諸行無常

See also: 诸行无常

Chinese

		all; many; various	to go; to do; capable to go; to do; capable; all right; competent; OK; to travel; temporary; to walk; will do; behaviour; conduct; a row; profession; professional	changeable; variable; sporadic changeable; variable; sporadic; irregular; inconsistent
trad. (諸行無常)		諸	行	無常
simp. (诸行无常)		诸	行	无常

Etymology

From 大般涅槃經 (Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta):

諸行無常，是生滅法。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

诸行无常，是生灭法。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta

Zhū xíng wúcháng, shì shēngmiè fǎ. [Pinyin]

Everything is impermanent. This is the law of birth and death.

A phrase consisting of 諸／诸 (zhū, “all, every”) + 行 (“deed, accomplishment”) + 無常／无常 (wúcháng, “impermanent”), in turn a translation (directly or via Pali) of Sanskrit सर्व संस्कारा अनित्याः (sarva saṃskārā anityāḥ, literally “all deeds are impermanent”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhūxíngwúcháng

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄨ ㄒㄧㄥˊ ㄨˊ ㄔㄤˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zyu¹ hang⁴ mou⁴ soeng⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhūxíngwúcháng
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄨ ㄒㄧㄥˊ ㄨˊ ㄔㄤˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhusíngwúcháng
    • Wade–Giles: chu¹-hsing²-wu²-chʻang²
    • Yale: jū-syíng-wú-cháng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jushyngwucharng
    • Palladius: чжусинъучан (čžusinʺučan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ ɕiŋ³⁵ u³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zyu¹ hang⁴ mou⁴ soeng⁴
    • Yale: jyū hàhng mòuh sèuhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzy¹ hang⁴ mou⁴ soeng⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ju¹ heng⁴ mou⁴ sêng⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡syː⁵⁵ hɐŋ²¹ mou̯²¹ sœːŋ²¹/

Idiom

諸行無常

1. (Buddhism) worldly things are impermanent

Japanese

Kanji in this term
諸	行	無	常
しょ Grade: 6	ぎょう Grade: 2	む Grade: 4	じょう Grade: 5
goon

Alternative spelling
諸行無常 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Buddhist expression borrowed from Chinese 諸行無常／诸行无常 (zhūxíngwúcháng), in turn a translation (directly or via Pali) of Sanskrit सर्व संस्कारा अनित्याः (sarva saṃskārā anityāḥ, literally “all deeds are impermanent”).

As Japanese, also analyzable as a compound of 諸行 (shogyō, “all things”) +‎ 無常 (mujō, “impermanent, transient”).

The two constituent Japanese terms are citable to the early 600s, while the first citations of the full four-character phrase in Chinese are from around the mid-600s. However, the full four-character phrase in Japanese usage is first cited much later in the 観智院本三宝絵 (Kanchi-in-bon Sanbō-E), a collection of Buddhist writings from 984.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しょ​ぎょう・むじょう [shóꜜgyòò mùjóó] (Atamadaka + Heiban)

• (Tokyo) しょぎょーむじょー [shògyóómújóó] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) しょぎょーむじょー [shògyóómúꜜjòò] (Nakadaka – [4])
• (Tokyo) しょぎょーむじょー [shóꜜgyòòmùjòò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɕo̞ɡʲo̞ːmɯ̟ʑo̞ː]

Noun

諸(しょ)行(ぎょう)無(む)常(じょう) • (shogyō mujō) ^{←しよぎやうむじやう (syogyau muzyau)?}

1. [from 984] (Buddhism) the impermanence of worldly things

Phrase

諸(しょ)行(ぎょう)無(む)常(じょう) • (shogyō mujō) ^{←しよぎやうむじやう (syogyau muzyau)?}

1. [from 984] (Buddhism) all worldly things are transitory
   • (Can we date this quote?), “Chapter 1.1”, in Helen Craig McCullough, transl., 平家物語 [The Tale of the Heike]:

     祇(ぎ)園(おん)精(しょう)舎(しゃ)の鐘(かね)の声(こえ)、諸(しょ)行(ぎょう)無(む)常(じょう)の響(ひび)き有(あ)り。沙(さ)羅(ら)双(そう)樹(じゅ)の花(はな)の色(いろ)、盛(じょう)者(しゃ)必(ひっ)衰(すい)の理(ことわり)を顕(あらわ)す。驕(おご)れる者(もの)も久(ひさ)しからず、唯(ただ)春(はる)の夜(よる)の夢(ゆめ)の如(ごと)し。猛(たけ)き者(もの)も遂(つい)には滅(ほろ)びぬ、偏(ひとえ)に風(かぜ)の前(まえ)の塵(ちり)に同(おな)じ。

     Gionshōsha no kane no koe, shogyō mujō no hibiki ari. Sarasōju no hana no iro, jōshahissui no kotowari o arawasu. Ogoreru mono mo hisashikarazu, tada haru no yoru no yume no gotoshi. Takeki mono mo tsui ni wa horobinu, hitoeni kaze no mae no chiri ni onaji.

     The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.

Korean

Hanja in this term
諸	行	無	常

Noun

諸行無常 • (jehaengmusang) (hangeul 제행무상)

1. hanja form^? of 제행무상 (“the impermanence of worldly things”)