Kushalamula, Kusalamūla, Kushala-mula: 13 definitions
Introduction:
Kushalamula means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India. 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
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
the 'wholesome roots' or 'roots of wholesome action', are
- greedlessness (alobha),
- hatelessness (adosa), and
- non-delusion (amoha; s. mūla).
They are identical with kusala-hetu (s . paccaya, 1).
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Kuśalamūla (कुशलमूल) refers to the “roots of good”, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XLVI.—Accordingly, there are three roots of good:
- absence of desire (alobha);
- absence of hatred (adveśa);
- absence of delusion (amoha).
All the good dharmas derive their birth (utpāda) and their increase (vṛddhi) from the three roots of good, just as plants, trees, grasses and bushes derive their arising and growth from their roots. This is why they are called ‘roots of good’.
The good dharmas (kuśaladharma) are of two kinds:
- the thirty-seven auxiliaries of enlightenment (bodhipākṣika) that lead to nirvāṇa;
- the dharmas producing happiness (sukha) in the course of rebirths (punarbhava).
Kuśalamūla (कुशलमूल) refers to the “roots of good”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “The great vehicle (mahāyāna) is made with four wheels (cakra), namely with the means of attraction, the spokes (ara) are well fitted as the roots of good (kuśalamūla)) have been transformed (pariṇāmita) with intention (āśaya), it is well made with a deep nave as there is the immense knowledge of dependent origination, it is well kept together by the axle (akṣa) in order to bear the burdens of all living beings, [...]”.
Kuśalamūla (कुशलमूल) refers to the “root of merit”, according to the Tattvaratnāvalī (“a jewel garland of true reality”)—the title of one of the 26 texts revolving around the theme of amanasikāra (“non-conceptual realization”) ascribed to Maitrīpa (c. 986–1063)—an influential late Indian Buddhist master who helped bring Mahāsiddha-style Mahāmudrā teachings into a monastic Mahāyāna scholastic setting.—Accordingly, [while describing the “inferior (mṛdu)” philosophy of Śrāvakayāna]: “The stain of their meditative stabilization is attachment which is preceded by the view of the permanence of the person. Their view is as follows: ‘As long as I live, I shall take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. I venerate the Sugata and the two elder ones’. Through whatever root of merit there is (yāvat-kuśalamūla), I will displine myself alone, calm myself alone, bring myself alone to complete nirvāṇa!”.
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.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Kuśalamūla (कुशलमूल) refers to the “three roots of wholesomeness” as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 138):
- adveṣa (lack of hatred),
- alobha (lack of greed),
- amoha (lack of delusion).
The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., kuśala-mūla). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.
India history and geography
Kuśala-mūla.—(CII 2-1; ML), ‘the root of merit’; used to indicate ‘a pious deed’. Note: kuśala-mūla is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Kuśalamūla (कुशलमूल).—nt., usually pl. (= Pali kus°), root(s) of merit; Pali has three, alobha, adosa, amoha; the same, with adveṣa = Pali adosa, in Mahāvyutpatti 1936—8; Dharmasaṃgraha 138; two other kinds named separately Mahāvyutpatti 1208—9, abhisa- mayāntikaṃ ku°, and kṣayajñānalābhikaṃ ku°; a different list of three in Dharmasaṃgraha 15, bodhicittotpāda, āśayaviśuddhi, ahaṃkāra-mamakāra-parityāga; Mahāvyutpatti 7417 avaropita- kuśalamūla, one who has planted (see avaropayati) roots of merit; very many other occurrences, e.g. Lalitavistara 429.14; Mahāvastu (see kuśala-puṇya) i.134.3; 142.11; Divyāvadāna 23.18; 65.10; 95.25; Avadāna-śataka i.4.2, et passim; often referred to in praṇidhāna as basis for making the ‘earnest wish’.
Kuśalamūla (कुशलमूल):—[=kuśala-mūla] [from kuśala] n. a stock of merit, [Sukhāvatī-vyūha i ]
Kuśalamūla (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 修善 [xiū shàn]: “cultivation of goodness”.
2) 功德 [gōng dé]: “merit(s)”; “quality”; “virtue”.
3) 功德法 [gōng dé fǎ]: “dharma of merit”.
4) 勝善根 [shèng shàn gēn]: “excellent wholesome roots”..
5) 善力 [shàn lì]: “wholesome power”.
6) 善本 [shàn běn]: “wholesome roots”.
7) 善根 [shàn gēn]: “virtuous roots”; “wholesome roots”.
8) 善法 [shàn fǎ]: “good dharma(s)”.
9) 德 [dé]: “attribute”; “merit”.
10) 德本 [dé běn]: “roots of virtue”.
11) 本德 [běn dé]: “merits”.
12) 積功累德 [jī gōng lèi dé]: “accumulate or lay up merit”.
Note: kuśalamūla can be alternatively written as: kuśala-mūla.
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.
Pali-English dictionary
Kusalamūla refers to: the basis or root of goodness or merit; there are three: alobha, adosa, amoha M. I, 47, 489=A. I, 203=Nett 183; D. III, 214; Dhs. 32, 313, 981; Vbh. 169 sq. , 210; Nett 126. Cp. °paccaya Vbh. 169; °ropanā Nett 50;
Note: kusalamūla is a Pali compound consisting of the words kusala and mūla.
kusalamūla (ကုသလမူလ) [(na) (န)]—
[kusala+mūla]
[ကုသလ+မူလ]
[Pali to Burmese]
kusalamūla—
(Burmese text): ကုသိုလ်မူလ၊ ကုသိုလ်ဟူသောအကြောင်း၊ ကုသိုလ်၏-အကြောင်းရင်း-အခြေအမြစ်။
(Auto-Translation): The original merit, the reason for merit, the cause and the basis of merit.
Kusalamūla (in Pali) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 善根 [shàn gēn]: “virtuous roots”; “wholesome roots”.
Note: kusalamūla can be alternatively written as: kusala-mūla.
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Kushala, Mula.
Starts with (+0): Kushalamulabala, Kushalamulacarita, Kushalamulaccheda, Kushalamuladharma, Kushalamulahetu, Kushalamulaparipaka, Kushalamulapratisamdhana, Kushalamulasamuccheda.
Full-text (+95): Amohakusalamula, Kushalamulabala, Dalhakusalamula, Kusalamulaka, Kusalamulapatibaddha, Kusalamulacchedana, Kusalamulapaccaya, Kusalamulasahajata, Kusalamulasamayoga, Kusalamulatamsampayutta, Kusalamulamula, Kusalamulamulaka, Kusalamularopana, Kusalamulasancodita, Kusalamulatika, Kusalamulasamropana, Kusalamulasamaropana, Kusalamulapubbayogavacara, Kushalamuladharma, Parittakushalamula.
Relevant text
Search found 12 books and stories containing Kushalamula, Kuśalamūla, Kuśala-mūla, Kusalamula, Kusalamūla, Kushala-mula, Kusala-mula, Kusala-mūla, Kushalamulas; (plurals include: Kushalamulas, Kuśalamūlas, mūlas, Kusalamulas, Kusalamūlas, mulas, Kushalamulases). 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)
I. One single root to be planted in the Field of the Buddhas (buddhakṣetra) < [Part 4 - Planting inexhaustible roots of good]
Appendix 2 - Definition of the srotaāpattiphala (the fruit of entry into the stream) < [Chapter XLIX - The Four Conditions]
Part 4 - Planting inexhaustible roots of good < [Chapter XLVI - Venerating with the Roots of Good]
Dasabhumika Sutra (translation and study) (by Hwa Seon Yoon)
Stage 4: Arcismati Bhumi < [Chapter 2 - Study: Summary of the Ten Stages]
Milindapanha (questions of King Milinda) (by T. W. Rhys Davids)
Chapter 5g: The helplessness of a Buddha < [Book 4 - The Solving of Dilemmas]
Mahayana Dharani and Theravada Paritta (study) (by Biswajit Sankar Bhattacharyya)
Part 3 - Dhāraṇī in the Prajñāpāramitā-upadeśa-śāstra < [Chapter 2 - A survey of the Mahāyāna Dhāraṇī Literature]
24th Imperishable, Knowledge of The Meaning
36th Imperishable, The Presence of Recollection Concerned with Thought.
Mahavastu (great story) (by J. J. Jones)
Chapter IV(a) - The story of Abhiya < [Volume I]
Chapter XXX - The second Avalokita-sūtra < [Volume II]