諺語 · a single proverb
一切有為法，如夢幻泡影
Simplified: 一切有为法，如梦幻泡影
What does 一切有為法，如夢幻泡影 (yī qiè yǒu wéi fǎ, rú mèng huàn pào yǐng) mean?
一切有為法，如夢幻泡影 (yī qiè yǒu wéi fǎ, rú mèng huàn pào yǐng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows." In use it means: Everything produced by causes and conditions is transient and insubstantial. Recognizing this frees one from desperate attachment to outcomes and possessions. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rabbit.
Literally: "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows."
The reading
A bubble on a stream catches the sunlight for half a second and looks like a jewel. A shadow moves with absolute confidence across the ground but weighs nothing at all. The closing verse of the Diamond Sutra gathers these images not to make you feel hopeless but to make you feel lighter. When you understand that every constructed thing will eventually dissolve, you can participate in the building without white-knuckle panic about the demolition. The bubble is still beautiful. It just does not need to be permanent to matter.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Diamond Sutra (金剛經 / Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra), closing verse
Sits beside
上善若水
shàng shàn ruò shuǐ
The finest virtue is like water, which benefits all things and flows to the low places without contending.
大道至簡
dà dào zhì jiǎn
The deepest truths are plain.
天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅
tiān xià zhī zhì róu chí chěng tiān xià zhī zhì jiān
The most yielding force in the world overcomes the most unyielding.
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 The Way of Water, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 一切有為法，如夢幻泡影 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 一切有為法，如夢幻泡影 (yī qiè yǒu wéi fǎ, rú mèng huàn pào yǐng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Diamond Sutra (金剛經 / Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra), closing verse. 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 一切有為法，如夢幻泡影?
In Mandarin it is yī qiè yǒu wéi fǎ, rú mèng huàn pào yǐng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 一切有為法，如夢幻泡影 aloud in Mandarin.