One Thought in Chinese / Japanese...

意 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for an idea, intention, meaning, thought, wish, desire, intention, feelings, and thoughts.

In Buddhism, this is the last of the six means of perception (the others are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, and this one represents the mind). It does not literally mean “mind,” but rather something more like mental powers, intellect, intelligence, faculty of thought, or understanding in the Buddhist context.

正思唯 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Thought, along with the Right View, constitute the path to Wisdom.

In Buddhism, Right Thought, in simple terms, means to free yourself from having ill will towards anyone or anything. It also suggests that you remain harmless to other living creatures.

This can also be defined as “Resolve in favor of renunciation, goodwill, and non-harming of sentient beings.”

There is an ancient/alternate version of the third character for this selection. You can see that alternation third character to the right. If you want your selection to use that older character, just click on the character to the right, instead of the button above.

Note: This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment | Noble Eightfold Path

In Zen Buddhism, 本心 means “original mind” or “original heart,” which refers to one's Buddha-nature present from birth.

This can also be translated as true feelings, real intention, one's own heart, one's right mind, one's senses, one's conscience, or fundamental mind.

Note: 心 can mean heart or mind - thought in ancient Asia to be the same organ.

思い切り can be translated as “with all one's strength,” “with all one's heart,” “to the limits of your heart,” or “to the end of your heart/emotions.”

The character breakdown:
思い (omoi) thought; mind; heart; feelings; emotion; sentiment; love; affection; desire; wish; hope; expectation; imagination; experience
切り (kiri) bounds; limits.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

正念 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Mindfulness, along with Right Effort and Right Concentration, constitute the path to Concentration or Perfect Thought.

Right Mindfulness is about remaining focused on one's body, feelings, mind, and mental qualities. It's also about being ardent, aware, and mindful, and supposes that you've already put aside worldly desire and aversion.

Monk Bhikkhu Bodhi described this as “The mind is deliberately kept at the level of bare attention, a detached observation of what is happening within us and around us in the present moment.” When practicing right mindfulness, the mind is trained to remain in the present, open, quiet, and alert, contemplating the present event.

Another definition: Ongoing mindfulness of body, feelings, thinking, and objects of thought.

This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment | Noble Eightfold Path

定 is the single-character way to express the idea of Samadhi in Chinese and Japanese.

A single-character title like this is open to a lot of interpretation. So 定 can mean to set, to fix, to determine, to decide, to order, certainly, truly, settle, or compose the mind.

In the Buddhist context, this means “Perfect absorption of thought into the one object of meditation,” “The mind fixed in one direction,” “Internal state of imperturbability or tranquility,” or “Exempt from all external sensations.”

正見 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right View, along with the Right Thought, constitutes the path to Wisdom.

To get to the correct view of the world, you must first understand and follow Four Noble Truths.

Note: This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment | Noble Eightfold Path

猴子偷桃 is a martial arts term that I find hilarious. I thought Stephen Chow had made this up for his Monkey King movie. After some research, it turns out to be real.

This can be translated as “monkey stealing peaches” or “monkey steals the peach.” It refers to distracting an opponent with one hand and seizing his testicles with the other.

In colloquial Chinese speech, this can refer to grabbing somebody by the balls (without any martial arts technique to the grabbing).

正定 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Concentration, along with Right Effort and Right Mindfulness, constitute the path to Concentration or Perfect Thought.

Right Concentration has to do with leaving behind sensuality, unwholesome states, as well as pleasure and pain. 正定 is a complex idea, but once you have achieved the shedding of worldly sensation, you can truly concentrate and find a higher level of awareness.

Another definition: Concentration of mind that finds its high point in the four absorptions.

This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment | Noble Eightfold Path

見義勇為 means the courage to do what is right in Chinese.

This could also be translated as “Never hesitate to do what is right.”

This comes from Confucian thought:
Your courage should head in an honorable direction. For example, you should take action when the goal is to attain a just result as, without honorable intent, a person’s gutsy fervor can easily lead them astray.

One who flaunts courage but disregards justice is bound to do wrong; someone who possesses courage and morality is destined to become a hero.

Some text above paraphrased from The World of Chinese - The Character of 勇

See Also:  Work Unselfishly for the Common Good | Justice | Bravery

正精進 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Effort, along with Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration, constitute the path to Concentration or Perfect Thought.

The proper effort is not the effort to make something particular happen. It is the effort to be aware and awake in each moment, the effort to overcome laziness and defilement, and the effort to make each activity of our daily meditation. This concept is about pursuing wholesome things that promote good karma.

Another definition: Cultivation of what is karmically wholesome and avoidance of what is karmically unwholesome.

This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment | Noble Eightfold Path

The idea of 心德 or “morality of mind” goes along with 行德 or “wu de” (martial morality or virtues of the warrior).

Here, the first character is a representation of your heart or mind.
The second character refers to morality or virtue.

This can also be translated as “morality of heart,” “virtue of heart,” or “virtue of the mind.”

Since ancient times in Asia, the idea of your mind (where your soul resides and your thought originates) has been associated with the heart. Just as in western culture, where we say “it comes from the heart” or “heartfelt emotions,” there is a belief that your heart and mind are one and the same (medical science now begs to differ).

See Also:  Morality of Deed | Martial Morality

A customer asked me to split these Wing Chun maxims into two parts, so he could order a couplet. I thought this was a good idea, so it's been added here.

A couplet is a set of two wall scrolls that start and finish one phrase or idea. Often, couplets are hung with the first wall scroll on the right side, and the second on the left side of a doorway or entrance. The order in Chinese is right-to-left, so that's why the first wall scroll goes on the right as you face the door.

Of course, couplets can also be hung together on a wall. Often they can be hung to flank an altar, or table with incense, or even flanking a larger central wall scroll. See an example here from the home of Confucius

Be sure to order both parts 1 and 2 together. One without the other is like Eve without Adam.

These four characters together relay the meaning that can be expressed in English as “When three people say there's a tiger running in the street, you believe it.”

Of course, there is an ancient story behind this idiom...

三人成虎 is actually a proverb that resulted from a conversation that occurred around 300 B.C.

The conversation was between the king of the Wei kingdom and one of the king's ministers named Pang Cong.

It was near the end of one of many wars, this time with the Zhao kingdom. Pang Cong was to be sent by the king to the Zhao kingdom with the king's son, who was to be held hostage. It was common at the time for a king to make his son a hostage to secure stable peace between warring kingdoms.

Before minister Pang Cong departed, he asked his king, “If one person told you a tiger was running in the street, would you believe it?.”

“No,” the king said.

The minister continued, “What if two people told you?”

The king replied, “Well, I would have my doubts but I might believe it.”

The minister continued, “So, what if three people told you that a tiger is running in the streets?”

The king replied, “Yes, I would believe it. It must be true if three people say it.”

The minister then reminded the king, “Your son and I are now traveling far away to live in the distant Zhao kingdom - much farther from your palace than the street. Rumors may fly about me in my absence, so I hope your majesty will weight such rumors appropriately.”

The king replied, “I have every trust in you, do not worry”

While the minister was gone, the king's enemies gossiped about minister Pang Cong on many occasions. At first, the king thought nothing of these comments and rumors. But slowly, as the rumors mounted, the king began to suspect ill of his minister.

Sometime later, when peace was well-established, the minister and prince were freed and returned to the kingdom of Wei. The king received his son BUT DID NOT EVEN SUMMON MINISTER PANG CONG TO THE PALACE!

Hopefully, this story will help you see how dangerous words can be when used to promote rumors or create ill will. And perhaps will inspire you not to believe everything you hear.

There is also a secondary suggestion in this idiom that gossip is as ferocious as a tiger. Some Chinese people who don't know the ancient story above may believe that this scroll means that rumors are as vicious as three tigers.

Note: This proverb appears in my Korean dictionary but is not well-known in Korea.

茶緣 is a special title for the tea lover. This kind of means “tea fate,” but it's more spiritual and hard to define. Perhaps the tea brought you in to drink it. Perhaps the tea will bring you and another tea-lover together. Perhaps you were already there, and the tea came to you. Perhaps it's the ah-ha moment you will have when drinking the tea.

I've been told not to explain this further, as it will either dilute or confuse the purposefully-ambiguous idea embedded in this enigma.

I happen to be the owner of a piece of calligraphy written by either the son or nephew of the last emperor of China, which is the title he wrote. It was given to me at a Beijing tea house in 2001. 茶緣 is where I learned to love tea after literally spending weeks tasting and studying everything I could about Chinese tea. I did not understand the significance of the authorship or the meaning of the title at all. Some 10 years later, I realized the gift was so profound and had such providence. Only now do I realize the value of a gift that it is too late to give proper thanks for. It was also years later that I ended up in this business and could have the artwork properly mounted as a wall scroll. It has been borrowed for many exhibitions and shows and always amazes native Chinese and Taiwanese who read the signature. This piece of calligraphy I once thought was just a bit of ink on a thin and wrinkled piece of paper, is now one of my most valued possessions. And fate has taught me to be more thankful for seemingly simple gifts.

Long ago in what is now China, there were many kingdoms throughout the land. This time period is known as “The Warring States Period” by historians because these kingdoms often did not get along with each other.

Sometime around 279 B.C. the Kingdom of Chu was a large but not particularly powerful kingdom. Part of the reason it lacked power was the fact that the King was surrounded by “yes men” who told him only what he wanted to hear. Many of the King's court officials were corrupt and incompetent which did not help the situation.

The King was not blameless himself, as he started spending much of his time being entertained by his many concubines.

One of the King's ministers, Zhuang Xin, saw problems on the horizon for the Kingdom, and warned the King, “Your Majesty, you are surrounded by people who tell you what you want to hear. They tell you things to make you happy and cause you to ignore important state affairs. If this is allowed to continue, the Kingdom of Chu will surely perish, and fall into ruins.”

This enraged the King who scolded Zhuang Xin for insulting the country and accused him of trying to create resentment among the people. Zhuang Xin explained, “I dare not curse the Kingdom of Chu but I feel that we face great danger in the future because of the current situation.” The King was simply not impressed with Zhuang Xin's words.
Seeing the King's displeasure with him and the King's fondness for his court of corrupt officials, Zhuang Xin asked permission from the King that he may take leave of the Kingdom of Chu, and travel to the State of Zhao to live. The King agreed, and Zhuang Xin left the Kingdom of Chu, perhaps forever.

Five months later, troops from the neighboring Kingdom of Qin invaded Chu, taking a huge tract of land. The King of Chu went into exile, and it appeared that soon, the Kingdom of Chu would no longer exist.

The King of Chu remembered the words of Zhuang Xin and sent some of his men to find him. Immediately, Zhuang Xin returned to meet the King. The first question asked by the King was “What can I do now?”

Zhuang Xin told the King this story:

A shepherd woke one morning to find a sheep missing. Looking at the pen saw a hole in the fence where a wolf had come through to steal one of his sheep. His friends told him that he had best fix the hole at once. But the Shepherd thought since the sheep is already gone, there is no use fixing the hole.
The next morning, another sheep was missing. And the Shepherd realized that he must mend the fence at once. Zhuang Xin then went on to make suggestions about what could be done to reclaim the land lost to the Kingdom of Qin, and reclaim the former glory and integrity of the Kingdom of Chu.

The Chinese idiom shown above came from this reply from Zhuang Xin to the King of Chu almost 2,300 years ago.
It translates roughly into English as...
“Even if you have lost some sheep, it's never too late to mend the fence.”

This proverb, 亡羊补牢犹未为晚, is often used in modern China when suggesting in a hopeful way that someone change their ways, or fix something in their life. It might be used to suggest fixing a marriage, quitting smoking, or getting back on track after taking an unfortunate path in life among other things one might fix in their life.

I suppose in the same way that we might say, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” in our western cultures to suggest that you can always start anew.

Note: This does have Korean pronunciation but is not a well-known proverb in Korean (only Koreans familiar with ancient Chinese history would know it). Best if your audience is Chinese.