Definition

1. Noun:
   • Living beings: All sentient beings, all creatures possessing life, according to Buddhist terminology. It encompasses all forms of life capable of sensation and experience.
   • Souls of the dead: The spirits or souls of deceased beings, often mentioned in a Buddhist or spiritual context when referring to the cycle of rebirth and liberation.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Đức Phật từ bi cứu độ tất cả chúng sinh. (The compassionate Buddha saves all living beings.)
  • Lễ cầu siêu để siêu thoát cho chúng sinh. (The requiem ceremony is to liberate the souls of the dead.)
  • Tình thương nên được mở rộng đến mọi chúng sinh. (Compassion should be extended to all sentient beings.)

Advanced Usage

• "Phổ độ chúng sinh": A common Buddhist phrase meaning "to universally save/deliver all sentient beings" from suffering.

  • Bồ Tát phát nguyện phổ độ chúng sinh. (The Bodhisattva vows to universally deliver all sentient beings.)

• "Chúng sinh hữu tình": A more specific term emphasizing "sentient beings" (beings with consciousness and feeling), often used in doctrinal contexts.

  • Giáo lý nhà Phật hướng tới sự giải thoát cho chúng sinh hữu tình. (Buddhist doctrine aims for the liberation of sentient beings.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chúng sanh: An alternate, equally common Sino-Vietnamese spelling with the same meaning.
• Sinh linh (n): Living creature, soul; a near-synonym with a slightly less doctrinal tone.
  • Bảo vệ mọi sinh linh trên Trái Đất. (Protect all living creatures on Earth.)
• Hữu tình (n): Sentient being (often used in compound "chúng sinh hữu tình").

Synonyms

• Sinh vật: Organism, living thing (more biological, less spiritual connotation).
• Loài vật: Animals (specifically refers to the animal kingdom, not all sentient beings).
• Vạn vật: All things, all creatures (poetic/philosophical, can include non-sentient things).

Related Phrases

• Độ sinh: To save/deliver living beings (a verb phrase related to the mission of saving ).
  • Hạnh nguyện độ sinh của một vị Bồ Tát. (The vow to save living beings of a Bodhisattva.)

Related Idioms

• "Chúng sinh đau khổ": Suffering beings; a standard phrase describing the state of beings in samsara (the cycle of rebirth).
  • Ngài thương xót nhìn thấy chúng sinh đau khổ. (He looked with pity upon the suffering beings.)
• "Bình đẳng chúng sinh": The equality of all beings; a concept in Buddhism that all beings have the potential for enlightenment.
  • Phật tính tồn tại trong mọi chúng sinh. (Buddha-nature exists in all beings.)

1. Living beings
   • Souls of the dead (theo lối nói của đạo Phật)