Primer

A Primer in Chinese Buddhist Writings

Volume One: Foundations

Lessons in Grammar - Lesson 5: yǐ 以

is a co-verb, meaning “to take, use; with, by means of.”

Example 5.1

Vocabulary
to answer, to reply
together
The Buddha returns to a gathering of his disciples and asks them what they have been discussing...

Example 5.2

Vocabulary
宿命智 sùmìngzhì knowledge of past lives (lit. past-destinies-wisdom)

Example 5.3

Vocabulary
善哉 shànzāi excellent! ( marks the previous as emphatic—the equivalent of an exclamation mark)
平等 píngděng equal, with equanimity
xìn faith
xiū to cultivate, practice
dào the Way, path, the Tao; to speak
Note that in this example děng is used in two different ways: first as a plural marker, and then as part of a compound indicating equanimity.

Example 5.4

After his enlightenment, the Buddha is reluctant to preach since he fears the beings of the world will not be able to understand his teachings. Brahma insists that there are some in the world who are capable of receiving his teachings. The Buddha then decides to have a look for himself...

Vocabulary
yǎn eye
guān to observe
shì to see, to view
世界 shìjiè world

Example 5.5

can also be used to express purpose, “and thereby,” “in order to.”

Vocabulary
shǒu hand
zhí to grasp, to hold
bái white
gài parasol
bǎo precious; jeweled
shàn fan
zhàng to impede, to protect from
hán cold
shǔ summer; heat
When the bodhisattva is born, devas protect the infant by doing the following:

Example 5.6

Vocabulary
zēng to increase
performers
yuè music; musicians (note that this word can also be read lè in which case it means “happiness”)
yuè to be pleased; to please
xīn heart, mind
To keep the bodhisattva from leaving the palace, his father did the following:

Example 5.7

Vocabulary
quán fountain, spring
yǒng to bubble forth, to spring forth
chū out; to merge, go out
wēn warm
lěng cold; cool
澡浴 zǎoyù bath; to bathe
Immediately after the bodhisattva's birth, the following happened:

Example 5.8

Vocabulary
簡擇 jiǎnzé to select
cǎi beautiful; colourful
woman, women
to entertain
happy, joyful; pleasure
To keep the bodhisattva at home, his father...

Example 5.9

The phrase shìyǐ 是以 means “because of,” “therefore.”

Vocabulary
dào road
féng to meet
lǎo old
The king asks the bodhisattva's attendant why the boy is not happy. The attendant replies:

Example 5.10

Vocabulary
silence, quiet
rán (suffix forming stative verb, describing a continuing action or state)
When Brahma encourages the Buddha to preach the Dharma, he explains that the people of the world are not receptive to his teachings, concluding by saying...

Review 5

Page updated on 2019-02-09

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