Tibetan words and phrases

Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word la-ma means "high mother", and reflects the qualities of the person who is called a lama.

thumb|Tibetan art|Tibetan illustration of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the post-mortem intermediate state (bardo). Some Tibetan Buddhists hold that when a being goes through the intermediate state, they will have visions of various deities. In some schools of Buddhism, bardo ( Wylie: bar do) or antarābhava (Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese: 中有, romanized in Chinese as zhōng yǒu and in Japanese as ''chū'u'') is an intermediate, transitional, or liminal state between death and rebirth. The concept arose soon after Gautama Buddha's death, with a number of earlier Buddhist schools accepting

In Tibetan Buddhism, a Tertön () is a person who is a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or terma. Many tertöns are considered to be incarnations of the twenty five main disciples of Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), who foresaw a dark time in Tibet. He and his consort Yeshe Tsogyal hid teachings to be found in the future to benefit beings. A vast system of transmission lineages developed. Scriptures from the Nyingma school were updated by terma discoveries, and terma teachings have guided many Tibetan Bon and Buddhist practitioners.

thumb|280px|A section of the Northern wall mural at the Lukhang Temple depicting both Tummo (inner fire) and [[Phowa (transference of consciousness)]]

hidden teachings in various Buddhist traditions

thumb|399x399px|The four Kalöns of the Kashag in 1938–39|alt=

Phowa (, ) is a tantric practice found in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It may be described as "transference of consciousness at the time of death", "mindstream transference", "the practice of conscious dying", or "enlightenment without meditation" (). In Tibetan Buddhism phowa is one of the Six yogas of Naropa and also appears in many other lineages and systems of teaching.

Tonglen is a Buddhist practice that involves breathing in the suffering of others and breathing out peace and healing. Its purpose is to cultivate compassion.

thumb|upright=1.2|Chöd practitioners at Boudhanath stupa

In Tibetan Buddhism, Ngöndro (, ) refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational practices or disciplines (Sanskrit: sādhanā) common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bon. They precede deity yoga.

thumb|280px|Tibetan letter "A" inside a thigle. The A, which corresponds to the sound ‘ahh’, represents kadag while the thigle represents lhun grub.

thumb|Torma or butter sculptures, Dhankar Gompa, [[Spiti]] thumb|Torma, Ralung Monastery, Tibet, 1993 thumb|right|Torma cakes offered on the sand mandala thumb|right|Tormas on a shrine thumb|right|Making tormas thumb|right|Monk making tormas in Sera Monastery in 1939

Tibetan expression used in greeting, congratulation, and good-luck wishes

thumb|right|265px|Milarepa, wearing the distinctive white shawl (zen) of a ngakpa

The samaya (, , pinyin: Sānmèiyē jiè; rōmaji: sonmaya kai), is a set of vows or precepts given to initiates of an esoteric Vajrayana Buddhist order as part of the abhiṣeka (empowerment or initiation) ceremony that creates a bond between the guru and disciple.

Semde (; Sanskrit: , "mind division", "mind class" or "mind series" is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within the Dzogchen (Great Perfection) tradition. The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism traditionally classifies its Dzogchen teaching into three main divisions: Semde, Longdé (Space Series) and Menngagde (Secret Instruction Series).