1. “I have found a thought, Govinda, which you'll again regard as a joke or foolishness, but which is my best thought. It says: The opposite of every truth is just as true! That's like this: any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it is one-sided. Everything is one-sided which can be thought with thoughts and said with words, it's all one-sided, all just one half, all lacks completeness, roundness, oneness.”
2. This passage comes from the experience when Siddhartha met Buddha and came to a series of interesting revelations. In this passage, Siddhartha is remarking that a profound truth in life cannot really be expressed in words because language does not lack the power to explain something that needs to be learned through experience. To truly understand life and meaning, one has to transcend conventional notions of language and experience the world in itself - the good, the bad, the sinful, etc. The completeness of the world is what has to be felt, but it cannot just be taught through words. This is where Siddhartha splits with Govinda; whereas Govinda follows the path of Buddha, which is certainly a worthy path, Siddhartha argues everybody has to find their own unique path to wisdom. Though Buddha found his own path, and it is one that gave him solace, Siddhartha has to find his own - he can’t follow a trodden path.
3. I chose this passage because it reminded me of the Dada Manifesto we read in class last week. The author of the manifesto says that poets and writers are using words but none of these words actually get at the truth - they do everything but. They obfuscate, distort, and circle around the truth. The concept of language and words struck me when I read this passage. I also like the idea that each person’s path to wisdom cannot be explained through words. Words are things that everybody uses; everyone uses the same words. But spiritual wisdom is a path that everyone must take and cannot be explained using these words.
No comments:
Post a Comment