Quotes About Understanding

Like the Babylonians, the Aryans were quite aware that their myths were not factual accounts of reality but expressed a mystery that not even the gods themselves could explain adequately. When they tried to imagine how the gods and the world had evolved from primal chaos, they concluded that nobody—not even the gods—could understand the mystery of existence:

The texts emphasize that these ideas were not to be interpreted literally. They had nothing to do with ordinary logic or events in this world, but were merely symbols of a more elusive truth.

it is important to assume that the speaker shares the same human nature as yourself and that, even though your belief systems may differ, you both have the same idea of what constitutes truth.

The sage acquired Wisdom by meditating on the marvels of the physical world, not by studying Torah.

the attempt to become a compassionate human being is a lifelong project.

Charity," Davidson continues, "is forced on us, whether we like it or not; if we want to understand others, we must count them right in most matters."13

The "principle of charity" and the "science of compassion" are both crucial to any attempt to understand discourse and ideas that initially seem baffling, distressing, and alien;

With this new empathetic understanding of the context, we will find that we can imagine ourselves, in similar circumstances, feeling the same.

You who reject the faith (kafirun) I do not worship what you worship And you do not worship what I worship I am not a worshipper of what you worship You are not a worshipper of what I worship. A reckoning (din) for you and a reckoning for me.72

Humiliate your enemy is dangerous.

Any interpretation of scripture that bred hatred or disdain for others was illegitimate

We are trying to retrain our responses and form mental habits that are kinder, gentler, and less fearful of others.

Religious people prefer to be right rather than be compassionate.

The silence in mysticism is alien. People want to do a few courses in mysticism, rather like the way you do French before going on holiday, and emerge a mystic. Mysticism isn't like that.

We are a talkative and opinionated society and not always good at listening

People who have been taught to despise themselves cannot easily respect others.

we rarely convey our thoughts adequately to others and this makes our relationships with other people problematic.

He insisted that it was impossible to understand a single word of the Book of Nature without knowing the language of mathematics.

Compassion has dropped so far out of sight these days that many are confused about what is required. It even inspires overt hostility.

In other words, when making an effort to understand something strange and alien to you, it is important to assume that the speaker share the same human nature as yourself and that, even though your belief systems may differ, you both have the same idea of what constitutes truth.

But Christina never forgot that "when I was a child, I needed only one person to understand my suffering and pain.… One is very important."5

what Tibetan Buddhists call "the inability to bear the sight of another's sorrow," so that we feel it almost as intensely as we feel our own. We

True listening means more than simply hearing the words that are spoken. We have to become alert to the underlying message too and hear what is not uttered aloud. Angry

true insight does not consist of the acquisition of information but comes from mastering our egotism and greed.5