Unsuitable vessel. Literally “non-vessel” or “not a vessel”; refers to a person who is not a suitable recipient of a particular teaching. This may refer to someone who has one of the “three faults of a vessel” (snod kyi skyon gsum): (1) a vessel whose opening is covered, (2) a vessel that is broken, or (3) a vessel that contains poison. The phrase can also refer to someone who has not received the initiation necessary to hear an esoteric teaching.

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