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東山水上行

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: the eastern mountain travels on the water

Senses:

  • This phrase refers to a gong'an 公案 in which Yunmen Wenyan 雲門文偃 (864–949) claims that the origin place of the buddhas is "the eastern mountain travelling on the water." Because conventional knowledge would dictate that mountains are stationary and that waters flow, this phrase implies that the truth of Buddhism lays beyond peopleʼs everyday understanding. 〔雲門廣錄 T 1988.47.545c19〕 [Stefan Grace; source(s): ZGDJT, Yokoi, Nakamura]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bulgyo sajeon 184a

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 0921a

    Koga 338

    Teihon zenrin kushō (Shibayama) 107

    Japanese-English Zen Buddhist Dictionary (Yokoi) 801

    Zen no Goroku (Yanagida) 17-P112

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 1000a

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    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2023-11-18