KARL JASPERS FORUM

N78 (to N69)

KALEIDOSCOPE
by Rob Weedon
30 September 2006, posted 7 October 2006

By itself a thought
Isn't worth much - in context
it's worth everything.

We may think of thoughts
as single chips of glass in
a kaleidoscope;
when you twist the tube
you change all the relations -
also the statement.

While a thought is housed
in words it cannot meld with
its proper context;
here's the gulf between
mere words and understanding --
the net and the fish.

Chinese characters
facilitate the process of
melding context;
the latent meaning
of a character is one in
a multitude
of which each one bears
its own constellation of
associations.

Translations fall short
(particularly the old
missionary ones);
Chinese classics don't
go into words 'just like that' --
you need the mindset.

---------------------------------------------

Rob Weedon
e-mail <rweedon@mindspring.com>