Quotes About Wisdom

Reading is experience. A biography of any literary person ought to deal at length with what he read and when, for in some sense, we are what we read.

The English philosopher Michael Oakeshott notes that one of the signs of being cold today is that one knows what one doesn't have to know.

College education is highly overrated. Take it from a man who dispensed it.

celebrated Cistercian intellectual and

The book of Jubilees states that Enoch, the early patriarch, 'was the first one from among the children of men that are born on the Earth to learn writing and the knowledge of wisdom—and he wrote the signs of heaven'. These signs (from the Table of Destiny) are described as being the 'science of the Watchers', which had been carved in a rock in distant times, and Enoch

Our mind becomes more spacious, more open, and happier as we move past our avoidance and denial to see what is true.

We often mistakenly assume that because someone has genuine understanding in one particular area, this mastery necessarily extends to all other areas of life. That may or may not be true.

Where is the end of seeing, of hearing, of thinking, of knowing?

We all know people who become strongly identified with, and attached to, their intelligence. It can become a big ego trap, harmful to oneself or others. Intelligence can also be a great blessing, providing invaluable clarity.

We establish some stability and focus in our mind and see which elements in it lead to greater peace, which to greater suffering. All of it—both the peace and the suffering—happens lawfully. Freedom lies in the wisdom to choose.

Wisdom is the clear seeing of the impermanent, conditioned nature of all phenomena, knowing that whatever arises has the nature to cease. When we see this impermanence deeply, we no longer cling; and when we no longer cling, we come to the end of suffering.

It's always helpful to have a sense of humor about one's own mental foibles. By

Not Seeing Dukkha Is Dukkha

As a solid mass of rock Is not moved by the wind, So a sage is not moved by praise and blame.

It is the truth that liberates, not your efforts to be free.

On a boat in the middle of a great storm, one wise, calm person can bring everyone to safety. The

and the liberating insight into how suffering in our lives is born from ignorance and ends through wisdom.

Do no harm, act for the good, purify the mind." The flowering of all the great traditions of Buddhism derives from the teachings in this one simple verse.

Some people think the longer you can sit, the wiser you must be. I have seen chickens sitting on their nests for days on end. Wisdom comes from being mindful at all times."3

The last in this list of unskillful speech actions is frivolous and useless talk. How often do we say things that really are of no use at all?

In this very straightforward teaching, the Buddha helps us understand the practice of freedom with a mature and long-ranging vision. Freedom is not simply doing what we want when we want it. That is addiction. Freedom is the wisdom to choose wisely.

BALANCING THE SPIRITUAL FACULTIES Mindfulness also works to balance what the Buddha called "the five spiritual faculties": faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.

WE MOVE FROM THE FIRST OF THE TEACHINGS OF ALL THE Buddhas, doing no harm, to the second: acting for the good. This principle of One Dharma, common to all traditions, highlights the positive actions we undertake both for our own welfare and for the benefit and well-being of others.

Mindfulness in this aspect is the quality of bare attention, of noninterfering awareness, which we're familiar with from our enjoyment of music. When we're listening to the music, our minds are open and attentive, not attempting to control what comes next, not reflecting on the notes just past. There is a great power when we learn how to listen; it is this quality of receptivity that allows intuitive wisdom to arise. An