Intermediate State of Dreams rmi-lam bar-do
The intermediate state of dreams begins from the moment of falling asleep and ends when we awake. This intermediate state offers the opportunity for the practitioner to recognise the similarity between the illusory nature of dreams and that of our waking state. This practice is cultivated in the context of dream yoga where the ability to maintain awareness of the ultimate nature of mind and phenomena during both deep sleep and dreaming is refined.
Intermediate State of Living rang-bzhin bar-do
The intermediate state of living begins at the time of birth and continues until the time of death. Having obtained a precious human form with the ability to recognise our actual condition, the opportunity arises to adopt a way of life and to engage in the practices that lead to buddhahood. See Chapters 3 and 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Intermediate State of Meditative Concentration bsam-gtan bar-do
The intermediate state of meditative concentration entered during the waking state provides the opportunity for the practitioner to cultivate meditative equipose (samāhita , Tib. mnyam-bzhag) and thereby to achieve stability in the generation and perfection stages of meditation. This in turn deepens an unbroken awareness of the ultimate nature of mind and phenomena in post-meditative activities and prepares the meditator for the intermediate state of the time of death. See Chapters 3 and 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Intermediate State of Reality chos-nyid bar-do
The intermediate state of actual reality arises after the intermediate state of the time of death (’chi-kha’i bar-do) and before the intermediate state of rebirth (srid-pa’i bar-do). Here the opportunity occurs, based on the practices adopted during one’s lifetime, to recognise the natural purity and natural transformation qualities of the ultimate nature of mind in the form of luminosities, rays, sounds and meditational deities. See Chapters 3 and 1 1.
Intermediate State of Rebirth srid-pa’i bar-do
The intermediate state of rebirth is entered after the intermediate state of reality when the consciousness arises in the form of a mental body, conditioned by the individual’s inheritance of past actions, and the individual begins to experience both the surroundings where he or she died and the unfolding of experiential states driven by the momentum of past actions. If liberation from cyclic existence is not achieved during this intermediate state it comes to an end at the moment of conception. Since consciousness is said to possess certain heightened qualities during this period there is a potential to achieve liberation, or at the very least a favourable rebirth, at various key stages as this state is traversed. See Chapters 3 and 1 1.
Intermediate State of the Tme of Death ’chi-kha’i bar-do
The intermediate state of the time of death is entered at the time when the process of dying definitively begins, and ends with the onset of the intermediate state of reality. It includes the gradual dissolution of the five elements and their associated modes of consciousness and culminates with the arising of the inner radiante of the ground (gzhi’i ’od-gsal). The natural arising of inner radiance immediately after respiration ceases is regarded as a supreme opportunity to realise the Buddha-body of Reality. See Chapters 3, 8, 10 and 1 1.
Intrinsic Awareness rang-rig, Skt. svasaṃvitti/svasaṃvedana
According to Indian Buddhist epistemology, and particularly in the writings of the great logicians Dignāga and Dharmakῑrti, the term svasaṃvedana refers to the apperceptive or reflexive faculty of consciousness, for which reason it is sometimes rendered as ‘reflexive awareness’ or ‘apperceptive awareness’. However, in the view of the Great Perfection (rdzogs-pa chen-po) and in the context of the present work, the same term refers to the fundamental innate mind in its natural state of spontaneity and purity, beyond the alternating states of motion and rest and the subject- object dichotomy. It is therefore rendered here as ‘intrinsic awareness’. As such, intrinsic awareness gives the meditator access to pristine cognition or the biddha-mind itself, and it stands in direct contrast to fundamental ignorance (avidyā ), which is the primary cause of rebirth in cyclic existence (saṃsāra). The direct introduction to intrinsic awareness is a distinctive teaching within the Nyingma school and the principal subject matter of Chapter 4. This practice is a central component of the Esoteric Instructional Class (upadeśa) of Atiyoga, where it is known as Cutting throuth Resistance (khregs-chod). See also Awareness and Mind.
Intrinsic Awareness which is Pristine Cognition rang rig-pa’i ye-shes
Generally this term refers to the pristine cognition arising from the direct realisation of emptiness by a sublime being (ārya, Tib. ’phags-pa) in the context of deep meditative equipoise. This is so called because the nature and qualities of that experience can never be fully conveyed by means of language and words but remains totally evident to the yogin himself. In the context of the Great Perfection however, as exemplified by our text, the fusion of the meditator’s intrinsic awareness with the pristine cognition of buddha-mind indicates not only that intrinsic awareness provides access to buddha-mind, but that the identity of the two has been fully realised. See also Intrinsic Awareness and Pristine Cognition.
Introduction ngo-sprod
A genre of pith instructions in which the nature of actual reality or intrinsic awareness is formally introduced (rig-pa’i ngo-sprod), in a clear immediate manner, by a qualified spuritual teacher. See Chapter 4.
Invitation spyan-’dren-pa, Skt. upanimantraṇa The term ‘invitation’ refers to the meditative process of the tantras, whereby the actual meditational deity or Being of Pristine Cognition ( jñānasattva, Tib. ye-shes sems-dpa’) is formally invited by the meditator to enter into the previously visualised form, known as the Being of Commitment (samayasattva, Tib. dam-tshig sems-dpa’).
Jambudvīpa ’dzam-bu gling
See under Four Continents and Eght Subcontinents.
Kagyu bka’-brgyud
One of the four main traditions or schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu lineage tradition stems from the great acomplished masters (mahāsiddha) of India such as Tilopa, Naropa and Maitripa through to Khyungpo Neljor, who founded the Shangpa Kagyu lineage, and Marpa Lotsāwa, who formed the Dagpo Kagyu lineage. The latter comprises four major sub-schools, namely the Karmapa, the Tshalpa, the Barompa and the Phagmodrupa, the last of which is further divided into the branches of the Drigungpa, Taglungpa, Drukpa, Yazang, Trophu, Shugseb, Yelpa, and Martshang. These traditions integrate practices derived from both the sūtras and the tantras. There is a particular emphasis on the Great Seal(Mahāmudrā) system of practice and on perfection stage practices such as the Six Yogas of Naropa.
Kāmarūpa ka-ma ru-pa
A traditional name corresponding to parts of modern Assam in north-east India and the adjacent Sylhet region of Bangladesh.
Kangyur and Tengyur bka’-bstan rnam-gnyis
The Kangyur is the Tibetan Buddhist canon containing the original sūtras and tantras translated from Indian sources. The Kangyur, as we now know it, was formalised as a complete collection by the great fourteenth-century Tibetan scholar and encyclopaedist Buton Rinchendrub. Buton was also instrumental in the compilation of the Tengyur, the canonical collection containing translations of authoritative Indian commentarial works. Many manuscript versions of these anthologies were prepared over the centuries, and important xylographic editions were published at Narthang, Derge, Lhasa, Litang, Cho-ne, and Beijing. ‘Kangyur’ (bka’-’gyur) literally means the translated sacred words or transmitted precepts of the buddhas, and ‘Tengyur’ (bstan-’gyur), the translated commentaries.
Kaṅkaṇīdhāraṇī kaṅ-ka-ṇῑ gzungs
The name of an incantation text associated with Akṣobhya-Vajrasattva, through which offerings are made on behalf of the deceased.
Karma las
See Past Actions.
Karma Family las-kyi rigs, Skt. karmakula
One of the five enlightened families (pañcakula) into which the meditational deities of the Buddha-body of
Perfect Resource are subdivided. The deities of the Karma family include the peaceful buddhas Amoghasiddhi and Samayatārā and the corresponding wrathful aspects Karma Heruka and Karmakrodheśvarῑ. See Appendix Two.
Karma Lingpa karma gling-pa
Karma Lingpa ( fl. fourteenth century) is the treasure-finder who extracted from Mt Gampodar in Dakpo the cycle of teachings known as the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: A Pro found Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention (Zhi-khro dgongs-pa rang-grol ), to which our present text belongs. See Gyurme Dorje’s ‘Brief Literary History’.
Karmaprasiddhi byang-phyogs las-rab brtsegs-pa’i zhing-khams
The northern buddha field of the ‘Mound of Excellent Activities’ (Karmaprakūṭa), otherwise known as the ‘Matrix of Enlightened Activities’ (Tib. las-rab grub-pa, Skt. Karmaprasiddhi), is the paradise presided over by the male buddha Amoghasiddhi . See Appendix Two.
Kāya sku See Buddha-body.
khaṭvāṅga khaṭ-vāṅga Literally meaning ‘bedpost’, the khaṭvāṅga is a tantric staff, comprising a long eight-sided shaft of white sandalwood, sealed with a half-vajra at its base, and a crossed-vajra at its top, replete with streamers and surmounted by stacked skulls and human heads, indicative of the energy centres of body, speech and mind within the sbtle body. In general, the khaṭvāṅga symbolises the union of great bliss and emptiness.
King Spirits rgyal-po
A class of male spirits who are said to have assumed their particular forms through a preponderance of anger and hatred. Their many mundane forms are to be differentiated from the five supramundane forms of the protector deity Pehar (rgyal-po sku lnga), which are respectively known as the kings of body, speech, mind, attributes and activities.
Kriyātantra bya-ba’i rgyud
The first of the three outer classes of tantra, which form one subcategory of the six classes of tantra, and the fourth of the nine vehicles, according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Kriyātantra emphasises outer ritual practices such as the making of offerings, prostration, and praises to the meditational deity visualised in the space before one.
KYE HO kye-ho
An exclamation of astonishment or wonder.
Lake-dwelling Medicinal Spirits mtsho-sman/’tsho-sman
A group of five, seven or nine female spirits of the sman-mo class who dwell in lakes, and who are differentiated from the sky-dwelling medicinal spirits (nam-mkha’i sman-mo), the earth-dwelling medicinal spirits (sa’i sman-mo), and the hybrid serpentine-medicinal spirits (klu-sman). In general, the sman-mo are a category of indigenous Tibetan spirits, to whom medicinal torma-offerings (sman-gtor), compounded of medicines, nectars and blood, are made. Foremost among them are the five sisters of longevity (tshe-ring mched-lnga), who are embodied in the five main snow peaks of the Everest range. The most powerful of these medicinal spirits are said to have been bound under an oath of allegiance by Padmasambhava at Silma in Tsang.
Lay Vows dge-bsnyen-gyi sdom-pa, Skt. upāsakavrata
See Prātimokṣa and Vows.
Lesser Vehicle theg-dman, Skt. hῑnayāna
See Greater Vehicle, Hermit Buddhas and Pious Attendants.
‘Liberating’ Avengers sgrol-ging
This is the name of a class of male sword-wielding spirits, collectively known as the skyes-bu ging-chen, who are invoked in order to enact the wrathful rites of ‘liberation’.
Liberation grol-ba/sgrol-ba, Skt. mokṣa
In a Buddhist context, the term liberation refers specifically to freedom from cyclic existence, the karmically conditioned cycle of death and rebirth, and consequently to freedom from all forms of physical and mental suffering. Such a liberation can be attained only through the total elimination of fundamental ignorance and the dissonant mental states, including attachment and aversion, which afflict the mind and perpetuate the cycle of existence.
Lifelong Companion Gods ’go-ba’i lha
This is a category of spirits who are said to accompany an individual throughout his or her life, like a shadow, protecting the vitality (bla) of the individual. Five types of lifelong companion god (’go-ba’i lha lnga) are specifically identified: the gods of the life-essence (srog-gi-lha), the gods of masculinity (pho-lha), the gods of femininity (mo-lha), the gods of the countryside (yul-lha), and the gods of inimical force (dgra-lha).
Lineage brgyud-pa, Skt. paraṃparā
An unbroken line of successive teachers through whom the Buddhist teachings are transmitted. According to the Nyingma tradition, six forms of lineage are described: 1) the intentional lineage of the conquerors (rgyal-ba’i dgongs-brgyud), through which the Buddha-body of Reality communicates the teachings to the Buiddha-body of Perfect Resource; 2) the symbolic lineage of awareness holders (rig-’dzin brda’i brgyud-pa), through which non-human and human awareness holders of the highest spiritual accomplishements symbolically receive the teachings from bodhisattvas of the tenth level; 3) the aural lineage of authoritative personages (gang-zag snyankhung-gi brgyud-pa), through which accomplished masters orally transmit the teachings from one generation to the next; 4) the lineage empowered by enlightened aspiration (smon-lam dbang-bskur-gyi brgyud-pa), through which a treasure-finder of concealed texts is identified by their concealer’s solemn affirmation, 5 ) the lineage of prophetically declared spiritual succession (bka’-babs lung-bstan-gyi brgyud-pa), through which a treasure-fnder of concealed texts is identified from the authoritative prophesies of Padmasambhava, and 6) the lineage of the ḍākinῑ’s seal of entrustment (mkha’-’gro gtad-rgya’i brgyud-pa ), through which a treasure-finder is granted codified teachings by the lords of the treasure in fulfilment of the concealer’s former aspiration.
Lineage Holder brgyud-pa’i ’dzin-pa, Skt. paraṃparādhara
One who maintains any of the six lineages and takes responsibility for their continued transmission from one generation to the next. See previous entry.
Longchen Rabjampa klong-chen rab-’byams-pa
A prolific writer (1308 - 63), regarded as one of the greatest masters of the Nyingma school, Longchen Rabjampa is renowned for his systematic commentaries on the nine vehicles, the perspective of Atiyoga, and his revelation of the texts and practices contained in the Four-part Innermost Spirituality (sNying-thig ya-bzhi). His commentary on the Guhyagarbhatantra, entitled Dispelling the Darkness of the Ten Directions (Phyogs-bcu’i mun-sel), is an important source, clarifying the maṇḍala of the forty-two peaceful deities and the fifty-eight wrathful deities from the perspectives of the ground, path, and result.
Lotus padma
In Buddhist poetry and the visual arts the lotus, particularly the variety which grows in water, is often used as a symbol of purity. The lotus grows from an unclean mire, yet it is clean and unpolluted by the mire surrounding it. One finds the lotus depicted as the cushion or seat of many meditational deities in Buddhist tantric iconography. Among the five enlightened families, the Padma or Lotus family (padma’i rigs) is that of the buddha Amitābha.
Lotus Light Palace padma ’od-kyi pho-brang
The palace or operational field of Padmasambhava. See under Maṇḍala.
Love/Loing Kindness byams-pa, Skt. maitrῑ
In a Buddhist context, loving kindness is defined as a mentalfactor characterised by a sincere wish that others enjoy happiness. According to this definition, love is one of the eleven ‘wholesome mental factors’ categorised in the abhidharma literature. However, in the case of the four immeasurable aspirations, the word love is used as an abbreviation for ‘great love’ (byams-pa chen-po, Skt. mahāmaitrῑ) which refers to an altruistic mental attitude that is unbiased in its love towards all beings and is also spontaneous and natural. It is said that such a spontaneous sense of universal or unqualified love can only arise as a result of a systematic meditative training and an understanding of emptiness.
Lower Existences ngan-song, Skt. durgati
The realms of the animals, anguished spirits
, and hells.
Lower Vital Energy ’og-gi rlung
The vital energy located at the lower extremity of the central energy channel within the subtle body. See VitalEnergy.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead Page 55