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(Encyclopedia)Aśoka əshōˈkə, –sōˈk– [key] or Ashoka, d. c.232 b.c., Indian emperor (c.273–c.232 b.c.) of the Maurya dynasty; grandson of Chandragupta. One of the greatest rulers of ancient India, he br...

Kukai

(Encyclopedia)Kukai or Kobo-Daishi ko͞oˈkī, kōˈbō-dīˈshē [key], 774–835, Japanese priest, scholar, and artist, founder of the Shingon or “True Word” sect of Buddhism. Of aristocratic birth, he studie...

mandala

(Encyclopedia)mandala mŭnˈdələ [key], [Skt.,=circular, round] a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism. The mandala may have derived from the circular stupa a...

Madhyamika

(Encyclopedia)Madhyamika mädyŭˈmĭkə [key] [Skt.,=of the middle], philosophical school of Mahayana Buddhism, based on the teaching of “emptiness” (see sunyata) and named for its adherence to the “middle p...

Hsüan-tsang

(Encyclopedia)Hsüan-tsang shüän-dzäng [key], 605?–664, Chinese Buddhist scholar and translator. He early entered monastic life and later traveled in China, teaching and studying. Between 629 and 645 he made a...

Japanese art

(Encyclopedia)Japanese art, works of art created in the islands that make up the nation of Japan. In the mid-19th cent. a few print designers attained distinction, but no masters appeared to equal their p...

karma

(Encyclopedia)karma or karman kärˈmə, kärˈmən [key], [Skt.,=action, work, or ritual], basic concept common to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The doctrine of karma states that one's state in this life is a r...

samadhi

(Encyclopedia)samadhi səmäˈdē [key], a state of deep absorption in the object of meditation, and the goal of many kinds of yoga. In Buddhism the term refers to any state of one-pointed concentration. In Hinduis...

ahimsa

(Encyclopedia)ahimsa əhĭmˈsä [key] [Sanskrit,=noninjury], ethical principle of noninjury to both men and animals, common to Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. Ahimsa became influential in India after 600 b.c., co...