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StillnessProverb

Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.

Zen proverb

PhilosophyProverbs

The story behind the card

The saying is usually called a Zen proverb. Zen is the Japanese name for Chan, a school of Buddhism that began in China and teaches that insight is found in everyday life. Its clearest root is a verse by the Chinese lay Buddhist Layman Pang (740–808), who said his miraculous powers were simply carrying water and fetching firewood. The before-and-after form spread much later, through modern books on Zen. Its point: enlightenment does not lift anyone above daily chores; it changes the attention they are done with.

Türkçe oku
Aydınlanmadan önce odun kes, su taşı. Aydınlanmadan sonra odun kes, su taşı.
Zen atasözü

Bu söz genellikle Zen atasözü diye anılır. Zen, Çin'de Chan adıyla doğan ve Japonya'da bu adla tanınan bir Budizm okuludur; aydınlanmanın gündelik hayatın içinde bulunduğunu öğretir. Sözün en açık kökü, Çinli Budist Layman Pang'ın (740–808) bir dizesidir: Pang, kendi mucizevi gücünün su taşımaktan ve odun getirmekten ibaret olduğunu söyler. Bugünkü “önce” ve “sonra” biçimi çok sonra, Zen üzerine yazılan modern kitaplarla yayıldı. Söz, aydınlanmanın kimseyi gündelik işlerden kurtarmadığını, yalnızca o işlere gösterilen dikkati değiştirdiğini anlatır.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Zen
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