also: じがん
merciful eye; compassionate gaze
Buddhist term referring to the compassionate, all-seeing gaze of a Buddha or bodhisattva watching over sentient beings. Not used in everyday conversation.
The merciful eye of Kannon is directed toward all living beings.
仏像の慈眼に満ちた表情に心が和んだ。
My heart was soothed by the compassionate expression in the Buddha statue's eyes.
Standard kanji form; the reading じげん is the most common.
Alternate reading, less common; may be encountered in some Buddhist contexts.
From 慈 (compassion) + 眼 (eye). A Buddhist term originally from Sanskrit or Pali concepts of the Buddha's compassionate gaze.