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kammakkhayo

kammakkhaya

masc nom sg of kammakkhaya (noun)

1. wearing away of (the results of) action; exhaustion of kamma

Built from

• kamma — root · action, deed
  From √kar (do, make). Central to Buddhist ethics; every intentional act shapes the actor. Cognates: English make, German machen.
• kkhaya — root · wearing away, destruction
  From √kṣi (wear away, waste, decay). The concrete image is grinding down or wasting to nothing. Related to English ash (residue of combustion)—fire consumes, leaving ash.

Analysis. kamma (action, deed) + kkhaya (wearing away, destruction); the compound represents the Buddhist doctrinal idea that kamma is exhausted through practice and understanding, leaving no residue to generate future rebirth.

Etymology. kamma from √kar (do, make; cognate English make, German machen); kkhaya from √kṣi (wear away, waste; cognate English ash from wasting). The image: actions burned away to nothing, as ash is fire consumed.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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