Japanese Proverbs- II

Proverb- 悪因悪果
Reading- akuin akka
Meaning- Bad cause Bad result
English equivalent- Sow what you reap

Proverb- 馬鹿も一芸　
Reading- Baka mo ichi-gei
Meaning- Even a fool has one talent
English equivalent- Even a fool is good at something

Japanese Proverbs- II

Here is a classic saying!

知らぬが仏
Reading= Shiranu ga hotoke.
Literally, it means "Not knowing is Buddha" and more like "Ignorance is bliss"

I am following this piece of advice literally. I am not seeing any stock market news because ignorance is bliss!!

仏 (Hotoke) means Buddha and 仏教 is Buddhism or the way/ teaching of Buddha. There are many Japanese proverbs with allusions to Buddhism. Here is another one with 仏 (hotoke) in it.

仏の顔も三度
Reading= Hotoke no kao mo sando
Meaning= Even Buddha will frown when insulted thrice.
English= It is enough to try the patience of a saint.

馬の耳に念仏
Reading= Umo no mimi ni nenbutsu
Meaning= Prayers uttered in the ears of a horse
English= Casting pearls before swine

念仏 (Nenbutsu) is Buddhist prayer.

Japanese Proverbs- I

Proverbs, those tiny distilled bits of wisdom, are quite nifty. Each culture has its' own proverbs and predictably, these proverbs convey the sense of that culture. This is going to be a weekly feature where I pick up one proverb and study it in detail.

一利あれば、一害あり
いちりあれば、いちがいあり

This literally means "For every advantage, there is equally a disadvantage". "Everything has its pros and cons" sounds better. Or rather, nothing is troublefree! So you could slip this in when you are talking about economy, marriage, studying abroad, etc!! It probably works in all these cases.