The Wisdom of Truth
(rewritten and expanded
-- after
The Dhammapada,
Chapter #19
-- Buddhist Wisdom)
There are many people who rush into important decisions,
taking their success through force,
or relying on violence to settle matters.
It is clear enough that these people
are not following the holy ways
that lead to life.
People who are genuinely wise will deliberate
on important issues carefully and peacefully instead,
and listen to a full range of opinions and testimonies,
finding the truth of right and of wrong calmly,
without resorting to violence.
They trust that the truth will protect those with wisdom,
and that those with real wisdom will preserve the truth,
in turn, for others.
To follow the truth where it leads is to discover
both the deep wisdom and the sacred holiness
that underlies this life we share together.
It is not the determined repetition of wise sayings
that proves wisdom among people who truly honor
what is real about life.
It is instead in that profound fearlessness
that truth provides for us,
in the all-encompassing love
that truth demands of us,
and in our patient and peace-loving
approach to adversity
that our wisdom may become valid.
Simply knowing how to recite age-old rules,
no matter how right and true,
won't actually make any of us
more right and true in our real lives.
And yet, without ever memorizing
a single scripture or proverb
someone still most faithfully can follow the path
of honesty and discernment
to the highest levels of human understanding.
These powerful truths will speak
not only in the mental awareness of our minds
but also most certainly
through the various unconscious systems
operating deep inside our bodies.
You know, the fact is that having gray hair
doesn't prove that someone is wise --
after all, many people clearly manage to grow older
without ever growing substantially wiser.
A far more respectable sort of elder will demonstrate
genuine wisdom by responding to the truth of life,
and following its trail.
Real wisdom reveals itself in a self-controlled life
involving the moderation and restraint of desires,
the rejection of violence in solving disputes,
and in a loving devotion to honesty
and spiritual growth.
If a man is a habitual liar, hungry for possessions,
or envious of the success of others
he cannot be considered a true man of honor
no matter how pleasant his features may be,
or how smoothly convincing his words.
He can only find holy honor when he has turned
from his worldly selfishness and envy,
to be set free by his love of the human family
and by the truth of his equality within our family.
Apparently some people want to seem
as holy as "monks",
so they shave their heads,
as they might for a performance on stage.
But how can they really be following the way of truth
when they say things that are not true,
and forget their sacred promises,
and hug so tightly their precious worldly possessions,
while hungering year after year for more?
Surely, they cannot!
No, it is rather those who will return good for evil,
and who will work for peace instead of conflict,
who will forever walk along the holiest pathways of life.
That is why the wise live out their wisdom
in submission
both to the ways of nature
and to the reasoning of love.
It's also true that one does not become holy
simply by renouncing ordinary life,
embracing poverty, and depending completely
on the generosity of others.
Holiness comes from holding back no part
of your heart from wisdom,
and holding onto no part
of your intentions that may damage or poison love.
Holiness is beyond the logic of this world,
with all its various false "evils" and false "goods".
Holiness calls for a purity
beyond the routine preoccupations
and concerns of the flesh,
and a meditation on truth
beyond the routine limits of conscious thought.
A man's silence alone also cannot prove him
to be a genuine master of wisdom.
After all, ignorant and foolish people
are often every bit as silent.
True wisdom will be found instead
by those whose measures and scales
are loaded with reality and truth,
and whose concern for love
overrules all the antagonistic ways of this world.
It is this consideration,
and not just some arbitrary devotion to silence,
that distinguishes the deepest investigators
into spiritual matters.
To become a successful warrior in battle,
and to kill our other human-family members
for some cause
will not make anyone into a hero honestly worth respecting.
The truly great heroes in life are servants of love --
they fight fierce "battles" too, and yet
never harm another living creature.
Even the most religious attention to ritual
and tradition will not save you,
nor will your most perfect performance in daily life,
nor a scrupulous study of every scripture,
nor the deepest possible meditations of the mind,
nor even the coldness and austerity
of a disciple's solitary bed.
None of these, by themselves,
bring a transcendent spiritual intelligence
or complete satisfaction for the soul.
Searcher -- you must always continue on
in your search for the truth of love.
Don't claim your victory over this world
while it still has the power to entangle you.
(rewritten and expanded
-- after
The Dhammapada,
Chapter #19
-- Buddhist Wisdom)
There are many people who rush into important decisions,
taking their success through force,
or relying on violence to settle matters.
It is clear enough that these people
are not following the holy ways
that lead to life.
People who are genuinely wise will deliberate
on important issues carefully and peacefully instead,
and listen to a full range of opinions and testimonies,
finding the truth of right and of wrong calmly,
without resorting to violence.
They trust that the truth will protect those with wisdom,
and that those with real wisdom will preserve the truth,
in turn, for others.
To follow the truth where it leads is to discover
both the deep wisdom and the sacred holiness
that underlies this life we share together.
It is not the determined repetition of wise sayings
that proves wisdom among people who truly honor
what is real about life.
It is instead in that profound fearlessness
that truth provides for us,
in the all-encompassing love
that truth demands of us,
and in our patient and peace-loving
approach to adversity
that our wisdom may become valid.
Simply knowing how to recite age-old rules,
no matter how right and true,
won't actually make any of us
more right and true in our real lives.
And yet, without ever memorizing
a single scripture or proverb
someone still most faithfully can follow the path
of honesty and discernment
to the highest levels of human understanding.
These powerful truths will speak
not only in the mental awareness of our minds
but also most certainly
through the various unconscious systems
operating deep inside our bodies.
You know, the fact is that having gray hair
doesn't prove that someone is wise --
after all, many people clearly manage to grow older
without ever growing substantially wiser.
A far more respectable sort of elder will demonstrate
genuine wisdom by responding to the truth of life,
and following its trail.
Real wisdom reveals itself in a self-controlled life
involving the moderation and restraint of desires,
the rejection of violence in solving disputes,
and in a loving devotion to honesty
and spiritual growth.
If a man is a habitual liar, hungry for possessions,
or envious of the success of others
he cannot be considered a true man of honor
no matter how pleasant his features may be,
or how smoothly convincing his words.
He can only find holy honor when he has turned
from his worldly selfishness and envy,
to be set free by his love of the human family
and by the truth of his equality within our family.
Apparently some people want to seem
as holy as "monks",
so they shave their heads,
as they might for a performance on stage.
But how can they really be following the way of truth
when they say things that are not true,
and forget their sacred promises,
and hug so tightly their precious worldly possessions,
while hungering year after year for more?
Surely, they cannot!
No, it is rather those who will return good for evil,
and who will work for peace instead of conflict,
who will forever walk along the holiest pathways of life.
That is why the wise live out their wisdom
in submission
both to the ways of nature
and to the reasoning of love.
It's also true that one does not become holy
simply by renouncing ordinary life,
embracing poverty, and depending completely
on the generosity of others.
Holiness comes from holding back no part
of your heart from wisdom,
and holding onto no part
of your intentions that may damage or poison love.
Holiness is beyond the logic of this world,
with all its various false "evils" and false "goods".
Holiness calls for a purity
beyond the routine preoccupations
and concerns of the flesh,
and a meditation on truth
beyond the routine limits of conscious thought.
A man's silence alone also cannot prove him
to be a genuine master of wisdom.
After all, ignorant and foolish people
are often every bit as silent.
True wisdom will be found instead
by those whose measures and scales
are loaded with reality and truth,
and whose concern for love
overrules all the antagonistic ways of this world.
It is this consideration,
and not just some arbitrary devotion to silence,
that distinguishes the deepest investigators
into spiritual matters.
To become a successful warrior in battle,
and to kill our other human-family members
for some cause
will not make anyone into a hero honestly worth respecting.
The truly great heroes in life are servants of love --
they fight fierce "battles" too, and yet
never harm another living creature.
Even the most religious attention to ritual
and tradition will not save you,
nor will your most perfect performance in daily life,
nor a scrupulous study of every scripture,
nor the deepest possible meditations of the mind,
nor even the coldness and austerity
of a disciple's solitary bed.
None of these, by themselves,
bring a transcendent spiritual intelligence
or complete satisfaction for the soul.
Searcher -- you must always continue on
in your search for the truth of love.
Don't claim your victory over this world
while it still has the power to entangle you.
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