Merit refers to the accumulation of beneficial karma or virtue through actions, thoughts, and intentions. It is considered to be a force that leads to favorable outcomes both in this life and in future lives.

While most of Buddha’s teachings could be described as method to train the mind, lojong is in a specific category of methods to train the mind or reorient ourselves to respond to ourselves, others, and the circum-stances of our lives from the perspective of altruism. These methods highlight the practices of equalizing self and other and ex-changing self and other

Vajrayana is the diamond path that lifts the veils that keep us from recognizing our indestructible, ever-present buddha nature, innate goodness, our inherent potential for enlightenment.

Lineage: An unbroken stream of spiritual masters through which the sacred teachings of the dharma flow, allow our present-day teachings to be traced back to their original source.

Tibetan: བརྒྱུད་པ
Phonetics: gyüpa
Wylie*: brgyud pa
Sanskrit: parampara

Mahamudra is a practice of relaxing directly into our present experience and recognizing its true nature.

Sangha literally means that which is struck together well. In common usage, it generally refers to a community. It has been adopted by multiple religions.

Vajra is a symbol of indestructibility, immutability. It appears in various contexts in Buddhism.