So lately, I’ve been reading the work of various spiritual teachers. First and foremost, I’ve been reading some books by Pema Chödrön, a Tibetan nun.

But then she quotes other spiritual teachers, like Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and Machik Labdrön.

Which leads me to wonder.

What’s with all the umlauts?

So you’re giving up your old life, your material belongings, sex, etc. etc.:

…Do you get umlauts as an award?

…Are they like epaulets? Do you get more umlauts the more enlightened you are?

…Are they like belts in karate? If you’re a black belt enlightened person, is your whole named covered in umlauts?

…Or maybe once you are truly enlightened, your name is reduced down to its essential being: Hello, my name is  ¨ .

This would, of course, be unpronounceable, and provide a much-needed meditation on the illusory nature of of names, words, and so forth.

Very recursive.