平常心是道

píngchángxīn shì dào
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 the ordinary mind is the Way

Examples

HSK 7-9
Chánzōng jiǎng " píngchángxīn shì dào ", chīfàn shuìjiào dōu shì xiūxing.
Chan Buddhism teaches that 'the ordinary mind is the Way': eating and sleeping are practice too.

Tips

history
A Chan teaching of the Tang. When the monk 赵州 asked his teacher 南泉 "What is the Way?", Nanquan answered 平常心是道, and the exchange became a koan in 无门关. Awakening is not found by searching for something special, but in everyday life as it is. The saying is the source of 平常心 'a calm, ordinary state of mind'.

Stroke Order

平 píng
常 cháng
心 xīn
是 shì
道 dào