Back to Semje - Heart and Mind

(21/4/2000)

The distinction between mind and heart is specific to Western culture. In Tibetan there is just one word semje for both these Western concepts. The Pueblo Indians of North America have no such distinction either.

(The following is an extract from Chapter Nine of Carl Gustav Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections)

"See," Ochwiay Biano said, "how cruel the whites look. Their lips are thin, their noses sharp, their faces furrowed and distorted by folds. Their eyes have a staring expression; they are always seeking something. What are they seeking? The whites always want something; they are always uneasy and restless. We do not know what they want. We do not understand them. We think that they are mad."

I asked him why he thought the whites were all mad.

"They say they think with their heads," he replied.

"Why of course. What do you think with?" I asked him in surprise.

"We think here," he said, indicating his heart.