|
||||||||||
|
Wisdom
It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.  Wisdom is knowledge which has become a part of one's being. The only business of the head in the world is to bow a ceaseless obeisance to the heart. All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience. Wisdom is perishable. Unlike information or knowledge, it cannot be stored in a computer or recorded in a book. It expires with each passing generation. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does not become a part of the moral tissue. A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study. Wisdom cannot be replaced by knowledge, and no amount of explanation, no accumulation of facts, will free man from suffering. Knowledge is necessary, science has its place; but if the mind and heart are suffocated by knowledge, and if the cause of suffering is explained away, life becomes vain and meaningless. Information, the knowledge of facts, though ever increasing, is by its very nature limited. Wisdom is infinite, it includes knowledge and the way of action; but we take hold of a branch and think it is the whole tree. Through the knowledge of the part, we can never realize the joy of the whole. Intellect can never lead to the whole, for it is only a segment, a part. We have separated intellect from feeling, and have developed intellect at the expense of feeling, We are like a three-legged object with one leg much longer than the others, and we have no balance. We are trained to be intellectual; our education cultivates the intellect to be sharp, cunning, acquisitive, and so it plays the most important role in our life. Intelligence is much greater than intellect, for it is the integration of reason and love; but there can be intelligence only when there is self-knowledge, the deep understanding of the total process of oneself. Patience is the companion of wisdom. Patience is not just about waiting for something... it's about how you wait, or your attitude while waiting. The wise see knowledge and action as one. Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child. Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech. The wise man has long ears, big eyes and a short tongue. Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know. The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, "I was wrong." Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth. Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. In pursuit of Knowledge, every day something is acquired. In pursuit of Wisdom, every day something is dropped. Intellect is good and desirable to the extent it brings you to the King's door. Once you have reached His door, then divorce the intellect! From this time on, the intellect will be to your loss and a brigand. When you reach Him, entrust yourself to Him! You have no business with the how and the wherefore. Know that the intellect's cleverness all belongs to the vestibule. Even if it possesses the knowledge of Plato, it is still outside of the palace. You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions. |
|||||||||