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Living Water in Chinese / Japanese...
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Chop Wood, Carry Water
Before enlightenment or after, chores remain.
頓悟之前砍柴挑水; 頓悟之後砍柴挑水 means “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water; After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.
This is a Chinese proverb that is attributed to 吴力 (Wú Lì) who lived between 1632 and 1718 - living part of his life as a devout Buddhist, and many years as a Catholic Jesuit Priest in China - what an interesting life!
This has been explained many times in many ways. I am a Buddhist, and here is my brief take on this proverb...
Before enlightenment, one may find daily chores mundane, tedious, and boring. However, upon reaching enlightenment one is not relieved of the details of daily life. An enlightened person will, however, see such chores as a joy, and do them mindfully.
There is another version floating around, which is 在你領悟之前砍柴、運水。在你領悟之後，砍柴、運水。
If you want this other version, just contact me. The meaning is the same, just different phrasing.
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Not the results for living water that you were looking for?
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your living water search...
| Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
上善若水 see styles |
shàng shàn ruò shuǐ shang4 shan4 ruo4 shui3 shang shan jo shui |
More info & calligraphy: Ultimate Goodness of Water |
水棲 水栖 see styles |
shuǐ qī shui3 qi1 shui ch`i shui chi suisei / suise すいせい |
aquatic; living in water (noun - becomes adjective with の) aquatic (life); living in the water |
水生 see styles |
shuǐ shēng shui3 sheng1 shui sheng mizuki みずき |
aquatic (plant, animal) (noun - becomes adjective with の) aquatic (life); living in the water; (female given name) Mizuki |
立つ see styles |
tatsu たつ |
(v5t,vi) (1) to stand (up); to rise; to get to one's feet; to stand on end (e.g. of hairs); to stick up; (v5t,vi) (2) to stand (in a position; of a person, tree, building, etc.); to be situated (in, on); (v5t,vi) (3) to be (in difficulties, the lead, etc.); to put oneself (in a position or situation); to take up (a position, post, etc.); to position oneself; (v5t,vi) (4) to leave (to do something); (v5t,vi) (5) (oft. written as 発つ) to depart (on a journey, trip, etc.); to leave; to set off; to start; (v5t,vi) (6) to get stuck (into; of an arrow, thorn etc.); to pierce; (v5t,vi) (7) to develop (of a haze, waves, etc.); to form (of steam, bubbles, etc.); to appear (of a rainbow, clouds, etc.); to rise (of smoke, waves, etc.); to begin to blow (of a wind, breeze, etc.); (v5t,vi) (8) to spread (of a rumour, reputation, etc.); to be become widely known; (v5t,vi) (9) to stand (for election); to run; (v5t,vi) (10) (also written as 起つ) to take action; to act; to rise (up); to rouse oneself; (v5t,vi) (11) (colloquialism) (also written as 勃つ) to have an erection; to become erect (e.g. of nipples); (v5t,vi) (12) to be established (of a policy, plan, objective, etc.); to be formed; (v5t,vi) (13) to be valid (of an argument, logic, etc.); to hold up; to hold water; to stand up (e.g. of evidence); to be logical; to be reasonable; (v5t,vi) (14) to be sustained (of a living, business, etc.); to be maintained; to survive; to be preserved (of one's reputation, honour, etc.); to be saved; (v5t,vi) (15) to start (of a season); to begin; (v5t,vi) (16) to be held (of a market); (v5t,vi) (17) to shut (of a door, shoji, etc.); to be shut; to be closed; (v5t,vi) (18) to be (the result of a division) |
口力外道 see styles |
kǒu lì wài dào kou3 li4 wai4 dao4 k`ou li wai tao kou li wai tao kuriki gedō |
One of the eleven heretical sects of India. which is said to have compared the mouth to the great void out of which all things were produced. The great void produced the four elements, these produced herbs, and these in turn all the living; or more in detail the void produced wind, wind fire, fire warmth, warmth water, water congealed and formed earth which produced herbs, herbs cereals and life, hence life is food; ultimately all returns to the void, which is nirvana. |
Variations: |
suisei / suise すいせい |
(adj-no,n) (See 陸生) aquatic (life); living in the water |
ざぶりざぶり see styles |
zaburizaburi ざぶりざぶり |
(adverb taking the "to" particle) (onomatopoeic or mimetic word) sound of living, moving water |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
| Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
| Chop Wood, Carry Water | 頓悟之前砍柴挑水頓悟之后砍柴挑水 顿悟之前砍柴挑水顿悟之后砍柴挑水 | dùn wù zhī qián kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ dùn wù zhī hòu kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ dun4 wu4 zhi1 qian2 kan3 chai2 tiao1 shui3 dun4 wu4 zhi1 hou4 kan3 chai2 tiao1 shui3 dun wu zhi qian kan chai tiao shui dun wu zhi hou kan chai tiao shui | tun wu chih ch`ien k`an ch`ai t`iao shui tun wu chih hou k`an ch`ai t`iao shui tun wu chih chien kan chai tiao shui tun wu chih hou kan chai tiao shui |
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| In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. | ||||
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