Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as in Nepal. Smaller groups of practitioners can be found in Central Asia, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and some regions of Russia, such as Tuva, Buryatia, and Kalmykia.
Vajrayāna, also known as Mantrayāna, Mantranāya, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Buddhist tradition of tantric practice that developed in the Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia.
Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insect repellent.
The Tibetan people are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan, as well as in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Ophiocordyceps sinensis, known colloquially as caterpillar fungus, is an entomopathogenic fungus in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. It is mainly found in the meadows above 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) on the Tibetan Plateau in Tibet and the Himalayan regions of Bhutan, India, and Nepal. It parasitizes larvae of ghost moths and produces a fruiting body which is valued in traditional Chinese medicine as an aphrodisiac. Caterpillar fungus contains the compound cordycepin, an adenosine derivative. However, the fruiting bodies harvested in nature usually contain high amounts of arsenic and other heavy metals, so they are potentially toxic and sales have been strictly regulated by China's State Administration for Market Regulation since 2016.
Nyingma, often referred to as Ngangyur, is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan in the eighth century, during the reign of King Trisong Detsen.
Losar also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location tradition. The holiday is a new year's festival, celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar, which corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. In 2024, the new year commenced on 10 February and celebrations ran until the 12th of the same month. It also commenced the Year of the Male Wood Dragon.
Lepcha language, or Róng language, is a Himalayish language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim, India and parts of West Bengal, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Traditional Tibetan medicine, also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials and physical therapies to treat illness.
Semde (Tibetan: སེམས་སྡེ, Wylie: sems sde; Sanskrit: cittavarga, "mind division", "mind class" or "mind series" is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within the Dzogchen tradition. The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism traditionally classifies its Dzogchen teaching into three main divisions: Semde, Longdé and Menngagde.
Longdé is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Dzogchen, which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Hevajra is one of the main yidams in Tantric, or Vajrayana Buddhism. Hevajra's consort is Nairātmyā.
Ngamring County is a county of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. "Ngamring County, sometimes referred to as the gateway to Mount Kailash and Far West Tibet, is the barren area which divides the Raga Tsangpo and the Brahmaputra."
Lung means wind or breath. It is a key concept in the Vajrayana traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and has a variety of meanings. Lung is a concept that is particularly important to understandings of the subtle body and the trikaya. Traditional Tibetan medicine practitioner Tamdin Sither Bradley provides a summary:
The general description of rLung is that it is a subtle flow of energy and out of the five elements it is most closely connected with air. However it is not simply the air which we breathe or the wind in our stomachs, it goes much deeper than that. rLung is like a horse and the mind is the rider, if there is something wrong with the horse the rider will not be able to ride properly. Its description is that it is rough, light, cool, thin, hard, movable. The general function of rLung is to help growth, movement of the body, exhalation and inhalation and to aid the function of mind, speech and body. rLung helps to separate in our stomachs what we eat into nutrients and waste products. However its most important function is to carry the movements of mind, speech and body. The nature of rLung is both hot and cold.
Nub་Ben Namkhai Nyingpo is counted amongst the principal "twenty-five disciples" of Padmasambhava. Nub Ben Namkha'i Nyingpo was a realized practitioner of Śāntarakṣita’s tradition of Sutrayana "gradualist" Mahayana Buddhism as well as simultaneously being one of the most accomplished Tibetan practitioners of the East Mountain Teaching of Chan Buddhism, which transmits the "subitist" tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.
Vima Nyingthig, "Seminal Heart of Vimalamitra", in Tibetan Buddhism is one of the two "seminal heart" collections of the menngagde cycle Dzogchen, the other one being "Seminal Heart of the Dakini". Traditionally the teachings are ascribed to Vimalamitra, but they were codified and collated by their Tibetan discoverers in the 11th and 12th century. The main discoverer of the Vima Nyingthig was Zhangtön Tashi Dorjé.
Nyingma Gyubum is a collection of Vajrayana texts reflecting the teachings of the Nyingma ("Ancient") school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Lhasa is noted for its historic buildings and structures related to Tibetan Buddhism. Several major architectural works have been included as UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
Gyurme Dorje was a Scottish Tibetologist and writer.
