Bakkula, Bākkula: 7 definitions
Introduction:
Bakkula means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Bakkula (बक्कुल) is the (Sanskrit) name of a Bhikṣu during the time of Buddha Vipaśyin, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 36.—Accordingly, “thus, at the time of the Buddha Pi-p’o-che (Vipaśyin), the Bhikṣu Po-kiu-lo (Bakkula) offered a a-li-lö (harītakī) fruit to the Community. For ninety-one kalpas he enjoyed happiness among gods and men. He was never sick. And today, having met the Buddha Śākyamuni, he went forth from home (pravrajita), destroyed his impurities (kṣīṇāsrava) and became Arhat”.
Note: This is a well-known monk called Bakkula, Vakula and Vākula in Sanskrit; Bakkula, Bākula and Vakkula in Pāli. The name means ‘Two families’ (dvakkula, dvikkula): actually, during his last lifetime, Bakkula had taken birth in a wealthy family in Kauśambī, but when his nurse was bathing him in the Yamunā, he was swallowed by a fish. [...] At the age of eighty, Bakkula met the Buddha, entered into the monastic order and, after seven days, attained the state of Arhat. He lived for eighty more years, clothed in rags and tatters, declining any offering of food and refusing to preach even a stanza of two pādas. The Buddha designated him as the foremost of those free of sickness and with few desires. After his death, a stūpa was built for him.
In the Mahākarmavibhaṅga, Bakkula is given as the son of Dharmayaśas, king of Kaśmir.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Bakkula (बक्कुल) is another name for Bakula—one of the Sixteen Arhats (known in Tibetan as gnas brtan bcu drug) who were chosen by Buddha Shakyamuni to remain in the world and protect the Dharma until the arrival of the future Buddha Maitreya. They vowed to maintain the Dharma for as long as beings could benefit from it. These legendary Arhats [e.g., Bakkula] were revered in countries such as China, Japan, India and Tibet—a tradition which continues up until this day, for example in Zen Buddhism and Tibetan art.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
Bakkula, (=vyākula? Morris, J. P. T. S. 1886, 94) a demon, uttering horrible cries, a form assumed by the Yakkha Ajakalāpaka, to terrify the Buddha Ud. 5 (see also ākulī, where pākula is proposed for bakkula). (Page 481)
bākkula (ဗာက္ကုလ)—
(visuddhi,2．7) bākulamha lāso．
(ဝိသုဒ္ဓိ၊၂။၇) သည် ဗာကုလမှ ပြောင်းလာသောပုဒ်ဖြစ်သည်။
[Pali to Burmese]
bākkula—
(Burmese text): (ဝိသုဒ္ဓိ၊၂။၇) သည် ဗာကုလမှ ပြောင်းလာသောပုဒ်ဖြစ်သည်။
တိပိ၊၁၅၊၂၀၀
(Auto-Translation): (Vistudhi, 2.7) is a verse that has been transferred from the Vakula. Tipita, 15, 200.
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Sanskrit dictionary
Bakkula (बक्कुल) or Bakula or Vakkula or Vakula or Vatkula.—(1) (= Pali Bakkula, Bākula, Vakkula), name of a disciple of Buddha: Bakkula Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 2.5; 207.4; Bakula (the same per- son?) Karmavibhaṅga (and Karmavibhaṅgopadeśa) 76.11, called king of Kashmir and son of Dharmayaśas, noted for his health and long life, which in Pali is a characteristic of the thera Ba°; Vakkula Lalitavistara 2.2 (v.l. Vakula; Tibetan Ba ku la); Sukhāvatīvyūha 92.8; Mahāvyutpatti 1065 (var. Vakula; Tibetan Ba ku la, or Bag ku la); Vakula Sukhāvatīvyūha 2.9; Mūla-Sarvāstivāda-Vinaya i.192.18 ff.; Vatkula Divyāvadāna 396.2 f.; (2) name of two vakṣas: Mahā-Māyūrī 6, 54 (Lévi Vakula).
Bakkula (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 婆拘羅 [pó jū luó]: “Bakkula” [Sanskrit personal name].
2) 波拘盧 [bō jū lú]: “Bakkula”; “Bākula”; “Vakkula” [Sanskrit personal name].
3) 縛矩羅 [fù jǔ luó]: “Bakkula” [Sanskrit personal name].
4) 薄拘盧 [báo jū lú]: “Bakkula” [Sanskrit personal name].
5) 薄拘羅 [báo jū luó]: “Bakkula”; “Bakula”; “Bākula”; “Vakkalin”; “Vakkula”; “Vakula”; “Vatkula” [Sanskrit personal name].
6) 薄矩羅 [báo jǔ luó]: “Bakkula”; “Bākula”; “Vakkula” [Sanskrit personal name].
7) 薄羅 [báo luó]: “Bakkula” [Sanskrit personal name].
8) 重姓 [zhòng xìng]: “Bakkula”; “Bākula”; “Vakkula” [Sanskrit personal name].
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Full-text (+8): Vakula, Vakkula, Vatkula, Bao ju luo, Bo ju lu, Po ju luo, Fu ju luo, Bakula, Dharmayashas, Vakkalin, Trong tinh, Ba cau la, Bac cau lo, Phoc cu la, Ba cau lo, Bac cu la, Pakula, Bac la, Akuli, Bac cau la.
Relevant text
Search found 10 books and stories containing Bakkula, Bākkula; (plurals include: Bakkulas, Bākkulas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
Avadāna of Bakkula < [III. Recollection of the community (saṃgānusmṛti)]
III.3. Community, the best field of merit < [III. Recollection of the community (saṃgānusmṛti)]
II. The practice of the ‘minor’ perfections < [Part 1 - Obtaining easily an immense qualification]
Milindapanha (questions of King Milinda) (by T. W. Rhys Davids)
Chapter 5c: Bakkula’s superiority to the Buddha < [Book 4 - The Solving of Dilemmas]
Philosophy of language in the Five Nikayas (by K.T.S. Sarao)
2.5(c). Majjhima Nikāya (The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha) < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
Guide to Tipitaka (by U Ko Lay)
Part III - Suññata Vagga < [(c) Uparipannasa Pali]
Visuddhimagga (the pah of purification) (by Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu)
B. Description of the Truths (sacca) < [Chapter XVI - The Faculties and Truths (indriya-sacca-niddesa)]
(1) The Kinds of Supernormal Power < [Chapter XII - The Supernormal Powers (iddhividha-niddesa)]
Chapter II - The Ascetic Practices (Dhutaṅga-niddesa) < [Part 1 - Virtue (Sīla)]
Lotus Sutra (by Tsugunari Kubo)