Bill, No, you don't understand.
Cupness is a human mental concept. It exists only in mind and not in external reality. What does exist in external reality are information forms that human minds interpret as cups... Edgar On May 18, 2013, at 7:02 AM, Bill! wrote: > 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 > > > > > > > > > >
