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Glossary

This glossary contains an alphabetical list of Buddhist terms that you may find on this website. Many of the terms now include phoneticized Sanskrit (Skt) as well as two forms of Tibetan—the phonetic version (Tib), which is a guide to pronunciation, and transliteration using the Wylie method (Wyl). Search for the term you want by entering it in the search box or browse through the listing by clicking on the letters below. Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

yoga (Skt)

näljor (Tib); rnal 'byor (Wyl)

Literally, “to join together.” While a common term throughout the world for the Indian-derived exercises, in Tibetan Buddhism, yoga usually refers to the spiritual discipline a practitioner commits to in order to attain realizations, for example, deity yoga. The Tibetan rnal ma la ‘byor pa, “to join (again with) what is real” equates with the Western concept of religion, which is derived from the Latin, re “again” and ligare “to join.” See also yogi and yogini.