三千大千世界
Chinese edit
three | thousand | Zhang Daqian, a Chinese artist and forger. | world; the World | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
simp. and trad. (三千大千世界) |
三 | 千 | 大千 | 世界 |
Etymology edit
Calque of Sanskrit त्रिसहस्र महासहस्र लोकधातु (trisahasra mahāsahasra lokadhātu).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
三千大千世界
- (Buddhism) a trichiliocosm (a universe containing a billion worlds).
- 譬如三千大千世界所有地種。假使有人磨以為墨。過於東方千國土乃下一點。大如微塵。又過千國土復下一點。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: 妙法蓮華經
- Pìrú sānqiāndàqiānshìjiè suǒyǒu dì zhǒng. Jiǎshǐ yǒu rén mó yǐ wèi mò. Guòyú dōngfāng qiān guótǔ nǎi xià yīdiǎn. Dà rú wēichén. Yòu guò qiān guótǔ fù xià yīdiǎn. [Pinyin]
- Suppose someone were to grind all the earth in the trichiliocosm into ink powder and then suppose he passed through a thousand lands to the east and then dropped a particle the size of a mote of dust, and then passing through another thousand lands deposited another mote.
譬如三千大千世界所有地种。假使有人磨以为墨。过于东方千国土乃下一点。大如微尘。又过千国土复下一点。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Descendants edit
Sino-Xenic (三千大千世界):
- → Japanese: 三千大千世界 (sanzendaisensekai)
- → Korean: 삼천대천세계(三千大千世界) (samcheondaecheonsegye)
- → Vietnamese: tam thiên đại thiên thế giới (三千大千世界)
See also edit
Further reading edit
- Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “三千大千世界” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].