[Buddha-l] Pure Conversation vs koan

[curt]

Richard Hayes wrote:
> On Tuesday 31 July 2007 08:57, curt wrote:
>   
>> Wong Weng Fai wrote:
>>     
>>> Yup. "Qing" is the character for "pure" and "tan" is the character for
>>> "conversation". I believe it is suppose to mean "a conversation pure
>>> of worldly concerns." The world, dust etc. being characterized as
>>> pollutants.
>>>       
>> Nice! That makes it sound even more "zenny". That wasn't what I was
>> expecting "pure" to mean!
>>     
>
> It sounds "zenny" only because it sounds so traditionally Buddhist. I can 
> easily imagine almost any Buddhist of any tradition interpreting "pure" in 
> that way. Just out of curiosity, Curt, what did you expect "pure" to mean? 
> (Or did you simply have no expectations at all, as would be true of, say, an 
> agnostic?)
>
>   

I think that my expectation was that a "pure conversation" would be one 
that was completely heartfelt and intimate. Dang, the Greek philosophers 
had a really good word for it, which I can't remember. It's what 
Socrates was always aiming for - for people to freely and spontaneously 
express themselves without calculation - and without respect to people's 
social rank, age, etc. The Greek word I'm thinking literally means 
something like "speeking freely", I think. It was considered one of the 
perks of being a "real" philosopher that within that circle whether you 
were a slave or an Emperor you could speak your mind and what you said 
was supposed to be taken on it's merits not on "the standing" of who 
said it.

- Curt