five flavors; five tastes
Refers to the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, spicy, sour, and bitter. Used in culinary and traditional contexts.
five flavors (Buddhist); five periods of the Buddha's teachings
Buddhist technical term. Literally refers to five stages of milk in ghee-making, figuratively to the five periods of the Buddha's teachings. Rare outside Buddhist contexts.
See also: 五時教
The five flavors are sweet, salty, spicy, sour, and bitter.
In Buddhism, the five flavors sometimes represent the five periods of the Buddha's teachings.
schisandra fruit; magnolia berry; five-flavor fruit
From 五 (five) + 味 (taste). The Buddhist sense is a translation of a Sanskrit concept.