Glossary

An abhisheka is a consecration or anointment ritual. In Vajrayana Buddhism, abhisheka rituals are performed to initiate practitioners into the practices focused on a certain deity. These ceremonies often involve anointing the heads of practitioners with water, meditative visualizations, making vows, chanting mantras and being introduced into a mandala. Hindu priests perform abhisheka rituals on statues, either to invite the deity to reside there, or to wash the statue and worship the deity that inhabits it. Historically, abhishekas were also performed to coronate Hindu kings.

Achala is a wrathful deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, sometimes associated with the bodhisattva Manjushri, or the buddhas Vairochana or Akshobhya. This deity was particularly popular in the Tangut kingdom and in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Adibuddha is the “dharma body” or true, primordial form of all buddhas, the original, empty nature of reality itself. In the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, this is often understood to be a specific buddha called Samantabhadra.

An aimag is a traditional social-geographical grouping in Mongolian regions, traditionally led by a khan. In modern states like Mongolia or the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China, an aimag is the equivalent of a prefecture or district.

In Mahayana cosmology, the Akanishtha Heaven is the highest realm of the phenomenal world or samsara. Although beings reborn in the Akanishtha Heaven are not yet fully enlightened, the positive conditions of this realm allow them to rapidly attain release from birth and death. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Akanishtha Heaven is sometimes understood as the Pure Realm of the buddha Vairocana.

Akshobhya is a buddha in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. In the Five Buddha Family system of Vajrayana Buddhism, Akshobhya is the Buddha of the Vajra family, colored blue, and associated with the direction East.

Amitabha is an important buddha in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Amitabha is often said to dwell in Sukhavati, meaning “endowed with bliss,” a pure land in the distant west where humans hope to be reborn. In the Five Buddha Family system of Vajrayana Buddhism, Amitabha is the Buddha of the Lotus family, colored red, and associated with the direction West.

In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Amitayus is an important long-life deity. Often depicted holding a vase of long-life, Amitayus is frequently paired together with White Tara and Ushnishavijaya as the Three Long Life Deities. Red in color and adorned with jewel ornaments and a crown, he is the sambhogakaya form of Amitabha, who in monk’s robes is the nirmanakaya form.

Amoghapasha is a bodhisattva in Vajrayana Buddhism. The “lasso” in his name refers to his ability to catch sentient beings and lift them out of suffering. Amoghapasha is closely associated with the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and in some contexts can be understood as a form of the same deity.

An icon is a picture of a sacred figure, while an “aniconic” image does not picture such figure, a god or deity, but instead represents them through symbols. For example, the Buddha can be represented by a wheel, a tree, an empty throne, a parasol, or footprints.

Appliqué is a technique of sewing patches of cloth, often silk or felt, onto a base to create a design or image. Used to make thangkas, carpets, and clothing, this technique allows for the creation of large-scale images, often hung from monastery walls or displayed on mountainsides as part of communal festivals and rituals. While the image may be designed by a Buddhist master, women are often involved in the creation of appliqués.

In early Buddhism, arhats were those who had followed the path taught by the Buddha, and achieved release from the cycle of birth and death, or samsara. In later Mahayana traditions in China, the arhats were understood as a set group of disciples to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, and an artistic tradition arose that depicted them as wizened sages with exaggerated features drawn from Daoist immortal imagery. Inspired by these Chinese paintings, Tibetan artists began to depict these figures in a genre that often carried with it aspects of Chinese artistic and material culture. In the Tibetan tradition they appear as a group of sixteen, representing the monastic ideal, and are invoked in rituals of confession and mending vows.

Avadana is a genre of narrative Buddhist literature found in the Mahayana sutras, and one category of Buddhist teachings. Together with the jataka stories that narrate the past lives of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, these stories typically demonstrate the workings of karma, or cause and effect, and how the protagonists’ past actions lead to their present experiences. Most Avadanas center on persons other than the Buddha, but they can relate to the Buddha as well.

Avalokiteshvara, an embodiment of compassion, is a powerful bodhisattva, worshiped all across the Buddhist world. Avalokiteshvara is part of the very origin myth of the Tibetan people, and seen as the protector deity of Tibet. Many Tibetans believe that the emperor Songtsen Gampo, the Karmapas, and Dalai Lamas are all emanations of Avalokiteshvara. A special Avalokiteshvara image, the Pakpa Lokeshvara, is enshrined at the Potala Palace in Lhasa. In India and Tibet, Avalokiteshvara is understood as male, while in East Asian Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is often thought of as female, and is known by the Chinese name Guanyin. Avalokiteshvara is recognizable in the Tibetan tradition by the lotus he holds, the image of Buddha Amitabha in his crown, and antelope skin over his shoulder.

The Avatamsaka Sutra is an important sutra in Mahayana Buddhism, known for its philosophical exploration of infinite, mutually reflecting universes. The final section of this very long sutra is called the Gandavyuha. This section tells the story of a pilgrim named Sudhana who visits fifty-three teachers on his journey to enlightenment, which became exemplary of Buddhist pilgrims’ religious quest.

In Hinduism, an avatar is a form of a deity. A single god may have many avatars. For instance, Hindus consider Rama, Krishna, and the Buddha to be avatars of the god Vishnu. A similar concept in Buddhism is that of an emanation or nirmanakaya.

In Buddhism, awakening or enlightenment refers to a state of understanding the nature of reality, which Buddha Shakyamuni attained while meditating under the Bodhi Tree at Vajrasana or Bodhgaya. It is called awakening because a person reaching such understanding “wakes up” from an illusion—perceiving everything and oneself as real, unchanging, and existing independently of everything else. See also nirvana.

Baha and bahi are institutions in Newar Buddhism that have their origins in Indian Buddhist monasteries (Skt. vihara). By the twelfth-thirteenth century, celibate monasticism had gradually ceased to be practiced in Nepal. Descendants of monks known as Shakya, a name which references their kinship with Shakyamuni Buddha’s clan and monastic affiliation, retained control of the former monasteries (Newar “baha” and “bahi”) as family property passed down through paternal descent. Along with Vajracharya Buddhist priests, they comprise the Newar Buddhist sangha. The bahas and bahis remain the centers of Newar Buddhist life today, and usually consist of an open courtyard with a stupa at the center and a large temple building on the side opposite to the entrance.

Generally, bardo is the state in-between death and rebirth, but Tibetan traditions distinguish four or six bardos, which occur throughout life, such as the bardo of dreaming, and death. The bardos are junctures at which the possibility for awakening, or liberation, is amplified. The so-called “Tibetan Book of the Dead,” as well as other texts, provide guidance for navigating these states, so that the consciousness of the deceased can be born in fortunate realms of existence, or even enter into awakened state itself.

Begtse is a wrathful deity in Vajrayana Buddhism. This deity was especially important in Mongolian regions, where he was worshiped as a martial god of a state cult and special protector of Mongolia from the eighteenth century until the Communist period.

Beri is a style of Tibetan painting based on Newar painting of the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. With the destruction of many Indian monasteries in the thirteenth century, Nepal became an increasingly important source for Buddhist teachers and artisan.

Beyul are concealed valleys said to be hidden throughout the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau. “Treasure revealers,” or terton, are able to discover these realms, providing refuge for their followers in times of danger. Several regions of the Himalayas, including Sikkim, are said to have been populated by Tibetans as part of this process.

Bhairava is a fierce guardian-deity worshiped by both Hindus and Vajrayana Buddhists. Among Hindus, Bhairava is considered a wrathful avatar of Shiva, while among Buddhists, he is considered an emanation of Manjushri. The worship of Bhairava is especially common in the Kathmandu Valley.

In Mahayana Buddhism, Bhaishajyaraja or Bhaishajyaguru is an important buddha who is associated with medicine and healing. Bhaishajyaguru is the teacher who expounds the Tibetan Medical tantras (Tib. Gyu Zhi), which traditional medical doctors memorize to learn the theory and practice of medical science.

Bhimaratha is a communal ceremony performed by the Newar people of the Kathmandu valley to celebrate the date when an elder turns seventy-seven years, seven months, and seven days old. During the ceremony, the elder and his or her spouse are pulled through the streets in a chariot by their children, whereby they are “deified” in the community. Artworks are often commissioned to commemorate the event.

Bodhgaya is the site where the historical Buddha Shakyamuni is said to have attained enlightenment. Located in what is now the Indian state of Bihar, Bodhgaya is the site of the Bodhi Tree, the “diamond throne” (vajrasana), and the Mahabodhi Temple. Bodhgaya is arguably the most important pilgrimage site for Buddhists.

The Bodhi Tree is the tree under which the historical Buddha Shakyamuni achieved enlightenment, located at Bodhgaya in what is now the Indian state of Bihar. The tree has been transplanted many times, and now many trees around the world claim to be descendants of the original tree.

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a being who has made a vow to become a buddha or awakened. In the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many bodhisattvas are understood as deities with enormous powers who delay their final enlightenment, remaining in the phenomenal world to help suffering beings. Among such great bodhisattvas are Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, Vajrapani, and Maitreya.

Bon is an indigenous religion of Tibet. Originally, Bon were a group of non-Buddhist ritual specialists in the court of the Tibetan emperors. From the eleventh century onward, an organized religion called Yungdrung Bon, or “Eternal Bon,” took shape. Yungdrung Bon developed in dialogue with Buddhism, incorporating deities called buddhas, scriptures modeled on the Buddhist canon, monks, and the establishment of monasteries. Followers of Yungdrung Bon trace their own origins to a founder called Tonpa Shenrab, who arrived from the semi-mythical land of Zhangzhung in western Tibet. The word “Bon” can also refer to the many non-organized indigenous religious practices, including the worship of mountain deities and making namkha. A follower of Bon is called a Bonpo.

In Hinduism, Brahma is a creator god, one of a trinity along with Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. In Buddhism, Brahma is also understood as a powerful god, although not an enlightened deity, who presides over a heavenly realm and protects the Buddhist teachings. Buddhists often depict Brahma together with Indra, as patrons and supplicants to the Buddha or Buddhist deity, or trampled underfoot, representing negative forces to be overcome.

Brahmins are the highest caste in Hinduism. According to Hindu scriptures, brahmins are supposed to be temple priests who maintain ritual purity, although in practice they have always worked in many trades.

The British Empire was the largest empire in world history, ruling almost a quarter of the world’s land area and population at its height in the mid-twentieth century. The British achieved hegemony in India after the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and soon came to rule large areas of the Himalayas, including Kashmir and Ladakh. Several small Himalayan kingdoms, including Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim, were allowed to maintain semi-independence as buffer-states against Qing-controlled Tibet. The British briefly invaded Tibet in 1903–1904. After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, the British became a major cultural and military influence on the Ganden Podrang government in Lhasa. India achieved independence in 1947, ending British rule in the Himalayas.

Historians roughly divide human prehistory into three ages according to individual civilizations’ use of technology: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. According to archaeologist John Vincent Bellezza, the Himalayan Bronze Age lasted from about 2000 to 700 BCE, while the Iron Age lasted from 700 to 100 BCE.

In Buddhism and Bon, a buddha is understood as a being who practices good deeds for many lifetimes, and finally, through intense meditation, achieves nirvana, or ”awakening”—a state beyond suffering, free from the cycle of birth and death. “The Buddha” of our age is Shakyamuni, or Siddhartha Gautama. He is considered the founding teacher of the religion we call Buddhism. The buddha prior to Shakyamuni was called Dipamkara, and the next buddha will be Maitreya. These are known as Buddhas of the Three Times. Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhists believe that there are infinite buddhas in infinite universes, who have many bodies or emanations. Other important buddhas include Amitabha, Vairochana, Bhaishajyaguru, Maitreya, and many more.

In the Yoga Tantras, practitioners are initiated into one of five Buddha families, which together form a mandala. Each family has a name, buddha, color, direction, and symbolic attribute:

• Buddha family, Vairocana, white, center, wheel
• Karma family, Amoghasiddhi, green, north, crossed vajra or sword
• Lotus family, Amitabha, red, west, lotus
• Jewel family, Ratnasambhava, yellow, south, jewel
• Vajra family, Akshobhya, blue, east, vajra

Each of the five directional buddhas also represents a specific wisdom quality, which overcomes a corresponding mental affliction.

Buddha Shakyamuni, or simply “The Buddha,” is an epithet for Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of the Buddhist religion. While the exact dates of Siddhartha’s life are debated, scholars generally place him in the sixth to fifth century BCE. According to early Buddhist narratives, Siddhartha was born a prince of the Shakya clan in what is now northern India and southern Nepal. Choosing to leave his palace and family for a life as a religious ascetic, Siddhartha achieved enlightenment while meditating under the Bodhi Tree. Siddhartha spent the rest of his life as a wandering teacher, gathering disciples to form the early Buddhist monastic community (sangha). Buddha Shakyamuni is revered all over the Buddhist world today.

This is a group of buddhas that appear in paintings who are also invoked during tantric and offering rituals. The ten directions are the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west; four intermediate directions; and upward and downward directions.

Buddhists believe that there have been innumerable time cycles (kalpas) of creation and destruction of the universe in the past, and there will be innumerable more in the future. These extremely long periods of time are known as eons. The buddha of the past eon was Dipamkara, the buddha of our current era is Shakyamuni, and the buddha of the future eon will be Maitreya. These three are often represented and worshiped together.

Buddhism is founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived sometime between the sixth and fourteenth century BCE in northern India. Buddhists believe that sentient life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, but that if one achieves a state of awakening or nirvana, it is possible to escape this cycle. Buddhists refer to the Buddha’s teachings as the Dharma. There are many different traditions or denominations of Buddhism, including Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Scholars also discuss regional traditions, such as Indian Buddhism, Newar Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, and so on.

Vases are an important part of ritual paraphernalia and the iconography of many deities; they are often understood to contain the elixir of life. The central bulb of a stupa is often also called a “vase.”

Caste is a traditional system of social division in India and Nepal. The English word “caste” combines two Indic concepts. “Varna” refers to an ancient fourfold division of occupations into priests (brahmins), warriors, farmers, and laborers. In Nepal, the caste system is unique and applies to both Hindu and Buddhists. Like the Hindu brahmins, Buddhist Vajracharya priests and Shakyas are considered the highest caste among the Buddhists, with similar correlations to other social occupational groups. Udas or Uray caste is formed by hereditary merchants and artisans. They are known for their part in the development of industry, trade, arts and culture, and the trade with Tibet. The other ethnic groups traditionally existed largely outside of caste. The caste system was officially abolished in Nepal in 1963.  

Wheels are an important symbol in Buddhism, which often refers to the Buddha’s teachings as “turning the wheel of the Dharma.” When depicted in the hands of a deity or human, a wheel can also denote political power, symbolizing the chakravartin or universal ruler. In the Hindu tradition, the chakra is an ancient weapon, carried by gods such as Vishnu. Chakras can also refer to focal points in the human body; in both Hindu and Buddhist systems of yogic meditation, practitioners channel the energies of the body through these points to obtain higher states of consciousness.

Chakrasamvara is the name of one of the Highest Yoga tantras. Chakrasamvara is also the name of the central deity of the tantra, along with his consort Vajravarahi. Like other tantras of its class, the Chakrasamvara tantra contains transgressive imagery of wrathful deities, charnel grounds, and deities in sexual embrace.

A chakravartin is an ideal of Buddhist kingship, a universal ruler who supports the sangha and “turns the wheel of the Dharma.” Since the time of Emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE), the archetypal chakravartin, many Buddhist rulers in history have been praised as chakravartins, or rulers who support Buddhism and help its spread through the expansion of his domains.

Cham is a type of ritual dance performed in Tibetan Buddhism, often at holidays like the new year or the Monlam Chenmo prayer festival. The cham dancers, who are usually monks, put on masks and perform the actions of the deities they portray. Often these dancers are understood to “become” the deities. The dances often have an exorcistic function and generally are performed for the benefit of an entire community.

In India and Tibet, a charnel ground is a place where dead bodies are brought for cremation or exposure to be consumed by vultures. In early Buddhism, practitioners would come to these places to meditate on death and impermanence. In tantric forms of Hinduism and in Vajrayana Buddhism, these charnel grounds became an important gathering place for yogins, and a source of transgressive imagery for iconographies of tantric deities and the siddhas who embody these practices.

Buddhism first appeared in China in the first century CE, and by the fourth century had become one of the major religions of the country, along with Daoism and Confucianism. Essentially all Chinese Buddhism is Mahayana; Vajrayana teachings flourished for a brief period in the eighth century, but suffered repression and mostly disappeared as an organized school of practice, except in the southwest. Chan (Zen) Buddhism is a unique Chinese tradition, known for its teachings on sudden enlightenment, some of which parallel teachings of Dzogchen (the Great Perfection) practiced in Tibetan regions. Other Chinese Buddhists follow Pure Land teachings, hoping to be reborn in the western paradise of Amitabha.

A “priest-patron” relationship is one in which a secular ruler supports the Buddhist monastic hierarchy with gifts of land, wealth, and protection, while Buddhist masters perform rituals on behalf of the ruler and the state. This arrangement defined Tibetan Buddhists’ relationships with rulers, including Mongol Khans or the Manchu emperors. The relationship between the Mongol emperor Qubilai Khan and the Tibetan imperial preceptor Pakpa became emblematic of this system.

Chod is a ritual technique in the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as in Bon. In a Chod ritual, the practitioner visualizes dismembering of his or her body and offering it to demons. This method is “cutting through” or destroying the ego, which is the primary impediment to awakening (enlightenment).

Circumambulation means walking around something. Himalayan Buddhists often circumambulate as a form of veneration and generate/accrue merit by walking in a clockwise direction around stupas, monasteries, or sacred mountains. Bonpos do the same thing, except counter-clockwise.

Cloisonné is a decorative technique in which pieces of enamel, glass, or precious stones are inlayed into a surface, usually bordered with copper or golden wire. Cloisonné is usually applied to pieces of metalwork. In a Himalayan context, cloisonné was sometimes employed by court workshops in China for the creation of colorful Tibetan Buddhist images and ritual paraphernalia in the Mongol Yuan, Chinese Ming, and Manchu Qing dynasties to ornament temples in Tibetan, Chinese, and Mongolian regions.

Confucianism refers to the teachings of Confucius (559–479 BCE), a philosopher, ritualist, and political advisor who lived in eastern China. Confucius and his disciples stressed the importance of filial piety, ritual correctness, moral governance, and propriety in human relationships. In the Song Dynasty (960–1279), a version of Confucius’s teachings called “Neo-Confucianism” became the dominant ideology in China, and government officials were selected based on competitive exams on Neo-Confucian philosophy until 1905. At a popular level, “Confucianism” often refers to Chinese traditions of filial piety and ancestor veneration, many of which blended elements of Daoism and Buddhism.

In most Asian religious traditions, when an image of a deity is made, it must be made sacred (“consecrated”) by inviting the deity to inhabit it. A variety of rituals can be involved in this, including dotting the image’s eyes, visualizing the descent of the deity into the image, writing mantras on the back of a thangka, or placing sacred texts and mantras inside of a statue.

The Copper-Colored Mountain (Zangdok Pelri) is said to be the dwelling place or mandala-palace of the legendary Vajrayana master Padmasambhava. This mountain-palace is depicted in many thangkas and constructed as temples and portable shrines used by manipa itinerant storytellers.

The Cultural Revolution was a political and social movement in communist China from 1966 to 1976. During this time, traditional culture across all of China came under violent attack, and almost all religious institutions were shut down and many were physically destroyed. In minority areas, ethnic differences and indigenous cultural practices, such as use of Tibetan language or dress, were seen as backward and subject to persecution, adding an additional racial dimension. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans fled to India or Nepal, and many Himalayan artworks were destroyed or scattered abroad.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, dakinis are female deities. Called khandroma “sky-goers” in Tibetan, they are thought to be embodiments of enlightened wisdom and can appear in various forms. In tantric texts and practices, they are described as consorts and sources of wisdom and insight for yogic practitioners. Some dakinis appear wrathful, and are thought to drink blood and visit charnel grounds, where they encounter and instruct tantric practitioners. Tantras and biographies mention them as consorts and sources of enlightening wisdom for yogic practitioners.

The Dalai Lamas are a tulku lineage that has played a central role in Tibetan history for the last five hundred years. In 1577 a Mongol khan gave the Geluk monk Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588) the title “Dalai Lama,” combining the Mongolian word for ocean, dalai (a reference to the depth of his knowledge), and the Tibetan word for guru, lama. Later, two previous incarnations were retroactively identified. The fifth incarnation, Ngawang Gyatso (1617–1682), allied with another Mongol khan to unite most of the Tibetan Plateau, forming the Ganden Podrang government that would govern Tibet until 1959. Since the Communist takeover, the current Fourteenth Dalai Lama has lived in exile at Dharamshala in India. The Dalai Lamas are understood to be emanations of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

Daoism refers both to a philosophical tradition and to an organized religion. In ancient China, texts attributed to semi-mythical figures like Laozi (sixth–fourth century BCE) and Zhuangzi (369–286 BCE) contained mystical speculation about the “way” (Dao) that brings humans into harmony with heaven, as well as explorations of philosophical and political relativism. From the second century onward, a ritual-exorcistic tradition appeared that called itself “the teachings of the Dao” (Ch. Daojiao). Mutually influencing with Chinese Buddhism, this tradition grew into an organized religion with monasteries, a priesthood, a canon of ritual texts, and a complex pantheon of gods organized into a bureaucracy modeled after the Chinese state which govern the natural world.

In Indian religious traditions, darshan means a glimpse or sight of the deity, often during pilgrimage, visit to the temple, or when the deity is brought out from a temple during a festival. It is believed that in these encounters, the deity also sees the worshipper via the consecrated statue. In Buddhist traditions, darshan is often interpreted as blessing, and sometimes can also refer to a meditative visualization or vision of a buddha or deity.

Different Asian religious traditions posit different types of divine beings. Hindus generally believe in an all-encompassing God-like being, called Brahman. They also believe in a variety of other gods (deva), including Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Early Buddhists denied the existence of a single, all-powerful creator god. Nevertheless, they always recognized a variety of powerful spirits, like gandharvas and nagas. Mahayana Buddhists came to see bodhisattvas as beings of enormous power, and buddhas themselves as cosmic beings with the ability to create entire universes. Buddhist and Bon traditions in Tibet worshiped a variety of other gods (Tib. lha), like the mountain gods, or gods of the land. According to Buddhist tradition, enlightened deities are seen as beyond the cycle of death and rebirth, whereas gods (including Hindu gods) are not.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, deity yoga is a meditative visualization practice centered on a deity. Practitioners imagine themselves as a deity (Tib. yidam), or visualize the deity in front of themselves, while contemplating and internalizing the deity’s enlightened qualities of mind and powers. As a result, the practitioners develop a special connection with the deity and attain the deity’s awakened state. Specific instructions on the practice of deity yoga are laid out in tantras, and in texts called sadhana.

In Hinduism, the devas are the male gods, like Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. “Devi” are goddesses, like Parvati, Sarasvati, or Durga. Buddhists also believe that devas exist as powerful beings, for instance Brahma or Indra, but they do not believe these gods are immortal or enlightened.

In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, a dharani is a short, Sanskrit language text or spell-like formulas thought to have protective power when written or recited out loud, often as part of a ritual. Often inscribed on objects or at sacred sites, their power through the written physical presence is associated with long life, purification, and protection. Dharanis are similar to mantras, but usually longer. One important dharani is the Ushnishavijaya Dharani. The Pancharaksha is another important text that contains five dharanis of protection.

In Buddhism, dharma refers to the teachings of the Buddha, and to the Buddhist religion itself. In Hinduism, dharma means law, custom, morality, or a way of doing things. The word has other contextual meanings in different Indian religious traditions.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the “Dharma Realm” is the ultimate, empty reality as perceived by buddhas, also known as emptiness. The dharmadhatu encompasses all phenomena and is often described as a space where all things appear, abide, and dissolve. It is also synonymous with the nature of the awakened mind. Mandalas that represent the Dharmadhatu are found in Yoga tantras.

In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, a dharmapala is a wrathful deity who is bound to protect the Buddhist teachings and its followers. Many dharmapalas were originally non-Buddhist deities, who were adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as fierce or wrathful protectors, for instance Bektse or Mahakala. There are many dramatic stories of forced conversion, or pacification of local gods by powerful masters, such as Padmasabhava who were assimilated to become protectors.

Dharmaraja is a term of respect for high Buddhist figures, including the Buddha himself, high-ranking religious masters, and pious rulers.

A dhoti is a traditional Indian lower-body garment for men, made of a cloth wrapped around the waist and tucked through the legs from the back.

Dipamkara is considered to be the buddha who appeared in the eon previous to ours. Thus he is often worshiped as one of the Buddhas of the Three Times.

Divination refers to any supernatural means of knowing the world, including oracles, astrology, and geomancy (the study of forces in the landscape).

In Buddhist context, donor is a person who contributes to or commissions a religious work of art. This act is intended to increase merit on behalf of the benefactor and is dedicated to the benefit of all. It is also usually done for a specific purpose, such as longevity, prosperity, or well-being; to advance religious practice; or to ensure a good rebirth of a deceased relative, teacher, or friend. A similar practice is also known in Hinduism and Bon.

Dual rulership is a Tibetan political theory, in which secular and religious power are fused in the same government, similar to the Western idea of a theocracy. The Tibetan Ganden Podrang government, with the Dalai Lamas at the head, can be understood as a dual-rulership system. Dual rulership can contrast with a priest-patron or cho-yon relationship.

Every monastery has a dukhang, or assembly hall, in which all the monks can gather for daily recitations of prayers and rituals. These are often grand pillared halls with walls covered in murals, with buddha-images and a throne for the abbot.

In Hinduism, Durga is a fierce warrior goddess, sometimes thought to be an aspect of the great goddess Mahadevi, as well as the consort of Shiva. She wields all of the weapons of Hindu gods. Durga’s worship is widespread in the Kathmandu Valley, especially during the fall harvest when Durga rituals abound.

Buddhist monasteries often have images of four fierce Dharma Protectors painted or sculpted on either side of the doors, so as to prevent evil forces from entering the sacred space. They may also protect the gates of a mandala.

Dzogchen refers to ritual practices and philosophical texts associated with the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as Bon. Dzogchen texts emphasize yogic practices, techniques for navigating the bardo states between birth and death, and the nature of the universe as pure, self-arisen consciousness.

In deity yoga, meditative practices usually begin with the “generation stage” (Tib. kyerim), in which the practitioner enters a state of deep concentration and then visualizes the deities of the ritual. This is then followed by the “completion stage,” in which the practitioner resides in the pure expanse of enlightenment and performs various activities as the deity.

The Eight Great Events are eight scenes from the life of Buddha Shakyamuni that became a standard part of his iconography in India and Nepal. The eight events are:

1. The birth of the Buddha
2. His awakening (enlightenment)
3. His first sermon
4. A monkey offers him honey
5. He tames a wild elephant
6. Descending from the Heaven of the Thirty-Gods
7. Defeating heretical sects by miraculous displays
8. The Buddha’s death (Skt. parinirvana)

The Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava are eight names of the legendary tantric master and yogin, who became known when he defeated the hostile spirits of Tibet while converting the land and its gods to Buddhism. The names became standardized and assumed iconographic forms now known as the Eight Manifestations of the Guru. Different texts give varied lists of these manifestations.

The Eight Medicine Buddhas are an iconographic set of seven buddhas plus Shakyamuni, who are said to preside over healing and medicine in Tibetan Buddhism.

Along with the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path is a core part of the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni. The Eightfold Path is often symbolized by an eight-spoked wheel or chakra. The eight spokes represent: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right efforts, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Emptiness is a core concept of the Madhyamaka philosophical tradition of Mahayana Buddhism, most famously formulated by the Indian philosopher Nagarjuna (ca. second to third century CE) and elaborated by Chandrakirti (c. seventh century CE). Emptiness (Skt. shunyata) refers to the absence of inherent existence, meaning that although all things, including the self, exist insofar as we perceive them, they are constantly changing and dependent on causes and conditions, and thus empty of inherent existence. Buddhas are said to perceive both of these relative and absolute truths at once. Other Buddhist traditions, for instance Dzogchen and the Jonang, interpret emptiness as a primordial state of radiant awareness underlying the phenomenal world.    

The Encampment tradition is an artistic tradition associated with the court of the Karmapas, who traveled in large monastic tent encampments. The painting tradition was established by the artist Namkha Tashi (active ca. 1568–1599). No extant painting by the hand of Namkha Tashi has yet been reliably identified, but religious masters of the Karma Kagyu are said to have urged Namkha Tashi to follow Indian Buddhist models for the figures and Chinese painting for coloring and shading, naming models from the Yuan and Ming courts. The style was revived by Situ Panchen (1700–1774). Sometimes called the “New Encampment” style, these paintings are characterized by open airy landscapes of soft blue and green. The Encampment tradition also included a lesser-known sculptural tradition, founded by the artist Karma Sidrel (d. 1591/92).

Engraving is the process of incising lines, patterns, or writing into the surface of an object, such as a metal or wooden sculpture, or natural surface, such a stone.

Along with the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths comprise the fundamental teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni and refer to: suffering (all life is suffering); origination (desire, anger, and ignorance are the causes of suffering); cessation (Nirvana ends all suffering); and path (the Eightfold Path leads to this ending).

Ganapati is a name for the South Asian deity recognized by his human body and elephant head. While similar in appearance to a Hindu deity Ganesh, Ganapati is worshiped in some Buddhist contexts, as a deity of good luck and success, or as a wrathful deity in Vajrayana Buddhism. Conversely, Ganapati can also represent obstacles to be overcome, and is depicted trampled by some Buddhist deities (such as Mahakala).

The Ganden Podrang was the government system that ruled Central Tibet, in one form or another, from 1642 to 1959. Headed by the Dalai Lamas, the Ganden Podrang had a dual system that included both powerful Geluk monastic officials and secular members of the Central Tibetan noble families. From the eighteenth century onward, the Ganden Podrang had a central governing council called the “kashag,” or “parliament.”

In Hinduism, Garuda is a powerful winged deity, often understood as a symbol of victory and the mount of the god Vishnu. In Buddhism, Garuda is thought of less as an individual deity, but instead as powerful, horned eagle-like beings called kyung, who support the Buddhist dharma and protect from nagas, serpent-spirits. In Tibetan contexts garuda is conflated with the horned kyung bird, with ancient roots in Bon beliefs.

In Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, a gau is an amulet box, often gilded or painted, that contains sacred objects like images, mantras and dharanis, relics, tsatsas, and medicinal pills. Tibetans often wear gaus on a cord around the neck, or slung across the shoulder.

The Geluk are the most recent of the major “Later Diffusion” traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded on the teachings of Tsongkhapa (1357–1419 CE) and his students, the Geluk are known for their emphasis on monastic discipline and the scholastic study of Mahayana philosophy, especially Madhyamaka. In the seventeenth century the Geluk supporting the Dalai Lamas became the largest and most powerful Buddhist tradition in both Tibet and Mongolia, where city-sized Geluk monasteries and their satellites proliferated widely. For long periods, Geluk monks effectively ruled both countries in dual-rulership or priest-patron political systems. A follower of the Geluk is called a Gelukpa.

Gilding is a metalworking technique in which a fine golden surface is applied over a statue made of bronze. In Newar metalworking workshops, gilding is typically done with fire and mercury, which gives sculptures a warm finish (but is poisonous for their makers). In Tibetan contexts sometimes gold dust is mixed with glue and applied with a brush (often called “cold gold”), especially to a deity’s face to gain merit.

Guhya Kali is one form of the Hindu deity Kali, herself seen as a wrathful form of the great goddess Mahadevi. Kali is typically understood as a fierce goddess, pictured devouring her enemies and trampling on their corpses.

The Guhyasamaja is an important tantra in Vajrayana Buddhism, which focuses on a form of the buddha Akshobhya called Akshobhyavajra, also known as Guhyasamaja. Like other Highest Yoga Tantras, the Guhyasamaja tantra uses transgressive imagery of wrathful deities, charnel grounds, and sexual union.

The Gupta empire was a state centered in northeastern India. The Gupta empire expanded from the fourth century CE to control much of central India and the Ganges valley regions, receiving tributes from other rulers as well. Under the strain of military invasions from the northwest, the empire declined in the late sixth century. The Gupta period is considered a classical age of Hindu and Buddhist art and culture, which produced many of India’s greatest philosophers, playwrights, and artists. Elite patronage of Buddhist institutions was also a major feature of the age, and sculpted Buddhist images are among the most famous and representative images of that time.

The Four Tantras are the fundamental text of the Tibetan medical tradition, claimed to have been taught by the Buddha himself. The first tantra or “root” tantra contains an overview of the medical system, while the second or “explanatory” gives more detail on theory and physiology. The third or “instructional” tantra gives information on treatments, while the fourth or “subsequent” tantra gives a variety of additional information on diagnosis, the preparation of medicines, and more.

A harmika is an architectural element that forms a square balustrade section on top of the dome (Sanskrit: anda) of a stupa, and encloses the spire (Sanskrit: yasti) that rises above it. The harmika represents a divine abode.

In Hinduism, Hayagriva is a deity said to be an avatar of Vishnu, recognizable by his human body and horse’s head. In Vajrayana Buddhism, Hayagriva sometimes appears as a dharma protector, a meditational deity, a heruka, or an attendant to Avalokiteshvara. In Buddhist images he is recognizable by the small horse head(s) protruding from his hair on the top of his head.

In Buddhism, the hell realms are the lowest portions of samsara, or the wheel of reincarnation. Different texts give different accounts of these realms, but a standard list says that there are eight cold and eight hot hells. Beings are reborn into these realms due to their negative karma, and although they may spend many eons there, eventually they will die and be reborn elsewhere.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, heruka is a designation referred to male wrathful deities, often associated with the sexual practices of the Highest Yoga Tantras, and specifically mother tantras such as Chakrasamvara and Hevajra in the Sakya, Kagyu, and Geluk traditions. Vajrakila and Hayagriva are considered herukas, as well as other male deities of the Nyingma tradition such as Chemckchok and Yangdak Heruka.

The Hevajra tantra is one of the most important texts of the Highest Yoga Tantras. The Lamdre teachings of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism are mostly based on the Hevajra tantra. Hevajra is also the name of the central deity of the tantra, who is usually depicted in union with his consort Nairatmya. The deity is recognizable by the series of skull cups containing various animals held in his hands.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Highest Yoga Tantras are the highest category in the fourfold division of tantras. These tantras often involve images of male and female deities in sexual union, symbolic of two aspects of wisdom and method necessary for the awakening. Such practices are sometimes literally carried out by the initiated practitioner and a consort. Most Tibetan traditions also divide Highest Yoga Tantras into “father” tantras, which focus on male deities and the subtle body, and “mother” tantras, which focus on female deities and the enlightened mind. The Later Diffusion traditions add a category of “non-dual” tantras, the most important of which is the Kalachakra tantra. The Nyingma tradition understands Dzogchen as the ultimate form of the Highest Yoga Tantras.

Hinduism is a collection of religious beliefs and practices comprising a major Asian religion, practiced principally on the Indian Subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. Although certain practices may have their roots in the ancient Indus Valley civilization (~3300–1300 BCE), the earliest decipherable texts of Hinduism are the Vedas, ritual-mythological hymns and instructions for fire-sacrifice from around 1500–900 BCE. From around 800 to 300 BCE, new thinkers emphasized philosophical ideas like ritual union with the deity Brahman, or meditation and asceticism in the forest. One of these thinkers was Siddhartha Gautama, the founding teacher of Buddhism. Hindu temples appeared from the medieval period onward, dedicated to gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and Mahadevi. There are also tantric forms of Hinduism, which emphasize transgressive practices and yogic ritual.

In the Himalayan context, iconography refers to the forms found in religious images, especially the attributes of deities: body color, number of arms and legs, hand gestures, poses, implements, and retinue. Often these attributes are specified in ritual texts (sadhanas), which artists are expected to follow faithfully.

Iconometry means the measurement of icons or religious images. Especially in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, detailed manuals exist that use precise proportional measurements to standardize the iconography of major deities, and maintain their correct proportions, regardless of scale. These proportions are commonly expressed visually in artist manuals as iconometric grids.

An illuminated manuscript is one that is adorned with images, designs, and decorative text. Unlike an “illustrated” text, the images in an illuminated text don’t necessarily show scenes from the story of the text.

Impermanence is a core concept in Buddhism. The Buddha taught that all beings, things, and thoughts are constantly appearing, changing, and passing away in samsara. We suffer because we are attached to these unstable things. In Madhyamaka philosophy, impermanence is a central part of the doctrine of emptiness.

Hindus and Buddhist believe that all beings die and are reborn in new bodies, or “incarnations.” While reincarnation is recognized across the Buddhist world, in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, some important teachers (lamas) are thought to be able to control this process. Their successive incarnations, known as tulkus (emanation bodies), formed incarnation lineages such as Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas, Karmapas, and others.

Buddhism was founded among the royal cities and forest hermitages of northern India in the sixth to fourth centuries BCE. All three major Buddhist doctrinal groups—Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana—had their origins in India. Pilgrims from across Asia would travel to India to visit the sacred sites of the Buddha’s life, or study in the great monastic universities of Nalanda or Vikramashila. From the sixth century CE onward, Buddhism faced increasing competition from Hindu devotional and tantric groups. Muslim invasions and conversions from the eighth century onward destroyed many of the great monasteries. By the end of the thirteenth century, Buddhism had mostly vanished in its homeland, although isolated Buddhist groups survived in peripheral areas. Newar Buddhists continue to practice a form of Indian Buddhism to this day.

Indra is a central deity in the early Hindu Vedas. In later Hinduism, Indra is still considered the king of the gods, but his role is less prominent. In Buddhism, Indra also has the role of king of the gods, although these gods are considered neither enlightened nor immortal.

Inlay is a decorative technique of creating a depression in a surface and then filling it with some other material. Metal can be inlaid with precious stones or glass, or more precious forms of metal, for instance, brass inlaid with silver and copper. Wood can be inlaid with silver, or other metal and conch. Tibetans tend to favor turquoise inlay while the Newars employ a range of colored glass and semi-precious stones.

Inner Asia is a broad geographic term referring to diverse Mongolian regions including present-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva, and ancient territories traditionally occupied by Tangut and Manchu people, as well as areas of Western China. In some contexts Tibetan regions are also considered part of Inner Asia.

Islam is a major world religion. Islam is based on the teachings of the prophet Muhammed (570–632 CE), who claimed a direct revelation from God (Arabic: “Allah”) contained in a sacred text called the Quran, which details a code of conduct for believers. By the end of the twelfth century Islam was prevalent in most of Central Asia and Northern India, leading to the decline and disappearance of Buddhism in these regions. Today, parts of the western Himalayas (Kashmir and northern Pakistan) are majority Muslim. Muslims live as minorities in many other parts of the Himalayan world, including historically important trading communities on the Tibetan Plateau.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Jambhala is a wealth deity. Jambhala is sometimes equated with the Hindu god Kubera, likewise a god of wealth, and king of the yaksha demons.

Jasag Lamas were Buddhist administrative officials of the Qing dynasty appointed to oversee religious communities within monasteries all over the Qing Mongolian world, including places such as Mount Wutai. The first six Jasag Lamas on Mount Wutai were appointed by the Manchu emperors to administer all Tibetan Buddhist and Chinese Buddhist affairs on the mountain. Starting in the early eighteenth century, Jasag Lamas on Mount Wutai were appointed by the Dalai Lamas, acting as ambassadors for Tibetan Buddhist affairs in China. In at least one case, the ruler of Shireet Khuree monastery in southeastern Inner Mongolia, the Jasag Lama secondarily also became the ruler of a secular community.

Jatakas are a genre of Buddhist literature about the previous lives, or incarnations, of Buddha Shakyamuni, sometimes as an animal before he attained enlightenment. With lively stories that illustrate the importance of compassion and cultivating karmic merit, these stories are a favorite topic of Buddhist illustration.

In Nepal, a jatra is a festival procession, in which an image of a deity is carried through the streets on elaborate chariots, often accompanied by music, dance, and offering rituals. Important jatras include those for Indra, Kumari, and Bunga Dya.

The Jibzundambas (from the Tibetan Jetsun dampa “venerable/reverend noble one”) were the most important lineage of tulkus in Khalkha Mongolia from 1639 to 1924, considered below only the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas in prestige within the Geluk tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. While the Jibzundamba lineage traces its previous incarnations back to the Tibetan polymath and traveler Taranatha (1575–1634), the first formally enthroned Jibzundampa was the Mongolian prince and artist Zanabazar (1635–1723). As the Jibzundampa’s authority grew, their mobile monastery, called “the great encampment” (Mgl: yekhe khüriye), would gradually settle and develop into Mongolia’s modern capital, Ulaanbaatar. The eighth Jibzundamba ruled as khan of Mongolia from 1911 to 1924.

The Jonang are a tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded by Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen (1292–1361), it is sometimes considered an offshoot of the Sakya tradition. Best known for the great scholar Taranatha (1575–1634), the Jonang emphasize the teachings of the Kalacakra Tantra, and are known for a unique interpretation of the doctrine of emptiness, which holds that all human concepts are empty of inherent nature, but the true substance of the universe is pure, radiant Buddhahood. The Jonang were suppressed by the Fifth Dalai Lama in the mid-seventeenth century in central Tibet, but the tradition survives in the Dzamtang region of Amdo, Eastern Tibet. A follower of the Jonang is called a Jonangpa.

Jowo is a Tibetan term of respect for a deity, most often referring to an image of the Buddha. The most famous is the Jowo Rinpoche, the main image of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. There are other sacred Jowo images, such as the Jowo at Erdeni juu Monastery in Mongolia.

Jyapus are the largest caste among the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley, often thought to be among the oldest urban inhabitants of the region. Jyapus are primarily known as farmers, but they also engage in other trades.

The Kadam were a tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the earliest of the “later diffusion” traditions in Tibet. Founded on the teachings of the famous Indian scholar Atisha (982–1054) and his student Dromton (1005–1064), the Kadam emphasized monastic discipline, Buddhist ethics, Mahayana scriptural study, and madhyamaka philosophy. Many later Tibetan traditions grew out of Kadam lineages, to the point that the Kadam no longer existed as an organized tradition. The Geluk tradition, founded by Tsongkhapa (1257–1419) views itself as the intellectual successor to the Kadam, and sometimes calls itself the “New Kadam.”

The Kagyu are a major Later Diffusion tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu trace their lineages back to the Mahasiddhas, the great tantric masters of medieval India. The Kagyu are known for their yogic practices, as well as the teaching of Mahamudra, or the “Great Seal.” The Kagyu tradition includes many different branches, such as the Karma, Drukpa, Drigung, Tselpa, Pakmodru, and others. The most influential leaders of the Karma Kagyu are the Karmapas, a tulku lineage associated with that Kagyu branch. In Bhutan, the Drukpa Kagyu tradition serves as the state religion. A follower of the Kagyu is called a Kagyupa.

Kailash is a mountain in far western Tibet. Tibetans call this mountain Kang Rinpoche (“Jewel of the Snows”). The rivers Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali all have their sources in the immediate area of this mountain. Among Hindus, Kailash is considered the abode of Shiva. Among Buddhists, Kailash is considered the site of Mount Meru on earth. Jains and Sikhs also consider the mountain sacred, and tens of thousands of pilgrims travel there every year to circumambulate the mountain. Mount Kailash is also an important sacred site for the Bon religion.

Kalachakra refers to both the name of major Highest Yoga tantra texts and the central deity, which is the focus of these texts, depicted as a multi-armed figure in tantric union with his consort Vishvamata. The tantra’s elaborate cosmology addresses three wheels of time—the outer, inner, and the other. The outer wheel of time refers to the external world, procession of the external solar and lunar days, or the macrocosm. The inner wheel of time refers to the human body or the microcosm of the inner channels, elements, and wind movements. And the other wheel is the initiation into the paths and the practice. According to the text the Buddha first taught, the Kalachakra tantra in the mythical Buddhist realm of Shambhala to chakravartin kings who rule there.

Hinduism and Buddhism both hold that actions (Skt. karma) have inevitable results which may take a shorter or longer time to occur. Mental, verbal, and physical actions all have positive or negative consequences and are considered karma. Depending on conditions, karma can manifest results either in this or future lives. Karma directly relates to the idea of reincarnation, and positive karma can also create religious merit and lead to a better rebirth, while negative actions, or karma, result in worse experiences in the present and future lives. Buddhists strive to achieve enlightenment to escape this cycle of karmic action and consequence.

The Karmapas are a lineage of tulkus, or reincarnated lamas, and heads of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, recognizable by their distinctive black hats. They began tracing their reincarnations starting in the thirteenth century when Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339) recognized himself the reincarnation of two predecessors, to whom he gave the titles Second and First Karmapas. The Karmapas are thus the historically oldest tulku lineage in Tibetan Buddhism. The Karmapas were a major force in medieval Tibet, but their economic and political power was broken in the mid-seventeenth century when the Geluk-tradition Dalai Lamas and their Mongol allies defeated the king of Tsang and drove many Karma Kagyupas into exile. Nevertheless, the Karmapa lineage survived, and remains influential today. The Karmapas are believed to be emanations of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

In Hinduism, Kartikeya is a warrior god mounted on a peacock. Kartikeya is especially popular in southern India, where he is known as Murugan. In Buddhism, Kartikeya is often known as Skandha, and is considered an important Dharma Protector. In Nepal, the god is venerated as Kumara, and depicted as a child, either dancing with a peacock or riding one. Kumara is considered to be a harbinger of monsoon rains.

Kathmandu Mandala is a term used to describe the political and religious landscape of the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, traditionally inhabited by Newar people. Politically, the Kathmandu Mandala consisted of the three city-states of Kathmandu, Bakhtapur, and Patan, as well as smaller settlements around them. Religiously, the Kathmandu Mandala was a network of Hindu and Buddhist sacred sites that marked the center and boundaries of the region. From 1768 the Kathmandu Valley was unified under the rule of the Shah dynasty from outside of the valley.

Kesi is a type of silk weaving known from China and eastern Central Asia, originally associated with the Sogdian and Uyghur peoples. Kesi uses raw silk for the warp and boiled silk of various colors for the weft, producing vivid blocks of color. As the finished surface has a carved-like effect, giving the textile a three-dimensional quality, the technique became known as kesi, which literally means “carved silk.” By the early thirteenth century, the Tanguts employed this luxury medium for the creation of Tibetan Buddhist icons, which would be emulated by other courts, such as the Mongols, Chinese, and Manchus.

The Khalkha are one of the major historical subgroupings of the Mongols. Historically ruled by leaders descended from Chinggis Khan, the Khalkha inhabited a territory roughly the same as the country called Mongolia today. Other important Mongol groups after the fall of the Mongol Empire include the Chahars, who lived in what is today the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China, the Oirat or Dzungars, who lived in Central Asia, and the Khoshut, who lived in the northern Tibetan Plateau.

The Khasa Malla were a kingdom in what is now western Nepal and Tibet, centered on the Karnali River valley. While a Himalayan people called Khasa are mentioned in ancient Indian texts, the organized Khasa Malla kingdom flourished roughly between the twelfth and the fourteenth centuries. Little is known about this kingdom, as written sources are limited to a few inscriptions and mentions in Tibetan chronicles, in which they are known as the Yatse kingdom. Nevertheless, the Khasa Malla had a unique culture of Buddhist bronze casting that combined Indic and Tibetan cultural elements. The Khasa Malla are not to be confused with the Malla Dynasty based in the Kathmandu Valley.

Khutugtu is a Mongolian term of respect for a religious figure, often a buddha or a high lama. The term is equivalent to Tibetan tulku, or incarnate lama. The Jibzundamba and Changkya lineages are often referred to as khutugtus.

The Khyentse artistic tradition of painting and sculpture was founded by Khyentse Chenmo, an artist who worked in central Tibet during the fifteenth century. It is one of two new distinctively Tibetan artistic traditions which arose at this time, the Khyentse and Menla traditions, the first to be named after Tibetan artists, suggesting they are seen as indigenous artistic traditions. These painting styles (Khyenri and Menri) are both known for adopting Chinese landscape into their compositions. Gongkar Chode, near Lhasa, is the only monastery that preserves wall paintings by Khyentse Chenmo’s hand, which he created from 1464 to 1476. His paintings are known for their realism and great attention to detail, particularly in portraits and paintings of wild animals and birds, as well as his depiction of wrathful deities.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, kinnaras are celestial musicians, usually depicted as a male and a female, who are half human and half bird. Kinnaras often appear as attendant figures in depictions of buddha-realms or heavens. In the artistic tradition of Nepal these creatures are known as Jalamanusha, or aquatic man.

The kirtimukha is a symbolic element in South Asian art—a mask-like face of a fanged beast. Kirtimukhas are usually placed above other elements, such as upper portions of the carved portals, throne backs, or as a row adorning the upper portions of the painted walls.

In Hinduism, Krishna is considered an avatar of Vishnu, and an important god in his own right. Many stories are told about Krishna’s life, including his childhood as a baby possessed with cosmic powers, his youth as a playful cow herder with many lovers, and his adulthood as a sagely advisor to the epic hero Arjuna. Krishna can be depicted as a baby, or as a young man dancing with a flute. He is usually shown with dark blue skin.

In Hinduism, Kubera is a god of wealth and a king of nature spirits, called yaksha. In Buddhism, he is often equated with the wealth deity Jambhala, and is also one of the eight horsemen-generals in the retinue of the god Vaishravana, the guardian king (lokapala) of the North.

In Nepal, the Kumaris are prepubescent girls who are selected as the incarnation of the great goddess Devi, or the divine feminine principle shakti. These girls live in palaces in the center of Kathmandu and other Nepalese cities, where they perform rituals, bless devotees, and are carried out on palanquins in jatra processions. When the girl experiences her first period, she leaves the palace and resumes life as a normal person, and a new Kumari is selected.

Kurukulla is a wrathful female meditational deity in Vajrayana Buddhism. Sometimes associated with Tara, the wrathful deity Heruka or the Buddha Amitabha, Kurukulla is often depicted as a dancing red female deity with four arms wielding a bow and arrow, hook and noose, all made of flowers. In more popular beliefs, Kurukulla is associated with love and power.

In Tibetan Buddhism, a labrang is the personal estate of a high lama, or tulku, including wealth, property, retainers, and serfs. Labrang is also the name of a famous Geluk monastery in Amdo.

Lacquer is a technique for coating wood with a hard, smooth, shiny finish usually made from resin of particular tree species, or from the secretions of the lac insect. The English word “lacquer” comes from the Sanskrit “laksha,” meaning “one hundred thousand,” referring to the great numbers of secretion-producing insects that infect certain trees. In Himalayan art, lacquer was a Chinese luxury media (along with porcelain, silk, etc.) used to create Tibetan Buddhist images and ritual objects beginning in the thirteenth century under Mongol Yuan patronage, and followed by later courts.

In Hinduism, Lakshmi is an important goddess, one of a trinity of goddesses with Parvati and Sarasvati. Lakshmi is considered the consort and divine energy (shakti) of Vishnu. Lakshmi is generally depicted as a peaceful and beautiful woman with four arms. In Nepal, she is considered the goddess of prosperity and wealth and is also known as Shri. Lakshmi appears as a minor goddess in some Buddhist traditions; one of her forms in Tibetan Buddhism is the wrathful protector Palden Lhamo.

In the Tibetan Buddhist and Bon traditions, “lama” is a term of respect for a high monk or religious teacher, often a monastery abbot or a tulku. The Sanskrit equivalent is “guru,” meaning “venerable one” or “teacher.” In some traditions, like the Kagyu, lama is also a person who has completed a three-year retreat practice.

Lamdre is a set of teachings and practices foundational to the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, which outlines the paths and results of studying philosophical teachings and actualizing Buddhist practices. Although largely focused on Hevajra Tantra, the Lamdre teachings begin with the Mahayana path and Madhyamaka philosophy, which holds that samsara and nirvana are aspects of the same reality. More advanced Lamdre teachings involve the initiations and deity yoga of the Hevajra Tantra. The depiction of Lamdre lineage masters, teachings, and initiations passed unbroken from teacher to disciple are important aspect of Sakya religious art.

The “early diffusion” refers to the first period in which Buddhism entered Tibet, roughly from the seventh to the ninth centuries CE. This period roughly corresponds to the age of the Tibetan Empire, and came to an end with the chaos and destruction of the empire’s fall. The Nyingma or “ancient” tradition of Tibetan Buddhism traces its teachings and doctrines to this early diffusion. The “later diffusion” refers to a second period, roughly from the late tenth to the fourteenth centuries CE, when Buddhism re-entered Tibet, the Mahayana and Vajrayana canon was fully translated into Tibetan, and monasteries grew to cover the land. The Kagyu, Sakya, Jonang, and Geluk traditions of Tibetan Buddhism all trace their origins to this period.

In Tibetan, a lhakhang is any building (khang) that houses the image of a deity (lha). The word is roughly equivalent to English “temple” or “shrine.”

Licchavi is a name for an ancient Indic people. In the time of the Buddha Shakyamuni (sixth-fifth century BCE), the Licchavis inhabited the northern bank of the Ganges river in the area around the city of Vaishali, their capital. In the mid-fifth century CE, a branch of the Licchavis formed a dynasty in the Kathmandu Valley, and ruled there until the mid-ninth century, retaining close ties with Indian kingdoms and establishing close cultural, trade, and diplomatic relationships with both Tibet and China. The Licchavi period is known as the earliest great age of Nepalese art, with many Buddhist and Hindu bronzes and stone sculptures surviving today.

In Buddhism, the lokapalas are four heavenly kings who protect the four cardinal directions. The four guardian kings are:

• Vaishravana (north)
• Virudhaka (south)
• Dhirtarashtra (east)
• Virupaksha (west)

The lost-wax technique is a metal casting method used in many Asian cultures. First, the sculptor shapes an image out of beeswax. Then layers of clay are applied to the wax model, from fine to coarse, creating a mold, usually in several parts. When the clay mold is heated, the clay hardens and the wax is drained out. The metalworker then pours molten metal into the empty space of the mold through the same channels the wax was poured out. When the metal has cooled and hardened, the clay mold is broken off, revealing the rough metal statue inside. This statue is often then polished, chiseled, combined with parts that were cast separately, gilded, inlaid with precious substances, and painted.

Lu is an ancient class of Tibetan exorcistic rituals in which one object is substituted for another. Often, negative forces affecting a person are enticed to enter an effigy (torma), which is then burned or discarded.

Madhyamaka is a philosophical school within Mahayana Buddhism, usually associated with the thinker Nagarjuna (second–third century CE). Madhyamaka proposes a “middle way” between positivism (things exist) and nihilism (nothing exists), arguing that things exist provisionally insofar as we experience them, but are empty of inherent, enduring nature. In this construction, the phenomenal world and enlightenment are perceptual aspects of the same reality. All Tibetan Buddhist traditions study Madhyamaka philosophy, but it forms the central part of the monastic curriculum of Geluk tradition.

Mahabala is a wrathful deity in Vajrayana Buddhism. Often understood as an emanation of Buddha Amitabha, Mahabala is depicted as a red round-bellied man. Mahabala can also sometimes be the name of a dakini, or a minor female deity in Hinduism.

The Mahabodhi Temple is a temple at Bodhgaya, the site of the Buddha Shakyamuni’s awakening or enlightenment. The Mahabodhi temple is built near the Bodhi Tree under which Shakyamuni sat, marking that spot, known as the “diamond throne” (Skt. vajrasana) to commemorate his Awakening and its site. The peaked form of the temple dates from the Gupta period (fourth to sixth century CE), although the structure has been repaired and altered many times over the centuries. The Mahabodhi Temple is the most important Buddhist shrine and pilgrimage site. Large replicas, or representations of the Mahabodhi Temple have been built around the world and pilgrims took its small models to their home countries as souvenirs.

In Hinduism, Mahadevi is the great goddess, the ultimate form of shakti, or the divine female energy. Worshippers of Mahadevi, called “shaktas,” consider her a creator deity equivalent to “Brahman,” or the fundamental basis of reality. Different Hindu traditions consider Kali, Durga, Lakshmi, Parvati, Sarasvati, and all other Hindu goddesses to be aspects of Mahadevi.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Mahakala is one of the eight great wrathful dharma protectors, a remover of obstacles, both internal and external. Mahakala has many forms, but is generally depicted as a fierce deity with a large belly, dark blue or black in color. One especially important form is the Panjaranatha Mahakala, “Lord of the [Bone] Pavilion,” who was a special protector of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and its imperial Mongol patrons. Forms of Mahakala also appear in Hinduism, where the deity is associated with Bhairava.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Mahamudra refers to an awakened state that is non-conceptual and contains all phenomena of samsara and nirvana, and also to a path leading to this awareness through meditation. Mahamudra teachings are traced back to the great Indian mahasiddhas, Maitripa, Tilopa, and Naropa, who transmitted the teachings to Tibetan masters, including Marpa, the translator, and Milarepa, the poet-yogi who lived a famously unconventional life. The transmission lineage depicting these masters often occupies upper registers of Tibetan thangkas. Mahamudra is one of the two central teachings (along with the Six Dharmas of Naropa) in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and other Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Maharaja is an Indian title for a powerful ruler.

In tantric Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism, a “siddha” is one who has mastered “siddhis,” or the magical powers that come with yogic practice. The “Great Siddhas” (mahasiddhas) were a semi-mythical group of tantric masters, men and women, who lived in medieval India. They were known for their extraordinary meditative powers, religious poetry, and their transgressive lifestyles, including dwelling in charnel grounds, drinking alcohol, fighting, and having sex. Many Himalayan Vajrayana traditions trace their initiation lineages back to the Mahasiddhas. Depictions of sets of eight, eighty-one, or eighty-four Mahasiddhas are a popular subject in Himalayan art.

Mahayana is a Buddhist movement, which formed in India around the first century CE. Mahayana followers articulated their goal of achieving buddhahood, or awakening, as the means to help all living beings, which is known as bodhicitta. Mahayana sutras such as Prajnaparamita, Avatamsaka, The Lotus Sutra, and others represent this goal in their narratives and explain how to reach it in their philosophical propositions. These texts introduced the idea of infinite buddhas in infinite intersecting universes and powerful bodhisattvas with the ability to intercede in human affairs. Mahayana philosophy emphasizes the teachings on emptiness, according to the Madhyamaka school and the ethical practices in the context of the bodhicitta. In Himalayan Buddhist traditions, Mahayana is considered the foundation for Vajrayana practices. Along with Theravada and Vajrayana it comprises the Three Vehicles of Buddhist paths. Mahayana teachings are also practiced today in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.

Buddhists believe that the universe expands and contracts over endless eons or “kalpas.” Buddhas appear at pre-set times in these eons. The Buddha of our era was Shakyamuni, and the next Buddha to appear will be Maitreya, whose coming will usher in an age of peace. Images of Maitreya are very popular in Buddhist art, either as part of a trinity of Buddhas of the Three Times, or as individual sculptures and paintings often depicting Maitreya standing. Maitreya can be represented both as a bodhisattva and as a buddha.

In Indic mythology, a makara is a mythical crocodile-like creature that lives in rivers and lakes and is generally associated with water. In Himalayan art, certain deities are depicted as riding makaras. More commonly, makaras appear as decorative motifs on either side of gateways, or around the torana. In Newar art of the Kathmandu Valley they represent a rain cloud and appear as aquatic creatures with teeth and a curling elephant trunk-like snout.

The Malla dynasty ruled the Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal from the early thirteenth century until 1769. For most of this period, there was not one single Malla ruler; rather, different branches of the Malla family formed a Newar-speaking noble class that ruled the three city-states of Kathmandu, Bakhtapur, and Patan. Due to the cultural competition between these cities and courts, the Malla period is remembered as a great age of Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture in Nepal. The Malla period came to an end when the Gorkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) conquered the area of present-day Nepal. (The Malla dynasty is not to be confused with the Khasa Malla.)

Manchus are an ethnic group originating in northeast Asia, roughly the area known as Manchuria. Historically known as Jurchens, in 1635 the ruler Hong Taiji (1592–1643) proclaimed the Qing Dynasty and officially changed the ethnic group’s name to “Manchu.” Qing emperors were said to be emanations of the bodhisattva Manjushri, and the name “Manchu” may relate to this. The Manchus formed the military aristocracy of this empire, which came to rule most of China, Mongolia, Tibet, and Eastern Central Asia until 1912. Many Manchus, including Qing emperors, had close political and spiritual relationships with Tibetan and Mongol lamas. Today the Manchus remain a major ethnic group within China, although very few people now speak the Manchu language.

In Vajrayana Buddhism or Bon, a mandala refers to a cosmic abode of a deity, usually depicted as a diagram of a circle with an inscribed square that represents the deity enthroned in their palace, surrounded by members of their retinue. Mandalas can be painted, three-dimensional models, architectural structures, such as temples or stupas, or composed as arrangements of images within a temple. The instructions for creating and visualizing mandalas are usually found in ritual texts, such as tantras and sadhanas. Mandalas can be used in initiation ceremonies, visualized by a practitioner as part of deity yoga, consecrated and used to represent the divine presence within ritual space, offered to the deities as representations of the entire universe. A similar concept in Hinduism is a yantra.

Manipas, or manips, are wandering storytellers who performed at pilgrimage sites during religious festivals all over Himalayan regions. In Bhutan, a manipa (as they are known in Bhutan) is a lay priest who recites mantras and other Buddhist texts, and gives popular teachings using miniature portable shrines called Tashi Gomang (The Auspicious Many Doors), and narrative hanging scroll paintings (thangka) as working images to focus their presentations. Very few manipas are active today in Bhutan, but nuns in Tibetan communities of Nepal revived and continue the manipa tradition, which has declined in other areas.

Manjushri is one of the most important bodhisattvas in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Considered the embodiment of wisdom, Manjushri is often recognized by his attributes: a sword which cuts through ignorance and a book, the Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) Sutra. Emanations of Manjushri can also be recognized by these same attributes. Another important Chinese iconographic tradition depicts a youthful Manjushri riding on a lion. This form is associated with Manjushri’s abode on earth, Mount Wutai in China, one of the few Buddhist sites in China visited by Tibetan and Mongol pilgrims among others from all over Asia. Manjushri was seen as the protector deity of China, and the Manchu emperors of the Qing Dynasty who claimed to be emanations of Manjushri emphasized/promoted this association.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, mantras are short syllables or phrases that are thought to have power. Mantras may be chanted by devotees as part of daily practice, or pronounced during rituals to invoke the deity’s power. In tantric Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism, practitioners perform meditative deity-yoga by first visualizing “root” or “seed” syllables, and then generating the yidam deities out of these mantras during the process known as visualization.

In Buddhism, Mara is the demon who was defeated by Buddha Shakyamuni beneath the bodhi tree prior to his enlightenment. Mara is understood as a literal demon, as death, and also as an embodiment of negative forces of desire, hatred and other emotions, and a metaphor of the conditioned existence that leads to death and rebirth in an endless cycle.

Marichi is a deity in Mahayana and Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, associated with the light of dawn, victory, and protection. Marichi has many forms, both peaceful and wrathful. She is often depicted having a yellow or red body, riding on a boar or a chariot pulled by pigs.

In Hinduism, the matrikas are a group of fierce goddesses, each of whom is associated with a mantra seed syllable. These goddesses are often thought of as the female energies (Skt. shakti) of particular male gods. There are usually said to be seven matrikas, corresponding to the seven stars of the Pleiades. In Nepal there are understood to be eight matrikas: Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshwari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi, Chamunda, and Mahalakshmi.

Mayadevi, or just Maya, was the mother of Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha Shakyamuni. According to the stories of the Buddha’s life, Mayadevi conceived the Buddha after a prophetic dream, and gave birth to him through her side in a garden. Seven days later she passed away, and was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods. After awakening, the Buddha traveled to that heaven to share with her his realization and teaching, and then came down on to the human world.

Meditation is a central practice of many Asian religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon, and Daoism. There are many forms of meditation. One kind of meditation involves clearing the mind, focusing on breathing, and generating feelings of compassion towards all living beings. Other types of meditation involve concentrating on and internalizing philosophical concepts. In Vajrayana Buddhism, an important type of meditation practice is visualization, such as deity-yoga, in which the meditator visualizes themselves becoming the deity, aspiring to take on their enlightened qualities while performing ritual activities.

Menla artistic tradition was founded by Menla Dondrup, an artist who worked in central Tibet during the fifteenth century. It is one of two new distinctively Tibetan artistic traditions which arose at this time, the Menla and Khyentse traditions, named after Tibetan artists. These painting styles (Menri and Khyenri) are known for adopting Chinese landscape into their compositions. Menri painting is known to excel in its depiction of peaceful deities. While paintings by Menla Dondrup’s own hand have yet to be reliably identified, a handbook of iconometry, The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, is attributed to him. The New Menri Style was established by the artist Choying Gyatso (active ca.1640s–1660s) in the court of the Fourth Panchen Lama. Choying Gyatso’s compositions are well known through woodblock prints, characterized by dynamically postured figures set in dramatic Chinese-inspired landscapes.

In Buddhism, merit is accumulated positive karma, or positive actions, that lead to positive results, such as better rebirths. Buddhists gain merit by reciting mantras, donating to monasteries and those in need, performing pilgrimages, commissioning artworks, reproducing and reciting Buddhist texts, and other deeds with good intentions. It is believed that merit can also be transferred to others through rituals performed to gain merit for deceased family members help them achieve a better rebirth. Merit making is an important motivation for positive ritual action, and is a prerequisite for success of religious and even secular activity.

The Ming dynasty was a Chinese state that existed from 1368 to 1644 CE. The Ming founder, Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398), led an army that defeated the Yuan dynasty of the Mongol Empire and restored ethnic Chinese rule in China. Unlike the Mongols before them or the Qing dynasty after them the Ming never seriously attempted to rule the Tibetan regions, preferring instead to manage border affairs by granting titles and trading rights to friendly Tibetan monks and secular leaders. Nevertheless, several early Ming emperors had close personal relations with Tibetan lamas, and relations of trade and cultural interchange flourished between Chinese and Tibetan regions.

A monastery is a place where monks live, study, and perform ritual. It includes temples and other structures. Monasteries are central to Buddhism, and are also important in Bon, Hinduism, and Daoism. In Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian areas, some monasteries are enormous, wealthy, and powerful institutions, with branches of satellite monasteries forming networks across regions, often with thousands of monks, many decorated chapels, and huge holdings of land. Other monasteries, called hermitages, can be extremely simple, little more than a cave where hermits meditate. Generally, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery will have an assembly hall, several temples (Tib. lhakhang) for worship of specific deities, a protector chapel, as well as monks’ accommodations. A related institution in Newar Buddhism are the baha and bahi.

The Mongol Empire (ca 1206–1368) was the largest contiguous empire in world history, founded by Chinggis Khan (1162–1227), which at its height controlled most of Eurasia, from the Korean peninsula to Central Europe. The Mongols conquered the Tanguts in 1227 and absorbed Tibetan regions in the 1240s, granting power over central Tibet to the Sakya Buddhist hierarchs in what is characterized as a priest-patron relationship. In 1260, Qubilai Khan declared himself Great Khan, which was contested, fracturing the Mongol Empire into four independent regimes. Qubilai remained the ruler of most of Asia establishing the Yuan dynasty. Mongol rulers of Yuan, and the first six rulers the Ilkhanate in the Middle East, starting with its founder Hülegü, were also patrons of Tibetan Buddhism.

The monsoon is the yearly rain season in the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas. Depending on the area, the monsoon lasts roughly from midsummer to late autumn. Monsoon is the main source of water for the Kathmandu Valley and central to agrarian and ritual life of the Newars.

In Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cosmologies Mount Meru is a mountain at the center of the world, the peaks of which contain heavens and divine realms. It is surrounded by many lakes, rings of mountains, and further out, the great ocean and four continents. Humans live on a southern continent called Jampudvipa. Buddhists interpret Jampudvipa corresponding to India, and Mount Meru is roughly equivalent to the Himalayas. Many Buddhists and Hindus identify Meru with Mount Kailash, a peak in western Tibet, as the focus of pilgrimage.

Mount Potalaka is a semi-mythical mountain in southern India, said to be the abode of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara on earth. Many sacred sites have been named after this mountain, including the Potala Palace of the Dalai Lamas (said to be emanations of Avalokiteshvara).

In many Himalayan and Inner Asian cultures some mountains and other natural forces are personified as gods, and mountains are places where gods reside. Tibetans understand some mountains to be mandala-palaces of Bon or Buddhist deities. Other mountains are the homes of fierce warrior-gods who have been tamed and bound by oath to protect Buddhism and the land, for instance Kula Khari, who have the power to harm or grant prosperity to local communities.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, mudras are ritual hand gestures made by deities, Buddhas, and other sacred figures. These hand gestures are important and relatively standardized parts of deities’ iconographies. Mudras are also performed by practitioners during rituals, allowing them to take on the bodily attributes of the deities.

In the Mongol Empire, households were organized into thousands (chiliarchies) and ten-thousands (myriarchies). These social groupings would then be required to provide units of warriors for the Mongol armies.

Nagas are powerful serpent spirits that live in lakes, rivers, and seas. In Indian religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism, nagas are believed to control rain, and therefore agricultural prosperity. Nagas can be helpful or harmful, and there are many stories and rituals involving them. Indian Buddhist tales about nagas have been assimilated to similar beings in indigenous Tibetan, Chinese, and Mongol mythologies, including Tibetan serpent-spirits (Tib. “lu”) and Chinese dragons (Ch. “long”). A female naga is called a “nagini,” while the kings of the nagas are called “nagarajas.”

The Newars are traditional inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. The Newars speak a Tibeto-Burman language (Newari) and practice both Hinduism and Buddhism. The Newars are inheritors of one of the oldest and most sophisticated urban civilizations of the Himalayas, and Newar arts and artisans have been celebrated all across the Himalayan world since the Licchavi period.

The Newar People of the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal retain the unbroken traditions of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism south of the Himalayas, preserving many ritual practices and Sanskrit-language texts that have been lost elsewhere. Celibate monasticism is no longer practiced among the Newars, but instead Buddhist ritualists are divided into two castes. One is the Shakyas, temple-priests who maintain ancient urban monasteries (Newar: bahas, bahis) as places of worship. The other is the Vajracharyas, tantric specialists who perform rituals at communal festivals and important life events. The Svayambhu Stupa is the most important ritual center for Newar Buddhists and the center of the Kathmandu Mandala. Today many Newars also practice Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism.

Niladanda is a deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, sometimes one of a set of the “Ten Wrathful Ones.” Niladanda is usually depicted as a blue wrathful figure with a staff, sometimes in union with a consort.

Nirvana is said to be a state beyond the cycle of reincarnation (Skt. samsara). It is defined as the end of suffering of being born, living, dying, and being reborn, and the ultimate goal for Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha achieved this state meditating beneath the bodhi tree, and his followers aim to advance to that state by gradually clearing out their karmic limitations. Different Buddhist traditions variously characterize nirvana, indicting several levels of awakening, from achieving peace to utterly transcending both the suffering of samsara and the peace of nirvana.

Nyen are a type of local spirit in indigenous Tibetan mythology. Nyen are typically fierce and dangerous, but can be tamed by Buddhist or Bonpo masters, and might help those who worship them. Many Tibetan mountain gods are understood to be nyen.

The Nyingma are a tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma trace their lineages back to the first introduction of Buddhism into the Himalayas in the time of the Tibetan Empire, most importantly to the legendary Indian yogin Padmasambhava. The Nyingma are known for their “treasure revealers” (Tib. terton), lamas who travel the Himalayas, revealing ritual texts, objects, and hidden lands thought to be concealed within the Tibetan landscape. The Nyingma are also famed for the Dzogchen teachings, a set of meditative practices focused on the bardo states, and the nature of the mind as pure, self-arising consciousness. Unlike other Buddhist traditions, many Nyingma practitioners are not celibate and can marry, raise families, and grant Vajrayana initiations and teachings to their children.

The Oirats are a major western branch of the Mongol people, dating from at least the time of Chinggis Khan (1162–1227 CE). The Oirats have several historically important sub-branches. The leader of Khoshud branch, Güüshi Khan (1582–1655), allied with Gelukpa monasteries and occupied Tibet in the 1630s–40s, and was named king. Together, they established the Ganden Podrang government in Lhasa with Dalai Lamas at its head. The Zunghar branch established a state in eastern Central Asia in the early seventeenth century, and played a significant role in the political and religious affairs of the eastern Khalkha Mongols, as well as Tibet in 1717–20. The Kalmyk branch, which migrated to what is now southwestern Russia in 1607–30, are the only majority-Buddhist ethnic group on the European continent.

Pagoda is an architectural form found all across South and East Asia. Pagodas are tall, tower-like structures with multiple tiers of sloping eaves, usually square or octagonal, and often get smaller with height. In Nepal and Tibet pagodas are usually used as temples. In China many pagodas functioned as stupas. Other pagodas are used as mosque minarets (towers used for the Islamic call to prayer).

Pakmodru is a monastery in south-central Tibet, as well as a branch of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism associated with this monastery. The leader of Pakmodru, Changchup Gyeltsen (1302–1364), was able to take control of central Tibet in 1354, thus ending the hegemony of the Mongol Empire and the Sakya tradition in the Himalayas. The power of the Pakmodru faded due to internal conflicts in the fifteenth century.

Pakpa script, or Mongol square script, was invented in 1270 by Drogon Chogyel Pakpa (1235–1280 CE), a Tibetan lama and leader of the Sakya tradition who served as imperial preceptor to the Mongol emperor Qubilai Khan (1215–1294). In 1271, Qubilai decreed it the official script of the empire, and that all officials had to learn it, and be referred to as the Mongol script. The Pakpa script adapts the letters of the Tibetan alphabet, squared off to be written vertically, in order that they could be placed alongside the Uygur-based Mongolian and Chinese scripts, both of which were written top-to-bottom. The Pakpa script was intended to be a universal alphabet for all the languages of the Mongol Empire, and employed on official documents, monuments, and passports.

The Pala dynasty ruled in northeastern India from the eighth to the twelfth century, and is known for its patronage of the great north-Indian monastic universities of Nalanda, Vikramashila, and Odantapuri. Pala kings and queens were patrons of Buddhist art. Pala period sculpture, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, and sites inspired Newar and Tibetan artistic production in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries. A famous Pala period Indian scholar figure was Atisha, who traveled and taught in Sumatra and in Tibet, where his teachings led to the founding of the Kadam tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Palden Lhamo, also known as Shri Devi or Remati, is an important deity among wrathful protector goddesses in Tibetan Buddhism, and the only female of the eight great protector deities. Although she is worshiped in many Tibetan Buddhist traditions, she is especially important in the Geluk tradition, and is considered the fierce guardian of the Dalai Lamas, the Ganden Podrang state, and the city of Lhasa. Palden Lhamo takes many different forms, which are considered wrathful forms of different deities. For instance, as Makzor Gyelmo “Queen who Repels Armies” is considered as a wrathful emanation of Sarasvati. Palden Lhamo is usually depicted as a wrathful dark blue figure with flames for hair, riding on a mule with an eye on its rear flank, watching out for enemies of the Dharma. A bag of diseases and divination dice are slung from her saddle.

The Palola Shahis were a Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the sixth and eighth centuries CE in what is now the Hunza Valley of northern Pakistan. Military control over this strategic kingdom was contested between the Tang Dynasty of China and the Tibetan Empire, and most of what we know about the Palola Shahis comes from the chronicles of these outside forces, as well as the travel accounts of East Asian pilgrims. The Palola Shahis are known for their patronage of elegant bronze sculptures, a sculptural tradition shared with the nearby Swat Valley and Kashmir.

The Pancharaksha is a Vajrayana Buddhist text that provides five dharani spells for protection against worldly harm. These five dharanis are also personified as five goddesses who are worshiped as guardian deities. The Pancharaksha text and deities are most popular in Nepal, where many households keep copies of this text and images of the goddesses. They were also employed in Tibetan, Tangut, and Chinese contexts to protect the state, prevent suffering, diseases, and drought.

The Panchen Lamas are an important tulku, or reincarnated lama lineage, in Tibet considered second in prestige within the Geluk tradition only to the Dalai Lamas. The Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682) declared that his tutor Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (1570–1662) was the incarnation of Amitabha and granted him the title Panchen. Three “pre-incarnations” were identified, making Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen formally the fourth in the lineage. A special teacher-student relationship exists between the Dalai and Panchen lamas, when one passes away the other takes charge of identifying and educating the new incarnation. The traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas is Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.

Pandita is an honorary title for a highly learned Buddhist scholar. Tibetans reserve this title for great scholars who were also teachers, for instance Sakya Pandita or the Panchen (“Great Pandita”) Lama tulku lineage.

Papier-mâché is a sculpting technique that uses wet paper mixed with an adhesive. The paper can either be pulped and used to form a sculptable mass around a wire frame, or spread in strips over a pre-made backing. When the paper dries it forms a hard, light surface. Many Himalayan temple images and cham masks were made from papier-mâché, although due to the perishable nature of the material, fewer of these survive than sculptures in stone or metal.

In Buddhism, individuals become awakened or achieve enlightenment (nirvana) but continue to live out the remainder of their natural lives. They pass on into the final state at their deaths, called “parinirvana.” Most importantly, this term refers to the Buddha Shakyamuni’s parinirvana at Kushinagara when he lay down between two trees and died. The event accompanied by many miracles is one of the Eight Great Events and one of the Twelve Deeds of the Buddha’s life, and is a very common topic for Buddhist illustration.

Parvati is an important goddess in Hinduism. Parvati is the wife of Shiva, and the mother of Ganesha and Skandha. Other groups see her as a central form of the Great Goddess (Mahadevi), and hold that all other goddesses are her avatars, including the wrathful forms known as Kali, Durga, and others. Parvati is often worshiped together with Lakshmi and Sarasvati as part of a trinity of goddesses. Parvati has many iconographic forms, but often appears together with her husband and children.

A practice of hiring and commissioning artists to create works of art. In religious context patrons were often rulers, religious leaders, as well as ordinary people. (see also donor)

Religious painting, usually on cloth, in the form of a hanging scroll.

A pecha is a traditional form of Tibetan book, a format developed from Indian palm leaf manuscripts (pothis). Pechas usually have long, narrow, horizontal pages. The pages are not bound, but instead are placed between wood covers and then wrapped tightly with cloth. When pechas are read, they are placed on a flat surface and the unbound pages are flipped over away from the viewer. Pechas can be manuscripts or printed.

Pehar is an important protector deity in Tibetan Buddhism. The origins of the deity and the meaning of their name is unclear—legends claim that Pehar was an indigenous spirit tamed by Padmasambhava, or a deity from from Tangut lands in Eastern Central Asia that was defeated and brought to Tibet by the emperor Songtsen Gampo. Pehar is the main deity of the Nechung Oracle, Tibet’s most important state oracle.

A petroglyph is an image cut into a stone. Such images are usually from the prehistoric period, and depict animals, hunters, and symbols related to early ritual.

In weaving a pile is a portion of yarn that protrudes above the surface of the backing fabric, creating a soft and deep texture for a carpet or garment. A “knotted pile” carpet is one in which the pile is created by knotting yarn into the warp and weft to create loops of protruding fiber. Pile loops can sometimes be cut open to create an even more springy texture (a “cut-pile” carpet).

In Hinduism, a pitha is a sacred place, generally a shrine where an image or emblem of a deity is worshiped. Pithas are especially associated with goddess worship, either of Sati/Parvati (the wife of Shiva), or of other forms of shakti, the divine female energy.

A pothi is a traditional form of Indian book. Pothis generally have palm-leaf pages. The pages are bound along their long edge with loops of string, and then kept between wooden outer covers. Both the pages and the covers can be beautifully illuminated. Indian and Nepalese pothis were the basis for the development of Tibetan pechas, a related form of book that uses unbound paper instead of palm leaves.

The Prajnaparamita sutras are fundamental early Mahayana texts dating from the first few centuries of the common era. These writings propound a Madhyamaka philosophical view, which sees reality as impermanent and empty of true nature. Prajnaparamita texts continued to be important in the early Vajrayana tradition, in which Prajnaparamita was personified as a goddess seen to embody wisdom. She is usually depicted a goddess of yellow color usually with four arms, one of which holds a book representing this sutra.

In Buddhist philosophical thinking, pratityasamutpada is an explanation of the continuous processes of causation that create the cycle of rebirths. A simple explanation of pratityasamutpada is that no thing or thought exists eternally and of itself; everything that exists arises in dependence on causes and conditions, and passes away, producing further effects. Buddhist logic posits twelve links in this cycle of causation, beginning with ignorance and ending with death. These links are depicted as the outer circular band in the Wheel of Life paintings.

Most Tibetan monasteries will have a designated temple or chapel for the wrathful protector deities. Called “Gonkhang,” these chapels are often adorned with terrifying representations of ferocious spirits, flayed human bodies, and impure substances. These shrine spaces are used for rituals and offerings to protectors of the teachings and lineages, as well as local protectors who have been converted and bound by oath as protectors of Buddhism.

Proto-Sharada script is the earliest form of the Sharada script, which was used in medieval Kashmir to write Sanskrit and Kashmiri. The Proto-Sharada script is attested in a few manuscripts and inscriptions from northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan from the first millennium CE.

Historians divide the past into prehistoric periods—before the invention of writing, and historic periods, which we can know by reading the texts people wrote. On the Tibetan Plateau, the historic period proper begins in the seventh century CE, when the Tibetan script was developed, and Tibetans began to write about their own present and past. Historians also speak of a long “proto-historic” period, during which we have writings in the languages of surrounding cultures like India and China, who sometimes described their Himalayan neighbors. Events in the “proto-historic” period sometimes appear as legends and tales in later histories.

In Vajrayana Buddhism and Bon, a purba (Skt. kila) is a ritual three-bladed dagger or stake used to subdue or pin down the spirits of the earth during rituals, or when demarcating sacred space for mandalas or temples. Purba daggers are also personified in the deity Vajrakila, the “Vajra Dagger.”

The Qing dynasty was a state that ruled in Eastern Asia from 1636 to 1912. Founded by the Manchus in 1644, the Qing armies crossed the Great Wall and began their conquest of the rest of the Chinese cultural region. By the 1750s the Qing empire had expanded to rule all of Mongolia, Tibet, and eastern Central Asia (including today’s Xinjiang), laying the groundwork for the modern state of China. The Qing governed Tibet and parts of Mongolia indirectly, in which the Manchu armies provided military support for local Buddhist governments like the Ganden Podrang. Tibetan and Mongol lamas were also extremely important in Qing court culture, and had close relationships with several Qing emperors.

Ranjana, sometimes known by its Tibetan pronunciation “lantsa,” is one of several scripts used in Nepal to write Nepalese and Sanskrit. Tibetans and Mongols often use Ranjana as a decorative script to write Sanskrit mantras and dharanis.

Ratnasambhava is a buddha in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. In the Five Buddha Families of the Yoga Tantras, Ratnasambhava is the head of the Jewel Family, his symbolic attribute is a jewel, he is colored yellow, and is associated with the direction south.

Becoming a Buddhist is often described as “taking refuge” in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (teachings), and the Sangha (monastic community). A “refuge field” or “tree of refuge” is a particular genre of Tibetan painting that depicts all the important deities and historical masters of a particular Buddhist tradition in a tree-like arrangement. It shows an assembly of gurus and deities as they should be imagined when a meditator mentally takes refuge in them. These images often systematize the transmission lineage, or the uninterrupted line of teachers through which knowledge and tantric initiations and instructions were passed down, stretching back to the Buddha himself.

In the Buddhist context, a relic is an object or body part of a past master or sacred figure, including Buddha Shakyamuni himself (bones, ashes from cremation, even entire mummified bodies). Another important category of relics is called “sharira” in Sanskrit (Tib. ringsel)— small, pearl-like objects that are found within the cremated remains of enlightened teachers. Another category, known as contact relics, includes things owned or touched by religious masters, such as the Buddha’s robe or bowl. Important types widely used in Himalayan regions are dharma relics (dharma sharira), which are pressed clay plaques inscribed with the verse of dependent origination or mantras. Relics can be placed inside stupas, ground up and used for medicine, or kept in temples for the reverence of pilgrims. A container that holds relics is called a “reliquary.”

Relief carvings are made by hollowing out a flat surface around a pattern, usually stone or wood, to form designs or figures that appear to protrude.

A reliquary is any container that contains relics. Important types of Himalayan reliquaries include stupas and gau boxes.

Repoussé is a metal-working technique in which an artisan hammers the back side of a sheet of metal, indenting it outward to create an image in relief on the reverse face.

The Rigveda is the oldest section of the Indian Vedas, and the oldest texts of the religion now called Hinduism. Written in Sanskrit sometime in the second millennium BCE, the Rigveda consists of poetic hymns to the early Hindu gods, including Indra, Agni, Vishnu, and others. Also important is soma, an intoxicating drink that allows the Vedic sages to directly contact the gods. Hindus still read the Vedic hymns today, making it probably the oldest continuously used religious text in the world. For scholars, the Rigvedas are a crucial window into the very early stages of Indic society and religion.

The Rinpungpa were a regional power based in west-central Tibet (Tsang) that flourished from the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries. Patronizing the Kagyu sect and the Karmapas, the Rinpungpa lords were engaged in a series of conflicts with Pakmodru and other Tibetan principalities. In the 1560s, the declining Rinpungpas were defeated and their realm absorbed by the kings of Shigatse.

In Buddhism and Hinduism, sadhana is any yogic or meditative practice that leads towards enlightenment. Sadhana also refers to a particular type of text that gives practical instructions for how the practitioner should go about performing the rituals and visualizations, including detailed descriptions of the deities’ iconography and their mandala.

Sakya is the name of a monastery and of a major tradition of Tibetan Buddhism that originated there during the Later Diffusion of Buddhism. Sakya Monastery was the seat of power during Sakya-Mongol rule in Tibet (1260–1350s), founded on the priest-patron relationship. Notable Sakya figures include Sakya Pandita (1182–1251), who played an instrumental role in establishing Tibetan relations with the Mongols; Drogon Chogyel Pakpa (1234-1280), who served as Qubilai Khan’s imperial preceptor and invented the Pakpa Script; and Buton (1290–1364), who compiled the Tibetan Canon. The Sakya are particularly known for their Lamdre teachings. In the 1350s, Pakmodru replaced the Sakya political prominence.

Samantabhadra is an important bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. Usually represented mounted on an elephant, Samantabhadra is often depicted as an attendant to Shakyamuni, together with Manjushri. In the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Samantabhadra is considered to be the Adibuddha, symbolizing the primordial state of awakening or enlightenment.

In Buddhism and Hinduism, samsara is the phenomenal world in which we live, and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. In Buddhism, samsara refers to the six realms of existence in which beings can be born according to their karma: as hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, demi-gods (Skt. asura), and gods. The central goal of Buddhism is to escape the suffering of samsara by achieving nirvana, a state beyond this cycle of rebirths.

In Buddhism, the sangha refers to the community of religious practitioners. Buddhists consider the sangha one of the Three Jewels of their religion, along with the Buddha and the Dharma. There are many different branches of the sangha in different Buddhist traditions, including monks in monasteries, nuns in nunneries, and lay-practitioners. Traditionally, most Buddhist monks take vows of chastity, non-violence, and so on at ordination and live studying philosophy, meditating, and carrying out rituals on behalf of the community. In Newar Buddhism, the sangha is formed by household monks and their families. Boys from Vajracharya and Shakya families go through the symbolic rituals of ordination, becoming monks for four days.

Sanskrit is an ancient language used in India. An early member of the Indo-European language family, Sanskrit was the language of the ancient Vedas in the second millennium BCE. Over millennia, Sanskrit ceased to be used as a spoken language, but it continued as the main literary language of India until the modern era. The Mahayana and Vajrayana canons were originally written in Sanskrit. Today, Sanskrit continues to be studied as a liturgical language among Hindus and Newari Buddhists, and Sanskrit-language mantra and dharani are chanted in rituals all across the Buddhist world.

The Sasanian dynasty was a state that ruled in Persia (modern Iran, Iraq, and neighboring countries) from 224 to 651 CE. While the Sasanian state religion was Zoroastrianism, the empire also contained major Christian, Jewish, Manichaean, Buddhist, and Hindu populations. In 637, the Sasanians were decisively defeated by the Arab Muslims, paving the way for the conversion of most of Central Asia to Islam. Sasanian traders and envoys (including Sogdians) reached from India to the Mediterranean to China, and their culture and arts continued to be a major influence on Central Asian civilization even after the empire fell. In Tibetan, Inner Asian, and Chinese contexts, Sasanian metalwork, such as silver and gold vessels, and silks with distinctive intricately woven patterns were prized and often emulated.

In Buddhism and Hinduism, certain sacred objects are said to be “self-arisen,” that is, appearing out of the landscape spontaneously or by the power of the deities. For instance, at the center of the Kathmandu Mandala is the Svayambhu (Skt. “Self-Arisen”) Stupa, said to have appeared at that place eons before humans came there and adorned it. Other “self-arisen” objects can be stones that look like deities or vajras, mountains in the shape of auspicious symbols, etc. In Tibet, self-arisen objects are also a special class of relics, such as images that appear after the cremation of an accomplished religious master.

The Shah dynasty was a family that ruled Nepal from 1769 to 2008. Originating from the Nepali-speaking Gorkha Kingdom in what is now west-central Nepal, in the seventeenth century the Shah kings unified the area of present-day Nepal, defeating the Malla-dynasty Newar kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley in 1768–9. Ruling in Kathmandu as Hindu monarchs, the Shah dynasty fought several wars against the British and Qing empires. The monarchy was abolished in 2008, and Nepal was declared a republic.

In Hinduism, Shakti is the divine female power, considered to be the active, creating agent in the power of the gods. Goddesses like Mahadevi, Kali, Durga, and Parvati are all considered to be aspects of this fundamental force. The traditions that worship these goddesses are called “Shaktism,” and a devotee is called a “Shakta.”

In Newar Buddhism, the Shakya are a hereditary caste descended from Buddhist monks. The name originates from the term Shakya-bikhshu, “Monks of [The Buddha] Shakyamuni.” Shakyas dwell in and manage the former monasteries (Newar: baha, bahi) in the Kathmandu Valley, and some are known metalworkers and makers of religious images.

According to the Kalachakra Tantra, Shambhala is a sacred mythical land in the north where Buddhist kings rule. At the end of our eon, these kings are prophesied to ride out from their mountain-ringed kingdom to destroy enemies of the Buddhist Dharma. In Tibetan and Inner Asian contexts, these enemies are often understood to be Muslim, viewed as the destroyers of Buddhism in India, but the Shambhala myth has often adapted to contemporary crises, and have been reinterpreted to any threat to Buddhism, or the state, including British forces in the Boxer Rebellion, or the Communists. Many individuals and states in history, including Mongol khans, the Russian tsars, and even the emperor of Japan have been identified as the savior-kings described in these prophecies.

Shiva is a major deity in Hinduism. Aspects of Shiva’s worship arguably date to pre-Vedic and Vedic times. Shiva is often depicted as an ashy-skinned ascetic (Skt. siddha) seated in meditation, with dreadlocks, a trident, and a garland of snakes. Shiva can also be depicted with his wife Parvati, or with one leg elegantly raised as the universe-ending “Lord of the Dance” (Skt. Nataraja). Shiva is often worshiped as “the destroyer” in a trinity with Brahma (“the creator”) and Vishnu (“the preserver”). Hindu traditions that worship Shiva are called “Shaivites.” Shaivite traditions included groups of antinomian meditators who dwelled in charnel grounds, and were important in the early development of tantra.

“Silk Roads” is a term broadly used to describe the long-distance trade routes across Central Asia that connected the Indian Subcontinent with East Asia and the Mediterranean world. These trade routes were highly important in transmitting both art and ideas across the Asian continent, including the Buddhist religion. There were many “silk roads”—some crossed the deserts of Central Asia, other maritime routes also connected Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South, Southeast, and East Asia.

Sitatapatra is a deity in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. In Himalayan art, Sitatapatra is usually depicted as a white-faced goddess with a thousand arms and heads. The worship of Sitatapatra is associated with particular protective dharani incantations, and is associated with protection, curing diseases, and removing obstacles (to a better rebirth, etc.)

In Mahayana Buddhism, our present age is “fortunate” because a Buddha has appeared in it. The Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Fortunate eon are a specific group of bodhisattvas of our era, who often appear in the mandalas of the Yoga Tantras.

Socialist realism was an artistic movement practiced during the twentieth century in communist countries, especially China and the Soviet Union. Socialist realism idealistically portrays the lives of working people, often as propaganda to inspire the masses for the state’s economic and social campaigns. Most socialist realism derived from the European tradition of oil painting, but some images used traditional Asian visual forms and conventions, including Tibetan thangka painting and Chinese woodblock prints.

The Sogdians were a historic Central Asian people who originated in the region of present-day western Tajikistan and surrounding areas of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. The Sogdians spoke a language related to Persian and were major players in the medieval Central Asian caravan trade, forming crucial contacts between Persia, China, and Tibet. They were important conduits of artistic traditions and material culture, including Sasanian metalwork and Central Asian silk weaving. After the Arab conquest of their homeland in the eighth century, the Sogdians mostly disappeared from history, although the Sogdian language is still spoken by a few thousand people in the mountains of Tajikistan.

The Song dynasty was a state that ruled in China from 960 to 1279 CE, with its capitals at modern Kaifeng and then Hangzhou. While militarily unsuccessful against their northern and western neighbors (the Tangut Xixia, the Khitan Liao, the Jurchen Jin, and finally the Mongol Yuan), the Song period is remembered as one of the great ages of Chinese art and intellectual life, when Chinese Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, and associated painting, printing, and silk weaving traditions reached their greatest sophistication. Although the Song had limited direct contact with the Himalayan world in its own time, the art of the Song period would be influential for centuries afterwards .

Sthapits are a caste among the Newar people of Kathmandu. Historically practicing Newar Buddhism, the Sthapits are known as architects, woodworkers, and craftsmen.

Stupas are monuments that initially contained cremated remains of Buddha Shakyamuni or important monks, his disciples, and subsequently other material and symbolic relics associated with the Buddha’s body, teaching, and enlightened mind. As representations of the Buddha’s presence in the world, stupas with their contents—texts, relics, tsatsas—continue to be important objects of Buddhist worship in their diverse forms of domed structures, multistoried pagodas, and portable sculptures. The original form of stupas was an earthen dome-shaped mound containing the remains in reliquary vessels or urns deposited within the innermost core. The dome would often be successively enlarged and surrounded by a path for a walk around in a clockwise direction and veneration (circumambulation)

In Mahayana Buddhism, Sukhavati is the paradisical realm of Buddha Amitabha, associated with the cardinal west direction. Many Buddhist lay people hope to be reborn in Sukhavati, from which enlightenment is easy to attain. These practices focused on Sukhavati and Amitabha, called “Pure Land” traditions, are very important in Chinese Buddhism and other East Asian traditions, and also exist in Tibetan Buddhism.

Sutras are written down words spoken by the Buddha Shakyamuni, narrated by his disciples. Sutra texts comprise the foundation of the textual canon of all Buddhist traditions. Sutras generally begin with the words, “Thus have I heard,” and continue to describe the place, time, and context in which the Buddha gave the teaching. Important Mahayana sutras include the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Prajnaparamita Sutras, as well as many others. Other important types of Buddhist text are avadanas, dharanis, as well as tantras.

The swastika is an ancient Eurasian symbol, found in rock carvings since prehistoric times. In Hinduism, Buddhism, and Bon, the swastika is a common and auspicious decorative design, symbolizing the motions of the sun, the wheel of reincarnation, and the eternal nature of the teachings. In Tibetan, it is yungdrung (“Eternal”), the principal religious symbol of the Bon religion, and the organized system of Bon that emerged in dialogue with Buddhism is generally referred to as Yungdrung Bon. The strongly negative association of this design in Western countries is due to its appropriation by the twentieth-century Nazis as a symbol of their racial theories.

Takkiraja is a deity in Vajrayana Buddhism. Takkiraja is usually depicted as a red wrathful deity holding a hook in one hand and a noose in the other, often united with a consort.

The Tang dynasty was a state that ruled in east Asia between 618 and 907 CE, with its capital at modern Xi’an. The Tang dynasty was militarily expansive, conquering much of eastern Central Asia before an internal rebellion that began in 755 broke its power. The Tang dynasty also fought major wars and conducted several treaties with the Tibetan Empire. The Tang dynasty was an important time in the history of Buddhism, when many Indian and Central Asian monks traveled to China to teach, while Chinese and Korean monks traveled to India for pilgrimage and study, or taught Chinese Buddhist doctrines in Tibet. Many paintings and documents from the Tang dynasty and immediately afterwards are preserved at Dunhuang.

The Tanguts were an ethnic group in medieval East-Central Asia, who called themselves Minyak and spoke a language distantly related to Tibetan. Between 1038 and 1227 CE the Tanguts ruled a state in what is now the Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai. This state took the Chinese dynastic name of Xia, also called Xixia “Western Xia.” The Tangut-Xixia emperors were major patrons of Buddhism, inviting both Chinese and Tibetan monks to teach in the capital, and instituting major Buddhist translation and printing projects in three languages. The Tangut state was destroyed by the armies of Chinggis Khan, leading to their absorption into the Mongol Empire, where many Tanguts served as officials.

Tantra was a religious movement in India around the fifth to seventh centuries, and its practices are part of Buddhism and Hinduism. The word tantra also refers to texts which transmit tantric practices. In Buddhism, tantra is also called Vajrayana, “The Vajra Vehicle.” Tantric ritual and art are characterized by deity yoga, mandalas, mantras, abhisheka (initiation), wrathful deities, and ritual sexual union. In Hinduism, tantrism was often associated with the worship of Shiva and various goddesses (shakti). A practitioner of tantra is called a “tantrika.” Tantra is also a genre of texts that have been variously categorized. Most common is the division of tantras into four categories: Kriya Tantra, Charya Tantra, Yoga Tantra, and Highest Yoga Tantra.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, deities are sometimes portrayed as male and female couples in sexual embrace, called yab-yum (Tib. “Father and Mother”) images. They represent symbolic union of wisdom (female) with active compassion, or method (male), the two necessary elements for achieving awakening. As yidam in Vajrayana and as gods in tantric Hinduism, practitioners visualize these images in meditative deity-yoga, while manipulating the winds, channels, and chakras of the inner “subtle body.” More rarely, tantric union is practiced physically between a yogin and a consort, sometimes as part of an abhisheka initiation.

Tara is an important deity in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Sometimes considered an emanation or consort of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Tara is known as a savioress who rescues those in peril. Tara has many different peaceful and wrathful forms, but she is often depicted as either green or white. The green form is associated with her limitless activity, and white with granting a long life. The green and white Taras are also associated with, respectively, the Nepalese princess Bhrikuti and the Chinese princess Wencheng, semi-legendary wives of the Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo (d. 649 CE), himself said to be an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. In one popular story Tara is said to have vowed to always appear in female form.

The Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism holds that gurus of the past like Padmasambhava concealed texts, objects, and even hidden lands (Tib. beyul) throughout the Himalayan landscape, meant for later generations to discover at the time the teachings are needed. Tantric practitioners and yogis who discover these treasures are called terton, or “treasure revealers.” Treasure revealers can also uncover “mind-treasures,” revealed to them by deities or lineage masters in dreams and visions. There are treasure-revealers in the Bon tradition as well.

The Thakuri Period was an era of Nepalese history that lasted roughly from the ninth to the twelfth centuries CE. “Thakuri” is a term of respect given to historical kings in much later chronicles, not the name of a governing dynasty or ethnic group. For this reason some scholars prefer the terms the “post-Licchavi” or “transitional” period. Very few secular records survive from this period, and little is known about its political history. Nevertheless, the many Buddhist and Hindu pothi manuscripts and bronze statues attest to Nepal’s continued cultural output. During the Thakuri Period, Vajrayana teachings rose to dominance among Buddhists in the Kathmandu Valley.

A thangka is a Tibetan hanging scroll, usually painted on cotton, and then mounted in a silk brocade mount. Thangkas can also be textiles woven or assembled in the appliqué technique. Thangkas are often kept rolled up around a wooden dowel affixed to the bottom end of the silk mounting, which also helps keep the scroll flat when hung. Almost all thangkas show religious subjects. Similar paintings produced in Nepal are called “paubha.”

In Mahayana Buddhism, every buddha is thought to have three bodies. The dharma body (dharmakaya) is the primordial, empty, true nature of all buddhas. The enjoyment body (sambhogakaya) is the buddha as he exists in his exalted pure realm and mandala, surrounded by bodhisattvas. In images, these bodies can be recognized by their jewel ornaments and crown (like Amitayus). The emanation bodies (nirmanakaya) are the innumerable forms or manifestations of the buddhas who appear in the world or on earth in order to teach sentient beings the path to freedom from suffering. In images, emanation bodies can often be recognized by their monk’s robes (like Amitabha).

Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhists hold that Buddha Shakyamuni gave three main sets of teachings during his career on earth, poetically described as the “three turnings of the wheel of the Dharma.” The three turnings sketch an intellectual history of Buddhism:

1. The first turning was the teachings on the Four Noble Truths.
2. The second turning was the Mahayana teachings, including on the bodhisattva path, the Prajnaparamita Sutras, and the Madhyamaka teachings on emptiness.
3. The third turning of the wheel was the Yogachara philosophy teachings on the innate enlightenment of all beings, and some of the Vairayana tantras as well.

Historically, Tibetan Buddhism refers to those Buddhist traditions that use Tibetan as a ritual language. It is practiced in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, Ladakh, and among certain groups in Nepal, China, and Russia and has an international following. Buddhism was introduced to Tibet in two waves, first when rulers of the Tibetan Empire (seventh to ninth centuries CE), embraced the Buddhist faith as their state religion, and during the second diffusion (late tenth through thirteenth centuries), when monks and translators brought in Buddhist culture from India, Nepal, and Central Asia. As a result, the entire Buddhist canon was translated into Tibetan, and monasteries grew to become centers of intellectual, cultural, and political power. From the end of the twelfth century, Tibetans were exporting their own Buddhist traditions abroad. Tibetan Buddhism integrates Mahayana teachings with the esoteric practices of Vajrayana, and includes those developed in Tibet, such as Dzogchen, as well as indigenous Tibetan religious practices focused on local gods. Historically major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism are Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Geluk.

The Sanskrit Buddhist Canon was translated into Tibetan from the seventh century onward during the first and second diffusions. The Sakya-tradition scholar Buton Rinchen Drub (1290–1364) gave this mass of translations its final, codified form. The Tibetan canon is divided into two parts, which together usually take up hundreds of volumes:

1. The Kangyur, “Translation of [the Buddha’s] Words,” contains texts believed to have been taught by the Buddha himself, including Sutras, Tantras, and the Vinaya.
2. The Tengyur, “Translation of Teachings,” contains commentaries, scholastic works, philosophical studies, and other topics.
3. The original Sanskrit canon was mostly lost with the decline of Buddhism in India, making the Tibetan and Chinese translations the only two surviving Mahayana canons.

In the early seventh century, a line of kings from the Yarlung Valley united disparate people on the Tibetan Plateau into a powerful, centralized state. With their capital at Lhasa, these kings proclaimed themselves emperors, or tsenpo. Their armies conquered much of the Himalayas, Central Asia, and western China. Tibetans developed a written script for the Tibetan language and Buddhism was adopted as a state religion. The conversion to Buddhism was contested by an indigenous group of ritualists called Bon, creating political turmoil. After the assassination of emperor Langdarma in 842, the Tibetan empire fragmented and collapsed. Nevertheless, the myths and memories of the empire continue to be a central part of Tibetan identity.

The Tibetan Government-in-Exile is a reconstituted form of the Ganden Podrang government that now resides in Dharamshala, India. In 1951, Tibet was formally incorporated into the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong (1893–1976). In 1959, an uprising against the Chinese communist rule led to the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and surviving members of the Tibetan government flight to India, where they rebuilt a government-in-exile, with a democratically elected parliament (Tib. kashag) and a president. In 2011, The Dalai Lama formally relinquished his political leadership role in Tibetan exile government. This government represents the roughly 150,000 Tibetans who form an exiled diaspora in India, Nepal, and worldwide.

Tibetans are an ethnic group who live on the Tibetan plateau, as well as neighboring parts of northern India, Nepal, and around the world. Traditionally, Tibetans have combined agriculture in the river valleys with pastoral animal husbandry on high plateaus. Most Tibetans are Buddhists, but there are also followers of Bon, Islam, and other indigenous ritual traditions. Today, there are about seven million Tibetan people globally.

The Tibetan script is used to write the Tibetan language, as well as several other smaller Himalayan languages. Based on the Brahmi script used in the Gupta Empire in India, the Tibetan script was developed under the Tibetan Empire in the seventh century and is credited to minister Tonmi Sambhota (b. 619?). Two important forms of the Tibetan script are “Uchen” (Tib. “having a head”), a standard type used in printed texts, and “Umey” (Tib. “headless”), a cursive form sometimes used in manuscripts. There are many other cursive and decorative forms of the script.

Torana is a Sanskrit word that usually refers to a gateway, but in Nepalese usage it is generally used for the decorative upper panel framing the top of a doorway (or other portal like a window), that embellish the entrances to shrines, temples, and Buddhist monasteries. Toranas in Nepal are typically adorned with mythological creatures, such as snake spirit (naga), water monster (makara), and the “sky face ” (kirtimukha). A set of six ornaments commonly found on Tibetan toranas are: a mythical bird (Garuda) at top, holding the tails of a pair of coiling snake spirits (naga), water monsters (makara), a pair of leogryphs, ridden by youths, supported by a pair elephants at the bottom.

In Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, a torma is a sculpture made from butter and barley dough that is usually dyed. Tormas are used for a variety of purposes in rituals, and can be offerings to the gods, or consecrated as receptacles of divine power. In exorcistic rituals, evil forces are invited into the tormas, which are then brought outside of the settlement and destroyed. These tormas can be understood as ransom in exchange for victims plagued by spirits, or as a substitute for animal sacrifice. Some monasteries have traditions of making huge, beautifully decorated tormas, which are viewed by pilgrims at festivals like the Monlam Chenmo. Tormas can be figurative (images that depict the gods or other scenes), or they can be aniconic (symbolic shapes).

In Buddhist cosmology, the Trayastrimsha Heaven is one of the various heavens within samsara, said to be located at the peak of Mount Sumeru. The Trayastrimsha is the home of thirty-three gods ruled over by Indra.

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tsatsa is a small sculpture created by pressing clay into a mold. Tsatsas can depict deities, stupas, auspicious signs, and more. Some tsatsas have medicinal plants, or the cremated ashes of loved ones mixed into the clay and taken to various sacred sites to generate merit for their better rebirth. In Newar context, a grain of rice is added. Tsatsas are created to generate religious merit and are often consecrated and then placed within stupas, or made by pilgrims and devotees and left at sacred sites. Tibetans have been creating tsatsas since around the eleventh century, and tsatsa making remains a common practice among lay devotees today.

Tsenpo is a title, sometimes conventionally translated as “emperor,” used for the rulers of the Tibetan Empire. Songtsen Gampo (d. 649 CE) was the first tsenpo, who unified most of the Tibetan Plateau and founded the Buddhist Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. The last tsenpo of the Tibetan empire was Langdarma (d. 842), an anti-Buddhist king whose assassination by a Buddhist monk sparked civil war, and ultimately the collapse of the Tibetan empire. Later Tibetan rulers who tried to declare themselves inheritors of the Tibetan empire, such as the rulers of the kingdom of Tsongkha in eastern Tibet (eleventh century), also employed this title to strengthen their claims.

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a lineage of reincarnated lamas. Buddhists believe that sentient beings pass through infinite lives in samsara, reborn in new bodies after each death. Certain highly advanced practitioners are able to control this process, choosing their reincarnation. From the thirteenth century onward, this process became institutionalized in Tibet as a formal means of succession. When a tulku dies, a special team of monks and close disciples performs divinations and other tests to locate a child, who is then enthroned as the new incarnation of the lineage. Over the centuries, many of these lineages amassed immense estates (labrang), and became extremely powerful and prestigious within Tibetan and Mongol society. Important tulku lineages include the Karmapas, the Dalai Lamas, the Panchen Lamas, and the Jibzundambas.

In Buddhist cosmology, Tushita is the name of a heavenly realm, although still part of the wheel of reincarnation (Skt. samsara). Bodhisattvas destined to become buddhas, like Maitreya, are said to dwell in the Tushita Heaven before their final incarnation.

In Buddhism, upadesha refers to instructions and commentary given from a teacher to a student about the understanding of a particular text. In the Vajrayana tradition, upadesha means secret, oral instructions, often given following an abhisheka ritual when a practitioner is initiated into the practice of a certain tantra.

In Mahayana Buddhism, Ushnishavijaya was the name of a particular dharani incantation popular across the Buddhist world. In the Vajrayana tradition, Ushnishavijaya became personified as a deity, usually depicted as a serene white six-armed female. Ushnishavijaya rituals are often performed as wishes for long-life, and the deity is one of the three deities of long-life, along with Amitayus and White Tara.

Turkic languages. The Old Uyghur Empire was a semi-nomadic Buddhist and Manichaean state that ruled in modern-day Mongolia between roughly the 740s and 840s CE. After the destruction of the Uyghur Empire by the Kyrgyz, many Uyghurs fled to the oasis city-states of eastern Central Asia, including Dunhuang. These Uyghurs played an important role in the rise of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century, when they provided scribes for the imperial administration. Much later, the word “Uyghur” came to refer to the Turkic-speaking Muslims who live in what is now Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of China.

Vairochana is an important buddha in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. In Mahayana, Vairochana is considered the ultimate or Dharma-body of Buddha Shakyamuni. In the Charya and Yoga classes of the Four Classes of Tantra, Vairochana is the primordial Buddha or Adibuddha. In the Five Buddha Families, Vairochana is the head of the Buddha family, colored white, and usually located at the center. Across Asia, Vairochana as the Cosmic Ruler was also a powerful political symbol, and rulers associated themselves with Vairochana to enhance their claims as universal Buddhist sovereigns.

In Buddhism, Vaishravana is the guardian king (lokapala) of the north, one of the four guardian kings who are often found at the entrances to temples. Vaishravana is also sometimes worshiped as a wealth deity and at times as a martial deity. Depending on the emphasis, he is depicted as an armored warrior, often mounted on a lion, carrying a mongoose or holding a stupa/pagoda.

In the Vedas, vajras are the indestructibly hard thunderbolts that Indra hurls at his enemies. Over time, the vajra became the name for a type of ritual weapon, with a handle at the center and a five-pronged point at each end. Vajras are a central image in and symbol of tantric forms of Buddhism, which are often called “Vajrayana” or the “Vajra Vehicle.” Vajrayana ritualists use vajras (representing active compassion or method) often paired with a bell (representing wisdom) in practices of deity yoga. The Tibetan word for a vajra is “dorje,” meaning “Lord among stones.”

Vajrabhairava is a meditational deity (yidam) and also sometimes a protector deity in Vajrayana Buddhism. Vajrabhairava is usually depicted as a blue wrathful deity with the head of a buffalo, sometimes in union with a consort, Vajravetali. Vajrabhairava is a wrathful emanation of Manjushri, whose peaceful head tops his own.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Vajracharya is a general term of respect for a teacher or tantric master who gives teachings and abhisheka initiations. In Newar Buddhism, Vajracharya is a specific caste of non-celibate ritual professionals, who make a living performing tantric rituals on behalf of members of the community.

In the later-transmission traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, Vajradhara is considered to be the Adibuddha, the “primordial buddha” or the dharma-body of Buddha Shakyamuni and all other buddhas. Vajradhara is often depicted at the head of transmission lineages, as the source of all teachings, as a blue or white figure wearing a crown and jewelry, holding a vajra and bell crossed at his chest. Teachings about Vajradhara are found in the Highest Yoga Tantras.

The Vajradhatu refers to the ritual space described in the Yoga tantras and represented in mandalas of the five buddhas of the five families, centered on Vairochana.

Vajrakila is a deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, associated with the dagger (Skt. kila, Tib. purba) used in exorcistic tantric practices described in a meditative and ritual manual called sadhana. Vajrakila is depicted as a blue wrathful deity with wings, sometimes with the lower body of a three-bladed dagger, usually in tantric union with a consort and surrounded by a retinue of animal-headed attendants.

Vajrapani is a bodhisattva and guardian deity in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. One of the oldest Buddhist dharma-protectors (Skt. dharmapala), Vajrapani is said to have protected Buddha Shakyamuni during his career on earth. Vajrapani is often depicted as a wrathful deity with a vajra in one hand, though he also has peaceful forms. Vajrapani is the protector deity of Mongolia, and the Jibzundampa incarnation lineage are said to be his emanations.

Vajrasattva is a bodhisattva in Vajrayana Buddhism. Vajrasattva appears especially in the Yoga Sutras. Vajrasattva is usually depicted as a white seated figure, in tantric union with a consort, and is associated with purification.

The Vajravali is a collection of esoteric teachings on mandala construction written by the Indian monk Abhayakaragupta (eleventh to twelfth centuries). The Vajravali was the first attempt to systematize and provide iconographic guides for the mandalas used in various Vajrayana tantras, which were widely transmitted in Tibet.

Vajrayana is one of the three great doctrinal divisions of Buddhism, along with Theravada and Mahayana. Vajrayana can be understood as tantric Buddhism. Historians debate when Vajrayana first appeared, but it was clearly understood as a separate tradition by the eighth century CE, and most of its major texts were written by the twelfth century. Vajrayana ritual and art are characterized by visualization, deity yoga, wrathful deities, mandalas, mantras, initiations and empowerments (abhisheka), and ritual sexual union. These teachings are transmitted in texts called tantras and sadhanas, as well as through secret instructions (Skt. upadesha) from a teacher. Essentially all Himalayan Buddhist traditions integrate Mahayana and Vajrayana practices.

Vajrayogini is a female meditational deity in Vajrayana Buddhism. Vajrayogini can appear as the tantric consort of Chakrasamvara, or as an independent deity and an embodiment of power in female form. Vajrayogini is depicted as a red, semi-wrathful dakini wearing bone-ornaments of the charnel grounds, bearing small fangs, often drinking blood from a skull-cup. An important form/emanation of Vajrayogini is Vajravarahi, “The Vajra-Sow,” readily identifiable by the sow’s head projecting from her own, which is symbolism related to the rooting out of the ego. Machik Labdron (1055–1153), one of the most prominent female masters in Tibetan Buddhism, is believed to be and often represented as an emanation of Vajrayogini.

Vasudhara is a goddess of wealth and prosperity in Vajrayana Buddhism, worshiped especially among Newar Buddhists in Nepal. In India and Tibet, she is typically depicted in her two-armed form, and among the Newars her six-armed manifestation is prevalent.

The Vedas are an ancient body of Sanskrit-language texts, the earliest decipherable texts of the religion we now call Hinduism. There are traditionally four Vedas:

• The Rigveda is the oldest of the Vedas, composed in the late second millennium BCE. It contains hymns (Skt. mantras) to gods like Indra, Vishnu, and the fire-god Agni.
• The Samaveda contains hymns similar to those in the Rigveda, although of a later date.
• The Yajurveda contains mantras to be spoken during fire sacrifices (Skt. yagnya).
• The Atharva Veda contains incantations for a variety of medical and exorcistic purposes.

Each Veda also contains subsidiary books, often written centuries later, which contain ritual instructions and philosophical discussions.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Vidyadhara is a term of respect for an accomplished master of yogic meditation, one who can transmit important tantric initiations.

In Buddhism, the Vinaya is the code of conduct for members of the Sangha, that is, monks and nuns. While there are different versions of the Vinaya texts and ordination lineages, generally, monks take a different number and types of vows according to the tradition and their individual level of ordination. Vinaya as a set of rules are used in all Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, although nuns are required to take more numerous vows than monks.

Vishnu is an important god in Hinduism, whose worship dates back to the time of the ancient Rigveda (second millennium BCE). Vishnu is often revered as “The Preserver” in a trinity with Brahma (“The Creator”) and Shiva (“The Destroyer”). Vishnu is said to have many avatars, including Krishna and (according to Hindus) the Buddha. Vishnu’s wife is Lakshmi, and he is often shown to ride on Garuda. Vishnu is usually depicted as a blue peaceful man, often standing on a lotus in the primordial ocean. In his four-armed form, he holds a wheel (Skt. chakra), mace (Skt. gada), conch shell (Skt. shankha), and lotus seed (Skt. padma).

Visualization is a process of using one’s imagination to transform reality. A practitioner imagines in their mind’s eye the deity with the associated enlightened qualities they wish to embody themselves. When focused on a specific deity, visualization and related ritual practices are called deity yoga. Visualization is a fundamental element of such practices described in texts known tantras, which define a system of meditation and ritual meant to transform the mind and body.

In Hinduism, a vrata is a devotional ritual, often performed by women. Vratas typically involve making a vow of purity and fasting for a period. They can also include making a pilgrimage to a Hindu shrine, giving charitable donations, or other types of piety.

In weaving, the warp are the horizontal fibers that are held taught and stationary against the loom. The weft are the vertical fibers, which are woven into the weft to form a single sheet of fabric.

In Hinduism, Buddhism, and Bon, some gods and deities are shown with flaming hair, bulging eyes, mouths showing fangs, adorned with garlands of severed heads, and trampling enemies, real or metaphorical. In Tantric Buddhism, such deities are said to be wrathful manifestations of wisdom and method who assume fierce appearance to protect, remove or overcome mental afflictions blocking the path to enlightenment. Others are unenlightened, indigenous gods bound by oath to protect Buddhist traditions. Some female deities, or dakinis, like Vajrayogini, appear as semi-wrathful, in beatific form but bearing small fangs. In the Bon tradition, similarly to Tibetan Buddhism, wrathful deities can be emanations or represent local gods and sprits. In Hindu traditions, gods and goddesses can appear fierce, holding many weapons meant to overcome demons.

In Hinduism, yantras are geometric designs thought to have divine power. Some yantras are the symbols of deities, while others represent astrological concepts. Yantras can be drawn as part of devotional practice, placed on altars for their auspicious and obstacle-repelling properties, or used as aids for meditation. A similar concept in Vajrayana Buddhism is a mandala.

Yasodhara was the wife of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as Buddha Shakyamuni. Married to the future Buddha at the age of sixteen, Yasodhara was the mother of his son, Rahula. The Buddha abandoned Yasodhara when he left to pursue a life of meditation and asceticism.

In Hinduism, a yatra is a pilgrimage to a particular shrine or sacred place. Many important temples and pithas have a set date for a yearly mass-pilgrimage.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, a yidam is a deity or buddha with whom the meditator connects as part of a deity yoga practice. Practitioners take tantric vows (Tib. damtsik) as part of abhisheka initiations, followed by oral instruction from a master, which permit them to perform meditations in which they visualize themselves becoming the deity described in a particular tantra, and gaining that deity’s enlightened or wrathful powers.

Called the “Image of the Great Ultimate” (Ch. taijitu), the yin-yang symbol shows two interlocking colors (usually black and white) that swirl together to form a circle. In Daoism and more cosmological forms of Confucianism, this symbol represents the interlocked forces of yang (the sun, light, male, active) and yin (the moon, dark, female, passive) that form the basic complementary pattern of the universe. The yin-yang symbol is often found at the center of Chinese talismans and other protective imagery.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, deity yoga is a meditative visualization practice centered on a deity. Practitioners imagine themselves as a deity (Tib. yidam), or visualize the deity in front of themselves, while contemplating and internalizing the deity’s enlightened qualities of mind and powers. As a result, the practitioners develop a special connection with the deity and attain the deity’s awakened state. Specific instructions on the practice of deity yoga are laid out in tantras, and in texts called sadhana.

The Yoga Tantras are the third of the fourfold division of tantras used in the Tibetan later-diffusion traditions. The main texts of the Yoga Tantras are the Tattvasamgraha Tantra and the Vajrashekara Tantra. The Yoga Tantras teach about the Five Buddha Families of the Vajra-Realm, and are focused on the Buddha Vairochana. Unlike most of the Highest Yoga Tantras, the Yoga Tantras were known in Tang and Song Dynasty China, and are still practiced today in Japan.

The Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) is the branch of the Mongol Empire in Asia. In 1260 when Qubilai Khan declared himself Great Khan, his realm included Mongolian, Chinese, Tangut, and Tibetan regions. In 1271 emperor Qubilai Khan proclaimed the Yuan dynasty on a Chinese model, employing Tibetan and Tangut monks. Tibetan Buddhism played an important role in the state, establishing a political model that would be emulated by later dynasties, including the Chinese Ming and Manchu Qing dynasties. The Mongols were major patrons of Tibetan institutions, and many Mongols converted to Tibetan Buddhism, though their interest declined with the fall of the empire.

A yurt, called “ger” in Mongolian, is a dome-like tent made of felt and an internal framework of wood slats used by nomads on the steppes of northern Asia. The yurt can be quickly assembled and disassembled and packed for travel and is still being used in Mongolia as a summer home.

The Zhamarpas are an important tulku lineage within the Karma Kagyu branch of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, second after the Karmapas. Founded in the fourteenth century, the Zhamar and Karmapa lineages have a close teacher-student relationship, when one passes away the other takes charge of identifying and educating the new incarnation. In 1788, the Tenth Zhamarpa became involved in a conflict between the Shah synasty of Nepal, the Dalai Lamas’ Ganden Podrang, and the Qing dynasty. As result the Geluk-led Ganden Podrang government banned the Zhamar lineage, which went underground until being formally pardoned by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in 1963.

Zhije is a set of meditative practices taught by Padampa Sanggye (d.1117), an Indian tantric master, or siddha, who spent much of his life traveling and giving teachings in Himalayan regions and Tibet. Usually associated with the chod or “cutting” practices, the Zhije practices involve the visualization of cutting away one’s body, and ultimately the ego, as a means of reaching enlightenment. These teachings were further spread and popularized in Tibet by his student, Machik Labdron (1055–1153), one of the most prominent female tantric masters and lineage holders in Tibetan Buddhism. She widely transmitted these practices focused on the deity Vajrayogini and even became identified with this deity.