Japanese Buddhist Proverbs
173
20.—Hi wa kiyurédomo tō-shin wa kiyédzu.
Though the flame be put out, the wick remains.[1]
21.—Hotoké mo motowa bonbu.
Even the Buddha was originally but a common man.
22.—Hotoké ni naru mo shami wo heru.
Even to become a Buddha one must first become a novice.
23.—Hotoké no kao mo sando.
Even a Buddha’s face,—only three times.[2]
24.—Hotoké tanondé Jigoku é yuku.
Praying to Buddha one goes to hell.[3]
25.—Hotoké tsukutté tamashii irédzu.
Making a Buddha without putting in the soul.[4]
- ↑ Although the passions may be temporarily overcome, their sources remain. A proverb of like meaning is, Bonnō no inu oödomo sarazu: “Though driven away, the Dog of Lust cannot be kept from coming back again.”
- ↑ This is a short popular form of the longer proverb, Hotoké no kao mo sando nazuréba, hara wo tatsu: “Stroke even the face of a Buddha three times, and his anger will be roused.”
- ↑ The popular saying, Oni wo Nembutsu,—“a devil’s praying,”—has a similar meaning.
- ↑ That is to say, making an image of the Buddha without giving it a soul. This proverb is used in reference to
