諺語 · a single proverb
不是風動，不是幡動，仁者心動
Simplified: 不是风动，不是幡动，仁者心动
What does 不是風動，不是幡動，仁者心動 (bú shì fēng dòng, bú shì fān dòng, rén zhě xīn dòng) mean?
不是風動，不是幡動，仁者心動 (bú shì fēng dòng, bú shì fān dòng, rén zhě xīn dòng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "Not the wind moving, not the banner moving; the benevolent one's mind is what moves." In use it means: External debates about objective reality miss the point. What appears to move out there is actually the movement of your own mind interpreting phenomena. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.
Literally: "Not the wind moving, not the banner moving; the benevolent one's mind is what moves."
The reading
Two monks argued about a fluttering banner. One insisted the wind was moving. The other insisted the banner was moving. Huineng, passing by, interrupted with the observation that neither was moving, only their minds were in motion, projecting interpretations onto a piece of cloth. The story does not deny physics. It redirects attention to the place where all experience is actually assembled. Before you settle any argument about the world, check what your mind is doing with the raw data.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Sixth Patriarch Huineng (六祖慧能), Platform Sutra (六祖壇經), Tang Dynasty
Sits beside
井底之蛙
jǐng dǐ zhī wā
Someone with an extremely narrow view of the world, who mistakes the small circle of sky above the well for the whole sky.
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán
Nothing deep-a skill, a habit, a ruin-forms overnight.
心急吃不了熱豆腐
xīn jí chī bù liǎo rè dòu fu
Impatience will not speed things up.
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 不是風動，不是幡動，仁者心動 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 不是風動，不是幡動，仁者心動 (bú shì fēng dòng, bú shì fān dòng, rén zhě xīn dòng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Sixth Patriarch Huineng (六祖慧能), Platform Sutra (六祖壇經), Tang Dynasty. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 不是風動，不是幡動，仁者心動?
In Mandarin it is bú shì fēng dòng, bú shì fān dòng, rén zhě xīn dòng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 不是風動，不是幡動，仁者心動 aloud in Mandarin.