The Gospel of Buddha Part 50

Ka'rma, anglicised form of _skt._ stem-form _ka'rman_ (nom. s. _karma_), the _p._ of which is _ka'mmam_. Action, work, the law of action, retribution, results of deeds previously done and the destiny resulting therefrom. Eitel defines karma as "that moral kernel [of any being]

which alone survives death and continues in transmigration." Karma is a well-defined and scientifically exact term. Professor Huxley says, "In the theory of evolution, the tendency of a germ to develop according to a certain specific type, e.g., of the kidney bean seed to grow into a plant having all the characters of _Phaseolus vulgaris_ is its 'karma.'

It is 'the last inheritor and the last result' of all the conditions that have affected a line of ancestry which goes back for many millions of years to the time when life first appeared on earth." We read in the Anguttara Nikaya, Pancaka Nipata: "My action (karma) is my possession, my action is my inheritance, my action is the womb which bears me, my action is the race to which I am akin [as the kidney-bean to its species], my action is my refuge." [See the article "Karma and Nirvana"

in _Buddhism and Its Christian Critics_, p. 131 ff.]

Ka'si, _p._, Ka's'i, _skt._, the old and holy name of Benares.--104 et seq., 192.

Ka'ssapa, _p._, Ka's'yapa, _skt._ (the etymology "He who swallowed fire," is now rejected), a name of three brothers, chiefs of the Jatilas, called after their residences, Uruvela, Nadi, and Gaya. The name Ka.s.sapa applies mainly to Ka.s.sapa of Uruvela, one of the great pillars of the Buddhistic brotherhood, who took at once, after his conversion, a most prominent rank among Buddha's disciples. [Ka.s.sapa of Uruvela is frequently identified with Maha-Ka.s.sapa, the same who was president of the council at Rajagaha, but H. Dharmapala states, on the authority of the Anguttara Nikaya, that the two were altogether different persons.]

Kha'ndha, _p._, Ska'ndha, _skt._, elements; attributes of being, which are form, sensation, perception, discrimination, and consciousness.

Kile'sa, _p._, Kle'sa, _skt._, error.

Ki'sa Go'tami, _p._, Kri'sha Gau'tami, _skt._, the slim or thin Gotami.

Name (i) of a cousin of Buddha, mentioned in Chap. VI, p. 16, (2) of the heroine in the parable of the mustard seed.

Ko'li, a little kingdom in the neighborhood of Kapilavatthu, the home of Yasodhara.

Kond'anna, _p._, Kaundi'nya, _skt._, name of Buddha's first disciple, afterwards called Ajna'ta Kaundi'nya in _skt._ and Anna'ta Konda'nna in _p._

Ko'sala, _p._ and _skt._, name of a country.

Kosa'mbi, _p._, Kausa'mbi, _skt._, a city.

Kusina'ra, _p._, Kusina'gara, _skt._, a town.

Kutada'nta, _p._ and _skt._, a Brahman chief in the village Danamati, also called Khanumat; is mentioned in Sp. Hardy's _M.B._, p. 289 and in _S.B.E._, Vol. XIX., p. 242 [Fo, v. 1682].--152-160. Cf. Rhys Davids's _Dialogues_, pp. 173-179.

Li'cchavi, _p._ and _skt._, the name of a princely family.

Lu'mbini, _skt._, a grove named after a princess, its owner.

Ma'gadha, _p._ and _skt._, name of a country.

Ma'gga, Ma'rga, _skt._, path; especially used in the Pali phrase "Ariyo atthangiko maggo," the n.o.ble eightfold path, which consists of: right views, high aims, right speech, upright conduct, a harmless livelihood, perseverance in well-doing, intellectual activity, and earnest thought.

[See _S.B.E_, Vol. XI, pp. 63 and 147.]

Mahara'ja, the great king.

Mahase'tu, the great bridge. A name invented by the author of the present book to designate the importance of Christianity compared to the Hinayana and Mahayana of Buddhism.

Mahaya'na, the great vehicle, viz., of salvation. Name of the Northern conception of Buddhism, comparing religion to a great s.h.i.+p in which men can cross the stream of Samsara to reach the sh.o.r.e of Nirvana.

Ma'lla, _p._ and _skt._, name of a tribe.

Manasa'kata, _p._, Manasa'krita, _skt._, a village in Kosala.

Manda'ra, _p._ and _skt._, a flower of great beauty.

Ma'ra, _p._ and _skt._, the Evil One, the tempter, the destroyer, the G.o.d of l.u.s.t, sin, and death.

Mara's daughters are always three in number but their names are variously given as Tanha, Arati, Rati (Dh. 164), and Tanha, Arati, Raga (Ab. 44 etc.).

Ma'tali, _p._ and _skt._, name of a demon in the retinue of Yama.

Mata'nga, _p._ and _skt._, literally, of low birth; the Matanga caste comprises mongrels of the lowest with higher castes.

Ma'thura, and _skt._, name of a place.

Ma'ya, _p._ and _skt._, Buddha's mother. (See Maya-devi.) The term "veil of Maya," viz., the illusion of self, popularly known through Schopenhauer, does not refer to Buddha's mother, but to the Vedantic conception of maya. The word means "charm, magic enhancement." The similarity of sound in the names Maya and Maria is curious.

Maya-de'vi, also called Maha-Maya, or simply Maya, _p._ and _skt._, the wife of Suddhodana and mother of Buddha. She died in childbed, and Buddha ascends to heaven to preach to her the good law and the gospel of salvation.

Mette'yya, Maitre'ya, _skt._, etymology, "full of kindness"; the name of the Buddha to come.

Moggalla'na, _p._, Maudgalya'yana, _skt._, one of the most prominent disciples of Buddha, a friend of Sariputta.

Mu'ni, _skt._ and _p._, a thinker, a sage; especially a religious thinker. Sakyamu'ni, the sage of the Sakyas, is Buddha.

Nadi'-Ka'ssapa, _p._, Nadi-Ka's'yapa, _skt._, brother of the great Ka.s.sapa of Uruvela.

Na'dika, _p._ and _skt._, name of a village.

Na'ga, _p._ and _skt._, literally serpent. The serpent being regarded as a superior being, the word denotes a special kind of spiritual beings; a sage, a man of spiritual insight; any superior personality. Naga kings.

Nalagiri, name of an elephant.

Nala'nda, _p._ and _skt._, a village near Rajagaha.

Nanda, _p._, Siddhattha's halfbrother, son of Paj.a.pati.

Na'nda, daughter of a chief of shepherds, also called Sujata.

Natapu'tta, _Jain Prakrit_, Jnatapu'tra, _skt._, the son of Jnata.

Patronym of Vardhamana, the founder of Jainism.

Neranjara, Naira'njana, _skt._, name of a river identified by some with the Nilajan, by others with the Phalgu.

Nida'na, _p._ and _skt._, cause. The twelve nidanas, forming the chain of causation which brings about the misery in the world. [See Oldenberg, _Buddha_, Engl. tr., pp 224--252].

n.i.g.g.a'ntha, _p._, Nirgra'ntha, _skt._, literally "liberated from bonds"; a name adopted by the adherents of the Jaina sect; n.i.g.g.anthas, give also to the.

Nigro'dha, _p._, Nyagro'dha, _skt._, a tree, _ficus indica_ well known for its air roots..

Nirma'na Ka'ya, _skt._, the body of transformation.

Nirva'na, _skt._, Nibba'na, _p._, extinction, viz., the extinction of self; according to the Hinayana it is defined as "extinction of illusion," according to the Mayayana as "attainment of truth." Nirvana means, according to the latter, enlightenment, the state of mind in which upadana, kilesa, and tanha are extinct, the happy condition of enlightenment, peace of mind, bliss, the glory of righteousness in this life and beyond, the eternal rest of Buddha after death. Buddha himself has refused to decide the problem whether or not Nirvana is a final extinction of personality. When questioned, he indicated by his silence that the solution is not one of those subjects a knowledge of which is indispensable for salvation; where is Nirvana?; Nirvana not a locality; the city of Nirvana; the harvest, Nirvana; the one aim, Nirvana; Samsara and Nirvana.

Okka'ka, _p._, Ikshva'ku, _skt._, the name of a mythological family from which the chiefs of the Sakyas claim descent.