Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

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無常

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: impermanent; impermanence

Senses:

  • The fact that all things are impermanent is one of the basic premises of Buddhism; the first of the 三明 trividyā; that all things are impermanent, their birth, existence, change, and death never resting for a moment. Everything is in constant motion and change. The antonym of 常住. In Yogâcāra, one of the mental factors not directly associated with a particular function 心不相應行法 (Skt. anitya; anityatā, anityatva; Pāli anicca; Tib. mi rtag pa). [Charles Muller; source(s): Ui, JEBD, Nakamura, Iwanami]
  • The Dazhidu lun 大智度論 teaches the two kinds of impermanence of momentary 刹那無常 (念念無常) and continuous 相續無常. The former refers to the production and cessation 生滅 that occurs each instant, which the latter indicates change that happens over a period of time, such as the ending of a lifespan, the dying of plants, the evaporation of water, and so forth, seen as occurring through the four phases 四相 of arising 生, abiding 住, changing 異, and ceasing 滅. [Charles Muller; source(s): Iwanami]
  • Impermanence as one of the sixteen defining activities of the truths 十六行相; also written 非常. [Charles Muller; source(s): Nakamura]
  • 'Death,' as in the common phrase 無常迅速. 〔修心訣, T 2020.48.1009a24〕 The death of human beings. To die of illness 病没. 〔法顯傳; 祖堂集〕 [Robert Buswell; source(s): Nakamura]
  • (Skt. adhruva, anitya-saṃjñā, aśāśvata, aśāśvatatā, kāla-gata, kṣaṇika, calâtmaka, *cyuta, nanityam, bhedanâtmaka, vikṛti, vināśa, vipatti, vyaya, sarvamanityam; Tib. mi rtag pa'i rnam pa) [Charles Muller; source(s): Hirakawa, YBh-Ind]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 1039

    Bulgyo sajeon 220a

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 1207d

    Iwanami bukkyō jiten 784

    A Glossary of Zen Terms (Inagaki) 244

    Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 202a/225

    Koga 439

    Record of Linji: Rinzairoku (Yanagida) 107-3

    Japanese-English Zen Buddhist Dictionary (Yokoi) 470

    Zengo jiten (Iriya and Koga) 10-P47, 13-P467

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 1334c

    Fo Guang Dictionary 5109

    Ding Fubao

    Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa) 0773

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)4833b,4860b

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 1706-1

    Sanskrit-Tibetan Index for the Yogâcārabhūmi-śāstra (Yokoyama and Hirosawa)

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 1993-09-01

    Updated: 2017-04-13