Edgar, Everything (well most things) we write and post here is rational or at least presented in a rational way. Our language for the most part is rational.
You would not have written this because of the one word I pointed out: "impute". You would have used a word like 'discovered' or 'recognized' and implied that 'cupness' exists out there somewhere in the World of Forms. ...Bill! --- In [email protected], Edgar Owen <edgarowen@...> wrote: > > Mike, > > My God! If I had written this everyone (including YOU) would be pounding me > for being too rational! > :-) > > Edgar > > > > On May 18, 2013, at 12:25 AM, uerusuboyo@... wrote: > > > Merle, > > > > I copied this for you. It's regarding things having "essence": > > > > What is emptiness then? To understand the philosophical meaning of this > > term, let's look at a simple solid object, such as a cup. How is a cup > > empty? We usually say that a cup is empty if it does not contain any liquid > > or solid. This is the ordinary meaning of emptiness. But, is the cup really > > empty? A cup empty of liquids or solids is still full of air. To be > > precise, we must therefore state what the cup is empty of. Can a cup be > > empty of all substance? A cup in a vacuum does not contain any air, but it > > still contains space, light, radiation, as well as its own substance. > > Hence, from a physical point of view, the cup is always full of something. > > Yet, from the Buddhist point of view, the cup is always empty. The Buddhist > > understanding of emptiness is different from the physical meaning. The cup > > being empty means that it is devoid of inherent existence. > > > > What is meant with non-inherent existence? Is this to say that the cup does > > not ultimately exist? - Not quite. - The cup exists, but like everything in > > this world, its existence depends on other phenomena. There is nothing in a > > cup that is inherent to that specific cup or to cups in general. Properties > > such as being hollow, spherical, cylindrical, or leak-proof are not > > intrinsic to cups. Other objects which are not cups have similar > > properties, as for example vases and glasses. The cup's properties and > > components are neither cups themselves nor do they imply cupness on their > > own. The material is not the cup. The shape is not the cup. The function is > > not the cup. Only all these aspects together make up the cup. Hence, we can > > say that for an object to be a cup we require a collection of specific > > conditions to exist. It depends on the combination of function, use, shape, > > base material, and the cup's other aspects. Only if all these conditions > > exist simultaneously does the mind impute cupness to the object. If one > > condition ceases to exist, for instance, if the cup's shape is altered by > > breaking it, the cup forfeits some or all of its cupness, because the > > object's function, its shape, as well as the imputation of cupness through > > perception is disrupted. The cup's existence thus depends on external > > circumstances. Its physical essence remains elusive. > > > > Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad > > > > From: Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...>; > > To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; > > Subject: [Zen] the strawberry myth > > Sent: Sat, May 18, 2013 3:46:59 AM > > > > > > > > group.... > > the thing about a strawberry .. > > a quality strawberry..it is suppose to be sweet... > > that is what we expect from a strawberry... > > the very essence of it is it's sweetness.. > > a sour one well apart from the fact it puts us off eating it and it is a > > product that will not sell well in the markets... > > get real.. > > would you want to eat sour strawberries for desert?.. > > for christ sake.. > > sour strawberries will put you off eating them for life... > > > > it's not all about judgement > > > > it's about accepting the reality that the sour strawberry does not contain > > the essence of what it is to be a strawberry.. > > > > that's not rocket science.. > > and requires no more that a nod and a shake of the head then spit it out.. > > end of story.. > > let's not read into this strawberry caper.. > > create a myth and make it something to be set in stone for ever more ... > > > > amen.. > > merle > > > > Merle > > www.wix.com/merlewiitpom/1 > > > > > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
