羯かつ磨ま

also: こんま

Meanings

noun

Buddhism

A technical Buddhist term for 'karma' or 'action', specifically in the context of monastic procedures and precepts. Reading varies by sect: かつま in Tendai, こんま in Shingon and Ritsu. Not used in everyday Japanese.

Written forms

羯磨Usage100%
- かつま
  Standard kanji form for this Buddhist term. Read as かつま in Tendai and other sects.
- こんま
  Reading used in Shingon, Ritsu, and other sects.
羯摩
rarely-used kanji form
- かつま
  Rarely used kanji variant.
- こんま
  Rare kanji variant with the こんま reading.
こんま

Kanji

羯barbarian
磨grind, polish, scour
摩chafe, rub, polish

Similar words

業ごう
業 (ごう) is the more common and broader term for karma in Japanese Buddhism, used in general contexts. 羯磨 is a specialized term for monastic procedures and is rarely encountered outside sectarian texts.

Etymology

Transliteration of Sanskrit 'karman' (कर्मन्), meaning 'action' or 'deed', via Chinese Buddhist texts. The kanji are used phonetically (ateji).