Bill, I guess every word is, intrinsically, free of any negative or positive connotation. The connotations are mind's game. Having said that, all words are heavy with connotations and we still have to be aware of this in our daily conversations.
Back to my phrase "we get what we deserve", it seems that the negative connotation is because, as you said, it is usually used in negative way although the word 'deserve' can be used in positive way. Siska ------Original Message------ From: Bill! Sender: [email protected] To: [email protected] ReplyTo: [email protected] Subject: [Zen] Fwd: Re: [Zen Living] Supreme Vehicle Sent: Sep 8, 2011 15:59 ?0?2 Siska, Like I said, the phrase 'he got what he deserved' is indeed usually used in a negative way, but the word 'deserve' itself carries neither a negative or positive connotation. An example would be saying someone was 'very deserving' of an award. ...Bill! --- In [email protected], siska_cen@... wrote: > > Bill, > > It was a buddhist monk. I think he's british. It's probably the general perception there. > > Siska > -----Original Message----- > From: "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> > Sender: [email protected] > Date: Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:18:34 > To: <[email protected]> > Reply-To: [email protected] > Subject: [Zen] Fwd: Re: [Zen Living] Supreme Vehicle > > Siska, > > I don't know what who told you that 'deserve' implies punishment, but they are wrong. Depending on what you do you may 'deserve' punishment, or you may 'deserve' a reward. > > It is true the saying '...get what we deserve' usually implies punishment because it is usually used in negative circumstances; but it does simply mean what you originally thought, 'we reap what we sow'. > > ...Bill! > > --- In [email protected], siska_cen@ wrote: > > > > Bill, > > > > English being my second language, sometimes I'm not aware of connotation implied in the words. It reminds me of once when I said, "I believe we all get what we deserve". To me, it simply means we reap what we sow, be it good or bad. But I was corrected because 'deserve' implies punishment, of which I wasn't aware. > > > > This is a good reminder. Thank you. > > > > Siska > > -----Original Message----- > > From: "Bill!" <BillSmart@> > > Sender: [email protected] > > Date: Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:16:51 > > To: <[email protected]> > > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Subject: [Zen] Fwd: Re: [Zen Living] Supreme Vehicle > > > > Anthony, Mike and Siska, > > > > Well you all used or continued to repeat the word 'condemn' which implies it's a bad thing. You didn't say your were 'rewarded' with the life of a fox... > > > > But I of all people know how ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
