The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines
Glossary

Fifty-seventh of the eighty minor marks.

Fifty-eighth of the eighty minor marks.

Literally, “unwrinkled body;” fifty-ninth of the eighty minor marks.

Sixth god realm of form, meaning “luminosity.”

Eighth of the eight sense fields of mastery. See also n.­46.

Seventh of the eight sense fields of mastery. See also n.­46.

Name of the 108th meditative stability.

A synonym for emptiness, and the expanse of reality (dharmadhātu).

A synonym for emptiness, and the expanse of reality (dharmadhātu).

Name of the seventy-third meditative stability.

Also translated here as “sanctuary,” and “resting place.”

In Buddhist logic, the term “distinguishing counterpart” (vyāvṛtti, ldog pa) denotes a given phenomenon that conceptually appears to be the opposite of a phenomenon of a dissimilar class but is not actually existent, such as the idea of a specific form that appears in conceptual thought.

Name of the ninety-third meditative stability.

Third of the four aspects of the path of preparation.

Also translated here as “tolerance.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The bodhisattvas’ realization that all phenomena are unproduced and empty. It sustains them on the difficult path of benefiting all beings so that they do not succumb to the goal of personal liberation. Different sources link this realization to the first or eighth bodhisattva level (bhūmi).

Also translated here as “favored.”

Name of the seventy-second meditative stability.

The acquisition of vows through direct insight into the nature of reality rather than through formal ceremony.

Eleventh of the twelve links of dependent origination.

Name of the tenth meditative stability.

See “afflicted mental state.”

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements known as the afflicted mental states, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure. Included among them are the primary afflictions of fundamental ignorance, attachment, aversion, pride, doubt, and twenty subsidiary afflictions.

Fifth of the five psycho-physical aggregates.

First of the five definitive aggregates.

Second of the five psycho-physical aggregates.

Fourth of the five psycho-physical aggregates.

Fourth of the five definitive aggregates.

Second of the five definitive aggregates.

Third of the five psycho-physical aggregates.

First of the five psycho-physical aggregates.

Fifth of the five definitive aggregates.

Third of the five definitive aggregates.

Twelfth of the twelve links of dependent origination.

One of the five obscurations.

Fifth of the pure abodes, meaning “highest.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Lit. “Not Disturbed” or “Immovable One.” The buddha in the eastern realm of Abhirati. A well-known buddha in Mahāyāna, regarded in the higher tantras as the head of one of the five buddha families, the vajra family in the east.

Thirteenth or sixteenth of the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas.

Fifteenth or eighteenth of the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas.

Fourteenth of the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas.

Name of a bodhisattva.

Sixteenth of the thirty-two major marks.

Tenth god realm of form, meaning “cloudless.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).

Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.

Name of a bodhisattva.

Thirteenth of the eighty minor marks.

A class of superhuman beings or demigods engendered and dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility, who are metaphorically described as being incessantly embroiled in a dispute with the gods over the possession of a magical tree.

Name of a bodhisattva.

The western continent of the human world according to traditional Indian cosmology, characterized as “rich in the resources of cattle.”

Fifth of the twelve branches of the scriptures.

Name of the ninety-eighth meditative stability.

Second of the four applications of mindfulness. For a description see 8.­14.

Fourth of the four applications of mindfulness. For a description, see 8.­16.

Third of the four applications of mindfulness. For a description, see 8.­15.

First of the four applications of mindfulness. For a description, see 8.­13.

See “four applications of mindfulness.”

Also translated here as “focus on.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

dmigs (pa) translates a number of Sanskrit terms, including ālambana, upalabdhi, and ālambate. These terms commonly refer to the apprehending of a subject, an object, and the relationships that exist between them. The term may also be translated as “referentiality,” meaning a system based on the existence of referent objects, referent subjects, and the referential relationships that exist between them. As part of their doctrine of “threefold nonapprehending/nonreferentiality” (’khor gsum mi dmigs pa), Mahāyāna Buddhists famously assert that all three categories of apprehending lack substantiality.

Fifth god realm of form, meaning “immeasurable radiance.”

Eighth god realm of form, meaning “immeasurable virtue.”

The alphabet of the Kharoṣṭhī script, forming an important dhāraṇī.

Fourth of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. One who has eliminated all afflicted mental states and personally ended the cycle of rebirth.

Twenty-ninth of the eighty minor marks.

Thirtieth of the eighty minor marks.

Ninth of the thirty-two major marks.

Indian commentator (fl. late fourth–early fifth centuries).

Name of the sixty-sixth meditative stability.

Fourth of the four knots.

Mauryan emperor (304–232 ʙᴄᴇ).

See “eight aspects of liberation.”

Third of the three gateways to liberation.

Also translated here as “retinue.”

To associate something with something.

Second of the pure abodes, meaning “painless.”

First of the five fetters associated with the higher realms.

Second of the five fetters associated with the higher realms.

Also translated here as “attentiveness.”

(See also n.­157).

Also translated here as “attention.”

(See also n.­157).

Also translated here as “light.”

Either the thirtieth of, or a supplement to, the thirty-two major marks.

Name of the present eon of time, during which one thousand buddhas appear in succession, Śākyamuni being the fourth and Maitreya the fifth.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.

First of the pure abodes, meaning “slightest.”

This term may generally by synonymous with intelligence or mental aptitude, but it also conveys the meaning of science or branches of knowledge, and of pure awareness. In this last sense, it denotes the fundamental innate mind in its natural state of spontaneity and purity, beyond alternating states of motion and rest and the subject-object dichotomy.

Name of the fourth meditative stability.

Eighteenth of the eighty minor marks.

Bewilderment is the confusion arising from the subject-object dichotomy and fundamental ignorance, on the basis of which rebirth in cyclic existence is perpetuated.

Name of a bodhisattva.

Second of the four kinds of disease.

Third of the four modes of birth.

While the Sanskrit term simply means “fortunate,” “illustrious,” or “revered,” Tibetan hermeneutics defines the term as denoting a teacher or buddha who primordially subdues (bcom) the four demonic forces, possesses (ldan) the six attributes of greatness (che ba’i yon tan drug, viz: lordship, noble form, glory, fame, gnosis, and perseverance), and transcends (’das) all sorrow, without abiding in the extremes of existence and quiescence. Used in this text to refer to the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Also translated here as “Lord” (See also n.­19).

Also translated here as “happiness.”

Twelfth of the eighty minor marks.

Name of the seventy-fourth meditative stability. “Purity” here could also be rendered “vibrance.”

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain manifestly perfect buddhahood, traversing the five bodhisattva paths and ten bodhisattva levels. Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. Philosophically, they realize the two aspects of selflessness, with respect to afflicted mental states and the nature of all phenomena.

(See also n.­27.)

Fifty-first of the eighty minor marks.

Fifty-second of the eighty minor marks.

Twelfth of the thirty-two major marks.

Fourth of the eighty minor marks.

Second of the eighty minor marks. See “Nārāyaṇa.”

Thirty-fourth of the eighty minor marks.

Seventh of the eighty minor marks.

Eighth of the eighty minor marks.

Fifth of the eighty minor marks.

Sixth of the eighty minor marks.

Fourteenth of the eighty minor marks.

Fifteenth of the eighty minor marks.

Name of the seventy-sixth meditative stability.

Name of the thirty-fifth meditative stability.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

First god realm of form, meaning “stratum of Brahmā.”

Second god realm of form, meaning “retinue of Brahmā.” Also called “Brahmapurohita.”

Second god realm of form, meaning “priest Brahmā.” Also called “Brahma­pari­ṣadya.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.

Also rendered here as “branches of genuine enlightenment.” See “seven branches of enlightenment.”

Twefth god realm of form, meaning “great fruition.”

Name of the thirty-ninth meditative stability.

Sixth of the thirty-two major marks.

Epithet of Buddha Śākyamuni and general way of addressing the enlightened ones.

The buddha body of emanation is the visible and usually physical manifestation of fully enlightened beings which arises spontaneously from the expanse of the buddha body of reality, whenever appropriate‌, in accordance with the diverse dispositions of sentient beings.

This indicates either an active or a passive distinction in the buddha body of reality, or the underlying indivisible essence of the three buddha bodies.

According to the Lesser Vehicle, the buddha body of form refers to the thousand buddhas of the Auspicious Eon, including Śākyamuni. In the Great Vehicle, however, the term includes both the buddha body of perfect resource which appears in a pure light form to tenth level bodhisattvas and the buddha body of emanation which manifests physically for the sake of all beings.

The buddha body of perfect resource denotes the luminous, immaterial, and unimpeded reflection-like forms of enlightened mind, which become spontaneously present and naturally manifest to tenth level bodhisattvas.

The ultimate nature or essence of the fruitional enlightened mind of the buddhas, which is non-arising, free from the limits of conceptual elaboration, empty of inherent existence, naturally radiant, beyond duality, and spacious.

This term denotes the operational field of a specific buddha, spontaneously arising as a result of their altruistic aspirations. (See also n.­18).

Name of the eighty-ninth meditative stability.

Also translated here as “calmness” and “peace.”

Also translated here as “calm” and “peace.”

Eighth of the thirty-two major marks.

Name of a bodhisattva.

This term can also mean “comprehensible speech,” in contrast to gzung ba med pa’i tshig (agrahaṇapada) or “incomprehensible speech.” See Negi (1993-2005): 5505.

First god realm of desire, meaning “abode of the four great kings.”

Name of the eighth meditative stability.

A series of one thousand parallel human worlds, according to traditional Indian cosmology.

Fourth of the eight progressive sections of clear realization.

Twenty-second of the thirty-two major marks.

Also translated as “knowledge.”

Seventeenth of the thirty-two major marks.

Fourth of the four kinds of disease.

Common phenomena from the perspective of ordinary persons, as described in 2.­83, include the following: the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurable aspirations, the four formless meditative absorptions, and the [first] five extrasensory powers.

(See also n.­141).

Second of the four immeasurable aspirations.

Name of the ninety-sixth meditative stability.

See “genuinely perfect buddha.”

Twenty-ninth of the thirty-two major marks.

Thirty-fifth of the eighty minor marks.

This term denotes the presence of discursive or conceptual thought processes. Their absence or deconstruction is characteristic of the realization of emptiness or actual reality.

Also translated here as “false imagination.”

This denotes the five aspects of concomitance between mind and its mental states, which may concern (1) location or support (gnas sam rten), (2) objective referent (dmigs pa), (3) sensum (rnam pa), (4) time (dus), or (5) substance (rdzas).

(See also n.­370).

Conditioned phenomena, as described in 2.­81, include the following: the world system of desire, the world system of form, the world system of formlessness, and likewise, the five psycho-physical aggregates, the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurable aspirations, the four formless meditative absorptions, and similarly, all those [aforementioned] attributes extending from the four applications of mindfulness, up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas.

(See also n.­141).

Third of the twelve links of dependent origination. Consciousness is defined as “an awareness which is knowing and luminous.” Not being physical, it lacks resistance to obstruction. It has neither shape nor color, and it can be experienced but not externally perceived as an object. A distinction is made between the mundane consciousness of sentient beings, and the gnosis of the buddhas. In the context‌ of the present discourse, the former includes six aspects of consciousness, namely, visual consciousness, auditory consciousness, olfactory consciousness, tactile consciousness, and mental consciousness, the last of which objectively refers to mental phenomena.

Name of the fifty-fourth meditative stability.

Name of the twelfth meditative stability.

Contaminated phenomena, as found in 2.­79, include the following: the five psycho-physical aggregates which are encompassed in the three world systems, the twelve sense fields, the eighteen sensory elements, the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurable aspirations, and the four formless meditative absorptions.

(See also n.­141).

First of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Third of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Fifth of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Sixth of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Seventh of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Fourth of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Eighth of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Second of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Ninth of the nine contemplations of impurity.

Sixth of the twelve branches of the scriptures.

Tenth of the thirty-two major marks.

Name of the 106th meditative stability.

First of the eighty minor marks.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the five trees of Indra’s paradise, its heavenly flowers often rain down in salutation of the buddhas and bodhisattvas and are said to be very bright and aromatic, gladdening the hearts of those who see them. In our world, it is a tree native to India, Erythrina indica or Erythrina variegata, commonly known as the Indian coral tree, mandarava tree, flame tree, and tiger’s claw. In the early spring, before its leaves grow, the tree is fully covered in large flowers, which are rich in nectar and attract many birds. Although the most widespread coral tree has red crimson flowers, the color of the blossoms is not usually mentioned in the sūtras themselves, and it may refer to some other kinds, like the rarer Erythrina indica alba, which boasts white flowers.

Fourth of the noble eightfold path.

Fourth of the seven branches of enlightenment.

Second of the seven branches of enlightenment.

Sixth of the noble eightfold path.

Seventh of the seven branches of enlightenment.

See 1.­21 and 8.­22.

Second of the noble eightfold path. Also translated as “correct thought.”