Alo and De Mindfulness #57
(PD) Alo and De Lake on Land.
Copyright ©2018 November 6, 2018
Morning Dove: This is very interesting to me. Of what you have told me today, the ancients' words now make sense, more sense than before, and, actually, very intriguingly good. But, can we be confident that our interpretation of the ancients' words is close to what the ancients' intended?
Alo: I believe so. The reason, is, sometimes... often... when De and I are alone, we walk the land together... or sit together near our gardens... staring at the flowers... we do not speak much, and, I tend to not give thought to analyses of outside things... but, after Yan and I had spoken of the word 'honesty' yesterday, for a little while I gave attention to how De and I speak to each other... and I then recognized what might be an answer to some of my previous questions. When, I speak, my words arrive, slowly... lengthy analyses occur before speaking... choices are made of which words to speak, before speaking... depending on the topic, and the purpose for speaking, I choose words that best agree with the purpose. It would not be useful, to speak long elaborations of details of each word's meaning, and, so, I choose to add a few words that help enable me to be as accurate as I am able, while still enabling me to communicate the knowing that I know my words are not full answers. Is the sky blue today? My answer... 'to me, yes, a similar blue as yesterday'... I ensure that I communicate the knowledge that my interpretation of colors are my own interpretations, not anyone else's... I do not enter into a lengthy elaboration of describing the different hues of blue, nor the quantities of blues relative to the day's hours... and I am careful to never say the words 'same', 'equal', or 'identical' except when necessary, like now... I do, however, often add parallels, contrasts, and variables, sometimes metaphors, to illustrate concepts that themselves are fluid of variations... and there, there becomes a definition of 'honesty' that is useful for my own use... the definition gives attention to ingredients... and one of the ingredients, is the act of mindfulness.
De: Also, ingredient, of chidao...
Alo: Yes, very much agreed... attempting a harmony, without mindfulness, can have no creativity... not chidao at all... not what the ancients' words might have intended also...
Morning Dove: Aha, yes, that does seem to also fit the concept of what a junzi is... a good man, to be honest bright, he must also be mindful... ah, but that is so simple now! My chuckle... we say 'a man is walking', but we do not include the words of legs, feet, and toes in motion... similar with honesty, it is so obvious to us, that we do not think of it being important enough to speak of the ingredient of mindfulness. Is it the same with the word 'bright'? Oops! Ha! I just caught myself saying 'same'! Not mindful!
Alo: Ha! It is okay! The modern language uses the 'equal' words too loosely... use the words while intending 'not-equal'... not an error, correct relative to the modern language, but not really correct-correct.
De: 'Bright' similar...
Alo: Yes... to our people, we might use the 'bright' word while not thinking it important enough to include the ingredients... but when we give attention to the ingredients of 'bright', then 'bright' has strong meaning... also gives strong meaning to honesty... also gives strong meaning to junzi. Many times we have found the ancients' words to mirror our own native ways... 'bright', when described with ingredients, then matches the ancients' words... harmony...
Yan: For me, I am still feeling excited that 'mindful-honest bright' now has value... before, the words were empty, just, mere, modern words, of no value, many contradictions, and no logic.
Morning Dove: I agree. Then that also appears to help explain why the ancient writers used the uncommon sentence structure... if we read their words, mindfully, and in the sequence as the words were written, then the words do indeed have meaning.
Alo: Yes... 'mindful-honesty, then bright... bright, then mindful-honesty'... as Yan said, the ancient words are without sense if used with modern synonyms... must know what the words conceptualized... must first experience firsthand what the words conceptualized... must harmonize with junzi... must chidao... if bright head only, then heart dark, and, if heart dark, then head not bright.
Yan: Ha! You just summed an ancient sentence, but from a different direction... I highly approve.
Alo: Thank you...
Morning Dove: This is very interesting to me too... the words now permit junzi to be a good man... the words, as seen in the other translations, had made junzi to appear to be unstable of behavior and mind, and the words had also made the writers themselves appear to be similarly unstable of behavior and mind. I have a strong interest in what a junzi might be like... if a junzi lived today, then he would indeed be honest-bright. Our people, some more bright than others... I am trying to decide how to phrase my words, to be careful to say what I want to say, without saying something that might be interpreted in a way that might be received, disharmoniously... our people, we know who is bright... no need to speak of it... but, with the help of the ancient writings, we can now better recognize what we before had not given attention to... and, offer us a better idea, of how we too, might, approach a way of becoming more like a junzi.
Jun: Father, voice now more like Alo's... Yan's voice, often close now also...
Morning Dove: Ha! Yes... compliment also... mindfulness, does, cause, slower words... more heart too... and there, does that not also describe an ingredient of junzi?
Alo: Yes... heart... words, of only mind, are cold... not bright... bright must have heart...
Morning Dove: Oh... oh that there, that alone, so vividly describes the other translations of ancient words... no heart... only thoughts of mind...
De: Cannot know junzi, if no heart one's self...
Alo: Precisely... people, with low thoughts, cannot know people with high thoughts... cannot translate high words... people, without heart, cannot know people with heart... cannot translate heart words... if head intelligent, then heart warm... if heart cold, then no head intelligent...
Yan: I apologize for my chuckles... Alo repeatedly phrases his words within a similar pattern as the ancient writings... only changing words of focus, giving examples of parallels and contrasts, giving more meaning to the ancient words...
Morning Dove: Ha! I am seeing that also... and the repeated examples do help me better understand the ancient words. I have lived similar words, understand through firsthand experience, I know what the metaphors point to, and, also, the metaphors are not fully metaphors... they are more literal than conceptual...
De: No mindfulness, not know...