Buddhism by the Numbers

2 Accumulations: merit and wisdom

2 Buddha bodies: Dharmakaya and Rupakaya

2 Obscurations: negative emotions and conceptual obscurations

2 Stages of Tantra: Generation and Completion

2 Truths: Conventional Truth and Ultimate Truth

2 Types of Meditation: stabilizing meditation (shamatha/calm abiding) and analytical meditation (vipassana)

4 Groups of People (1): Those who go from darkness to darkness, those who go from light to darkness, those who go from darkness to light, those who go from light to light.

4 Groups of People (2): Those who look after themselves and ignore others, those who look after others and ignore themselves, those who neglect themselves as well as others, those who look after themselves as well as others.

4 Guardian Kings: kings of the four directions who can be found on murals at the entrance to most Tibetan Buddhist temples: Dhritarastra (east), Virudhaka (south), Virupaksa (west), and Vaishravana (north)

4 Hallmarks of Correct View: all conditioned existence is impermanent; all deluded experiences are suffering; all phenomena are empty and lack self-identity; nirvana/liberation is true peace.

4 Holy Realms: Sravaka (sounder-hearer Arhat), Praetyka-Buddha (those enlightened to conditions), Bodhisattva, Buddha

4 Immeasurables: 
          May all beings know happiness and the causes of happiness (loving kindness)

          May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering (compassion)

          May they never be separate from the highest bliss (sympathetic joy)

          May they come to rest in the great equanimity free from attachment and aversion
                (equanimity)

4 Maras: Devaputra, death, defilements, contaminated aggregates

4 Metaphors: thinking of oneself as someone who is sick, of the spiritual friend as a doctor, of the dharma as the remedy, and of practicing his instructions as the way to recover

4 Noble Disciplines: avoiding to respond to: anger with anger; physical harm with physical harm; criticism with criticism; and verbal argument with verbal argument.

4 Noble Truths: suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, the path that leads beyond suffering

4 Obscurations: negative emotions, karmic obscurations, conceptual obscurations, and obscurations of habitual tendencies

4 Opponents Powers (to purify negative karma): strong regret; apply antidote; promise not to engage in negative action again (make strong resolution); power of the object

4 Purities (in Tantric practice): place, body, enjoyments, action

4 Reliances: rely on the message of the teacher, not on his personality; rely on the meaning, not just the words; rely on the real meaning, not on the provisional one; and rely on our wisdom mind, not on your ordinary, judgmental one.

4 Reminders: the preciousness of our human rebirth, the truth of impermanence and death, the law of cause and effect (karma), and the shortcomings of samsara

4 Royal Monasteries (in Lhasa): Tengye Ling, Tsomön Ling, Kunde Ling, Drib Tsemchok Ling—Gelug monasteries whose abbots were often picked to serve as a Regent of Tibet during the search for and the minority of a reincarnated Dalai Lama.

4 Sacred Hills of Central Tibet: Hepori, Chakpori, Chuwori, and Zadong Gongpori

4 Seals (sometimes called the ‘Four Keys of the Buddha's teaching’): all composite things are impermanent; all emotions are painful;  all phenomena are empty; nirvana is beyond extremes.

4 Sights (of Siddhartha Gautama, leading to his search): a sick person, an old person, a corpse, and a world-renouncing ascetic.

4 Tantra Sections: Kriya, Charya, Yoga, and Anuttarayoga

4 Ways of Attracting Beings: being generous, speaking in a pleasant manner, teaching in accordance with individuals’ needs, and acting in accordance with what he teaches

5 Aggregates (Sans. skandhas): form (rupa)—earth, water, fire, wind; feeling (vedana)—pleasant, unpleasant, neutral; perception (samjna); volition (samskara); and consciousness (vijnana)—visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, mental.

5 Buddha Families (or 5 Supreme Buddhas): central: white or blue Vairochana (Illuminator); east: white Vajrasattva (Purity) or blue Akshobya (Unshakeable); west: red Amitabha (Radiance); north: green Amoghasiddhi; south: yellow Ratnasambhava. These may vary in arrangement according to the lineage or tradition.

5 Chakras: brow, crown of the head, throat, heart, and four finger widths under the navel.

5 Circumstantial opportunities: appearing of Buddha; giving teachings; non-existence of Buddhist teachings without degeneration; existence of followers of Buddhist teachings; and having compassion for others

5 Dhyani Buddhas: Amitabha, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Vairochana, Amoghasiddhi

5 Faults (to meditation): laziness, forgetting object of meditation, non-application, over-application, mental laxity/agitation

5 Heinous Crimes: killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an Arhat, attempting to wound a Buddha, causing division amongst the Sangha.

5 Hindrances (or Obstacles): sensuous lust, aversion and ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and sceptical doubt

5 Paths: merit, preparation, insight, meditation, attainment

5 Perfections: the perfect teacher, teaching, place, disciples, and time
5 Personal Opportunities: To be a human being; being born in a central place (existence of a monastic community); free from negative karma; having faith in Buddhist teachings; and good senses

5 Poisons: attachment, anger, ignorance, jealousy, and doubt

5 Precepts: do not kill (deliberately), do not steal, do not indulge in sexual misconduct, do not make false speech, do not take intoxicants.

5 Sciences: grammar, logic, medicine, arts and crafts, religious philosophy; or the making of things, the repairing of things (includes medicine), philology, logic, and philosophy

5 Sisters of Long Life: female deities dwelling on peaks on Tibet’s southern border; they are Miyo-Lang-Sangma, Tashi Tseringma, Tekar Dosangma, Chopen Dinsangma, and Thingri Shelsangma.

5 Skandhas: see 5 Aggregates

5 Wisdoms: wisdom of the absolute space, mirror-like wisdom, wisdom of equality, discriminating wisdom, and all-accomplishing wisdom

6 Bardos (an interval between two things, or a transition): the bardo between birth and death, the dream bardo, the bardo of the interval of the ultimate nature of consciousness, the bardo of becoming, the bardo of meditative stability, and the bardo of gestation

6 Chakras: browpoint (third eye), crown, heart, throat, navel, genitals

6 Dharmas of Mahamudra (Six Teachings of Naropa): heat yoga (tummo, the generation of psychic heat), illusory body yoga, dream yoga, bardo realm yoga, light yoga, and transformation yoga
Great 6: six great monasteries of the Gelug school: Ganden, Sera, Drepung, Tashilhunpo, Labrang, Kumbum

6 Great Seats of the Nyingma: Orgyen Mindroling and Thubten Dorje Drak (in central Tibet), Dzogchen Orgyen Samten Chöling and Shechen Tennyi Dhargyeling (in eastern Tibet), and Khatok Dorje Den and Palyul Namgyal Jangchubling (in lower eastern Tibet)

6 Paramitas: generosity, self-discipline, joyful effort, concentration, patience, compassion

6 Perfections (or Virtues): giving, ethics, patience, effort, concentration, widsom

6 Realms of Rebirth (or Existence) (gati): gods (devas), demi-gods (ashuras), humans (manushyas), animals (tiryakas), hungry ghosts (pretas), hell beings (narakas)

6 Root Delusion: attachment, anger, pride (ego), ignorance, doubt, wrong view

6 Senses: apperception, sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell

6-Syllable Mantra: the mantra of Chenrezig—om mani padme hung

6 Tantra Sections: Kriya, Upayoga, Yoga, Mahayoga, Anuyoga, and Atiyoga

6 Transcendent Perfections: generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom

7 Attributes of Royalty: precious golden wheel, precious wish-fulfilling jewel, precious queen, precious minister, precious elephant, precious horse, and precious general

7 Branches (a form of prayer in seven parts): prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing, requesting the teacher to turn the wheel of Dharma, requesting the teacher not to pass into nirvana, and dedication of merit
7 Examined Men: the first seven men ordained as Tibetan Buddhist monks at Samye Monastery c. 779 ce
7 Generations of Past Buddhas: Vipashyin, Shikhin, Vishvabhuk, Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kashyapa, and Shakyamuni

7 Factors of Enlightenment: mindfulness, investigation, energy, rapture, tranquility, concentration, equanimity

7 Noble Riches: faith, discipline, generosity, learning, conscientiousness, modesty, and wisdom

7-Point Mandala: a mandala composed of Mount Meru (Sumeru), the four continents, the sun, and the moon

7 Points of Mind Training: the preliminaries, bodhicitta, transform all unfavourable circumstances into path of the Buddha, condensed practice of mind training in five points, measurement of mind training, engagement of mind training, precepts of mind training

7 Preliminaries for Practice: prostration, offering, admitting shortcomings, rejoicing, requesting teachings, beseeching the teacher not to pass away, dedication

8 Auspicious Mountains: eight mountains surrounding Lhasa (also called 8 Treasures), so named by Princess Wen Cheng, one of the wives of King Songsten Gampo
8 Auspicious Symbols (lucky signs): umbrella (sign of nobility; Buddha’s head); two fish (Buddha’s eyes); treasure vase (Buddha’s neck); lotus (truth and purity of speech; Buddha’s tongue); right-turning conch (announces royality; Buddha’s mouth), endless knot/auspicious seal (links all Dharma and activity; Buddha’s heart); banner of victory (Buddha’s torso); dharma wheel (Buddha’s limbs).

8 Bodhisattvas: Manjushri, Vajrapani, Avalokiteshvara, Kshitigarbha, Sarvanivaranaviskambini, Akashagarbha, Maitreya, Samantabhadra

8 Buddhist Hells: Hell of Repetition (for murderers); Black Rope Hell (those who have killed during commission of another crime); Crowded Hell/Fire-Jar Hell (certain type of killing or stealing, along with sexual indulgence/having improper attitudes to physical love); Screaming Hell (misuse of intoxicants); Great Screaming Hell (misdeeds via sound or voice); Hell of Burning Heat/Diamond-beak Hornet Hell (those holding false views); Burning Hell of String-like Worms (sexual defilement of religion); Hell of No Interval (those committing the 5 Heinous Crimes).

8 Cold Hells: Blister Hell, Bursting Blister Hell, Brrr Hell, Alasss Hell, Chattering Teeth Hell, Utpala Flower Hell, Cracked Like a Lotus Hell, Greatly Cracked Like a Lotus Hell.

8 Consciousnesses: eye-consciousness (seeing), ear-consciousness (hearing), nose-consciousness (smelling), tongue-consciousness (tasting), body-consciousness (tactile feeling), mind-consciousness (cognition), defiling-mind consciousness, storehouse consciousness

8 Dharamapalas (defenders of Buddhism): Begtse, Hayagriva, Kubera, Mahakala, Palden Lhamo, Tshangs pa, Yama, and Yamantaka

8-Fold Path: Right view, right aspiration (thought), right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration

8 Freedoms: not being born in the hell regions, not being born as a hungry ghost (preta), not being born as an animal, not being born as a barbarian, not being born as a long-life god, not being born as a heretic, not being born where no Buddha has descended, not being born as a fool

8 Hot Hells: Reviving Hell, Black Line Hell, Crushing Hell, Wailing Hell, Great Wailing Hell, Hot Hell, Greatly Hot Hell, Unceasing Hell.

8 Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche: Padmasambhava, appearing as the one born from a lotus, totally pure; Gyakar Panchen, displaying the qualities of a great Indian scholar; Loden Chokse, having an omniscient mind inseparable from Manjushri; Pema Gyalpo, manifesting as a king controlling all realms of existence; Nyima Oser, dispelling the darkness of ignorance; Shakya Senge, appearing as the monk who became the great liberator of all being; Senge Dradok, destroying extreme wrong views and the demonic forces that arise when Tantric vows are broken; and Dorje Drolo, appearing as the fierce destroyer of enemies and the obstructions to enlightenment.

8 Ordinary Concerns: gain and loss, pleasure and pain, praise and criticism, fame and infamy

8 Perverse Acts: criticizing good, praising evil, interrupting the accumulation of merit of a virtuous person, disturbing the minds of those who have devotion, giving up one’s spiritual master, giving up one’s deity, giving up one’s Vajra brothers and sisters, and desecrating a mandala

8 Realizations of Great Beings: the awareness that all dharmas are impermanent and without a separate self; the awareness that more desire brings more suffering; the awareness that living simply, having few desires, leads to peace, joy, and serenity; the awareness that only diligent effort leads to enlightenment; the awareness that ignorance is the cause of the endless round of birth and death; the awareness that poverty creates hatred and anger, which in turn create a vicious cycle of negative thoughts and actions; the awareness that although we dwell in the world to teach and assist others, we should not become caught up in worldly matters; and the awareness that we do not practice for our individual enlightenment alone, but devote our whole being to guiding all others to the gates of enlightenment.

8 Treasures: the eight mountains surrounding Lhasa (also called 8 Auspicious Mountains)
8 Unfortunate Conditions (not able to practice the Dharma): hell-beings; hungry ghosts; animals; barbarians; long-lived gods; those with wrong views; an age without a Buddha; and mutes

8 Worldly Dharmas (and their opposites): praise and compliments (criticism and blame), happiness and pleasure (unhappiness and pain), fame and recognition (disgrace), gain (loss)

9 Stages of Shamata: placement, continual placement, repeated placement, close placement, taming, pacifying, thoroughly pacifying, one-pointed, equanimity

10 Bhumis (stages on the path of a bodhisattava): happiness (pramudita), renounce defilement  (vimala), emitting light (prabhakari), blazing wisdom (arcismati), difficult conquest (sudurjaya), manifestation (abhimukhi) , travelling far (duramgama), not moving (acala), wholesome wisdom (sadhumati), Dharma Cloud (dharmamegha)

10 Directions: east, west, north, south, south-east, north-west, north-east, south-west, below, and above

10 Endowments: to be a human being; to be born in a central country; to have perfect faculties; to be engaged in right livelihood; to have faith in the holy dharma which is the basis; the Buddha appears in this world; He teaches the dharma; the dharma remains; the dharma is followed; and one enjoys the kindness and compassion of others

10 Fetters of Existence: self delusion, doubt, clinging to ritual, sensuous lust, ill will, greed for fine material existence, greed for immaterial existence, conceit, restlessness, ignorance

10 Meritorious Deeds: charity, morality/taking precepts, mental cultivation/meditation, reverence or respect, services in helping others, transference of merits, rejoicing in the merits of others, preaching or teaching Dharma, listening to the Dharma, straightening one’s own views

10 Non-Virtues: 3 of body (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct); 4 of speech (lying, slander, abusive speech, gossip); 3 of mind (covetousness, ill-will, wrong view)

10 Perfections: generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, resolution, loving kindness, equanimity

10 Virtues of a Missionary (according to the Buddha): virtue of knowing the Dharma, knowing how to teach, fearlessness with the public, debating, tactful preaching, obeying the Dharma, possessing dignity, zealous progress, tirelessness, and power in success.

10 Wholesome Deeds: abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, duplicity, harsh speech, lying, irresponsible speech, greed, anger, foolishness

12 Branches of Excellent Speech: condensed, melodious, prophetic, verse, spoken with a purpose, conversatory, concerning his past lives, marvelous, establishing a truth, biographical, and very detailed

12 Great Deeds of the Buddha: existence in Tushita heaven; decent from Tushita; entering the womb of his mother; birth as a prince; proficiency in the worldly arts; life in the palace; departure from home; practice of austerities; defeat of Mara; enlightenment; turning the wheel of doctrine; final nirvana.

12 Links of Causation (Interdependence): ignorance, misperception due to disposition, cognition, names and forms, sensory experience, contact, emotion, craving, attachment, becoming, birth, and sorrow/sickness/old age/death.

13 Possessions of an Ordained Monk: staff, water pot, water sieve, alms bowl, blanket, three outer robes, two underrobes, a sitting mat, and sandals (2).

14 Root Downfalls: contradicting one’s lama; contradicting or refuting the teachings of the Buddha or the personal teachings that we receive from our guru; creating disharmony within the sangha; breaking one’s bodhisattva vow; impairing the white and red bindu; denigrating or abusing any spiritual system, regardless of whether it is Buddhist or non-Buddhist; revealing secret teachings to those unfit to receive them; regarding our physical bodies, or the skandhas, as impure and base; having doubts or hesitations about one’s involvement in tantric practice; for an advanced tantric practitioner, not bringing a halt to a being doing terrible harm; falling into the extreme view of either eternalism or nihilism; refusing to teach a sincere student; during the ganachakra, abstaining from the ritual use of alcohol or meat because it is impure or against our beliefs; and disparaging women, either by a mental attitude of considering women to be lower than men, or by verbalizing these opinions.

18 Root Bodhisattva Downfalls: praising ourselves and belittling others; not sharing Dharma teachings or wealth; not listening to others’ apologies; discarding the Mahayana teachings and propounding made-up ones; taking offerings intended for the Triple Gem; forsaking the holy Dharma; disrobing monastics or committing such acts as stealing their robes; committing any of the five heinous crimes; holding a distorted, antagonistic outlook; destroying places such as towns; teaching voidness to those whose minds are untrained; turning others away from full enlightenment; turning others away from their pratimoksha vows; belittling the shravaka vehicle; proclaiming a false realization of voidness; accepting what has been stolen from the Triple Gem; establishing unfair policies; giving up bodhichitta

20 Secondary Delusions: spite, deceit, jealousy, lethargy, laziness, non-shame, non-faith, resentment, excitement, concealment, miserliness, haughtiness, harmfulness, distraction, belligerence, dissimulation, forgetfulness, non-embarrassment, non-introspection, non-conscientiousness

25 Disciples—primary disciples of Padmasambhava, all of whom attained enlightenment; many of the great masters of Tibetan Buddhism are emanations of these disciples.

32 major marks (of excellence) of a Buddha: he places his foot evenly on the floor; the soles of his feet are imprinted with wheels; he has projecting heels; he has long fingers and toes; he has soft and tender hands and feet; he has webbed hands and feet; he has arched feet; he has legs like an antelope; when he stands upright his hands reach down to his knees; his male organ is covered with a sheath; his complexion has a golden sheen; his skin is so smooth that no dust clings to it; each hair on his skin grows from a single pore; the hair on his skin is blue-black, curly, and turns at the end to the right; his limbs are straight like those of a god; there are seven convex surfaces on his body: four behind his limbs, two behind his shoulders, and one behind his trunk; his torso is like that of a lion; the furrow between his shoulders is absent; his body is perfectly proportioned: the span of his arms is the same as his height; his neck and shoulders are evenly proportioned; his taste is exceptionally sensitive; his jaws are like those of a lion’s; he has forty teeth; his teeth are even; there are no gaps in his teeth; his teeth are white and shining; he has a long tongue; he has a divine voice; he has deep blue eyes; he has eyelashes like those of an ox; he has soft white hair growing between his eyebrows; his head is shaped like a turban.

80 minor marks (notable characteristics) of a Buddha: characteristics that are more subtle and harder to detect than the 32 major marks

100 Syllable Mantra: the mantra of Vajrasattva

108: beads in a mala

108: volumes of the Kangyur

253: number of vows of a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk

363: number of vows of a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist nun

84,000: number of teachings given by the Buddha

500,000 Preliminaries: five traditional preliminary practices (100,000 times each) of refuge, Bodhicitta, vajrasattva, mandala, and guru yoga