《Caigentan (菜根譚) – Full Edition》Former Collection #21 [021]

《Caigentan (菜根譚) – Full Edition》Former Collection #21 [021]

📜 Original Text

家庭有個真佛，日用有種真道。
人能誠心和氣，愉色婉言，
使父母兄弟間，形骸兩釋，意氣交流，
勝於調息觀心萬倍矣。

📚 Translation

There is a true Buddha in the home, and a true Tao (Way) in daily life.

If one possesses a sincere and gentle heart, and treats parents and siblings with a joyful countenance and gentle words,
their minds and spirits will flow freely, transcending mere forms and appearances.

This state is ten thousand times superior to the practice of regulating breath and contemplating the mind.

✍️ Hanja Breakdown

• 家 (jiā): House, home, family.
• 庭 (tíng): Courtyard, garden.
• 家庭 (jiātíng): Home, household, the space where a family lives together.
• 個 (gè): Individual, piece (a unit counter); in modern Chinese, it's used as a particle to soften the nuance.
• 真 (zhēn): True, genuine, real.
• 佛 (fó): Buddha, enlightened one.
• 真佛 (zhēnfó): True Buddha. Symbolizes an enlightened being. (Here, it metaphorically refers to enlightenment or truth itself)
• 用 (yòng): To use, to employ.
• 日用 (rìyòng): Daily life, everyday existence, daily activities, things used daily.
• 種 (zhǒng): Seed, kind, type. (Here, it means 'a kind of' or 'a certain')
• 道 (dào): Path, principle, truth, Tao (Way).
• 真道 (zhēndào): True Tao (Way), true principle, truth.
• 能 (néng): To be able to, can.
• 誠 (chéng): Sincerity, genuine heart.
• 誠心 (chéngxīn): Sincere heart, genuine intention, honest heart.
• 和 (hé): To harmonize, gentle, mild.
• 氣 (qì): Spirit, aura, attitude, atmosphere.
• 和氣 (héqì): Gentle aura, harmonious atmosphere, peaceful ambiance.
• 愉 (yú): Joyful, pleasant.
• 色 (sè): Complexion, expression.
• 愉色 (yúsè): Joyful countenance, pleasant expression, cheerful look, radiant expression.
• 婉 (wǎn): Beautiful, gentle, mild.
• 婉言 (wǎnyán): Gentle and kind words, soft words.
• 使 (shǐ): To make, to cause, to enable.
• 父母兄弟 (fùmǔxiōngdì): Parents and siblings.
• 間 (jiān): Between, among, relationship.
• 形 (xíng): Form, shape.
• 骸 (hái): Bone, body.
• 形骸 (xínghái): Body, physical form; outward appearance, formality. External existence. (Here, it metaphorically means 'outward appearance', 'formality', 'physical shell')
• 兩 (liǎng): Two, both.
• 釋 (shì): To release, to free from, to let go.
• 兩釋 (liǎngshì): Both sides are released, to let go together, to transcend each other, to transcend all. (To become free from being bound by forms or outward appearances)
• 意 (yì): Meaning, thought, mind.
• 氣 (qì): Spirit, energy, emotion.
• 意氣 (yìqì): Will and spirit, mind and emotion, mind and energy, spiritual resonance, emotional communication.
• 交 (jiāo): To associate, to interact, to communicate.
• 流 (liú): To flow.
• 交流 (jiāoliú): To communicate with each other, to resonate, to interact, to flow back and forth.
• 意氣交流 (yìqìjiāoliú): Minds and spirits communicate with each other, to resonate spiritually.
• 勝 (shèng): To win, to be superior to.
• 於 (yú): Than (comparison).
• 勝於 (shèngyú): To be superior to.
• 調 (tiáo): To regulate, to adjust.
• 息 (xī): To breathe, breath.
• 調息 (tiáoxī): To regulate breath, to adjust breathing, a practice of breath regulation (a type of spiritual practice).
• 觀 (guān): To see, to observe.
• 觀心 (guānxīn): To contemplate the mind, to look into one's mind, a practice of observing the mind (a type of spiritual practice).
• 萬 (wàn): Ten thousand.
• 倍 (bèi): Times, fold.
• 萬倍 (wànbèi): Ten thousand times, a very large difference.
• 矣 (yǐ): A final particle indicating affirmation or exclamation.

🔍 Reflection

This passage teaches that the greatest spiritual truths are not far off in secluded mountains or abstract doctrines, but present in the ordinary spaces of home and the flow of everyday life.

To live with sincerity (誠心) and harmonious energy (和氣),
to share warmth through expression (愉色) and speech (婉言), is to dissolve the surface (形骸) and truly connect soul-to-soul (意氣交流).

Such living practice, cultivated moment by moment in the closest of human relationships,
surpasses by far any isolated inward discipline—no matter how noble it may seem.
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🌿 Every time I read Caigen Tan, I feel like I'm gently being humbled again. Haha… 🙈🧙‍♀️🍵