Listless Buddha

[randy_byers]

Now that I know that "listless" derives from a Middle English word, "list," that meant "appetite, craving; desire, longing; inclination," it strikes me that in this original sense the Buddhists would consider listlessness an ideal state.

Comments

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Ah, that makes sense. It's probably related to the word "lust" then, which also exists in Swedish but there retains a meaning much closer to what you cite for "list", with the added sense of "entertainment or amusement".

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Yep, you got it. "Lust" means much the same in German. OED's first definition for the Old English "list" is "pleasure, joy, delight," and that's actually closer to the modern sense of "listless".

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Oh, sure, it would be much the same in German -- I just don't use my German as often -- since the word probably dates back to when German, English, and Swedish were all the same proto-Germanic language. It's all just a vowel-change away.

And apropos of using one's Swedish, if you would be interested in English-subtitled copies of The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, I could probably set you up. Also, I have a movie of yours to return...

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I think The Girl Who Played with Fire is getting a theatrical release here in the next month or so, although I've heard it's not a very good movie. Which movie of mine do you have? Is it Love at Large?

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I thought The Girl Who Played with Fire was somewhat weaker than Dragon Tattoo, but I wouldn't say it was "not very good". The thing is the three films are really one giant story arc, really, and middle films/books often feel, well, middly and unresolved, and so it is in Played with Fire. The third film picks up the thread literally minutes after the events of the 2nd film. Also, Lisbeth runs into problems in the 2nd film that she cannot resolve without help, which doesn't really kick in fully until the third film, so again with the middliness. Lisbeth is also less than superhumanly competent in places in the 2nd and 3rd film, and is sometimes less acting than acted upon, though most of the time this makes sense in the larger context of the story. One could argue that the denouement in Played with Fire is a bit contrived, but I could argue either way.

Anyway, yes, I have dug out your copy of Love at Large out of the Stuff Downstairs, and missed seeing you at the last pubmeet.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Okay, the "middliness" explanation makes sense. The other comments I've seen have focused on how it has a different director than the first movie.

In any event, maybe we can do lunch next week and you can hand over the DVD. Or there's the party at my house on the 12th, or the pubmeet on the 13th.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

While I am planning to make both party and pubmeet, lunch next week would be swell also.

[jophan.livejournal.com]

I'd bet that the vowel change in English is Anglo-French influence. A number of words with a "u" in them changed the pronunciation to an "i" because, well, that's how the French pronounced the vowel.

[maryread.livejournal.com]

As you list. Must have a Shakespearean usage, cause it strikes me as a word that would have been in The Princess Bride if that weren't modern English.

But does it have anything to do with listening? Must find etymology dictionary. You gots?

[maryread.livejournal.com]

Never mind. Hlysnan.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Nevertheless, I had the same thought when I first wondered about "listless". (That is, I wondered if there were a connection with "listen". Nope. Then bluewoad also mentioned the verb "list", as in "the boat listed to starboard".)

Budda's ToDo list

[jackwilliambell.livejournal.com]

(1) Say 'OM'.
(2) Say 'OM'.
(3) Say 'OM'.
(4) Say 'OM'.
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.
.
(1276) Say 'OM'.
(1277) Lunch with Rajineesh.
(1278) Say 'OM'.
(1279) Say 'OM'.
(1280) Say 'OM'.
(1281) Say 'OM'.
.
.
.

Re: Budda's ToDo list

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

A List of Buddhist Lists

[(Anonymous)]

What about the sense of 'list' to lean to one side--listless would then mean not leaning to one side or the other--that is, balanced in equilibrium OM.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I did mention that meaning of "list" in my reply to maryread, but you've connected it to the Buddhist theme very nicely.