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I have come across this word a few times:

> 森羅万象{しんらばんしょう}

If you [look it
up](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E6%A3%AE%E7%BE%85%E4%B8%87%E8%B1%A1), you
usually get something along the lines of:

  * the creation
  * the universe
  * all nature

I would like to know if there's perhaps a **deeper** meaning to it, and also,
could anybody shed some light on its etymological origin?
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etymology yoji-jukugo
What is the etymology of 森羅万象 and what does it mean?
The basic meaning of the [4-character
idiom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-character_idiom) 森羅万象【しんらばんしょう】,
sometimes also しんらばんぞう, しんらまんしょう, or しんらまんぞう, is `all things in the universe`.

## Etymology

Let us examine 森羅 and 万象 separately.

**森羅**

> 樹木が茂り連なる意から
>
> (大辞泉)

森 refers to a forest or many trees. 羅【ら】, as in the word 羅列【られつ】, means
網【あみ】`net` and in extension also 連【つら】なる `be in a line`. The compound 森羅
derives from the idea of a great many trees growing next to each other. It
means 'many things in a line', and from this, it developed the sense relevant
here: `all things in heaven and on earth`.

**万象**

万 means ten-thousand, in this case a metaphor for "a lot" or "all". This
metaphor can be observed in the words 万屋【よろずや】 `general store` or
[八百万【やおよろず】の神【かみ】](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto) `the multitude of
Shintou deities` as well. 象【しょう】 should be understood similarly as in 象【かたど】る
or 現象【げんしょう】, here it means `shape`. Thus, 万象 refers to `a great many shapes
and forms`.

## History

Other than the picturesque metaphor explained above, there is no particular
story connected with the origin of this idiom. However, today is is used
especially in the context of the Yin and Yang philosophy and the
[易経【えききょう】](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching), an old (approx. 2-3
millenia ago) Chinese text about a form of fortune-telling with bamboo sticks.
It is based upon the idea and philosophy of [Yin and
Yang](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang), and how they influence or
cause the change of all things in the universe (=森羅万象).

[Several pages](http://kotowaza.avaloky.com/pv_yoj206.html) suggest that this
idiom had already been used in this context in ancient China, however, I
cannot find any occurences of either 森羅 or 萬象 in the [original Chinese text of
the 易經.](http://ctext.org/book-of-changes/yi-jing/), nor do I get any hits for
森羅萬象 when I expand the search to all texts classified as "Pre-Qin and Han" on
ctext.org.
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