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If all you have is a hammer, everything becomes a nail.
This is my favourite quotation. For me it speaks of how we suffer greatly and act accordingly, often, because we don’t have the tools we need to change our situation. But for now I am thinking about how we communicate and how it affects what we communicate. I think some guy from Canada wrote at length about this…
I had a discussion years ago with some of my fellow students who were French Canadian about language when I was in art school in the 70’s. Quebec nationalism was a huge topic and the importance of preserving the French language really important, so much so that when the conversation got really impassioned we each would shout in our own! Our argument was whether the true nature of a person wasn’t formed by the language they used to express themselves.
Is there some mystical quality in language? Can you change the scope of your mind with language alone? I would prefer to believe that understanding is what is the greatest power for change and language is only one way to get there.
Words can be used to distance ourselves from our experiences and from each other and so in the end they are limited. They can even be dangerous when used to express division of self and other. They can inspire, motivate and condemn but they have to arise within a context that is somehow meaningful to the listener and it is the context that decides their effect.
What I take the quotation to mean is recognize the context, the tools a person is using, if you want to understand what they are saying.
I also take it to mean, spend your life acquiring tools of expression but pay attention to the intent and the context to avoid bludgeoning meaning.
Also, expression is often wordless. Even the greatest poets can stutter in the face of reality. Expression requires effort and integrity more than just a vast or specific vocabulary.
The greatest tool is an open mind and that is the hardest to attain, it requires practice, but it is flexible and allows us to pierce all contexts, it uses language but is not a slave to it. An open and compassionate mind sees the hammer, sees the nail but hits both with itself.
This is my favourite quotation. For me it speaks of how we suffer greatly and act accordingly, often, because we don’t have the tools we need to change our situation. But for now I am thinking about how we communicate and how it affects what we communicate. I think some guy from Canada wrote at length about this…
I had a discussion years ago with some of my fellow students who were French Canadian about language when I was in art school in the 70’s. Quebec nationalism was a huge topic and the importance of preserving the French language really important, so much so that when the conversation got really impassioned we each would shout in our own! Our argument was whether the true nature of a person wasn’t formed by the language they used to express themselves.
Is there some mystical quality in language? Can you change the scope of your mind with language alone? I would prefer to believe that understanding is what is the greatest power for change and language is only one way to get there.
Words can be used to distance ourselves from our experiences and from each other and so in the end they are limited. They can even be dangerous when used to express division of self and other. They can inspire, motivate and condemn but they have to arise within a context that is somehow meaningful to the listener and it is the context that decides their effect.
What I take the quotation to mean is recognize the context, the tools a person is using, if you want to understand what they are saying.
I also take it to mean, spend your life acquiring tools of expression but pay attention to the intent and the context to avoid bludgeoning meaning.
Also, expression is often wordless. Even the greatest poets can stutter in the face of reality. Expression requires effort and integrity more than just a vast or specific vocabulary.
The greatest tool is an open mind and that is the hardest to attain, it requires practice, but it is flexible and allows us to pierce all contexts, it uses language but is not a slave to it. An open and compassionate mind sees the hammer, sees the nail but hits both with itself.
Tokusan and the old tea woman
Apr. 11th, 2015 08:22 amI get that there are different ways and different paths, and different emphasis, but why did Tokusan not just stay and learn from the old tea woman? And when he did not and went in search of a "master" he completely wasted the opportunity. And it is almost worse to make some pat observation to what is open and brilliant than it is to just leave, get out of there. Put on your straw sandals Tokusan and don't let the sanga door hit your ass on the way out!
I suppose Buddhists invented reincarnation so at least we women can die and come back as men and then be some great master...
I suppose Buddhists invented reincarnation so at least we women can die and come back as men and then be some great master...
Brigit's Flame, October, Week One
Oct. 4th, 2014 02:47 pmTitle: Inner Vision
Author: Urb-banal
Word Count: 1,800
Warnings: nope
Prompt: Upon the inward eye
Inner Vision
The woman of sixty plus, round and red-faced with a bad blunt haircut, wearing sweat pants, a baggy sweater and orthopedic shoes, leaned closer to the meat sizzling in the pan. She had not quite gotten the hang of her bifocals and so she bobbed and tilted her head this way and that to get the right focus.
The peppery, slightly earthy odor of sage hit her nostrils and stirred something in her. I was a witch in a previous life, living in the edge of the wood, dogged and yet defiant, mixing my potions and casting spells...
( Read more... )
Author: Urb-banal
Word Count: 1,800
Warnings: nope
Prompt: Upon the inward eye
Inner Vision
The woman of sixty plus, round and red-faced with a bad blunt haircut, wearing sweat pants, a baggy sweater and orthopedic shoes, leaned closer to the meat sizzling in the pan. She had not quite gotten the hang of her bifocals and so she bobbed and tilted her head this way and that to get the right focus.
The peppery, slightly earthy odor of sage hit her nostrils and stirred something in her. I was a witch in a previous life, living in the edge of the wood, dogged and yet defiant, mixing my potions and casting spells...
( Read more... )
Back in the day Thursday
Sep. 25th, 2014 08:08 am
I used to volunteer as a clown for funraisers. This was to raise money for assisted living. I painted faces all day, it was so fun.I learned that a little grease paint can go a long way. It changes how others see you and respond to you and It can change how we see others.
The first thing to note when diffusing the "us and them" bias is to recognize what is superficial and how we let it misinform us. A lot humour comes about from realizing something that we might have feared is just our own reflection!
Sister Elaine is a Catholic Nun and also a Roshi in the Sanbo Kyodan Lineage. She still sits with the Toronto Zendo on Tuesdays.She also established "Freeing the Spirit" a volunteer organization that teaches meditation and yoga to inmates.
