མི་འཇིགས་པ། | Glossary of Terms

When plural refers to the “four fearlessnesses.”

One of four unique types of confidence a buddha possesses, which are enumerated in a variety of ways.

Four unique types of confidence possessed by a buddha, these are enumerated in a variety of ways.

This refers to the four confidences or fearlessnesses of the Buddha: confidence in having attained realization, confidence in having attained elimination, confidence in teaching the Dharma, and confidence in teaching the path of aspiration to liberation.

This refers to the four confidences or fearlessnesses of the Buddha: confidence in having attained realization, confidence in having fully eliminated all defilements, confidence in teaching the Dharma, and confidence in teaching the path of aspiration to liberation.

The fourfold fearlessness or the four assurances proclaimed by the thus-gone ones: fearlessness in declaring that one has awakened, that one has ceased all illusions, that one has taught the obstacles to awakening, and that one has shown the way to liberation.

See “four types of fearlessness.”

See “four kinds of fearlessness.”

The Buddha has four fearlessnesses, as do the bodhisattvas. The four fearlessnesses of the Buddha are: fearlessness regarding the realization of all things; fearlessness regarding knowledge of the exhaustion of all impurities; fearlessness of foresight through ascertainment of the persistence of obstructions; and fearlessness in the rightness of the path leading to the attainment of the supreme success. The fearlessnesses of the bodhisattva are: fearlessness in teaching the meaning he has understood from what he has learned and practiced; fearlessness resulting from the successful maintenance of purity in physical, verbal, and mental action‍—without relying on others’ kindness, being naturally flawless through his understanding of the absence of self; fearlessness resulting from freedom from obstruction in virtue, in teaching, and in delivering living beings, through the perfection of wisdom and liberative art and through not forgetting and constantly upholding the teachings; and fearlessness in the ambition to attain full mastery of omniscience‍—without any deterioration or deviation to other practices‍—and to accomplish all the aims of all living beings.

See “fourfold fearlessness.”

One of four unique types of confidence a buddha possesses, which are enumerated in a variety of ways.

See “four fearlessnesses” or UT23703-093-001-1610.

See “four fearlessnesses.”

The four fearlessnesses are fearlessness in declaring that one has (1) awakened, (2) ceased all illusions, (3) taught the obstacles to awakening, and (4) shown the way to liberation.

Four unique types of confidence that a buddha possesses, which are enumerated in a variety of ways.

Refers to the fourfold fearlessness or the four assurances proclaimed by the thus-gone ones: fearlessness in declaring that one has awakened, that one has ceased all illusions, that one has taught the obstacles to awakening, and that one has shown the way to liberation.

Typically four in number: fearlessness in declaring that one has (1) awakened, (2) ceased all illusions, (3) taught the obstacles to awakening, and (4) shown the way to liberation.

See “four types of confidence.”

This refers to the four confidences or fearlessnesses (as translated into Tibetan) of a buddha: confidence in having attained realization, confidence in having exhausted defilements, confidence in teaching the Dharma, and confidence in teaching the path of aspiration to liberation.

Refers to the imperturbable self-confidence and certainty, based on first-hand experience, first-hand knowledge, expert skill, and maturity, of buddhas, bodhisattvas, or arhats in four areas: (1) the confidence of being perfectly enlightened as to all dharmas, (2) the confidence of knowledge that all impurities are destroyed for oneself, (3) the confidence of having described precisely and correctly the obstructive conditions (to religious life), and (4) the confidence of the correctness of the way toward liberation. While this reflects the meaning of the Sanskrit and the Pāli term, the Tibetan interpretation of this term is “fearlessness.”

The literal translation of Tibetan mi ’jigs pa (Skt. vaiśāradya) is “fearlessness.” Usually four kinds of confidence or fearlessness are enumerated when describing a buddha: a fully enlightened buddha is confident of having (1) attained complete, perfect enlightenment regarding all phenomena, (2) eliminated all contaminants, (3) correctly declared all obstacles to enlightenment, and (4) shown the path that actually leads to the liberation from obstacles and suffering. This sūtra, on the other hand, talks about confidence regarding the daily routines of monks and nuns and their deportment. They have confidence in their ability to faultlessly adhere to the monastic discipline in all situations because it provides a sense of protection.

The four kinds of assurance of a tathāgata (catur­vaiśāraya, mi ’jigs pa bzhi) are: 1) assurance concerning complete awakening (abhi­sambodhi­vaiśāradya, thams cad mkhyen pa la mi ’jigs pa); 2) assurance concerning the destruction of the impurities (āsravakṣaya­vaiśāradya, zag pa zad pa mkhyen pa la mi ’jigs pa); 3) assurance concerning harmful things (antarāyika­dharma­vaiśāradya, bar du gcod pa’i chos la mi ’jigs pa); 4) assurance concerning the path that leads to emancipation (nairyāṇika­pratipad­vaiśāradya, thob par ’gyur bar nges par ’byung ba’i lam la mi ’jigs pa). (See Rahula 2001: 230, in which they are called “perfect self-confidence”).

See “confidence.”