Word Zendo

[Bunnylump]

I thought we had agreed to make it red fornot wrong and green for right, but what do I know? Mind you it doesn't bother me because it was just a lucky guess, I haven't got any idea what's going on anyway.

[Cenwulf]

This Login is currently under the control of Simon Frayse

Just bringing this over from the previous page, as I see the Master has to do when the page turns.

I see that some previous masters have answered Scurra's usual first question before he asks it. So I will tell you that the Buddha prefers apples to bananas, and also prefers lemons to plums.

In Buddha's good books
apples; blue; box; Bunnylump; cogs; College; comedies; concrete; consume; cork; dogs; fog; fool; hand; idiot; LAT; Latin; lemons; Macbeth; Othello; Pringles; questions; right; Romeo; Rotas; Shakespeare; skittles; snow; suggestions; tough; vodka; white; woof; xyzzy; yapping; yellow

In Buddha's black books
abracadabra; arguments; bananas; beer; cats; Cressida; drink; eat; eejit; evilkeen; gears; Greek; green; growl; Juliet; know-all; pink; plums; Puzzlebrains; rain; red; screen; Scurra; tarmac; tragedies; Troillus; twerp; Walkers; WD40; wrong; Xeno

Buddha's book club
Sparkout
evilkeen
kingsley

[Cenwulf]

This Login is currently under the control of Simon Frayse

I thought we had agreed to make it red for not wrong and green for right, but what do I know?

That there's a difference between not wrong and right?
If so, please enlighten me as to what it is.

[Bunnylump]

Sorry, I've amended it so that it makes sense now. I must stop coming on here late at night, by brain doesn't work properly. I think you got the gist of what I meant though. I was following SparkOut's example in his original post with the colour scheme. SparkOut, since this is your creation could we please have a definitive plan for colour scheming? Thanks. (Not that it actually matters for me because, as I said, I don't know what the rule is, but just to save on future confusion.)

[LAT]

Does the Buddha prefer a fool to an idiot?

[Cenwulf]

This Login is currently under the control of Simon Frayse

Novice LAT, the Buddha finds both a fool and an idiot as equally deserving (and I should know, as I seem to be one of them!), though he disapproves of a twerp.

I am only using blue and red because under the current rule, blue is a worthy colour and red is unworthy. But please bear with me, it is only for this round and the next master is free to change it.

[Bunnylump]

Fairy nuff.

[evilkeen]

I would venture to suggest that in the current autumnal weather, the Buddha would be happy to be out in the fog, but would be less than happy in the case of snow.

[SparkOut]

It should be remembered that students are attempting to discern the rule by means of comparison, and that in order to earn the right to pronounce the nature of the Buddha words, he or she must make it clear which are the words in question, and also which of them is held to be worthy, and which of them fails to meet the rule of the Buddha nature. Any means are acceptable to draw attention to which is which, as long as it is made clear to the current Master or Mistress. Formatting the words in colour (eg green and red) is helpful, but so long as they are identified appropriately [then that would be valid]*, for example in the above situation the student may enquire whether a "carrot" is appreciated, whereas a "cabbage" is not. It would not be sufficient merely to ask if the Buddha approves of a "carrot" or a "cabbage". If the current Master or Mistress is unable to determine which words are intended as being worthy and unworthy of the Buddha nature will report the outcome as usual, but the student who offered such words without enough explicit information for the Master/Mistress will unfortunately not earn the right to make pronunciation of the Buddha nature with that attempt.

Extra highlight added in the above tract, and
* "then that would be valid" was originally omitted from the first page, I've just gone and added it

As a codicil to the above, the current Master or Mistress should employ reasonable common-sense in indentifying what is offered by the students and held to be worthy and unworthy. When faced with two words highlighted in different colours, a basic convention of using "green-ish" and "red-ish", for example, would be perfectly indicative of the intention of the student. Using the same colour to highlight both words would not. Phrasing one's enquiry to cast one of the words in a "positive" light, versus another word pitched with a slightly "negative" tone (cf cork vs concrete below) is also an appropriate (and desired) distinction. Merely asking if the Buddha approves of one or the other is not.

It should also be restated that nobody should be penalised for not being able to format words in colour, or for not making any other use of the forum code tags.

I might legitimately enquire whether the Buddha would prefer to walk on "cork" tiles which yield under his feet, rather than "concrete" slabs, which ruin his pedicure.

Equally, I could simply put the two words on their own:
cork concrete
or without colour:
worthy: cork, unworthy: concrete
and expect them to be judged appropriately. However, in the spirit of the game, as well as for the sake of explicit disambiguity, a short sentence comparing one of the words favourably against the other held in a more negative light is desirable, rather than asking "A or B", or using only colour to distinguish between the two. The student should honour the Master or Mistress and make it as simple as possible to determine the intended worthy and unworthy words, where the use of colour can be helpful, but may not always be as complete an offering as it should. The Master or Mistress should lead the teaching session in a manner which helps a spirit of learning and sharing the wisdom passed down from the Buddha, and not be overly prescriptive.


In the spirit of this round, I will rephrase this and ask whether the abrasive nature of concrete makes the Buddha's feet sore, or on his trek would he rather tread gently on a path made from cork?

[Laura]

the current Master or Mistress should employ reasonable common-sense

Erm, right then. I don't think I'll be guessing any more in that case!!! DOn't think i can do common sense!

Large amounts of nonsense, but no sense, common or otherwise.

[kingsley]

Does the budda like pringles or does he like bogstandard walkers crisps???

[Cenwulf]

This login is currently under the control of Simon Frayse

Novice evilkeen seems confused after his previous success; the Buddha approves of both snow and fog, though he hates the rain.
Novice Sparkout is also having trouble, as the Buddha will happily walk on both cork and concrete, though tarmac is not a suitable substance.
Novice kingsley, you are correct: The Buddha prefers Pringles to Walkers.

Perhaps you need to study Shakespeare? Though the Buddha may prefer comedies to tragedies, he approves of Othello and Macbeth, but not Troillus and Cressida.

[kingsley]

Aha, shakespeare.

Does the budda prefer romeo to juliet?

And if he watches their films, does he watch them on a little box or a big screen?

[Cenwulf]

This login is currently under the control of Simon Frayse

Novice kingsley, you are certainly paying attention. The Buddha considers Romeo better than Juliet, and prefers the box to the big screen.

[SparkOut]

Master, I understand that the Buddha can suffer the fool, and is friends with the idiot, but does he also have time for the eejit, while he finds a know-all tedious and self-centred?

[Cenwulf]

This Login is currently under the control of Simon Frayse

I would like to ask if the Buddha would prefer WD40 or vodka?

I feel that there has been a bit of a misunderstanding with how I answered this question.
Note that it asks "WD40 or vodka". The two items are in different colours, but as this is an 'or' question, this does not matter as there is no direct comparison being made. I answered it truthfully (vodka is preferable to WD40) but as it is an 'or' it does not mean that Bunnylump is given a credit.
If she had asked if she should have used "WD40 rather than vodka" to loosen her mental cogs, then I would have given the same answer, and again there would have been no credit as the preference is the wrong way round.
If she had phrased it as "prefer using vodka to WD40", then even though the colours are not the same as I am using, Bunnylump would have gained a credit for offering a correct suggestion.

Thank you.
Si

[Cenwulf]

This Login is currently under the control of Simon Frayse

Novice Sparkout, you seem to be having more problems. Although a know-all is indeed frowned upon for his arrogance, the Buddha finds no merit in an eejit.

I think this is a really tough rule. You are all making suggestions, but the answer is in fact right at hand.

Perhaps you should leave Puzzlebrains for now and follow me back to the College. You may ask my learned colleagues - but not all will be of use. You will gain insight from Rotas, as the Buddha considers Latin is a worthy language, but don't bother talking to Xeno as what he says will be all Greek to you.

[Bunnylump]

Thanks, SparkOut for clearing up the rules.

[LAT]

I see that the Buddha approves of Rotas. How does he feel about Bunnylump and LAT?

[Cenwulf]

This Login is currently under the control of Simon Frayse

The Buddha certainly admires novice LAT, and also Bunnylump. However, neither Scurra nor evilkeen come up to the grade.