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Dictionary of Key Spiritual Terms


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Wylie | Tibetan

love

See also compassion, joy, mercy
  1. byams pa/ 

    Biblical: to love: 1) Christian love in general: byams pa ni nga tshos dkon mchog la byams pa de min/,,dkon mchog gis nga tshor byams/  not that we loved God, but that he loved us (1 Jn. 4:10), dkon mchog gis nga tshor de tsam byams na/,,nga tshos kyang phan tshun byams par rigs so/  since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 Jn. 4:11); 2) the love of God for man: 'jig rten la byams par mdzad do/  [God] loved the world (Jn. 3:16), yab kyis nga la byams pa ltar/,,ngas khyed la byams so/  as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you (Jn. 15:9), yab nyid kyis khyed la byams pa mdzad to/  the Father himself loves you (Jn. 16:27); 3) love of the Father for Jesus: yab kyis sras la byams pa mdzad pas/  the Father loves the Son (Jn. 3:35); 4) love of others: rang la byams pa la byams na/  if you love those who love you (Mt. 5:46), dgra la byams pa byos/  love your enemies (Mt. 5:44), chung ma la byams pa byos shig love your wives (Eph. 5:25); 5) love of Jesus for particular people: ye shus mar tha dang de'i nu mo dang la zar la byams par mdzad do/  Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus (Jn. 11:5); 6) to adhere to, to be consistent: khyed ni drang por byams kyang ngan par sdang /  you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness (Heb. 1:9).

    Proverbs: byams po byas na dgra yang gnyen la 'gro/  if you show love, even your enemy will become a friend (KPU 21).

  2. byams sems/ 

    [lit. love + mind] [hon. byams thugs/ ]

    Biblical: 1) God's love for man: love dkon mchog gi thugs rje dang byams thugs/  God's kindness and love (Tit. 3:4); 2) Christian love in a general sense: byams sems med na/  if I have not love (1 Cor. 13:1), byams sems la bzod pa dang snying rje yod/  love is patient, love is kind (1 Cor. 13:4), byams sems kyis bden pa smra/  speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), thugs nyid las byung ba'i khyed kyi byams sems/  your love in the Spirit (Col. 1:8), byams sems gcig pa/  having the same love (Phil. 2:2), snying rje dang zhi bde dang byams thugs/  mercy, peace, and love (Jude 2).

  3. gces pa/ 

    Biblical: to love: 1) man's love for others: khyim mtshes la rang dang 'dra bar gces pa/  to love your neighbor as yourself (Mk. 12:33), gtso bo'i nang na nga'i gces pa/  the one I love in the Lord (Rom. 16:8), chung ma la gces shig love your wives (Col. 3:19), rang la gces 'dzin byed mkhan rnams la sdangs sems byed pa/  you love those who hate you (2 Sam. 19:6 NTV); 2) the love of man for God: rang gi gtso bo dkon mchog ni/,,snying hril po dang /,,sems hril po dang /,,yid hril po dang /,,shed hril po gces par zungs shig love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mk. 12:30), khyod kyis nga la gces na/,,nga'i bka' srung bar 'gyur/  if you love me, you will obey what I command (Jn. 14:15), dkon mchog la gces par 'dzin mkhan/  the man who loves God [lit. holds God dear] (1 Cor. 8:3); 3) the love between God and Jesus: ngas yab la gces pa/  that I [Jesus] love the Father (Jn. 14:31), khong rang gi gces pa'i sras/  His own beloved Son (Eph. 1:6); 4) the love of God for man: ngas ya kob la gces par 'dzin te/  Jacob I loved (Rom. 9:13), dkon mchog yab kyi gces pa/  those who are loved by God (Jude 1), rgyal sa gces pa/  the city [he] loves (Rev. 20:9), gtso bo dkon mchog gis phru gu de la thugs brtse gnang gi yod/  the Lord loved him (2 Sam. 12:24 NTV).

    Buddhist: 1) to consider highly, or to value: mi dmangs kyi rgyal khab la mi dmangs rang gis gces pa/  the people themselves love their country (KTM), a mas pu gur rang gi srog las kyang gces par skyong /  a mother values her children more highly even than their own life (TRC 330); 2) to take care of, as a parent takes care of a child and looks after its well being, or a teacher gives special attention and care to a student, fostering his abilities, attending to his needs, and watching over him (KTM). gzugs po'i bde thang la gces pa/  to take care of the well being of the body (KTM); 3) to hold dear, to cherish, to show affection: gces pa'i grogs po/  dear friends (TRC 167), nga rang tshos byams po dang gces po byas te nyar ba'i khyi phrug a puppy which we treat with love and affection (TRC 288), snying du gces pa'i yid 'ong byams pa/  love which cherishes [even an enemy] from the heart (TRC 320), phrug gces par byas te/  to cherish children (TRC 218).

    Cognates: 1) gces pa/  beloved, dear: gces pa'i am pa li a/  beloved Ampliatus (Rom. 16:8), nyid kyi gces pa'i sras/  his beloved Son (Col. 1:13,14), dkon mchog gi gces pa'i spun rnams/  brothers beloved by God (1 Thes. 1:4); 2) rang gces 'dzin/  [lit. holding oneself dear] selfishness (DLP 17).

  4. dga' ba/ 

    [hon. thugs mnyes/ ]

    Biblical: 1) to have strong attachment to: su zhig 'tsho bar rab dga'/  whoever would love life (1 Pet. 3:10), rdzun la dga'/  those who love falsehood (Rev. 22:15); 2) to be pleased or delighted with: nga'i sems dga' ba'i gces pa/  the one I love, in whom I delight (Mt. 12:18), sems dga' bzhin sbyin pa la dkon mchog thugs mnyes so/  God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7), 'di ni nga dga' ba'i nga'i sras gces pa yin/  his is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased (Mt. 3:17), ma shi ka pa rnams dga' ba'i phyir/  [that it] may please the saints (Rom. 15:30,31); 3) as hyperbole for "to like": smon lam 'debs pa la dga' ba'i kha chos pa/  the hypocrites who love to pray (Mt. 6:5), khrom du phyag la dga' bas/  [Pharisees] love greetings in the marketplaces (Lk. 11:43).

    Buddhist: 1) to be happy or joyful (see joy): sems ha cang dga' nas gad mo chen po dgod pa/  to laugh much from a very happy heart (KTM); 2) love which is conditional or from which one gets benefits: dpon po phal cher ngo bstod la dga'/,,bla ma phal cher 'bul ba la dga'/,,byis pa phal cher rtsed mo la dga'/  masters usually like praise, lamas usually like offerings, and common people usually like games (KTM); 3) to like; to be pleased with or take pleasure in: le lo la dga' ba'i glen chos/  a foolish doctrine which pleases laziness (TRC 166), gzhan gyi srog gcod pa la dga' ba/  pleasure in killing another (TRC 245), rang gi sku mched gzhon pas rgyal sa 'dzin pa la mi dga' ba/  displeased at his younger brother having the kingdom (TRC 114); 4) to favor, be partial to: bon gyi chos lugs la dga' ba'i blon po/  ministers who favored the Bon religion (TRC 114).

  5. chags pa/ 

    Biblical: to love or be attached to, usually in a negative sense: 1) to lust for, to have strong attachment to: dngul la chags pa/  love of money (Lk. 16:14), 'od las mun par lhag par 'chags/  men loved darkness more than light (Jn. 3:19), mi rnams rang la chags mkhan/  lovers of themselves (2 Tim. 3:2), de ma 'jig rten la chags te/  Demas, who loved this world (2 Tim. 4:9,10), mi rigs pa'i 'bras bu la chags pas/  loved the wages of wickedness (2 Pet. 2:15), 'jig rten nang yod pa'i dngos po la ma chags shig do not love the things in the world (1 Jn. 2:15), de tsho dkon mchog gi bkur sti las/,,mi'i bkur sti la lhag par chags/  they loved praise from men more than praise from God (Jn. 12:43); 2) used in SV for man's love of God: dkon mchog la chags pa rnams/  those who love God (1 Cor. 2:9 SV), de dag gis bden pa nyid la chags pa/  they did not love the truth (2 Thes. 2:10 SV), dkon mchog la chags pa ni khong gi bka' rgya srung ba de yin no/  this is love for God: to obey his commands (1 Jn. 5:3 SV).

    Buddhist: In a religious context chags pa/  is an undue love for someone or something, the desire to have an excess, or to have an undue attachment. It is one of the chief causes of rebirth (KTM). bdag tu chags pa/  attachment to the idea of a self (KBT 31), sngar nya la chags pa'i dbang gis/  on account of his former attachment to [eating] fish (TRC 258), mi 'bral bar 'dod pa'i chags pa gcig a desire not to be separated [from its object] (TRC 284), chags pa spong ba rgyal sras lag len yin/  to abandon attachment is the practice of the sons of the Buddha (GSL 26).

    Cognates: 1) sems chags/  to be in love with: mo la sems chags yod/  [Amnon] loved her (2 Sam. 13:1 NTV), ta mar la sems chags yod/  I'm in love with Tamar (2 Sam 13:4 NTV); 2) 'dod chags/  strong attachment, lust.

  6. brtse ba/ 

    Biblical: affectionate or relational love: dkon mchog gis rang gi thugs brtse ba nga tsho la mngon par mdzad do/  God demonstrates his own love for us (Rom. 5:8 SV).

    Buddhist: brtse ba/  may be of two types: 1) love of parents for children: phru gu la brtse ba/  love for children (KTM), byams dang brtse ba can gyi drin chen ma/  a most affectionate and loving mother (KPU 29); 2) altruistic love: In Bsm. one cultivates the desire for the welfare of all beings (byams pa/ ). From this attitude one then generates a feeling of compassion (snying rje/ ), affection, or fondness for those beings which is brtse ba/  (KTM), e.g. the love of a lama for people (AMD), brtse sems ngo ma ni chags zhen gyi gzhi las byung ba ma yin/  real love is not based on attachment (DLP 14), rang res brtse sems ji lta bu zhig skyed dgos zer na/,,rang la gnod 'tshe byed mkhan gyi dgra bo la'ang byams pa dang brtse ba'i sems skyed pa de 'dra zhig dgos/  the kind of love we should advocate is this wider love that you can have even for someone who had done harm to you: your enemy (DLP 14), bod kyi nang pa sangs rgyas pa'i chos lugs kyi thog nas sems can thams cad rang gi snying nas brtse ba'i ma lta bur blta dgos pa dang /,,de dag tshang mar brtse sems ldan pa'i sgo nas drin gzo bya dgos pa'i slob ston byed srol yod/  the Tibetan Buddhist tradition teaches us to view all sentient beings as our dear mothers and to show our gratitude by loving them all (DLP 15), gzhan la brtse zhing phan pa sgrub pa'i bya ba/  loving and serving others (DLP 16), gzhan la brtse sems dang /,,brtsi bkur byed pa/  love and respect for others (DLP 22), nad par rjes su brtse ba/  compassion and love for the sick (KTM).

  7. brtse/ 

    p. brtses/  [hon. thugs brtse/ ]

    Biblical: 1) to love others: nga tshor brtse ba/  those [Christians] who love us (Tit. 3:15); 2) to love one's parents: nga las pha'am ma la lhag par brtse ba/  the one who loves father or mother more than me (Mt. 10:37); 3) God's love for man: ye shus de la gzigs shing thugs brtser dgongs nas/  Jesus looked at him and loved him (Mk. 10:21).

    Cognates: 1) brtse gdung /  affectionate love for others spun gyi brtse gdung /  brotherly love (Rom. 12:10); 2) brtse sems/  love brtse sems med pa/  without love (2 Tim. 3:3).

  8. thugs su byon pa/ 

    [hon.]

    Biblical: used of God's love for various individuals: ye shu'i thugs su byon pa'i nye gnas/  the disciple Jesus loved (Jn. 21:7), gtso bo'i thugs su byon pa'i spun/  brothers loved by the Lord (2 Thes. 2:13).

    Buddhist: thugs su byon pa/  to think highly of, to approve (KTM).