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拳禪一如 is a Japanese phrase that is often translated as “train both body and spirit.”
Here's the breakdown of the words in this phrase:
拳 means fist.
禅 is zen, which means meditation.
一如 is a word that means “to be just like,” “oneness,” “true nature,” or “true character.”
So to get to the translation of “train both body and spirit,” you must understand that “fist” is representing “body” and the idea of meditation is representing “mind.”
I have to say, this is not how I would translate this. To me, it's really about training with your mind and remembering that meditation is a huge part of training, not just your fist. As the Shaolin Buddhist monks show us, meditation is just as important as physical training in martial arts.
Hishiryō (非思量) literally means not-thinking.
Hishiryo can be described as a state of mind beyond thinking and non-thinking during the practice of Zazen.
Shiryō (思量) means “thinking,” and hi (非) is a prefix for negation and opposition.
Therefore, hishiryo amounts to “unthink” or “not the matter of thinking.” The word hishiryo appears in Dogen Zenji’s Fukanzazengi, Shobogenzo Zazengi, Shobogenzo Zazenshin, and Keizan Zenji’s Zazen Yojinki. It is one of the most important words used to describe zazen. Hishiryo in these writings comes from a dialogue between Yakusan Igen (745-828) and an unnamed monk, which is described in Keitoku, Dentoroku, and other Zen texts.
The above is an abridged except from School of Shodo: Hishiryo
I suggest you visit that page for a full explanation.
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Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your zen words search...
| Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
宋音 see styles |
souon / soon そうおん |
(See 唐音・とうおん,宋・そう・1) sō-on; Song reading; on reading of a kanji based on Song dynasty and later Chinese (esp. in words related to Zen Buddhism) |
拈語 拈语 see styles |
niǎn yǔ nian3 yu3 nien yü nengo |
To take up and pass on a verbal tradition, a Chan (Zen) term. |
禅語 see styles |
zengo ぜんご |
Zen terminology; Zen words |
不立文字 see styles |
bù lì wén zì bu4 li4 wen2 zi4 pu li wen tzu furyuumonji; furitsumonji / furyumonji; furitsumonji ふりゅうもんじ; ふりつもんじ |
(expression) (yoji) Buddhist revelation through intuitive discernment; Spiritual awakening cannot be experienced with words and letters; Spiritual enlightenment can be attained only by means of communion of mind with mind (Zen Buddhism) (不立文字教) The 禪 ch'an or intuitive School does 'not set up scriptures'; it lays stress on meditation and intuition rather than on books and other external aids: cf. Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra. |
教外別伝 see styles |
kyougebetsuden / kyogebetsuden きょうげべつでん |
(yoji) (in Zen Buddhism) (See 不立文字) Buddhist revelation through intuitive discernment; spiritual awakening cannot be experienced with words and letters; spiritual enlightenment can be attained only by means of communion of mind with mind |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
| Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
| Ken Zen Ichi Nyo | 拳禪一如 拳禅一如 | ken zen ichi nyo kenzenichinyo | ||
| Hishiryo Not-Thinking | 非思量 | hi shi ryou hishiryou hi shi ryo | fēi sī liáng fei1 si1 liang2 fei si liang feisiliang | fei ssu liang feissuliang |
| 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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When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
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The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
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