Definition

1. Verb:
   • To knock up to sit in meditation: To engage in the practice of religious or spiritual discipline, often involving meditation, asceticism, and adherence to specific precepts, typically to cultivate virtue and seek enlightenment.
   • To enter religion; to become a religious person: To formally devote oneself to a religious life, often by joining a monastic order or following a strict spiritual path.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Ông ấy quyết định tu tại một ngôi chùa trên núi. (He decided to practice asceticism/to enter monastic life at a temple in the mountains.)
  • Cô ấy tu theo đạo Phật đã được mười năm. (She has been following Buddhist practice for ten years.)
  • Để tìm sự bình an, nhiều người chọn cách tu tâm dưỡng tính. (To find peace, many people choose to cultivate their mind and character.)

Advanced Usage

• "tu hành": to practice religion, to lead a religious life (This is a common compound. The core meaning of tu here is the act of self-cultivation within a religious context.)

  • Các nhà sư tu hành rất nghiêm túc trong ngôi chùa này. (The monks practice religion very seriously in this temple.)

• "tu tại gia": to practice religion while living a secular life at home (as opposed to in a monastery).

  • Bà cụ là một Phật tử tu tại gia. (The old lady is a Buddhist practicing at home.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tu sĩ (n): A religious practitioner, a monk or a nun.

  • Các tu sĩ sống một cuộc đời giản dị và thiền định. (The monks live a simple and meditative life.)

• Tu tập (v): To practice, to cultivate (spiritually). This compound emphasizes the ongoing process of practice.

  • Con đường tu tập đòi hỏi sự kiên nhẫn. (The path of practice requires patience.)

• Tu dưỡng (v): To cultivate, to nurture (one's morality, character).

  • Anh ấy luôn chú trọng tu dưỡng đạo đức. (He always focuses on cultivating his morals.)

Synonyms

• Tuân theo đạo (v): To follow a religion/doctrine.
• Sống đời tu hành (v phrase): To live a religious life.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Tu thân: To cultivate oneself (Often the first step in a Confucian sequence: tu thân, tề gia, trị quốc, bình thiên hạ - cultivate self, regulate family, govern state, bring peace to the world).
  • Muốn giúp đời, trước hết phải biết tu thân. (To help the world, one must first know how to cultivate oneself.)

Related Idioms

• "Tu đâu cho bằng tu nhà, thờ cha kính mẹ mới là chân tu": (A proverb) Where is better to practice than at home? Honoring father and respecting mother is true practice. This emphasizes that genuine spiritual practice (tu) can and should start with filial piety.
• "Ăn chay nằm mộng, niệm Phật *tu hành": (A saying) To be vegetarian, to have dreams, to chant Buddha's name, *to practice religion. This lists activities associated with the life of tu.

verb

1. to knock up to sit in meditation