MA
Translation is fascinating and I'm an absolute tadpole at it. The best I can do is assemble a bunch of Japanese-English definitions, some anacdotal commentaries, then contemplate the kanji image and intuit from the resulting potpourri; both directly and through various cognitive filters.
Trying to deepen understanding (and skill set) in relation to ma (its been an ongoing, back-burner sort of project for a few months). Currently I'm exploring it from the roots up (again). There are glyphs that contribute towards the meaning of the ideogram. They picture a torii type gateway. We seem to have 'betweeness' as the catchphrase (like 'sincerity' as a keyword for 'makoto' also says little and confuses the casual student).
This interval 'aspect' of ma appears to be arrived at by defining the glyphs separately, then synthesising the result, and this in relation to Japanese aesthetic usage. We seem to have 'door' and 'sun or day' for the parts. Would you agree with that, yourself? I have a hunch, you see, that there's more to ma than its application in aesthetics - or rather, it may be that understanding is still not fully delivered yet to us 'foreigners'. Maybe open a Topic to explore the possible fuller implications of ma - what do you think? If there is a larger context to ma, then this may enlighten some of the deeper issues in the practice and enjoyment of haiku. In fact, haiku may be much more than, as to date, has been documented, anywhere. [in preparation - a lot of material stored here ]
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Looking from right to left and up and down is time in space. looking into the distance is time in space. This time in space is happening in our mind. when other things do this moving about the movement is time in space in our mind. This in our mind is ma. ma-space/time. This is why ma is space first and begets time in space relationships perceived. Negative space is the ma on the edge of our attention and beyond. This negative ma provides context. the ultimate context is a sense of boundlessness. This boundless ma gives great value to the ma of our focus. The ma of our focus is positive space perceived in mind. From this we come to understand that mind is all we have and that this is boundless. Many regard boundless as divine. the divine is said to illuminate and inform all things in ma space/time. This is why comparison of boundless ma and bounded ma is useful when we contemplate the 10,000 things.
jp
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30-08-11