ཡེ་ཤེས། | Glossary of Terms

Also rendered here as “knowing.”

Although the Sanskrit term jñāna can refer to knowledge in a general sense, it is often used in Buddhist texts to refer to the mode of awareness of a realized being. In contrast to ordinary knowledge, which mistakenly perceives phenomena as real entities having real properties, wisdom perceives the emptiness of phenomena, their lack of intrinsic essence.

Also known as “pristine awareness,” “primordial wisdom,” “primordial awareness,” “gnosis,” or the like. Typically refers to nonconceptual or unobscured states of knowledge.

One of the ten perfections.

This term denotes the mode of awareness of a realized being. Although all sentient beings possess the potential for actualizing wisdom within their mind streams, mental obscurations make them appear instead as aspects of mundane consciousness.

Also known as “pristine awareness,” “primordial wisdom,” “primordial awareness,” “gnosis,” or the like. Typically refers to nonconceptual states of knowledge.

Also known as “pristine awareness,” “primordial wisdom,” “primordial awareness,” “gnosis,” or the like. Typically refers to nonconceptual states of knowledge.

Also known as “pristine awareness,” “primordial wisdom,” “primordial awareness,” “gnosis,” or the like. Typically refers to nonconceptual states of knowledge.

This term denotes the modality of buddha mind. Although all sentient beings possess the potential for actualizing gnosis within their mental continuum, the psychological confusions and deluded tendencies which defile the mind obstruct the natural expression of these inherent potentials, making them appear instead as aspects of mundane consciousness.

Pure knowledge free of conceptual impediments.

This is knowledge of the nonconceptual and transcendental which is realized by those attaining higher stages.

Direct knowledge of emptiness and ultimate reality.

Direct knowledge of emptiness and ultimate reality.

The last of the ten perfections. See UT23703-093-001-1895.

This term denotes the mode of awareness of a realized being. Although all sentient beings possess the potential for actualizing transcendental knowledge within their mind streams, mental obscurations make them appear instead as aspects of mundane consciousness. Also known as “pristine awareness,” “primordial wisdom,” “primordial awareness,” “gnosis,” or the like.

This term denotes the mode of awareness of a realized being. Although all sentient beings possess the potential for actualizing transcendental knowledge within their mind streams, mental obscurations make them appear instead as aspects of mundane consciousness.

The term jñāna is formed by the root jñā, meaning “to know,” “to know of,” “to understand,” “to be aware of,” with the addition of the pratyaya lyuṭ, which can be interpreted as having different values (the instrument of awareness, its agent, or the action of awareness). We have chosen “awareness” as it was the only that seemed to fit for two important (and not unrelated) contexts wherein jñāna is used: awareness of something, and nonobjective, nonconceptual awareness. In Tibetan the two senses are sometimes distinguished by using shes pa and ye shes, respectively, but the distinction in the usage of these two terms is not clearly marked in works that are translations from the Sanskrit, and hence it is less relevant for the Kangyur than it may be for indigenous Tibetan works. The nature of jñāna and its relationship with “wisdom” (prajñā) is the topic of one of the chapters of the Abhidharmakośa and is also thematized in a number of Mahāyāna sūtras and śāstras.

Also rendered here as “wisdom.”

Specifically refers to an awakened being’s wisdom. Also translated as “transcendental wisdom,” “original wakefulness,” and so forth.

Also known as “wisdom,” “gnosis,” or the like. Typically refers to a nonconceptual or unobscured state of knowledge.