How to Read “Wash one’s ears in the stream”
Nagare ni mimi wo arau
Meaning of “Wash one’s ears in the stream”
“Wash one’s ears in the stream” means to live a pure and upright life, away from worldly troubles.
It describes a way of living that follows one’s own beliefs without being swayed by worldly values like power, fame, or money.
This proverb is used when someone chooses a noble way of life without being influenced by worldly temptations or noise.
It especially praises people who refuse opportunities for status or profit and walk their own path instead.
Today, it describes the mindset of people who choose a simple, pure life even when society values material wealth and social success.
This phrase reminds us how important it is to listen to our inner voice rather than being swayed by social media approval or others’ expectations.
Origin and Etymology
The origin of this proverb is believed to be connected to a story about a noble hermit from ancient Chinese classics.
There’s a legend about Xu You, a hermit from ancient China. When Emperor Yao offered to give him the throne, Xu You felt his ears were polluted by hearing such an offer.
He then washed his ears in a stream to cleanse them.
This story symbolically expresses an attitude of extreme dislike for worldly power and fame, and a commitment to living with integrity.
Washing one’s ears doesn’t just mean seeking physical cleanliness. It represents a strong will to maintain purity of heart.
This philosophy came to Japan and became established as the expression “Wash one’s ears in the stream.”
The combination of the pure image of a flowing stream and the concrete act of washing one’s ears creates a powerful way to express the importance of distancing oneself from the mundane world.
The ancient belief that flowing water has the power to wash away impurities also lies behind this expression.
Usage Examples
- He turned down a promotion and started farming in the countryside—truly a way of life like “Wash one’s ears in the stream”
- My friend who quit all social media and started living quietly must have decided to “Wash one’s ears in the stream”
Universal Wisdom
The phrase “Wash one’s ears in the stream” has been passed down through generations because humans constantly waver between two conflicting desires.
On one hand, we seek social success and recognition. On the other, we long for peace of mind and purity.
This conflict is an unchanging part of human nature from ancient times to today.
What’s interesting is that this proverb uses the expression “wash one’s ears.” Not close one’s eyes or shut one’s mouth, but wash one’s ears.
This shows that worldly temptations and noise enter us regardless of our will.
Sweet words from those in power, expectations from others, society’s values—these things enter through our ears and gradually pollute our hearts without us realizing it.
Humans have a fundamental desire to cleanse themselves when they feel polluted. This applies not just to physical cleanliness but also to spiritual purity.
No matter how materially wealthy we become, we can’t find true satisfaction if our hearts are clouded.
Our ancestors understood this deeply. That’s why the act of washing one’s ears in a pure stream has been passed down as a symbol of an ideal way of life.
When AI Hears This
From an information theory perspective, this proverb shows an extremely rational information processing strategy.
Usually, we tend to choose between two options for unpleasant information: “complete blocking” or “taking it seriously.”
However, complete blocking has high information filtering costs, and taking everything seriously creates heavy psychological burden.
Here, a third option emerges: the processing method of “washing with flowing water.”
Specifically, washing one’s ears with flowing water means temporarily accepting information without letting it stick.
In other words, it enters short-term memory but doesn’t transfer to long-term memory—a filtering process.
In digital signal processing terms, it’s similar to a high-pass filter that only lets certain frequency bands through.
If you block completely, you can’t even judge whether the information is truly important. If you accept everything, information overload saturates your processing capacity.
What’s fascinating is the choice of flowing water as a dynamic system. In still water, dirt settles and remains.
But flowing water constantly renews itself, so information doesn’t accumulate. This is exactly the concept of modern streaming processing—processing data without storing it.
In other words, this proverb shows that ancient people empirically discovered the optimal solution that minimizes entropy: “recognize information but don’t cling to it.”
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches you today is that “purity is a choice.”
Every day, we’re exposed to countless pieces of information, temptations, and expectations. If you try to respond to all of them, your heart will quickly become exhausted.
What matters is having the courage to decide for yourself what to accept and what to wash away.
Turn off social media notifications, decline invitations, don’t worry too much about others’ evaluations.
These small choices accumulate to protect the purity of your heart.
Living like “Wash one’s ears in the stream” doesn’t mean becoming a hermit. It means discerning what’s truly important and living according to your own values.
Sometimes stop and take time to wash away the noise accumulated in your heart.
Take deep breaths in a quiet place, walk in nature, talk slowly with someone you trust.
Such simple acts will cleanse your ears and your heart. Living with a pure heart is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
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