The Tao Is Tao (46) - Ignorance Is Lack Of Faith In Mystery
46
Ignorance
is not
a lack of knowledge,
but a lack of faith
in the unknowable.
The ignorant
clings to knowledge
as if knowledge can explain
the inexplicable.
The Taoist sage
lives
in harmony
with the mysterious.
--Jos Stabbert
Also posted to daily_tao
The Tao Is Tao (46) - Daily Tao
It is as though this verse was written me.
I clung to knowledge
It was my solace and my crutch.
It was my major defense mechanism as a child.
I was shorter than average,
way less atheletic than average,
and way, way less socially graceful than average.
But i was smarter than average, and
i made sure others were aware of that.
My choice of an academic career
was "over determined" (my Freudian therapist said)
It matched my interest
it matched my ability
and it met my ego's need;
and i felt i was incapable of doing anything else
that would allow me to survive.
But now i have come to believe
that the most important things are not things
nor actions that can be described and programmed.
I now believe that courage and love
and other necessary attributes
come, not from learning,
but from silence and emptiness.
Silence is the language of the universe.
and emptiness is wei wu wei