慈悲為本

简 慈悲为本 · 繁 慈悲為本
Mandarin · pinyin cí bēi wéi běn

Meanings

  1. mercy as the guiding principle (idiom); the Buddhist teaching that nothing is valid except compassion
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Characters in this entry

慈
cí · kind, charitable, benevolent
悲
bēi · sorrow, grief; sorry, sad
為
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本
běn · root, origin, source; basis
为
wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–1–2–3 · ci2 bei1 wei2 ben3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

慈悲為本 · find source passages ↗ · 慈悲为本 · find source passages ↗

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慈悲為本 · ci2 bei1 wei2 ben3
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 43,010
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record慈悲為本 慈悲为本 [ci2 bei1 wei2 ben3] /mercy as the guiding principle (idiom); the Buddhist teaching that nothing is valid except compassion/