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Sūtra + (Sūtras originally referred to the aphorist … Sūtras originally referred to the aphoristic sayings and discourses, although one can find many exegetical and descriptive sūtras. In the Buddhist tradition, sūtras are generally considered to be the words of the Buddha or his immediate disciples, in contrast to the commentarial or synoptic literature, some of which summarized and condensed the teachings in the sūtras.and condensed the teachings in the sūtras.)
Saṃbhogakāya + (The enjoyment body of the buddha is so called for its perfect and luxurious nature. It is the highest physical form and normally enumerated as one of the three enlightened bodies of a buddha beside truth and emanation bodies.)
Tha mal gyi shes pa + (The mind in its natural state. Often used as a synonym for the nature of mind and buddha-nature.)
Dpyad sgom + (The practical approach to gaining incontro … The practical approach to gaining incontrovertible conceptual certainty is called analytical meditation or superior insight. ([[Brunnhölzl]], ''[[The Center of the Sunlit Sky]]'', 29)"Another division of meditation is into “the analytical meditation of scholars” and “the resting meditation of mendicants,” or simply analytical meditation and resting meditation. The analytical meditation of scholars refers to the intellectual examination of all phenomena through reasoning. There are two key terms here: “discriminating knowledge” and “personally experienced wisdom.” The first step in this analytical meditation is to cultivate discriminating knowledge. This refers to all the levels of increasingly refined inferential valid cognition that are based on reasoning and developed through studying, reflecting, and meditating." ([[Brunnhölzl]], ''[[The Center of the Sunlit Sky]]'', 279)"The general scope of analytical meditation encompasses all of the teachings of the Buddha, starting from contemplating impermanence and the preciousness of human existence up through ascertaining the two kinds of identitylessness. Resting meditation includes all types of meditations in which the conclusions achieved through preceding investigation become absorbed by the mind." ([[Brunnhölzl]], ''[[The Center of the Sunlit Sky]]'', 281) Sunlit Sky]]'', 281))
Bodhisattva + (The term Bodhisattva rendered into Tibetan … The term Bodhisattva rendered into Tibetan as བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ་ (wyl. byang chub sems dpa') has the sense of heroic beings who have developed the thought of enlightenment or awakening. Thus, a Bodhisattva is defined as a person who has given rise to Bodhicitta or the thought of enlightenment.odhicitta or the thought of enlightenment.)
Arhat + (The term arhat refers to someone worthy of veneration as well as someone who has overcome the enemies. The Tibetan translation has the latter meaning as arhats are said to have defeated the foes of defiling emotions.)
Pramāṇa + (The term has the sense of being valid, authentic or standard. In Buddhist epistemology, a correct cognition is considered to be the most authentic knowledge or accurate measure of the way things are.)
Abhidharma + (The term has the sense of making knowledge and meaning manifest through intelligent analysis and systematic presentation.)
Tantra + (The term implies a continuum or stream and is thus used to refer to scriptures which teach a substrate nature, such as buddha-nature, that underlies empirical phenomena.)
Prajñāpāramitā + (The term itself references a type of intelligence, discernment, or knowledge that embodies the insight which transcends the notions of the three spheres of agent, object, and action.)
Sarma + (The term often refers to the new translati … The term often refers to the new translation of Buddhist texts in contrast to the translations carried out in the first millennium, particularly of the tantric literature. The tantric tradition which is based on the tantras translated in the period of Early Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet came to be known as sngags rnying ma or ancient mantra and those based on tantras translated during the Later Diffusion came to known as sngags gear ma or new mantra. to known as sngags gear ma or new mantra.)
Hīnayāna + (The term was used mainly by the proponents of the Greater Vehicle, who considered the goals, understanding, practices, methods, and results of this school as being lesser in scope.)
Trikāya + (The three aspects of perfect enlightenment … The three aspects of perfect enlightenment of a buddha: the enlightened state of one's mind after full transformation, the pure physical existence one attains as a result of inner perfection, and the myriad forms one can emanate from the enlightened state to help others.from the enlightened state to help others.)
Dharmadhātu + (The ultimate source of phenomenal appearances, or the basic nature which allows for phenomena to arise in all their multiplicity. It is often treated as a synonym for emptiness and the ultimate truth.)
Nītārtha + (The unadulterated truth, in the sense of something that is taught explicitly without any underlying intention or need for further interpretation.)
Uttaratantra + (There is extensive discussion of the title … There is extensive discussion of the title in multiple academic sources. For further information about the text and its title, please see the entry for this text, ''[[Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra]]''. And for a short essay on the translation of this term, see "[[Continuum vs. Teachings]]."ntinuum vs. Teachings]].")
Ekayāna + (There is ultimately only one way to become a buddha.)
Buddhadhātu + (This is most likely the direct source of t … This is most likely the direct source of the English term ''buddha-nature'' via its translation into Chinese and Japanese. These traditions tended to treat the Sanskrit terms ''dhātu'', ''gotra'', and ''garbha'' as synonyms when compounded with the term ''buddha'', though the translation of ''buddhadhātu'' seems to have been adopted as the standard technical term to reference the buddha-nature doctrine, as it could cover a wider range of possible meanings. In other words, the term ''dhātu'' could more easily reference both the causal aspect of this nature, commonly associated with the term ''gotra'', and the fruition aspect of this nature, commonly associated with the term ''garbha''.monly associated with the term ''garbha''.)
Paryudāsapratiṣedha + (This is the type of negation most commonly used by proponents of other-emptiness. For instance, by denying the existence of adventitious stains, they imply the presence of enlightened qualities.)
Bīja + (This term can be used in a variety of cont … This term can be used in a variety of contexts, though one of the more common usages is related to the Buddhist notion of karma, cause and effect. In this sense, bīja are the seeds of karmic actions, which have the potential to ripen into karmic consequences.tential to ripen into karmic consequences.)
Avidyā + (This term can have different meanings and … This term can have different meanings and connotations depending on the context. Especially among Tibetan traditions such as the Nyingma, in which ''rig pa'', usually translated as awareness, became a key concept, its opposite, ''ma rig pa'', references the state in which that awareness is not recognized. In this context, ''ma rig pa'' should likely be treated as an indigenous Tibetan term rather than a direct translation of the Sanskrit term ''avidyā''.anslation of the Sanskrit term ''avidyā''.)
Kun gzhi + (This term entered the Tibetan lexicon as a … This term entered the Tibetan lexicon as a translation of ''ālaya'', and thus it is often rendered back to its Sanskrit antecedent in modern scholarship and translations. However, as a Tibetan term, it is more commonly read literally as the compound ''all-ground'', or ''ground of everything''. As such it is often used to describe a common locus, or substrate, out of which both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa emerge. of which both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa emerge.)
Śūnyatā + (Though emptiness is generally predicated o … Though emptiness is generally predicated on the dependent origination of relative phenomena, it is a dialectic method of explaining the ultimate truth through a negative assertion and thereby highlighting what true reality lacks, rather than making a positive assertion of what that reality actually is.ssertion of what that reality actually is.)
Gzhan stong + (Though, as a noun, this term is commonly u … Though, as a noun, this term is commonly used to reference a subsect of the Madhyamaka school that lies in opposition to the more mainstream stance that asserts self-emptiness (''rang stong''), or the universal lack of inherent existence (''rang bzhin med pa''), it can also refer to different types of emptiness that describe the ultimate and relative levels of reality. Hence, relative phenomena are deemed to be self-empty since they lack independent defining characteristics, while the ultimate is said to be empty of other—namely, the afflictions and defilements that only incidentally seem to obscure it but by which it has actually never been sullied. which it has actually never been sullied.)
Thugs dam + (Thugs dam generally refers to meditation a … Thugs dam generally refers to meditation and spiritual commitment of a religious practitioner but often has the specific meaning of remaining in the state of meditation after death in the Himalayan Buddhist tradition. Highly realised beings are said to remain in this state for period after their death until their enlightened spirit leaves the physical body.lightened spirit leaves the physical body.)

Dharmakāya + (Although this term is sometimes rendered i … Although this term is sometimes rendered into English as “truth body,” dharmakāya seems to have originally been meant to refer to the entire corpus (''kāya'') of the Buddha’s transcendent qualities (''dharma''). (''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', p. 242)rinceton Dictionary of Buddhism'', p. 242))

Vajrapada + (''Vajra'' has a variety of meanings depend … ''Vajra'' has a variety of meanings depending on the context, thus it is often left untranslated. For instance, it can refer to both a physical diamond and something which has the physical qualities of a diamond (i.e., something that is indestructible or indivisible). In this latter sense it is often rendered as "adamantine." In the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' the seven main topics of the treatise are called "vajra" subjects because they are difficult to penetrate through an understanding that is arrived at through merely hearing or contemplating. In other words, they require direct experience.her words, they require direct experience.)
Kālacakra + (A highly influential and important Tantric corpus throughout Tibetan Buddhism, especially for the Sakya, Geluk, and Jonang traditions.)
Anātman + (A key feature of the Buddha's teachings that stood in direct contrast to the mainstream Indian religious-philosophical notion of an eternal self, or ātman.)
Rgyu'i rgyud + (A proxy term for buddha-nature found in tantric literature.)
Dhātu + (A term that has numerous meanings dependin … A term that has numerous meanings depending on the context, including physical realms or regions, the (five) elements, as well as aspects of the sense organs, bases, and fields. In terms of buddha-nature theory, it is often treated as synonymous with terms like ''gotra'' and ''garbha'' or even as equivalents of buddha-nature itself, such as ''sugatagarbha''.a-nature itself, such as ''sugatagarbha''.)
Amalavijñāna + (According to East Asian Yogācāra, the abso … According to East Asian Yogācāra, the absolute purity of mind of a buddha. While the Sanskrit term appears in Vasubandhu's ''Abidharmakośa'' and the accompanying ''Bhaṣya'', the term as it is used in the sense of pure consciousness was first used in Chinese by Paramārtha and then expanded and changed by later Chinese Yogācāra writers. While Paramārtha associated it with thusness and used it to refer to a catalyst for enlightenment, it has come to refer to a ninth consciousness which only appears when the ālayavijñāna, the eighth consciousness, ceases. As such, it is pure, luminous, and permanent. Some writers, however, have equated it to the pure aspect of the ālayavijñāna, as well as with prakṛtiprabhāsvaracitta (the absolute purity of mind), tathāgatagarbha, and even emptiness.ind), tathāgatagarbha, and even emptiness.)
Ka dag + (All things in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddh … All things in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism are said to be primordially empty and thus pure and free from extremes and defilements. More specifically, primordial purity refers to the nature of consciousness or buddha-nature, which is empty by nature but endowed with spontaneous luminosity. Primordial purity is the empty aspect of the buddha-nature which is primordially present in all beings.ich is primordially present in all beings.)
Tsen Tradition + (Also known as the "meditative tradition" ( … Also known as the "meditative tradition" (''sgom lugs''), this form of exegesis was primarily concerned with the practical application of the teachings contained in the ''Uttaratantra'' as a means to experience buddha-nature for oneself. However, both the Tsen Tradition and its opposing counterpart, the Ngok Tradition, reportedly came from a single source, the Kashmiri scholar-yogi Sajjana.source, the Kashmiri scholar-yogi Sajjana.)
Dharmakāya +
Vajrayāna + (An adamantine system for being based on the innate nature of reality and using the state of Buddha as a way to actualize enlightenment.)
Śrāvaka + (Because they mainly rely on the words of the Buddha in their spiritual practice, they are known as Hearers or Listeners. The śrāvaka vehicle is the one of the three vehicles or yānas in Buddhism beside the vehicles of Solitary Realizers and Bodhisattvas)
Bodhigarbha + (Buddha-nature in its ultimate sense as the primordially existing essence of buddhahood present in all beings. It is treated as a Tantric/Dzogchen equivalent of the more Sūtra-based terms ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''sugatagarbha''.)
Nirmāṇakāya + (Emanation body is considered as an apparit … Emanation body is considered as an apparitional form and thus not the actual physical form of a buddha but one projected for the purpose of helping sentient beings. This concept became later conflated with the Tibetan culture of religious incarnation and many lamas who are considered to be rebirths of earlier ones are also referred to as trulku.rlier ones are also referred to as trulku.)
Bodhi + (Enlightenment has the sense of complete ac … Enlightenment has the sense of complete actualization of one's true nature or total understanding of reality and freedom from suffering that comes from achieving that realization. Enlightenment (Skt., ''bodhi''; Tib., ''byang chub'') is a state that can potentially be attained by any being with a mind. The very nature of the mind as a clear and radiant entity, and of the defilements as adventitious entities that are not essential to our nature, is what allows for the possibility of mental purification, and hence of enlightenment. The clearest doctrinal formulation of this idea is to be found in the concept of buddha-nature (''tathagatagarbha''; ''de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po''). Whether buddha-nature is the primordial presence of an enlightened state in the minds of beings, something that merely needs to be uncovered, or only a potential that permits the attainment of that state is of course a disputed point in the tradition. Here, it is only important to note that the vast majority of Mahāyāna schools maintain that all beings, regardless of birth, race, social status, and gender, are capable of the attainment of the state of human perfection known as enlightenment.Source: page 192, “Liberation: An Indo-Tibetan Perspective” by José Ignacio Cabezón. Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 12 (1992), pp. 191-198 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1389971 URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1389971)
Samudānītagotra + (Fluidity, in that it is a potential that is developed through personal habits of study, practice, and exposure to a particular vehicle of Buddhism.)
Pratītyasamutpāda + (In Madhyamaka thought it is used to describe the relative level of the truth. Since phenomena come into being interdependently at this level, they are therefore empty of inherent existence at the ultimate level.)
Kṣaṇasaṃpad + (In Sanskrit it literally means a “fortunate moment,” or “auspicious moment,” in the sense of an “opportune birth” that specifically refers to rebirth as a human being with the conditions that permit practice of the dharma.)
Cittamātra + (It is a philosophical position that places … It is a philosophical position that places mentation at the forefront of our experience of the world, rather than the seemingly real objects that consciousness perceives. It can also be used to refer to a Buddhist school, a genre of texts, or as a section of the Tibetan Buddhist canon. For instance, the ''Gyü Lama'' is in the ''sems tsam'' section of the Tibetan canon.'sems tsam'' section of the Tibetan canon.)
Sarvākāravaropetāśūnyatā + (It is an important term in the Mahāmudrā teachings, as well as in various Tibetan traditions that have a connection to buddha-nature theory, such as those associated with other-emptiness (''gzhan stong'').)
Mahāyāna + (It is known as the Great Vehicle in compar … It is known as the Great Vehicle in comparison to the earlier schools of Buddhism which aimed only to reach individual liberation. Thus, this system claims to be superior to the early Buddhist schools in terms of the philosophical understanding of reality and the moral scope of rescuing all sentient beings.ral scope of rescuing all sentient beings.)
Pariniṣpannasvabhāva + (Of the three natures, this one is representative of the ultimate truth.)
Advaya + (Often used to reference the ultimate truth, which is beyond dualistic conceptions such as subject and object and so forth.)
Paramārthasatya + (Reality as it appears to an enlightened being, in which all phenomena are perceived to be empty of an individual, permanent essence. This is contrasted to the "relative truth" as experienced by unenlightened beings.)
Saṃvṛtisatya + (Reality as it is experienced by ordinary p … Reality as it is experienced by ordinary people whose perception is clouded by ignorance, in contrast to "ultimate truth" or "absolute truth," which is reality as perceived by an enlightened being. Relative truth has practical value in daily life, but upon examination all phenomena are found to be empty of individual, permanent existence. empty of individual, permanent existence.)
Rang stong + (Since relative phenomena arise in dependen … Since relative phenomena arise in dependence on causes and conditions, they cannot be said to exist based solely on their own defining characteristics. Thus they are deemed to be empty of an innate nature. As a noun, this term generally refers to the more traditional, or orthodox, philosophical stance of the Madhyamaka school and its view of emptiness, as opposed to those who profess other-emptiness (''gzhan stong''). For the latter group, self-emptiness is also asserted to be true, but it is only used to describe the relative truth. However, for traditional Mādhyamikas, emptiness is universally applied, and thus the lack of inherent existence is itself the ultimate truth.nt existence is itself the ultimate truth.)