Go back to previous topic
Forum nameOkay Activist Archives
Topic subjectRE: even more ramblings..
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=22&topic_id=21933&mesg_id=21990
21990, RE: even more ramblings..
Posted by janey, Wed Aug-23-00 03:57 PM
"Ignorance is bliss" -- I agree that over-intellectualizing is distancing, but I don't think that's what we mean when we say "Ignorance is bliss." That saying, in full, goes "If ignorance is bliss, then 'tis folly to be wise." Is ignorance bliss? I see it as harmful, ultimately. I think a lot of division arises from ignorance, I think most violence ultimately finds its roots in ignorance and poverty. The mind is a powerful tool, and we might as well use what's at our disposal. The trick is to use it skillfully.

Ignorance is more likely to create divisions than knowledge, because the more we know the more likely we are to be able to put ourselves in the shoes of others. The more ignorant I am, the more likely I am to classify someone as stupid if they don't agree with me or if I don't understand what they're saying.

Knowledge can distance us from that spacious consciousness that we've talked about, if we let it. But I think that ignorance is more likely to do so than knowledge.

The key, I think, is wisdom. There's plenty of knowledge that's unnecessary on a day to day basis (other than to give us more grounding in the idea that there's a whole host of opinions, none of which are necessarily right, and all of which may be right given the correct circumstances), but there can never be enough wisdom. And I think of wisdom as being self-reflective, so it does involve the thinking mind, but I think it also involves the heart.


Peace.