We made a fishing tool to help us catch fish. Once we have caught the fish, we should put the tool down.(得魚忘筌)
We made a fishing tool to help us catch
fish. Once we have caught the fish, we should put the tool down.(得魚忘筌)
There was a famous monk in China during the
Jin dynasty. His name was Daosheng. A story about him is recorded in history
books.
He was a genius. After reading a book, he
could immediately recite it from memory.
He became a monk at a young age and was
qualified to teach Buddhist teachings by the time he was 15.
He thinks clearly and is a skilled speaker.
He is very familiar with many important classical Buddhist texts. He has his
own unique insights into Buddhist theories and concepts.
When he discussed Buddhist theories and
concepts with famous monks of his time, they were unable to refute his views.
He once said something.
Buddhism was introduced to China more than
300 years ago. Since then, language barriers and translation problems have
prevented many people from understanding the Buddhist teachings.
Most people who study Buddhism understand
it based on its literal meaning; only a few can grasp its core meaning.
Zhuang Zhou was a famous philosopher during
the Warring States period. There is a sentence in his book.
'We made a fishing tool in order to catch
fish.' Once we have caught the fish, we should put down the fishing tool.
Words are a tool that help us to understand
the mysteries of Buddhism. We use words to understand the essence of Buddhism,
but we should avoid letting them influence our understanding of its true
essence.
This idiom means that we use a fishing tool
to catch fish and then put it down once we have caught them.
This idiom reminds us that words and
language are merely tools that help us to understand the truth. We cannot
express the truth with limited words and text. We should avoid letting words
and tools influence our understanding of the truth.
Currently, this idiom is commonly used to
describe a situation in which a person receives help from others to get what
they want, but then forgets those who helped them once they have got it.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts does this story give you?
How do you feel about people who forget
about those who helped them after achieving their goals? What limitations do
you think there are in using speech and writing as tools?
I hope this story helps you gain some new
insights.
得魚忘筌(We made a fishing tool to help us
catch fish. Once we have caught the fish, we should put the tool down.)
中國的晉王朝有一個著名的和尚，他的名字叫做道生，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他是一個天才，他把一本書看一遍之後，他就可以立刻背出來。
他幼童的時候就出家，到了他15歲的時候，他就已經具備了佛教教義的講師的資格。
他的思路非常的清晰而且他非常的會說話，佛教中的許多重要經典書籍他都讀得非常的熟，他對佛教的理論與思考都有自己非常獨特的見解。
當他與當時代的有很多著名的高僧討論佛教的理論與觀念時，這些著名的高僧都無法反駁他所提出的很多看法。
他曾經說過一段話。
佛教傳入中國已經300多年了，佛教傳入中國之後，因為語言的障礙與翻譯的問題，所以很多人並無法理解佛教的教義。
大多數研究佛教的人都是根據字面上的意思去理解佛教，只有少人可以理解佛教的最核心的內涵。
莊周是戰國時代的著名哲學家，他的書中有一句話。
我們為了捕魚所以製造了一個捕魚的工具，當我們捕到魚之後，我們應該就要放下這一個捕魚的工具。
文字是我們理解佛教的奧義的一種工具，我們藉由文字來理解佛教的要義，但我們應該避免自己被文字這種工具影響我們對於佛教的真實要義的理解。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是我們為了捕魚所以製造了一個捕魚的工具，當我們捕到魚之後，我們應該就要放下這一個捕魚的工具。
這句成語被提醒我們，我們應該要知道文字與語言都只是一種幫助我們了解真理的工具，我們應該知道我們無法用有限的用言語與文字去表達真理，我們應該避免自己被文字與工具影響了我們對真理的理解。
這句成語目前通常被用來形容一個人受到別人的幫助後，這個人得到自己想要的東西，但這個人得到自己想要的這個東西後就這個人就忘記了那些在過程中幫助過自己的人。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你如何評價那些在完成自己的目標後，就忘記那些幫助過自己的人呢？你認為言語與文字這兩種工具有哪些侷限性呢?
我期待這故事有助於你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為東林十八高賢傳-道生法師
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%9D%B1%E6%9E%97%E5%8D%81%E5%85%AB%E9%AB%98%E8%B3%A2%E5%82%B3