A Nigerian story tells of how Wisdom, Food and Wealth set out on a journey. Soon, they met a man who asked, "Where are you going?" They said, "Looking for a place to live." The man said, "Oh good, i want Wealth to live with me." Wealth said, "Oh foolish man, you would not have me around for long."
Soon they met another who also asked, "Where are you all going?" They answered, "Hunting for a place to live." The man said, "In that case, i invite Food to live with me." Food said, "Even if i came with you today, you couldn't keep me for long."
Further along, they met a third man. He, too, asked where they were going. "Seeking a place to live," they said. The man said, "Wisdom can live with me." Food and Wealth said, "You have chosen Wisdom, so you will be able to take good care of us too." All three moved to his home.
We are taught to value wisdom, act wisely, increase in wisdom. Our experience tells us that too much human conflict, distress and suffering comes from lack of wisdom. So we would like to have more, and for others to have it too. But perhaps we have not really thought deeply about what this involves. While a basic definition is that wisdom consists of making the best use of knowledge, and this seems understandable enough, it leaves out other aspects, which we can put together by examining various traditions.
Developing wisdom was the aim of teaching in the Inuit tradition; a person became wise when they could see what needed to be done and do it successfully without being told what to do. In Mesopotamia, the god Enki represented wisdom and intelligence, and wisdom was achieved by restoring balance. Confucius held that wisdom can be got in three ways -- imitation, the easiest; reflection, the noblest; and experience, often the bitterest.
While it may be fine to declare one has knowledge and information, claiming to know one is wise is often looked upon with scepticism or suspicion. This is thought best for others to judge accurately.
In Plato's 'The Apology', the all-knowing oracle at Delphi declares Socrates the wisest person. Socrates is puzzled by this, since many others around are well known for their extensive knowledge. He interrogates a series of politicians, poets, and craftsmen, and finds those who claimed to know did not really know, or knew far less than what they claimed. They also claimed to know things far beyond the scope of their expertise. Socrates, we are told, is wise because he, unlike others, does not consider himself wise.
While intelligence, cleverness or the ability to appear dynamic is something a person is born with, wisdom is not. One way to increase in wisdom is to move from raw to refined thinking, feeling, reflecting and acting.
Refined thinking involves becoming more aware, informed, interested, discerning. Processing feelings requires being less reactive and more responsive, letting feelings touch but not direct us. Reflecting requires introspection and intuition based on a true and deep understating of the world and decisions coming from human-based values. And all this is expressed through action that is committed, passionate, fair and effective.
Wise beings embody the essence of wisdom that is discernment -- discernment of right from wrong, just from unjust, wholesome from destructive, truth from delusion. They are usually regarded as compassionate towards others, content in themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment