A Collection of Japanese SayingsWhich one do you like the best? Why?

How would you interpret it? Does it resonate with your own experience? If you were creating your own saying, what might it be?

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Empty-handedI entered the world Barefoot I leave it. My coming, my going -- Two simple happenings That got entangled.

Kozan IchikyoJapanese Monk

Time is not a line, but a series of now-points. 

Taisen Deshimaru,Zen monk

水に流す mizu ni nagasuTranslation: let flow in the waterEnglish equivalent: Forgive and forget; water under the bridge

Rather ten thousand lanterns from a wealthy man than one lantern from a poor man.

石の上にも三年ishi no ue nimo san nento stay three years on a rockThis proverb teaches the principle of perseverance by encouraging one to see an enterprise through to its conclusion.Adapted from Jonathan H. X. Lee; Kathleen M. Nadeau (2011). Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife. ABC-CLIO. p. 636. ISBN 978-0-313-35066-5.

deru kui wa utareruTranslation: The stake that sticks out gets hammered down.Meaning: "Standing out goes hand in hand with criticism."English equivalent: The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

Roku Okada, Japanese Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, Japan Travel Bureau, Tokyo 1955, page 28

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

Dogen, Japanese Monk

Some people like to make of life a garden, and to walk only within its paths.

Japanese Proverb

People want to avoid the dew before they become wet.

(Japanese Proverb)

Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.

(Japanese Proverb)

While we consider when to begin, it becomes too late.

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.

Ancient Proverb

Cold tea and cold rice are tolerable; what is intolerable is a cold gaze and harsh

words.

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.

Forgiving the unrepentantis like drawing pictures on

water.

If you hire only those people you understand, the company will never get people better than you are. Always remember that you often find outstanding people among those you don’t particularly like.

Soichiro, Honda Founder

しょしんわするべからず shoshin wasuru bekarazu

Translation:

We should not forget our beginner’s spirit.

(the excitement/humility of starting something new)

Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods.

A Lean In Celebration for Women in

Ed Tech LeadershipOctober, 2016