Friday, September 5, 2008

White Horse is Not Horse

Man: 'White horse in not horse.' True?
QSL: Yes.

Man: Why?
QSL: 'Horse' defines an animal; 'White' defines a color.
Specifying color is not specifying animal.
Hence, 'White horse is not horse.'

Man: 'Have horse' is not the same as 'Have no horse'.
Is not 'Have no horse' the same as 'not horse'?
But 'Have white horse' is the same 'Have horse - white'.
Why is 'White Horse' 'Not Horse'?
QSL: If you want a horse, any yellow or black horse will do.
If you want a white horse, yellow or black forse will not do.
If white horse were the same as horse, then you want the
same thing. If it were the same thing, then the horse need
not be white. If it makes no differnece, then yellow or
black horse will do.

Mark the Spot

A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the side of the boat.

"This is where my sword fell off," he said.

When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.

The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for the lost sword?

Stealing a Bell with One's Ears Plugged

During the last days of State of Fan , there was a thief who came upon a bell. He wanted to steal it, but it was too heavy to cart away. So he decided to break the bell into pieces. When he hit the bell with the hammer, the bell rang loudly.

Not wanting others to hear the noises, he covered up his ears.

By logic, not wanting others to hear the noises is understandable.
To accomplish this by covering one's own ears, so one cannot hear himself, is absurd.

Blind Man and the Sun

Once upon a time, there was a blind man who does not know what the Sun is. So he asks other people to explain.

One man said, "The Sun is shaped like a copper plate." So the blind man banged on a copper plate, and listened to its clanging sound.
Later when he heard the sound of a temple bell, he thought that must be the Sun.

Another man said,"The Sun gives out light just like a candle." So the blind man hold a candle to feel its shape.
Later when he picked up a flute, he thought that this must be the Sun.

Yet we know that he Sun is vastly different from a bell or a flute; but a blind man does not understand the differences, because he has never seen the Sun and only heard it described.

Carry a Long Pole Through the Gate

A man from Lu tried to enter the City Gate carrying a long pole.

First, he held the pole upright, but the pole could not pass through the gate.

Then he held it horizontally; but it still could not pass through. He was stumped.

By and by an old man came along and said to him, "I am not a Saint; but I have a lot of practical experience. Why not cut the pole in two at the middle?"

So the man cut the pole in two at the middle.

Ph.D. Selling a Donkey

The Chinese have been granting Ph.D. degrees thousands of years before the universities in Europe.

Here is a story from the history book, poking fun at them.

Once upon a time, a man wishing to sell his donkey ask a Ph.D. to write a 'For Sale sign' to take to the market.

After three pages of composition, the word 'donkey' has yet to appear.

The man was disappointed.

Blessing or Bane

Near China's northern borders lived a man well versed in the practices of Taoism. His horse, for no reason at all, got into the territory of the northern tribes. Everyone commiserated with him.

"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing," said his father.

After a few months, his animal came back, leading a fine horse from the north. Everyone congratulated him.

"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a cause of misfortune," said his father.

Since he was well-off and kept good horses his son became fond of riding and eventually broke his thigh bone falling from a horse. Everyone commiserated with him.

"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing," said his father.

One year later, the northern tribes started a big invasion of the border regions. All able-bodied young men took up arms and fought against the invaders, and as a result, around the border nine out of ten men died. This man's son did not join in the fighting because he was crippled and so both the boy and his father survived.