tây thiên

Definition

1. Proper Noun:
   • The Western Heaven: In Vietnamese folk religion and Buddhism, this term refers to the blissful realm in the west, often synonymous with the Pure Land or Nirvana, where enlightened beings reside after death.
   • A Directional and Spiritual Concept: It denotes the western paradise or the ultimate destination for souls, representing peace, salvation, and the end of the cycle of rebirth.

Usage Examples

• Proper Noun:
  • Cụ bà tin rằng mình sẽ được về Tây Thiên. (The elderly woman believes she will go to the Western Heaven.)
  • Tây Thiên là cõi cực lạc của Phật giáo. (The Western Heaven is the blissful paradise of Buddhism.)

Advanced Usage

• "Tây Thiên Phật Quốc": The Buddhist Kingdom of the Western Heaven.
  • Ngôi chùa này thờ cúng Tây Thiên Phật Quốc. (This temple venerates the Buddhist Kingdom of the Western Heaven.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cõi Tây Thiên (n): The realm of the Western Heaven.
  • Họ cầu nguyện cho linh hồn sớm được siêu thoát về cõi Tây Thiên. (They pray for the soul to be soon liberated to the realm of the Western Heaven.)

Synonyms

• Nirvana: The final beatific state in Buddhism, release from the cycle of rebirth.
• The Pure Land: The celestial realm of a Buddha, especially Amitabha Buddha's Western Pure Land.
• The Western Paradise: A blissful afterlife realm in the west.

Related Idioms

• Về trời, về Tây Thiên: To pass away, to return to heaven/the Western Heaven (a euphemism for death).
  • Ông ấy đã thanh thản về Tây Thiên. (He has peacefully passed on to the Western Heaven.)