Appendix C · Glossary of Terms

How to use this glossary

When you meet an unfamiliar term while reading the main text, turn here. Each entry is laid out in the following format:

Chinese term · English (Skt: sanskrit; Pali: pali) A one-sentence definition (stating only the minimal meaning, not unfolding the doctrine). First appears: the earliest scripture or treatise + its Taishō number. In this book: the chapters where the term is principally developed (chapter numbers, comma-separated). Distinguish: (optional) easily confused near-synonyms, or the different ways the term is used across different texts.

Principles of arrangement

1. Ordered by radical / stroke count — Chinese terms are sorted by the stroke count of their first character, fewest strokes first, and within the same stroke count by radical order. This follows the conventions of traditional dictionaries compiled by the old masters.
2. One term, multiple meanings, kept separate — for example, tathāgatagarbha carries different senses in the Śrīmālā Sūtra and in the Awakening of Faith, so it is listed in separate entries.
3. Sanskrit given in IAST romanization — a reader who wishes to consult English-language scholarship can search the PTS or Oxford dictionaries directly using the IAST form.
4. "First appears" follows the earliest compilation — if a concept is already present in embryonic form in the Āgamas and only matures later in the Yogācāra or Prajñāpāramitā treatises, the "first appears" entry follows the Āgamas; the "in this book" chapter then points to the locus of its core exposition.
5. No duplication of Reader's-Map §4 — section four of the Reader's Map already gives a precursor table of twelve terms; this appendix expands the set to 62 terms, covering the core technical vocabulary that recurs throughout the Eight-Part Symphony.

Inclusion principle: this appendix, v1.0, contains 62 entries, covering the core technical terms that recur throughout the Eight-Part Symphony. Terms not included here have already been glossed on the spot in the main text, in parentheses or with a dash (BOOK_STYLE discipline two); a reader wanting a fuller reference search should consult the CBETA electronic canon, Ding Fubao's Dictionary of Buddhist Studies, or the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. This appendix will be supplemented in step with the new terms introduced as the other axes of Waken open up (the expanded annotation chapters, and the launch of the paper layer for the practice axis and the realization axis), but no target count is set — the sole criterion for inclusion is "the words a reader actually meets in this book."

I. 2–3 strokes

eight consciousnesses (aṣṭa-vijñāna) · 八識

The Yogācāra framework that divides mind-consciousness into eight layers: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, manas, and ālaya. First appears: Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra (T16 No. 676); Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra (T30 No. 1579). In this book: 3.3 The Threefold Transformation: A Panorama of the Eight Consciousnesses; 3.4–3.7, the dedicated chapters on each consciousness. Distinguish: the Āgamas and the Prajñāpāramitā corpus do not posit eight consciousnesses, speaking only of "six consciousnesses"; the eight consciousnesses are an establishment of the Yogācāra school, not a teaching common to all of Buddhism.

imagined / dependent / perfected nature (trisvabhāva) · 三性

Three angles for contemplating one and the same object: the imagined nature (falsely superimposed), the dependent nature (conditionally arisen), and the perfected nature (as it inherently is). First appears: Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, "Characteristics of All Dharmas" chapter (T16 No. 676). In this book: 3.1; 4.1 (the equality of the dependent nature); 5.10 (from the hundred dharmas to the Diamond, an ascent of dimension). Distinguish: read alongside the "three non-natures" (non-nature of character, non-nature of arising, non-nature in the ultimate sense); the three natures state the aspect of "being," the three non-natures state the aspect of "non-being."

threefold transformation (trividha-pariṇāma) · 三能變

Yogācāra divides the activity of the eight consciousnesses into three layers of transformation: the first transformation (ālaya), the second transformation (manas), and the third transformation (the first six consciousnesses). First appears: Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 1 (T31 No. 1585). In this book: 3.3 The Threefold Transformation: A Panorama of the Eight Consciousnesses.

thirty-seven factors of awakening (saptatriṃśat bodhipakṣa-dharma) · 三十七道品

The four foundations of mindfulness, four right efforts, four bases of spiritual power, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of awakening, and the noble eightfold path — together, the thirty-seven branches of practice taught by the Buddha himself. First appears: many places in the Āgamas (T1–T2, Nos. 1/26/99/125); gathered and expounded in the treatises in the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra, fascicle 19. In this book: 1.10 The Method Made Ready Two Thousand Five Hundred Years Ago.

Great Vehicle (mahāyāna) · 大乘

The system of teachings grounded in the bodhisattva path, taking the benefit of others as its practice and buddhahood as its ultimate fruit, in contrast to the vehicle of the hearers and the vehicle of the solitary realizers. First appears: the Prajñāpāramitā corpus; Lotus Sūtra, "Skillful Means" chapter. In this book: Part VII, Gathering-In (the One Buddha Vehicle's drawing of the three into one).

II. 4–5 strokes

middle way (madhyamā-pratipad) · 中道

Neither grasping at existence nor grasping at emptiness — the precise position that leans on neither of the two sides. First appears: the Āgamas (T1 No. 26, Madhyama Āgama, "Simile of the Arrow," and elsewhere); systematized in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. In this book: running through all eight parts, especially in each part's "middle-way correction" passages, and 4.7 The Living Eye. Distinguish: near in sense to "non-duality" and "freedom from extremes," but not wholly identical — the middle way is a stance of practice, non-duality is a description of the nature of dharmas, and freedom from extremes is a method of debate.

five aggregates (pañca-skandha) · 五蘊

The five aggregations that constitute the "self": form (matter), feeling (sensation), perception (cognition), formations (volitional activity), and consciousness (discernment). First appears: the Āgamas' teaching of the four and five aggregates (T2 No. 99). In this book: 2.4 Illuminating the Five Aggregates as All Empty; 2.5 Form Is Itself Emptiness.

the hundred dharmas in five categories · 五位百法

Yogācāra divides all dharmas into five great categories totaling one hundred kinds: consciousnesses (8), mental factors (51), form (11), dissociated formations (24), and the unconditioned (6). First appears: Mahāyāna Śatadharmā-vidyādvāra Śāstra (T31 No. 1614). In this book: all of Part III, especially 3.1.

the fivefold classification of teachings · 五教判

Fazang of the Huayan school classified the teachings into five: the Hīnayāna teaching, the initial teaching of the Mahāyāna, the final teaching, the sudden teaching, and the perfect teaching. First appears: Treatise on the Divisions of the One-Vehicle Doctrine of Huayan (T45 No. 1866). In this book: 8.2 The Place of Yogācāra Within the Fivefold Classification of Teachings.

mental factors (caitta / caitasika) · 心所法

The mental activities that arise in conjunction with the king-mind; Yogācāra posits fifty-one of them, in six classes: five omnipresent, five object-specific, eleven wholesome, six root afflictions, twenty secondary afflictions, and four indeterminate. First appears: Abhidharmasamuccaya; Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicles 5–6. In this book: 3.8–3.11.

the mind without obstruction · 心無罣礙

A phrase from the Heart Sūtra, meaning that the mind is not blocked by any object, thought, or attachment. First appears: Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya Sūtra (T8 No. 251). In this book: 2.10 Passing Through Terror to Ultimate Nirvāṇa.

empowerment (adhiṣṭhāna) · 加持

The functioning by which the power of the Buddhas' and bodhisattvas' original vows resonates with sentient beings' generation of the aspiration and renders them fit to receive the Dharma — not a one-directional "giving." First appears: Avataṃsaka Sūtra, "Worthy Leader" chapter; many places in the tantras. In this book: 1.2 The Dharma-Flow — From the Buddhas of the Three Times to Your Hands.

manas (manas-vijñāna; the seventh consciousness) · 末那識

The sense of "self" that operates ceaselessly yet remains unseen, grasping the perceiving-aspect of the ālaya-vijñāna as "I." First appears: Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra; Mahāyānasaṃgraha, fascicle 1. In this book: 3.5 The Unseen Grasping at Self; 4.5 The Projection of Manas.

the immeasurable original life-span · 本壽無量

The beginningless and endless temporal structure of the dharma-body; the "Life-Span of the Tathāgata" chapter teaches that the Buddha in fact attained buddhahood in the remote past, and that the present appearance of a short life-span is a skillful means. First appears: Lotus Sūtra, "Life-Span of the Tathāgata" chapter (T9 No. 262). In this book: 7.11.

the four aids to penetration · 四加行

The four stages of contemplative practice prior to penetrating suchness: warmth, summit, forbearance, and the highest worldly dharma. First appears: Abhidharmakośa, fascicle 23; Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra, fascicle 35. In this book: 3.15 (supplementary chapter).

the fourfold dharma-realm · 四法界

The classification of the dharma-realm established by Dushun and Chengguan of the Huayan school: the dharma-realm of phenomena, the dharma-realm of principle, the dharma-realm of the unobstructed interpenetration of principle and phenomena, and the dharma-realm of the unobstructed interpenetration of phenomenon and phenomenon. First appears: Discernments of the Dharma-Realm of Huayan (Dushun's original is lost; Zongmi's commentary, T45 No. 1884); systematized in Chengguan's commentaries and subcommentaries. In this book: 8.3 The Fourfold Dharma-Realm.

the four wisdoms · 四智

The four kinds of wisdom accomplished by transforming consciousness into wisdom: the great mirror wisdom (transforming the ālaya), the wisdom of equality (transforming manas), the wisdom of subtle discernment (transforming the sixth consciousness), and the wisdom of accomplishing what is to be done (transforming the first five). First appears: Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 10; Buddhabhūmi Śāstra, fascicle 3. In this book: 3.16 Transforming Consciousness into Wisdom — Coming Home.

the four clear and decisive instructions on purity · 四種清淨明誨

The four root precepts taught by the Buddha himself in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra: cutting off lust, cutting off killing, cutting off stealing, and cutting off great false speech. First appears: Śūraṅgama Sūtra, fascicle 6 (T19 No. 945). In this book: 6.7.

III. 6–7 strokes

shared karma · 共業

The karmic force that sentient beings create together and experience together, in contrast to "individual karma" (received by one alone). First appears: Abhidharmakośa; Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 2. In this book: 1.1 A Single Aspiration, and the Shared Karma Is Already in Motion.

Indra's net · 因陀羅網

A Huayan simile: the net of Indra's celestial palace bears countless jewels, each jewel reflecting every other endlessly. One of the ten profound gates, it illustrates the mutual identity and mutual entry of the dharma-realm. First appears: Avataṃsaka Sūtra, "Worthy Leader" chapter and "Entering the Dharma-Realm" chapter. In this book: 8.6.

tathāgatagarbha (tathāgatagarbha) · 如來藏

The awakened nature, the buddha-nature, inherently complete in every sentient being from the very beginning. First appears: Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra (T16 No. 666); Śrīmālā Sūtra (T12 No. 353); Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (T12 No. 374). In this book: 1.1 (the field of shared karma); 6.4 (all dharmas are originally the tathāgatagarbha). Distinguish: the Śrīmālā Sūtra posits two gates, the "empty tathāgatagarbha" and the "non-empty tathāgatagarbha"; the Awakening of Faith instead subsumes them under "one mind, two gates" (the gate of mind as suchness and the gate of mind as arising-and-ceasing); the two stances differ, and this book unfolds them in separate entries in the corresponding chapters.

coursing deeply · 行深

A phrase from the Heart Sūtra, meaning to contemplate deeply into the aggregate of formations (the constructive flow of mental activity). First appears: Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya Sūtra (T8 No. 251). In this book: 2.3.

self-recapitulation · 自我重演

A term of this book: a structural feature of the Diamond Sūtra, in which one and the same question is raised a second time in the latter half, but answered from a deeper angle. First appears: an original reading of this book, grounded in the Diamond Sūtra's structure of a former and a latter division. In this book: 5.7.

deluded imaginings · 妄想

The Śūraṅgama Sūtra's teaching of the five deluded imaginings: solid imagining (the root of the form aggregate), illusory-bright imagining (the root of the feeling aggregate), interfusing imagining (the root of the perception aggregate), hidden-and-subtle imagining (the root of the formations aggregate), and the imagining of formless emptiness (the root of the consciousness aggregate). First appears: Śūraṅgama Sūtra, fascicle 10 (T19 No. 945). In this book: 6.13 The Five Deluded Imaginings and the Road to Quiescent Cessation.

the "is-is not" triadic formula · 即非三段式

A term of this book: the syntactic pattern that recurs throughout the Diamond Sūtra — "what is called X is not X; that is what is named X." First appears: Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (T8 No. 235). In this book: 5.1 The "Is-Is Not" Triadic Formula.

ālaya-vijñāna (ālaya-vijñāna; the eighth consciousness; the store-consciousness) · 阿賴耶識

The deepest storehouse of mind-consciousness, holding all seeds; it stores (as the place perfumed), is stored (as the repository where seeds are lodged), and is grasped as a store (taken by manas to be the self). First appears: Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, "Characteristics of Mind, Mentation, and Consciousness" chapter; Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra, fascicle 51. In this book: 3.4 The Hard Drive of Life.

Verses on the Structure of the Eight Consciousnesses · 八識規矩頌

The collection of verses composed by Xuanzang setting out the nature and characteristics of the eight consciousnesses; an outline primer of Yogācāra. First appears: Verses on the Structure of the Eight Consciousnesses (T45 No. 1865). In this book: 3.3 The Threefold Transformation: A Panorama of the Eight Consciousnesses.

IV. 8–9 strokes

dharma-body (dharma-kāya) · 法身

One of the Buddha's three bodies (dharma-body, reward-body, manifestation-body), referring to the very substance of the truth that the Buddha realizes, teaches, and rests upon. First appears: the Āgamas (the Buddha says, "to see dependent arising is to see the Dharma; to see the Dharma is to see the Buddha"); systematized in the Mahāyāna treatises. In this book: 5.8 The Tathāgata Cannot Be Seen Through Marks; 7.11 Awakened in the Remote Past; 8.7 The Ocean Seal Samādhi.

vessel of the Dharma · 法器

The capacity able to hold the teaching; in this book, extended to mean the attention and concentration that the contemporary reader has repaired. First appears: the Āgamas; Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra, fascicle 26 (the provisions for the wisdom of hearing). In this book: 1.9 Is the Vessel of the Dharma Ready?

nature-origination · 性起

A Huayan term, set in contrast to "dependent arising" — nature-origination holds that all dharmas flow forth from the self-nature of the buddha-nature, while dependent arising holds that all dharmas arise from the convergence of causes and conditions. First appears: Exploring the Mystery of the Avataṃsaka (T35 No. 1733). In this book: 8.4 From "Covering" to Nature-Origination. Distinguish: nature-origination is not divorced from dependent arising; it is a deeper account of dependent arising, and the two are fully interfused within the perfect teaching.

foundations of mindfulness (smṛtyupasthāna) · 念處

The four foundations of mindfulness: contemplating the body as impure, contemplating feeling as suffering, contemplating the mind as impermanent, and contemplating dharmas as without self. First appears: the Āgamas; the Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness. In this book: 1.10, the first branch of the thirty-seven factors of awakening.

emptiness (śūnyatā) · 空

Not "nothing," but "no independent, unchanging self-nature." First appears: the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras (T8 No. 235 and others); systematized in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. In this book: all of Part II; all of Part V. Distinguish: emptiness ≠ nonexistence; emptiness ≠ nothing; emptiness ≠ nihilism. The "middle-way correction" that runs throughout this book exists precisely to guard against this misreading.

the seven parables of the Lotus · 法華七譬喻

The seven parables of the Lotus Sūtra: the burning house, the prodigal son, the medicinal herbs, the conjured city, the jewel in the robe, the jewel in the topknot, and the physician's children. First appears: several chapters of the Lotus Sūtra (T9 No. 262). In this book: 7.3–7.7.

the Lotus–Avataṃsaka pairing · 法華—華嚴對偶

A term of this book: Part VII, Gathering-In (the Lotus), and Part VIII, Manifestation (the Avataṃsaka), form a "drawing-in / manifesting-the-real" pairing; the former gathers in by drawing the three into one, the latter opens ten windows to make the real appear. First appears: an original framework of this book. In this book: 7.12 From Star to Black Hole; all of Part VIII.

the feeling aggregate · 受陰

The feeling aggregate among the five aggregates; among the fifty skandha-māras of the aggregates in the Śūraṅgama, the ten demons of the feeling aggregate refer specifically to the subtle misrecognitions arising from the feeling aggregate during meditative absorption. First appears: Śūraṅgama Sūtra, fascicle 9. In this book: 6.9 The Ten Demons of the Feeling Aggregate.

clinging (upādāna) · 取

One of the twelve links of dependent arising; the tight grasping that will not release the object of craving. First appears: the Āgamas' discourses on the twelve links of dependent arising (T2 No. 99). In this book: 2.8 A New Reading of the Twelve Links.

suffering (duḥkha) · 苦

The first of the four noble truths; not merely emotional pain, but the inherent unsatisfactoriness of conditioned dharmas themselves. First appears: the Āgamas; the Discourse on the Four Truths. In this book: 1.10; 2.5 Form Is Itself Emptiness (the assembly line of suffering).

V. 10–12 strokes

Yogācāra (vijñapti-mātratā) · 唯識

Buddhism's most precise descriptive system for "how the mind works"; the underlying grammar of the Eight-Part Symphony. First appears: Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra (T16 No. 676); Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra, fascicle 76; Cheng Weishi Lun. In this book: all of Part III; also 1.3, 4.1, 5.10.

prajñā (prajñā) · 般若

Not knowledge, but the capacity to see the true character of reality directly; the foremost of the six perfections, and their eye. First appears: the Āgamas (prajñā-wisdom as one of the three trainings); systematized in the Prajñāpāramitā corpus. In this book: all of Parts II and V.

Ocean Seal Samādhi (sāgaramudrā-samādhi) · 海印三昧

The root samādhi within the Buddha's Huayan realm; as when the wind over a great ocean stills and all images appear at once on its surface, it illustrates all dharmas manifesting simultaneously within a single thought-moment of mind. First appears: Avataṃsaka Sūtra, "Worthy Leader" chapter and "Manifestation of the Tathāgata" chapter. In this book: 8.1 The Ocean Seal Samādhi and the Saying of the Unsayable; 8.7 The Ocean Seal Samādhi and Requesting the Buddha to Remain in the World.

the gate of revealing the Dharma through concrete things to give rise to understanding · 託事顯法生解門

One of the ten profound gates of Huayan; through concrete things (a single flower, a single mote of dust) it manifests profound teaching, awakening understanding. First appears: The Ten Profound Gates of the One Vehicle of Huayan (T45 No. 1868); Exploring the Mystery of the Avataṃsaka (T1733). In this book: 8.9 Prelude to Sudhana's Southward Journey.

nirvāṇa (nirvāṇa) · 涅槃

The state of quiescent cessation in which afflictions are forever exhausted and the round of birth-and-death is forever cut off; not "death," not "nothingness." First appears: the Āgamas; the Nirvāṇa Sūtra (T12 No. 374). In this book: 2.10 Ultimate Nirvāṇa; 7.6 The Parable of the Conjured City (provisional nirvāṇa vs. ultimate nirvāṇa).

suchness (tathatā) · 真如

The inherent, true state of dharmas; as they are, beyond speech, neither existent nor nonexistent. First appears: present in the Āgamas, the Prajñāpāramitā, and the Yogācāra systems alike, its meaning progressively deepening. In this book: 3.14 The Unconditioned Dharmas; 5.6 One Should Give Rise to a Mind That Rests Upon Nothing.

motivation (cetanā, i.e. the mental factor "volition") · 動機

The mental factor that drives body, speech, and mind to create karma; Yogācāra regards it as the core of karma. First appears: the Āgamas; Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 3. In this book: 1.6 To Become Aware Is Already to Turn.

maturation (vipāka) · 異熟

The fruit-retribution drawn forth by karma; the cause (karma) and the fruit (the experiencing of retribution) ripen at a different time and in a different moral nature. First appears: the Āgamas; Abhidharmakośa, fascicle 6; Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 2. In this book: 3.4 The Ālaya-vijñāna (also called the maturation-consciousness).

the sixth mind-consciousness (mano-vijñāna) · 第六意識

The only consciousness among the eight able to reflect back upon itself; it creates karma and, at the same time, turns the defiled into the pure. First appears: the Āgamas (the teaching of the six consciousnesses); Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 5. In this book: 3.6 The Only Consciousness That Can Look in a Mirror.

the ten great vows of Samantabhadra · 普賢十大願

The ten great vows of practice taught by the Buddha himself in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, "Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra" chapter: to pay homage to all Buddhas, to praise the Tathāgatas, to make abundant offerings, to repent of karmic obstructions, to rejoice in others' merit, to request the turning of the Dharma-wheel, to request the Buddhas to remain in the world, to follow the Buddhas in study always, to accord with sentient beings constantly, and to dedicate all merit universally. First appears: the fortieth fascicle of the Forty-Fascicle Avataṃsaka, "Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra" chapter (T10 No. 293). In this book: all of Part VIII takes these as its spine; 8.11 The Ten Great Vows Beneath the Ten Windows.

Sudhana · 善財

The youthful protagonist of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra's "Entering the Dharma-Realm" chapter; on his southward journey he makes fifty-three visits, calling on spiritual friends one after another until he enters the dharma-realm. First appears: Avataṃsaka Sūtra, "Entering the Dharma-Realm" chapter. In this book: 8.9 Prelude to Sudhana's Southward Journey.

ignorance (avidyā) · 無明

The fundamental error of not knowing the true character of reality and grasping it upside-down; the first link of the twelve links of dependent arising. First appears: the Āgamas' discourses on the twelve links of dependent arising. In this book: 2.8 Ignorance Is the Inversion of Perception.

the unconditioned (dharmas) · 無為法

Dharmas that exist inherently, not fashioned in dependence on causes and conditions; Yogācāra posits six kinds: space, analytical cessation, non-analytical cessation, immovable cessation, the cessation of perception and feeling, and suchness. First appears: the Abhidharma; the Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas. In this book: 3.14 The Unconditioned Dharmas — the End Point of the Hundred Dharmas.

generating the aspiration (cittotpāda; bodhicitta) · 發心

The fundamental aspiration to resolve upon buddhahood and to benefit all sentient beings; the starting point of Mahāyāna practice. First appears: the Āgamas (the mind of renunciation); systematized in the Mahāyāna sūtras (bodhicitta). In this book: 1.1 A Single Aspiration, and the Shared Karma Is Already in Motion.

opening, showing, awakening, entering · 開示悟入

The four stages of the one great causal matter for which the Buddha appears in the world, as set out in the Lotus Sūtra's "Skillful Means" chapter: opening (the Buddha's insight), showing (the Buddha's insight), awakening to (the Buddha's insight), and entering (the Buddha's insight). First appears: Lotus Sūtra, "Skillful Means" chapter (T9 No. 262). In this book: 7.2.

VI. 13 or more strokes

perfect penetration (pariniṣpanna) · 圓通

In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, twenty-five bodhisattvas each describe the gate of practice through which they perfected their realization and penetration; Avalokiteśvara's perfect penetration through the hearing faculty is the one the Buddha specially praises as the most accessible. First appears: Śūraṅgama Sūtra, fascicles 5–6 (T19 No. 945). In this book: 6.5 The Twenty-Five Perfect Penetrations.

seed(s) (bīja) / actualization (abhisamācāra) · 種子 / 現行

The Yogācāra doctrine of perfuming: the latent force that an action leaves behind is called a seed; the activation of a seed is called actualization; the actualization in turn perfumes new seeds; and so the cycle runs. First appears: Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra; Mahāyānasaṃgraha, fascicle 2; Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 2. In this book: 1.1 (the seeds of shared karma); 3.4 (the seeds of the ālaya).

contributing condition (adhipati-pratyaya) · 增上緣

One of the four conditions; a condition that does not directly produce the fruit but can assist the fruit to arise — like sunlight for a plant. First appears: Abhidharmasamuccaya; Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 7. In this book: 1.5 Using AI Well as a Contributing Condition; 4.6 How the Buddha Would Use AI.

mirror-image · 鏡像

A term of this book: borrowing the Yogācāra structure of "perceived-aspect / perceiving-aspect," it refers to the fact that what the other party reflects back in an interaction with AI is, in truth, the image of the questioner's own mind-consciousness. First appears: an original usage of this book (grounded in the mechanism by which manas grasps the perceiving-aspect as the self). In this book: 4.4 The Person in the Mirror; 4.5 The Projection of Manas; 6.10 The Ten Demons of the Perception Aggregate (the mirror-image other).

rejoicing in merit · 隨喜功德

The fifth of Samantabhadra's ten great vows; to give rise to a mind of gladness at another's good deeds is itself to accomplish equal merit. First appears: Avataṃsaka Sūtra, "Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra" chapter; many places in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. In this book: 8.5 Why a Single Thought of Rejoicing Is the Perfect Clarity of Host and Guest.

one should give rise to a mind that rests upon nothing · 應無所住而生其心

A phrase from the Diamond Sūtra, meaning the mind that gives rise to wondrous function while grasping at nothing. First appears: Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (T8 No. 235). In this book: 5.6 Resting on Nothing and Giving Rise to Mind, Simultaneously. Distinguish: easily misread as "no-mind" or "cutting off thought"; this book sets a special middle-way correction in the corresponding chapter.

the true character of all dharmas · 諸法實相

The central proposition of the Lotus Sūtra; the inherent, true state of all dharmas, which only a Buddha together with a Buddha can fathom to the end. First appears: Lotus Sūtra, "Skillful Means" chapter (T9 No. 262). In this book: 7.1 The True Character of All Dharmas and the Ten Suchnesses.

transforming consciousness into wisdom · 轉識成智

The core proposition of realization in Yogācāra; the process by which the eight consciousnesses (deluded discrimination) are transformed into the four wisdoms (pure wisdom). First appears: Cheng Weishi Lun, fascicle 10; Buddhabhūmi Śāstra, fascicle 3. In this book: 3.16 Transforming Consciousness into Wisdom — Coming Home.

the consciousness aggregate · 識陰

The consciousness aggregate among the five aggregates; among the fifty skandha-māras of the aggregates in the Śūraṅgama, the ten demons of the consciousness aggregate refer specifically to the subtlest graspings that come last, just before great and complete awakening. First appears: Śūraṅgama Sūtra, fascicle 10. In this book: 6.12 The Ten Demons of the Consciousness Aggregate.

Avalokiteśvara, the Sovereign Observer (avalokiteśvara) · 觀自在

An alternative translation of the bodhisattva Guanshiyin (Avalokiteśvara); Xuanzang took the sense of "sovereign," while Kumārajīva took the sense of "the world's sounds." First appears: Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya Sūtra (T8 No. 251); Lotus Sūtra, "Universal Gate of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara" chapter (T9 No. 262). In this book: 2.2 A Closed Loop of Awakening; 7.10 The Compassionate Responsive Manifestation and the Etymology of the Name.

Editorial status

• v1.0 (2026-04-27): 62 entries, covering the core technical terms that recur throughout the Eight-Part Symphony.
• Subsequent versions: new terms will be added in step as the other axes of Waken open up (the expanded annotation chapters, the launch of the paper layer for the practice axis, the launch of the paper layer for the realization axis, and so on). No target count and no schedule are set — the sole criterion for inclusion is "the words a reader actually meets in this book."
• Feedback: if a reader meets, in the main text, a term not yet included in this appendix, please open and tag an issue on the GitHub repo; it will be given priority for inclusion when subsequent versions are edited.

Reference conventions for this appendix:

• Ding Fubao, Dictionary of Buddhist Studies
• Ven. Ciyi (ed.), Foguang Dictionary
• The Academic Terminology Database of the Taishō Tripiṭaka
• Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Buswell & Lopez, 2014)