there is no duality in truth
Here is another random bit of geography from my archival curiosity. Today: Indonesia!
I started by looking up Biak to determine where it is in order to accurately label the subject for a photo of the "Biak Bone Yard" (an aircraft salvage yard, circa WWII). Biak is an island in the Republic of Indonesia. But Indonesia isn't really all that old, so I clicked through to the Indonesia page to verify that it did, in fact, used to be the Dutch East Indies before declaring independence at the end of WWII. (The group of photos I'm working on are all of various Pacific Island groups, which I can't keep straight, particularly when they have changed names or have similar names.)
And then, as with Moldova, I got sidetracked by their national motto, which is the point of this post:
Bhinnêka tunggal ika.
(Commonly translated as "Unity in diversity", but literally more like "(Although) in pieces, yet One".)
It's a line from an epic Javanese poem - and they do mean epic, so I only found the stanza the line is from:
Rwâneka dhâtu winuwus Buddha Wiswa,
Bhinnêki rakwa ring apan kena parwanosen,
Mangka ng Jinatwa kalawan Siwatatwa tunggal,
Bhinnêka tunggal ika tan hana dharma mangrwa.
(It is said that the well-known Buddha and Shiva are two different substances.
They are indeed different, yet how is it possible to recognise their difference in a glance,
since the truth of Jina (Buddha) and the truth of Shiva is one.
They are indeed different, but they are of the same kind, as there is no duality in Truth.)
[Dr. Soewito Santoso's translation by way of Wikipedia]
I like the implication that there are different ways of seeing the truth, but only one truth. Though people don't seem to understand that easily in the real world, let alone in Indonesia.
And now back to your regularly scheduled flist.
I started by looking up Biak to determine where it is in order to accurately label the subject for a photo of the "Biak Bone Yard" (an aircraft salvage yard, circa WWII). Biak is an island in the Republic of Indonesia. But Indonesia isn't really all that old, so I clicked through to the Indonesia page to verify that it did, in fact, used to be the Dutch East Indies before declaring independence at the end of WWII. (The group of photos I'm working on are all of various Pacific Island groups, which I can't keep straight, particularly when they have changed names or have similar names.)
And then, as with Moldova, I got sidetracked by their national motto, which is the point of this post:
Bhinnêka tunggal ika.
(Commonly translated as "Unity in diversity", but literally more like "(Although) in pieces, yet One".)
It's a line from an epic Javanese poem - and they do mean epic, so I only found the stanza the line is from:
Rwâneka dhâtu winuwus Buddha Wiswa,
Bhinnêki rakwa ring apan kena parwanosen,
Mangka ng Jinatwa kalawan Siwatatwa tunggal,
Bhinnêka tunggal ika tan hana dharma mangrwa.
(It is said that the well-known Buddha and Shiva are two different substances.
They are indeed different, yet how is it possible to recognise their difference in a glance,
since the truth of Jina (Buddha) and the truth of Shiva is one.
They are indeed different, but they are of the same kind, as there is no duality in Truth.)
[Dr. Soewito Santoso's translation by way of Wikipedia]
I like the implication that there are different ways of seeing the truth, but only one truth. Though people don't seem to understand that easily in the real world, let alone in Indonesia.
And now back to your regularly scheduled flist.