Tibetan Meditation Center

Definition of Buddhist Terms

Rinpoche: "Precious One." Something one calls a great teacher. Also sometimes used as a sign of respect for an old monk.

Lama: "Guru." Most correctly used to refer to those teachers who perform empowerments (rituals that prepare one to visualize oneself as a Buddha or bodhisattva during meditation). Generally used to refer to any teacher--and in some parts of the Tibetan Buddhist world it is also used to refer to any monk. At TMC, Lama Gyaltshen, though not a teacher, is referred to as "Lama." He often refers to the other monks as "Lama" as well. The actual word for monk in Tibetan is "trapa." Nuns are called "ani." To show respect to anyone, one can add "-la" to the end of someone's name or title, though "-la" is never added to the end of "Rinpoche."

Khenpo: "Learned One." This is a title something like full professor. In the Kagyu lineages one can receive a traditional Ph.D. after nine years of intensive study, then after a few years of "practice teaching" one may be named Khenpo. Khenpo is often mistranslated as abbot. The terminal degree in a Kagyu shedra (monastic college) is called "Acharya" in Sanskrit or "Lhopon" in Tibetan. Khenpo Tsultrim Tenzin is the current abbot of TMC.

Khenchen: "Great Learned One." This is a higher order of Khenpo. Currently, the founder of TMC, Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche, is the only Khenchen in the Drikung Lineage. He is usually referred to simply as Khenchen Rinpoche.

Drupon: "Retreat Master." This is a title for a more accomplished Lama. It qualifies one to not only give empowerments and teach publicly, but also to lead others in the Great Retreat (sometimes called the three year retreat) of three years, three months, three weeks and three days. Drupon Thinley Ningpo is the retreat master for the retreat center under development at TMC called Phuntsok Dargye Ling (or PDL). Eventually, three year retreats will be held there.

Gompa: "Monastery." A minimum of four monks are required to make a monastery. A nunnery is called "Ani Gompa." Some centers in the West are called monasteries though they do not actually have at least four resident monks or nuns. TMC is not a monastery, though there are plans for some kind of housing for monastics to be built in the future on the retreat center property.

Lhakang: Literally "God House." This is a shrine room.

Hinayana: "Lesser Vehicle." This is the path of those who practice only for their own liberation from suffering and not with the intention to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. It does not refer to a specific school of Buddhism, but denotes a practitioners motivation, regardless of what school they practice in.

Mahayana: "Great Vehicle." This is the path of those who practice with "bodhicitta" or the altruistic intention to achieve enlightenment to benefit all sentient beings. Even if one practices within a lineage that is categorized as Mahayana, if one's motivation is not informed by bodhicitta, one is in fact a Hinayana practitioner.

Vajrayana: "Indestructible Vehicle." This vehicle is part of the Mahayana in that it shares the same motivation to benefit all beings. The difference is that in Vajrayana, one uses visualization practices to more speedily achieve enlightenment. In visualization practices, one usually visualizes oneself actually becoming a Buddha or bodhisattva. It's the "fake it 'till you make it" method. By visualizing oneself as already enlightened, one tries to generate those enlightened qualities in oneself. If one has not received the proper empowerment to perform a particular practice, generally one simply visualizes the Buddha or bodhisattva above and in front of oneself.

Sangha: "Community." This Sanskrit term has more than one meaning. Sometimes it used singularly to refer to an ordained person. Sometimes it refers to a community of ordained people. In the West, it is used most often to refer to a particular practice community comprised of both monastic and lay people. In the Refuge Prayer, when we take refuge in the Sangha, we are taking refuge in the enlightened disciples of the Buddha, not IN? Joe sitting next to us at the center for practice.

Dharma: Literally "Law" in Sanskrit. It is the teaching of the Buddha. Khenchen Rinpoche recently said that the Buddha didn't teach "Buddhism" because he didn't teach his own ideas. He simply discovered the truth and expounded that. Thus "Dharma" refers to the law of truth or ultimate reality, not to any made up ideas.

Buddha: "One Who is Awake." A fully enlightened being who clearly sees ultimate reality. Along with Dharma and Sangha, Buddha is part of the "Three Jewels" or the "Triple Refuge."

Bodhisattva: "Lord of Enlightenment." A bodhisattva is a nearly enlightened being who chooses to remain "in the world" to be more accessible to the unenlightened. They vow to remain until all sentient beings are free from suffering. Buddhas enter final enlightenment to demonstrate that it is actually possible.

Samsara: The world of suffering. This is the state of mind of an unenlightened being, not a location. The source of samsara is confusion or ignorance in the minds of sentient beings.

Nirvana: Enlightenment. This is the state of mind of an enlightened being. Wisdom and compassion give rise to nirvana.

Chenrezig: The Bodhisattva of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit). Chenrezig is the masculine embodiment of all the Buddha's compassion. Though he manifests in many forms, the Four-Armed Chenrezig practice is one of the most commonly disseminated practices in all of Tibetan Buddhism. This is the primary practice one begins with at TMC and is one of the main practices performed at our regular Sunday program.

Drolma: Green Tara. She is a feminine wisdom bodhisattva born from the tears of Chenrezig. She is also the source of a total of 21 emanations, including Drolkar or White Tara who is a long life bodhisattva. Drolma's practice is performed to remove obstacles of any sort. This practice is also regularly performed on Sundays at TMC. It should be noted that ultimately Buddhas and bodhisattvas are not really male or female as their true form is formless. Thus referring to enlightened beings as either male or female refers to their energy rather than to their biological form. Masculine and feminine practices are performed by either sex.

Mudras that we do at TMC are here!