An object is not so attached to its name that we cannot find another one that would suit it better.
Interpretation
Names and labels are arbitrary and can be changed or improved upon.
Rene Magritte's quote suggests that the essence of an object is not inherently tied to the name it carries. This idea challenges us to consider the fluidity of language and meaning, implying that our understanding of the world can evolve as we find better ways to define things, ultimately highlighting the power of perspective in our interpretations of art, language, and identity.
In practice
In a discussion about art, one could use this quote to emphasize how titles can shape our perception of a piece.
I detest my past, and anyone else's. I detest resignation, patience, professional heroism and obligatory beautiful feelings. I also detest the decorative arts, folklore, advertising, voices making announcements, aerodynamism, boy scouts, the smell of moth balls, events of the moment, and drunken people.
A thing which is present can be invisible, hidden by what it shows
Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.
Everything that is visible hides something that is invisible.
The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture βThis is a pipeβ, I'd have been lying!
Nothing is confused except the mind.
My words are the garment of what I shall never be Like the tucked sleeve of a one-armed boy.
We live in a globalising world. That means that all of us, consciously or not, depend on each other. Whatever we do or refrain from doing affects the lives of people who live in places we'll never visit.
This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues,Was once thought honest.
I started off believing all men were equal. I now know that's the most unlikely thing ever to have been, because millions of years have passed over evolution, people have scattered across the face of this earth, been isolated from each other, developed independently, had different intermixtures between races, peoples, climates, soils... I didn't start off with that knowledge. But by observation, reading, watching, arguing, asking, that is the conclusion I've come to.
The Dhamma has to sink deeply into the mind so that whatever we do, the mind has always goodness within it. All the ways of making merit are aiming at this. Goodness lies in the right view that is established in the mind. Then we don't have to celebrate it or let anybody know about it, simply let the mind have firm confidence in the goodness and keep going like this.
If every event which occurred could be given a name, there would be no need for stories.
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