Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

DDB Top Page 
 
 
  XML source

覺靈

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: awakened spirit

Senses:

  • The spirit of any deceased person, as addressed in a funeral service. It is clear from the dedications of merit to such spirits 靈 that they are not considered 'awakened'  覺 in the same way that a buddha is, for they are in need of assistance, and prayers for them ask that they may be reborn in the Pure Land. The Zengaku daijiten 禪學大辭典 surmises that 'awakened spirit' is an honorific title grounded in the doctrine that all livings beings, regardless of how deluded they are, possess buddha nature (1:155b). That may be, but it is more likely that the expression 'awakened spirit,' which is found in Chinese Buddhist funerary liturgies dating from the Song dynasty, originated simply as a polite way of referring to the deceased as 'aware' or 'intelligent'  覺. [Griffith Foulk]
  • Search SAT
  • Search INBUDS Database

    • Feedback

    [Dictionary References]

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 155b

    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: 2009-08-29