Four Aspects of Sensory Contact reg-bzhi
These are sensory contact, along with its subject, object and actual sensation.
Four Buddha-bodies sku-bzhi, Skt. catuḥkāya
See under Buddha-body.
Four Classes of Ḍākinī mkha’-’gro sde-bzhi.
The four classes of ḍākinῑ comprise those born in sacred abodes or pure lands (zhing-skyes mkha’-’gro), those born in consequence of mantra recitation (sngags-skyes mkha’-’gro), those who are naturally born (lhan-skyes mkha’-’gro), and those born of pristine cognition (ye-shes mkha’-’gro).
Four Continents and Eight Subcontinents gling bzhi-dang gling-phran brgyad
According to traditional Indian Buddhist cosmology, the world has Mount Sumeru as its central axis, surrounded by seven concentric oceans divided from one another by seven successive ranges of golden mountains: Yugandhara, Isadhāra, Khadirika, Sudarśana, Aṣvakarna, Vinataka, and Nimindhara. The entire world is girded by a perimeter of iron mountains known as the Cakravāla. In each of the four cardinal directions of Mount Sumeru, there is located a continent, along with two satellites or subcontinents. Among these, the eastern continent Viratdeha (lus-’phags; ‘sublime in body’) is semicircular and it has two subcontinents: Deha (lus) and Videha (lus-’phags). The southern continent Jambudvῑpa (’dzam-bu gling; ‘rose-apple continent’) is triangular and its two subcontinents are Cāmaradvῑpa (rnga-yab gling) and Aparacāmara (rnga-yab gzhan). The western continent, Aparagodanῑya (balang spyod; ‘rich in cattle’), is circular and its two subcontinents are Śāṭhā (gYo-ldan) and Uttaramantriṇa (lam-mchog ’gro). Lastly, the northern continent Uttarakuru (sgra-mi-snyan; ‘unpleasant sound’) is square and its two subcontinents are Kurava (sgra mi-snyan) and Kaurava (sgra mi-snyan-gyi zla). Among the four, Jambudvῑpa is unique in that it is here that the sacred teachings of the buddhas are said to flourish. See Chapter 11, Part Three with respect to instructions for choosing a birthplace and Chapter 1 with respect to visualising the maṇḍala of offerings.
Four Delights dga’-ba bzhi
In the perfection stage (sampannakrama) of meditation, when the practices of sexual yoga (sbyor-ba) are applied in order to bring about a coalescence of bliss and emptiness, the generative essence (thig-le) of the body descends through the central channel and the four delights are sequentially experienced. As it descends from the energy centre of the crown fontanelle to the throat centre, the pristine cognition of delight (dga’-ba) is experienced. When it descends from the throat centre to the heart centre, the pristine cognition of supreme delight (mchog-dga’) is experienced. When it descends from the heart centre to the navel centre the pristine cognition of the absence of delight (dga’-bral) is experienced. And when it descends from the navel centre to the secret centre of the genitalia, the coemergent delight (lhan-skyes dga’-ba) is experienced. Thereafter, the generative essence is retained within the body and drawn upwards through the central channel, permeating each of the energy centres of the body in turn with unceasing bliss and non-conceptual pristine cognition. See also under Coemergent Delight.
Four Elements ’byung-ba bzhi, Skt. caturbhūta
Earth, water, fire and wind. See Five Elements.
Four Empwerments dbang-bskur bzhi, Skt. caturabhiṣekha
The four empowerments of the Unsurpassed Yoga tantras, including Mahāyoga, are: the vase empowerment (bum-dbang), which purifies the ordinary body and its energy channels into the Buddha-body of Emanation (nirmāṇakāya); the secret empowerment (gsang-dbang), which purifies ordinary speech and its vital energy into the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource (sambhogakāya); the empowerment of discriminative pristine cognition (shes-rab ye-shes-kyi dbang) which purifies ordinary mind and its seminal point (bindu) into the Buddha-body of Reality (dharmakāya ); and the empowerment of word and meaning (tshig-don-gi dbang), which purifies these three equally into the Buddha-body of Essentiality (svabhāvikakāya). See also Empowerment.
Four Extreme Views mu-bzhi
In the context of the present work, these are the four extreme views of permanence, decay, self, and substantialism.
Four Formless Meditative Absorptions gzugs-med snyoms-’jug bzhi, Skt.
catuḥsamāpatti The four formless meditative absorptions which lead to birth in the world-system of formlessness, at the summit of cyclic existence, are those known as: infinite as the sky (ākāśānantyāyatana), infinite consciousness (vijñānānantyāyatana), nothing-at-all (akiṃcanyāyatana), and neither perception nor non-perception (naivasaṃjñānasaṃjñāyatana ). See Three World-systems.
Four Immeasurable Aspirations tshad-med bzhi, Skt. catvāryapramāṇāni
Immeasurable compassion, love, empathetic joy and equanimity. The cultivation of the four immeasurable wishes, which is normally accompanied by the recitation of a short prayer (see Chapter 1), is a common preliminary to daily practice. This contemplation establishes correct motivation and provides a strong impetus to the cultivation of the altruistic intention to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
Four Malevolent Forces bdud-bzhi, Skt. caturmāra
See Malevolent/Beguiling Forces.
Four Modes of Liberation grol-lugs bzhi
The four modes of liberation, according to Atiyoga, comprise: primordial liberation (ye-grol ), natural liberation (rang-grol ), direct liberation (cer-grol ), and further liberation (yang-grol) or liberation from extremes (mtha’-grol). These are attained in connection with the intermediate state of meditative concentration (bsam-gtan bar-do).
Four Noble Truths bden-pa bzhi, Skt. caturāryasatya
The teaching on the four noble truths forms the basis of the first promulgation of Buddhism, since it is the very first formal discourse given by Śākyamuni in Sarnath following his attainment of buddhahood at Bodh Gaya. The four truths are: the truth of suffering, the truth of its origins, the truth of its cessation, and the truth of the path leading to such cessation. The doctrine of four truths lays the foundation upon which the entire structure of the path to buddhahood is built and the understanding of these four truths is therefore an indispensable basis for a successful practice of the Buddhist path. The first two truths constitute one inter-relationship of cause and effect and the remaining two, another. Without proper insight into the first inter-relationship no genuine aspiration to seek freedom from cyclic existence will arise. Similarly, without insight into the second, no genuine release from the bondage of karmically conditioned existence can be achieved.
Four Preliminaries
See Preliminary Practices.
Four Times dus-bzhi
Past, present, future, and indefinite time. In some contexts the four times refer to different phases of conceptual thought, in which case they are enumerated as past thoughts, present thoughts, future thoughts and indeterminate thoughts (so-sor rtog-pa).
Fundamental Ignorance ma-rig-pa, Skt. avidyā
The most fundamental misapprehension of the nature of actual reality, which is the source of all dissonant mental states and the twelve links of dependent origination. Divergent views exist among Buddhist thinkers about the specific character and nature of fundamental ignorance. For example, the fourth-century master Asaṅga conceives this ignorance to be a state of unknowing, ignorant of the actual nature of reality. In contrast, for masters like Nāgārjuna and especially Dharmakῑrti, it is an active state of mis-knowing, i.e. it understands the existence of one’s own self and the world in a fundamentally distorted manner. In the classical Indian Buddhist texts, two principal forms of fundamental ignorance are identified - (i) ignorance pertaining to the actual nature of reality and (ii) ignorance pertaining to the law of cause and effect. The Nyingma master Dudjom Rinpoche explains the evolution of bewilderment from fundamental ignorance in three phases: first, the fundamental ignorance of self-identity (bdag-nyid gcig-pu’i ma-rig-pa) is not recognised to be false; second, the coemergent ignorance (lhan-skyes ma-rig-pa) ensures that the consciousness of self
-identity and non-recognition of actual reality coincide; and, third, the fundamental ignorance of the imaginary (kun-btags ma-rig-pa) generates bewilderment, through which one’s own bewildering perceptions are externally discerned in terms of the subject- object dichotomy, giving rise to all the sufferings of cyclic existence.
Garuda khyung
A mythical bird normally depicted with an owl-like sharp beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. References to this bird can be also found in Hindu literature where it is often mentioned as the flying mount of powerful mundane gods (deva). In Buddhism, the symbolism of the garuḍa is generally associated with pristine cognition (it is said that the garuḍa can fly as soon as it is hatched) and with the consuming of dissonant mental states (the holding of a snake in its beak). In a Buddhist context, the garuḍa is also associated with Vajrapāṇi and certain wrathful forms of Padmasambhava through its power to subdue snakes, serpentine water spirits, and subterranean creatures, and, according to the Nyingma school, the garuḍa is sometimes revered as a guardian of treasures (gter-bdag) or even as a repository of treasures (gter-kha).
Gelug dge-lugs
One of the four main traditions or schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded by the great fourteenth-century philosopher Tsongkhapa and his foremost students, it quickly established itself as a dominant tradition of Tibetan Buddhism with its monasteries extending from the far west of Tibet to Chamdo, Dartsedo, and Amdo in the east. Following the Third Dalai Lama’s visit to Mongolia, it became the state religion in Mongolia and the Buriat regions of the Soviet Union, and during the seventeenth century its hierarchy became the dominant political force in Central Tibet when the Fifth Dalai Lama assumed both spiritual and temporal power with the assistance of Mongol armies. ‘Gelug’ literally means the tradition of the virtuous path and is named after the monastery called Geden or Ganden, founded by Tsongkhapa in 1409.
generation Stage bskyed-rim, Skt. utpattikrama
According to the traditions of the tantras, the main practices of meditation which follow the successful conclusion of the preliminary practices (sngon-’gro) include the generation stage and the perfection stage (Skt. sampannakrama). Both the generation and perfection stages of meditation are related to transforming our mundane experiences of each of the phases of life and death, namely: the intermediate states of the time of death, of reality, of rebirth, and of living. The generation stage is characterised by the meditative processes of the practitioner’s gradual identification with the form and pristine cognition of the meditational deity and it is during this stage that, with the support of mantra recitation, the elaborate visualisation of the deity is gradually generated and stabilised. This process, known as self-generation, is a simulacrum of bringing the three buddha-bodies on to the path and is composed therefore of three principal aspects: dissolution into emptiness (Buddha-body of Reality), arising into a subtle form such as a seed-syllabe or symbol (Buddha-body of Perfect Resource), and full emergence into the deity’s form (Buddha-body of Emanation). See the Introductory Commentary by HH the Dalai Lama and Perfection Stage.
Generative Essences byang-sems/thig-le, Skt. bodhicitta/bindu
In the tantras and in Tibetan medicine, the generative essences or fluids are considered as arising from a supreme seminal point (thig-le chen-po) located in the middle of the heart centre. From the perspective of the tantras this supreme seminal point is regarded as the seed of buddhahood and from the perspective of Tibetan medicine it is regarded as the basis of both physical and mental health. This supreme seminal point at the heart is considered to be the size of a small pea or large mustard seed and it incorporates the pure essences (dvangs-ma) of the five elements, the presence of which is indicated by its five-coloured glow. From the perspective of the tantras the very subtle vital energy, known as the life-bearing wind or breath, dwells inside this seminal point and at the culmination of the intermediate state of the time of death all vital energies ultimately dissolve into it and the inner radiance of the ground dawns. During life, a single seminal point abides in each of the five energy centres and each seminal point is whiter at the top and redder at the bottom. At the crown centre the whiter element predominates and at the level of the genitalia the redder element predominates. According to Tibetan medicine, white generative fluids are said to produce bone tissue in the embryo, and it is from the bone marrow that both semen and breast milk are said to be produced. Red generative fluids are said to produce blood, flesh and skin. At their least subtle level, therefore, the former are identified with semen and the latter with menstrual blood. See also under Seminal Point.
Gods lha, Skt. deva
One of the six classes of living beings (’gro-ba rigs-drug). The mode of being and activity of the gods is said to be engendered and dominated by exaltation, indulgence and pride. The gods exist in realms higher than that of the human realm in the world-system of desire (kāmadhātu), and also in the world-systems of form (rūpadhātu ) and formlessness (ārūpyadhātu). See Three World-systems.
Gods of the Ten Directions phyogs-bcu’i lha, Skt. daśadikpāla
The gods who traditionally are said to preside over the ten directions of space are otherwise known as the protector deities of the ten directions, viz.: Indra, Yama, Varuṇa, Yakṣa, Agni, Rākṣasa, Vāyu, Bhūta, Brahmā, and Vanadevῑ or Sthāvarā.
Great Bliss bde-chen, Skt. mahāsukha
In the context of Unsurpassed Yogatantra, ‘great bliss’ refers to the blissful states experienced when the meditator enters into union with a partner (either in visualisation at the beginner’s level or in actuality at an advanced stage). In both cases, the experiences, to be valid, have to arise as a result of the dissolution of mental conceptuality and the vital energies which support these conceptual states. Such a blissful state of mind, when generated within a direct experience of emptiness, free from attachment, becomes what is known as the union of bliss and emptiness.
Great Perfection rdzogs-pa chen-po, Skt. mahāsandhi
Great Perfection is a synonym for Atiyoga, the highest of the nine vehicles according to the Nyingma tradition. Atiyoga is known as the Great Perfection because both the generation and perfection stages of meditation are effortlessly present. ‘Perfection’ (rdzogs) implies that the enlightened attributes of the Three Buddha-bodies are effortlessly perfected in the stabilisation of the meditator’s instrinsic awareness (rang-rig ). Here the Buddha-body of Reality (dharmakāya) is the essence or emptiness (ngo-bo stong-pa) of intrinsic awareness; the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource (sambhogakāya) is its natural expression and radiance (rang-bzhin gsal-ba); and the Buddha-body of Emanation (nirmāṇakāya) is its all-pervasive unimpeded compassionate energy (ma-’gags thugs-rje) expressed in physical form. ‘Great’ (chen) implies that this perfection is the underlying nature of all things. The tantra texts and instructions of Atiyoga, contained in the Collected Tantras of the Nyingmapa, are divided into three classes: the Mental Class (sems-sde), which emphasises the radiance (gsal-ba’i cha) of the nature of mind (sems-nyid); the Spatial Class (klongsde ) which emphasises the emptiness (stong-pa’i cha) of reality’s expanse (dharmadhātu ); and the Esoteric Instructional Class (man-ngag-gi sde), in which these aspects are given equal emphasis and in which the meditative techniques of Cutting through Resistance (khregs-chod) and All-surpassing Realisation (thod-rgal) lead respectively to the realisation of the Buddha-body of Reality and the Buddha-body of Form.
Great Seal phyag-rgya chen-po, Skt. mahāmudrā
According to the tradition of the sūtras, the expression ‘Great Seal’ refers to the comprehension of emptiness as the all-encompassing ultimate nature of reality. Emptiness is called the great seal, for nothing extraneous to it exists, and all phenomena, both physical and mental, are in their ultimate natures empty of inherent existence. According to the tradition of the tantras in general, the practice of the Great Seal is considered in terms of ground, path and result. As a ‘path’, it comprises a sequence of systematic advanced
meditations on emptiness and pure appearance, integrating the techniques of calm abiding and penetrative insight, which focuses on the nature of the meditator’s own mind. This type of meditation is popular in both the Kagyu and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. As a ‘result’, the expression ‘Great Seal’ refers to the state of buddhahood, the conclusive result or supreme spiritual accomplishment. According to the Nyingma school, within the context of Mahāyoga in particular, the term refers to the great seal of buddha-body which secures the ground-of-all consciousness (ālayavijñāna) as the mirror-like pristinne cognition. A distinction is also drawn between the supreme accomplishment of the Great Seal (phyag-rgya chen-po mchog-gi dngos-grub), which is to be attained in the course of the meditator’s lifetime, and the coalescent Buddha-body of the Great Seal (zung-’jug phyag-rgya chen-po’i sku), which is identified with the inner radiance of the Buddha-body of Reality.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead Page 53