[at-l] Zen Joke

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark Wright)]

where did that darn babel fish go? :)  guess I've got to hitchhike on to
another galaxy! :)

thru-thinker

Shane Steinkamp wrote:
> 
> > > >     On the intergalactic spaceway Earth is a
> > > > strip joint whose billboard
> > > > reads "sprawl sprawl sprawl"...
> 
> > > My mistake.  I thought the sign read, "SANCTUARY", which is
> > > why I stopped here in the first place.  I find this little
> > > world quite marvelous.  Are you sure you've got the right
> > > planet?
> 
> > If that "joke" makes sense to anyone, please visualize explaining it to
> > me.
> >
> > Bill...
> 
> Ok, I've visualized it.  I just don't know if I can actualize my
> visualization without recourse to disassociative metaphors...
> 
> The joke, as read, isn't funny.  It's an attempt to slander humanity, and
> the planet, by implying that compared to other planets on the intergalactic
> spaceway, Earth is a 'strip joint'.  The 'billboard' advertises 'sprawl',
> which imparts a negative connotation to the natural inclination for
> biological entities to expand.  These statements occur from a point of view
> that is negative - the 'setting sun' viewpoint as explained by Chogyam
> Trungpa Rinpoche.  This point of view is not just unenlightened, but is
> anti-enlightenment.
> 
> To me, that an unenlightened mindset would attempt to comment on the nature
> of the planet, and the nature of mankind, is amusing - to the point of being
> roll on the floor funny.
> 
> Shane
> 
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