Wisdom

Wisdom in Buddhism

There are, monks, these four lights: the light of the sun, the moon, fire and wisdom. Of these, the light of wisdom is supreme.
The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya

The Buddha’s great insight was that we typically misunderstand the nature of life because our biases, prejudices, habits and emotions prevent us from seeing things truly. Seeing life truly is what Buddhist call wisdom (or prajna), but this isn’t just an intellectual exercise. We need to transform our hearts as well as our minds in order to see beyond the blinkers or veils that normally restrict our understanding.

"The problem of the spiritual life is essentially dynamic. It consists not in the understanding of spiritual truths, but in integrating the dissipated psychic energies of the individual for achieving the realization of these truths." Sangharakshita. 'Crossing the Stream'

The Buddhist teachings describe the nature of reality in the form of words and concepts, so to start with, we need to hear the teachings describing the Buddhist vision of life. We can do this through reading, listening to talks or learning from others: we call this Dharma study. But we need to reflect on them in relation to our own experience, to get beyond the words to the truth they point towards. This is how we approach Dharma study in Triratna.

Real wisdom means developing our own direct understanding of the truth the teachings point towards. That kind of wisdom is a liberating awareness that naturally produces the deep peace of equanimity and radiant compassion. 

As a mountain of rock is unshaken by wind, so also, the wise are unperturbed by blame or by praise.
The Buddha, The Dhammapada

Perhaps we notice the ways in which we want things to be safe, stable and solid, and how we suffer as a result. This is also a universal characteristic of life – the Buddhist term is dukkha – which we can roughly translate as ‘unsatisfactoriness’ or perhaps ‘suffering’. The Buddha explored dukkha most fully through his teaching of the Four Noble Truths

Remember the teachings, examine their meaning with wisdom and come to a considered acceptance of them. Don’t learn the teachings so you can win debates or find fault with others.
The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya

There’s a lot more to say about the nature of Wisdom, and the section on core Buddhist teachings explain much more about what wisdom means for Buddhists. Over time, Buddhist teachings about wisdom became increasingly subtle, especially in the Mahayana tradition, which emphasised that the way we see life, based on our ego sense, is an illusion, and that what we think is real and solid in truth lacks a fixed and abiding essence. This is the Mahayana Buddhist teaching of emptiness, or sunyata.

I am not, I will not be.

I have not, I will not have,

That frightens all the childish

And extinguishes fear in the wise.
Nagarjuna, Precious Garland

Resources

📖 Read 'Wisdom Beyond Words' by Sangharakshita📖 Read 'Wisdom Beyond Words' by Sangharakshita

🎧 Listen to talks exploring wisdom by members of the Triratna Buddhist Order

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