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西天 (Xī tiān) — (Buddhism) Western Paradise, the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha; (historical) India (as the origin of Buddhist scriptures)

Definition

In Buddhist texts, 西天 means the 'Western Paradise' (Amitabha's Pure Land), and by extension 'India' — the land where Buddhism originated and where scriptures were sought, as in the Journey to the West.

noun
(Buddhism) Western Paradisethe Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha(historical) India (as the origin of Buddhist scriptures)

Examples

  • 西天。
    Táng sēng dài zhe sān gè tú dì qù Xī tiān qǔ jīng.
    Tang Sanzang, with his three disciples, went to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures.
  • 西天。
    Fó jiào xìn tú xiāng xìn sǐ hòu néng qù Xī tiān jí lè shì jiè.
    Buddhist believers trust that after death they can go to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss.
  • 西天。
    Gǔ rén rèn wéi Xī tiān de fó fǎ zuì zhèng zōng.
    Ancient people believed that the Buddhist teachings from the Western Heaven (India) were the most orthodox.

Origin

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.

西xīwest
天tiānheaven

西 means west, and 天 means heaven, so it names the western heaven.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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