cực lạc
Definition
- Proper noun:
- The Western Paradise; The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss: In Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Pure Land Buddhism, "Cực Lạc" is the name of the Buddha realm (Buddha-field) created by the vows of Amitabha Buddha. It is described as a land of perfect peace, happiness, and enlightenment, free from all suffering.
- Ultimate Bliss; Supreme Happiness: The term itself translates to "extreme joy" or "ultimate bliss," representing the state of perfect, unending happiness and liberation from the cycle of birth and death (samsara).
Usage Examples
- Proper noun:
- Phật A Di Đà tiếp dẫn chúng sinh về thế giới Tây Phương Cực Lạc. (Amitabha Buddha welcomes sentient beings to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.)
- Các Phật tử niệm Phật để mong được vãng sanh về cõi Cực Lạc. (Buddhists chant the Buddha's name with the aspiration to be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.)
- Concept (as "ultimate bliss"):
- Trạng thái giác ngộ là đạt đến sự cực lạc. (The state of enlightenment is to attain ultimate bliss.)
Advanced Usage
- "Cõi Cực Lạc" / "Thế giới Cực Lạc": The Land/World of Ultimate Bliss. This is the full term for the Pure Land.
- Kinh A Di Đà miêu tả vẻ đẹp của cõi Cực Lạc. (The Amitabha Sutra describes the beauty of the Land of Ultimate Bliss.)
- "Tịnh Độ Cực Lạc": The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. "Tịnh Độ" is another common term for "Pure Land."
- Pháp môn Tịnh Độ hướng dẫn tu tập để về Tịnh Độ Cực Lạc. (The Pure Land school guides cultivation to reach the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.)
Variants and Related Words
- Tây Phương Tịnh Độ (n): The Western Pure Land. A synonym for the Land of Ultimate Bliss, emphasizing its western direction.
- An Lạc (n): Peace and Happiness. A related, more general term for bliss and tranquility, which can be experienced in this life.
- Niết Bàn (n): Nirvana. The ultimate goal in Buddhism, the extinguishing of suffering. While related, Nirvana is a state of liberation, whereas the Pure Land is a Buddha-field where one can achieve Nirvana more easily.
Synonyms
- Thiên đường (trong Phật giáo): Heaven (in Buddhism). Note: This is a conceptual parallel but "Cực Lạc" is a specific Buddhist doctrinal term, not a general heaven.
- Phật quốc: Buddha-land; Buddha-realm.
- Chân lạc: True bliss.
Related Phrases/Compounds
- Vãng sanh Cực Lạc (v): To be reborn in the Pure Land. This is the core aspiration in Pure Land practice.
- Cụ bà đã một lòng niệm Phật để vãng sanh Cực Lạc. (The elderly lady wholeheartedly chanted the Buddha's name to be reborn in the Pure Land.)
- Cực Lạc thế giới: The World of Ultimate Bliss. A compound with the same meaning.
Related Idioms/Set Phrases
- "Một câu A Di Đà, vãng sanh Cực Lạc quốc": (One utterance of Amitabha, rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.) This reflects the core devotional practice of Pure Land Buddhism.
- "Cõi Ta-bà khổ, cõi Cực Lạc vui": (The Saha world is suffering, the Land of Ultimate Bliss is joyful.) This contrasts our current world of endurance (Saha) with the blissful Pure Land.