What is an Idea? (Part one)
We begin our discussion on idea in the spirit of the method we use to agree on terminology the way Tibetan Buddhism is taught in Geshe advanced Buddhist studies. If we cannot agree on terms and ideas, it will be more difficult to explain other concepts based on those. I am not using traditional dharma words here ideas those are for explaining the foreign Sanskrit concepts to Tibetan students. Since education in the West is diverse and culture is changing rapidly, it is good to have common ground in English also. We can agree that ideas are modules of mental process; one of your most important techniques for interacting with the world. This word comes from both the Latin and Greek, meaning, “to see.” In that way, it appears to be a way of describing the gathering of information, however, I also think it is not easy to definitively state, “both the Greeks and the Latin say that idea = to see.” We all understand the confusion possible from our own explorations in communication betwe...