(Sanskrit: laks!an!a, sam!jn~a^, nimitta). (1) Form, appearance, state, condition, aspect, situation, expression, external appearance, outwardly expressed appearance. (2) Characteristic, distinctive feature. (3) A thought, concept 想. (4) A thought that has left traces. (5) One of the Buddha's 32 marks 三十二相. (6) One of the four marks 四相 of conditioned existence (arising, abiding, changing, ceasing). (7) Defilement. (8) Discriminated aspect(s). When juxtaposed with the notions of self, such as 人 and 我, it is equivalent in connotation to 法, i.e., objective constructs. (9) One of the ten such-likes taught in the Lotus Sutra.