understanding

In Thai, the word for understand is 'kowjai'. Literally, "into the heart". Ever since I've understood that's what I meant, I always understood it to mean the heart of that speaker, that something has entered into your own heart (which I think is a notable understanding of understanding as opposed to knowledge and theory based concepts of understanding). And I do think that's an important part of understanding, letting things get to the heart of you ("into your heart" sounds so cheesy, I hesitate to write anything like it).

Now, though, I wonder if the reverse is equally true, that to have understanding you have to enter into the heart of things, of people, that to understand someone isn't just to let them in you but to enter in to them. Maybe it ends up being the same thing.