Cleverness vs. True Wisdom By Xiao Ming
(Clearwisdom.net)
"Cleverness," which is simply a product of everyday people's skills
and experience, should never be equated with "wisdom." At its core,
"cleverness" is a notion formed within ordinary human society.
"Cleverness" is developed postnatally from acquired notions. For
example, it is not possible for a young child without any notions to be
"clever." But after a person comes into contact with society, he
gradually absorbs more and more notions, which enable him to eventually react
quickly and comfortably to all kinds of situations. A person thus becomes what
humans regard as "clever"--that is, one who cares much more about
himself than others.
In contrast, "wisdom" comes from the origin of our lives, from our
inborn purity. By virtue of wisdom, we are able to make judgments with
benevolence, without any selfish or self-centred notions. "Cleverness"
belongs to the realm of everyday people, and its power only manifests at that
level. In fact, "cleverness" is comprised of many factors: postnatal
notions, thought karma, various attachments, and even things that are reflected
into a person's brain by external beings. All of these factors can make a person
feel very "clever."
"Wisdom" is the manifestation of one's original true realm, and is
both majestic and benevolent. Bestowed by Fa, wisdom is one of the elements
comprising beings in their original realms. It is also the manifestation of a
being's true nature.
As a manifestation of the Buddha's Law, "wisdom" possesses the
power of Fa in a being's realm, and so is extremely powerful.
For quite some time I've been perplexed by a question: Our wisdom is supposed
to grow while cultivating in Dafa, but why is it that I have not felt like I
have become any smarter? I encounter issues that I cannot handle well, and have
conflicts that I cannot resolve. Why?
In fact, it was I who had confused cleverness with true wisdom.
Wisdom seldom manifests in specific ways of thinking or doing things; in fact
it never does. Dynamic and transforming, wisdom is able to resolve any situation
instantaneously, whether or not the results are immediately apparent. Moreover,
if we consider everything completely on the basis of Fa, both our actions and
the subsequent results of our actions are bound to be the best they can be.
Without attachments, there is no longer any need for "clever"
thinking.
When we enlighten to this principle of the Fa, assimilate into this layer of
the Fa, and act according to this principle of the Fa, we will then be able to
see through the illusions of ordinary society and be able to handle all matters
with a clear head.
When we are grounded in the Fa, we are using our wisdom with free will, which
testifies to the fact that the Buddha Fa is the greatest wisdom.
Conversely, when we make judgments with human notions while under the
influence of attachments, we are using "cleverness" and are acting out
of self-interest. In other words, we use "cleverness" in order to
shield our attachments. It is really frightening that when we take an attachment
such as "fear" to be part of ourselves, we are in fact giving up our
true selves for the sake of an attachment!
Wisdom possesses the great power of the Fa. If we always use everyday
people's principles in making judgments, our xinxing (moral character)
will fall to the level of ordinary human society. Then no matter how clever or
smart we are, we will be restrained by principles governing everyday people at
that level. Consequently all manner of "accidents," and unfavourable
circumstances can arise.
When enlightening to a Fa principle, we should truly act in accordance to
that principle and continue to have new enlightenments following each
breakthrough -- this is what great wisdom is truly about! This is what great
profound freedom really is!
Everyday people are lost in a false reality, unable to let go of attachments
to fame, self-interest, sentimentality, and money. They see themselves as being
very clever for getting a tiny bit of personal benefit through whatever means.
The whole society functions this way, and this has become the fact of
life in every facet of humankind. Even when an everyday person sees the truth
right in front of him, he dares not admit it, let alone accept it.
Our Dafa practitioners, however, are diligently eliminating the myriad of
human attachments, courageously resisting the interference from the attachments
of fame, self-interest, and sentimentality, and are nobly unconcerned about loss
and gain within the three realms (though not limited to loss and gain within the
three realms). All of us lose knowingly on the issue of self-interest, so do we
not also gain knowingly? Isn't this great wisdom?
Not only are we not deluded by the maze and its illusions, we are consciously
using them to cultivate and elevate ourselves. Isn't this precisely what great
wisdom is?
All of this is given to us by Dafa, and established by Dafa; then, isn't this
the same as enlightening and gaining great wisdom in Dafa!
These are my personal thoughts in recent days. Fellow practitioners, please
kindly point out anything incorrect.
Posting date: 1/12/2002 |