Sakya Ngor Ewam Phende Ling

ACCUMULATION

There is often discussion of the two accumulations which one should gather. Specifically these are the accumulation of merit and the accumulation of transcendental wisdom. The first is obtained through the accomplishment of virtuous activities accompanied by correct motivation, and the second by the contemplation of the profound truth of emptiness.

ADHERENCE
(tib. Kha sByor)

This state charactizes the accomplishment of ultimate buddahood symbolized by the Buddha Dorje Chang (skt. Vajradhara). The state of adherence consists of seven components of which the details are given in the annex at the end of the Triple Line.

ARAHAT OR ARHAT-see AUDITORS.

AUDITORS and SOLITARY BUDDHAS

These two categories are associated with Hinayana, which is characterized by a practice dedicated to personal liberation only. The Auditors (in skt. Shravaka and tib. Nyen Theu) are disciples who study and practice the Dharma in view of their own liberation from suffering. They are known for their practices of renunciation and they observe scrupulously the Vinaya and realize the lack of inherent existence of the ego thanks to their meditation. They then become Arhats (tib. Datchom, He who has vanquished the enemy) and when all their perturbing emotions have been overcome, they are liberated from Samsara. The Solitary Buddhas (skt. Pratyeka Buddhas, Tib. Rang Sandjie) who realize in solitude, arrive at a realization more profound because it understands the undifferentiatedness of subject and object. These two realizations, however, are still not the great awakening of Vajrayana: They deal, moreso, with mental acquiesence which saves them from the sufferings of Samsara. Later, if the aspiration to the great awakening occurs to them, they can develop compassion and the awakening mind permitting them to realize the benefit of others.

AWAKENING MIND-BODHICITTA

Bodhicitta is the essential motivation of the followers of the Great Vehicle. It expresses the aspiration to attain the state of Buddha for the sake of leading others to the same state; it is also the personal committment to act according to the example of the Boddhisattvas and to put the path into practice.

BARDO

This tibetan word designates an intermediate state. In its normal usage, it is understood as the intermediate state between death and the next life.

BASKET, COLLECTION

The writings of buddhism are habitually designated by the term the "three collections", those of Vinaya, of the Abhidharma and the Sutras (see the Kandjiour).

BEYOND SUFFERING see NIRVANA

BHAGAVAN
(tib. Bcom lDan 'Das)

This sanskrit term is an epithet frequently applied to the word Buddha. It designates he who has vanquished the four demons (tib. Bdud, skt. Mara, see below for the definition of this term), who possesses all the qualities and who is beyond the two extremes of existence and nihilism. This word designates then a perfectly accomplished Buddha.

BLISS

The experience of spiritual realization cannot disassociate emptiness from its seal of bliss. Certain practices aim at giving rise to bliss through detachment (such as the four joys associated with the four centers or Chakras) towards the ends of training oneself in this recognition as being the true nature of mind.

BODHGAYA

Place of pilgrimage in the northeast of India in the state known today as Bihar, where the Buddha Shakyamuni gained enlightenment. It is also the place where all of the thousand Buddhas of our "Good Kalpa" (eon) are said to gain enlightenment.

BODHISATTVA

This sanskrit word is employed in two principal senses; it can designate: -those who have an awakened mind, such as the great Boddhisattvas like Chenrezi, Jampeyang, etc... who choose to take rebirth and to dedicate themselves to the liberation of all beings rather than to rest in the joy of their own solitary awakening. -those who have made the vow of awakening for the benefit of all who are engaged in the practice of the Great Vehicle. The Bodhisattvas who have totally vowed to dedicate their lives to perfect realization have hade the vow not to enter into Nirvana until all beings have been established in liberation. At the same time abiding in Nirvana through wisdom and in Samsara through compassion, they remain always intentionally with the goal of comforting others and of guiding them on the path towards liberation. The ultimate signification of this attitude concludes with the undifferentiatedness of a Samsara that does not need to be rejected and of a Nirvana for which it is no longer necessary to aspire. The eight great Bodhisattvas are: Manjushri (tib. Jampeyang), Avalokiteshvara (tib. Chenrezi), Vajrapana (tib. Chana Dorje), Maitreya (tib. Jialwa Champa), Samantabhadra (tib. Kuntu Zangpo), Kshmitigarbha (tib. Sayi Nyingpo), Sarva Nivaram Vishkambin (tib. Dribpa Namsel), and Akashagarbha (tib. Namkhai Nyingpo).

(THE FOUR ) BODIES
(skt. KAYA)

The attaining of enlightenment is conditioned by the recognition or the realization of the four bodies which are four aspects of being. These bodies have for sanskrit name: the Nirmanakaya, the Sambhogakaya, the Dharmakaya and the Svabavakaya. This order of presentation corresponds to stages of meditation and to the stages of the four consecrations. One obtains the power over form, then over speech, then over mind and over their totality. -The Nirmanakaya is the manifestation of the being in the world (tib. Tulkou). Its field of manifestation is that of ordinary beings, and he reveals enlightenment and its path in diverse ways in the goal of inspiring and guiding beings towards liberation from existential conditioning of the ego. -The Sambhogakaya, called Body of Bliss, manifests in the pure field of the nature of happiness; It appears under multiple aspects such as the expression of compassion towards the goal of communicating enligh-tenment to Bodhisattvas. -The Dharmakaya, Body of Dharma or Body of the Truth-as-such, is similar to space and empty of all characteristics; it is clarity-emptiness beyond all concep-tualization and logical determination, free of all limits and obscurations. -The Svabavakaya, Body of True Essence, contains the three preceding bodies by the affirmation of their inseparability. These four bodies are present in each being, but they are not seen by the yogi until after the progresssive dissipation of ignorance and the cessation of obscurations during the practice of the path.

BONE ORNAMENTS

The six bone ornaments are a set of human bones which ornament certain tantric deities.

BUDDHA

This word designates the state of he who has attained the awakening by liberating himself of all conditionings of the sensorial world and notably of that of karma. The tibetan equivalent is Sandjie which can be decomposed in two parts: Sang represents the purification of all faults and of all gross or subtle stains obscuring the vision of emptiness, while Djie signifies the blooming of all virtues and qualities. The Buddhas, because their number is infinite through their diverse manifestations, act spontaneously and without hindrance for the benefit of all living beings. The historical Buddha, the fourth in the cycle of 1000 Buddhas which will be born in our eon, was born in Lumbini in the sixth century before our era according to the tradition of the Small Vehicle and in the ninth century before our era according to the tradition of Vajrayana. His successor (the firth in the cycle) will be Maitreya, a Boddhisattva currently teaching in the paridise realm of Tushita.

CANALS, WINDS and NECTARS (tib. Tsa, Loung, Dutsi: sanskrit, Nadis, Prana, Amrita)

The three principal canals are known under their tibetan names of Roma, Ouma and Tchiangma, and under the sanskrit names of Lalana, Avadhuti and Rasana. The entire body is filled with a network of canals more or less subtile in which the winds and the nectars circulate, that is to say the vital fluids. There are three principal canals from which the others develop from the time of the formation of the fetus, and into which they reabsorb at the time of death. One of the goals of tantric meditation is the concentration of the winds and the fluids in the central canal (tib. Ouma), thus provoking the experience of the fusion of bliss with emptiness, which is the natural state of the mind of the Buddhas.

CENTERS, CHAKRAS

This last word is a sanskrit word which signifies wheel (tib. Khorlo); in buddhism, there are usually five such chakras, located at the top of the head, the throat, the heart, the navel and the secret center. They constitute the locations where the canals are knotted and the three principal canals are found to be in contact at each of these centers. Certain meditations aim at provoking bliss (i.e. the four joys) in emptiness in relation with these centers.

CLAIRVOYANCE see SIDDHIS CLARITY

Spontaneous clarity of the six type of consciousnesses. State of spontaneous clarity of mind where the objects of the six sense fields (the five senses + mentality) present themselves without the mind being perturbed by any emotion or reaction whatsoever.

COMPASSION

This deals with the desire to liberate others from suffering and the causes of suffering. Its object is all living beings who are prey to suffering.

COMMUNITY

This deals with the community (skt. Sangha) which groups all the faithful which have taken refuge in the jewels of buddhism.

CONSCIOUSNESS

In the buddhist philosophy, consciousness is divided in seven or eight categories according to the functions which gather all the aspects of ordinary experience. The first five consciousnesses: sight, sound, taste, smell and taste are associated with the five senses while the organ of the mind in contact with thoughts constitutes the sixth cons-ciousness. Perception of a self at the origination of negative impulses is the seventh consciousness. The eighth is the cons-ciousness of the absolute base at the origin of both Samsara and Nirvana.

CONSCIOUSNESS PRINCIPLE
(tib. NAMSHE)

The faculty of consciousness, resultant of the integration of all the elements furnished by sense experience, emotional and behavioral and the construction of memory. It's the principle of consciousness which influences the acts of thought, word and action and undergoes the positive and negative results of these acts in multiple rebirths within the wheel of existence. In its purified essence free from all action and reaction, it is the same mind as that of the Buddhas.

DAKKINI, DAKKA
(tib. Khandro)

These are celestial beings which are feminine or masculine and which are emanations of the Buddhas. The Dakkinis play an important role in the Tantras and personify wisdom and transcendental knowledge.

DEMON
(skt. Mara, tib. bDud)

There are four principal ones; the demon of negative impulses, that of the aggregates, that of the master of death and that of the "sons of the gods" (analogous to Cupidon).

DHARMA

Sanskrit word which, when employed in the singular is generally capitalized in translations, and represents principally buddhist doctrine or religion or even universal law. Employed in the plural and generally not capitalized, it implies all phenomenona within the realm of the senses. In english, contrary to both sanskrit and tibetan, we sadly do not have a term capable of simultaneously representing these two cases. Nevertheless, the use of a single word in both sanskrit and in tibetan is by no means fortuitous. In effect, Dharma is the ensemble of prescriptions which reveals to us the truth and the dharmas are themselves the sign of this truth, being clear manifestations nevertheless empty of all inherent existence and independence (that which one expresses by "union of clarity and emptiness"). Eight worldly dharmas are referred to which characterize non-religous beings; they are described as follows: - to appreciate gain, to fear losses; - to appreciate fame, to fear a bad reputation; - to appreciate praise, to fear contempt and criticism; - to appreciate happiness, to fear suffering; Concerning the Dharma, the canon of tibetan buddhists group as follows; -The Vinaya (monastic discipline, rules announced by the Buddha for the sake of monks) -The Abidharma (metaphysics) -The Sutras -The Tantras

DISCIPLE

In the Vajrayana, the disciple is a person who voluntarily is connected to a master (skt. Guru, tib. Lama) by making vows of absolute obedience to him. This bond is based in the initiation transmitted by the master to disciple and through which the disciple undertakes a certain number of committments of which one of the most important is that of obedience and of devotion to the master. It is said that it is a function of the manner in which the disciple considers his master, that the fruits of his practice will be obtained. It isn't until the disciple considers the master as equal to the Buddha that he can, himself, become a Buddha.

DIVINITY OR DEITY

A great number of deities are worshiped in Vajrayana buddhism. They are all manifestations of the activity of the Buddhas, being able to personify virtues or specific activities. They are the support of the practices of visualisation in Vajrayana. Diverse categories of deities appear under forms more or less smiling or terrifying. Certain ones are "Dharma Protectors" such as Mahakala, etc... whose worship is aimed at clearing away all obstacles which could affect the Dharma and its practice. Others are Yidams or Tutelary Deities such as Hevajra, Vajra Yogini, etc., whose practice depend on very elaborate Tantras, often prescribing to the practioners a demanding devotion aimed at detachment of all certainties and dualistic conditionings towards the goal of spiritual transformation. One also speaks of divinities of "wealth" of which the practice aims at permitting material ease towards an altruistic goal or for being able to more easily practice, free of all material worries.

(TEN) DIRECTIONS

This implies the four cardinal directions, the four intermediate directions, above and below.

DOCTRINE see DHARMA

The Buddha first taught the four Noble Truths which are: - the noble truth of suffering, - the truth of the cause of suffering, - the truth of the cessation of suffering - the truth of the eight-fold path leading to the cessation of suffering. He then gave the teachings on the Vehicle of the Paramitas (the perfections), then the Tantras.

DORJE

Ritual instrument associated with the bell. It symbolizes the masculin principle, the great spiritual method which is compassion, activity of the mind of the Buddhas. Each detail of the Dorje represents a Bodhisattva. It represents the immutable and the indestructible, itself destroying all that which seems unconquerable. The bell represents wisdom, feminine principle which is the knowledge of the emptiness of all dharmas.

DORJE CHANG
(skt. Vajra Dhara)

The Buddha Dorje Chang is the expression of ultimate buddhahood. He personnifies the awakening of the thirteenth Level, the highest in Vajrayana. He is the symbol of the Buddha nature inherent in every living being, nature of the indestructible mind because he is beyond all dualistic prejudice. Dorje Chang is the essence of the perfect Guru, the reflection of the spiritual perfection within the reach of everyone. He is generally represented as being blue, with or without a consort, holding in his two crossed hands the Dorje and the bell, representing the union of method and wisdom.

DROUP THAP KUNTOU

Monumental collection grouping all the Saddhanas, of which the compilation is the work of the Sakya masters.

ELEMENTS

The five elements are earth, water, fire, air and ether (celestial space or consciousness).

EMPTINESS
(tib. Tong pa Nyi,
skt. Shunyata)

Emptiness is the ultimate nature of all beings and all things. It is not nothingness but signifies that which is empty of any inherent or intrisic characteristic, empty of all individual being and independance. This term is equivalent then to saying that all phenomena come into existence through a dependence on a series of causes and conditions outside of the phenomena itself. Buddhists subscribe to the physical formula that "nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything changes". Nothing is inherently existent. The authentic spiritual experience of the realization of emptiness is always accompanied by the experience of light and of bliss.

ENGAGEMENT see THREE VOWS

The engagement in the tantric Vehicle requires the respect of the essence of the vows of each of the three vehicles which form the doctrine of the Buddhas: 1- To abstain from harming others by following the five precepts (not to kill, not to steal, not to have improper sexual relations, not to lie, not to consume intoxicants). 2- To promise to apply oneself for the benefit of others (Bodhisattva vow). 3- To respect the profound nature of buddhahood in every being by the keeping of the tantric vows (which are the 14 committments of the Sacred Bond). From the ultimate point of view, the awakened mind signifies the direct understanding of the nature of emptiness of sense experience. The awakening mind is the giving of oneself without reserve for the benefit of all beings. Its development cannot be completely realized unless the prerequisite qualities of love and compassion have been correctly produced.

FAITH

Faith plays a great role in buddhism as in all other religions. It is the seed without which any harvest of fruit would be impossible. Each one can and should apply themselves in its cultivation. There are three kinds: -faith of love for the virtues of the Buddhas and other guides, such as the Lama, the Dharma, etc... -faith coming from desire for oneself to attain the same state of realization as the supreme quides. -faith of the confidence that if one follows the commandments and the prescriptions of the Buddhas, realization will be attained. In Vajrayana, the faith towards the Lama seeing him as undifferentated with the Buddha, is essential for obtaining the realizations.

FOUR JOYS see BLISS, FOUR CENTERS, YOGA

Fruit of the experience of the path in relation to the four centers.

GANDHARVAS "Odor Eaters"

This is the name given to beings in the Bardo which are nourished by odors. It also implies the name which designates a category of gods in the sphere of desire.

GIFT WAVES

Litteral and meaningful translation of the tibetan word "Tchin Lap", which also implies "benediction" (blessing).

HEVAJRA
(tib. Tchie Dorje)

Tutelary deity or Yidam which is very important and practiced in the Sakya tradition. He is a manifestation of the Buddhas of which the practice depends on the Tantras of the highest class. One of the principal artisans of the diffusion of these teachings was the Mahasiddha Birwapa (or Virupa) who transmitted the entire lineage directly to Satchen Kunga Nyingpo, the first of the five founding Lamas of the Sakya school.

HINAYANA see MAHAYANA

HAUT DE PAGE

ACCUMULATION	There is often discussion of the two accumulations which one should gather. Specifically these are the accumulation of merit and the accumulation of transcendental wisdom. The first is obtained through the accomplishment of virtuous activities accompanied by correct motivation, and the second by the contemplation of the profound truth of emptiness.
ADHERENCE (tib. Kha sByor)	This state charactizes the accomplishment of ultimate buddahood symbolized by the Buddha Dorje Chang (skt. Vajradhara). The state of adherence consists of seven components of which the details are given in the annex at the end of the Triple Line.
ARAHAT OR ARHAT-see AUDITORS.
AUDITORS and SOLITARY BUDDHAS	These two categories are associated with Hinayana, which is characterized by a practice dedicated to personal liberation only. The Auditors (in skt. Shravaka and tib. Nyen Theu) are disciples who study and practice the Dharma in view of their own liberation from suffering. They are known for their practices of renunciation and they observe scrupulously the Vinaya and realize the lack of inherent existence of the ego thanks to their meditation. They then become Arhats (tib. Datchom, He who has vanquished the enemy) and when all their perturbing emotions have been overcome, they are liberated from Samsara. The Solitary Buddhas (skt. Pratyeka Buddhas, Tib. Rang Sandjie) who realize in solitude, arrive at a realization more profound because it understands the undifferentiatedness of subject and object. These two realizations, however, are still not the great awakening of Vajrayana: They deal, moreso, with mental acquiesence which saves them from the sufferings of Samsara. Later, if the aspiration to the great awakening occurs to them, they can develop compassion and the awakening mind permitting them to realize the benefit of others.
AWAKENING MIND-BODHICITTA	Bodhicitta is the essential motivation of the followers of the Great Vehicle. It expresses the aspiration to attain the state of Buddha for the sake of leading others to the same state; it is also the personal committment to act according to the example of the Boddhisattvas and to put the path into practice.
BARDO	This tibetan word designates an intermediate state. In its normal usage, it is understood as the intermediate state between death and the next life.
BASKET, COLLECTION	The writings of buddhism are habitually designated by the term the "three collections", those of Vinaya, of the Abhidharma and the Sutras (see the Kandjiour).
BEYOND SUFFERING see NIRVANA
BHAGAVAN (tib. Bcom lDan 'Das)	This sanskrit term is an epithet frequently applied to the word Buddha. It designates he who has vanquished the four demons (tib. Bdud, skt. Mara, see below for the definition of this term), who possesses all the qualities and who is beyond the two extremes of existence and nihilism. This word designates then a perfectly accomplished Buddha.
BLISS	The experience of spiritual realization cannot disassociate emptiness from its seal of bliss. Certain practices aim at giving rise to bliss through detachment (such as the four joys associated with the four centers or Chakras) towards the ends of training oneself in this recognition as being the true nature of mind.
BODHGAYA	Place of pilgrimage in the northeast of India in the state known today as Bihar, where the Buddha Shakyamuni gained enlightenment. It is also the place where all of the thousand Buddhas of our "Good Kalpa" (eon) are said to gain enlightenment.
BODHISATTVA	This sanskrit word is employed in two principal senses; it can designate: -those who have an awakened mind, such as the great Boddhisattvas like Chenrezi, Jampeyang, etc... who choose to take rebirth and to dedicate themselves to the liberation of all beings rather than to rest in the joy of their own solitary awakening. -those who have made the vow of awakening for the benefit of all who are engaged in the practice of the Great Vehicle. The Bodhisattvas who have totally vowed to dedicate their lives to perfect realization have hade the vow not to enter into Nirvana until all beings have been established in liberation. At the same time abiding in Nirvana through wisdom and in Samsara through compassion, they remain always intentionally with the goal of comforting others and of guiding them on the path towards liberation. The ultimate signification of this attitude concludes with the undifferentiatedness of a Samsara that does not need to be rejected and of a Nirvana for which it is no longer necessary to aspire. The eight great Bodhisattvas are: Manjushri (tib. Jampeyang), Avalokiteshvara (tib. Chenrezi), Vajrapana (tib. Chana Dorje), Maitreya (tib. Jialwa Champa), Samantabhadra (tib. Kuntu Zangpo), Kshmitigarbha (tib. Sayi Nyingpo), Sarva Nivaram Vishkambin (tib. Dribpa Namsel), and Akashagarbha (tib. Namkhai Nyingpo).
(THE FOUR ) BODIES (skt. KAYA)	The attaining of enlightenment is conditioned by the recognition or the realization of the four bodies which are four aspects of being. These bodies have for sanskrit name: the Nirmanakaya, the Sambhogakaya, the Dharmakaya and the Svabavakaya. This order of presentation corresponds to stages of meditation and to the stages of the four consecrations. One obtains the power over form, then over speech, then over mind and over their totality. -The Nirmanakaya is the manifestation of the being in the world (tib. Tulkou). Its field of manifestation is that of ordinary beings, and he reveals enlightenment and its path in diverse ways in the goal of inspiring and guiding beings towards liberation from existential conditioning of the ego. -The Sambhogakaya, called Body of Bliss, manifests in the pure field of the nature of happiness; It appears under multiple aspects such as the expression of compassion towards the goal of communicating enligh-tenment to Bodhisattvas. -The Dharmakaya, Body of Dharma or Body of the Truth-as-such, is similar to space and empty of all characteristics; it is clarity-emptiness beyond all concep-tualization and logical determination, free of all limits and obscurations. -The Svabavakaya, Body of True Essence, contains the three preceding bodies by the affirmation of their inseparability. These four bodies are present in each being, but they are not seen by the yogi until after the progresssive dissipation of ignorance and the cessation of obscurations during the practice of the path.
BONE ORNAMENTS	The six bone ornaments are a set of human bones which ornament certain tantric deities.
BUDDHA	This word designates the state of he who has attained the awakening by liberating himself of all conditionings of the sensorial world and notably of that of karma. The tibetan equivalent is Sandjie which can be decomposed in two parts: Sang represents the purification of all faults and of all gross or subtle stains obscuring the vision of emptiness, while Djie signifies the blooming of all virtues and qualities. The Buddhas, because their number is infinite through their diverse manifestations, act spontaneously and without hindrance for the benefit of all living beings. The historical Buddha, the fourth in the cycle of 1000 Buddhas which will be born in our eon, was born in Lumbini in the sixth century before our era according to the tradition of the Small Vehicle and in the ninth century before our era according to the tradition of Vajrayana. His successor (the firth in the cycle) will be Maitreya, a Boddhisattva currently teaching in the paridise realm of Tushita.
CANALS, WINDS and NECTARS (tib. Tsa, Loung, Dutsi: sanskrit, Nadis, Prana, Amrita)	The three principal canals are known under their tibetan names of Roma, Ouma and Tchiangma, and under the sanskrit names of Lalana, Avadhuti and Rasana. The entire body is filled with a network of canals more or less subtile in which the winds and the nectars circulate, that is to say the vital fluids. There are three principal canals from which the others develop from the time of the formation of the fetus, and into which they reabsorb at the time of death. One of the goals of tantric meditation is the concentration of the winds and the fluids in the central canal (tib. Ouma), thus provoking the experience of the fusion of bliss with emptiness, which is the natural state of the mind of the Buddhas.
CENTERS, CHAKRAS	This last word is a sanskrit word which signifies wheel (tib. Khorlo); in buddhism, there are usually five such chakras, located at the top of the head, the throat, the heart, the navel and the secret center. They constitute the locations where the canals are knotted and the three principal canals are found to be in contact at each of these centers. Certain meditations aim at provoking bliss (i.e. the four joys) in emptiness in relation with these centers.
CLAIRVOYANCE see SIDDHIS CLARITY	Spontaneous clarity of the six type of consciousnesses. State of spontaneous clarity of mind where the objects of the six sense fields (the five senses + mentality) present themselves without the mind being perturbed by any emotion or reaction whatsoever.
COMPASSION	This deals with the desire to liberate others from suffering and the causes of suffering. Its object is all living beings who are prey to suffering.
COMMUNITY	This deals with the community (skt. Sangha) which groups all the faithful which have taken refuge in the jewels of buddhism.
CONSCIOUSNESS	In the buddhist philosophy, consciousness is divided in seven or eight categories according to the functions which gather all the aspects of ordinary experience. The first five consciousnesses: sight, sound, taste, smell and taste are associated with the five senses while the organ of the mind in contact with thoughts constitutes the sixth cons-ciousness. Perception of a self at the origination of negative impulses is the seventh consciousness. The eighth is the cons-ciousness of the absolute base at the origin of both Samsara and Nirvana.
CONSCIOUSNESS PRINCIPLE (tib. NAMSHE)	The faculty of consciousness, resultant of the integration of all the elements furnished by sense experience, emotional and behavioral and the construction of memory. It's the principle of consciousness which influences the acts of thought, word and action and undergoes the positive and negative results of these acts in multiple rebirths within the wheel of existence. In its purified essence free from all action and reaction, it is the same mind as that of the Buddhas.
DAKKINI, DAKKA (tib. Khandro)	These are celestial beings which are feminine or masculine and which are emanations of the Buddhas. The Dakkinis play an important role in the Tantras and personify wisdom and transcendental knowledge.
DEMON (skt. Mara, tib. bDud)	There are four principal ones; the demon of negative impulses, that of the aggregates, that of the master of death and that of the "sons of the gods" (analogous to Cupidon).
DHARMA	Sanskrit word which, when employed in the singular is generally capitalized in translations, and represents principally buddhist doctrine or religion or even universal law. Employed in the plural and generally not capitalized, it implies all phenomenona within the realm of the senses. In english, contrary to both sanskrit and tibetan, we sadly do not have a term capable of simultaneously representing these two cases. Nevertheless, the use of a single word in both sanskrit and in tibetan is by no means fortuitous. In effect, Dharma is the ensemble of prescriptions which reveals to us the truth and the dharmas are themselves the sign of this truth, being clear manifestations nevertheless empty of all inherent existence and independence (that which one expresses by "union of clarity and emptiness"). Eight worldly dharmas are referred to which characterize non-religous beings; they are described as follows: - to appreciate gain, to fear losses; - to appreciate fame, to fear a bad reputation; - to appreciate praise, to fear contempt and criticism; - to appreciate happiness, to fear suffering; Concerning the Dharma, the canon of tibetan buddhists group as follows; -The Vinaya (monastic discipline, rules announced by the Buddha for the sake of monks) -The Abidharma (metaphysics) -The Sutras -The Tantras
DISCIPLE	In the Vajrayana, the disciple is a person who voluntarily is connected to a master (skt. Guru, tib. Lama) by making vows of absolute obedience to him. This bond is based in the initiation transmitted by the master to disciple and through which the disciple undertakes a certain number of committments of which one of the most important is that of obedience and of devotion to the master. It is said that it is a function of the manner in which the disciple considers his master, that the fruits of his practice will be obtained. It isn't until the disciple considers the master as equal to the Buddha that he can, himself, become a Buddha.
DIVINITY OR DEITY	A great number of deities are worshiped in Vajrayana buddhism. They are all manifestations of the activity of the Buddhas, being able to personify virtues or specific activities. They are the support of the practices of visualisation in Vajrayana. Diverse categories of deities appear under forms more or less smiling or terrifying. Certain ones are "Dharma Protectors" such as Mahakala, etc... whose worship is aimed at clearing away all obstacles which could affect the Dharma and its practice. Others are Yidams or Tutelary Deities such as Hevajra, Vajra Yogini, etc., whose practice depend on very elaborate Tantras, often prescribing to the practioners a demanding devotion aimed at detachment of all certainties and dualistic conditionings towards the goal of spiritual transformation. One also speaks of divinities of "wealth" of which the practice aims at permitting material ease towards an altruistic goal or for being able to more easily practice, free of all material worries.
(TEN) DIRECTIONS	This implies the four cardinal directions, the four intermediate directions, above and below.
DOCTRINE see DHARMA	The Buddha first taught the four Noble Truths which are: - the noble truth of suffering, - the truth of the cause of suffering, - the truth of the cessation of suffering - the truth of the eight-fold path leading to the cessation of suffering. He then gave the teachings on the Vehicle of the Paramitas (the perfections), then the Tantras.
DORJE	Ritual instrument associated with the bell. It symbolizes the masculin principle, the great spiritual method which is compassion, activity of the mind of the Buddhas. Each detail of the Dorje represents a Bodhisattva. It represents the immutable and the indestructible, itself destroying all that which seems unconquerable. The bell represents wisdom, feminine principle which is the knowledge of the emptiness of all dharmas.
DORJE CHANG (skt. Vajra Dhara)	The Buddha Dorje Chang is the expression of ultimate buddhahood. He personnifies the awakening of the thirteenth Level, the highest in Vajrayana. He is the symbol of the Buddha nature inherent in every living being, nature of the indestructible mind because he is beyond all dualistic prejudice. Dorje Chang is the essence of the perfect Guru, the reflection of the spiritual perfection within the reach of everyone. He is generally represented as being blue, with or without a consort, holding in his two crossed hands the Dorje and the bell, representing the union of method and wisdom.
DROUP THAP KUNTOU	Monumental collection grouping all the Saddhanas, of which the compilation is the work of the Sakya masters.
ELEMENTS	The five elements are earth, water, fire, air and ether (celestial space or consciousness).
EMPTINESS (tib. Tong pa Nyi, skt. Shunyata)	Emptiness is the ultimate nature of all beings and all things. It is not nothingness but signifies that which is empty of any inherent or intrisic characteristic, empty of all individual being and independance. This term is equivalent then to saying that all phenomena come into existence through a dependence on a series of causes and conditions outside of the phenomena itself. Buddhists subscribe to the physical formula that "nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything changes". Nothing is inherently existent. The authentic spiritual experience of the realization of emptiness is always accompanied by the experience of light and of bliss.
ENGAGEMENT see THREE VOWS	The engagement in the tantric Vehicle requires the respect of the essence of the vows of each of the three vehicles which form the doctrine of the Buddhas: 1- To abstain from harming others by following the five precepts (not to kill, not to steal, not to have improper sexual relations, not to lie, not to consume intoxicants). 2- To promise to apply oneself for the benefit of others (Bodhisattva vow). 3- To respect the profound nature of buddhahood in every being by the keeping of the tantric vows (which are the 14 committments of the Sacred Bond). From the ultimate point of view, the awakened mind signifies the direct understanding of the nature of emptiness of sense experience. The awakening mind is the giving of oneself without reserve for the benefit of all beings. Its development cannot be completely realized unless the prerequisite qualities of love and compassion have been correctly produced.
FAITH	Faith plays a great role in buddhism as in all other religions. It is the seed without which any harvest of fruit would be impossible. Each one can and should apply themselves in its cultivation. There are three kinds: -faith of love for the virtues of the Buddhas and other guides, such as the Lama, the Dharma, etc... -faith coming from desire for oneself to attain the same state of realization as the supreme quides. -faith of the confidence that if one follows the commandments and the prescriptions of the Buddhas, realization will be attained. In Vajrayana, the faith towards the Lama seeing him as undifferentated with the Buddha, is essential for obtaining the realizations.
FOUR JOYS see BLISS, FOUR CENTERS, YOGA	Fruit of the experience of the path in relation to the four centers.
GANDHARVAS "Odor Eaters"	This is the name given to beings in the Bardo which are nourished by odors. It also implies the name which designates a category of gods in the sphere of desire.
GIFT WAVES	Litteral and meaningful translation of the tibetan word "Tchin Lap", which also implies "benediction" (blessing).
HEVAJRA (tib. Tchie Dorje)	Tutelary deity or Yidam which is very important and practiced in the Sakya tradition. He is a manifestation of the Buddhas of which the practice depends on the Tantras of the highest class. One of the principal artisans of the diffusion of these teachings was the Mahasiddha Birwapa (or Virupa) who transmitted the entire lineage directly to Satchen Kunga Nyingpo, the first of the five founding Lamas of the Sakya school.
HINAYANA see MAHAYANA