Glossary Term
Risk: Critical- Approved rendering
- 恩典
- Transliteration
- ēndiǎn
- Rejected alternatives
- 功德, 造化, 福气, 阴德
Grace
CRITICAL: NEVER use 功德 (gōngdé) — Buddhist accumulated merit earned through good deeds, transferable and quantifiable. NEVER use 阴德 (hidden merit that secretly accrues to descendants). 恩典 must be taught as unearned favor given apart from merit-accounting, directly countering the merit-ledger worldview common in Chinese folk Buddhism.
Referenced passages