noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun
impermanent like a burning house; mutable; uncertain
A Buddhist expression comparing the world to a burning house, emphasizing its impermanence and uncertainty. Often used in the pattern 火宅無常の世界. Rare in modern everyday language; primarily encountered in literary or religious contexts.
Living in this impermanent world like a burning house, we cannot help but seek peace.
無常 is the general term for impermanence; 火宅無常 specifically evokes the parable of the burning house from the Lotus Sutra.
From the Buddhist parable of the burning house in the Lotus Sutra, combined with 無常 (impermanence). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase is a set expression in Japanese Buddhist literature.