Translation Can Turn a Teaching Into a Slogan
A teaching can become more familiar as it becomes less precise. A short slogan travels easily; the questions behind it may not.
Consider dukkha, a term central to the Four Noble Truths. English renderings include suffering, stress, and unsatisfactoriness. Each can point toward part of the inquiry, yet none should be treated as a complete transcript of an entire tradition.
There is pain in life, but a sentence that seems to declare every moment pain can flatten the teaching. Translation has to make meaning available without pretending that one memorable phrase carries every nuance.
A slogan can open a door. It can also become the thing that blocks the room behind it. When a phrase is repeated confidently, we can ask what the original term was doing in its own setting.