Arhat In Buddhism, an arhat (or arahant) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved nirvana. Mahayana Buddhist traditions have used the term for people far advanced along the path of Enlightenment, but who may not have reached full Buddhahood. The understanding of the concept has changed over...
Vipassana Vipassanā or vipaśyanā (विपश्यना), “insight,” in the Buddhist tradition is insight into the true nature of reality, defined as dukkha (suffering or unsatisfactoriness), anatta (non-self), and anicca (impermanence), the three marks of existence in the Theravada tradition, and as sunyata and Buddha-nature in the Mahayana traditions. Meditation practice in the Theravada tradition ended in the 10th century, but was re-introduced...
Prajñā in Buddhism Prajñā (Sanskrit) or paññā (Pāli), often translated as “wisdom“, is the state of understanding. It is described in Buddhist commentaries as the understanding of the true nature of phenomena. In the context of Buddhist meditation, it is the ability to understand the three characteristics of all things: anicca (impermanence), dukkha...
What Is Perspicacity? Perspicacity (also called perspicaciousness) is a penetrating discernment (from the Latin perspicācitās, meaning throughsightedness, discrimination)—a clarity of vision or intellect which provides a deep understanding and insight. It takes the concept of wisdom deeper in the sense that it denotes a keenness of sense and intelligence applied to insight. It has been described...
Where Is The Wisdom We Have Lost In Knowledge? If you travel northwest from Athens, on the road to Corinth, you will come to the ruins of the once great city of Delphi. Delphi is the place once thought by the Greeks to be the center of the world. Here,...
The Rosewood Report On Practical Wisdom Practical wisdom consists in the capacities needed to make good judgments about what matters in life and to bring one’s actions into accordance, insofar as this is in one’s control. At end the of July, 2010, a small group of philosophers and psychologists (see...
Why Knowledge Without Wisdom Is Dangerous “Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass.” The Japanese certainly have a way with words. But surely that ass is still better off with the books than without them? In England, learning is so highly prized that...
Wisdom And Wilderness Wisdom and wilderness are awesome words. They inspire feelings of profound respect, a little fear, and wonder when we recall how little we know about them. It is something like talking about God or joy or love; most people would rather not. These subjects are what engineers...
Hikma (Wisdom) Hikma (Wisdom), meaning knowledge, the understanding of Divine commandments, of philosophy, of the real reasons for the existence of events and of things, and grasping the goals and benefits in religion, has been interpreted by the exacting scholars of truth as being able to combine useful knowledge and...
Basira and Firasa (Insight and Discernment) This article covers Basira and Firasa (Insight and Discernment). Literally meaning perception, intelligence, discretion, evidence, and witness, insight (basira) is defined as having an eye of the heart open, deep perception, an ability to see consequences just at the beginning of an act, or...
Poetry And Wisdom It has been said that the proper language of wisdom is poetry. We realize this when we read the classic texts of the world’s great sapiential traditions. The literature of antiquity, indeed, when not merely factual or legislative, lives most often within an aura which is at...
Subitism The term subitism points to sudden awakening, the idea that insight into Buddha-nature, or the nature of mind, is “sudden,” c.q. “in one glance,” “uncovered all together,” or “together, completely, simultaneously,” in contrast to “successively or being uncovered one after the other.” It may be posited as opposite to gradualism, the original Buddhist...
Brain Activity And Meditation This article covers Brain Activity And Meditation. Meditation and its effect on brain activity and the central nervous system became a focus of collaborative research in neuroscience, psychology and neurobiology during the latter half of the 20th century. Research on meditation sought to define and characterize various practices....
Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence and non-attachment, and virtues such as ethics and benevolence. Wisdom has been defined in many different ways, including...
Wise Words We have collected and put the best Wise Words. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others. May these Wise Words inspire you to never give up and keep working towards your goals. Who knows—success could be just...
Wisdom Quotes We have collected and put the best Wisdom Quotes. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others. May these Wisdom Quotes inspire you to never give up and keep working towards your goals. Who knows—success could be just...
What Is Wisdom? This article covers the answer to the question: “What Is Wisdom?“ Wisdom is a way (the way we take to escape from folly) and folly is our ordinary way of life, the way of suffering. Thus wisdom is our Way Out. Folly, however, is the way we...