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Zen Words in Chinese / Japanese...

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Ken Zen Ichi Nyo

 ken zen ichi nyo
Ken Zen Ichi Nyo Scroll

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.

Hishiryo / Not-Thinking

 fēi sī liáng
 hi shi ryou
Hishiryo / Not-Thinking Scroll

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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Not the results for zen words that you were looking for?

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 CharactersRomaji (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.


Dictionary

Lookup Zen Words in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


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A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
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A professional Chinese Calligrapher

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.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

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.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

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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