Thứ nhất là tu tại gia, thứ nhì tu chợ, thứ ba tu chùa
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
It's best to practice self-cultivation at home, then in public, and lastly in a monastery
Tốt nhất là tu tập tại nhà, rồi đến nơi công cộng, cuối cùng là chùa
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Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-08; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Thứ nhất là tu tại gia, thứ nhì tu chợ, thứ ba tu chùa” mean?
It's best to practice self-cultivation at home, then in public, and lastly in a monastery Literally: First is cultivation at home, second is cultivation at market, third is cultivation at temple
Is “Thứ nhất là tu tại gia, thứ nhì tu chợ, thứ ba tu chùa” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.