入定 (rù dìng) — (noun) meditative trance (Buddhist concept); (verb) to enter a meditative trance

Definition

A Buddhist term for the deep meditative state a monk enters during seated meditation (打坐). It is both the state itself (noun) and the act of entering it (verb).

noun
meditative trance (Buddhist concept)
verb
to enter a meditative trance

Examples

  • 入定，。
    Tā měi tiān dǎ zuò rù dìng, yǐ jīng jiān chí le èr shí nián.
    He sits in meditation and enters a trance every day; he has persisted for twenty years.
  • 入定。
    Zhè zhǒng rù dìng zhuàng tài néng ràng rén nèi xīn píng jìng.
    This kind of trance state can calm the mind.
  • 入定。
    Tā zài rù dìng zhōng kàn dào le xǔ duō huàn xiàng.
    He saw many illusions in the trance.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

入rùenter
定dìngmeditative concentration

入 means enter and 定 means meditative concentration; together they describe entering a trance.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng定dìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

定 is built from 宀 and 正, with 正 supplying the sound.

Open 定 →

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