84000 Glossary of Terms

Our trilingual glossary combining entries from all of our publications into one useful resource, giving translations and definitions of thousands of terms, people, places, and texts from the Buddhist canon.

ངེས་པའི་དོན། | Glossary of Terms

  • ངེས་དོན།

  • ངེས་པའི་དོན།
  • nges pa’i don
  • nges don
  • nītārtha
  • nitārtha
  • Term
Publications: 5
  • definitive meaning
  • ངེས་པའི་དོན།
  • nges pa’i don
  • nītārtha
  • 勝義
Definition in this text:

The final meaning of the truth; the real intent of the Buddha’s teachings.

  • definitive meaning
  • ངེས་དོན།
  • nges don
  • nitārtha
  • definitive meaning
  • ངེས་པའི་དོན།
  • nges pa’i don
  • nītārtha
  • 了義
Definition in this text:

The ultimate meaning of a given Dharma teaching.

  • definitive meaning
  • ངེས་དོན།
  • nges don
  • nītārtha
Definition in this text:

This refers to those teachings of the Buddha that are in terms of ultimate reality; it is opposed to those teachings given in terms of relative reality, termed “interpretable meaning,” because they require further interpretation before being relied on to indicate the ultimate. Hence definitive meaning relates to voidness, etc., and no statement concerning the relative world, even by the Buddha, can be taken as definitive. This is especially important in the context of the Mādhyamika doctrine, hence in the context of Vimalakīrti’s teachings, because he is constantly correcting the disciples and bodhisattvas who accept interpretable expressions of the Tathāgata as if they were definitive, thereby attaching themselves to them and adopting a one-sided approach.

  • definitive meaning
  • ངེས་པའི་དོན།
  • nges pa’i don
  • nītārtha
Definition in this text:

A statement of clear and explicit meaning that has no ulterior motive and thus does not require further explanation.