Subject #23: On naming

One of the strangest expressions is ”I am [name]”. What does the name have to do with who/what you are? That name is just a sound, just a combination of letters, which your parents chose so they could call you somehow. And still people become attached with their names, become proud or ashamed of their names, give importance to family name, think that name is part of them and all other nonsense.

It happens so often that words become more important than what they describe. That’s because we deal with words all the time, every day – as with reality we deal only occasionally and mind cannot grasp it. So we focus our attention on words and let them become big part of our life. We become hurt & delighted by the words and we start to desire & fear hearing certain words. World of words is the usual playground for us.

Humans have created names for things, language, in order to communicate. All names (words) are abstract concepts and should be always treated such way. Let’s take an example. I saw a cute dog wandering around alone and then later wanted to tell my friend about it. I could tell the race of the dog, where it was and what it was doing but my friend’s image of the dog would be based on his idea about that race, place and behaviour. It would not be the same dog that I saw. That’s the problem in all verbal communication between humans - we can’t express anything in its fullness, as it is. Ok, sounds simple but didn’t I also see that dog not as it really was but based on my mind’s ideas about it? Most likely I did. Even if we saw the dog together with my friend, not only our images what we saw would be different but neither of us would have really seen what was there.

Here is what Chuan Tzu said about words:

The purpose of a fishtrap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten.

The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten.

The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten.

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to.

There is also a beautiful story about Buddha who was about give a speech. Lots of people had gathered to listen to him. He was a silent for a long time and then picked up a flower from the ground. Still saying nothing he started to twirl the flower. One person from the audience suddenly started to smile, grasping what cannot be said. That is how Zen, direct transmission was born.