Tibetan Buddhism

Compassion vast enough to hold emptiness.

All 108 concepts

• Dukkha - The Truth of Suffering — Life inherently contains suffering, dissatisfaction, and impermanence that must be understood.
• Samudaya - The Origin of Suffering — Craving, attachment, and ignorance are the root causes of all suffering.
• Nirodha - The Cessation of Suffering — Complete liberation from suffering is possible through eliminating its causes.
• Magga - The Path to Liberation — The Noble Eightfold Path provides the practical way to end suffering.
• Samma Ditthi - Right View — Correct understanding of reality and the Four Noble Truths.
• Samma Sankappa - Right Intention — Cultivating intentions of renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness.
• Samma Vaca - Right Speech — Speaking truthfully, kindly, and beneficially.
• Samma Kammanta - Right Action — Acting ethically by avoiding harm and cultivating virtue.
• Samma Ajiva - Right Livelihood — Earning a living in ways that do not cause harm.
• Samma Vayama - Right Effort — Cultivating wholesome states and abandoning unwholesome ones.
• Samma Sati - Right Mindfulness — Maintaining present-moment awareness of body, feelings, mind, and phenomena.
• Samma Samadhi - Right Concentration — Developing deep states of meditative absorption.
• Three Marks of Existence - Impermanence — All conditioned phenomena are impermanent and constantly changing.
• Three Marks - Non-Self — There is no permanent, unchanging self or soul.
• Bodhicitta - The Awakening Mind — The aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.
• The Bodhisattva Vow — The commitment to liberate all sentient beings from suffering.
• Tonglen - Sending and Taking — The practice of taking in suffering and sending out happiness.
• Lojong - Mind Training — The practices for training the mind in compassion and wisdom.
• Exchanging Self and Other — The practice of mentally switching places with all beings.
• The Four Immeasurables — Loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
• Metta - Loving-Kindness — The unconditional wish for all beings to be happy.
• Karuna - Compassion — The wish to free all beings from suffering and its causes.
• Mudita - Sympathetic Joy — Rejoicing in the happiness and success of others.
• Upekkha - Equanimity — Balanced, impartial love extending equally to all beings.
• Six Paramitas - Transcendent Perfections — The six practices that carry one to the shore of enlightenment.
• Dana Paramita - Generosity — The perfection of giving - material goods, protection, and dharma.
• Kshanti Paramita - Patience — The perfection of patience, tolerance, and forbearance.
• Prajna Paramita - Wisdom — The perfection of wisdom that realizes emptiness.
• Shunyata - Emptiness — All phenomena lack inherent, independent existence.
• Dependent Origination — All phenomena arise in dependence upon causes and conditions.
• The Two Truths — Conventional truth and ultimate truth coexist non-contradictorily.
• Madhyamaka - The Middle Way Philosophy — The philosophical system that avoids extremes of existence and non-existence.
• Svabhava - Absence of Inherent Existence — Nothing possesses intrinsic, self-established nature.
• Union of Appearance and Emptiness — Appearances arise vividly within the space of emptiness.
• Prasangika Madhyamaka — The philosophical approach using consequential reasoning to reveal emptiness.
• Emptiness of Self — The person or self lacks inherent, independent existence.
• Emptiness of Phenomena — All external and internal phenomena lack inherent existence.
• Rigpa - Pure Awareness — The primordial, luminous nature of mind beyond concepts.
• Buddha Nature - Tathagatagarbha — All beings possess the seed of awakening within.
• Luminosity of Mind — The natural clarity and knowing quality of awareness.
• Kadag - Primordial Purity — The original purity of awareness, never contaminated by delusion.
• Lhundrub - Spontaneous Presence — The natural, effortless arising of enlightened qualities.
• Vajrayana - The Diamond Vehicle — The swift path to enlightenment using skillful means.
• Guru Yoga - Devotion to the Teacher — The practice of uniting one's mind with the enlightened mind of the guru.
• Deity Yoga - Divine Transformation — Visualizing oneself as an enlightened deity to transform ordinary perception.
• Mantra - Sacred Sound — Using sacred syllables to transform consciousness.
• Mudra - Sacred Gesture — Using body postures and hand gestures to invoke enlightened qualities.
• Mandala - Sacred Universe — The representation of the enlightened universe and pure perception.
• Empowerment - Wang/Abhisheka — The formal initiation that authorizes tantric practice.
• Samaya - Sacred Commitments — The vows and commitments that maintain the purity of tantric practice.
• Channels, Winds, and Drops — The subtle body system used in advanced tantric practice.
• Tummo - Inner Heat — The practice of generating psychic heat to transform subtle energies.
• Clear Light Practice — Recognizing the luminous nature of mind at death and in sleep.
• Dream Yoga — Maintaining awareness in the dream state to prepare for the bardos.
• Phowa - Consciousness Transfer — The practice of transferring consciousness at death.
• Bardo - Intermediate States — The transitional states between death and rebirth.
• Mahamudra - The Great Seal — The direct recognition of mind's nature as luminous emptiness.
• Dzogchen - The Great Perfection — The natural state of primordial awareness beyond effort and fabrication.
• Pointing Out Instructions — The direct introduction to the nature of mind by a qualified master.
• Three Statements of Garab Dorje — The essential Dzogchen instruction in three points.
• Trekchod - Cutting Through — The practice of resting in the natural state, cutting through conceptual mind.
• Togal - Direct Crossing — The advanced practice of manifesting spontaneous visions of awakening.
• Rainbow Body — The complete transformation of the physical body into light at death.
• Four Yogas of Mahamudra — The progressive stages of realization in Mahamudra practice.
• Shamatha with Support — Calm abiding meditation using an object of focus.
• Shamatha Without Support — Resting in natural awareness without any object of focus.
• Vipashyana - Insight Meditation — Analytical meditation that develops wisdom and insight.
• Non-Meditation — The effortless state where meditation and non-meditation merge.
• One Taste — The realization that all experiences share the same essential nature.
• Natural Mind - Sem Nyi — The ordinary mind recognized as the Buddha mind.
• Karma - Action and Result — Every action creates corresponding results that shape future experience.
• Ten Non-Virtuous Actions — The ten actions to be avoided that create negative karma.
• Ten Virtuous Actions — The ten positive actions that create good karma.
• Six Realms of Existence — The six possible states of rebirth based on karma.
• Precious Human Rebirth — The rare and valuable opportunity of human life with dharma access.
• The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination — The chain of causation that drives the cycle of rebirth.
• Death and Impermanence — Contemplating death to motivate urgent practice.
• Purification of Karma — Practices that purify negative karmic imprints.
• Merit Accumulation — Creating positive karmic energy through virtuous actions.
• Wisdom Accumulation — Developing the understanding that liberates from samsara.
• Taking Refuge — Seeking protection and guidance in the Three Jewels.
• The Three Jewels — Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as the objects of refuge.
• Prostrations — Physical practice of bowing to purify pride and accumulate merit.
• The Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind — Contemplations that inspire renunciation and dharma practice.
• Recognizing All Beings as Mothers — Seeing all beings as having been one's mother in past lives.
• Great Compassion — The wish for all beings without exception to be free from suffering.
• Bodhisattva Activity — Working tirelessly for the benefit of all sentient beings.
• The Four Means of Gathering Disciples — Methods for helping others on the path to awakening.
• Dedication of Merit — Offering the positive energy of practice to all beings.
• Skillful Means - Upaya — Using appropriate methods to help different beings.
• Patience with Difficulties — Transforming hardship into the path of awakening.
• Seeing Enemies as Teachers — Recognizing difficult people as opportunities for practice.
• Healing Through Prayer — Using prayer and aspiration for the benefit of others.
• Feeding the Hungry Ghosts — Offerings to beings in the realm of hungry spirits.
• Liberation Through Hearing — Helping the dying through reading the Bardo Thodol.
• The Medicine Buddha Practice — Invoking the healing buddha for the sick and dying.
• Saving Lives - Tsethar — The practice of liberating animals destined for slaughter.
• Chenrezig Practice — Invoking the bodhisattva of compassion through visualization and mantra.
• Morning Motivation — Setting intention at the start of each day.
• Evening Review — Examining the day's actions and purifying negativity.
• Mindfulness in Daily Activities — Maintaining awareness throughout everyday life.
• Eating as Practice — Transforming meals into dharma through mindfulness and offering.
• Walking Meditation — Practicing mindfulness while walking.
• Sleeping as Practice — Using sleep for dharma through proper position and intention.
• Working as Service — Transforming work into bodhisattva activity.
• Retreat Practice — Intensive meditation in solitude for deepening realization.
• The Three Excellences — Preparation, main practice, and dedication in every session.
• The Ultimate Goal - Complete Enlightenment — Full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Essays on Tibetan Buddhism

• What Tibetan Buddhism says about service — Nine Tibetan Buddhist concepts on serving others, from the bodhisattva vow to dedicating the merit of your practice away.
• What Tibetan Buddhism says about doing no harm — Tibetan Buddhist teaching on doing no harm: right intention, speech, action and livelihood, and what to do with anger.
• What Tibetan Buddhism says about compassion — Nine Tibetan Buddhist concepts on compassion, including the four immeasurables, tonglen and exchanging self and other.
• What Tibetan Buddhism says about grief — Ten Tibetan Buddhist concepts on grief — the bardo, reading to the dead, phowa, tonglen, non-self — and where it offers work instead of comfort.
• What Tibetan Buddhism says about envy and comparison — Ten Tibetan Buddhist concepts on envy and comparison — the jealous-god realm, mudita, merit dedication, emptiness of self — and the ranking problem inside the tradition.
• What Tibetan Buddhism says about habit and discipline — Ten Tibetan Buddhist concepts on habit and discipline — right effort, prostrations, samaya, evening review — and the final stage where the discipline dissolves.