佛源成語擁有兩個主要來源：其一是漢譯佛典，其二是禪宗文獻。由於文本內容與生成語境的差異，佛典成語和禪籍成語在具體數量、產生時間、生成方式、語體色彩、語用效果等方面均呈現出明顯的個性。佛典成語與禪籍成語的異質性導致了二者在實際運用過程中的不同命運：佛典成語由於凝聚了異域文化的諸多特徵，佛味較濃，在使用時往往受到一定的限制；禪籍成語屬於本土文化的產物，貼近生活，佛味偏淡，運用自如，與普通成語已無從區別。

There are two main sources of the Chinese idioms originated from Buddhism: one is the translation of the Buddhist scriptures, and the other one is the Zen literature. Due to the differences in text content and context, Buddhist idioms and Zen idioms have showed their respective distinct features, especially in number, time of emergence, generating methods, style, and pragmatic effects. The heterogeneity of Buddhist idioms and Zen idioms leads to their different practical application: Buddhist idioms condensed many features of the exotic culture, and there is a certain limit when use them; Zen idioms belong to the local culture, which are close to life, using with ease, and there are no differences between common idioms and them.