Madhyamaka dbu-ma
Derived from the Sanskrit expression madhyamapratipad, meaning the ‘Middle Way’ between the extremes of eternalism and nihilism, which was expounded by Sākyamuni Buddha in the earliest sūtras, Madhyamaka (dbu-ma) is the name of one of the most influential among the four classical schools of Indian Buddhist philosophy. Within the context of the Madhyamaka school, the Middle Way refers to the doctrine of emptiness (śūnyatā), which is held to be the ultimate nature of all things. According to this view, all phenomena, whether mental or physical, cannot be found to possess any independent or self-validating natures, and their existence and identity are regarded as valid only within a relative framework of worldly convention. Further, it is propounded that not only do phenomena exist solely in dependence upon causes and conditions, but even their identities depend on conceptions and labelling. Nevertheless, this school holds that, unlike mere fantasies, such as unicorns for example, phenomena do exist conventionally and their ontology must be accepted as valid. Such a metaphysical position is designated the ‘Middle Way’ in that it is the mid-point between the extremes of total non-existence of reality, or nihilism, and the positing of an absolute, independent existence of reality, or eternalism. Founded by Nāgārjuna in the second century AD, the Madhyamaka school later evolved two sub-divisions: Prāsaṅgika and Svātantrika, based on the different interpretations of Nāgārjuna’s views which were made by Buddhapālita (later elucidated by Candrakῑrti) and Bhavaviveka respectively. The Tibetan tradition, while recognising Bhavaviveka’s important contribution to Buddhist logic and philosophy, considers the Prāsaṅgika technique of reductio ad absurdum to be the most refined logical method in Buddhism for establishing the view of emptiness. The distinctive feature of the Prāsaṅgika school is its total denial of any ontology implying inherent existence of either external objects or subjective conssciousness. There is also, according to some Tibetan interpretations, the tradition known as the Great Madhyamaka which in the course of meditative insight distinguishes between the intrinsic emptiness of phenomena (rang-stong) and the extrinsic emptiness of pure buddha attributes (gzhan-stong).
Magical Net sgyu-’phrul drva-ba, Skt. Māyājāla
The most all-embracing cycle of texts among the eighteen Mahāyoga tantras, focusing specifically on the maṇḍala of the forty-two peaceful deities and the fifty-eight wrathful deities, and including within its corpus the Guhyagarbhatantra. As such, it is the basis for all subsequent expositions of this particular maṇḍala, including the present work. See Gyurme Dorje’s ‘Brief Literary History’.
Magon Chamdrel ma-mgon lcam-dral
An epithet of the protectress Ekajaṭῑ and Dorje Lekpa, who are revered as the foremost supramundane protector deities, according to the Atiyoga tradition of the Nyingma school.
Mahākāla mgon-po nag-po
The supramundane protector deity Mahākāla is a wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteśvara . The meditative practices associated with this protector are popular in all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
Mahākaruṇika thugs-rje chen-po The thousand-armed form of Avalokiteśvara. See Aalokiteśvara.
Mahāyāna theg-pa chen-po
See Greater Vehicle.
Mahāyoga rnal-’byor chen-po’i rgyud
The seventh of the nine vehicles, and first of the three inner classes of tantras, according to the Nyingma school. Mahāyoga emphasises the generation stage of meditation (utpattikrama) and the gradual visualisation of elaborate maṇḍalas of deities. It comprises eighteen basic tantras, such as Guhyagarbha, Guhyasamāja, and Buddhasamāyoga, as well as a vast number of tantra texts associated with the so-called eight classes of means for attainment (sgrub-pa bka’-brgyad), which focus respectively on the deities Yamāntaka, Hayagrῑva, Srῑheruka, Vajrāmrta, Vajrakῑla, Mātaraḥ, Lokastotrapūjā (’jig-rten mchod-bstod), and Vajramantrabhiru (rmod-pa drag-sngags). These texts are all contained in the Collected Tantras of the Nyingmapa (rNying-ma’i rgyud-’bum), and a small but important selection of them is also contained in the Kangyur.
Maitreya rgyal-ba byams-pa
Maitreya is the embodiment of the great loving kindness (mahāmaitrῑ) of all the buddhas, as visualised in the form of a meditational deity. Maitreya therefore represents the perfected state of the faculty of love/oving kindness inherent within each individual’s mental continuum. In addition, Maitreya is also revered as an eminent historical figure, a bodhisattva who was one of the eight principal bodhisattva disciples of Sākyamuni Buddha. It is to him that the Five Works of Maitreya (Byams-chos sde-lnga) are attributed. According to the classical sūtra literature it is the bodhisattva Maitreya who is the coming buddha, fifth in the line of one thousand buddhas (Sākyamuni being the fourth) who will descend to this world during the aspicious aeon. Currently he is said to be residing in the god realm of Tuṣita. He is also one of the four outer male bodhisattvas among the forty-two peaceful deities. See Appendix Two.
Major and Minor Marks mtshan-dpe, Skt. laksanānuvyañjana
The Buddha-body of Supreme Emanation is characterised by thirty-two major marks (Skt. dvātriṃśan-mahāpuruṣalaksaṇa) and eighty minor marks (Skt. asῑtyanuvyañjana), which are all enumerated in Maitreya’s Ornament of Emergent Realisation (Abhisamayālaṃkāra, T 3786, vv. 13-17 and 21-32). These include an array of perfected features of body and speech, which according to the commentaries are the specific results of diverse aspects of a buddha’s conduct.
Malevolent/Beguiling Forces bdud, Skt. māra
Buddhist literature speaks of four kinds of beguiling influences which are the obstacles that impede one’s spiritual transformation. These are the influence of: our impure psycho-physical aggregates (skandha); our dissonant mentalstates (kleśa); deva’s son (devaputra), which refers to sensual desires and temptations; and the lord of death (mṛtyupati), which refers to ordinary death, at the point of which rebirth in cyclic existence continues rather than the attainment of buddhahood. As recorded in the life of Śākyamuni Buddha, these archetypal forces projected images of desire and terror which were designed to interrupt his mediative equipoise, just prior to his attainment of manifestly perfect buddhahood at Bodhgaya in India.
Maṇḍala dkyil-‘khor
The Sanskrit word ‘maṇḍala’ conveys a number of meanings - circle, wheel, circumference, totality, assembly or literary corpus. In the context of Anuyoga and Atiyoga, the expression ‘three maṇḍalas’ specifically refers to the scope of buddha-body, speech and mind. Then, in a more general usage, this term indicates the central (dkyil) and peripheral (’khor) deities described in the tantra texts. These deities reside within a celestial palace (vimāṇa), which generally has a perfectly symmetrical design - with four gateways and four main walls composed of five layers of different colours, each of the features corresponding to a particular aspect of the principal deity’s, and thereby to the meditator’s, pure awareness and purity of perception. The maṇḍala thus represents a perfected state of being and perception encompassing all phenomena. The celestial palace itself and the deities within it symbolise the perfected states of the meditator’s own awareness, psycho-physical aggregates, elemental properties, sensory and mental processes, etc. When such maṇḍalas are represented symbolically, they may take the form of a two-dimensional image on painted cloth, or they may be made of coloured sand, or else constructed as a three-dimensional structure, carved from wood or other materials. The visualisation of maṇḍalas in their three-dimensional form plays a crucial role in the generation stage of meditation. Here, these ‘abodes of the deity’ are never perceived of as independently existing universes but as manifestations of the pristine cognition of the principal meditational deity being meditated upon. The symbolism of the maṇḍala of forty-two peaceful deities and fifty-eight wrathful deities, as it relates to our text, is given in Appendix Two.
Maṇḍala of Offeringss mchod-pa’i maṇḍal
The maṇḍala of offerings is one of the prelimina
ry practices (sngon-’gro), in which offerings are visualised and offered to the spiritual teacher, meditational deity or Three Precious Jewels. In general, there are outer, inner, and secret mandala offerings, corresponding to the Three Buddha-bodies of emanation, perfect resource and actual reality. In the first, the entire external material universe, symbolised by Mount Sumeru and the four continents, etc., is offered, usually using a circular metal base on which are arranged small heaps of rice; second, the inner maṇḍala of offerings comprises the subtle body, complete with its energy channels, currents of vital energy and seminal points; and, third, the secret maṇḍala of offerings is that of actualreality or the ultimate nature of mind. In the preliminary practices all these are offered one hundred thousand times as an antidote for attachment.
Mañjuśrī ’jam-dpal
Mañjuśrῑ is the embodiment of the discriminative awareness of all the buddhas, manifesting in the form of a meditational deity. He is normally depicted in his seated posture, holding a sword in his right hand (representing discriminative awareness) and a sacred text in his left hand (indicating his mastery of all knowledge). Mañjuśrῑ is also revered as an eminent historical figure who was one of the eight principal bodhisattva disciples of the Buddha; and he is also one of the four outer male bodhisattvas among the forty-two peaceful deities. See Appendix Two.
Mantra sngags
The Sanskrit word mantra is an abbreviation of two syllables mana and traya, respectively meaning ‘mind’ and ‘protection’. Hence ‘mantra’ literally refers to ‘protection of the mind’. The essential indication here is the protection of the mind from the overwhelming influence of ordinary perceptions and conceptions, which give rise to deluded states of existence, thus inhibiting the full expression of buddha nature. More specifically, mantra refers to the pure sound which is the perfected speech of an enlightened being. The aim of the generation stage practices is the cultivation of the mode of being of the meditational deity, that is to say the transformation of mundane body, speech and mind into buddha-body, speech and mind. This is supported in ritual practice by the enactment of the hand-gestures or seal (mudrā), which are the resonance of buddha-body, by mantra recitation, which is the resonance of buddha-speech, and by visualisation, which is the resonance of buddha-mind. In general, three types of mantra are differentiated: mantras of retention (Skt. dhāraṇῑ, Tib. gzungs-sngags), gnostic mantras (Skt. vidyāmantra, Tib. rig-sngags), and secret mantras (Skt. guhyamantra, Tib. gsang-sngags). Among these, the first comprises the mantras associated with the sūtras which are designed to intensify discriminative awareness, the second are associated with specific deities of the outer tantras, and designed to intensify skilful means, while the third are associated with the inner tantras, and are designed to intensify the generation stage of meditation. The term ‘secret mantra’ is also utilised as a synonym for the Vehicle of Indestructible Reality (Vajrayāna).
Mantrin sngags-pa
An adept of the vehicle of secret mantra (mantrayāna) in general. However, the word ngakpa (sngags-pa) is popularly used to denote those practitioners of tantra who choose to maintain a family life, passing on their teachings through a familial lineage, in contrast to the celibate life of a monk or nun.
Māra bdud
See under Malevolent / Beguiling Forces.
Martial Haunting Spirits btsan
A class of ghostly or haunting spirits, often depicted as armour-clad, who cause colic and intestinal disorders. Foremost among them are Tsimara, the protector of Samye monastery, and Yamshu Marpo. They are generally depicted as red in colour, brandishing a red lance with a red flag in the right hand and throwing a red-coloured snare (btsan-zhags) with the left hand, while riding a red horse.
Means for Attainment sgrub-thabs, Skt. sādhana
The literature of the Buddhist tantras is classified into tantra texts and means for attainment manuals. The former are general expositions concerning the continua of the ground, path and ressult associated with a particular maṇḍala of deities, while the latter are specific manuals derived from and inspired by the former as the detailed means for attainment, or meditative realisation, of a specific maṇḍala of deities. Such practices have four phases, which are often known as the four aspects of ritual service and means for attainment (bsnyen-sgrub yan-lag bzhi).
Meditation sgom, Skt. bhāvanā
Meditation is defined as a disciplined mental process through which a person cultivates familiarity with a chosen object, be it an external object like an image, or even a trivial object such as a pebble, etc., or an internal object such as one’s own mind or personal identity. According to the sūtras, there are two main types of meditation, one emphasising the faculty of stability and single-pointedness of mind and the other emphasising analysis and discrimination. The first type of meditation is absorptive, and produces a quality of mental placement and tranquillity, known as calm abiding, and the latter, known as penetrative insight, generates a deeper insight into the profound natures of the chosen object. In the context of the tantras, meditation additionally includes the techniques of the generation and perfection stages, as well as those of the Great Perfection.
Meditational Deity yi-dam, Skt. iṣṭadevatā
Forms or resonances of fully manifest buddhahood whose characteristics are defined or revealed by the specific tantric practices on the basis of which they are visualised. After receiving empowerment and guidance concerning an appropriate meditational deity or maṇḍala of deities from an authoritative spiritual teacher, the practitioner of the tantras seeks to experientially cultivate union with the qualities of buddha-body , speech and mind through the practice of the generation stage of meditation related to a specific meditational deity or maṇḍala of deities. It is essential that the meditational deities should not be perceived as externally existing or independent beings but rather as forms or resonances of buddha-mind itself. Union with the meditational deity is said to confer supreme accomplishment on the meditator, in contrast to meditation on the spiritual teacher, which confers blessings, and meditation on the ḍākinῑ, which confers enlightened or buddha activities.
Meditative Commitment thugs-dam
This refers to a resolute period of meditative equipoise, and the commitments pertaining to meditative equipoise. Note that the same term is also used as the honorific equivalent of yi-dam (meditational deity).
Meditative Concentration bsam-gtan, Skt. dhyāna
Meditative concentration is defined as the one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind free from the taint of dissonant mental states (kleśa). It is an advanced form of calm abiding, where often both calm abiding and penetrative insight may be present in perfect union. In the sūtras and abhidharma literature of the Lesser Vehicle, four states of meditative concentration are identified as being conducive to birth in the seventeen levels of the form realm. These are characterised, in their proper order, by a temporary sojourn from: 1) physical sensations of pain; 2) mental unhappiness; 3) mental excitements related to pleasure; and 4) mundane experiences of joy as a whole. In the context of the Greater Vehicle, meditative concentration is the fifth of the six perfections (Skt. ṣaṭpāramitā).
Meditative Equipoise mnyam-par bzhag-pa, Skt. samāhita
Meditative equipoise refers to a one-pointed placement of the mind on a meditation object or a theme, such as the selflessness of the individual personality (Skt. pudgalanairātmya ) and the selflessness of phenomena (Skt. dharmanairātmya), which invariably occurs in the context of prolonged meditative stability(Skt. samādhi). It is contrasted with periods of post-meditation (Skt. pṛṣtalabdha, Tib. rjes-thob) during which the meditator arises from meditative equipoise, and engages with his or her environment.
Meditative Stability ting-nge-’dzin, Skt. samādhi
The Sanskrit term samādhi literally means ‘union’ or ‘combination’, and its Tibetan equivalent ting-nge-’dzin means ‘adhering to that which is profound and definitive’. However, the term has seve
ral different meanings in different contexts. For example, in abhidharma texts it sometimes refers to a mental factor that is part of a group of mental factors present in every veridical cognition, whereas in the context of meditation, it can be synonymous with Meditative concentration. In many instances, samādhi refers to specific meditative states such as diamond-like meditation, lion’s majestic pose meditation and others enumerated in the sūtras and tantras of the Greater Vehicle. More specifically, in the Mahāyoga tantras, the term meditative stability refers to the three phases of the generation and perfection stages of meditation. These are: the leditative stability of reality (de-bzhin nyid-kyi ting-nge-’dzin), the meditative stability which illuminates all that appears (kun-tu snang-ba’i ting-nge-’dzin), and the meditative stability of the causal basis (rgyu’i ting-nge-’dzin), which respectively and sequentially focus on great emptiness, great compassion and the seals of the meditational deities. In the Unsurpassed Yogatantras, somewhat different terminology is used in the contexts of the generation stage and the perfection stage. In the generation stage, the practice of the means of attainment takes place within the framework of (i) the initial meditative stability (dang-po sbyor-ba’i ting-nge-’dzin), (ii) the meditative stability of the victorious rite of the maṇḍala (dkyil-’khor rgyal-chog-gi ting-nge-’dzin), and (iii) the meditative stability of the victorious rite of enlightened activity (las rgyal-chog-gi ting-nge’dzin ). In the context of the perfection stage, however, these same terms refer to an advanced level of realisation.
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