如来

如来

See also: 如來

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 如来 – see 如來 (“Tathāgata”). (This term, 如来, is the simplified form of 如來.)

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
如	来
にょ Grade: S	らい Grade: 2
goon	on’yomi

Alternative spelling
如來 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

From the Middle Chinese compound 如來 (MC ȵɨʌ lʌi), an abbreviation of either 如去如來 (MC ȵɨʌ kʰɨʌ^X ȵɨʌ lʌi) or 如來如去 (MC ȵɨʌ lʌi ȵɨʌ kʰɨʌ^X, “coming from suchness, going back into suchness”), translations of Sanskrit तथागत (tathāgata, “coming from suchness, going back into suchness; thus coming, thus going”, exact meaning uncertain, see Tathāgata on Wikipedia.Wikipedia )[1][2].

First cited to a section of the 続日本紀 (Shoku Nihongi) dated to 766 CE.[1]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) にょらい [nyòráí] (Heiban – [0])[3]
• (Tokyo) にょ​らい [nyóꜜràì] (Atamadaka – [1])[3]
• IPA^(key): [ɲ̟o̞ɾa̠i]

Noun

如(にょ)来(らい) • (nyorai)  (kyūjitai 如來)

1. [from 766] (religion, Buddhism) a buddha

Synonyms

• 多(た)陀(だ)阿(あ)伽(が)度(た) (Tadaagata) (rare)

Proper noun

如(にょ)来(らい) • (Nyorai)  (kyūjitai 如來)

1. [from 766] the Buddha

Synonyms

• 多(た)陀(だ)阿(あ)伽(が)度(た) (Tadaagata) (rare)

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

Further reading

• 如来 on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• Buddha on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Tathāgata on Wikipedia.Wikipedia