Understanding in Chinese / Japanese...

cān chán

참선

This title speaks of reaching an understanding (of Zen or the world). It also means "to practice meditation." The two concepts lead you to the idea that meditation leads to understanding. 參禪 is pretty deep, so you can do your own research, or decide what this means for you.

This can also be defined in a more complex way as "thoroughly penetrating with meditative insight."

wù xìng

gosei

오성

悟性 means the power of understanding and insight in Chinese.

It is often associated with Neo-Confucianism. In that regard, it means to realize, perceive, or have the perception of man's true nature. It can also mean to find your soul, the soul of others, or the soul of the world. Some will translate this simply as the state of being "savvy."

In Japanese, this is often translated as wisdom and understanding.

dàn bó yǐ míng zhì, níng jìng ér zhì yuǎn

This is a kind of complex ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.

This Chinese proverb means "Leading a simple life will yield a clear mind, and having inner peace will help you see far (into the world)."

What I have translated as "simple life" means NOT being materialistic and NOT competing in the rat race.

The last word means "far" but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even the idea of opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.

The whole phrase has a theme that suggests if you are NOT an aggressive cut-throat person who fights his way to the top no matter how many people he crushes on the way, and instead seek inner peace, you will have a happier existence and be more likely to understand the meaning of life.

See Also:  Serenity

níng jìng ér zhì yuǎn

령정이치원

寧靜而致遠 is five characters from a longer ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.

诸葛亮 Zhuge Liang

The proverb means, "Your inner peace / tranquility / serenity will help you see or reach far (into the world)."

The last word means "far" but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even the idea of opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.

zhèng jiàn

sei ken

정견

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

To get to the right 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

bù dāng hé shang bù zhī zhāi jiè kǔ

This literally translates as:
[One who has] not been a monk [does not] know the suffering of [being on a] vegetarian diet.

This is a bit like the "walk a mile in another man's shoes" saying. Basically it's about you cannot fully understand the plight of others until you experience it yourself.