[Buddha-l] bodhi

[Dan Lusthaus]

Franz,

That's the intrigue and power of language. Despite what it supposedly 
"officially" means, we all have our own acquired "sense" of what it implies 
to us. What's amazing is that any of us manage to communicate at all. Word 
pundits (like the late William Safire) delighted in pointing out how our 
"sense" of words, as well as our usage, was often misguided and in ignorance 
of the facts.

In the case of obtain, of the three examples I obtained and passed on (and 
no one "deeded" them to me), the first, from Cambridge, speaks loudly 
against Franz's sense:

obtain verb (GET)
[T] to get something, especially by asking for it, buying it, working for it
or producing it from something else
to obtain permission
First editions of these books are now almost impossible to obtain.
In the second experiment they obtained a very clear result.
Sugar is obtained by crushing and processing sugar cane

Breaking this down, it says basically "obtain" means "to get." It does carry 
some connotations (not denotations), so that it applies "especially" when 
the getting is done: (1) by asking for it, (2) buying it, (3) working for it
or (4) producing it from something else.

It then provides usage examples of each, respectively:
(1) to obtain permission
(2) First editions of these books are now almost impossible to obtain.
(3) In the second experiment they obtained a very clear result.
(4) Sugar is obtained by crushing and processing sugar cane

Arguably (1) and (2) require someone else from whom something is acquired. 
But that is not the case in examples (3) and (4). I don't think the 
Cambridge Dictionary intended the list of four as a prioritized hierarchy.

If we wished to gloss these meanings further, we might say "obtain" 
indicates a result through a process, where the agent acquires something not 
previously in his possession, either from another or through his labors. 
Yes?

So, Buddhistically, whether we say he attains such-and-such a realization, 
or obtains such and such a state, both have the problem of tenir -- to take, 
possessiveness, acquisition, etc. That is why abhidharmic and Yogacara 
literature usually treat upadana (appropriation) as the most important of 
the 12 links of conditioned co-arising. It permeates everything, including 
the practice of Buddhism. Meditators meditate to "get" a glimpse, to obtain 
a living condition previously unavailable. The gamya term (adhigamya, etc.) 
is about getting, about accessibility (including sexual accessibility -- see 
Monier-Williams). The Indians speak of "getting" the meaning as how language 
works (referentiality -- the word refers by getting the artha, or making the 
artha accessible for getting by the language hearer); perception is about 
"apprehending" the object (artha). Tenir is everywhere...

Dan