Yūgen I am fascinated by the idea that different languages have words that others do not have equivalents for. This reminds us of the limitations of language. We think in words, words we draw from our language. So are our thoughts limited by the bounds of our language? Or is it that language is a reflection of our thoughts? Yūgen is a Japanese word which has no English counterpart; it has been described as “strictly speaking ‘an untranslatable word’”. Furthermore to this, it is essentially an indescribable word, at least in the context of other words. The original Chinese word from which it evolved, was said to be “to be so mysteriously faint and profound as to be beyond human perception and understanding.” “To watch the sun sink behind a flower clad hill. To wander on in a huge forest without thought of return. To stand upon the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands. To contemplate the flight of wild geese seen and lost among the clouds. And, subtle shadows of bamboo on bamboo.”- Poet Zeami Motokiyo describing Yugen "They describe yugen as watching wild geese fly and being hidden in the clouds; as watching a ship vanish behind the distant island; as wandering on and on in a great forest with no thought of return. Haven’t you done this? Haven’t you gone on a walk with no particular purpose in mind? You carry a stick with you and you occasionally hit at old stumps and wander along and sometimes twiddle your thumbs. It is at that moment that you become a perfectly rational human being; you have learned purposelessness." -Alan Watts talking about Yugen
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 09:29:37 +0000
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