禅Nampo Gentaku

proverb

Old Temple, New Bell

Kamakura

Traditionally attributed

Text

An old temple sometimes needs a new bell. The bronze remembers the casting; the air remembers the ringing. The students hear only the ringing — and that is enough.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Sōtō

Sources

  • contentZen Buddhism: A History — Volume 2: Japan

    Heinrich Dumoulin

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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