--- In [email protected], "Bill Smart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > P.S. What does Gassho mean? I THINK `gassho' is a transliteration of a Japanese word meaning `thank you', or `in thanks'; but maybe it means BOTH `thank you' and `f**k off' - and even an empty response such as `whatever'. I'll look to Ryhorikawa for 'further enlightenment' :-)... Gassho...Bill! Hey Bill - You totally caught the essence of it :-) To this, you might add that if you say gassho with the tongue sticking out and extending to the chin after saying the final syllable '-sho' it means "WUZZZ-UPP?!!" Seriously, gassho (Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese ho-chang) is the translation of the Sanskrit "anjali" . It is actually a mudra in Buddhism: The joining of the one's palms - held at the breast level - as a symbol of reverance, salutation or benedication. It is, for example, the traditional mudra across the Buddhist world when one formally takes refuge in the three treasures - the Buddha, the teachings (dharma) and the community (sangha). In popular Japanese usage, gassho-suru means the joining of the palms - held at breast level - as a sign not really of thanks per se but veneration. When directed at a person it is a recognition - not of the personality - but of the "divinity" (the Buddha-nature) "within". Gassho, ryhorikawa ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Click here to rescue a little child from a life of poverty. http://us.click.yahoo.com/rAWabB/gYnLAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> 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/
