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Dictionary of Key Spiritual Terms


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Buddha

sangs rgyas/ 

[Skt. Siddhartha]

or "one who accomplishes his purpose"; later known as rgyal sras don drub/  Prince Siddhartha; and after his enlightenment, sangs rgyas/  . The Buddha lived at roughly the same time as Jesus' ancestor Zerubbabel and Cyrus the Persian; his life probably began before and ended after the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Honorific titles attached to him and to his non-historical counterparts include: kun mkhyen/  all-knowing, kun tu bzang po/  good to all, rkang gnyis gtso bo/  lord of men, sku gsum pa/  three-bodied, khyab bdag all-pervading, rgyal ba/  conqueror, mngon shes drug ldan/  possessor of the six foreknowledges, bcom ldan 'das/  transcendent victor, chags 'joms/  desire-subduer, 'jig rten 'dul/  world-tamer, ston pa/  teacher, stobs bcu ba/  having ten powers, thams cad mkhyen/  all-perceiving, thams cad sgrol/  all-saving, thams cad rtogs/  all-knowing, thams cad gzigs/  all-seeing, dus gsum mkhyen/  knowing the three times, bdud 'dul/  devil-subduer, bde gshegs/  gone to nirvana, sangs rgyas dkon mchog Buddha jewel; portion of the triple refuge. Non-historical Buddhas include 'jam dpal/  Manjushri, spyan ras gzigs/  Chenresi, phyag na rdo rje/  Vajrapani.