Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Diamond Sutra confusion

"Subhuti, what do you think?
Does a Bodhisattva set any Buddha-land in array?

No, World-honoured One, he does not.

Why?

Because to set a Buddha-land in array is not to set it in array,
and therefore it is known as setting it array..."

thus far, the above exchange is my favorite portion in D. T. Suzuki's translation of the Diamond Sutra, and it perfectly represents why Eastern masters should be required to provide annotation and commentary for Western novices. but this is beside the point.

the point is that my yin's car went half-kaput yesterday and much of our day was spent running around town trying to find a mechanic. fortunately, we got a reliable lead from a three-quarters mad Greek who told us about guy on the north end of town, one-third redneck and wholly obsessed with fractions. he told us that some tasks took three-tenths of an hour, some took four, and that he would have to hook up the electrodes and call us in the morning. as it turns out, this is also beside the point.

the point is that on the way home i imagined myself friends with the Greek, sitting on his front porch, drinking grappa, and calling one another "you old bastard" until it was time for us to take dinner. somewhere between apéritif and digestif would come stories of the old country, and the ghost of Hemingway would try to interrupt, incessantly adding his two cents about Spain and trout and bullfighting. the Greek would then give me a brisk slap across the face, tell me to quit romanticizing the past so much and finish my drink.

[can rant ever be koan?]

can past be shown
can passed be shone
can rhyme be gnome
can rime be known
can clever be smart
can mind be heart
can couplet be cutlet
or only a Miss Steak

too points two ponder:

won) why do so many things look different but sound the same?
to) why do we privilege sight over sound when assigning meaning?


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