Besides zazen, music, school and drawing, I've been researching Pali lately. Felt compelled to hunt down the definitions for Pali terms myself, rather than inherently trust all these commentaries and secondhand knowledge I've been given. A lot of the terms we've been introduced to were grossly mistranslated by biased English scholars. Just doing my part to help fellow Westerners get a clear impression of things.
Started to uncover translations that resemble the "original" meanings. Usually did this by referencing several different dictionaries and breaking words down into their root, suffix and prefix. For instance, most Pali to English dictionaries will say that dukkha means suffering, but I was really looking for the elements that formed these terms. Granted, most of these are probably also "off the mark," but Zen's beyond words and letters anyway.
Some of these really do give a clearer voice to things experienced along the way though.
Dukkha - Instability, unease, unsteadiness
Rupa (form) - Appearances
Vedana (Sensation) - Judging experiences
Sanna (Perception) - Ideas, concepts, emotions, memories, categorization (schemas)
Sankhara (Mental formations) - Representation
Vinnana (Consciousness) - Consciousness, haha
Sunyata (Emptiness) - Boundlessness, free from isolation, free from stagnancy
Prajnaparamita - Immeasurable wisdom beyond intellect and cognition
Zen, Chan, Dhyana, Jhana - Immersion
That's the load so far. Really is interesting when we think of dukkha as unsteadiness rather than suffering. Falls in line well with the First Noble Truth. Life is unsteadiness, imbalance. This road is bumpy and full of potholes. It's a rough ride if we don't have decent tires and shock absorbers The term representation surprised me. Directly coincided with modern psychology, which claims that we never experience anything directly. We experience representations of things.
Another fun fact, the term meditation didn't apply to Buddhist practices until long after it began being noticed by Europeans. In fact, the term Buddhism didn't exist at all until a few centuries ago. Prior to that it was just the Buddhadharma, and the various schools that practiced it. Also, boundlessness really clears up the negative connotations we Westerners have about the term emptiness. That was the phrase that actually turned me off of Zen when I first researched it back in high school. Anyway, much metta Sangha.
Gassho, John
Sat Today
Started to uncover translations that resemble the "original" meanings. Usually did this by referencing several different dictionaries and breaking words down into their root, suffix and prefix. For instance, most Pali to English dictionaries will say that dukkha means suffering, but I was really looking for the elements that formed these terms. Granted, most of these are probably also "off the mark," but Zen's beyond words and letters anyway.
Some of these really do give a clearer voice to things experienced along the way though. Dukkha - Instability, unease, unsteadiness
Rupa (form) - Appearances
Vedana (Sensation) - Judging experiences
Sanna (Perception) - Ideas, concepts, emotions, memories, categorization (schemas)
Sankhara (Mental formations) - Representation
Vinnana (Consciousness) - Consciousness, haha
Sunyata (Emptiness) - Boundlessness, free from isolation, free from stagnancy
Prajnaparamita - Immeasurable wisdom beyond intellect and cognition
Zen, Chan, Dhyana, Jhana - Immersion
That's the load so far. Really is interesting when we think of dukkha as unsteadiness rather than suffering. Falls in line well with the First Noble Truth. Life is unsteadiness, imbalance. This road is bumpy and full of potholes. It's a rough ride if we don't have decent tires and shock absorbers
The term representation surprised me. Directly coincided with modern psychology, which claims that we never experience anything directly. We experience representations of things. Another fun fact, the term meditation didn't apply to Buddhist practices until long after it began being noticed by Europeans. In fact, the term Buddhism didn't exist at all until a few centuries ago. Prior to that it was just the Buddhadharma, and the various schools that practiced it. Also, boundlessness really clears up the negative connotations we Westerners have about the term emptiness. That was the phrase that actually turned me off of Zen when I first researched it back in high school. Anyway, much metta Sangha.
Gassho, John
Sat Today
It's so wonderful drawing with mindfulness. Bodhidharma was especially great to draw. Was like the dance of form and emptiness unfolding on the page. The Buddha is a work in progress. Gonna draw that one a few dozen times. Will keep on practicing, only been doodling for a week now. Just picked up some charcoal pencils today. Does anyone else draw or paint?
Comment