禅Daman Hongren

proverb

True Pearl in Muddy Water

Tang

Traditionally attributed

Text

Stir the muddy water and the pearl is hidden. Sit still, and the mud settles, and the pearl appears — not because you have created it but because you have stopped disturbing it.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Early Chan

By Daman Hongren

Sources

  • contentSeeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism

    John R. McRae

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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