Saturday, October 5, 2013

Bit by Bit - Chapter 22, Part 11

Trey Smith

"Breadth of learning does not necessarily mean knowledge; eloquence does not necessarily mean wisdom - therefore the sage rids himself of these things. That which can be increased without showing any sign of increase; that which can be diminished without suffering any diminution - that is what the sage holds fast to. Deep, unfathomable, it is like the sea; tall and craggy, it ends only, to begin again, transporting and weighing the ten thousand things without ever failing them. The `Way of the gentleman' [which you preach] is mere superficiality, is it not? But what the ten thousand things all look to for sustenance, what never fails them - is this not the real Way?
~ Burton Watson translation ~
Knowledge has its place in the overall scheme of things, but it is not the end-all, be-all we make it out to be. Science can take us to heights that only dreamers dream of, but it cannot take us away from where and who we are. There is some thing or process that undergirds existence and it is beyond the capabilities of the human mind to comprehend. Those who pretend to understand it are worse than fools.

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

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