迷mí時shí師shī度dù,，悟wù了liǎo自zì度dù

What does 迷時師度，悟了自度 (mí shí shī dù, wù liǎo zì dù) mean?

迷時師度，悟了自度 (mí shí shī dù, wù liǎo zì dù) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "When confused, the teacher ferries you across; once awakened, you ferry yourself." In use it means: A teacher is essential during the early stages of spiritual confusion, but after awakening, each person must continue the work on their own. Dependency on external guidance has a natural expiration date. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.

Literally: "When confused, the teacher ferries you across; once awakened, you ferry yourself."

The reading

Every student starts by following someone else's lantern through the dark. This borrowing of light is not weakness but good sense. The mistake comes when the student, having learned to see, keeps staring at the lantern instead of looking at the path. Huineng understood that teachers are boats for crossing a specific stretch of water. Once you reach the far shore, carrying the boat on your back becomes its own form of burden. True teaching aims to make itself unnecessary.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusLooks ahead
• Element木 Wood
• Zodiac tie狗 Year of the Dog

Source Sixth Patriarch Huineng (六祖慧能), Platform Sutra (六祖壇經), Tang Dynasty

Sits beside

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 Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.