The four kalpas of formation, existence, destruction and emptiness as a complete period, is called maha kalpa or great kalpas. Each great kalpa is subdivided into four asamkhyeya-kalpas or kalpas. Each of the four kalpas is subdivided into twenty antara-kalpas, or small kalpas. There are different distinctions and illustrations of kalpas. In general, a small kalpa is represented as 16,800,000 years, a kalpa as 336,000,000 years and a mahakalpa is 1,334,000,000 years.

Kapilavatsu
The capital of Shakya kingdom. The king of Kapilavatsu was Suddhodana, who was the father of Shakyamuni. The present-day Kapilavatsu is in Nepal.

Karma
Karman in Sanskrit, Kamma in Pali. It means action, deed, moral duty, effect. Karma is moral action which causes future retribution, and either good or evil transmigration. It is also moral kernal in each being which survive death for further rebirth.

Kasyapiya
One of the Hinayana sect, a subdivision of Sarvastivadah.

Kaukkutikah (Gokulika)
One of the Hinayana sect. A branch of Mahasanghikah. They held that there is no hapiness whatsoever in the world, just suffering.

King Bimblisara
The king of Magadha, one of the four great kingdoms in ancient India. He was devoted in Buddhism, and was converted to the follower of Shakyamuni Buddha. He was the one who built Bamboo Grove Park in Rajagaha, the first Bodhi mandala in Buddhism.

Koan
A Japanese term taken from the Chinese Kung-an.

Koliya
The royal clan to which the mother of Shakyamuni, Maya belonged. The kings of the Koliya and Shakya were brothers, and the families were inter-married. Indeed, Yasodhara, the wife of Shakyamuni, was also a princess of Koliya royal
house.

Kosala
Kosala in Pali, Kausala in Sanskrit. One of the four great states (i.e., Kosala, Magadha, Vansa & Avanti) in ancient India. The Shakya tribe to which Shakyamuni belonged was under the power and influence of Kosala. The capital of Kosala was Savatthi where the famous monastery (Bodhi-mandala) Jetavanna Grove was located.

Ksatriya
Ksatriya in Sanskrit, Khattiya in Pali. The second of the four Indian Castes at the time of Shakyamuni, they were the royal caste, the noble landlord, the warriors and the ruling castes.

Ksitigarbha
Earth Store Bodhisattva. He is now the guardian of the earth. Depicted with the alarum staff with its six rings, he is accredited with power over the hells and is devoted to the saving of all creatures between the Nirvana of Shakyamuni and the advent of Maitreya. He vows that while the hell is not empty, he will not attain Buddhahood. As his vow is the greatest, he is also known as The Great Vow Bodhisattva.

Kung-an
In Zen, it is a word, or a phrase, or a story couched in irrational language which cannot be solved by intellectual processes, but whose meaning must burst on the mind directly. Kung-an is used as an exercise in breaking the false thoughts, developing the deep intuition, and achieving a state of awareness.

Kushala
Sanskrit word. It means good Karma.

Kusinara
Kusinara in Pali, Kusinagara in Sanskrit. The village where Shakyamuni died, and the capital of the ancient kingdom of Malla.

kala
(Sanskrit) An inconceivably large number.

kalpa

See "aeon."

karma

The law of cause and effect. The existence of favorable or unfavorable karma depends on whether past deeds were good or evil. Most people have both good and bad karma because they have performed both good and bad deeds in the past. So most people's lives are a mixture of misery and happiness. Karma is not limited to actions taken during one's present life, but can extend back into the infinite past and forward into the infinite future.Thus, it is karma that forms the connecting link between one's consecutive lives. Karma applies mostly to the acts of individuals, but it may also be the overall result of actions by many people acting as a group, such as groups of persons, family groups, groups of nations, and the like -- in other words, there are such things as group karma, family karma and even national karma. Buddhas teach us how to break the fetters of karma, escape from the cycle of birth and death, and attain enlightenment.

koti

Sanskrit for "ten million."

ksana

The shortest measure of time; it is said that sixty ksana equal one finger-snap,ninety ksana elapse during the duration of a thought; and 4,500 ksanas equal a minute.

kshatriyas

The warrior caste; the second highest-ranking social class in India. (The highest is the brahmin caste.)

Kuan Shi Yin

See "Guan Yin."

Kuan Yin

See "Guan Yin."

kumbhandas

Barrel-shaped ghosts. Also called winter-melon ghosts because of their shape. Kumbhandas are nightmare ghosts that frighten sleeping people and have the power to prevent their victims from moving or screaming; the victim wants to scream but cannot, wants to squirm away but cannot, because the kumbhanda sits on the victim. Then the victim cannot do anything.