佛头加秽 — “To add filth to a Buddha's head”
佛头加秽 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to defile or contaminate something sacred, noble, or good by associating it with something vulgar, impure, or inappropriate; to cast a shadow on something excellent”. Literally, “To add filth to a Buddha's head”.
佛头加秽 Pronunciation and Pinyin
佛头加秽 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 佛头加秽
Origin and Story of 佛头加秽
During the reign of Emperor Muzong of the Tang Dynasty, Cui Qun visited Dong Temple in Hunan. He saw birds defecating on the Buddha statues and remarked to the abbot that birds had no Buddha-nature and were disrespectful to the Buddha.
The abbot replied that birds indeed possess Buddha-nature; they chose to defecate on the Buddha's head because Buddha-nature is benevolent, tolerant of all beings, and never concerned with external matters. The birds understood this compassion.
Idioms Related to 佛头加秽
Synonyms of 佛头加秽
More idioms starting with 佛
- fú佛kǒu口shèng圣xīn心kind speech, compassionate heart
- fó佛kǒu口shé蛇xīn心kind words, cruel heart
- fó佛tóu头zhuó著fèn粪Desecrate something sacred or beautiful
- fó佛xīn心shé蛇kǒu口kind words, evil heart
- fó佛xìng性chán禅xīn心serene enlightened Buddhist mind
- fú佛zhǐ旨lún纶yīn音A divine or imperial authoritative decree
- fú佛shì是jīn金zhuāng妆，，rén人shì是yī衣zhuāng妆clothes make the man
- fú佛shì是jīn金zhuāng装，，rén人shì是yī衣zhuāng装Appearance matters; clothes make the man
- fó佛yǎn眼fó佛xīn心to see the good in people
- fó佛yǎn眼xiāng相kàn看regard with compassion and benevolence
- fú佛gāo高yī一chǐ尺，，mó魔gāo高yí一zhàng丈Evil grows stronger as good progresses
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Open the tool →Questions about 佛头加秽
What does 佛头加秽 mean?
佛头加秽 (fó tóu jiā huì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to defile or contaminate something sacred, noble, or good by associating it with something vulgar, impure, or inappropriate; to cast a shadow on something excellent”.
How do you pronounce 佛头加秽?
佛头加秽 is pronounced fó tóu jiā huì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 佛头加秽 literally mean?
Literally, 佛头加秽 means “to add filth to a Buddha's head”. It is used to mean “to defile or contaminate something sacred, noble, or good by associating it with something vulgar, impure, or inappropriate; to cast a shadow on something excellent”.
Where does 佛头加秽 come from?
佛头加秽 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 佛头加秽?
比喻不好的东西放在好东西上面，玷污的好的东西。