是shì法fǎ平píng等děng,，無wú有yǒu高gāo下xià

What does 是法平等，無有高下 (shì fǎ píng děng, wú yǒu gāo xià) mean?

是法平等，無有高下 (shì fǎ píng děng, wú yǒu gāo xià) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "This dharma is equal; there is no high or low." In use it means: True teaching makes no hierarchical distinctions. All beings and all expressions of truth stand on level ground, without gradations of superiority or inferiority. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Pig.

Literally: "This dharma is equal; there is no high or low."

The reading

Hierarchy is a human invention projected onto a reality that does not rank its own expressions. The Diamond Sutra makes this point with the quiet force of a level. The rain does not favor the oak over the weed. The morning light enters the palace and the stable with equal willingness. When spiritual practice becomes a competition for attainment, it has already abandoned the principle it claims to pursue. The ground on which all beings stand is, and has always been, perfectly flat.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeshīcí 詩詞
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element土 Earth
• Zodiac tie豬 Year of the Pig

Source Diamond Sutra (金剛經 / Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra)

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 Harmony, Virtue & Balance, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.