Free Chinese & Japanese Online Dictionary

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Mandarin Chinese information.
Old Wade-Giles romanization used only in Taiwan.
Japanese information.
Buddhist definition. Note: May not apply to all sects.
 Definition may be different outside of Buddhism.

There are 4 total results for your Faith Name search.

Characters Pronunciation
Romanization
Simple Dictionary Definition

信忍

see styles
xìn rěn
    xin4 ren3
hsin jen
 shinnin
Faith-patience, faith-endurance: (1) To abide patiently in the faith and repeat the name of Amitābha. (2) To believe in the Truth and attain the nature of patient faith. (3) According to Tiantai the 別教 meaning is the unperturbed faith of the Bodhisattva (that all dharma is unreal).

助業


助业

see styles
zhù yè
    zhu4 ye4
chu yeh
 jogou / jogo
    じょごう
{Buddh} (See 浄土宗) auxiliary actions (in Jodo: recitation, observation, worship, praise and offering)
Auxiliary karma, i.e. deeds or works, e.g. reciting the sutras about the Pure Land, worship, praise, and offering, as additional to direct karma 正業, i.e. faith in Amitābha, expressed by constant thought of him and calling on his name.

文殊

see styles
wén shū
    wen2 shu1
wen shu
 monju
    もんじゅ
Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of keen awareness
(Buddhist term) Manjushri; Manjusri; Bodhisattva that represents transcendent wisdom; (p,s,f) Monju
(文殊師利) Mañjuśrī 滿殊尸利 -later 曼殊室利. 文殊 is also used for Mañjunātha, Mañjudeva, Mañjughoṣa, Mañjuṣvara, et al. T., hjamdpal; J., Monju. Origin unknown; presumably, like most Buddhas and bodhisattvas, an idealization of a particular quality, in his case of Wisdom. Mañju is beautiful, Śrī; good fortune, virtue, majesty, lord, an epithet of a god. Six definitions are obtained from various scriptures: 妙首 (or 頭 ) wonderful or beautiful) head; 普首 universal head; 濡首 glossy head (probably a transliteration); 敬首 revered head; 妙德 wonderful virtue (or power); 妙吉祥 wonderfully auspicious; the last is a later translation in the 西域記. As guardian of wisdom 智慧 he is often placed on Śākyamuni's left, with 普顯 on the right as guardian of law 理, the latter holding the Law, the former the wisdom or exposition of it; formerly they held the reverse positions. He is often represented with five curls or waves to his hair indicating the 五智 q. v. or the five peaks; his hand holds the sword of wisdom and he sits on a lion emblematic of its stern majesty: but he has other forms. He is represented as a youth, i. e. eternal youth. His present abode is given as east of the universe, known as 淸涼山 clear and cool mountain, or a region 寶住 precious abode, or Abode of Treasures, or 寶氏 from which he derives one of his titles, 寶相如來. One of his dhāraṇīs prophesies China as his post-nirvāṇa realm. In past incarnations he is described as being the parent of many Buddhas and as having assisted the Buddha into existence; his title was 龍種上佛 the supreme Buddha of the nāgas, also 大身佛 or 神仙佛; now his title is 歡喜藏摩尼寶精佛 The spiritual Buddha who joyfully cares for the jewel: and his future title is to be 普現佛 Buddha universally revealed. In the 序品 Introductory Chapter of the Lotus Sutra he is also described as the ninth predecessor or Buddha-ancestor of Śākyamuni. He is looked on as the chief of the Bodhisattvas and represents them, as the chief disciple of the Buddha, or as his son 法王子. Hīnayāna counts Śāriputra as the wisest of the disciples, Mahāyāna gives Mañjuśrī the chief place, hence he is also styled 覺母 mother, or begetter of understanding. He is shown riding on either a lion or a peacock, or sitting on a white lotus; often he holds a book, emblem of wisdom, or a blue lotus; in certain rooms of a monastery he is shown as a monk; and he appears in military array as defender of the faith. His signs, magic words, and so on, are found in various sutras. His most famous centre in China is Wu-tai shan in Shansi. where he is the object of pilgrimages, especially of Mongols. The legends about him are many. He takes the place in Buddhism of Viśvakarman as Vulcan, or architect, of the universe. He is one of the eight Dhyāni-bodhisattvas, and sometimes has the image of Akṣobhya in his crown. He was mentioned in China as early as the fourth century and in the Lotus Sutra he frequently appears, especially as the converter of the daughter of the Dragon-king of the Ocean. He has five messengers 五使者 and eight youths 八童子 attending on him. His hall in the Garbhadhātu maṇḍala is the seventh, in which his group numbers twenty-five. His position is northeast. There are numerous sutras and other works with his name as title, e. g. 文殊師利問菩提經 Gayaśīrṣa sūtra, tr. by Kumārajīva 384-417: and its 論 or .Tīkā of Vasubandhu, tr. by Bodhiruci 535. see list in B. N.

阿彌陀


阿弥陀

see styles
ā mí tuó
    a1 mi2 tuo2
a mi t`o
    a mi to
 Amida
    あみだ
(out-dated kanji) (1) (Buddhist term) Amitabha (Buddha); Amida; (2) (kana only) (abbreviation) ghostleg lottery; ladder lottery; lottery in which participants trace a line across a lattice pattern to determine the winner; (3) (kana only) (abbreviation) wearing a hat pushed back on one's head
(阿彌) amita, boundless, infinite; tr. by 無量 immeasurable. The Buddha of infinite qualities, known as 阿彌陀婆 (or 阿彌陀佛) Amitābha, tr. 無量光 boundless light; 阿彌陀廋斯Amitāyus, tr. 無量壽 boundless age, or life; and among the esoteric sects Amṛta 甘露 (甘露王) sweet-dew (king). An imaginary being unknown to ancient Buddhism, possibly of Persian or Iranian origin, who has eclipsed the historical Buddha in becoming the most popular divinity in the Mahāyāna pantheon. His name indicates an idealization rather than an historic personality, the idea of eternal light and life. The origin and date of the concept are unknown, but he has always been associated with the west, where in his Paradise, Suikhāvatī, the Western Pure Land, he receives to unbounded happiness all who call upon his name (cf. the Pure Lands 淨土 of Maitreya and Akṣobhya). This is consequent on his forty-eight vows, especially the eighteenth, in which he vows to refuse Buddhahood until he has saved all living beings to his Paradise, except those who had committed the five unpardonable sins, or were guilty of blasphemy against the Faith. While his Paradise is theoretically only a stage on the way to rebirth in the final joys of nirvana, it is popularly considered as the final resting-place of those who cry na-mo a-mi-to-fo, or blessed be, or adoration to, Amita Buddha. The 淨土 Pure-land (Jap. Jōdo) sect is especially devoted to this cult, which arises chiefly out of the Sukhāvatīvyūha, but Amita is referred to in many other texts and recognized, with differing interpretations and emphasis, by the other sects. Eitel attributes the first preaching of the dogma to 'a priest from Tokhara' in A. D.147, and says that Faxian and Xuanzang make no mention of the cult. But the Chinese pilgrim 慧日Huiri says he found it prevalent in India 702-719. The first translation of the Amitāyus Sutra, circa A.D. 223-253, had disappeared when the Kaiyuan catalogue was compiled A.D. 730. The eighteenth vow occurs in the tr. by Dharmarakṣa A.D. 308. With Amita is closely associated Avalokiteśvara, who is also considered as his incarnation, and appears crowned with, or bearing the image of Amita. In the trinity of Amita, Avalokiteśvara appears on his left and Mahāsthāmaprāpta on his right. Another group, of five, includes Kṣitigarbha and Nāgārjuna, the latter counted as the second patriarch of the Pure Land sect. One who calls on the name of Amitābha is styled 阿彌陀聖 a saint of Amitābha. Amitābha is one of the Five 'dhyāni buddhas' 五佛, q.v. He has many titles, amongst which are the following twelve relating to him as Buddha of light, also his title of eternal life: 無量光佛Buddha of boundless light; 無邊光佛 Buddha of unlimited light; 無礙光佛 Buddha of irresistible light; 無對光佛 Buddha of incomparable light; 燄王光佛 Buddha of yama or flame-king light; 淸淨光佛 Buddha of pure light; 歡喜光佛 Buddha of joyous light; 智慧光佛 Buddha of wisdom light; 不斷光佛 Buddha of unending light; 難思光佛 Buddha of inconceivable light; 無稱光佛Buddha of indescribable light; 超日月光佛 Buddha of light surpassing that of sun and moon; 無量壽 Buddha of boundless age. As buddha he has, of course, all the attributes of a buddha, including the trikāya, or 法報化身, about which in re Amita there are differences of opinion in the various schools. His esoteric germ-letter is hrīḥ, and he has specific manual-signs. Cf. 阿彌陀經, of which with commentaries there are numerous editions.

Entries with 2nd row of characters: The 2nd row is Simplified Chinese.

This page contains 4 results for "Faith Name" in Chinese and/or Japanese.



Information about this dictionary:

Apparently, we were the first ones who were crazy enough to think that western people might want a combined Chinese, Japanese, and Buddhist dictionary.

A lot of westerners can't tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese - and there is a reason for that. Chinese characters and even whole words were borrowed by Japan from the Chinese language in the 5th century. Much of the time, if a word or character is used in both languages, it will have the same or a similar meaning. However, this is not always true. Language evolves, and meanings independently change in each language.

Example: The Chinese character 湯 for soup (hot water) has come to mean bath (hot water) in Japanese. They have the same root meaning of "hot water", but a 湯屋 sign on a bathhouse in Japan would lead a Chinese person to think it was a "soup house" or a place to get a bowl of soup. See this: Japanese Bath House

This dictionary uses the EDICT and CC-CEDICT dictionary files.
EDICT data is the property of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, and is used in conformance with the Group's license.

Chinese Buddhist terms come from Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms by William Edward Soothill and Lewis Hodous. This is commonly referred to as "Soothill's'". It was first published in 1937 (and is now off copyright so we can use it here). Some of these definitions may be misleading, incomplete, or dated, but 95% of it is good information. Every professor who teaches Buddhism or Eastern Religion has a copy of this on their bookshelf. We incorporated these 16,850 entries into our dictionary database ourselves (it was lot of work).



Combined, these cover 1,007,753 Japanese, Chinese, and Buddhist characters, words, idioms, names, placenames, and short phrases.

Just because a word appears here does not mean it is appropriate for a tattoo, your business name, etc. Please consult a professional before doing anything stupid with this data.

We do offer Chinese and Japanese Tattoo Services. We'll also be happy to help you translate something for other purposes.

No warranty as to the correctness, potential vulgarity, or clarity is expressed or implied. We did not write any of these definitions (though we occasionally act as a contributor/editor to the CC-CEDICT project). You are using this dictionary for free, and you get what you pay for.

The following titles are just to help people who are searching for an Asian dictionary to find this page.

Japanese Kanji Dictionary

Free Asian Dictionary

Chinese Kanji Dictionary

Chinese Words Dictionary

Chinese Language Dictionary

Japanese Chinese Dictionary