From the Analects:
[2-1] 子曰。爲政以德、譬如北辰居其所而衆星共之。
[2:1] The Master said: “If you govern with the power of your virtue, you will be like the North Star. It just stays in its place while all the other stars position themselves around it.”
Category: chinese
與其詛咒黑暗，不如點燃一支蠟燭
不如 = bù-rú = better
點燃 = diǎn-rán = ignite, set on fire
一支 = yì-zhī = one single
蠟燭 = là-zhú = candle
More resources for studying The Four Great Vows
• Make your own practice sheets: Make your own character practice sheets at chineseconverter.com Make your own character practice sheets at purpleculture.net • You can also just buy books of ready made blank practice sheets. Personally I recommend “Mi-Zi-Ge” style with big squares, like this one available at Amazon: • Tuttle’s flashcards are really nice. […]
Four Great Vows: practice using Tuttle’s “First 100 Chinese Characters” and “Second 100 Chinese Characters”
• Lesson One: Most of the characters in Lesson One (derived from the title of the Four Great Vows) do not have their own entries in Tuttle’s “First 100 Chinese Characters” or “Second 100 Chinese Characters“. However, all but four have relevant entries that can be useful for practice. All page numbers below are in […]
Four Great Vows online class Master Page
One page to rule them all
This is a “master” page/post that should contain links to everything in this blog related to the online course: “The Four Vows in Chinese Characters”.
Video for First Lesson of Four Great Vows online class
Here is a link to the full 2 hour video of the first Four Great Vows class: If you have any feedback or want to ask a question please leave a comment to this post.
Zhiyi, the Lotus Sutra, and the Four Great Vows
Here are links to three relevant relevant articles, with excerpts. Outline of the Tiantai Fourfold Teachings 天台四教儀 Compiled by the Goryeo Śramaṇa Chegwan 高麗沙門諦觀, Translated by A. Charles Muller 一未度者令度。卽衆生無邊誓願度。此緣苦諦境。 All those who have not yet been saved will be saved, which is expressed as “I vow to save all living beings without limit.” This […]
Confucius says: “No pain, no gain” (Analects 7:8)
[7-8] 子曰。不憤不啓、不悱不發。擧一隅不以三隅反、則不復也。
[7:8] The Master said: “If a student is not eager, I won’t teach him; if he is not struggling with the truth, I won’t reveal it to him. If I lift up one corner and he can’t come back with the other three, I won’t do it again.”
