Heart Sutra The extremely concise statement of the doctrine of Emptiness, regarded as the heart or essence of the vast Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) Literature. In many Mahayana traditions, the sutra is chanted regularly.

Hinayana One of the three "vehicles" of Buddhism - the "lesser" vehicle, or way of the Arhat. In Tibetan usage, the name identifies an imperfect or incomplete quest for a purely personal liberation from samsara.

Kalachakra Literally, "the Wheel of Time". A cycle of complex teachings embracing cosmology, history, psychology, and spiritual practice in one coherent system. Name of a tantra and of the deity featured in it.

Kalpa A vast stretch of time.

Karma Literally, "action". The sum of all an individual's deeds, which ineluctably determine their experiences during this life and in the afterlife and future births. Positive karma (merit) can be increased and negative karma eliminated through meditation and the practice of virtue.

Kayas, Three Three aspects of the totality of the completely enlightened experience. The three bodies or modes of experience of a Buddha. See Dharmakaya, Sambhokakaya, Nirmanakaya.

Khenpo The chief instructor or spiritual authority in a monastery. Though the word is often translated as "abbot", the khenpo is not usually the administrator of the monastery. The title is also accorded to Lamas of great learning.

Lama A title for experienced and learned religious teachers, often casually used for members of the clergy in general. (Tibetans take the word as la na me pa "insurpassable", plus ma, "mother", alluding to the compassion a mother has for her only child.

Lha tong (Tib.) Vipashyana (Skt.) Meditation that develops insight into the nature of mind. It is sometimes described as analytical meditation. It is one of the two types of meditation found in all Buddhist traditions, the other being tranquillity meditation (Shamatha, Skt.; shi nay Tib.)

Madhyamaka (Skt.) U ma (Tib.) The Middle View. A philosophical school based on the Prajnaparamita Sutras and their doctrine of emptiness (Sunyata). The Madhyamaka is concerned with the transcendence of both affirmation and negation, and stresses the dependent origination of all things.

Mahamudra "The Great Symbol" or "The Great Seal", a term in Vajrayana Buddhism for the realization of the true nature of mind. Mahamudra means both the ordered series of practices and meditations, and the awakened state of enlightenment to which they lead.

Mahasiddhas Great Indian Tantric Masters renowned for effecting changes in the phenomenal world through spiritual power. They came from all walks of life, and developed the means by which the Dharma could be effectively practiced by people of widely varying capacities and inclinations.

Mahayana The "greater" vehicle of the Buddhist path where one decides to reach enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

Mandala A complex symbol that configures all the energies, aspects and manifestations of a particular embodiment of enlightenment. The term also refers to two or three dimensional representations of such configurations.

Mantra Verbal expression of enlightenment. Recitation of it aloud is understood as the divine sound or speech. The speech of the deity is the embodiment of the union of speech and emptiness.

Nirmanakaya The Body of creation, the worldly form of a Buddha or other enlightened being.

Nirvana Transcendence of suffering; cessation of birth in Samsara.

Prajnaparamita The perfection of wisdom, a name for the body of Mahayana Sutras expounding the Doctrine of Emptiness. Among the most famous of these are the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra. Also, the name of the female Buddha who represents perfect wisdom.