Wisdom -- a definition?

[ConnieAnnKirk]

How does Siddhartha define wisdom? How do you?

[Sunltcloud]

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ConnieK wrote:
How does Siddhartha define wisdom? How do you?

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Siddhartha on wisdom:

Page 102 (Barnes & Noble Classics 2007)

“Slowly it blossomed, and slowly too it ripened in Siddhartha, the knowledge, the knowing that was actually wisdom, concerning the goal of his look seeking. It was nothing but a readiness of the soul, a capability, a secret art, to think the thought of unity at every moment in life, to be able to feel and inhale unity. Slowly this unfolded within him, streamed back at him from Vasudeva’s aged childlike face: harmony, knowledge of the eternal perfection of the world, the smile, unity.”

Page 111 (Barnes & Noble Classics 2007)

“I have had thoughts, yes, and insights, ever and always. Sometimes, for an hour or for a day, I have felt knowledge within me, just as one feels life within his heart. There were many thoughts, but it would be difficult for me to convey them. You see, my Govinda, here is one of the thoughts I have found: Wisdom cannot be conveyed. The wisdom a sage attempts to convey always sounds like folly.”

My thoughts on wisdom:

Sometimes, when I have to go through a difficult situation, I try to convince myself that: this too has to be experienced. I try not to accept the cliché: this too shall pass. Whenever I can feel this conviction momentarily, I consider it as a glimmer of wisdom.

I totally agree with Siddhartha that one person’s wisdom often sounds foolish to another. Wisdom to me is an accumulation of learning of facts, of self-examination, and of experiences. Or better: wisdom is to know when to apply any of the above. I am in the process of learning when to retreat because it would be “folly” to expect somebody else to understand what I am saying. I don’t expect somebody else to be in step with me even though we might be on the same path. And I don’t expect to inhale wisdom by listening to somebody else.

One of my favorite poets, Rainer Maria Rilke, says:

“…be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.”

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[ConnieAnnKirk]

Thanks, Sunltcloud--

Somehow, in relating this book to my own growing sense of wisdom, I'm thinking about the relationships among instinct, experience, knowledge, and wisdom. Somehow, wisdom involves instincts that have been 'seasoned,' as it were, by a combination of tested knowledge and experience. There is also an element of foresight based on experience in the quality of wisdom, too, it seems to me.

~ConnieK

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Sunltcloud wrote:

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ConnieK wrote:
How does Siddhartha define wisdom? How do you?

---

Siddhartha on wisdom:

Page 102 (Barnes & Noble Classics 2007)

“Slowly it blossomed, and slowly too it ripened in Siddhartha, the knowledge, the knowing that was actually wisdom, concerning the goal of his look seeking. It was nothing but a readiness of the soul, a capability, a secret art, to think the thought of unity at every moment in life, to be able to feel and inhale unity. Slowly this unfolded within him, streamed back at him from Vasudeva’s aged childlike face: harmony, knowledge of the eternal perfection of the world, the smile, unity.”

Page 111 (Barnes & Noble Classics 2007)

“I have had thoughts, yes, and insights, ever and always. Sometimes, for an hour or for a day, I have felt knowledge within me, just as one feels life within his heart. There were many thoughts, but it would be difficult for me to convey them. You see, my Govinda, here is one of the thoughts I have found: Wisdom cannot be conveyed. The wisdom a sage attempts to convey always sounds like folly.”

My thoughts on wisdom:

Sometimes, when I have to go through a difficult situation, I try to convince myself that: this too has to be experienced. I try not to accept the cliché: this too shall pass. Whenever I can feel this conviction momentarily, I consider it as a glimmer of wisdom.

I totally agree with Siddhartha that one person’s wisdom often sounds foolish to another. Wisdom to me is an accumulation of learning of facts, of self-examination, and of experiences. Or better: wisdom is to know when to apply any of the above. I am in the process of learning when to retreat because it would be “folly” to expect somebody else to understand what I am saying. I don’t expect somebody else to be in step with me even though we might be on the same path. And I don’t expect to inhale wisdom by listening to somebody else.

One of my favorite poets, Rainer Maria Rilke, says:

“…be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.”

“

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[SAT10]

Siddhartha basically defines wisdom as knowledge.

"EW" thinks wisdom comes with age. "EN" thinks wisdom is the truths about life that you learn over time, as you go through different experiments. "K" thinks it is a key to the future. "S" thinks wisdom is knowing what to do with knowledge one possesses. "M" thinks wisdom is power.