshe Lhundub, with James Blumenthal. Steps on the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, vol. 4, Samatha. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2016.
Sopa, Geshe Lhundup, with Beth Newman. Steps on the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, vol. 3, The Way of the Bodhisattva. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
Sopa, Geshe Lhundup, and David Patt. Steps on the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, vol. 1, The Foundation Practices. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2004.
Sopa, Geshe Lhundup, with Dechen Rochard. Steps on the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, vol. 5, Insight. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2017.
Tegchok, Geshe Jampa. Practical Ethics and Profound Emptiness: A Commentary on Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland of Advice to a King. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2017.
———. Transforming Adversity into Joy and Courage. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2005.
Tsering, Geshe Tashi. The Four Noble Truths. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2005.
Wangchuk, Tsering. The “Uttaratantra” in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha Nature Treatise. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2017.
Index
A
Abhayākaragupta, 326
Abhidammattha Saṅgaha, 270
Abhidhamma, Pāli
on anger, feelings accompanying, 109
on birth, 189
on form realm, 344n17
on pollutants, 98–99
on rebirth-linking consciousness, 170, 347n53
on underlying tendencies, 88, 89, 90
Abhidharma, 67, 141, 144, 145, 345n31
Abhirati, 44
absolutism. See extreme of absolutism
abstract composites (viprayukta-saṃskāra), 90, 127, 128, 132, 259
access concentration, 242–43, 349n67
addictions, 58, 60, 240
affirmative phenomena, 132
affirming negative, 262–63
afflictions, xiv, 11, 123
abandonment of, views on, 125
as adventitious, 136, 279–80, 281, 283, 324, 351n83
as antidote to afflictions, 117
as beginningless, 135–36, 280
bondage of, 49–50
choosing most problematic, 113–14
coarse, 31, 75, 116, 126, 241, 305
control by, 26, 56
correct attitude toward, 63–64
counterforces to, 35, 114–16
definitions of, 64–65
duḥkha and, 20, 21, 22–23, 48
eighty-four thousand, 65–66, 101, 307
emptiness/wisdom in, clarification of, 299, 330–31, 333, 334, 335
as enemies, 119–20, 121
ethical dimensions of, 110–11
identifying, 112–13
and ignorance, relationship between, 63, 73, 75, 101, 103, 156, 345n26
as illusory, 121
immediate motivation for, 163
initial practice with, advice for, 115–16
innate and acquired, 31, 124–25, 128, 306, 308
lists of, 65–66
manifest and seed forms of, 127–28
misconceptions about, 36
nature of, variant views on, 106
in Pāli and Sanskrit traditions, comparisons of, 88–89, 94, 96, 345n31
as primary in true origins, 123
principal factors causing, 106–8
in pure land, 258
releasing, 232
sequential development of, 104–6
subtle, 32, 75, 126
three principle, 64 (see also three poisons)
in twelve links, 193, 194
two facets of, 283
See also latencies; root afflictions; seeds, afflictive
afflictive obscurations, 259
of āryas, 161
of bodhisattvas, 257
to buddha nature, 307, 308
karma and, 123, 346n40
manifest afflictions and seeds as, 127–28
purification of, 130
relinquishment of, 9, 15, 293
on śrāvaka path, 255, 262, 264, 265, 349n71
afflictive views, xvi, 66, 77, 86, 88, 98, 109
aggregates
arrogance and, 71, 72
clinging to, 10, 12, 53–54, 182, 343n1
craving for, 255
at death, 190
dependent nature of, 237
disenchantment with, 245
distorted conceptions about, 50
emptiness of, 23–25
four of formless realm, 41
fourth, seeds and latencies in, 132
grasping as inherently existent, 162
ignorance and, 74–75, 345n25
impermanence of, 21–22, 244
knowledge and vision of, 243, 244
as lacking inherent existence, 206–8
name and form in, 170–71
in nirvāṇa wi
th and without remainder, 9, 264, 265, 293, 346n38, 349n71
pliancy and, 241
realms of existence and, 41
rebirth and, 10
as resultant rebirth renewed existence, 187
ripening of (see ripening result of karma)
self and, 6, 14, 25, 26, 27, 56, 57, 97, 159, 160
as selfless, 25–26
six cognitive faculties in, 172
specific I of, 332–33
suffering of, 12, 13–14, 53–54, 191
as supreme, erroneous view of, 82
as unsatisfactory by nature (duḥkhatā), 22–23, 24, 48, 49
aging, 187, 221
birth as cause of, 188
control of, 103
suffering of, 13, 48, 53, 54, 56, 58
uses of term, 189
aging or death (jarāmaraṇa), 190–91
Akaniṣṭha, 42, 44
Ākāśagarbha Sūtra, 131
Akṣobhya Buddha, 44, 258
altruistic motivation, 3, 164, 218. See also bodhicitta
Amitābha Buddha, 44, 167, 258
analogies and metaphors
amputation of hands and feet, 249
asbestos cloth and dirt, 280, 321, 351n87
bubbles, 64
climate, 287
clouds in sky, 100
dark room, seeing clearly in, 104
delicious but poisonous drink, 179
Dharma as medicine, 1–3, 39, 40, 121
elephant in thatch house, 155
flames, 9, 206, 270–71
flight of birds, 256
four great elements, 171
homeless shelter, 307
house, designing and moving in, 150
incarceration, 217
leper, 223–24
log burning to ashes, 333–34
master and servant, 103
mirage, 207
mirror, appearance in, 205
moon reflected in water, 205
for nirvāṇa, 272
plantain tree trunk, 64
rope as snake, mistaking, 104, 160
rosary, 327
Santa Claus, 245
seal on wax, 206
seed and sprout, 213, 214
seeds, 7, 29
for self and body, relationship between, 80–81
sky lotus, 212
smell of onions, 259