GLOSSARY OF RELIGIOUS TERMS
AKSHOBHYA: Imperturbable Buddha: the Buddha
of the East.
AMCHI : The Buddha of Medicine: Ladakhi
word for medicine man.
AMITABHA : The Boundless Light Buddha: the
Buddha of the West.
ARHAT: The "Worthy Ones"
- those who have attained Nirvana. Arhats are associated with Hinayana school
of Buddhism. Traditionally sixteen Arhats are portrayed.
AVALOKITESHWARA: A Boddhisattva,
whose name means "Lord of all He Surveys" and who is analogous to
the Hindu God Shiva. He is easily recognizable as he is portrayed with eleven
heads (nine Bodhisattva images, one head showing anger at the suffering in the
world and Buddha head on top). He can also be portrayed with one thousand arms,
each with an eye or a weapon. He is believed to be incarnated in the Dalai Lama.
BODHISATTVA: A follower of Buddha
associated with the Mahayana school of Buddhism who has attained enlightenment,
but defers Nirvana and remains in the cycle of death and rebirth until, with
his help, all reach Nirvana and its release from suffering.
BU-STON : A lamaist religious teacher,
1290 to 1364 AD who compiled the Tandshur, a 225 volume commentary on the Kandshur.
CHORTEN: Literally, a "receptacle
for offerings". Tibetan word for Stupa (a Sanskrit word). It may contain
as an offering the ashes of the dead, jewels, food, holy writings, etc. Its
rectangular base represents the earth, the rounded central section or dome represents
fire and the crowning parasol represents wind. These are the elements that Buddhists
believe are the components of the universe and also the elements from which
man is made.
DALAI LAMA : Spiritual head of the
yellow-hat Gelugpa sect of Buddhism and the living incarnation of Avalokitesvara.
The 14th (current) incarnation lives in Dharamsala in the Indian State of Himachal
Pradesh.
DUKHANG : The main assembly hall
where lamas gather for prayers and meals.
GELUGPA : The yellow-hat sect of
Buddhism, founded by Tsong-kha-pa. This sect and its gompas provide the most
comprehensive and systematic education to its students. The curriculum covers
five basic courses - dialectics, principal doctrines and disciplinary rules
- and takes 20 years to complete. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Gelugpa
sect.
GOMPA : A Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
HINAYANA : The "Lesser Vehicle".
One of the two major schools of Buddhism also called Therevada (Way of the Ancients)
by its followers. It is considered to represent the more original form of Buddhist
beliefs. Hinayana Buddhism has spread to many countries of south and South-East
Asia. The Historical Buddha retains a central position and a person seeking
salvation tries to attain the state of an Arhat.
KANDSHUR: The 108 volumes of the
Budddha's teachings translated into Tibetan from Pali and Sanskrit by Padme
Sambhava. A set is found in each gompa.
KHATA : A Tibetan prayer scarf made
of white silk, traditionally given as a sign of respect and devotion to a lama
when brought into his presence. It is frequently also placed around the neck
on the statues of the Buddha and other divinities.
LAMA : A Buddhist monk. Traditionally,
every Ladakhi family sent one son at the age of 5 or 6, to a monastery to be
educated (gompas were then the only schools). On adulthood, he could decide
not to become a lama, but this decision was often frowned upon. The practice
of sending a son to a gompa is now dying out.
MAHAKALA: "The Great and Black
One", the most fierce Tibetan guardian divinity, generally found painted
by doorways in all the gompas.
MAHAYANA: The "Greater Vehicle"
school of Buddhism which spread to central Asia, China, Korea, Japan and Tibet.
This school holds the Historical Buddha to be incarnation on earth of an eternal
cosmic Buddha and one who has incorporated a proliferation of celestial persons
(eternal Buddhas, major and minor deities, saints and disciples, mythical beings)
as well as Bodhisattvas. It is the representation of these celestial persons
that forms the basis of most artistic work in gompas.
MAITREYA : The Buddha of the Future,
also known as the Buddha of Compassion. (Maitreya is the Sanskrit word for compassion).
Buddhism holds that in the future the world will be so full of chaos and unhappiness
that the Future Buddha will feel compassion for all the world's inhabitants.
Legend says that the Maitreya will come from the West.
MANDALA : Tibetan geometrical and
astrological representation of the world showing different stages of existence
and the cycles of death and rebirth. Often used as a meditation device.
MAN STONE : A stone carved with the
Tibetan Buddhist chant Om Mani Padme Hum, meaning "Hail the jewel in the
lotus" and which refers to the Lord Buddha. A collection of mani stones
may be placed together to form a mani wall, each stone bearing this inscription,
other prayers or depictions of various divinities.
MANJUSRI : A Bodhisattva, the God
of Wisdom
NIRVANA: The ultimate aim of Buddhism,
where one attains enlightenment and leaves the cycle of death and rebirth.
PADME SAMBHAVA : An 8th century Indian
Buddhist, invited to Tibet by the King to teach him Buddhism. He translated
Buddhist texts from their original languages of Pali and Sanskrit into Tibetan.
His name means "born from a jewel" and some believe he is not an historical
figure but a composite of several Indian Buddhists who came to Tibet. Usually
depicted with a thin moustache, often curled at the ends.
PRAJNAPARAMITA : The Goddess Perfection
of Wisdom, usually shown with Manjusri.
RIMPOCHE : Literally "Precious",
a title conferred on an incarnate lama who is generally the head of a gompa.
SAKYAMUNI : The Historical Buddha
who probably lived 563 to 480 BC, literally meaning belonging to the Sakya clan".
He is usually shown with blue hair.
TANDSHUR : The 225 volume commentary
on the Kandshur complied by Bu-Ston. A complete set is usually found in every
gompa.
TARA: The "Saviouress".
Consort of Avalokitesvara, `Dolma' in Ladakhi.
THANKA : A Buddhist painting on cloth
which conveys a message: the story of Buddha's life, a Mandala of life's existence,
etc. Originally used by lamas to spread the doctrine of Buddhism in a non-literate
society. Thankas could be used as a teaching aid and then rolled up and easily
transported by pack animals over the Himalayas.
TSONG-KHA-PA : Founder of the Gelugpa
sect of Buddhism (1357-1419 AD)
VAIROCANA : The Teaching Buddha,
always shown with the hand gesture depicting turning a wheel, which represents
Buddhist doctrine.
VAJRASATTAVA : A Bodhisattva
Nandadevi 
Copyright
© Oasis Excursions.
All Rights Reserved