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  • The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin I/II
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  • The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras
  • The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings
  • The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

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  • Kacchāyana

    [迦旃延] (Pali;  Kasennen)

  • K’ai-yüan Era Catalog of the Buddhist Canon, The

    [開元釈教録] (Chin K’ai-yüan-shih-chiao-lu;  Kaigen-shakkyō-roku)

  • K’ai-yüan-ssu

    [開元寺] (PY Kaiyuansi;  Kaigen-ji)

  • Kakuban

    [覚鑁] (1095–1143)

  • Kakumyō

    [覚明]

  • Kakuun

    [覚運] (953–1007)

  • kālakula

    [迦羅求羅] (;  karakura or karagura)

  • Kalandaka

    [迦蘭陀] (;  Karanda)

  • kalavinka

    [迦陵頻伽] (;  karyōbinga)

  • Kālayashas

    [畺良耶舎] (383–442) (;  Kyōryōyasha)

  • Kāli

    [迦利王] (;  Kari-ō)

  • Kalmāshapāda

    [斑足王・鹿足王] (;  Hansoku-ō or Rokusoku-ō)

  • Kālodāyin

    [迦留陀夷] (;  Karudai)

  • kalpa

    [劫] (;  kō)

  • kalpa of continuance

    [住劫] ( jū-kō)

  • kalpa of decline

    [壊劫] ( e-kō)

  • kalpa of decrease

    [減劫] ( gen-kō)

  • kalpa of disintegration

    [空劫] ( kū-kō)

  • kalpa of formation

    [成劫] ( jō-kō)

  • kalpa of increase

    [増劫] ( zō-kō)

  • kāma-dhātu

    [欲界] (, Pali;  yokkai or yoku-kai)

  • Kanāda

    [カナーダ] (;  Kanāda)

  • Kānadeva

    [迦那提婆] (;  Kanadaiba)

  • Kanakamuni

    [倶那含仏] (;  Kunagon-butsu)

  • K’ang-seng-hui

    [康僧会] (d. 280) (PY Kangsenghui;  Kōsōe)

  • Kanishka

    [迦弐色迦王] (n.d.) (;  Kanishika-ō)

  • Kannon

    [観音] ()

  • Kanroku

    [観勒] (n.d.) (; Kor Kwallŭk)

  • Kanzeon

    [観世音] ()

  • Kanzeon-ji

    [観世音寺]

  • Kao-ch’ang

    [高昌国] (PY Gaochang;  Kōshō-koku)

  • Kapila

    [迦毘羅] (;  Kabira)

  • Kapilavastu

    [迦毘羅衛国] (; Pali Kapilavatthu;  Kabirae-koku)

  • Kapimala

    [迦毘摩羅・毘羅尊者] (n.d.) (;  Kabimara or Bira-sonja)

  • karma

    [業] (; Pali kamma;  gō)

  • karma mandala

    [羯磨曼荼羅] ( katsuma-mandara)

  • karunā

    [悲・慈悲] (, Pali;  hi or jihi)

  • Kashgar

    [疏勒国] ( Soroku-koku)

  • Kāshī

    [迦尸国] (; Pali Kāsī;  Kashi-koku)

  • Kashmir

    [迦湿弥羅国・諝賓国] ( Kashmīra or Kāshmīra;  Kashumira-koku or Keihin-koku)

  • Kāshyapa

    () (1) [迦葉菩薩] ( Kashō-bosatsu); (2) [迦葉仏] ( Kashō-butsu)

  • Kāshyapa Mātanga

    [迦葉摩騰] (n.d.) (;  Kashō-matō)

  • Kāshyapīya school

    [飲光部・迦葉遺部] (;  Onkō-bu or Kashōi-bu)

  • Kataumi

    [片海]

  • Kātyāyana

    [迦旃延] (; Pali Kacchāyana or Kacchāna;  Kasennen)

  • Kātyāyanīputra

    [迦多衍尼子] (n.d.) (;  Kataennishi)

  • Kaundinya

    [憍陳如] (;  Kyōjinnyo)

  • Kaushāmbī

    [憍賞弥国] (; Pali Kosambī;  Kyōshōmi-koku)

  • Kaushika

    [憍尸迦] (;  Kyōshika)

  • Kawanobe, the lay priest of

    [河野辺の入道] (n.d.) ( Kawanobe-no-nyūdō)

  • Kegon school

    [華厳宗] ( Kegon-shū)

  • Kenchō-ji

    [建長寺]

  • Kennin-ji

    [建仁寺]

  • Kenshin

    [顕真] (1130–1192)

  • Kharadīya, Mount

    [伽羅陀山] (;  Karada-sen)

  • Khotan

    [于闐・和田] ( Uten or Hōtan)

  • Khuddaka-nikāya

    [小部] (Pali;  Shō-bu)

  • Kichijō-ten

    [吉祥天] ()

  • Kimbara

    [金原] (n.d.)

  • kimnara

    [緊那羅] (;  kinnara)

  • King Above Jeweled Dignity and Virtue

    [宝威徳上王仏] ( Ratnatejobhyudgatarāja;  Hōitokujō’ō-butsu)

  • “King Wonderful Adornment” chapter

    [妙荘厳王品] ( Myōshōgon-nō-hon)

  • Kinkara

    [吉迦夜] (n.d.) (;  Kikkaya)

  • Kishimojin

    [鬼子母神] ()

  • Kiyomizu-dera

    [清水寺]

  • Kizil caves

    [キジル石窟] ( Kijiru-sekkutsu)

  • klesha

    [煩悩] (;  bonnō)

  • knot of flesh on the head

    [肉髻相] ( ushnīsha-shiraskatā;  nikkei-sō)

  • Kō, the lay nun of

    [国府尼] (n.d.) ( Kō-ama or Kō-no-ama)

  • Kō, the lay priest of

    [国府入道] ( Kō-nyūdō)

  • kōan

    [公案] (; Chin kung-an)

  • Kōben

    [高弁]

  • Kōbō

    [弘法] (774–835)

  • Kōchi

    [広智] (n.d.)

  • Kōfuku-ji

    [興福寺]

  • Kōjō

    [光定] (779–858)

  • Kokālika

    [瞿伽利] (, Pali;  Kugyari or Kukari)

  • Kokan Shiren

    [虎関師錬] (1278–1346)

  • Kokūzō

    [虚空蔵] ()

  • Komatsubara Persecution

    [小松原の法難] ( Komatsubara-no-hōnan)

  • Kōmoku-ten

    [広目天] ()

  • Kongōbu-ji

    [金剛峯寺]

  • Kōnichi, the lay nun

    [光日尼] ( Kōnichi-ama)

  • Kōnichi-bō

    [光日房] (n.d.)

  • Kōsai

    [幸西] (1163–1247)

  • Kosala

    [憍薩羅国] (, Pali;  Kyōsara-koku)

  • Kosambī

    [憍賞弥国] (Pali;  Kyōshōmi-koku)

  • kōsen-rufu

    [広宣流布] ()

  • koti

    [倶胝] (, Pali;  kutei)

  • Kōya, Mount

    [高野山] ( Kōya-san)

  • Krakucchanda

    [拘留孫仏] (;  Kuruson-butsu)

  • Kriki

    [訖哩枳王] (;  Kiriki-ō)

  • Krita

    [訖利多王] (n.d.) (;  Kirita-ō)

  • krosha

    [倶盧舎] (;  kurosha)

  • kshānti

    [忍・忍辱] (;  nin or ninniku)

  • Kshatriya

    [刹帝利] (;  setsuteiri)

  • kshetra

    [国土・刹土] (;  kokudo or setsudo)

  • Kshitigarbha

    [地蔵菩薩] (;  Jizō-bosatsu)

  • kū

    [空] ()

  • Kuang-che-ssu

    [光宅寺] (PY Guangzhesi;  Kōtaku-ji)

  • Kuang-hsiu

    [広脩・広修] (771–843) (PY Guangxiu;  Kōshū or Kōshu)

  • Kuan-ting

    [灌頂] (PY Guanding;  Kanjō)

  • Kuan-yin

    [観音菩薩] (PY Guanyin;  Kannon-bosatsu)

  • Kubo, the lay nun of

    [窪尼] (n.d.) ( Kubo-no-ama)

  • Kucha

    [亀茲・庫車] ( Kiji or Kosha)

  • Kudō Yoshitaka

    [工藤吉隆] (d. 1264)

  • K’uei-chi

    [窺基] (PY Kuiji;  Kiki)

  • Kūkai

    [空海]

  • Kukkutapāda, Mount

    [鶏足山] (;  Keisoku-sen)

  • Kukkutārāma Monastery

    [鶏頭摩寺] (, Pali;  Keizuma-ji)

  • Kumārajīva

    [鳩摩羅什] (344–413) (;  Kumarajū)

  • Kumāralāta

    [鳩摩羅駄] (;  Kumarada)

  • Kumārata

    [鳩摩羅駄] (n.d.) (;  Kumarada)

  • Kumārayāna

    [鳩摩羅炎] (n.d.) (;  Kumaraen)

  • kumbhānda

    [鳩槃荼] (;  kuhanda)

  • Kundalī

    [軍荼利明王] (;  Gundari-myō’ō)

  • Kuntī

    [皐諦・皐諦女] (;  Kōdai or Kōdai-nyo)

  • Kuo-ch’ing-ssu

    [国清寺] (PY Guoqingsi;  Kokusei-ji)

  • kuon-ganjo

    [久遠元初] ()

  • Kuon-ji

    [久遠寺]

  • Kurkutārāma Monastery

    [鶏頭摩寺] (;  Keizuma-ji)

  • Kuru

    [倶盧洲] (, Pali;  Kuru-shū)

  • kusha grass

    [吉祥草] (;  kichijō-sō)

  • Kushan

    [クシャーナ朝・貴霜朝] ( Kushāna-chō or Kisō-chō)

  • Kusha school

    [倶舎宗] ( Kusha-shū)

  • Kushinagara

    [拘尸那掲羅・倶尸那城] (; Pali Kusinārā;  Kushinagara or Kushina-jō)

  • Kusinārā

    [拘尸那掲羅・倶尸那城] (Pali;  Kushinagara or Kushina-jō)

  • Kūya

    [空也] (903–972)

  • Kyōnin-bō

    [鏡忍房] (d. 1264)

  • Kyō’ō

    [経王] (b. 1272)

  • Kyō’ō Gokoku-ji

    [教王護国寺]

karma [業] (; Pali kamma;  gō): Potentials in the inner, unconscious realm of life created through one’s actions in the past or present that manifest themselves as various results in the present or future. Karma is a variation of the Sanskrit karman, which means act, action, a former act leading to a future result, or result. Buddhism interprets karma in two ways: as indicating three categories of action, i.e., mental, verbal, and physical, and as indicating a dormant force thereby produced. That is, one’s thought, speech, and behavior, both good and bad, imprint themselves as a latent force or potential in one’s life.
  This latent force, or karma, when activated by an external stimulus, produces a corresponding good or bad effect, i.e., happiness or suffering. There are also neutral acts that produce neither good nor bad results. According to this concept of karma, one’s actions in the past have shaped one’s present reality, and one’s actions in the present will in turn influence one’s future. This law of karmic causality operates in perpetuity, carrying over from one lifetime to the next and remaining with one in the latent state between death and rebirth.
  It is karma, therefore, that accounts for the circumstances of one’s birth, one’s individual nature, and in general the differences among all living beings and their environments. It was traditionally viewed as a natural process in which no god or deity could intervene. The Hindu gods, in fact, were subject to the same law of karma as people, having become gods supposedly through the creation of good karma. The idea of karma predates Buddhism and was already prevalent in Indian society well before the time of Shakyamuni. This pre-Buddhist view of karma, however, had an element of determinism, serving more to explain one’s lot in life and compel one to accept it than inspiring hope for change or transformation. The Brahmans, who were at the top of the Indian class structure by birth, may well have emphasized this view to secure their own role. The idea of karma was further developed, however, in the Buddhist teachings.
  Shakyamuni maintained that what makes a person noble or humble is not birth but one’s actions. Therefore the Buddhist doctrine of karma is not fatalistic. Rather, karma is viewed not only as a means to explain the present, but also as the potential force through which to influence one’s future. Mahayana Buddhism holds that the sum of actions and experiences of the present and previous lifetimes are accumulated and stored as karma in the depths of life and will form the framework of individual existence in the next lifetime. Buddhism therefore encourages people to create the best possible karma in the present in order to ensure the best possible outcome in the future. In terms of time, some types of karma produce effects in the present lifetime, others in the next lifetime, and still others in subsequent lifetimes. This depends on the nature, intensity, and repetitiveness of the acts that caused them. Only those types of karma that are extremely good or bad will last into future existences. The other, more minor, types will produce results in this lifetime. Those that are neither good nor bad will bring about no results.
  Karma is broadly divided into two types: fixed and unfixed. Fixed karma is said to produce a fixed result—that is, for any given fixed karma there is a specific effect that will become manifest at a specific time. In the case of unfixed karma, any of various results or general outcomes might arise at an indeterminate time. Irrespective of these differences, the Buddhist philosophy of karma, particularly that of Mahayana Buddhism, is not fatalistic. No ill effect is so fixed or predetermined that good karma from Buddhist practice in the present cannot transform it for the better. Moreover, any type of karma needs interaction with the corresponding conditions to become manifest. See also fixed karma; unfixed karma.


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