Bhagavan

Bhagavan (Skt. bhagavān; Tib. བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་, chomdendé, Wyl. bcom ldan ‘das) — an epithet of the Buddha. It is usually explained by Tibetan scholars according to its literal meaning in Tibetan as "the transcendent (འདས་,dé) one who has vanquished (བཅོམ་, chom) the four maras and possesses (ལྡན་, den) the six fortunes." The Sanskrit word carries the sense of possessing fortune (bhaga). The term has been translated into English as 'blessed one', 'lord', or, following the Tibetan, 'transcendent and accomplished conqueror.'

Commentary

The great Dzogchen master Shri Singha, in his commentary on the Heart Sutra, explains the term based on its Tibetan translation according to three levels of meaning:

1. On an ordinary level, it signifies the conquering (chom) of the four maras, possession (den) of the six paramitas and transcendence (dé) of mistaken states of mind.
2. On a deeper level, it signifies the conquering of ordinary appearance and existence within the pure perception of the deity, possession of ultimate realization, and the transcendence of ordinary clinging.
3. On the highest level, it signifies the effortless conquering of all the phenomena of samsara and nirvana within their essential nature, possession of the great wisdom of self-knowing awareness, and the transcendence of dualistic notions or extremes regarding samsara or nirvana since they lack any real identity.