三时 (sānshí): the three farming seasons (spri…

Meanings

1 the three farming seasons (spring, summer, autumn)
2 the three parts of the day (morning, noon, evening)
3 (Buddhism) the three ages of the Dharma

Characters

三

Examples

古人重视三时农作。

Gǔrén zhòngshì sānshí nóngzuò.

The ancients valued farming in the three seasons.

佛教讲正法、像法、末法三时。

Fójiào jiǎng zhèngfǎ, xiàngfǎ, mòfǎ sānshí.

Buddhism speaks of the three ages: True Dharma, Semblance Dharma, and Final Dharma.

Tips

culture

A classical/literary word. The Buddhist sense — 正法 (True Dharma, ~500 years), 像法 (Semblance Dharma, ~1000 years), 末法 (Final Dharma, ~10,000 years) — is the most cited in modern texts. Encountered mostly in classical poetry, history, and Buddhist writing.