竹zhú影yǐng掃sǎo階jiē塵chén不bù動dòng,，月yuè穿chuān潭tán底dǐ水shuǐ無wú痕hén

What does 竹影掃階塵不動，月穿潭底水無痕 (zhú yǐng sǎo jiē chén bù dòng, yuè chuān tán dǐ shuǐ wú hén) mean?

竹影掃階塵不動，月穿潭底水無痕 (zhú yǐng sǎo jiē chén bù dòng, yuè chuān tán dǐ shuǐ wú hén) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "Bamboo shadows sweep the steps yet the dust does not stir; moonlight pierces the pool's depths yet the water bears no trace." In use it means: True purity is untouched by the movements around it. The enlightened mind engages with the world without being marked or disturbed by it. 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 Goat.

Literally: "Bamboo shadows sweep the steps yet the dust does not stir; moonlight pierces the pool's depths yet the water bears no trace."

The reading

The bamboo shadow moves across the stone steps every night, yet in the morning the dust lies exactly where it was. The moon passes through the deepest water and leaves no scar. This verse points to a way of living in the world fully without accumulating the residue of every encounter. Engagement without entanglement requires a mind that stays fluid, touching everything and clinging to nothing.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeshīcí 詩詞
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie羊 Year of the Goat

Source Chan Buddhist verse, attributed to various masters, Song 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 Harmony, Virtue & Balance, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Goat, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.