The Lotus Still Blooms (27 page)

Right Vew:
Perceiving all of life clearing and as it truly is. Looking deeply.

Rinpoche:
A highly educated lama who has passed many tests after years of study. The designation can be likened to that of Ph.D.

Samsara:
The myriad complexities of life with all of life’s lures and illusions. The endless cycle of birth, life and death and being stuck in that cycle.

Sangha:
A community of spiritually minded people, often ordained clery, that studies and practices the Dharma.

Seeds:
Thoughts held in the mind.

Shantideva:
The eighth-century Buddhist master of compassion. His prayer:

His classic,
A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way,
has instructed for 1,300 years.

The Six Perfections:
Six goals, ranging from generosity to wisdom, that enable one to cross over to the other shore of liberation, freedom and peace.

Store Consciousness:
The information that fills the subconscious mind.

Sutras:
Ancient sacred verses, which are most often chanted.

Tara:
Several incarnations of the divine feminine found in Buddhism. The name “Tara” means “she who liberates.” One of myriad awakened beings who love and care for others.

Thich Nhat Hanh:
A Zen Buddhist monk from Vietnam who now resides in the Dordogne region of France. He is regarded as a profound and perceptive teacher of Buddhism, and is the author of more than forty books.

The Three Dharma Seals:
Impermanence, nonself, and nirvana. These three need to be present in any teaching in order for it to be considered true. Understanding that impermanence and nonself, teachings on time and space, lead to nirvana, liberation.

Three Filters of Consciousness:
Emptiness, signlessness, aimlessness. They liberate us from fear, confusion, and sadness. Also called “Three Doors of Liberation.”

The Three Jewels:
Buddha, dharma and sangha. Here we take refuge. These three are a fundamental practice of Buddhism.

Tonglin:
Tibetan for giving and receiving. An eleventh-century meditation practice.

Truth:
That which never changes, which is eternally the highest spiritual teaching.

Tulku:
A child emanation that is pure and noble; recognized by adult lamas as being the return of a previous enlightened one.

Wheel of Dharma:
A teaching by the Buddha in the Deer Park Sermon, setting the wheel in motion.

Best-selling author Joan Gattuso brings deep, personal insight to all her writing. Her in-depth studies with His Holiness the Dalai Lama have given her the necessary background for her unique look at Tibetan Buddhism. A dynamic speaker and the author of
A Course in Love
and
A Course in Life
, both of which have been translated into several languages, she is also a Unity minister in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Gattuso, whose spiritual path has taken her around the world to study with renowned spiritual leaders, lives in Ohio with her husband, David Alexander, and her two dogs.