The Hundred Deeds
Glossary

A future solitary buddha.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, lowest among the six heavens of the desire realm. Dwelling place of the four great kings, traditionally located on a terrace of Sumeru, just below the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.

Fourth of the four types of formless meditative absorptions (caturārūpyasamāpatti, gzugs med snyoms ’jug bzhi) (Rigzin 369).

See “action.”

A formal act of the saṅgha that requires an initial motion followed by the statement of the proposed act, repeated three times. Such an act is required for several proceedings‍—among other occasions, to fully ordain someone, or to officially admonish an intransigent monk.

A formal act of the saṅgha that requires an initial motion followed by the statement of the proposed act. Such an act is needed to grant the vows of full ordination to a nun, among other occasions.

Any volitional act, whether of body, speech, or mind. Also rendered here as “act,” “karma,” and “deed.”

The name of the town where Kaineya lived; traditionally spelled Udumā, the rendering in The Hundred Deeds may be derived from the Pāli/Prakṛt form Ātumā.

An afflictive emotion.

Also called “delusions,” “afflictions,” or “addictive emotions,” these are mental states that produce turmoil and confusion and thus disturb mental peace and happiness (Rigzin 133).

In Buddhist philosophy, the five basic constituents upon which persons are conventionally designated. They are material forms, sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness.

A certain brahmin who in the future will be from the country of Pāṭaliputra, a master of the Vedas, and father of Śiṣyaka.

Not to be confused with Agnidatta (of Vārāṇasī), one of the magistrates of King Brahmadatta (past), nor with Agnidatta of the royal palace Śobhāvatī.

A certain brahmin of the royal palace Śobhāvatī during the time of Buddha Krakucchanda.

Not to be confused with Agnidatta of Vārāṇasī, nor with the Agnidatta (father of Śiṣyaka) prophesied to appear in the future, both of whose names are the slightly different Tib. mes sbyin.

One of King Brahmadatta’s magistrates, from Vārāṇasī. Father of Son of Fire and Tongue of Fire.

Not to be confused with Agnidatta (father of Śiṣyaka) prophesied to appear in the future, nor with Agnidatta of the royal palace Śobhāvatī.

Possibly the oldest school of Sanskrit grammar, by traditional accounts traced to the god Indra himself.

The modern-day Rāptīnadī. L. Chandra gives Ajiravatī for the Tib. khyams ldan.

One of the six philosophical extremists who lived during the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

Another name for Kauṇḍinya. One of the five monks present for the first teaching of the four noble truths; on account of his realization he became known as Venerable “All-Knowing Kauṇḍinya” or “Kauṇḍinya who understood” (Ājñāta­kauṇḍinya).

See “Supreme.”

An epithet of the buddhas. Salutation to the All-Knowing One at the beginning of a Buddhist text typically indicates its designation in the Vinaya Piṭaka.

One of eight children, a daughter, of King Siṃhahanu of Kapilavastu.

One of eight children, a son, of King Siṃhahanu of Kapilavastu.

A monk of the Buddha’s order, brother of Devadatta, who for twenty-five years served as the Buddha’s personal attendant. Second in the apostolic succession that carried on the Buddha’s teachings after his parinirvāṇa.

A wealthy householder of Śrāvastī renowned for his generosity, he spent a small fortune to purchase the garden of Prince Jeta, built a monastery there, and offered both to the Buddha.

Disciple of Śiṣyaka, he was prophesied by the Buddha to slay the arhat Sūrata, hastening the Dharma’s disappearance from this world.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.

They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.­1281– 2.1482.

The Buddha’s first cousin, born of the Śākya clan, who was among the most eminent of the Buddha’s monastic disciples.

A river in the province of Mallā in the vicinity of Kuśinagarī.

An afflictive emotion.

A future buddha.

Ninth of the twelve links of dependent origination.

“Forest Dweller,” the name of the son of householders in Śrāvastī, he preferred seclusion, eventually attaining arhatship.

Literally “foe-destroyer”‍—the foe in this case being the afflictive emotions‍—one who has attained arhatship.

“The state of liberation [from saṃsāra via destruction of the afflictive emotions] or the fifth path of no more to learn, attained by arhats after perfecting training in the fourth path…” (Rigzin 60). In this text being “established … in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa”; also appears as a synonym for the attainment of arhatship.

Name of a former buddha; also the name of a future buddha prophesied in The Hundred Deeds.

The name of a certain householder.

A mendicant; sometimes employed as a title of the Buddha.

An optional set of thirteen practices that monastics can adopt in order to cultivate greater detachment. They consist of (1) wearing patched robes made from discarded cloth rather than from cloth donated by laypeople; (2) wearing only three robes; (3) going for alms; (4) not omitting any house while on the alms round, rather than begging only at those houses known to provide good food; (5) eating only what can be eaten in one sitting; (6) eating only food received in the alms bowl, rather than more elaborate meals presented to the saṅgha; (7) refusing more food after indicating one has eaten enough; (8) dwelling in the forest; (9) dwelling at the root of a tree; (10) dwelling in the open air, using only a tent made from one’s robes as shelter; (11) dwelling in a charnel ground; (12) satisfaction with whatever dwelling one has; and (13) sleeping in a sitting position without ever lying down.

A future buddha.

Not to be confused with the young brahmin Aśoka who was Buddha Kāśyapa’s best friend prior to his enlightenment, nor with King Aśoka who does not appear in this text.

Young brahmin who was Buddha Kāśyapa’s best friend prior to his enlightenment. The Hundred Deeds is not clear on this point, but Edgerton notes that Aśoka is understood as the nephew and disciple of Buddha Kāśyapa (Edgerton 80.2).

Not to be confused with the future buddha Aśoka, nor with the historical King Aśoka who does not appear in this text.

A future buddha.

A species of tree; Vatica robusta.

“Breath.” The previous incarnation of the great king Dhṛtarāṣṭra as a nāga king who lived on Mount Meru, he eventually went for refuge and took the fundamental precepts.

A certain yakṣa lord tamed by the Buddha.

Along with the Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, and Sāma Veda, one of the four Vedas, the most ancient Sanskrit religious literature of India.

Entry point for the path of seeing, this is the direct perception of things as they are, ultimate reality, suchness.

An individual who is gifted in reading natural signs and omens.

A country visited by Venerable Upasena; home of Lotus Color.

An afflictive emotion.

A city ruled by King Mahā­sena long before the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni. Also said to have been ruled by King Nāgadeva (rgyal po klu lha) before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

Appears in The Hundred Deeds as the name of a king and a people dwelling in the “barbaric outlying region” west of Jambudvīpa.

A grove of bamboo trees in Rājagṛha, where Buddha Śākyamuni sometimes dwelt.

A certain band of monks of the Buddha’s order who appear throughout the vinaya literature as examples of those who break the monastic rules. In Pāli their names are given as Assaji, Punabbasu, Panduka, Lohitaka, Mettiya, and Bhummaja. The Hundred Deeds contains one story in which they trick the nun Sthūlanandā into thinking that they can help her attain magical powers.

A king during the time of the Tathāgata Vipaśyin.

A city of the (past) ninety-first eon and the birthplace of Buddha Vipaśyin. In The Hundred Deeds, two women offered Vipaśyin food there and made prayers, resulting in their rebirths as Buddha Śākyamuni’s mother Mahā­māyā and his aunt Māyā.

Sometimes called the “golden ground,” or “universal base,” “The mythological basis of our known world. It is made of gold and situated below Mount Sumeru” (Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary).

Peacock who overheard the Buddha teaching on Vulture Peak Mountain.

Tenth of the twelve links of dependent origination.

The name of the charioteer Subhadra’s son who is ordained, attains arhatship, and leads his parents to attain stream entry and go forth.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.

For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.

In this text:

Also rendered here simply as “nun.”

The name of a certain brahmin who lived in Rājagṛha.

Not to be confused with Bhūta, the name of a merchant and a dog, and a certain class of evil beings.

The name of a certain householder’s dog and the name given to the lost infant it carried home to its owner one night, which would one day be reunited with his birth mother.

Also the name of a certain brahmin who lived in Rājagṛha, and the name of a certain class of evil beings.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The king of Magadha and a great patron of the Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s, and his father, King Mahāpadma, named him “Essence of Gold” after mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (“Goldie”). Accounts of Bimbisāra’s youth and life can be found in The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1, Pravrajyāvastu).

King Śreṇya Bimbisāra first met with the Buddha early on, when the latter was the wandering mendicant known as Gautama. Impressed by his conduct, Bimbisāra offered to take Gautama into his court, but Gautama refused, and Bimbisāra wished him success in his quest for awakening and asked him to visit his palace after he had achieved his goal. One account of this episode can be found in the sixteenth chapter of The Play in Full (Toh 95, Lalitavistara). There are other accounts where the two meet earlier on in childhood; several episodes can be found, for example, in The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340, Karmaśataka). Later, after the Buddha’s awakening, Bimbisāra became one of his most famous patrons and donated to the saṅgha the Bamboo Grove, Veṇuvana, at the outskirts of the capital of Magadha, Rājagṛha, where he built residences for the monks. Bimbisāra was imprisoned and killed by his own son, the prince Ajātaśatru, who, influenced by Devadatta, sought to usurp his father’s throne.

In this text:

Also rendered here as “Śreṇiya Bimbisāra.”

Eleventh of the twelve links of dependent origination.

A certain dark-complected brahmin youth who became a sage, then heard the Dharma from the Buddha, became ordained, and manifested arhatship.

Not to be confused with Black the yakṣa who also appears in his story, nor with Kāla the nāga king (whose name in Tib. is the same nag po).

A certain yakṣa tamed by the Buddha and subsequently sworn to protect the people of Rājagṛha.

Not to be confused with Black the brahmin who also appears in his story, nor with Kāla the nāga king.

Second of the eight hot hells of Buddhist cosmology. The guardians of the Black Thread Hell mark the bodies of its inhabitants with a black thread before cutting and slicing them apart along those lines.

An epithet of the buddhas.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

First (and lightest) of the eight cold hells of Buddhist cosmology. Its inhabitants are wracked with a cold wind that causes their bodies to be covered in sores.

See “Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The place where the Buddha Śākyamuni achieved awakening and where every buddha will manifest the attainment of buddhahood. In our world this is understood to be located under the Bodhi tree, the Vajrāsana, in present-day Bodhgaya, India. It can also refer to the state of awakening itself.

A buddha in training. Also sometimes used as a title when referring to the Buddha in a previous incarnation, i.e., “the Bodhisattva.”

The first wife of a certain householder of great means who lived before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

One of the primary deities of the purāṇic Hindu pantheon, and perhaps the first to take on the status formerly held by the cosmic being Prajāpati in the literature of the brāhmaṇas. As a creator god in the purāṇas, Brahmā is said to have pronounced the mantras of four vedas from each of his four faces and thus established the sonic foundation for the manifestation of the cosmos. Though not considered a creator god in Buddhist literature, in his form as Sahāṃpati Brahmā, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two deities (the other being Indra/Śakra) that are said to have exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma in the hagiographic literature. The particular heavens over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Among his epithets is “Lord of Sahā World” (Sahāṃpati).

See “religious life.”

King of the city of Vārāṇasī and the country of Kāśi before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni. Not to be confused with the king of the same name who ruled the same city of Vārāṇasī during the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

King of the city of Vārāṇasī during the time of Buddha Śākyamuni. Not to be confused with the king of the same name who ruled the city of Vārāṇasī and the country of Kāśi before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

The heaven of Brahmā, usually located just above the desire realm (kāmadhātu) as one of the first levels of the form realm (rūpadhātu) and equated with the state that one achieves in the first meditative absorption (dhyāna).

See “Brāhmaṇa Mahā­kapina.”

One of the most eminent monks of the Buddha’s order. Going out to teach by direct order of the Buddha, he became famous for leading one thousand disciples to attain arhatship. Also rendered here simply as “Brāhmaṇa Kapina.”

The general name for the class of gods that dwell in Brahmāloka.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology; its inhabitants are devotees of Great Brahmā.

Second of the eight cold hells of Buddhist cosmology. Its inhabitants are wracked with a cold wind that causes their bodies to be covered in sores that burst open.

Single-pointed meditative concentration developed through the techniques of settling the mind (Rigzin 352).

During the time of Buddha Greatest of All, a certain mountain where seventy-seven thousand on the path of learning and the path of no more to learn pledged to stay during the rains.

City ruled by King Glacier Lake Deity before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

King of Ujjayinī, in Śiṃśapā Forest, where Buddha Śākyamuni sometimes dwelt. Also called just “Pradyota.”

Daughter of the high brahmin Candrasukha of Śrāvastī, her mother, during her pregnancy, wished to engage in philosophical debate. She herself grew up to be a great debater. Ordained a nun, she learned the Prātimokṣa Sūtra by heart after hearing the Buddha recite it just once.

A certain compassionate king of Vārāṇasī and a previous incarnation of the Buddha.

A certain high brahmin in Śrāvastī whose wife, upon conceiving, began wishing to engage in philosophical debate. She then gave birth to the great debater named Candrā, a nun who learned the Prātimokṣa Sūtra by heart after hearing the Buddha recite it just once.

Evidently a general term for homeless religious mendicants, occurring paired with parivrājaka in stock lists of followers of heretical movements.

The name of King Śibi’s palace.

See “religious life.”

A future solitary buddha.

Citra Mounted on an Elephant’s name in a former life.

In Rājagṛha, the son of King Bimbisāra’s elephant trainer Elephant Heart. He is tricked into giving back his precepts, then becomes ordained once again.

An epithet of the Buddha’s tribe derived from a legend concerning his ancestry (Rigzin 128). See also “Śākya.”

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, first of three levels of the fourth dhyāna realm.

See “religious life.”

Fifth of the eight cold hells of Buddhist cosmology. It is named for the sounds its inhabitants make while enduring unthinkable cold.

A future buddha.

This term refers to composite objects in the generic sense. In other contexts, it can also refer to “formations.”

One of the five aggregates, and third of the twelve links of dependent origination, this is sometimes also called “cognition,” and is the self-reflexive awareness of beings.

Also rendered here as “temperament” and “element.”

Sixth of the twelve links of dependent origination.

To direct one’s attention to an object for a period of time.

The person from whom one receives vows. It is also the title of the head of a monastery and used here to refer to a royal magistrate. Also rendered here as “preceptor.”

Second name given to Deluded.

Eighth of the twelve links of dependent origination. Also for the Tib. ’dun pa, in other contexts.

An afflictive emotion. In other contexts also for the Tib. sred pa.

Third of the eight hot hells of Buddhist cosmology. The guardians of the Crushing Hell repeatedly crush its inhabitants between mountains.

Ordained by the Buddha in Śrāvastī; possessed of miraculous powers, he cast away all afflictive emotions and manifested arhatship.

A certain yakṣa, who with a blazing scepter will club the head of the monk Aṅgada, who in turn had murdered the arhat Sūrata hastening the Dharma’s disappearance from this world.

An alternate form of the name Daṇḍapāṇi, a Śākya clan member and the father of Gopā and Yaśodharā. In The Hundred Deeds he is noted as the father of mda’ thogs, rendered here with the potential back-translation Iṣudhara.

A certain sage whom The Hundred Deeds appears to list as one of the attendants of the queen in Śrāvastī during the time of the Buddha. Elsewhere he and his associate Purāṇa are remembered as a ministers or attendants (sthapati) to King Prasenajit.

See “action.” Also used to translate other synonyms, like mdzad pa.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, counted among the six heavens of the desire realm. Its inhabitants magically create the objects of their own enjoyment, and also dispose of them themselves.

Son of householders in the country of Śūrpāraka. During the time of the Buddha, he was also known as Covered.

Also called “antigods” or “titans,” these are a lower type of celestial being who out of jealousy are forever in conflict with the gods. See also “five destinies.”

Also called “interdependent origination,” “dependent co-origination,” “interbeing,” the meeting or coincidence of causes and conditions for creating a thing or a situation; in general, the twelve links of dependent origination dealing with the cycle of rebirth, and in its highest sense providing proof of the selflessness of all phenomena (Rigzin 150).

Lit. “god.” An honorific term of address for royalty, similar to “Your Majesty.”

A Śākya village once ruled by Śākya Suprabuddha.

The Buddha’s cousin and fellow Śākya clan member as well as his brother-in-law; brother of Ānanda and Upadhāna. His hostility toward Buddha Śākyamuni is widely recorded in Buddhist literature, and as a result he often represents the paradigm of improper behavior and attitudes toward the Buddha and the Buddhist saṅgha.

A certain householder in Rājagṛha during the time of the Buddha, he was father of Sudarśana.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

A term for those who teach the Buddhist Dharma.

Daughter of King Prasenajit’s minister Dinna, betrothed to Viśākha. She achieved the state of a non-returner and displayed miracles at her wedding, receiving permission from her betrothed and his family to forgo marriage and go forth. Quite beautiful, as a novice she was threatened by lustful would-be suitors. Her predicament led to the Buddha permitting full ordination of nuns by message.

Fifth in the apostolic succession that carried on the Buddha’s teachings after his parinirvāṇa.

One of the four great kings, protector of the cardinal direction to the east of Mount Meru.

One of the seven limbs of enlightenment.

One of King Prasenajit’s two chief ministers in Śrāvastī.

King who reigned in the palace Dīpavatī, during the time of Buddha Dīpaṃkara, two incalculable eons before Buddha Śākyamuni’s day.

A buddha who appeared two incalculable eons before Buddha Śākyamuni’s time and is celebrated in Buddhist literature and artwork as the first Buddha to predict the bodhisattva Sumati’s future enlightenment as Buddha Śākyamuni.

The name of the capital city of Dīpaṃkara (Edgerton 265.1); the name of the royal palace of King Dīpa, who ruled the land of Dīpaṃkara during Buddha Dīpaṃkara’s time.

A certain king of the city of Pāṁśula who lived before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni. His son was Reṇu.

Also rendered here as “listener,” and sometimes also called “hearers,” the term originally referred to direct disciples of Buddha Śākyamuni who had actually heard the Buddha’s teachings; now commonly refers to those Buddhists who strive for their own nirvāṇa. Their primary fields of practice are the four noble truths and the twelve links of dependent origination (Rigzin 126).

Four specific types of discernment. The four ways in which a bodhisattva knows distinct features, characteristics, and states of phenomena: (1) discrimination of dharma (dharmapratisaṃvid, chos so so yang dag rig pa); (2) discrimination of things (arthapratisaṃvid, so so yang dag rig pa); (3) discrimination of expression (niruktipratisaṃvid, nges tshig so so yang dag rig pa); (4) discrimination of eloquence (pratibhāna pratisaṃvid, spobs pa so so yang dag rig pa) (Rigzin 288, with slight adjustments to terminology in translation).

Also called “constructs,” “mental constructs,” “mental fabrication,” or “proliferations.”

Lit. “wind,” one of the four elements that constitute all matter, including the physical body, and one of the three primary humors (doṣas) in the Āyuvedic medical traditions.

Lit. “smell,” “scent,” “stain.”

Name of place in the Adumā region.

A monastery visited by the monk Lotus Color during his trip to Mathurā.

A religious sect of men distinguished by their long, clotted hair, to which the Buddha’s disciple Venerable Uruvilvā Kāśyapa had belonged. The Buddha ordained a thousand of them in Uruvilvā.

One of eight children, a daughter, of King Siṃhahanu of Kapilavastu.

One of eight children, a son, of King Siṃhahanu of Kapilavastu.

A future solitary buddha.

Foretold as the son of a future King Mahendrasena of Kauśāmbī.

Not to be confused with Mahendrasena of Videha in the Buddha’s time.

A certain king during the time of Buddha Prabhāvan who ordered the torture and slaughter of five hundred arhats, precipitating his rebirth in the Hell of Ceaseless Agony. Also his name in a previous birth as a certain king.

Included among the fifty-five types of virtuous phenomena, the first three occur within the form realm (gzugs kyi rnam par thar pa gsum): (1) the liberation of the embodied looking at a form (gzugs can gzugs la blta ba’i rnam thar), (2) liberation of the formless looking at a form (gzugs med gzugs la blta ba’i rnam thar), (3) liberation through beautiful form (sdug pa’i rnam par thar pa), and the latter five occur within the formless realm: (4) liberation of infinite space (nam mkha’ mtha’ yas kyi rnam thar), (5) liberation of infinite consciousness (rnam shes mtha’ yas kyi rnam thar), (6) liberation of nothingness (ci yang med pa’i rnam thar), (7) liberation of the peak of existence (srid rtsi’i rnam thar), and (8) liberation of cessation (’gog pa’i rnam thar) (Rigzin 236, 239).

The (1) examination of cloth, (2) examination of jewels, (3) examination of gems, (4) examination of incense, (5) examination of medicine, (6) examination of elephants, (7) examination of horses, and (8) examination of arms and armor.

(1) Music (gandharva, rol mo), (2) amorous skills (vāiśakam, ’khrig ’thab), (3) housekeeping (vārttā, ’tsho chos/so tshis), (4) mathematics (sāṃkhyā, grang can), (5) grammar (śabdha, sgra), (6) medicine (cikitsa, gso ba), (7) religious tradition (dharmanītī, chos lugs), (8) painting and handicrafts (śilpa, bzo ba), (9) archery (dhanurveda, ’phong spyod), (10) logic (hetu, gtan tshig), (11) pharmacology (cikitsayoga, sman spyor), (12) self-discipline (svaśīla, rang gi bcas pa), (13) reflection on study (śrutismṛiti, thos pa dran pa), (14) astronomy (jyotiṣa, skar ma’i dpyad), (15) astrology (gaṇita, rtsis), (16) magic (māyā, mig ’phrul), (17) history (purāṇam, sngon rabs), and (18) storytelling (itihāsakathā, sngon byung brjod pa) (Rigzin 395–6).

A set of eighty bodily characteristics and insignia borne by both buddhas and universal monarchs. For a comprehensive list of the eighty marks see Negi (3333). These are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the “thirty-two signs of great persons.” For a comprehensive list of the eighty and thirty-two marks see Berzin (2012).

Also rendered here as “temperament” and “constituent element.”

In Rājagṛha, a certain elephant trainer for King Bimbisāra. His son was Citra Mounted on an Elephant.

See “afflictive emotions.”

An afflictive emotion.

An unbiased attitude of equal regard for all sentient beings without discriminating between enemies, friends, or neutral people (Rigzin 147).

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, third of three levels of the third dhyāna realm.

May refer to the sense faculties or one’s cognitive power, according to context.

Typically a reference to a priest in the Vedic tradition.

See “four meditative states.”

A shorter form of the six classes of beings, these are: (1) hell beings, (2) anguished spirits, (3) animals, (4) human beings, and (5) gods. The fifth category is divided into gods and demigods when six realms are enumerated.

These are (1) knowledge of miracles (riddividhijñānam, rdzu ’phrul gyi mngon par shes pa), (2) knowledge of the divine eye (divyaṃcakṣuḥ, lha’i mig gi mngon par shes pa), (3) knowledge of the minds of others (paracittābhijñānam, lha’i rna ba’i mngon par shes pa), (4) knowledge of the divine ear (divyamśrotam, lha’i rna ba’i mngon par shes pa), and (5) knowledge recollecting past lives (pūrvanirvāsānusmṛitijñānam, sngon gnas rjes dran gyi mngon par shes pa). These five can be attained by non-Buddhist and Buddhist practitioners alike. A sixth can be attained only by Buddhist practitioners: (6) knowledge of the extinction of the contaminations (āsravakṣayābhijñā, zag pa zad pa’i mngon par shes pa) (Rigzin 95–6, except #6, Skt. via Negi).

Child of householders in Śrāvasti, he was born “corpulent, full-fledged in skin, flesh, and blood.” He leapt from a boulder at the sight of the Buddha but was unharmed due to the Buddha’s blessing. Having then heard the Dharma from the Buddha, he went forth and manifested arhatship.

A city ruled by King Meru before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

A future solitary buddha.

A brahmin who lived before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni. In The Hundred Deeds he is said to have lived in the wilderness, gone forth in front of a certain sage, and manifested the four meditations and the five superknowledges.

A forest in the territory ruled by King Bimbisāra.

In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence one level more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings, though subtly embodied, are not driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification.

Matters that govern the saṅgha community’s daily life, regular observances (such as the rains retreat and the purification) and special events (like ordination) are ratified by a formal act of the saṅgha. There are one hundred and one such types of formal acts, all of which fall into one of three categories depending on the procedure needed for ratification. An act of motion alone requires only a petition; an act whose second member is a motion require a motion and the statement of the act; while an act whose fourth member is a motion require a motion and three statements of the act.

One of the five aggregates, second of the twelve links of dependent origination, and in the context of the aggregates sometimes also called “volitions,” “volitional formations,” or “compositional factors,” these are complex propensities that bring about action. This term may also refer to composite objects or conditioned things in the generic sense.

In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence two levels more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings are no longer physically embodied, and thus not subject to the sufferings that physical embodiment brings.

The name of the current eon, so-called because one thousand buddhas are prophesied to appear during this time.

These are elephants, horse cavalry, chariots, and infantry (Tatelman 259).

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahā­rājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).

Also called “four concentrations” or “meditations,” or “practices of concentration,” in the Sūtrayāna tradition this term refers to the four concentrations of the form realm (gzugs khams kyi bsam gtan bzhi) (Rigzin 455).

Probably a variant of the Buddha’s five observations (pañcadarśana), the five predeterminations of Buddha Śākyamuni before he came to this world: (1) dus la gzigs pa, observation of the time for his appearance; (2) rus la gzigs pa, observation of the family of his birth; (3) rigs la gzigs pa, observation of the caste of his lineage; (4) yum la gzigs pa, observation of the mother to whom he would be born; and (5) yul la gzigs pa, observation of the land in which to disseminate his doctrine (Rigzin 366).

“These are the four stages on the path of application (prayogamārga). They are heat (uṣmagata), tolerance (kṣānti), summit (mūrdha), and highest worldly dharma (laukikāgradharma).” Rotman (2005) p. 452.

Translated here as “heat,” “peak” (given as the second stage in this text), “patience in accord with the truths” (given as the third stage in this text), and “highest worldly dharma.”

Also called the four fearlessnesses or the four grounds of self-confidence of a buddha, these are fearlessness with respect to the assertion of (1) one’s complete and perfect extinguishment of all negativities for one’s own benefit (rang don du spang bya thams cad spangs ces dam bcas pa la ’jigs pa), (2) one’s complete and perfect accomplishment of knowledge for one’s own benefit (rang don du yon tan thams cad dang ldan zhes dam bcas pa la mi ’jigs pa), (3) revealing the paths of antidotes for the benefit of others (gzhan don du gnyen po’i lam ’di dag go zhes dam bcas pa la mi ’jigs pa), and (4) revealing the eliminations for the benefit of others (gzhan don du ’di rnams spang bya yin zhes dam bcas pa la mi ’jigs pa) (Rigzin 314).

See “four meditative states.”

The name of the room at the Jeta Grove monastery where the Buddha lived; the name of the innermost chamber in the original vihāra layout where the Buddha, and later his image, resided.

The formal term for granting orders and confirming a candidate as a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī.

(1) Not killing (srog gcod spong ba), (2) not stealing (ma byin par len pa spong ba), (3) not indulging in sexual conduct (ma tshangs spyod spong ba), (4) not lying (brdzun du smra ba spong ba), (5) not taking intoxicants (myos ’gyur btung ba spong ba), (6) not using cosmetics, ornaments and garlands, etc. (spos dang kha dog byug pa spong ba), (7) not using high and luxurious seats or beds (khri stan che mtho spong ba), and (8) not taking untimely food/not eating after noon (dus min zas spong ba).

A mountain or mountain range closely associated with solitary buddhas.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A park in Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. It was owned by Prince Jeta, and the wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, bought it from him by covering the entire property with gold coins. It was to become the place where the monks could be housed during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It is therefore the setting for many of the Buddha's discourses.

A garden in Kauśāmbī that the householder Ghoṣila donated to the Buddhist saṅgha. This Tibetan rendering of Ghoṣilārāma only appears in The Hundred Deeds, and the precise correlation between the Tib. las rig and the standard Sanskrit for this location remains unclear.

An alternate spelling of Bharga, a country during the time of Buddha Śākyamuni that had its capital at Mount Śiśumāri.

Classified among the animals, they are a kind of fantastic bird akin to the eagle, and said to be enemies of nāgas and snakes.

Siddhārtha Gautama is the most common given name used for Buddha Śākyamuni prior to his enlightnement.

The name of the town that lies close to the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment.

A householder in Kauśāmbī who provided a garden for the Buddha and his monks to reside.

The son of King Glacier Lake Deity, a past monarch of the city of Campā.

Monarch of the city of Campā before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

To leave the life of a householder and embrace the life of a renunciant. In some passages in this text, especially when followed by the term bsnyen par rdzogs pa, this term has been amplified for clarity as “go forth as a novice,” this being a first stage leading to full ordination as a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī.

In most cases used to refer to a class of long-lived celestial being, but occasionally appears as an honorific term of address for royalty, similar to “Your Majesty,” here rendered as “Deva.”

In ancient Buddhist cosmology, the western of the four continents in the cardinal directions.

Lit. “weighing a karṣa,” a coin or weight of different values (Monier-Williams 276.3); a type of ancient Indian currency.

Golden-complexioned nun who achieved arhatship during the time of Buddha Śākyamuni, due to the intercession of a previous incarnation of Venerable Ānanda during the time of Buddha Kāśyapa.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).

Son of the Vaiśālī army chief Siṃha at the time of the Buddha’s stay there, he was sentenced to death for the murder of a prostitute. The Buddha secured his release, ordained him, and he attained arhatship.

Along with Yaśodharā, a spouse of Gautama who, in this text, spurned the advances of Devadatta and subjected him to brutal humiliation.

A householder and magistrate of King Diśāṃpati of Pāṁśula. Father of Guardian of the Flame Govinda.

Short form of “Guardian of the Flame Govinda.”

Not to be confused with his father the householder Govinda.

See “Guardian of the Flame Govinda.”

A certain high brahmin of Rājagṛha, father of Son of Grasping.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology. The inhabitants of this heaven mistakenly think that they created everything.

A king ruling over a particularly large territory, often including the territories of other petty rulers; a class of divine beings assigned to the cardinal directions who guard the earth, Buddhist practitioners, and Buddhist institutions against demonic forces.

See “Splitting Open Like a Great Lotus Hell.”

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, third of three levels of the fourth dhyāna realm.

A garuḍa, king of birds, who lived on Mount Meru, and eventually went for refuge and took the fundamental precepts. He was the previous incarnation of the great king Vaiśravaṇa.

See “universal monarch.”

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, fourth of the five so-called pure realms of the form realm.

A past buddha.

See “Guardian of the Flame Govinda.”

A previous incarnation of Buddha Śākyamuni in The Hundred Deeds, he was the son of King Diśāṃpati of Pāṁśula’s magistrate, the householder Govinda. After his father’s death, he took over his work and became known as Guardian of the Flame, Guardian of the Flame Govinda, Govinda the Teacher, Mahā­govinda, or just Govinda.

The father of Upagupta noted as a perfume merchant in Mathurā.

A most highly revered personal spiritual teacher; not to be confused with the future buddha Guru.

Name of a future buddha.

A future solitary buddha.

A certain master archer in Vaiśālī.

The first of the four stages of penetrative insight.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, highest of the six heavens of the desire realm. The inhabitants enjoy objects created by others, then dispose of them themselves.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology. Counted among the six heavens of the desire realm, it is traditionally located atop Sumeru, just above the terrace of the Abodes of the Four Great Kings.

A denizen of the hells. See “five destinies.”

Eighth (and heaviest) of the eight hot hells of Buddhist cosmology. Only their miserable cries distinguish beings in this hell from the flames that engulf them.

Third of the eight cold hells of Buddhist cosmology. It is named for the sounds its inhabitants make while enduring unthinkable cold.

Seventh of the eight hot hells of Buddhist cosmology. Inhabitants of this hell undergo all the sufferings of the Hot Hell, as well as being seared, beaten, and skewered.

Fourth of the eight cold hells of Buddhist cosmology. It is named for the sounds its inhabitants make while enduring unthinkable cold.

The fourth of the four stages of penetrative insight.

The name of a river.

Sixth of the eight hot hells of Buddhist cosmology. Inhabitants of this hell are boiled in cauldrons, roasted in pans, beaten with hammers, and skewered with spears as their bodies burst into flame.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term is usually used for wealthy lay patrons of the Buddhist community. It also refers to a subdivision of the vaiśya (mercantile) class of traditional Indian society, comprising businessmen, merchants, landowners, and so on.

A certain nāga king converted by Mādhyandina during his missionary work in Kashmir.

First of the twelve links of dependent origination, one of the root afflictive emotions (see also “subsidiary afflictive emotions”), it is the root of misapprehension of phenomena as truly existent (Rigzin 311).

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, second of three levels of the second dhyāna realm.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, second of three levels of the third dhyāna realm.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, second of three levels of the fourth dhyāna realm.

A Vedic god who eventually emerged as one of the most important in the Vedic pantheon; Indra retains his role as the “King of the Gods” in Buddhist literature, where he is often referred to by the name Śakra

The name of a cave on Mount Videha south of Rājagṛha.

Also translated here as “thought construction.”

Wisdom, knowledge, cognition, quality of awareness (Rigzin 396).

An important form of Buddhist meditation focusing on developing insight into the nature of phenomena. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being “calm abiding.”

The son of Daṇḍadhara (more commonly Daṇḍapāṇi) and brother of Yaśodharā and Venerable Aniruddha. His name in Tibetan, mda’ thogs, is rendered here with the potential back-translation Iṣudhara.

An epithed of the god Śiva.

Nickname of the child of wealthy householders in Śrāvasti, so called because of his penchant for eating excrement and drinking urine. After taking instruction from the philosophical extremist Pūraṇa Kāśyapa, who admired his ostenisible austerities, he heard the Dharma from the Buddha, went forth, and manifested arhatship.

A future buddha.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

Child of householders in Śrāvastī, eventually ordained. At the time of his entrance into the womb and again upon his birth a rain of jasmine flowers fell. He went on to attain arhatship and various spiritual qualities from the cause of having scattered loose jasmine petals over, and having made offerings and prayers to reliquary stūpas in a previous life.

Lit. “Victorious.” King of the city of Undefeated Victory before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

A highly skilled healer and personal physician of Buddha Śākyamuni, he figures into many stories of the Buddha, his disciples, and other associates.

A future solitary buddha.

A woman who, because she had previously been the Buddha’s mother for five hundred lifetimes, saw him as her son and ran to embrace him. Then, hearing the Dharma from him, she became ordained and manifested arhatship, and the Buddha declared her foremost among nuns who interpret the sūtras.

A clairvoyant sage who lived with five hundred devotees in the forests of the Adumā region and spent time on the banks of Lake Mandākinī. His nephew was the sage Śaila.

One of the six philosophical extremists who lived during the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

A certain nāga king who praised Gautama prior to his enlightenment.

Not to be confused with Black (nag po), the yakṣa; nor with Black (nag po), the brahmin.

A certain place in Bamboo Gove (Veṇuvana) in Rājagṛha, the Sanskrit name meaning “dwelling place of squirrels;” it was so named by King Bimbisāra after being saved from attack by a snake there thanks to the squawking of many kalandaka‍—flying squirrels, Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest, but crows or other birds according to the Tibetan rendering. It is also sometimes called Kalandakanivāpa, “place where squirrels are fed.”

Name of a buddha who preceded Śākyamuni, usually counted as the second buddha of the current fortunate eon, Śākyamuni being the fourth.

The name of an important ancient Indian city identified as modern Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, India.

The name of a sage.

Near the Himālayas, the city that was home to the Śākya clan into which Buddha Śākyamuni was born.

See “action.”

King of Kanyakubja before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

Country whose capital was Vārāṇasī, in the Buddha’s time it had been absorbed into Kośala. Its monarch was Brahmadatta (past).

“Beauty of Kāśi.” Princess of Vārāṇasī, child of Brahmadatta (present), who was extraordinarily beautiful and desired by six royal suitors. When her father announced she would choose her own spouse, she “chose” the Buddha, went forth, and manifested arhatship.

Buddha of a previous age.

Not to be confused with the monk Kāśyapa of Buddha Śākyamuni’s order, nor with Uruvilvā Kāśyapa, Nadī Kāśyapa, or Pūraṇa Kāśyapa, nor with Nirgrantha Kāśyapa, nor Foremost Kāśyapa.

See “Mahā­kāśyapa.”

Given name of “Nirgrantha Kinsman of the Kāśyapas.”

Not to be confused with Kāśyapa, buddha of a previous age; the monk Kāśyapa of Buddha Śākyamuni’s order; nor with Uruvilvā Kāśyapa, Nadī Kāśyapa, or Pūraṇa Kāśyapa; nor Foremost Kāśyapa.

One of four cronies of Devadatta.

Son of She Who Gathers and grandson of Padmagarbha, he was a highly realized monk of Buddha Śākyamuni’s order. Also rendered here as “Kātyāyanaputra.”

See “Kātyāyana.”

See “Kātyāyana.”

See “Ājñāta­kauṇḍinya.”

An ancient city, capital of Vatsa, located down the Ganges River from Rājagṛha.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

“One who belongs to the Kuśika lineage.” An epithet of the god Śakra, also known as Indra, the king of the gods in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. In the Ṛgveda, Indra is addressed by the epithet Kauśika, with the implication that he is associated with the descendants of the Kuśika lineage (gotra) as their aiding deity. In later epic and Purāṇic texts, we find the story that Indra took birth as Gādhi Kauśika, the son of Kuśika and one of the Vedic poet-seers, after the Puru king Kuśika had performed austerities for one thousand years to obtain a son equal to Indra who could not be killed by others. In the Pāli Kusajātaka (Jāt V 141–45), the Buddha, in one of his former bodhisattva lives as a Trāyastriṃśa god, takes birth as the future king Kusa upon the request of Indra, who wishes to help the childless king of the Mallas, Okkaka, and his chief queen Sīlavatī. This story is also referred to by Nāgasena in the Milindapañha.

Young woman appointed by King Śākya Suprabuddha to look after the hair of his daughters Mahā­māyā and Māyā (the Buddha’s mother and aunt, respectively).

One of four cronies of Devadatta.