"Zen"-ward Ho!!!

This is my Zen Buddhism rant (although I'm not Buddhist).

Buddhism is really misunderstood by a lot of people, especially Westerners. This is primarily because religion, even more so than language, is difficult to translate.

In the Ch'an Buddhist Tradition ("Zen" in Japan), Bhuddist masters, trying to help their students towards the Great Awakening, would send their pupils into the woods to meditate on a question. At the end of the day, the pupils would return and ask their master to answer the question, but their answers always ambiguous, leaving the pupil with multiple contradictory meanings.

For example, a Buddhist master would ask his pupil, "Does a dog have Buddha nature?". After meditating all day, the pupil would return and ask his master, "Does a dog have Buddha nature?". To which the master replies, "WU!," which could be interpreted in 3 ways:

1. No!
2. *bark*
3. Wake up!

* * *

My favorite Chinese character:
(follow link for japanese language pack)

互

pronounced 'go' （「 ご」と言う)(i don't know in Chinese)

If you don't know anything about Chinese characters, the character itself, is not necessarily a word. Sometimes it is, but it is always an idea. The character, by itself, has subjective meaning.

subjective definition:

go - each other; mutual

word combinations:

gokaku - equality; equal; balanced
gojo - mutual aid
gosen - election by mutual vote

I like this idea: equal dependence as independence.

I also like that the meaning of 'go' in English seems to contradict the Chinese meaning.