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極楽往生 (ごくらくおうじょう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

極ごく楽らく往おう生じょう

ご

く

ら

く

お

う

じょ

う

Meanings

1

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

peaceful death; rebirth in paradise

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

A Buddhist term for dying peacefully and being reborn in the Pure Land (極楽). Also used more broadly for a calm, natural death without suffering.

祖そ母ぼは眠ねむるように極ごく楽らく往おう生じょうした。
My grandmother passed away peacefully, as if falling asleep.

極ごく

楽らく

往おう

生じょう

を

願ねが

っ

て

念ねん

仏ぶつ

を

唱とな

える

。

Chanting the nenbutsu, wishing for rebirth in the Pure Land.

Kanji

極extreme, pole, extremely
楽music, comfort, ease
往journey, travel, chase away
生life, genuine, birth

Similar words

往おう生じょう
往生 alone means 'passing away' or 'rebirth in paradise', but 極楽往生 specifically emphasizes a peaceful death leading to the Pure Land.
大だい往おう生じょう
大往生 also means a peaceful death, but it is a more common, non-religious term. 極楽往生 retains a stronger Buddhist nuance.

Etymology

A yojijukugo composed of 極楽 (gokuraku, 'Sukhavati' or 'Pure Land') and 往生 (ōjō, 'rebirth in paradise' or 'passing away'). The term originates from Pure Land Buddhism, where it refers to being born in Amida Buddha's Western Paradise after death.