Everyone was dumbfounded.  It was never clear what Tudor meant.  The only thing that was clear was that people around the table took umbrage at being criticized for what had been a lively and truth-seeking discussion.  Aaron at that point forged ahead
with some comments about hermeneutics and the study of closed systems of meaning.  He related hermaneutics back to communities of language and said that to an extent closed systems control and define meaning.  Tudor, speaking to Aaron�s former mention of Derrida said that he would never go to a Derrida lecture because he would want to interrupt him every moment.  No one doubted it.  Then Tudor said to Aaron that there is no language without an assumption of truth and that Kant wrote that there cannot even be lies without an assumption of truth.  Juan said that justice is not irrelevant to what happens in a courtroom because ambiguities exist even in legal language which open windows to the possibility of justice, so both Tudor and Aaron are right.   He also mentioned Paul Ricoeur's theory that communities use different criteria for interpreting language and that trying to move between communities can be misleading.  Joyce agreed, saying that precise translation doesn�t exist.  Aaron added that no word has meaning by itself, but can only be understood in context.  Rich offered that since Ancient Greek had many fewer words than we do their words were packed with more meaning, such as the word pathos which went from meaning affected to affected with suffering.
 Foucault and Derrida were discussed in the group, along with the concepts of eliminating the signifier and the experiencing the pure process of language.
 Tudor interrupted, sounding annoyed.  He said everyone is quoting theories of others instead of attempting original  thinking.  Aaron said that someone can put a notion out on the table and then we can discuss and debate it.  There is no right or wrong here.  We all quote thinkers and converse.  He said that Tudor was interested in classical philosophy and others were interested in post-modern philosophy and that there was no reason to make value judgments.  Tudor then compared Derrida to playing games and experiencing �jouissance� rather than engaging in serious ideas.  Aaron, furious, said that denegrating thinkers just because Tudor doesn�t like them is counter to the open dialogue of this forum.  Tudor opened his mouth to answer, but just then Mr. Kuo spoke for the first time since he�s been coming to cafes philo.  The table fell silent.
 Mr. Kuo began by noting that nature does not have language.  A name can be a name, but it is not the eternal name.  We need language to explain what something is, but nature is quiet.  Spring, summer, autumn, winter go quietly but nourish everything.  Buddha said he didn�t teach.  If I teach you, you surrender me.  Buddha didn�t want his disciples to write anything down because they would misunderstand the idea.  Buddha pointed to the moon and said we don�t see the moon.  We don�t have wisdom, we have only argument.  Humans don�t know how to use words.  Mr. Tuo said that a friend from Taiwan who came here could only understand our language by looking at faces to see what the person really meant.  It is dangerous to use words and talking is very dangerous.  We must preserve energy and be quiet.  Nature has all meanings�beyond language and beyond comprehension.  We communicate with animals without language.  When we have an argument and don�t agree, why is that?  It is because we do not have enough wisdom.  A wise person goes to the ocean and to mountains because water describes everything that moves and mountains describe everything that is still. A person has to try to describe the true way and to try to find the true heart.  Mr. Tuo then held up a pen and said, this is a pen.  My teacher tells me it is a pen.  But Tudor might say that it isn�t a pen because I didn�t describe the wholeness of it from the beginning.  The word �pen� is insufficient to describe its wholeness.  We don�t have enough wisdom.  There is only one earth, one sun and one moon.  We all see the same, but we don�t accept the limits of our thought.  Why don�t I accept your vision?  Because I don�t understand you.
 

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Posted with permission of the author.  Hi-Tech Development Co., Ltd., 1999.  All rights reserved.