心诚则灵

Pronunciation: xīn chéng zé líng Literal meaning: Heart sincere, then it answers

Origin & Usage

The heart (心) being sincere (诚), the thing then (则) answers (灵). 灵 is the word used of a prayer that is heard, an oracle that proves true, a remedy that works — efficacy of the kind you cannot engineer, only deserve. That is why the phrase belongs to temples and to wishes rather than to argument: it is what is said to someone worrying whether they have performed a rite correctly, and the answer it gives is that the intention is the operative part and the procedure is not. Ang Lee put it in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, where Lo tells Jen a desert legend and adds 心诚则灵 — if the wish is truly meant, it comes true. Modern use has carried it well beyond religion, into anything where wholehearted commitment is being offered as the thing that decides the outcome.

Examples

English: "She believed that if she studied with genuine dedication, results would follow — a sincere heart achieves the divine."

Chinese: 真心的，就会实现。我问过汉人，他们说是——心诚则灵。