森羅万象(しんらばんしょう)

しんらばんしょう
noun (four-character idiom)
all things in the universe; all of creation; everything
1. all things in the universe
Everything that exists in the universe, all phenomena and entities without exception.
仏教(ぶっきょう)では森羅万象(しんらばんしょう)は無常(むじょう)であると説(と)く。
Buddhism teaches that all things in the universe are impermanent.
自然(しぜん)は森羅万象(しんらばんしょう)の源(みなもと)である。
Nature is the source of all things in existence.
森羅万象(しんらばんしょう)に命(いのち)が宿(やど)ると信(しん)じられていた。
It was believed that life dwells in all things in the universe.

FOUR-CHARACTER IDIOM (四字熟語(よじじゅくご)):
森羅(しんら) (dense, countless things) + 万象(ばんしょう) (myriad phenomena)

COMPONENTS:

  • 森(しん): forest, dense
  • 羅(ら): net, to spread out
  • 万(ばん): ten thousand, myriad
  • 象(しょう): phenomenon, form

ORIGIN:
Derived from Buddhist philosophy, particularly the concept that all things are interconnected and part of one universal whole.

USAGE:
Used in philosophical, religious, or literary contexts to refer to the totality of existence. Common in discussions of Buddhism, Shinto, or nature.

CULTURAL CONNECTION:
Relates to the Japanese concept of 万物(ばんぶつ) (all things) and the Shinto belief that spirits (神(かみ)) inhabit all natural phenomena.

SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:

general
Added 2026.1.17 13:09 · Revised 2026.6.16 18:18
06000/06149_shinrabanshou