刹 means “temple, instant”

せつ · setsu

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

セチ, セツ, サツ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 8 strokes

The story

The left side of 殺, to kill, beside a blade (刂): yet 刹 is gentle, borrowed for the sound of Sanskrit words. A 古刹 or 名刹 is an old, famous temple, and 刹那, from the Sanskrit for an instant, is the shortest moment in Buddhist thought.

Used in 刹那 (setsuna, instant/moment), 古刹 (kosatsu, ancient temple), and 名刹 (meisatsu, famous temple)

More from Temple & Zen

• 宗 religion
• 戒 guard against
• 聖 holy
• 浄 pure
• 悟 realize
• 仰 look up
• 僧 monk
• 尼 nun
• 禅 Zen

Learn 刹 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.