Everything2
Near Matches
Ignore Exact
Full Text
Everything2

Ganto's Axe

created by lemuru

(thing) by lemuru (2.3 wk) (print)   ?   I like it! Tue Aug 22 2000 at 3:27:58

An old Zen Koan that goes as follows:

One day Tokusan told his student Ganto, 'I have two monks who have been here for many years. Go and examine them.' Ganto picked up an ax and went to the hut where the two monks were meditating. He raised the ax, saying, 'If you say a word I will cut off your heads; and if you do not say a word, I will also cut off your heads.' Both monks continued their meditation as if he had not spoken. Ganto dropped the ax and said, 'You are true Zen students.' He returned to Tokusan and related the incident. 'I see your side well,' Tokusan agreed, 'but tell me, how is their side?' 'Tozan may admit them,' replied Ganto, 'but they should not be admitted under Tokusan.'



Amusing, no? GEB uses Ganto's Axe to demonstrate detachment in propositional calculus.

printable version
chaos

Geb self-subsystem koan Detachment
propositional calculus ax Beauty Propositional
Hedonistic Calculus Knights of the Lambda Calculus
Y'know, if you log in, you can write something here, or contact authors directly on the site. Create a New User if you don't already have an account.
  Epicenter
Login
Password

password reminder
register

Everything2 Help

Cool Staff Picks
Nodes your grandma would have liked:
Dark Archon
Homosexual equivalent of a pregnancy scare
Sometimes
Hearts and Minds
autism
Musikalisches Opfer
Indiana Jones' Crusade for the Perfect Female, or Why We Go Grail-Hunting
Sonic the Hedgehog
13 challenges for the 13th generation
We were supposed to fall
Two nations divided by a common language
The logic of atheism
The Psychology of Randomness
New Writeups
allthetime
Apple Cinnamon Suicide(idea)
Lucy-S
shovelglove(idea)
Adaptive Child
Mexican secret sauce(recipe)
Adaptive Child
nacho libre(recipe)
TheLady
Iron Man(review)
Scaevola
Risk in the Roman law of sale(idea)
semicolon
overheard at IHOP(event)
choirotey
Violent pickup lines(idea)
Ouzo
Blue Ovaries, Grrrrrrwl(log)
uncljoedoc
explanation(person)
Noung
One no longer loves one's insight when one communicates it(idea)
AspieDad
Pornology(essay)
nailbiter
Nicole duFresne(person)
Simulacron3
stigmergy(idea)
nakusavi
Yesterday I learned how to kiss(idea)
E2 is a by-product of the existence of The Everything Development Company