The quick and the subtle

当意即妙
tou.i.soku.myou

Literally: appropriate – mind / idea – instant – strange / delicate

Alternately: Clever; quick-thinking. Able to handle a situation (appropriately!) as soon as it arises.

Notes: This configuration is based on the Buddhist phrase 当即妙. In this case, 位 refers to a (sometimes metaphorical) “position” rather than a mental state as 意 does, and the overall meaning is something more like “achieving enlightenment despite being a layperson.” From this came the meaning “quickly grasping the truth of a situation,” and a generalization to quick thinking or wit.

Compare near-synonym 臨機応変.

Replacing 意 with homophone 為 (“make,” “do,” “serve as” etc.) is considered an error.

Elemental horoscope chart

The quality of Gemini, according to this horoscope chart – apparently the Twins are a “flexible wind” sign. Source.

About Confanity

I love the written word more than anything else I've had the chance to work with. I'm back in the States from Japan for grad school, but still studying Japanese with the hope of becoming a translator -- or writer, or even teacher -- as long as it's something language-related.
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