| Key Term |
neyārtha |
| Hover Popup Choices |
provisional; expedient |
| In Tibetan Script |
དྲང་དོན་ |
| Wylie Tibetan Transliteration |
drang don |
| Devanagari Sanskrit Script |
नेयार्थ |
| Romanized Sanskrit |
neyārtha |
| English Standard |
provisional meaning |
| Karl Brunnhölzl's English Term |
expedient meaning |
| Richard Barron's English Term |
conditional meaning; provisional meaning |
| Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term |
interpretable meaning; requiring interpretation |
| Dan Martin's English Term |
directed meaning |
| Gyurme Dorje's English Term |
provisional meaning |
| Ives Waldo's English Term |
expedient meaning |
| Term Type |
Noun |
| Source Language |
Sanskrit |
| Basic Meaning |
Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true. |
| Has the Sense of |
Something that is taught as a means to an end. |
| Related Terms |
nītārtha |
| Definitions |
| Rangjung Yeshe's English Term |
expedient meaning. interpretable [ggd]. provisional meanings. hinted or provisional meaning. expedient meaning, assumed meaning, interpretable, provisional meaning, requiring interpretation. {'dul bya kha *}; conventional meaning, / conditional meaning/ truth |
| Tshig mdzod Chen mo |
gdul bya thun mong ba rnams kha drang ba'i phyir du 'jig rten snang tshod du grags pa gtsor byas pa/ gang zag dang sems can dang/ phung khams skye mched la sogs pa dang/ de dag gi skye 'gag 'gro 'ong la sogs pa smra bsam brjod pa'i rim pas gzhal zhing sgro btags nas bstan pa dang/ de rjod byed kyi gsung rab dgongs 'grel dang bcas pa'o/ |
| Other Definitions |
"While Tibetan thinkers generally characterize definitive teachings as those that explicitly teach ultimate truth, which is the ultimate purport of the Buddha's teachings, and provisional teachings as those teachings that do not explain ultimate truth clearly and that require further interpretation in order to ascertain the ultimate purport of the Buddha's intent, they disagree on which of the Buddha's teachings are definitive or provisional." - Wangchuk, Tsering. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows (2017), page 3. |
| Further Reading Material |
Lipman Kennard. "Nītārtha, Neyārtha, and Tathāgatagarbha in Tibet." Journal of Indian Philosophy 8, no. 1 (1980): 87-95. |