When I entered the room where the Magnavox was being set up, the deliveryman told me that a bat had flown out of the box as soon as he\u2019d opened it and into a tree in our backyard tree. (In my memory, there is no confusion about which tree it might be since we lived in the desert and there were so few). I ran outside excitedly to stand beside a scrawny tree in full expectation of seeing a bat hanging from its branches. A baseball bat.<\/p>\n
Looking back on that fateful moment, I see myself standing in a state of surprise and disappointed to find no bat (of either description) hanging there. But what startled me the most was the sudden realization that two completely different things could each lay full claim to the same name, despite the fact that they appeared to bear no resemblance to each other.<\/p>\n
It is this wondering that initiated the quest-i-on through the mirrored corridors of linguistic synchronicities and the tortuous cultural mind-set it both reflects and generates. To this day I take great pleasure in identifying and examining the relationship between odd verbal bedfellows \u2014 like taught and taut, lesson and lessen \u2014 which seem to echo and reflect my own school daze.<\/p>\n
This next curious piece from my personal CrossWord puzzle will at first seem unrelated. But as with all dreams \u2013 whether waking or sleeping \u2013 the pattern is revealed most readily in retrospect once we correctly \u2018connect the dots.\u2019[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ background_image=”1176″ enable_bg_scale=”true” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” full_height=”yes” columns_placement=”stretch” bg_color=”#232323″ scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ background_image=”1179″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”padding-10-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color=”#ffffff” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_custom_heading text=”Tunneling Through to China” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:40|text_align:left|line_height:50px” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529050313453{margin-top: 30px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Like many young children, I believed that if I dug a hole deep enough in my own backyard that I would eventually tunnel through to China. Imagine my amazement when \u2014nearly three score years later \u2014 I discovered that I\u2019d literally achieved my goal, metaphorically speaking.<\/p>\n
The success of my \u2018dig\u2019 derived from my relentless pursuit of that original bat \u2013 through the echo chambers of the English language \u2013 all the way to China. I first learned of my achievement in 2007 when I went to the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California to view an exhibition of Chinese art.<\/p>\n
No sooner had I stepped into the gift shop (where I began my museum tour), than a large bat caught my eye. It was brown and furry with beady eyes and front teeth exposed. I was amazed to see it sitting there harmlessly among a collection of other animal hand puppets in a basket on the floor.<\/p>\n
Since I was going to be sharing some of my WordMagic wordplay with grade school children in the near future, I contemplated buying the bat in honor of my very first pun. However, I decided to give this possibly frivolous expenditure further consideration as I explored the various exhibition rooms.<\/p>\n
Almost immediately, in a glass exhibit box, I found a clue to my own mystery: A small card placed next to some historic objects stated that in Daoist philosophy the bat is a symbol for Happiness because the word Fu in Chinese means both bat and happiness.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, I became aware of an entire culture that does what I do quite naturally with words \u2013 which is to relate them through their sound. The Chinese don\u2019t have to defend themselves against the attendant condescension that greets many Western punsters. So, this was a very big and affirming discovery for me. Naturally, I bought the bat.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” full_height=”yes” columns_placement=”stretch” bg_color=”#232323″ scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”padding-10-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color=”#ffffff” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_custom_heading text=”Coming Full Circle” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:40|text_align:left|line_height:50px” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529050440955{margin-top: 30px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]The following year, I went on a tour of several cities in China. At one historic site \u2013 next to an enormous gold statue of Gautama Buddha \u2013 the guide informed us that we were in the \u2018Land of 1000 Buddhas.\u2019 He said that it was also called the Land of Happiness because the word for Buddha in Chinese is nearly the same as the word for happiness. He pronounced \u2018fu\u2019 with just a slight variation from the happy\/bat pronunciation.<\/p>\n
Words \u2013 and particularly homonyms \u2013 have been a great source of happiness and awakening for me since early childhood. They remain a fascinating refuge from the noise of this world. And they provide uncanny insights into the type of world we\u2019ve collectively created \u2013 as we speak and write \u2013 with all our verbal \u2018sound and fury.\u2019 In fact, I found within words a pathway out of the pandemonium, which I\u2019ll share with you in the pages that follow.<\/p>\n
Ironically, or perhaps poetically, I\u2019ve returned to the Buddhist practice of my youth since that trip to China. I did so because of its focus on the power of word sounds to facilitate a world at peace with itself by precipitating human transformation and activation of our greatest potential.<\/p>\n
As for the bat, my furry hand puppet bears the name of \u201cFu\u2014the Buddha-Bat of Happiness.\u201d He reminds me of the rewards that have come from \u2018following my bliss\u2019 regardless of how long it was dismissed as nonsense by onlookers. Fu also illustrates for me the importance of honoring every child\u2019s early fascinations since their wonderings may one day guide their wanderings \u2013 to new vistas of awareness that they may one day share with us all.[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”531″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In From Bottom” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%” delay=”1000″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ background_image=”1181″ enable_bg_scale=”true” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” full_height=”yes” columns_placement=”stretch” bg_color=”#232323″ scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”padding-10-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color=”#ffffff” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_custom_heading text=”Fu: The Buddha Bat…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordmagicglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordmagicglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordmagicglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordmagicglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordmagicglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordmagicglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordmagicglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}