H.H.: Honorific title meaning His Holiness.
hadas: See “khada.”
Han dynasty: An early and one of the great periods in Chinese history lasting 400 years from 206 BCE until 220 CE.
Haribhadra (8th century): One of the “seventeen great panditas” and commentator on Asanga’s Ornament of Clear Realization in Clarifying the Meaning.
Hashang Mahayana (eighth century): Chinese zen master who debated and was defeated by Kamalashila.
hatred: A form of aversion, which along with greed and ignorance, is one of the three forces that cause reincarnation.
Hayagriva (Horse Head Vajra Deity): Wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva having the wings of a garuda and at least one horse head in his hair. One of the “Eight Guardians of the Law” and one of the ten dharma protectors in the Lineage of Dorje Chang Buddha III. See “dharma protectors” and TANTRA.
heart, develop: See SEVEN JEWELS.
Heart Sutra: Very popular and influential Mahayana scripture that is a terse summary of the Prajnaparamita Sutra or the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. It describes the truth of emptiness realized in meditation by Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.
heavenly realms: There are many different levels and types of heavens, but they are all still within the world of samsara where one is subject to suffering, death, and reincarnation. The lowest level includes the six heavens of the desire sphere: the Heaven of the Four Great Kings and the lower celestial beings, Trayastrimsa or the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (ruled by Indra/Sakya),” Suyama (ruled by King Yama), Tusita (home of the future Buddha Maitreya), Sunirmita (the Heaven of Pleasant Transformations), and Paranirmita (abode of Mara). There are also heavens located in the form and formless worlds. The Christian concept of heaven would be located in the lower heavens of the desire sphere. Although the gods or devas and those living here may live for a very long time, they will still have to reincarnate and pay their karmic debts accumulated in previous lives when their merit has expired.
Hell of Uninterrupted Suffering: See “Infinite Hell.”
hell realms: The lowest realm of the six realms of reincarnation where beings are born to pay off their karmic debts. The beings in hell experience extreme coldness or hotness and various kinds of suffering and punishments. When their bad karma has run its course they will be reborn in better circumstances. See also “Infinite Hell” and “Vajra Hell.”
Heshang Moheyan (Hvashang Mahayana): Chinese zen master who advocated “sudden enlightenment.” In the 8th century in Tibet he lost a debate with Kamalashila who represented the gradual path of the Indians. It is said that he committed suicide after the debate and that Chinese assassins murdered Kamalashila shortly thereafter.
Hevajra Buddha (He-jin-gang Fo): Wrathful form of Akshobhya Buddha.
hidden texts: See “termas.”
hinayana (xiao-sheng, tek pa chung wa): Used to mean the lesser or lower path, so called because it holds as its goal the lesser goal of becoming an arhat and not a buddha. However, it is thought to have been misinterpreted by ancient translators as “hina” is considered an offensive word to those who understand the deeper meanings of Sanskrit and Pali and implies something quite base and not just holding a lesser goal as the comparable word in Chinese and Tibetan does. It is based on the literal words spoken openly while the Buddha lived in India. This approach emphasizes the first teachings of the Buddha which emphasized the careful examination of the mind and its confusion. This was the first wave of Dharma exported from India that became the dominant form in most of South-east Asia. Only the Theravada School survived which is often known in the West as vipashyana or Insight Meditation. See “Theravada Lineage” and “Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma.”
Holy ones or beings: See “saints.”
holy relics: See “shariras.”
holy states (scenes, events) (shentong): Term is used in two ways: when you practice the dharma, you can enter a holy state but it can also refer to miraculous phenomena that is caused by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Horse Head Vajra Deity (Hayagriva): Wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva having the wings of a garuda.
Hsuan-Tsang (596-664) (Xuan Zang): One of the foremost translators of Chinese Buddhist texts and a great enlightened master in his own right. He lived during the early Tang Dynasty, a golden age for Buddhism in China. During his early years as a monk in China he became aware of a number of doctrinal controversies concerning the Mahayana teachings, particularly those of the Yogachara. He then decided to journey to India to resolve his own doubts and to bring back authoritative texts that would help establish the correct teachings in China. After his fourteen (or according to some, seventeen) year journey, he established a translation bureau under imperial patronage. He succeeded in translating the major Yogachara texts as well as many others. His teachings and translations served as the foundation for what was considered the orthodox Consciousness-Only School in China. His most famous work is the Treatise on Consciousness-Only which is a commentary on Vasubandhu’s Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only (Trimsika), a commentary on his half-brother Asanga’s Treatise on the Stages of Yogic Practice (Yogachara Bhumi Shastra). Hsuan-tsang’s travels to India became the basis for the Chinese classic Journey to the West. See presentation in Las Vegas for statue of Xuan Zang
Hua Zang Si (temple): Buddhist Temple in San Francisco that opened December 2004.
Hua-yen: Chinese school of mahayana Buddhism based on the Avatamsaka Sutra.
Hui-neng (638-713): Sixth Chinese Patriarch of Zen school, an incarnation of Vajra Bodhisattva. See the Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch.
hungry ghost: See “ghosts.”
Huo Fo: Literally Living Buddha. Translated as “lama.” See “rinpoche.”
Hvashang Mahayana: See “Heshang Moheyan.”