宿 reading
Origin of the character
The character 宿 was originally formed in imitation of a person halting and lying down to sleep or rest beneath a roof (宀). In the oracle-bone and bronze scripts it appears mainly as a combination of a house, a person, and the form of a foot, conveying the sense of 'staying the night.' Later, in the small seal script, it settled into a shape resembling the modern character, with the form of 百 (hundred) or 人 (person) beneath the roof radical (宀). In modern usage the combination of the roof radical and 百 clearly expresses the meaning 'to sleep' and 'to stay.'
How it is built
宿 = 宀 (roof) + 百 (hundred)
In 宿, the phonetic element 百 joins beneath the roof radical (宀), producing the meaning 'to stay' or 'to sleep.' Since 百 also carries the senses of 'long' or 'many,' it can even evoke the image of passing many nights. The similar character 塾 (private school) means a place where people reside, whereas 宿 places greater emphasis on staying for a while.
In its line
The stars are spread out in their mansions.
Line 4 of 250 in the Thousand Character Classic.
Words with this character
- 宿命論숙명론
The doctrine that all human fortune and misfortune are already fixed and cannot be altered by human effort. Here 宿 carries the sense of 'predetermined' and 'long-standing.'
- 宿願숙원
A wish cherished deep in the heart over long years. The character 宿 emphasizes the sense of 'long-held,' expressing an earnest longing.
After writing
In Buddhism 宿 is significant in the term 'past lives,' that is, prior existences. It embodies the worldview of reincarnation, in which this life is bound to the karma and affinities of former lives. As in the teaching that "all things are created by the mind alone," it leads one to reflect on human existence and destiny from the standpoint that the mind makes everything and that very mind forges the karma of past lives.Buddhism
As you drew each stroke slowly, did a moment from today come to mind?
