also: さんだい
threefold truth
A Tendai Buddhist doctrine: the three truths are that all things are void (空), temporary (仮), and in the middle state (中) between these two. This is a technical term used in Buddhist philosophy.
In the Tendai school, the teaching of the threefold truth is considered important.
The threefold truth refers to the three truths of emptiness, provisionality, and the middle.
From Middle Chinese 三諦 (sam tejH), a Buddhist term translating Sanskrit trividha-satya or similar concepts. The kanji 三 means 'three' and 諦 means 'truth' or 'principle'.