根

Readings

Pinyin: gēn

Wade-Giles: ken

Hangul: 근

Korean MC: geun

Korean MR: kŭn

Katakana: コン

Hepburn: kon

căn

faculties

• (Skt. indriya; Tib. dbang po) In Buddhist texts that articulate the functions of consciousness, such as those from the Abhidharma and Yogâcāra traditions—the term has the meaning of organ—that which gives rise to perception. Therefore it is used to designate the five sense organs (五根). These five organs are invisible and are created by transformation of the four elements (四大), and have the ability to see, hear, and so forth. Though they are invisible and pure, they do theoretically occupy space, and are therefore able to be classified as form factors in the taxonomy of the Yogâcāra school. The Sanskrit term indriya is derived from the name of the Indian God Indra 帝釋天, meaning "having creative power." The translation into Chinese as root 根 works very nicely, as it is the creative power of the roots of plants and trees that implies their ability to grow and develop and instill life into their trunks and branches. The connotation of indriya as possessing creative power (機能,能力) tells us something about the way Buddhists, and especially Yogâcāras, understand the function of the five faculties. Rather than merely serving as passive receptors in the way that modern science understands the five senses, the five faculties actively project energy in seeking their objects of the external realm. The Sarvâstivādas and Yogâcāras, in discussing the function of the sense faculties, distinguished them into two aspects: that of the visible physical organs themselves 扶塵根, such as eyes, ears, nose, tongue, etc., and the actual spiritual/sensory ability 勝義根 that resides in the given organ. [resp. cmuller; source(s): Nakamura, JEBD, Iwanami]
• The intellectual-religious capacities of sentient beings. The ability to understand the profundities of the Buddhist doctrine and engage oneself in effective practices—generally categorized into sharp, average and dull. The particular capabilities that a certain individual has for understanding a certain level of teaching and attaining enlightenment. See 機. [resp. cmuller]
• That which stimulates awakening in human beings, namely, the five roots of faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. [resp. cmuller]
• Root, fundamental (Skt. mūla; Tib. rtsa ba). [resp. cmuller; source(s): S.Hodge]
• (Skt. akṣa, aṅga, indriyagaṇa, indriyatva, indriya-bheda, indriyârtha, aindriya, kanda, cakṣu, cakṣur-ādi, dhātu, mūlaka, maula, maulaka, maulika, liṅga, vikṛti, vṛnta, vyañjana, śīla, sattva) [resp. cmuller; source(s): Hirakawa]

Dictionary References:

Bukkyō jiten (Ui), 325

Bulgyo sajeon, 93a

Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.), 362d

Iwanami bukkyō jiten, 285

Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha), 179a/199

Zengo jiten (Iriya and Koga), 9-P55

Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura), 424b

Fo Guang Dictionary, 4131

Ding Fubao

Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa), 0653

Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki), (v.1-6)1302c,1178c,1306c

Bukkyō daijiten (Oda), 473-3

Sanskrit-Tibetan Index for the Yogâcārabhūmi-śāstra (Yokoyama and Hirosawa)

Copyright © 2010 -- Charles Muller

generated: 2013-03-07