Five eyes
The five kinds of vision, or literally “five eyes” (Tib. chen nga; Wyl. spyan lnga) are:
- the eye of flesh (sha’i spyan), which refers to an eye faculty developed through the force of one’s merit, having the ability to see all forms, gross or subtle, from one hundred leagues through to the limits of the three thousand-fold universe;
- the divine eye (lha’i spyan), which is the effortless ability to see the births and deaths of all beings and is a result of the practice of meditation in past lives;
- the wisdom eye (shes rab kyi spyan), which sees the truth of dharmata;
- the Dharma eye (chos kyi spyan), which is the knowledge of the Dharma of scripture (or transmission) and realization, and of the faculties of noble beings who possess this Dharma;
- the Buddha eye (ye shes kyi spyan), which is the primordial wisdom (yeshé) that sees all aspects of everything that can be known.