Ăn trộm ăn cướp thành Phật thành Tiên, đi chùa đi chiền bán thân bất toại
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Those who do bad deeds cannot become good by just visiting temples
Literally: Eating stealthily eating rob becoming Buddha becoming Immortal, going to temple going to pagoda sell body unfulfilled
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Tục ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Ăn trộm ăn cướp thành Phật thành Tiên, đi chùa đi chiền bán thân bất toại” mean?
Those who do bad deeds cannot become good by just visiting temples Literally: Eating stealthily eating rob becoming Buddha becoming Immortal, going to temple going to pagoda sell body unfulfilled
Is “Ăn trộm ăn cướp thành Phật thành Tiên, đi chùa đi chiền bán thân bất toại” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.