World of Proverbs: Zen

First there is a mountain,
then there is no mountain,
then there is.
~ Zen Proverb [19587]

The words of impermanence and perception trace back to Zen scholar Qingyuan Weixin, who explained:

Before I had studied Zen for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and rivers as rivers. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and rivers are not rivers. But now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. For it's just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and rivers once again as rivers.

They were later made famous by Donovan Leitch who crafted them into song:

There is a Mountain

World of Proverbs: Zen