2+2 = 2+2
Colbourne (colby@online.net.pg)
Thu, 12 Mar 1998 22:43:09 +1000
Can somebody please describe, in one concise sentence, exactly what
Buddhism is, what it's relevance is to Zen, and how Salingers' Buddhism
differs from them (as Jim said). If it is absoloutely necessary to present
me with koans or stories about dead cats, so be it, but I would prefer a
'conventional' Brittanica encyclopaedia definiton. Thanks.
The '2+2=' thing still reminds me of Orwell's 1984 statement.
I've thought about the 2+2 question a lot and I've decided that the answer is:
2+2 = 2+2
Buddhism wouldn't be as presumptuous as to provide no answer to the
question. I think it would say that 2+2 = 2+2, because we have created the
boundaries and limitations of this language, this question, and
consequently, we have already assigned an answer to it. If you ask a blind
man to describe the colour blue he will say 'But it is blue, of course'.
Because how else can we ask him, how else can he reply and how else can we
understand?
As to the hat thing, we have to remember the importance of Holden's grey
hairs and their relevance to the hat and Holden's comment 'This is my
goddam people shooting hat'. The hat reversal suggests rebellion and not
shooting the ducks and i read somewhere that he was hunting the hunter
instead, or hunting himself, turning his attack inwards.
The rainbow gasoline puddles were one of those things I had seen all my
life, dream-like without paying conscious attention to them, and could
never acknowledge them or define them as simply as Salinger did. You can
imagine my joy at reading this tiny comment. First time I read the catcher
I really loved the 'people shooting hat'. I still adore the 'disappearing
across the road' and 'Allie, Please don't let me disappear'. My above all
favourites would have to be the Dageva, Davega, whatever, bicycle, I had
thought of doing the same thing once myself, I get some psychological
release in giving away 'significant' material items that were mine. I also
like Seymour and the girl and cat in the driveway bit. You might remember
my last post about it. I can see how he did it. My other favourites would
have to be when Teddy keeps saying 'Isn't it interesting how' and the
orange peel bit and perhaps my all-time favourite would have to be Teddy's
comment about the coconut-split-head-open-and-wife-comes-and-says 'Stop
that!'. How is it that those two words seem to be the only PERFECT response
to such a situation? Anything else she could have done or said would have
been inappropriate, and yet there is no LOGICAL reason for such a response,
or perhaps she is reprimanding the absurdity of our lives. Could anybody
tell me what poem he is referring to? I think Teddy's response is a
significant representation of Salinger, and that our bananafish metaphor is
still as true and liberating and tragic as it ever has been. I'd like to
steer our posts around to writing, what Salinger says to budding writers,
and he clearly says so much, and what everybody else thinks. What is the
criteria necessary to be a writer? How do you know that you are a writer?
For me life is like a terrible itch and sometimes writing grants me the
satisfaction and relief of scratching it.
I have a small tool box of words and no where to plug in a power drill, nor
any power drill for that matter, and I keep hitting my thumb with the
verbal hammer. I've lost my measuring tape and Salinger, Kafka, Dahl and
Winton have stolen all the nails so that nobody else can use them.
How many abstract painters does it take to change a light bulb?
A fish.
Godot.