众生 (zhòng shēng) — all sentient beings (Buddhist term); all living…

Definition

众生 (zhòng shēng) is the Buddhist term for 'all sentient beings' — every creature with consciousness, not just humans.

noun

all sentient beings (Buddhist term)all living creatures

众生，。
Fó jiào rèn wéi zhòng shēng píng děng, jiē yǒu fó xìng.
Buddhism believes that all sentient beings are equal and all have Buddha-nature.
众生。
Pú sà fā yuàn dù huà yí qiè zhòng shēng.
The bodhisattva vows to liberate all sentient beings.
众生。
Zhè bù jīng shū jì zǎi le fó tuó duì zhòng shēng de cí bēi kāi shì.
This sutra records the Buddha's compassionate teachings for all sentient beings.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

生shēngliving beings

众 'many' + 生 'living beings' together mean all creatures.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 眾; 众 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 眾 shows three people under a sun-like shape, meaning a crowd gathered under the sun; the simplified 众 is a later shorthand.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Appears in