An unsolvable riddle.
不可思議 (불가사의) means what cannot be reached by thought or debate — that which human reason cannot fathom. sphinx means a sphinx; an enigmatic, inscrutable being. East Asian idiom and Western myth mirror the same human truth.
The Meeting
On the road to Thebes, a monster with a lion's body, a woman's face, and great wings — the Sphinx — set riddles to all who passed. "Fail to solve it, and you shall be devoured." The moment Oedipus gave the final answer, the Sphinx flung herself from the cliff. Thousands of kilometers away, in the scriptures of India, Buddhist seekers left behind four characters before the vastness of the cosmos — bulgasaui (不可思議) — a declaration that there exist realms the human mind can never hope to fathom.
Western Myth — The Sphinx, Monster of the Riddle
The Sphinx (Σφίγξ) was originally a guardian of kingship in Egypt — the Great Sphinx of Giza is its emblem. But when the figure crossed into Greece, it became an entirely different creature. According to Hesiod's Theogony, the Sphinx was the daughter of Typhon and Echidna, with the body of a lion, the face of a woman, and the wings of an eagle. She took her place at the gate of the city of Thebes and set a riddle to all who passed — "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?" Those who could not solve it were devoured. When Oedipus answered, "It is man — who crawls as an infant, stands upright in his prime, and leans on a staff in old age," the Sphinx hurled herself from the cliff and died. The name comes from the Greek σφίγγω (sphingō), "to squeeze, to bind" — the riddle that tightens around the throat. From around 1600, "sphinx" became a common noun in English meaning "an enigmatic person or being."
What the etymology of "sphinx" reveals: in the West, a riddle was a problem to be solved. Just as Oedipus's answer killed the Sphinx, the schema is one of reason conquering mystery. At the root of Western thought lies the optimism that what is unknown can one day be known.
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Oxford English Dictionary"sphinx, n." c.1600, from Latin sphinx, from Greek Sphinx, "the Strangler," from sphingein "to squeeze, to bind."
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Online Etymology Dictionaryetymonline.com/word/sphinx — "an enigmatic or inscrutable person."
Eastern Lore — That Which Lies Beyond Thought, Bulgasaui
Bulgasaui (不可思議) originally comes from Buddhist scripture, meaning "a realm that thought (思) and debate (議) cannot reach." The Avatamsaka Sutra describes the state of the Buddha by saying, "His merit is inconceivable (其功德不可思議)." The sixth chapter of the Vimalakirti Sutra is titled outright "The Inconceivable" (不思議品) — the tale in which Layman Vimalakirti's room is only ten feet on each side, yet even Mount Sumeru (須彌山) can enter it without crowding. The paradox that human reason cannot solve becomes itself the gateway to truth. Bulgasaui is also the name of a number — a numeral denoting 10^64, coming after gangasha (10^52), asamkhya (10^56), and nayuta (10^60). A magnitude beyond imagining was named "that which cannot be reached by thought or debate (不可思議)." The Korean expression "the Seven Wonders of the World" (literally, the seven bulgasaui) springs from here as well.
The essence of bulgasaui is the wisdom of acknowledging the unsolvable rather than solving it. The Western Sphinx demanded an answer, but Eastern bulgasaui demands none — truth lies beyond the limits of reason. At the root of Eastern thought lies the humility that some things may remain forever unknown.
Where the Mirrors Meet — Where the Two Myths Converge
Both are symbols of the limits of human intellect. The Sphinx's riddle and the realm of bulgasaui are alike the wall against which human reason collides.
Both live on in everyday speech. "Sphinx" in English still means "a person whose inner thoughts cannot be read," and bulgasaui in Korean still means "a thing beyond understanding."
Yet their attitudes are opposite. The West saw a riddle as a challenge to be solved (when Oedipus solved it, the Sphinx died), while the East saw a riddle as a truth to be accepted (bulgasaui has meaning precisely because it cannot be solved).
This difference even steered the direction of civilizations. The West approached the unknown through enlightenment and science, the East through transcendence and awakening.
Mnemonic — One Line to Take Home
- ✓ sphinx = from the Sphinx. A sphinx; an enigmatic, inscrutable being.
- ✓ 不可思議 (bulgasaui) = what cannot be reached by thought or debate; that which human reason cannot fathom.
- ✓ Remember it at once: "Sphinx and bulgasaui — two different civilizations telling the same story."
"Myths never die. They breathe on, even today, within "sphinx" and bulgasaui."
