I define this as the idea that we should know everything, that to openly confess ignorance is frowned upon.  Not to know is intimated as failure, and there is a feeling that we should have all the facts to hand.

It has the result that people are frightened to ask questions, for fear of seeming foolish.  I’ve seen this in action throughout my life, in school, college and also at work. I’ve seen people seem frozen with the seeming embarrassment of not knowing, but in reality it’s better to admit this than to carry on under false pretences.  I’ve seen managers who expect their staff to have encyclopaedic knowledge of subjects they rarely deal with, and also expect them to waste their time memorising this stuff when a perfectly good reference exists.

Then we have people who consider a particular pet methodology or system (this is prevalent amongst the geek community), if you haven’t heard of it then woe betide you!  Yet, one could easily level the charge back: “I was doing quite well without this, I have many calls on my time, why should I spend it on this?”

It seems as if it could be an ego trip, to expect that either you should be able to command encyclopaedic knowledge but also a way of putting down others when they don’t know, a way to stoke a sense of superiority perhaps?

Speaking personally, having had exposure to Taoist thought on the matter, I find the whole notion quite ridiculous.

Chuang-Tzu [1] is quite explicit, “On Levelling all things”:

“For the Tao which is manifest is not Tao. Speech which argues falls short of its aim. Kindness which has fixed objects loses its scope. Integrity which is obvious is not believed in. Courage which pushes itself forward never accomplishes anything. These five are, as it were, round (mellow) with a strong bias towards squareness (sharpness). Therefore that knowledge which stops at what it does not know, is the highest knowledge.”

The Tao Te Ching [2] has it’s own say in Chapter 48:

“Pursue knowledge, daily gain

Pursue Tao, daily loss
Loss and more loss
Until one reaches unattached action
With unattached action, there is nothing one cannot do

Take the world by constantly applying non-interference
The one who interferes is not qualified to take the world”

I prefer to honestly acknowledge that I don’t have all the answers, but if it’s needed, then I’m prepared to make the effort to find out.  It’s not the accumulation of knowledge we should value, but the ability to discover and apply knowledge, this knowledge is worthless without the skills that surround it.

Creative Commons Acknowledgement.

The bookshelf image is by Babblingdweeb and is licensed under by-nc-nd.

References.

[1]. http://mindgazer.org/tao/chtzu_level.htm

[2]. Derek Lin Translation at  http://www.truetao.org/ttc/complete.htm

I’m reminded of the idea the we have two parts to our minds, one like a searchlight and one like an illuminating candle.  The searchlight mind is the part of our mind that is calculating and intellectual, logical.  The other, less focussed mind is more intuitive and less logical, in the West I really don’t think we trust this one as much, which is a big mistake in my view.

I’ve relearned this lesson the hard way as a consequence of having spent a few weeks revisiting my old Anglican thought, which led to a re-assessment of why I left.  In short it’s been mentally stressful, and is an experience I’m not eager to repeat.  The problem is that as I’ve said previously it just seems to be one huge argument based on essentially unresolvable questions, in essence a wilderness of opinions.  The Buddha had a series of questions he would not answer, when drawn, he said they were like a net and weren’t really relevant to what he was trying to do.

He compared our situation there to that of a man shot with an arrow, who refuses all treatment till he knows all about the arrow, the bow it was fired from, the character and caste of the archer, etc, etc.  This man will die of his wounds before he gets any answers, and what good does that do him?  Our situation is urgent and lots of speculative arguments do us no service at all in resolving it.

The searchlight part of our mind is the part that runs after answers, often heedlessly.  The less focussed more “illuminating” (and never were quotes more needed) part is our inner Sage or Buddha, who if we will only listen, can save us so much trouble.

But as surely as we would lose the responibility, we also would lose the power to change the story, to take control. Let’s consider an opposite idea then, what if there isn’t a meaning in the way we like to think? I think that the meaning is to live mindfully in the moment, no matter what you happen to be doing.

OK, consider, if life is lived in the moment. So by looking for a meaning of life outside of the moment, from some external source, does our search mean we then miss the meaning?

So we have “See No Evil”, “Speak No Evil” and “Hear No Evil”.  There are a few meanings attached to these guys, from outright denial of evil (head in the sand) to a refusal to perform certain actions in case they propagate evil.  My own personal focus tends to be a little more on the inner world and I’d like to journey that way, if you’ll consent to walk with me for a minute.

The most obvious meaning is the physical one, literally a “head in the sand” approach, but I feel that this misses the mark.  At least, it does for me.  I would aim, personally, for the inner eyes, ears and mouth.  Not so much a denial of negativity, a refusal to see, but a sense of not allowing your inner self to be blinded, deafened or struck dumb by negativity.

For me there is a sense of trying to see and hear through what may seem to be a simple act of negativity to what underlies it, trying not to let the immediate feelings block that perception.  The same applies to our speech, we do need to try to think before we speak, we need to try to avoid perpetuating the negative situation we are faced with.  Examples of this can be found in most tabloids, something bad happens and the articles and stories use non-neutral emotive language, exactly what isn’t needed and exactly when it isn’t needed.

I feel the above qualities are certainly found along the eightfold path, it’s why we have to make the effort to awaken, to see clearly into the moment.

During a Buddhist meeting in Second Life last weekend, there was a mention of levels of attainment and such things.  Later, I fell to thinking.  The whole thing with the notion of “levels of attainment” has its place, but at what point does it become a hinderance?

I know of martial arts instructors who don’t offer grading or belts because these things have been seen to cause elitism and attitude among students.  I can see the same risk with levels of attainment, but also they are something for us to cling to.

There are stories in Zen that illustrate this when a person in a humble position demonstrates greater knowledge and insight than the “worthies” in the upper reaches of the hierarchy.  So, in order to reach the truth, shall we let go of levels and hierarchies?  Do we recognise that the highest level is no level?

We need to be honest, are we doing this for an acknowledgment of an instructor/mentor, or for the rewards of the process?

Is this an ego trip or are you here for real?

I’ve been looking after a friends house this weekend, also with the house come one or two animals.  Her dog, Lady, needs plenty of exercise and I stepped up to the challenge.

I though I was fit, but I’ve had it proved to me again, that all that time in the gym does not mean you’re real world fit.  Thanks Lady.

What’s been of equal interest is to observe Lady as we’ve been walking.  She often stops to sniff, clearly privy to a world that I would have walked straight past.  It brought it home to me how much of our daily world we take for granted.  We walk round with our heads in the clouds without realising that there could easily be a whole layer of the world there that we are blind to.

Walking the dog as spirituality, I never would have thought of it!

While browsing a vegetarian forum a few days ago, I came across Sparkpeople. It’s a site that does a food diary for you, including vitamins and other nutrients, an exercise log and the ability to track personal goals. There are forums for support and even a mini blog, all told this is just what I needed, just when I needed it.

I’ve started to track my meditations on there to make sure that I don’t miss it, I’m also going to start working with the Microcosmic Orbit again, as I’d fallen off the bandwagon on that one.

I was thinking that people go into meditation for any number of reasons, but if you go into it with expectation of a reward, you turn it into a standard chasing after the payoff type activity of the sort we do every day. But if you’re focussed on the payoff (no matter how nice it is), then you’re not meditating properly are you?

My line of thought is that by simply meditating for it’s own sake, without any grasping after a reward, the exercise will help us reduce our level of attachments and ego.  But there is more to it, I’ve found that I pay more attention and notice things more since I’ve been doing this, if I’d been focussed on the payoff would I have started to learn to do this?

It seems there’s more to sitting quietly, doing nothing than anyone thought…..

I made the jump to being fully vegetarian in the last fortnight, I feel much better in myself and I have to say that it’s made me much more aware of what’s in the food I’m eating and the issues surrounding it.

I’ve also become more aware of corporate and cartel power and it’s involvement in our lives than I was before, it’s as if this has spurred a blossoming of awareness, but not in a meditative way.

I’ve post a few links to some interesting Google videos when I get time.

As a person who considers meditation to be an absolutely valuable practice this is music to my ears, I notice that they suggest it may help people struggling with substance abuse, and promotes happiness and enthusiasm.

I can certainly relate to that, I know how I feel when I miss my practice for a few days, I feel that my creativity and ability to engage properly with the world declines without meditation.

How do you feel your meditation practice benefits you? Drop me a comment.