The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1736 page)

of Ga
ge
a. He reinforced the means of valid cognition (pram
a), resting on the four means of ascertaining truth:

(i) 
pratyak
a
, sense perception;
(ii) 
anum
na
, inference, from cause to effect, from effect to cause and from common characteristics;
(iii) 
upam
na
, analogy;
(iv) 
abda
, verbal testimony from a reliable authority

.

 
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(rnying.ma, ‘ancient’). One of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, so-called because its adherents trace their tradition to the first diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet, and particularly to the figure of
Padmasambhava
, whom they consider their founder.
The Nyingma are noted for their separate canon, consisting of
terma
literature and the
Compendium of Old
Tantras
(rnying.ma’i.rgyud.’-bum). While the
Tibetan Book of the Dead
is the best known, the most important Nyingma text is the
Heart-Drop
(snying.thig); a terma text discovered in the 12th cent. by Zhangtön and commentated upon by Longchenpa, it contains teachings on Dzogchen (rdzogs.chen; ‘Great Perfection’), the primary Nyingma system of meditation.
The Nyingma has produced several great scholars, such as Longchenpa (1308–63) and Mipham (d. 1912), who was influential in the 19th-cent.
Rimé
movement. A recent supreme head of the order, Dujom Rinpoche (1904–87) was considered an incarnation of Dujom Lingpa.

 
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(Jap.; Skt.,
tath
gata
). Synonym of
Buddha
and one of his ten titles. The original Skt.,
Tath
gata
, can be analysed as ‘coming’ (
gata
) from ‘suchness’ (
tath
) or ‘going’ (
gata
) to ‘suchness’, suchness referring to truth or reality. Nyorai is the translation for the former, literally meaning ‘coming from suchness’, and, because of its dynamic connotation, it is preferred over its synonym, Buddha. Thus, in Japan people make reference to
Amida
Nyorai,
Dainichi
Nyorai, Shaka Nyorai, and so forth. Nyoraikyo is a Japanese
new religion
, founded in 1802.