[lit. manifestation, appearance]
Biblical: 1) the process by which God makes His truth known to men; revelation: ye shu ma shi kas mngon par zhal gzigs pa'i sgo nas thob bo/ I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12), gtso bo'i zhal gzigs dang mngon du byung ba rnams/ visions and revelations from the Lord (2 Cor. 12:1), mngon pa'i 'od/ a light for revelation (Lk. 2:32); 2) abbreviation for the Book of Revelation in the Revised NT.
Buddhist: The Buddha is thought to have discovered the basic principles of Bsm. by his own effort; not by revelation from any higher power; i.e. the Buddha was not a prophet. Some Bst. texts are believed to have been revealed by supernatural powers, but this does not give them an authority superior to those texts considered to be of purely human authorship (BAL 92). 1) mngon pa'i dpe cha/ texts of the Abhidharma (Bst. works on philosophy and psychology compiled ca. 400 AD; comprising mngon pa kun btus/ Compendium of Knowledge, and mngon pa mdzod/ Treasury of Knowledge (TRI 70); 2) open, complete, total: mngon par rdzogs par sangs rgyas/ complete, perfect buddhahood (SGN 12); 3) mngon pa/ to reveal or disclose: slob mas rang gi slob sbyong gi gnas tshul mngon pa'i thabs lam zhig a way that students can reveal the level of their own study (TCR 1). See also prophesy.
Cognates: 1) mngon par 'gyur ba/ to appear; to be revealed: lung ston pa rnams kyi mdo rnams kyis kyang da lta mngon par gyur pa/ now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings (Rom. 16:26 SV); 2) mngon du 'byin pa/ to reveal, disclose: rang gi sras nga'i nang na mngon du 'byin pa/ to reveal his Son in me (Gal. 1:16 SV); 3) gsal por mngon/ clear, obvious: rang gi rtsa che'i srog la'ang srung skyob med pa gsal por mngon/ it is clear that our our precious life is not safe (DLP 1); 4) mngon par 'byon/ advent, arrival dus kyi tha ma la khyed rnams kyi don du mngon par byon no/ in these last times, he came for your sake (1 Pet. 1:20 SV); 5) mngon par mdzad/ to reveal: khyed kyis de tsho tshang ma nga la mngon par mdzad gnang / you have revealed these things to me (2 Sam. 7:27 NTV).