Can Someone Help To Explain "看山是山“？

• Dawnfirstlight

  21 Apr 11, 22:03

  I used to hear "看山是山，看山�是山，看山�是山". I know it got to do with your different levels of practice and experience but do not know exactly what does it mean. Do you guys know ?

• TehJarVu

  21 Apr 11, 22:26

  看山是山与看山�是山

  ——人生三é‡�境界之禅机

   

  这篇文章的标题原是“莫为人生空悲切”，文章写得玄妙ã€�深沉而å�ˆé¥±å�«æ— é™�沧桑之感，仿佛一个历尽å�Žå�·ã€�å�—尽磨难ã€�洞悉人生世事的è€�人é�¢å¯¹æˆ‘们侃侃而谈。文章令人颇感悲凉，å‡�é‡�中闪耀ç�€æ™ºè€…的光彩。因为本文以佛教的观点立论，为了çª�出其特点，我将它改为现在的标题。作者ä¸�知是è°�，我想也ä¸�必劳神费力地去寻找了，我们å�ªè¦�知é�“其精神焕å�‘ç�€ä½›æ•™çš„光辉也就足够了。 

  人们在ä¸�如æ„�时常常感å�¹ï¼šä¸–é�“炎凉，人间炼狱，生ä¸�如死。悲观ã€�颓废，以致轻生。诚然，æ¯�个人å�„有自己的苦衷，å�„有自己的烦æ�¼ï¼Œæˆ‘们除了å�Œæƒ…之外，ä¸�å�¯ä»¥éš�便指责，更ä¸�å�¯ä»¥è¢–手看热闹。我å�‘现，现在的年轻人特别脆弱，ç¨�ä¸�顺心就è¦�æ­»è¦�活，这与他们的人生观和阅历有关。这里，我想å�‘那些暂时“想ä¸�å¼€”的朋å�‹è¿›ä¸€è¨€ã€‚

  有�大德说过，人生有三�境界：看山是山，看水是水；看山�是山，看水�是水；看山还是山，看水还是水。这三段充满禅机的语言，翻译过�是这个��：

  看山是山，看水是水。就是说人生之�纯�无暇，他眼�的世界，一切都是新鲜的，一切都是美好的，大人告诉他这是山，他就认识了山，告诉他这是水，他就认识了水。在他的�象里，山和水就是他看到的山和水。所以说，看山是山，看水是水。

  看山�是山，看水�是水。��年龄�长，�历的世事�多，于是他�现这个世界并�是尽善尽美，甚至有很多问题，他开始�喜欢这个世界。进入这个阶段的年轻人，热是真热，情是真情。�平的事，忧虑的事，疑问的事，警惕的事，��的事，他们一下�难以应付，�愿��轻易地相信别人。这就是看山�是山，看水�是水。

  对周围的一看山还是山，看水还是水。人到暮年，�历了人生苦难，茅塞顿开，深谙世事，应对自如，人在这时候切都超脱了，便会专心致地志�自己应该�的事情，任你红尘滚滚，自有清风朗月。�对芜�世俗之事，一笑了之。这个时候的人�回归了自然，看山�是山，看水�是水了。

  什么�人生？我说，人生就是从�亲的产�里�，到从�葬场的烟�里走。人生在世，无�是哭哭笑笑，但笑比哭好。

  �人，怎样算是好人？阔达的心�，饱满的热情，勤奋的劳作，就是好人。

  处世，怎样算是�功的处世？曾�沧海，无�是云淡风清，�过是日�日�般的泰然，这就是�功处事。

  正是：人本是人，�必刻�去�人；世本是世，无须精心去处世；便也是真正的�人与处世了。想想�，这里有无�玄机�

  http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_49bafb690100d96q.html

• An Eternal Now

  22 Apr 11, 02:18

  As far as I know:

  1) mountain is mountain, river is river - stage 1 is dualistic perception of mountains and rivers. I am inside my body is an observer of the outside world of mountains and rivers. As such, I am a self-contracted entity alienated from the entire world.

  2) mountain is not mountain, river is not river can either be a) a theoretical understanding of emptiness, b) perceiving impermanence of phenomena at a subtle/microscopic level - able to see every phenomena as arising and passing momentarily, breaking through the perception of solidity and substantiality through the practice of vipassana, yet true penetrating insight of anatta and sunyata has not arisen. c) realized I AM, so I AMness is real, while the objective universe is an illusory projection of the Source

  3) mountain is mountain, river is river, this is realization of Anatta - see Thusness Stage 5,

  Thusness/PasserBy's Seven Stages of Enlightenment

  
  The Stanza One complements and refines Stanza Two to make the experience of no-self thorough and effortless into just only chirping birds, drum beats, footsteps, sky, mountain, walking, chewing and tasting; no witness whatsoever hiding anywhere! 'Everything' is a process, event, manifestation and phenomenon, nothing ontological or having an essence.
  
  This phase is a very thorough non-dual experience; there is effortlessness in non-dual and one realizes that in seeing always just scenery and in hearing, always just sounds. We find true delights in naturalness and ordinariness as commonly expressed in Zen as 'chop wood, carry water; spring comes, grass grows'.

• Dawnfirstlight

  22 Apr 11, 16:27

  Thanks guys for your replies. I think TehJarVu's reply is meaningful but more for non Buddhists. AEN's reply shoud be more for Buddhists. Thanks.

• sinweiy

  22 Apr 11, 17:28

  The Heart Sutra.
  Translation by Edward Conze

  Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom, the Lovely, the Holy!

  Avalokita, The Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom which has gone beyond. He looked down from on high, He beheld but five heaps, and he saw that in their own-being they were empty.

  Here, Sariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form, the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness.

  Here, Sariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness; they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.

  Therefore, Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form, nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness; No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; No forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind; No sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to: No mind-consciousness element; There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to: there is no decay and death, no extinction of decay and death. There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path. There is no cognition, no attainment and non-attainment.

  Therefore, Sariputra, it is because of his non-attainment that a Bodhisattva, through having relied on the Perfection of Wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings. In the absence of thought-coverings he has not been made to tremble, he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.

  All those who appear as Buddhas in the three periods of time fully awake to the utmost, right and perfect Enlightenment because they have relied on the Perfection of Wisdom.Therefore one should know the prajnaparamita as the great spell, the spell of great knowledge, the utmost spell, the unequalled spell, allayer of all suffering, in truth - for what could go wrong? By the prajnaparamita has this spell been delivered. It runs like this:

  Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening, all-hail!

   

  to me the first 看山是山 is just ordinary people's deluded thinking. 看山ä¸�是山 is start practice of Sunyata, to see Form as Emptiness; non-attachment, letting go state.  çœ‹å±±å�ˆæ˜¯å±± is realising the profounity of 'Emptiness is form', non-duality, non-wandering thoughts, more "Mahayana" state.  

  letting go is one thing, but picking back up is yet another transcendence. just like they say letting go/forgetting is easier than the process of moving on.

   

  when a guy ask Monk Bu Dai (representing Maitreya Bodhisattva) what Buddhadharma is all about, He put down his Cloth Sack representing to let go. The guy then ask what next after letting go. Monk Bu Dai pick up the sack again and walk off. this mean to help All sentient beings. which is all Buddhas and bodhisattvas are doing without end.

  t'is also why Vajrayana stress a lot on bodhicitta, and compassion for sentient beings as the ultimate goal. they are not scare of samsara. as (Maha)Nirvana is neither nirvana nor samsara. samsara is Nirvana.

   

   

  • The Buddha became enlightened through developing boundless compassion. Our path too, should be based on compassionate commitment to free all living beings from suffering. True compassion should be directed impartially to those close to us, those whom we perceive as strangers, and especially to those whom we think of as our enemies. These teachings allow us to achieve freedom from suffering and ignorance. In an absolute sense, compassion is the awakening nature of the mind.  - Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

  /\

   

• Amitayus48

  23 Apr 11, 08:15

  In addition to the above, 看山是山 is defined as 凡人还未觉悟时的谜惑颠倒知�。看山�是山乃altrutistic self of 二乘与大乘��的自觉觉他。The last enlightened note of this zen master on 看山还是山is 自觉觉他觉行圆满, 法界�体一家人,无你我她的分别。 Amituofo ah/\ha