Definition

1. Noun:
   • Karma, karmic obstacle: "Nghiệp chướng" refers to the negative consequences or obstacles resulting from bad actions (karma) committed in one's past lives, according to Buddhist philosophy. It is the burden of sin or misdeeds that one carries, leading to suffering and misfortune in the current life.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ta gặp nhiều khó khăn, có lẽ do nghiệp chướng từ kiếp trước. (He faces many difficulties, perhaps due to karmic obstacles from a past life.)
  • Theo đạo Phật, con người phải trả nghiệp chướng. (According to Buddhism, humans must repay their karmic debt.)

Advanced Usage

• "Mang nghiệp chướng": to bear karmic obstacles.
  • Bà ấy mang nhiều nghiệp chướng nên cuộc sống vất vả. (She bears many karmic obstacles, so her life is hard.)
• "Trả nghiệp chướng": to pay off/atone for karmic debt.
  • Anh ấy tin rằng bệnh tật là cách để trả nghiệp chướng. (He believes illness is a way to pay off karmic debt.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nghiệp (n): Karma (a more general term for the law of cause and effect across lifetimes).
  • Nghiệp báo: Karmic retribution.
• Chướng (n): Obstacle, hindrance (often used in Buddhist context).
  • Chướng ngại: Obstacle, barrier.

Synonyms

• Báo ứng: Retribution (often karmic).
• Quả báo: Karmic consequence/result.

Related Phrases

• "Nghiệp chướng chất chồng": Accumulated/piled-up karmic obstacles.
  • Nghiệp chướng chất chồng khiến họ không thể sống yên ổn. (Piled-up karmic obstacles prevent them from living peacefully.)

Related Idioms

• "Gieo nhân nào, gặt quả nấy" / "Ở hiền gặp lành, ở ác gặp ác": These Vietnamese idioms convey a similar concept of karmic cause and effect, meaning "As you sow, so shall you reap" or "Good deeds bring good fortune, bad deeds bring misfortune." While not containing "nghiệp chướng," they explain its underlying principle.

1. Karma