I think it's partially the natural Chinese manner

Sun Tzu's topic is about human psych - so naturally it (can be) translates well-enough. The BG is about It All and.. without Anyone's silly \ufffd. But it presupposes a quite different mindset than 'ours' in the West - it is not 'theology' nor about 'Gods' - except quite peripherally, and always acknowledging such as mere symbols and not 'Beings'. Sanskrit itself was developed for the express purpose of aiding in dealing with matters which Couldn't possibly have er 'local referents' - as all other languages rely upon.

If you try to read the BG, with no interest in, exposure to.. some rather lengthy (actual) discussion of the meanings* of a number of Sanskrit words - as you see populating the work - you might well come away with the Zippo you suggest.

* meaning is ever a tall order - whole libraries on the idea. Another word like reality ? But I 'mean' - trying to get past the most often entirely too literal and serial models of It All, as is the Western practice in its 'theology' - that is the base condition.

In brief - I don't believe that the BG Can be 'read' as one might read Chaucer or Beowulf (with a dictionary) and finally.. sorta see the outlines of an allegory amidst the similes. It presupposes *some* familiarity with Eastern attitudes and allegories for Existence. It is a Cosmology.

I pretend no scholarship in Sanskrit, But I have puzzled over and discussed the many (main) concepts, and over years. During that time my 'ideas' of the words has changed as.. I have changed / we all change. 'Interest' in the ideas precedes doing this much work! IMhO - I don't believe that can be 'created along the way'.

'Explaining' further isn't much of an option, for similar reasons to why proselytizing also ever fails - no one can tell someone else what, their Questions are? (and especially! what their Questions Ought to Be\ufffd!) Hey.. it's something akin to grokking to Fullness ya know?

But I can admire your spirit in trying.. :-\ufffd

Ashton

Post #23,425 by marlowe 1/7/02 6:10:17 PM Reply	I think it's partially the natural Chinese manner For all his idiosyncracies, I find Sun Tzu vastly easier to follow than the Bhagavad Gita. Even if I don't get an allusion, I can figure it out from the context. And it makes sense, too. Even Lao Tzu makes some sense to me. By contrast, with the Bhagavad Gita, I feel like I'm being subjected to a snow job to rival any blizzard in Buffalo. The more I try to understand, the greater my suspicion grows that I'm being Sokal-ized. [link\|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html\|http://www.angelfir...e/index.html] Sometimes "tolerance" is just a word for not dealing with things.
Post #23,432 by Ashton 1/7/02 7:05:01 PM Reply	There's another aspect to that one, I think. Sun Tzu's topic is about human psych - so naturally it (can be) translates well-enough. The BG is about It All and.. without Anyone's silly \ufffd. But it presupposes a quite different mindset than 'ours' in the West - it is not 'theology' nor about 'Gods' - except quite peripherally, and always acknowledging such as mere symbols and not 'Beings'. Sanskrit itself was developed for the express purpose of aiding in dealing with matters which Couldn't possibly have er 'local referents' - as all other languages rely upon. If you try to read the BG, with no interest in, exposure to.. some rather lengthy (actual) discussion of the meanings* of a number of Sanskrit words - as you see populating the work - you might well come away with the Zippo you suggest. * meaning is ever a tall order - whole libraries on the idea. Another word like reality ? But I 'mean' - trying to get past the most often entirely too literal and serial models of It All, as is the Western practice in its 'theology' - that is the base condition. In brief - I don't believe that the BG Can be 'read' as one might read Chaucer or Beowulf (with a dictionary) and finally.. sorta see the outlines of an allegory amidst the similes. It presupposes some familiarity with Eastern attitudes and allegories for Existence. It is a Cosmology. I pretend no scholarship in Sanskrit, But I have puzzled over and discussed the many (main) concepts, and over years. During that time my 'ideas' of the words has changed as.. I have changed / we all change. 'Interest' in the ideas precedes doing this much work! IMhO - I don't believe that can be 'created along the way'. 'Explaining' further isn't much of an option, for similar reasons to why proselytizing also ever fails - no one can tell someone else what, their Questions are? (and especially! what their Questions Ought to Be\ufffd!) Hey.. it's something akin to grokking to Fullness ya know? But I can admire your spirit in trying.. :-\ufffd Ashton
Post #23,439 by marlowe 1/7/02 8:09:23 PM Reply	Yeah, like I said. It's a big snow job. [link\|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html\|http://www.angelfir...e/index.html] Sometimes "tolerance" is just a word for not dealing with things.

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