📖 Meaning
In Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism, the robe and alms bowl were the physical tokens a master gave to the disciple he chose to succeed him, symbolizing the transmission of the dharma. Figuratively, it refers to the passing down of skills, techniques, or scholarship from teacher to student through the generations.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Old Book of Tang, Biography of Shenxiu, which records that in the late Northern Wei dynasty, the monk Bodhidharma, a prince of India who had renounced the world to protect the kingdom, arrived via the South China Sea and obtained the profound dharma of the Chan school. It was said that this teaching had been handed down from Shakyamuni Buddha himself, with the robe and bowl as evidence, transmitted from master to master across generations. Thus the robe and bowl became the mark of legitimate succession in the Chan lineage.
💡 Example Usage
这家百年老店靠师徒衣钵相传，把绝活一代代保留下来。
This century-old shop relies on the master-to-apprentice tradition of passing down the robe and bowl, preserving its unique craft from generation to generation.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 衣钵相传
- Pinyin: yī bō xiāng chuán
- Literal Translation: robe, alms bowl, pass down to one another
- Category: Learning
- Characters: 4