Word Zendo

[Cenwulf]

I believe that the Buddha approves of a word if the first two letters are the same as the symbol for an element in the Periodic table.
For example, Simon is a valid name (Si=Silicon) but Samuel is not (There is no element with the symbol Sa).

[scarletannie]

Thank goodness for that! I mean......

O worthy Cenwulf, I commend your insight and willingly pass on the staff and mantle of the Master. I wait on bended knee to hear the words of the Blessed One.

[Bunnylump]

Cor that was a hard one!! I wasn't considering chemistry there!

[Cenwulf]

Willingly I take up the mantle.

Now hearken to the wisdom of the Buddha.
With the festive season just around the corner, the Buddha has been contemplating the decorations. He approves of the tree, which symbolically points to heaven, but dislikes the habit of putting lights on it, as candles would be better. He admires the smooth-leaved ivy but finds that the holly is too prickly.

Buddha's Christmas crackers
bread; candles; card; internet; ivy; newspaper; reverent; shed; The Times; tree

Buddha's prize turkeys
cranberry; holly; holy; igloo; lights; present; stuffing; The Daily Telegraph; turkey

Buddha's carol singers
evilkeen

[Bunnylump]

I would like to offer the Buddha turkey but not stuffing.

[Cenwulf]

Novice Bunnylump, I am afraid that the Buddha approves of neither the turkey nor the stuffing.

[SparkOut]

Respected Master, would the Buddha find it more comfortable to live in an icy but insulating igloo rather than a damp and draughty shed?

[Cenwulf]

I am afraid, novice Sparkout, that you are in error. The Buddha definitely prefers the shed, which can be erected in any clime, to the igloo, which is restricted to the frigid zones.

[Scurra]

Does the Master prefer to receive a present instead of a card?

[giraffe]

Master I would be interested to hear buddha's prefernces on sauce to go with his lack of turkey. Does he prefer Bread sauce or cranberry

[Cenwulf]

Novice Scurra, the Buddha prefers to receive a card, as a present is often disappointing.
Novice giraffe, the Buddha finds bread sauce most palatable, but finds cranberry sauce too tart. (Despite getting the colours the right way round, you asked an 'Or' question which lacks a comparison element - I am afraid that I can only give credence in comparisons.)

[giraffe]

What do you mean by a "comparison element" ? The word "or" indicates that a comparison is being made between two things. It is quite clear which one I am suggesting is liked and which is disliked.

[Scurra]

If you had said "to" instead of "or" then I think you would be right, since "to" implies a preference for one over the other. "Or" does not imply a preference, it is a request to define the preference (even though the two words were coloured.)

[Cenwulf]

I think we've had this conversation before - or someone has, at least.
To be clear:
'OR' asks if one or the other or both is preferred.
'TO' asks if one is preferred but not the other.
I give credence to 'TO' inqiries, but not 'OR' ones.

[LAT]

I hope the Buddha likes to keep up to date with what is happening in the news. But does he prefer the Internet to a newspaper?

[Cenwulf]

Novice LAT, the Buddha often frequents the internet, but will also take a newspaper for its insightful articles - preferably The Times, though not The Daily Telegraph.

[evilkeen]

Would the Buddha prefer it I were reverent in his presence rather than to be holy?

[SparkOut]

Sidetracking for a moment, we have indeed had similar conversations before and I may draw your attention to paragraphs 4 & 5 of the introductory post at the start of the thread.

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...

I stress the reference to "Any means are acceptable" in the tract above.
In particular, though:

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...

It is desirable and in the spirit of the game to make a sentence explicitly comparing the suggested worthy word against the unworthy, and students should all strive to make this distinction. However, I do feel that giraffe's question, although phrased without explicit suggestion of the good versus bad in the text, is perfectly unambiguous given the highlights in colour and is worthy of joining the choir of carol singers in this round. (Without the colour, it could not have been interpreted so. I will bang on again though, that colour is NOT necessary - in which case a more explicit text comparison would be required, holding one to be approved and one not.)

[Cenwulf]

Novice evilkeen, the Buddha is respectful of your wish to be reverent, as to be overly holy is a sign of self-importance.
As you have shown wisdom, you are allowed to speak.

And regarding Sparkout's comment, I use the colours only as indication of the words in question. I am willing to judge the offerings, but I can only really give credence if one is suggested in preference to another.

[Bunnylump]

Oh for goodness sake. If I can understand what the Giraffe meant, so can anyone else. As this is SparkOut's game I think it's up to him to decide what clarification is needed, and he's saying colours are fine, or words are fine, as long as it's clear. Isn't he???

P.S. Please bear in mind that this is supposedly the season of goodwill to all men (and, presumably, giraffes)!