Explaination of the proverb:"the more things change, the more they stay the same"?
The translated quote, ‘The more things change, the more they remain the same’ is attributable to Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1908 – 1990). Karr’s actual words were: ‘plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose’ (Les Guêpes) However, I believe that Karr’s words have been quoted by several other luminaries, from George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill. As to the meaning, well, I suppose it means something similar to ‘nothing new under the sun’, except that it’s more paradoxical. My simple interpretation is that it means that the one thing that we can be sure of, the only thing that is consistent in life, is that nothing is permanent. My head hurts now, so I’m going to bed! I hope that was of some use.
What does " i'm a walking paradox" mean?
A paradox is a situation in which one action or condition prevents another action or condition from existing. For instance, a specific loaf of bread requires a specific kind of flour in the recipe, but that specific kind of flour causes the loaf of bread to fail when you try to make it. In other words, you need that flour in order to make the bread, but the flour prevents it from being made. That's a paradox. When you're a 'walking paradox', it simply means that your mere existence should prevent you from existing in the first place.
Is the phrase "Never say Never" A paradox or hypocritical or contradictory?
This expression is only paradoxical if you analyze each part of the idiom. One has just said "never" twice while saying one should never say it, thus a logical contradiction. To call it hypocritical, one must then assign a negative moral value to the repetition. The idiomatic aspect of this saying is that "Never say never" never means "never say never." The first "never" is hyperbolic. It doesn't mean "in no case whatsoever", but "in this particular case." I'll never get this right." — "Never say never." I'll never find the right man/woman for me. — "Never say never." I could never do such a stupid thing. — "Never say never." "Never say never" can be used either to encourage someone or to correct them. It relativizes an absolute statement, but uses absolute language to do so. People do stupid things all the time, so the chances of one person doing something just as stupid as another are rather great. Perhaps you are so unintelligent as never to grasp something, but I want to encourage you to continue trying. The same thing with finding a partner.
What is the word for something that is both good and bad at the same time?
a paradoxsometimes something can be good on one level while bad on another.The value of tension, paradox and seeming contradictions
What is the meaning behind "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"?
Dear Friend,All our life, only that has happened to us, which has a cause and an effect.All our life, only that has happened to us, which is dualistic.When the Zen Master is saying that, “Go and listen to the sound of one hand clapping”, he is challenging you.He is saying that “Now, for once, can anything happen in your life which is un-caused, which is non-dual?”Two hands are required to clap, which means that in your life everything is dualistic, that everything depends on past and future, everything is cause and effect, everything is material.Now the Master is asking, “Can you find out that which is and yet is not caused?” The sound is, surely, because he is saying, “Go, listen to that sound.” But it cannot be a caused sound. For the sound to be caused, there must be two hands.Master is saying, “Now, can you listen to the silent music, to the un-caused sound?” He is challenging him to go and listen to Anhad.And when you start living in that, which is unreasonable, which has nothing behind it, which is not coming from your own past actions, then you are fit to be initiated. You can even be called Enlightened. That is about the Koan of ‘Sound of one hand clapping’.‘Can you be touched by the non-dual?’ – that is the mission of the student.For more content, you may search for my blog ‘Words into Silence’ on the web!