ThirstyFish

A beautifully laid-out store window in East Village, NYC.

There is so much to learn from Buddha. Mystical religions have so much wisdom to offer. One of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, Niels Bohr, understood this: "For a parallel to the lesson of atomic theory...[we must turn] to those kinds of epistemological problems with which already thinkers like the Buddha and Lao Tzu have been confronted, when trying to harmonize our position as spectators and actors in the great drama of existence".

Buddha and Lao Tzu echoed each other in their wisdom and in their teachings. Thinkers might be independent, but the non-rational phenomena and human experiences they are investigating is the same. And the non-rational aspects of existence are often counter intuitive.

Buddha said: "Rather than continuing to seek the truth, simply let go of your views". It makes perfect sense, if you just allow yourself to experience it. The same concept is reflected in these words of Lao Tzu: "To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day". These two statements are the two sides of the same coin.

This one concept, imho, is the most significant bit of wisdom that is pertinent to the current tragic course humanity is on. Rather than constantly adding, constantly seeking the external truth, constantly trying to innovate, we need to step back for a moment and ask "why do we think technological and scientific progress is 'good' without question?" Is it really? Has science really qualified our lives that much, or has it given way to totalitarianism and self-destruction? The time to "let go" and seek wisdom is now.