諺語 · a single proverb
用志不分，乃凝於神
Simplified: 用志不分，乃凝于神
What does 用志不分，乃凝於神 (yòng zhì bù fēn, nǎi níng yú shén) mean?
用志不分，乃凝於神 (yòng zhì bù fēn, nǎi níng yú shén) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "Use your will without division, and it crystallizes into spirit." In use it means: When concentration is total and undivided, one's effort reaches a state of spiritual refinement where skill becomes effortless. 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 Goat.
Literally: "Use your will without division, and it crystallizes into spirit."
The reading
A woodcarver in Zhuangzi's tale forgot his own body before he touched the chisel. His craft was not in his hands but in the quality of his attention. Scattered focus produces scattered results, no matter how talented the worker. The teaching here applies well beyond any workshop. Let your full self pour into one channel, and what emerges will seem almost supernatural to those still splitting themselves in ten directions.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Zhuangzi, Dasheng (Mastering Life chapter), Warring States period
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 Goat, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 用志不分，乃凝於神 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 用志不分，乃凝於神 (yòng zhì bù fēn, nǎi níng yú shén) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Zhuangzi, Dasheng (Mastering Life chapter), Warring States period. 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 用志不分，乃凝於神?
In Mandarin it is yòng zhì bù fēn, nǎi níng yú shén. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 用志不分，乃凝於神 aloud in Mandarin.