yakshas (yaksas): One of the eight groups of celestial beings. Guardians of the earth’s treasures, mountain spirits. Their king is Lord Vaishravana.
Yama, King : Bodhisattva assigned by the Buddhas to rule the ghosts and hell realms, but he must not be thought of as the King of the Ghosts, because he is a Bodhisattva and ghosts are ordinary beings. He resides in the Suyama Heaven, the third heaven of the Desire World. Also considered a dharma protector and as one of the “Eight Guardians of the Law” and one of the ten dharma protectors in the Lineage of Dorje Chang Buddha III. See “Becoming a Holy Being,” “dharma protectors” and TANTRA.
Yamataka: Both Manjushri and Amitabha Buddha manifest in this wrathful form as protectors of the dharma. 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.
yangsi: “Young reincarnation;” name given to a child reincarnation of famous rinpoche.
yasas: Honor or fame. One of the “eight winds.”
Yeshe Norbu (yishinubu): Wish-fulfilling Jewel.
Yeshe Tsogyal (eighth-ninth centuries) (Yexi Cuojia): Tibetan consort and chief disciple of Guru Padmasambhava. Current reincarnation is Venerable Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche. See “Nyingma Lineage.”
yidam mandala (benzun tánchéng): The complete visualization that includes not only one’s “yidam,” but all the associated phenomena.
yidam, ista-devata (satyadevata): Refers to a deity representing enlightenment in a male or female, peaceful or wrathful form, who corresponds to the individual psychological makeup of the practitioner. Yidams are manifestations of the sambhogakaya. They are visualized during meditative practice and are regarded as being inseparable from the mind of the meditator. In short, a yidam is the practitioner’s personal or main deity for Tantric practice; i.e., the deity with which the practitioner has the strongest connection. Yidam is sometimes referred to as one’s meditational deity or one’s tutelary deity. See TANTRA.
yin and yang (yinyang): Concept that originates in ancient Chinese philosophy and metaphysics, describing two primal opposing but complementary forces found in all things in the universe. Yin, the darker element, is passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds to the night; yang, the brighter element, is active, light, masculine, upward-seeking and corresponds to the day.
Yisinubu (Yeshe Norbu): Tibetan honorific term that means Wish-fulfilling Jewel.”
Yoga Fundamental Dharma: Essental esoteric dharma that students may request from their vajra master. Sometimes referred to as “Guru Yoga.”
Yogachara School (Wei-shi zong, sem tsampa): One of the two major schools of mahayana Buddhism in ancient India. Founded by Asanga. Also called the mind-only or cittamatrin school and formed the foundation for the T’ian T’ai (Tendai) and Fa-hsiang or Consciousness-only schools in China as well as the Great Perfection and Mahamudra Dharmas in Tibet. See “Five Treatises of Maitreya.”
yogin/yogi: Sanskrit term for a male practioner of various forms of spiritual practice. Female is yogini.
yojana: A measurement of distance described anciently as one days’ march. It’s exact value varies a great deal, probably due to differences in local standards. It is sometimes given the values of thirty-three, fifteen, or five and a half miles.
yuan-ji: To die in a state of liberation.
Yu-Huang Heavenly King: The Jade Emperor of Chinese mythology or the Daoist ruler of heaven and earth who is also a dharma protector.
Yun sculpture: Innovative form of sculpture invented by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
Yundeng Jiangcuo Rinpoche: Nyingma dharma king who is a current nirmanakaya incarnation of Master Milarepa.