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Ambap'l, the courtesan, called "Lady Amra" in Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King. It is difficult for us to form a proper conception of the social position of courtesans at Buddha's time in India. This much is sure, that they were not common prostitutes, but ladies of wealth, possessing great influence. Their education was similar to the hetairs in Greece, where Aspasia played so prominent a part. Their rank must sometimes have been like that of Madame Pompadour in France at the court of Louis XIV. They rose to prominence, not by birth, but by beauty, education, refinement, and other purely personal accomplishments, and many of them were installed by royal favor. The first paragraphs of Khandhaka VIII of the Mahvagga [S. B., Vol. XVII, pp. 171-172] gives a fair idea of the important role of courtesans in those days. They were not necessarily venal daughters of lust, but, often women of distinction and repute, worldly, but not disrespectable.—227, 228, 231, 232.
Amit'bha, p. and skt., endowed with boundless light, from amita, infinite, immeasurable, and bb, ray of light, splendor, the bliss of enlightenment. It is a term of later Buddhism and has been personified as Amitbha Buddha, or Amita. The invocation of the all-saving name of Amitbha Buddha is a favorite tenet of the Lotus or Pure Land sect, so popular in China and Japan. Their poetical conception of a paradise in the West is referred to in Chapter LX. Southern Buddhism knows nothing of a personified Amitbha, and the Chinese travellers[Pg 273] Fa-hien and Hiuen-tsang do not mention it. The oldest allusion to Amita is found in the Amityus Stra, translated A.D. 148-170. [See Eitel, Handbook, pp. 7-9.]—172, 173, 174, 175.
na'nda, p. and skt., Buddha's cousin and his favorite disciple. The Buddhistic St. John (Johannes).—86, 87, 90, 92, 93, 120, 177, 190, 191, 196, 197, 219, 220, 225, 226, 233, 234, 235, 236, 238, 239, 240, 241, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249.
Anthapi'ndika, p. and skt., (also called Anthapi'ndada in skt.) literally "One who gives alms (pinda) to the unprotected or needy (antha)." Eitel's etymology "one who gives without keeping (antha) a mouthful (pinda) for himself" is not tenable. A wealthy lay devotee famous for his liberality and donor of the Jetavana vihra.—72, 75, 76, 77, 81, 168.
Annabh'ra, p. and skt., literally "he who brings food"; name of Sumana's slave.—189, 190.
A'ta, p., j'ta, skt., literally "knowing", a cognomen of Kondaa, the first disciple of Buddha.—56.
Anuru'ddha, a prominent disciple of Buddha, known as the great master of Buddhist metaphysics. He was a cousin of Buddha, being the second son of Amritodana, a brother of Suddhodana.—86, 249, 253, 254.
A'rahat, p., Ar'hant, skt., a saint. (See also Saint in Index.)—97.
Arati, dislike, hatred. The opposite of rati. The name of one of Mra's daughters, q. v.—36.
A'sita, p. and skt., a prophet.—9, 10.
A'ssaji, p., Avajit, skt., one of Buddha's disciples by whose dignified demeanor Sriputta is converted.—70.
'tman, skt., Atta, p., breath as the principle of life, the soul, self, the ego. To some of the old Brahman schools the tman constitutes a metaphysical being in man, which is the thinker of his thoughts, the perceiver of his sensations, and the doer of his doings. Buddha denies the existence of an tman in this sense.—29, 30, 32, 33, 154, 158.
Bal'ni, or paca-balni, p. and skt., (the singular is bala, power), the five moral powers (also called panca-indriyani), which are: Faith, energy, memory or recollection, meditation or contemplation, and wisdom or intuition.
Beluva, a village near Vesl.—232.
Benares, the well-known city in India; Anglicised form of Vrnas, skt., and Brnas, p. (See Ks.)—47, 48, 49, 58, 61, 104-106, 215.
Bha'gavat, p., Bha'gavant, skt., the man of merit, worshipful, the Blessed One. A title of honor given to Buddha.—21, 170, 195.[Pg 274]
Bha'llika, p. and skt., a merchant.—42.
Bhradv'ja, p. and skt., name of a Brahman.—139, 141, 194.
Bh'van, p. and skt., meditation. There are five principal meditations: metta-bhavana, on love; karun-bhvan, on pity; mudita-bhavana, on joy; asubha-bhvan, on impurity; and upekh-bhvan, on serenity. [See Rhys Davids's Buddhism, pp. 170-171.]—174, 175.
Bhi'kkhu, p., bhi'kshu, skt., mendicant, monk, friar; the five bhikkhus, 34, 35, 47, 49, 55, 56, 88, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 108, 120, 170, 171, 172, 177, 183, 209, 234; bhikkhus doffed their robes, 95; bhikkhus rebuked, 109; bhikkhus prospered, 221; the sick bhikkhu, 213.
Bhi'kkhun, p., bhi'kshun, skt., nun.—93, 95, 96.
Bimbis'ra, p. and skt., the king of Magadha; often honored with the cognomen "Sai'nya," skt., or "Se'niya," i.e. "the warlike or military."—25, 26, 65, 69, 90, 98, 110, 111, 219.
