In Buddhism, a sacred syllable, word, or phrase chanted as a spiritual practice. The term is strongly associated with Shingon Buddhism.
真言を唱えることで心が落ち着く。
Chanting a mantra calms the mind.
Abbreviation of 真言宗 (Shingon-shū), a major school of Japanese Buddhism. Used in compound names or when the context is clearly Buddhist.
See also: 真言宗
真言は空海によって日本に伝えられた。
The Shingon sect was brought to Japan by Kūkai.
真言 is the standard Buddhist term for a sacred mantra, closely matching the second, religious sense of 呪.
真言 is a specific Buddhist mantra chanted for spiritual power, while 呪文 is the general word for any magic spell, including in fantasy and games.
Shingon sect
Standard kanji spelling for both the mantra and the Shingon sect senses.
Old-form kanji variant; included for search coverage.
From Middle Chinese 真言 (tsyin ngjon, 'true words'), a translation of Sanskrit mantra. The term entered Japanese through Buddhist texts.