vihara
Americannoun
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a meeting place of Buddhist monks.
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a Buddhist monastery.
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Also called Brahma Vihara. (initial capital letter) one of the four states of mind, namely love, compassion, sympathetic gladness, and equanimity, to be developed by every Buddhist.
Etymology
Origin of vihara
First recorded in 1875–80, vihara is from the Sanskrit word vihāra
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A path, or rather a ledge cut along the perpendicular face of a rocky mass 200 feet high, led from the chief temple to our vihara.
From From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan by H. P. (Helena Petrovna) Blavatsky
When Buddha, on his return entered the vihara, this image immediately left its place, and came forth to meet him.
From Chinese Literature Comprising the Analects of Confucius, the Sayings of Mencius, the Shi-King, the Travels of Fâ-Hien, and the Sorrows of Han by Sir John Francis Davis
Every day, after it has been brought forth, the keepers of the vihara ascend a high gallery, where they beat great drums, blow conchs, and clash their copper cymbals.
When the king hears them, he goes to the vihara, and makes his offerings of flowers and incense.
The Jetavana vihara was originally of seven storeys.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
