禅Deshan Xuanjian

proverb

Thirty Blows

Tang

Traditionally attributed

Text

If you can speak, thirty blows. If you cannot speak, thirty blows. Why? Because the blow is not punishment; it is the part of the teaching that words cannot take over.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Qingyuan line

By Deshan Xuanjian

Sources

  • contentZen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings

    Andy Ferguson

No per-field confidence has been recorded for this teaching yet. Treat individual claims with the caution appropriate to the source list below.

Attribution status: traditional — see editorial policy for what this means.

1 supporting citation on record (see Sources above).

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