Painted Cakes Cannot Feed You
觀音靈籤第17签
The history behind Guan Yin lots →Do not listen to idle talk of right and wrong;
Morning and evening, simply recite the Buddha's name.
If you take wild words to be the truth,
How can a painted cake ever still your hunger?
莫听闲言说是非
晨昏只好念弥陀
若将狂话为真实
画饼如何止得饥
Prayer said with a restless, discontented heart accomplishes nothing. It is like drawing a picture of a cake to satisfy hunger: the hunger remains.
This lot warns against feeding on gossip, rumour and empty promises, nourishment as unreal as a drawing of a cake. It points instead to a settled heart and sincere practice, since a distracted mind gains nothing even from many scriptures.
See this lot’s message for your life’s other aspects
Life is stable, and wealth is within reach, though a business deal needs the right timing. Marriage meets obstacles, but pregnancy will be safe, and a traveler you expect will be delayed. It is better to start farming early, though livestock does not fare well. A missing person will be found, but lost items cannot be traced. Lawsuits are best settled by reconciliation, and it is better to stay put than move house. Fulfill any vow made to the Bodhisattva for health, and ancestral graves are blessed.
Gossip is tasty but leaves the heart hungrier, and practice done with a scattered mind is like chewing on paper. Right Speech asks of our words: is it true, is it kind, is it necessary? Could you try one day of gently stepping out of conversations that chew on other people, and see how much lighter the mind feels?
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Lot verses and their traditional meanings come from established Guan Yin lot (觀音靈籤) sources. The interpretation and reflection are written by Handful of Leaves. What you do with the verse is your decision, not the lot’s.
