鉢

Specifically, the monastic bowl (patra, 발우) used by Buddhist monks to receive alms or to eat from.

By extension, any round, open vessel such as a pot or flower bowl.

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

金 (쇠 금) — semantic component, indicating a metallic object or vessel made of metal.

本 (근본 본) — phonetic component, giving the sound bal and suggesting roundness or base form.

According to Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「鉢，僧器也。从金，本聲。」

“鉢 is the vessel of a monk, composed of 金 (‘metal’) and the sound 本.”

The character was originally written with the metal radical to denote a vessel made of bronze or iron.

In later Buddhist usage, the form 缽 (⿰缶本) — replacing 金 with 缶 (“earthen jar”) — became common, since early alms bowls were ceramic or clay rather than metallic.

Today, 鉢 and 缽 are largely interchangeable, though 缽 is the official form in Taiwan and in modern simplified contexts.

In East Asian Buddhism, the 鉢 (Sanskrit pātra) became one of the “Eight Necessities” (八種供養具) of a monk, representing simplicity, humility, and the direct sustenance of life.

Monks would carry the alms bowl during morning rounds (托鉢, “to beg with the bowl”), symbolizing the renunciation of property and reliance on compassion from others.

This practice spread from India through China, Korea, and Japan, where 托鉢僧 (“monk with bowl”) became an enduring image of Buddhist discipline.

鉢盂 (발우) — alms bowl; monk’s eating bowl

沙鉢 (사발) — earthen bowl

飯鉢 (반발) — rice bowl

鐵鉢 (철발) — iron bowl

缽盂 (발우) — alternative form with 缽; “monastic vessel”

缽多 (발다, pātra) — transliteration of Sanskrit pātra, Buddhist begging bowl

缽羅 (발라) — Sanskrit loan, denotes “vessel” or “container”

鉢水 (발수) — ritual water in the bowl

In Japanese, 鉢 (hachi) refers broadly to any round open container — including flowerpots, basins, and bowls.

Hence the modern extension of meaning from the monastic or ritual vessel to general containers such as 植木鉢 (flowerpot) and 金魚鉢 (goldfish bowl).

The Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典) records:

「鉢，缽也。僧家用以受食。」

“鉢 is the same as 缽; used by monks to receive food.”

In Buddhist scripture translations (e.g., Āgama, Vinaya texts), 鉢 often appears as the phonetic transcription for Sanskrit pātra, or as a literal term meaning “vessel of dharma” (法鉢).

The metaphorical sense of 鉢 in later Chinese and Korean literature sometimes alludes to the measure of destiny or blessing — e.g., “福鉢” (bowl of fortune) or “命鉢” (bowl of life).

In the Buddhist monastic tradition, 鉢 symbolizes the self-sufficient simplicity of the mendicant life.

As the vessel that sustains the body through offerings, it represents contentment (少欲知足) and spiritual receptivity — the readiness to receive truth just as the bowl receives alms.

“The pure mind is like the monk’s bowl — empty, open, unstained, and always ready to receive the Dharma.” (Zen saying)

Thus, 鉢 stands not only for a physical container but also for the emptiness that nourishes — a vessel through which both food and enlightenment are received.

鉢 is a phono-semantic compound (金 + 本) meaning “bowl” or “alms vessel.”

Originating as a term for the Buddhist begging bowl (pātra), it broadened to include any round container.

Closely related to the variant 缽, it embodies the ideals of humility, simplicity, and spiritual receptivity — a small, silent vessel that holds the infinite.

缽 — simplified or alternate form, using 缶 instead of 金; common in Buddhist and Taiwanese usage.

鉢 — standard traditional form in classical texts.