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四無量心 is the cattāri brahmavihārā or catvāri apramāṇāni.
The four immeasurables, or infinite Buddha-states of mind. These four dhyānas include:
1. 慈無量心 boundless kindness, maitrī, or bestowing of joy or happiness.
2. 悲無量心 boundless pity, karuṇā, to save from suffering.
3. 喜無量心 boundless joy, muditā, on seeing others rescued from suffering.
4. 捨無量心 limitless indifference, upekṣā, i.e., rising above these emotions or giving up all things.
慈 is the simplest way to express the idea of compassion.
This can also mean love for your fellow humans, humanity, or living creatures. Sometimes this is extended to mean charity.
This term is often used in a Buddhist or Christian context. The concept was also spoken of by Laozi (Lao Tzu) in the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching).
慈 is considered the direct translation of the Sanskrit word मैत्री (maitrī) Pali word मेत्ता (mettā). In this context, it means benevolence, loving kindness, and goodwill.
This Chinese character is understood in Japanese but is usually used in compound words (not seen alone). Also used in old Korean Hanja, so it's very universal.
See Also: Mercy | Benevolence | Forgiveness | Kindness
Besides the title above, 慈悲 can also be defined as clemency or lenience and sometimes the act of giving charity.
In the Buddhist context, it can be defined as “benevolence,” “loving-kindness and compassion,” or “mercy and compassion.”
This Buddhist virtue is perhaps the most important to employ in your life. All sentient beings that you encounter should be given your loving kindness. And trust me, however much you can give, it comes back. Make your life and the world a better place!
This Chinese/Japanese Buddhist term is the equivalent of Metta Karuna from Pali or Maitri Karuna from Sanskrit.
慈 can mean loving-kindness by itself.
悲 adds a component of sorrow, empathy, compassion, and sympathy for others.
See Also: Benevolence
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your Maitri search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
四無量心 四无量心 see styles |
sì wú liàng xīn si4 wu2 liang4 xin1 ssu wu liang hsin shi muryōshin |
More info & calligraphy: Brahmavihara - The Four Immeasurables |
四等 see styles |
sì děng si4 deng3 ssu teng shitō |
The four virtues which a Buddha out of his infinite heart manifests equally to all; also called 四無量 q. w. They are: 慈悲喜捨 maitrī, karuṇā, muditā, upekṣā, i. e. kindness, pity, joy and indifference, or 護 protection. Another group is 字語法身, i. e. 字 that all Buddhas have the same title or titles; 語 speak the same language; 法 proclaim the same truth; and 身 have each the threefold body, or trikāya. A third group is 諸法 all things are equally included in the bhūtatathatā; 發心 the mind-nature being universal, its field of action is universal; 道等 the way or method is also universal; therefore 慈悲 the mercy (of the Buddhas) is universal for all. |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Maitri | マイトリ | maitori | ||
Brahmavihara - The Four Immeasurables | 四無量心 四无量心 | shi mur you shin shimuryoushin shi mur yo shin | sì wú liàng xīn si4 wu2 liang4 xin1 si wu liang xin siwuliangxin | ssu wu liang hsin ssuwulianghsin |
Mercy Compassion Love | 慈 | ji | cí / ci2 / ci | tz`u / tzu |
Mercy Compassion Buddhist Loving Kindness | 慈悲 | ji hi / jihi | cí bēi / ci2 bei1 / ci bei / cibei | tz`u pei / tzupei / tzu pei |
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Maitri Kanji, Maitri Characters, Maitri in Mandarin Chinese, Maitri Characters, Maitri in Chinese Writing, Maitri in Japanese Writing, Maitri in Asian Writing, Maitri Ideograms, Chinese Maitri symbols, Maitri Hieroglyphics, Maitri Glyphs, Maitri in Chinese Letters, Maitri Hanzi, Maitri in Japanese Kanji, Maitri Pictograms, Maitri in the Chinese Written-Language, or Maitri in the Japanese Written-Language.
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