[Buddha-l] FW: Three year Research Associate, UK, Indian & Buddhist theories of self

[Richard Hayes]

On Thursday 02 August 2007 16:58, Stephen Hodge wrote:

> At least Joanna confines her misspellings to Japanese.  But the literal
> translation of such courteous social lubricants from other languages is
> often fascinating. I wonder if anybody has made study of the various
> equivalents of "please", "thank-you", "sorry" and so forth.

Given the history of the earth, I'd be surprised if this study has not yet 
been carried out. Like you, I'd love to see the results.

I remember asking a Japanese person what "arigatou" actually means. He 
said "It doesn't mean anything. It's just what you say when someone gives you 
something." Tai Unno, on the other hand, once explained the meaning 
of "arigatou" to me in several paragraphs. His lengthy explanation was a bit 
like that of those who insist that "namaste" means "the God in me salutes the 
God in you." 

Along the same lines, I once asked a Navajo what "Yá'át'ééh" literally means. 
She looked at me as if I were a complete idiot and said "It's just what you 
say when you greet someone. It doesn't mean anything." I challenged her on 
that and insisted it MUST mean something. She looked me straight in the eye 
(an unusual gesture for a Navajo) and said "So what does 'Hello' mean?" I 
felt obliged to change the subject.

So long, 
Richard (now what the hell does THAT mean?)