Talk:Turning the light around

Sources

The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism:

fanzhao. ( J. henshō; K. panjo 返照‎).

In Chinese, “tracing back the radiance,” or “counter-illumination,” a description used in the Chan school for the underlying process governing a variety of different types of meditation, referring specifically to the process of introspection or “counter-illumination” that moves the mind away from its attachment to sensory objects and back toward its fundamental source, called variously the “numinous awareness”

Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 11:04, 11 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Why was this page moved to draft pages?

@FramHi, can you elaborate a bit on why this page was moved to a draft page? Likes Thai Food (talk) 17:16, 11 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Fram,I replaced instances of "we" with "one" and "our" with "one's own". I also linked the name Dogen and the text the Platform Sutra to their respective wiki pages. So that should resolve the issues that listed. Likes Thai Food (talk) 17:34, 11 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The page was pretty poor, written from an in-universe perspective (it may have been good for people already well-versed in Buddhist scholarship, I don't know, but it was almost completely inaccessible for non-specialists and sourced to primary sources), but looks way, way better now, so thanks to everyone who converted it into this! Fram (talk) 07:46, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 08:32, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Etymology section

Hello,

It seems like the discussion about the setting sun and dying flash in the etymology section, while interesting, is something of a digression, if not irrelevant to the topic. Also, I question the claim that fanzhao comes from the Sanskrit Asrayaparavrtti. The Chinese for Asrayaparavrtti is zhuanyi 轉依. Likes Thai Food (talk) 00:37, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Also, the Gregory Wonderwheel link in Web 8 doesn't work. Likes Thai Food (talk) 00:38, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Guess you're right about asrayaparavrtti; we could instead add a link at the Sse also-section. Regarding the sunset and the dying light, I like the 'scenery'; it adds explanatory value, just like "true face" as alternate translation at Buddha-nature. Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 07:58, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think having a link to Asrayaparavrtti in the see also section would be fine. Regarding the dying flash and setting sun, while the scenery is nice, as far as I'm aware it's not anything used in the tradition as a metaphor for buddha-nature, unlike original face. The sun hidden behind the clouds is, but that's different. Likes Thai Food (talk) 11:30, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Also, web link 1 is used several times throughout the section in association with several phrases such as "turning the light around and shining back" and "returning the light." However, web link 1 is for "final radiance of setting sun". So these links are misplaced and should be removed. Also, the link in citation [2], "Kempton (2024)", doesn't do anything. There is no title nor page numbers given and Kempton does not appear under Sources. Likes Thai Food (talk) 16:37, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Also, references to awareness in the section are not appropriate, since this section is on the etymology and strict definition of the terms, whereas awareness is part of the tradition's interpretation of these terms, which seems to be already sufficiently covered under the Origins and Meaning section (see discussion of numinous awareness there). The Jeff Shore web link should not belong in the Etymology section either, I think. At any rate, it already occurs in the Usage section where Jeff Shore is mentioned. Likes Thai Food (talk) 17:01, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @Joshua Jonathan,

I included the Yanagida quote which you put in a note under the Etymology section in a new paragraph on the main page under the Usage and Examples section. As the Yanagida quote mentions the setting sun, I think we can just remove the paragraph from the Etymology section on the setting sun citing Kempton, as it is a Dutch language source and no page numbers are given. Likes Thai Food (talk) 23:07, 28 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Disagree. The phrase has more meanings, as explained by Kempton and exemplified by Yanagida; there's a poetic beauty to this imagery, which gives it more power. Compare the tradition of capping phrases; language is more than just neat labels and categories, it can also be evocative. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 03:37, 29 August 2024 (UTC) Kempton (English title: Kokoro: Japanese Wisdom for a Life Well Lived):[reply]

...de enorme gouden zon in het westen achter de bergen wegzakte. De hemel was nog diepblauw en droeg de resten van de dag op de vleugels van grote wolken die van onderaf door het flakkerende licht werden verlicht. Dit fenomeen, als de zon verdwijnt maar de hemel bij zonsondergang nog steeds verlicht, heet ekō henshō (回光返照), een uitdrukking die ook wordt gebruikt om het moment vlak voor iemand overlijdt te beschrijven; wanneer zijn of haar levenskracht volledig tot uiting komt en hij of zij gaat glanzen.
Ekō henshō is ook een bekende uitdrukking in het zenboeddhisme. Dōgen gebruikte deze uitdrukking in zijn instructies voor meditatie, in welk geval het vaak wordt vertaald als 'het licht naar binnen keren en het zelf verlichten', al betekent het meer letterlijk 'het licht draaien en de verlichting omkeren'.³

English version here. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 04:08, 29 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Ah okay, thanks @Joshua Jonathan. I am not able to search inside the English version of the book, nor find a PDF. But according to Amazon, Kempton is a self-help author and reiki master. Perhaps going forward it would be better to stick to more academic sources. At any rate, plugging the Dutch excerpt you shared into Google Translate seems to give more or less the gist of the setting sun phenomenon. I might make a few minor wording changes. For example, Google Translate doesn't say "life-force is concentrated" but instead says "life force is fully expressed," which I prefer. Also, if you could provide the relevant page number to the Kempton citation (preferably to the English version) so that we can update the source, that would be helpful. I suppose we should also delete the Yanagida note now that it occurs as part of a paragraph under the Usage section. No need to have the quote appear in two places, I think. Likes Thai Food (talk) 04:45, 29 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'll add the English edition and text (later); I also can't search the book at my laptop, but for some reason I can search within at my cellphone.

Regarding the 'dying light': I figured out why it appeals. It's because of this notion that, when death is approaching, some people finally shed the illusions and see life for what it is: fleeting ("a bubble"). Awakening at last. And the sunset, well, that's obvious of course. NB: "light" itself is also already a metaphor; how do you express the unexpressible? Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 05:17, 29 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Joshua Jonathan, I think sunrise is a more obvious metaphor for awakening than sunset. Huangbo Xiyun says: "This pure Mind, the source of everything, shines forever and on all with the brilliance of its own perfection. But the people of the world do not awake to it, regarding only that which sees, hears, feels and knows as mind. Blinded by their own sight, hearing, feeling and knowing, they do not perceive the spiritual brilliance of the source-substance. If they would only eliminate all conceptual thought in a flash, that source-substance would manifest itself like the sun ascending through the void and illuminating the whole universe without hindrance or bounds." Likes Thai Food (talk) 05:51, 29 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The whole idea, at least according to Yŏndam Yuil, is to trace back the radiance to its source, like following the rays back until you see the orb of the sun itself. But in the case of sunset, the rays are still visible but their source is hidden. Likes Thai Food (talk) 06:10, 29 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

But the sunset metaphor works, too. The orb of the sun has returned to its source, but there is still light. I suppose this kinda combines both negative and positive descriptions of the ultimate: the sun having set below the horizon, being unseen, is like the state of no-mind or emptiness; while the fact that the sky is nonetheless still bright is the luminous clarity of buddha-nature. Likes Thai Food (talk) 06:28, 29 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

My vision was blurred by the tears, but I wiped my eyes just in time to see the huge golden orb of the sun settle behind the mountains in the west. The sky was still a deep blue, carrying the remains of the day on the wings of wide clouds lit from below by the flare. This phenomenon, when the sun disappears but its light still illuminates the sky at twilight, is known as ekō henshō (回光返照), a term also used to describe the moment right before someone dies, when the life force is fully expressed and they glow.
Ekō henshō is also a familair term in Zen. Dōgen used it in his instructions for meditation, where it is often translated as turning the light inward and illuminating the self, although more literally it means 'turning the light and returning the illumination'.³

I can't access the note, unfortunately, but it probably refers to Shohaku Okumura, Zuimonki, p.389:

A more lietral translation would be "turning light, returning illumination" - that is, a description of the sky after sunset. The sun has already set below the horizon, but its light "returns" and illuminates the entire sly, making it glow.

Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 05:25, 29 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Although both 返 fǎn and 回 huí can mean return, and both 照 zhào and 光 guāng have to do with light, I think I figured out why there seem to be two different meanings between [1] fǎn zhào 返照, tracing back the radiance (as in following the rays back and seeing the sun); and [2] huí guāng fǎn zhào 回光返照, dying light (as in the sun has gone back to its source and is not seen). It seems like this comes down to the difference between two different senses of "return." Return can be transitive or intransitive. In its transitive sense, it means giving or taking something back (I return a book or a gift, etc). In its intransitive sense it means go back (I return home). It looks like 返 fǎn has the former meaning, while 回 huí has the latter. So I think this is why fǎn zhào 返照 by itself means to trace back the radiance (as in following the rays back and seeing the sun) and huí guāng fǎn zhào 回光返照 can mean dying light (the sun has gone back to its home, so to speak, below the horizon, and is hidden). Likes Thai Food (talk) 12:42, 30 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It also seems that as "light words," 照 zhào and 光 guāng function differently as well. I think 照 zhào functions as a verb, while 光 guāng functions as a noun. So, this also gives some additional nuance. That is, fǎn zhào 返照 seems to be more of an action of shining back (rays shining back and illuminating the sun itself); while huí guāng, on the other hand, seems to be more describing a thing in a particular state (the sun below the horizon). Likes Thai Food (talk) 01:17, 5 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Likes Thai Food: I love this lind of thoroughness; really superb. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 03:44, 5 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Bassui note

Hi @Joshua Jonathan,

I feel like the Bassui note may confuse the meaning of turning back the light. That is, Bassui is describing a method of questioning and doubting, more akin to koan style practice. But I think turning back the light is not necessarily like this. That is, in turning back the light, one is not so much asking a question or rousing great doubt; but instead, simply being aware of awareness. Likes Thai Food (talk) 14:49, 28 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Also, could you provide the page numbers for the Kempton source? As this is a Dutch language source as well, could you also provide the relevant sentences which appear on said pages so we can plug them into Google translate? Likes Thai Food (talk) 14:53, 28 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

If this is what Bassui says, then maybe there are more meanings to the saying than you think? Regarding Kempton, I'll provide a translation. Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 16:21, 28 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @Joshua Jonathan,

Turning back the light is not mentioned at all in the section from which the Bassui quote was taken. He does mention it elsewhere a few times throughout his teachings, however. At any rate, turning back the light predates the koan style method of questioning and doubting by some centuries. So such a koan-like approach is by no means something inherent to the practice of turning back the light. Likes Thai Food (talk) 16:59, 28 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Also, @Joshua Jonathan, I checked Mud and Water for all instances of turning the light around, and at no point does Bassui explain it as doubting. Therefore, I think the Bassui note, which is about doubting, may be misleading. Perhaps we could include a Bassui quote that does mention turning back the light and put it under the Usage section. Likes Thai Food (talk) 19:19, 28 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think you're right; Bassui says 'revived'; not exactly the same as 'at the point of dying'... Regards, Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 19:21, 28 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]