http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/06/07/buddhist-vocab-in-japanese-everyday-use/ My life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile. Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:44:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/06/07/buddhist-vocab-in-japanese-everyday-use/#comment-2760 Doug Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:23:34 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=4082#comment-2760 Arun, Stephen, excellent, excellent comments. Thanks so much for the input! Arun, Stephen, excellent, excellent comments. Thanks so much for the input!

]]> http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/06/07/buddhist-vocab-in-japanese-everyday-use/#comment-2755 Stephen Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:19:38 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=4082#comment-2755 How about the missused Buddhist term 有難う　arigatou? I nearly bought a book on everyday words that have their roots in Buddhism like 不思議 fushigi. This is from 不可思議　fukashigi which anyone who recites the Amida Sutra in Japanese should recognize. 不可思議　is also a number (1 with 64 zeros). Also in the Amida Sutra is 恒河沙　gougaja which means the number of grains in the Ganges river, which is also a number (1 with 52 zeros) http://atasinti.chu.jp/kazu/ I am still wondering about the term ぶつぶつ, I wonder if this term came from Pureland Buddhism in Japan... How about the missused Buddhist term 有難う　arigatou?
I nearly bought a book on everyday words that have their roots in Buddhism like 不思議 fushigi. This is from 不可思議　fukashigi which anyone who recites the Amida Sutra in Japanese should recognize.
不可思議　is also a number (1 with 64 zeros). Also in the Amida Sutra is 恒河沙　gougaja which means the number of grains in the Ganges river, which is also a number (1 with 52 zeros)
http://atasinti.chu.jp/kazu/
I am still wondering about the term ぶつぶつ, I wonder if this term came from Pureland Buddhism in Japan…

]]> http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/06/07/buddhist-vocab-in-japanese-everyday-use/#comment-2753 arunlikhati Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:41:45 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=4082#comment-2753 Language has a way of taking its own course with words changing meaning seemingly in spite of our best efforts. "Buddhist" words are even more woven into Southeast Asian languages in ways we might characterize as "mis-use". For example, Burmese <em>kan</em> "luck" comes from <em>kamma</em>, or Cambodian <em>sot</em> "recite" comes from <em>sutra</em>. English-speaking Buddhists also "mis-use" Pali/Sanskrit words by making them even more "Buddhist". A word like <em>sangha</em> had a more generic meaning in Pali, but brought into English, it has an elevated meaning referring specifically to a Buddhist community or even more restrictively to monks and nuns. Language has a way of taking its own course with words changing meaning seemingly in spite of our best efforts. “Buddhist” words are even more woven into Southeast Asian languages in ways we might characterize as “mis-use”. For example, Burmese kan “luck” comes from kamma, or Cambodian sot “recite” comes from sutra. English-speaking Buddhists also “mis-use” Pali/Sanskrit words by making them even more “Buddhist”. A word like sangha had a more generic meaning in Pali, but brought into English, it has an elevated meaning referring specifically to a Buddhist community or even more restrictively to monks and nuns.

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