From K
Ka Skt.; 1. the first consonant of the Sanskrit alphabet; 2. the interrogative pronoun "Who?" It was later elevated to a divinity. By the time the Brahmanas were composed, the poetic character of the Vedic hymns, and the questions they contained regarding an unknown god, were no longer understood; thus the authors of the Brahmanas took the interrogative "Ka" to stand for a specific god.
Wherever they touch upon interrogative verses, the Taittiriya-, Kaushitaki-, and Shatapatha-Brahmana state that Ka is Prajapati, lord of all created beings. Hymns and sacrifices to the gods were named kaya. By Panini's time, the word was so firmly established that rules for its explanation were introduced. In the later Sanskrit literature of the Puranas, Ka appears as an acknowledged god, and the Laws of Manu mention a form of marriage, kaya, that is generally known as Prajapati-marriage. The Mahabhdrata identifies Ka as Daksha.
Kabir Indian poet and mystic, ca. 1440-1518; he lived in North India at a time following the invasion of Islam, when Hindus and Muslims were attempting to approach one another's beliefs and spiritual practices. His adoptive parents, poor weavers of Benares, belonged to a low caste in both Hinduism and Islam and were thereby freed from the burden of religious duties. This background greatly influenced Kabir's poetry and songs, which are sung even today by Muslims and Hindus alike. (These are collected under the title Bijak meaning "the seed.")
Kabir's mentor was Ramananda. Like all mystics, he was forced to traverse a "dark night of the soul" before attaining enlightenment. His unconventional manner of speaking directly about God and his criticism of the superficiality of spiritual dignitaries provoked such anger that he was forced to leave Benares; thereafter, he roamed from place to place with his followers, singing and praising God. For Kabir God was the all-pervading supreme spirit who dwells in all beings and yet transcends all forms. At the same time, like the medieval mystics of the West, he viewed God as the soul's eternal beloved, who can be known by pure love alone. Legend relates that after his death Hindus and Muslims fought over the manner in which the body was to be disposed of. When they lifted the shroud, however, they found beneath it nothing but a heap of flowers.
Kadampa ('ka'-gdams-pa), Tib., lit. "oral instruction"; a school of Tibetan Buddhism founded by Atisha. After the degeneration of Buddhism in Tibet in the 10th century, this school saw the correct exposition of the traditional writings as its primary task. The most important teachings of the Kadampas became known by the name lo-jong ("training the mind"). This school did not survive as an independent tradition, but the Kadampa transmissions were absorbed by the other schools, particularly by the Gelugpa school.
The most important contribution of the Kadampas to the spiritual life of Tibet was a group of clearly conceived programs of practice that are still taught today with the purpose of training the mind. Its point of orientation is the bodhisattva ideal, and it is regarded as a special method for arousing enlightenment mind (bodhicitta).
Although at the time of Atisha these teachings were only transmitted orally, later on texts that were easy to memorize were composed. The two best known are "Eight Verses on Training the Mind" by the Kadampa Geshe Langri Thangpa and "Seven Points of Mind-Training." One of the most important figures in the early Kadampa school was Dromtön (1008–64), who is the author of the following verse:
If you hear words that are unpleasant to you
Then quickly heed the echo's sound.
If your body receives injury
Recognize in that your previous deeds.
Kado Jap., lit. "Way of flowers"; one of the Japanese ways of training (do) permeated by the mind of Zen, which contribute to the development of their practitioners. In kado, which is often called ikebana (lit. "pond flower"), the idea is not to "arrange flowers," which would presuppose a subject operating on flowers as an object. Rather one is concerned to actualize a nondualistic state of mind in which the flower itself reveals its nature.
Kagyupa (bka'-rgyud-pa),Tib., lit. "oral transmission lineage"; one of the four principal schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The central teaching of this school is the "great seal" (mahamudra) and the six dharmas of Naropa (Naro chödrug). The teachings were brought to Tibet from India in the 11th century by Marpa. Gampopa, a student of Milarepa's, organized them into the Kagyüpa school. From this school is derived that of the Karma Kagyü and others. The school places particular value on the direct transmission of instruction from teacher to disciple.
The Kagyü transmission has its point of origin in Vajradhara (holder of the vajra), an embodiment of the dharmakiya (trikaya) and passed from Tilopa to Naropa. Marpa the Translator brought these teachings to Tibet, and his student Milarepa succeeded in mastering them all after years of ascetic practice. In the 12th century the physician Gampopa integrated the doctrines of the Kadampas into the Kagyü tradition and formed it into an independent school, which was named after the birthplace of its founder, Dagpo Kagyü. Already in the next generation four further schools developed out of this: (1) Kamtshang or Karma Kagyü, (2) Tsälpa Kagyü, (3) Baram Kagyü, (4) Phagmo Drupa Kagyü. The last of these divided into eight subschools, of which the Drugpa Kagyü and the Drigung Kagyfi still exist.
A further school associated with the Kagyü, was founded by Khyungpo Naljor (1310—?). It bears the name Shangpa Kagyü and possesses a special mahamudra transmission, which originated with Naropa's sister Niguma. Through the effort of the Rime movement, this tradition still exists.
Kaidan-Seki Jap., lit. "kaidan stone"; a stone tablet set up in front of Zen monasteries which bears the inscription: "Meat, fish, and alcohol prohibited." Kaidan is the ordination hall in a monastery in which monks are initiated into Buddhism (jukai) and thereby receive the Buddhist precepts (kairitsu, jujukai) .
