跳不出如來佛的掌心

tiàobùchūrúláifódezhǎngxīn ㄊㄧㄠˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄔㄨ ㄖㄨˊ ㄌㄞˊ ㄈㄛˊ ˙ㄉㄜ ㄓㄤˇ ㄒㄧㄣ

    • to be unable to escape the control of someone stronger
    • there's always a bigger fish

Character by character

Saying俗语俗語

Idiom惯用语 · In everyday use

Literally
cannot jump out of the Buddha's palm
Meaning
However clever or powerful you are, there is someone stronger who controls you. It alludes to Monkey King in Journey to the West. Close to 'there's always a bigger fish'.

Sources