also: ぼんぞう
noun
ordinary priest; unranked priest
Buddhist term for a monk without a high rank or special status; a common priest.
彼は高僧ではなく、ただの凡僧に過ぎない。
He is not a high-ranking priest, but merely an ordinary monk.
noun
foolish monk
Only with reading ぼんそう
Derogatory term for a monk considered ignorant or lacking in virtue; restricted to reading ぼんそう.
その凡僧は戒律を守らず、好き放題に振る舞った。
That foolish monk ignored the precepts and behaved as he pleased.
Compound of 凡 (bon, 'ordinary, mediocre') and 僧 (sō, 'monk'). The reading ぼんぞう is a variant with rendaku.