Introduction to Tantra: The Transformation of Desire (22 page)

Nalanda: North Indian monastic university; one of the major sources of the tantric lineages that spread to Tibet.

Naropa: eleventh-century Indian mahasiddha who transmitted many profound tantric lineages including those of Heruka Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini; disciple of Tilopa and guru of Marpa.

nirmanakaya (Skt.):
see
emanation body.

nirvana (Skt.): the state of complete liberation from samsara; the goal of the practitioner seeking his or her own freedom from suffering; “lower nirvana” is used to refer to this state of self-liberation while “higher nirvana” refers to the supreme attainment of the full enlightenment of buddhahood.

nondual wisdom: the understanding of the actual way in which things exist, free of all dualistic conceptions; often used as a synonym for the wisdom of emptiness.

Panchen Lama (1570–1662): The First Panchen Lama, who was a guru of the Fifth Dalai Lama, was the author of many teachings on both sutra and tantra including
Offering to the Spiritual Master
and the mahamudra text,
Main Path of
the Conquerors
.

Perfection of Wisdom Sutras (Skt. Prajnaparamita sutra): those teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha in which the wisdom of emptiness and the path of the bodhisattva are set forth.

prana (Skt.):
see
energy-winds.

preliminary practices (Tib. ngöndro): the meditations designed to remove hindrances and accumulate a store of meritorious energy so that a disciple will have success in the practice of tantra.

pure land: a state of existence outside samsara in which all conditions are favorable for becoming fully enlightened.

rebirth: the entrance of consciousness into a new state of existence after death and, in some cases, the intermediate state; the aim of tantric practice is to free this process from the control of the delusions.

renunciation:
see
definite emergence.

residential mind: the very subtle mind, residing within the heart chakra, the continuity of which passes from lifetime to lifetime together with its very subtle supporting energy-wind.

sadhana (Skt.): method of accomplishment; the step-by-step instructions for practicing the meditations related to a particular meditational deity.

samadhi (Skt.): a state of deep meditative absorption; single-pointed concentration on the actual nature of things, free from discursive thought and dualistic conceptions.

sambhogakaya (Skt.):
see
enjoyment body.

samsara (Skt.): cyclic existence; the recurring cycle of death and rebirth under the control of ignorance and fraught with suffering.

Sangha (Skt.): spiritual community; the third of the Three Jewels of refuge.

secret mantra: the tantric teachings of Buddhism; cf. tantrayana.

seed-syllable: in tantric visualizations, a Sanskrit syllable arising out of emptiness and out of which the meditational deity in turn arises.

self-cherishing: the self-centered attitude of considering one’s own happiness to be more important than everyone else’s; the main obstacle to be overcome in the development of bodhichitta.

self-existence: the mistaken conception that things exist independently from their own side rather than being dependent upon causes, conditions, parts, and the process of conceptual imputation; the wisdom of emptiness is the understanding that all things lack, or are empty of, even an atom of such self-existence.

Shakyamuni Buddha (563–483 B.C.): fourth of the one thousand founding buddhas of this present world age; born a prince of the Shakya Clan in North India, he taught the sutra and tantra path to liberation and full enlightenment; founder of what came to be known as Buddhism.

shunyata (Skt.):
see
emptiness.

Six Yogas of Naropa: teachings dealing mainly with the completion stage practices of highest yoga tantra.

sutra (Skt.): a discourse of Shakyamuni Buddha; the pre-tantric division of Buddhist teachings stressing the cultivation of bodhichitta and the practices of the six perfections: generosity, discipline, patience, effort, meditative concentration, and wisdom.

sutrayana (Skt.): the pre-tantric vehicle of Buddhism, leading to the attainment of full enlightenment over three countless eons through the practice of the six perfections; hence, also called the perfection vehicle (Skt. paramitayana).

taking refuge: turning one’s mind toward a valid source of protection from the sufferings of samsara; in Buddhism this involves entrusting oneself to the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

tantra (Skt.): literally, thread or continuity; the texts of the secret mantra teachings of Buddhism; often used to refer to these teachings themselves.

tantrayana (Skt.): the post-sutra vehicle of Buddhism, capable of leading to the attainment of full enlightenment within one lifetime; hence, also called the lightning vehicle; vajrayana; mantrayana.

tantric master: a guru qualified to grant empowerment and lead disciples along the tantric path to enlightenment.

Tara (Tib. Dolma): female meditational deity embodying the virtuous conduct of enlightened beings; referred to as the mother of the buddhas of the past, present, and future.

three bodies of a buddha (Skt. trikaya): an enlightened being’s unobstructed mind (dharmakaya), appearance to highly realized bodhisattvas (sambhogakaya), and appearance to ordinary beings (nirmanakaya); cf. truth body, enjoyment body, and emanation body.

Three Jewels of refuge: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

three principal aspects of the path: the essential teachings of the sutra path to enlightenment; cf. definite emergence, bodhichitta, and emptiness.

Tilopa: tenth-century mahasiddha and guru of Naropa; source of many lineages of secret mantra teachings.

totality: the state in which all limitations to the full development and expression of one’s inner potential have been removed; Lama Yeshe’s non-traditional synonym for enlightenment or buddhahood.

truth body (Skt. dharmakaya): the mind of a fully enlightened being, free of all coverings, remaining meditatively absorbed in the direct perception of emptiness while simultaneously cognizing all phenomena; cf. three bodies of a buddha.

Tsongkhapa (1357–1417): founder of the Geluk tradition of Tibetan Buddhism; revitalizer of many sutra and tantra lineages as well as the monastic tradition in Tibet.

tummo (Tib.):
see
inner fire.

vajra body: the system of channels, energy-winds, and drops existing within a human being’s ordinary physical body and activated through the practice of highest yoga tantra, thereby leading to the arousal of an extremely subtle and blissful state of mind (cf. clear light) capable of generating a penetrative wisdom that can eradicate delusions from the mind.

Vajradhara (Tib. Dorjechang): male meditational deity; the form through which Shakyamuni Buddha reveals the teachings of secret mantra.

Vajrasattva (Tib. Dorjesempa): male meditational deity; a major tantric purification practice for removing obstacles created by negative karma and the breaking of one’s vows; cf. preliminary practices.

Vajrayogini (Tib. Dorjenaljorma): female meditational deity, associated with Heruka Chakrasamvara.

vehicle (Skt. yana): the means whereby a practitioner is led to his or her desired spiritual attainment; cf. sutrayana and tantrayana.

visualization: the use of creative imagination in meditation, as in the generation of oneself as a particular meditational deity; despite the term used, visualization is not limited to vision, but involves the full creative sphere of one’s imaging abilities.

wisdom (Skt. prajna; Tib. sherab): the unmistaken understanding of things; specifically, the insight into emptiness: the actual way in which things exist; the antidote to ignorance; symbolized by Manjushri.

yidam (Tib.):
see
meditational deity.

yoga (Skt.): the spiritual discipline to which one “yokes” oneself in order to achieve full integration of body and mind.

yogi (Skt.): a male practitioner of yoga; a tantric adept.

yogini (Skt.): a female practitioner of yoga; a tantric adept.

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