Intelligence, Ignorance, and Suffering

[BarbaraAnn22]

"In his very first teaching, Buddha explained that the root cause of suffering is ignorance.  But where exactly is this ignorance?  And how does it display itself?  Let's take an everyday example.  Think about those people ­ we all know...some ­who are gifted with a remarkably powerful and sophisticated intelligence.  Isn't it puzzling how, instead of helping them, as you might expect, it seems only to make them suffer more?  It is almost as if their brilliance is directly responsible for their pain.

What is happening is quite clear: this intelligence of ours is captured and held hostage by ignorance, which then makes use of it freely for its own ends. This is how we can be extraordinarily intelligent and yet absolutely wrong, at one and the same time."


                                                                                    -Sogyal Rinpoche

 

[firefly0812]

Another great post, mama.  It's so true -- intelligence doesn't liberate us from our suffering.  Quite to the contrary, it is the mind itself that is the source of much of our pains.  We get caught up in our perceptions and create delusions about how things are.  This is the Hindu "maya" (illusion) and the Buddhist "dukkha" (suffering).  It is the veil we create through attachment and other ego-enforcing activities.

When we are totally identified with our mind, we cannot see things as they truly are!

[Enchantee]

Barbara Ann, I'm just now finding this post & I'm basking in the warmth & wisdom of this quote!  Thank you so much for the reminder.  (Psst!  Even us not-so-brilliant types can use this advice to good advantage in our daily practice!  *wink*)

I'm now going to make a game of finding all the places that ignorance rules my life & pluck every instance out by the roots.  Obviously...*ahem*...this will be an ongoing project that I will attend to mindfully & with great joy!  *giggle*

Namaste, sister.

Love & light...Ceci 

[DzineMama]

I love this... I have a BIL and we are always debating, he thinks cause he's read a lot of Taoist Books he's kind of important and superior... his actions go against his own teachings... which can really make my head spin... so the other day I told him, wisdom doesn't come from books and he totally doesn't get it.