by Tom Stoppard. One of the best lines in the play deals with the question of being. The two characters find themselves on a boat traveling to England, where they are to deliver a message from the King of Denmark to execute their best friend, Hamlet, as a favor to the Danish crown. They are beginning to have an inkling that they've been there before -- and that it doesn't end well for them.Rosencrantz: Do you think death could possibly be a boat?
Guildenstern: No, no, no...Death is...not. Death isn't. You take my meaning? Death is the ultimate negative. Not-being. You can't not-be on a boat.
Rosencrantz: I've frequently not been on boats.
Guildenstern: No, no, no -- what you've been is not on boats.
Contrary to Guildenstern's point of view, I've frequently not-been many places. I've not-been while on walks with my dogs. I've not-been while hiking in the woods. I've not-been while eating a meal. I've even not-been during sex. (Oh, yes!) Not-being, in fact, is a widespread cultural habit, against which Eastern religions and philosophies -- such as yoga, Buddhism, Zen, and Taoism -- warn their followers.
