祖
Readings
Pinyin: zǔ
Wade-Giles: tsu
Hangul: 조
Korean MC: jo
Korean MR: cho
Katakana: ソ
Hepburn: so
tổ
patriarch
- Ancestor; founder; origin. Biological forebears; deceased family members from whom one is descended (in East Asia, patrilineally). In Japanese Zen texts, senzo 先祖 always has this meaning, and generally refers to ancestors of lay parishioners of a temple. [resp. Griffith Foulk, Charles Muller; ref. Soothill, Hirakawa, Yokoi]
- Spiritual forebears; ancestral teachers 祖師 in the Chan/Seon/Zen lineage, from whom living members of the lineage have inherited the Dharma. In Chan/Seon/Zen texts, the character 祖 when it stands alone usually has this meaning. See 二十八祖 (Skt. pitā-maha). 〔四分律 T 1428.22.570a10〕 [resp. Griffith Foulk]
Dictionary References:
Bukkyō jiten (Ui), 650
Bulgyo sajeon, 791a
Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.), 710d
Koga, 264
Japanese-English Zen Buddhist Dictionary (Yokoi), 720
Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura), 859b
Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa), 0894
Soothill, 334
Copyright © 2010 -- Charles Muller
generated: 2014-04-24