On the Same Wavelength

四字熟語(Japanese idioms)「以心伝心」英語訳(English translation)

When you meet someone else’s eyes and you just know what the other is thinking about or about to say so you can make a mental connection with the other person, you say…
「以心伝心」 ishin denshin

以心伝心なんで、言葉がなくても伝わるんです。すごく波長が合うんですよ。
ishindenshin nande, kotobaga nakutemo tsutawarundesu. sugoku hachoga aundesu.
We can read each other’s minds and often share information without speaking, because we are very much on the same mental wavelength.

以:by means of
心:heart, mind
伝:communicate, pass down
心:heart, mind

It originally refers to Zen secrets passed down by means of mental communication between priests and their disciples. The disciples try to read master’s mind. Zen priests don’t often turn to oral or written instructions to pass on Zen secrets.  It might bear some literal resemblance to Augustine’s phrase: Cor ad cor loquitur. It’s about the personal relationship between God and human beings through prayer. Just as eyes speak to eyes, heart speaks to heart in a silent conversing.

元々は、師と弟子が心を通い合わせて伝わる禅の奥義のこと。弟子たちは師の心を読もうとする。禅の奥義は、口伝などに頼らない。アウグスティヌスの”Cor ad cor loquitur(心と心がしゃべる)”に通じるところがある。祈りを通じた神との対話であり、視線を交わすように、沈黙の会話によって心と心を結ぶ。