Artfulness in Knowledge – Part 2

Contrast between the Learned and the Wise

There are several important differences between the learned who know only the theory of how to do good deeds (but may not practice it) and the wise who may not know much but use everything they know to boost their opportunity to do good deeds. Unfortunately, knowledge in the hands of a fool (or even a learned person) can be a dangerous thing. If our only knowledge is academic knowledge, no matter how clever we might be, there is always a risk of making a mess of our lives.

For example, if we have a knowledge of nuclear physics, we can use it for peaceful applications as an energy source -- on the other hand we can use our knowledge to produce atomic bombs and the resulting holocaust towards human life. Thus ethical considerations need to go hand in hand with our academic knowledge, like a guiding light to give us clarity as to whether the application of our knowledge is good or bad, appropriate or inappropriate. Those who are interested only in academic learning, no matter how clever, rich or powerful they may be, can never manage to make themselves endearing or worthy of the respect of others and in the end they cannot make a success out of their lives.

Artfulness in Knowledge – Part 1

"Artful in knowledge" -- choosing to study only the things appropriate for study -- being a person learned in those subjects and observant -- personal qualities that lie at the trailhead of the path to wisdom. Such knowledge allows one to be independent in earning one's living and will be the key which unlocks the door to worldly success.

The Three Levels of Knowledge

If we want to identify the features of learning that will give rise to wisdom we have to distinguish wisdom from other sorts of knowledge. All sorts of knowledge help to illuminate the mind. When we don't understand something it is as if we are left in the dark about that thing.

When we understand something it is as if light has been thrown on that matter. Knowledge in its most basic form, like the ability to do arithmetic or knowing where to catch the bus sometimes will feel as if it creates some illumination in the mind but it is just a feeling -- because such an ability is restricted to the higher sort of knowledge we call "wisdom". In all we can differentiate three levels of knowledge:

1. Theoretical knowledge: The most basic sort of knowledge arises via the five senses, that is through the things we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our noses, taste with our tongues or feel by our sense of touches. We could call this sort of knowledge raw data. This sort of knowledge also includes the knowledge we receive by listening to information and what we can remember from what we have heard in lectures and read from textbooks. If we have never had the chance to apply the knowledge that we have learned then it may still be of limited use.

2. Hands-on Knowledge : The second sort of knowledge which is slightly more advanced is hands-on knowledge, the knowledge that has been reflected on, tested and applied.

3. Insight : A third and higher sort of knowledge is insight into deeper truths or more challenging truths:

a. It will give rise to brightness in the mind.
b. It allows us to transcend defilements.

The Humanians – Level 01

The Humanians judge what God has sent down through The Messengers. Thus, they Protect and Practice The Human Rights granted by God to All Humans.

Living the ways of their Ancestors, they acknowledge the right for the needy and destitute where everybody is given The Right to a Basic Standard of Life.

They understand that their main objective as a society is to serve rightly to individuals and societies so everybody plays the part in The Smooth Flow of Life through Ethical Economics Activities.

The ethical economics activities are done by paying attention to The Inner Development of the individuals. The inner development which yielded the Right Moralities are important to the Economics Growth to individuals and societies. Thus, individuals and societies have better chance to overcome problems of the External Factors upon the activities.

The ancestors knew The Purpose of Life both as an individual and as a society is to submit to the will of God by being Righteous. This is the most important concept held by the ancestors be it politically, economically and socially. Whatever and whoever an individual and the society are, be it rich or poor, it is to be the righteous that is to do Good Deeds and to Avoid Evil Deeds. So everybody played the part in the flow of the society.

Knowledge should be developed in order to differentiate the differences between good and evil. Both Spiritual and Material knowledge are applied so individuals have The Total Awareness, aware of what is good and bad.

The Spiritual Knowledge together with The Material Knowledge is the way to be The Wise. The ancestors only select The Wisest of them as Leaders. Leadership were considered important as the alternate source of reference and in monitoring the smooth flow of life. The objective is to make sure everybody recognizes own responsibility both to the individuals and the societies and tasted the True Happiness in TRUE FREEDOM.

To be totally aware is to Understand Why Humans Are Created. In fact, humans are The Supreme Creation of God with various abilities. On top of that, humans are gifted the most precious gift of all gifts – FREEWILL to choose to do GOOD or to do EVIL. No matter what humans prefer to choose, it also means humans ARE TESTED. To test us humans is why we are created.

God is fair by giving us the GUIDELINES AND THE LAWS of what are good and what are evils. It is up to us humans to choose to do good or evil. In the afterlife, the righteous shall be rewarded Heaven while the wrongdoers shall be condemned in Hell.

A wise one is distinguished by his or her Wisdom. The difference between the mind of a fool and the mind of a wise one is a difference of Quality. The mind of a Fool is one where the thoughts are Confused. The mind of a wise man is crystal Clear.

The ancestors valued The Association With The Wise. It had helped them developing the discretions to be that of the wise.

The wise has The Artful Of Speech. This is how one is recognized. Basically the wise avoids Saying Too Much. Also the wise does Not Practice Unwholesome Speech. The wise understands the Good Components Of Speech, The Quality Of Artful Speech, and gives careful Considerations In Giving Criticism.

The Humanians – Level 01, protect and practice The Human Rights by giving priority to The Basic Standard of Living to everybody in the societies. The wisest of them are selected as Leaders as the alternative source of Reference and Guidance for The Smooth Flow of Life.

The wise are recognized through their artful speech which are essential for the next level of The Humanians in Acquiring Knowledge.

Principles of Public Speaking

There are many different recipes for success for public speaking in the world -- including those of the Toastmasters or Carnegie, but in general, they do not have principles which deviate far from the principals already outlined -- except for aspects of the delivery.

1. Sound body: This includes all aspects of non-verbal communication
2. Sound speech: This means speech that is pleasant to the ears, eyes and mind of the listener
3. Sound mind: Exemplifying the virtues which we talk about.

Those who don't appreciate artful speech

It is not as if we should speak in the most polite possible way to every person we meet. Some people cannot stand to hear polite language and may even criticize us because of it. They hear someone speaking clearly and accuse that person of being 'affected'. In such cases we might need to lower the grade of politeness of the language we use to make our language more direct, to shock the person into awareness. However, the rest of the four components of good speech must remain intact. The following sort of people might need to hear direct speech:

1. Those who have a superiority complex or like to pretend that everyone is equal.
2. Those whose mind is blinded to the virtues of the speaker by their lack of faith for that person.
3. Those who are in the midst of depression.

Special Considerations when giving criticism

The subject of appropriate occasion is something that is very hard to judge. In societies where there must be quality control and there does need to be evaluation and criticism of sloppy practices, then often one cannot wait for the right opportunity to come along by accident. In such a case we have to do our best to create the opportunity. Apart from keeping to all the five principles already mentioned, there are two extra considerations which we should bear in mind which can help to create favorable circumstances for giving criticism:

1. Praise them before we criticize them.
2. Smile when we give the criticism.
3. Don't criticize out of anger.

Qualities of artful speech

Applying the general components of speech to artful speech, we find that there are five components. If speech is truly good it must be good to five levels. It is not like a one-star hotel which is better than a hotel with no stars. If we are truly principled in the things we say, then every word we say must be five star. If it is any less, we will not let it pass our lips :

1. Speech must always be based on the intention of compassion.
2. Speech must be true.
3. Speech must be polite.
4. Speech must be useful.
5. Speech must be at the appropriate time and occasion.

Components of speech

From the meaning communicated by the things people say we can identify three major components:

1.The Intention behind the Words. We can see whether the intention behind the things someone is saying is based on greed (e.g. they would like to get something from someone), hatred (e.g. in order to try to harm someone) or delusion (e.g. out of the envy of someone). These are all damaging forms of speech. If speech is used in a good way then the intention must be good. Good speech may be said out of compassion.

2. The Sort of Words Chosen. The more true they are the less false they are. The more polite speech is the less rude it is and vice-versa. If the usefulness of words is reduced then they become more superfluous. Thus we can classify the speech of anyone in the world in terms of these three variables no matter what language it is spoken in:

a.True or Untrue
b.Polite or Rude
c.Useful or Superfluous - Words are either true or false.

3. The Occasion Chosen to say them. Sometimes this means whether what is said is appropriate to the time available and the place where it is said.

UNWHOLESOME SPEECH

Unwholesome speech which should be avoided:

1. Telling lies
2. Divisive Speech
3. Idle Chatter
4. Harsh Speech

Telling Lies - Telling lies means saying or writing words that are untrue in order to take advantage of someone else.

Divisive Speech - Divisive speech or malicious gossip is speaking divisively to set one person against another.

Idle Chatter - Idle chatter is speaking purposelessly just to pass the time.

Harsh Speech - Harsh speech includes swearing or insulting others to the degree that it upsets them.

Disadvantage of saying too much

Most people in the world believe that they are men of principle. However, when it comes to speaking, many find that they just say what they feel like. If people do have a governing principle about the things they say, then usually they just try to say the things that are pleasing for the other person to hear. The trouble with such a principle is that people will always say what is easiest to say instead of saying the things that need to be said. Such a principle, when we come to speech at the level of politicians or those in power will impede the progress of the country because politicians are always saying what is easiest to say instead of speaking out about the things in society which ought to be changed.

If one has no clear principles then the more we speak, the more damage we do. The people of old had the saying that, "The more we say the more trouble we create." The reason is that when we have already said all that is beneficial and necessary to say and we keep on speaking then the next things to come out of our mouths are worthless or harmful speech such as gossip, slander, abuse, chatter and lies. Thus the people of old said, "keep what we have to say to minimum and we will maximize our problems.

However if we refuse to speak at all then no-one understands us!" Thus we all have to say something, but for our own benefits we should clearly understand the nature of speech and the principles of artful speech that is beneficial so say so that we can be confident in selecting the things we say or keep to ourselves.

The Artful of Speech

Some might think the words coming from our mouths are relatively unimportant. However, when it comes to "making oneself useful to society" one cannot avoid communicative skills for team-building and for passing one's knowledge on to others. (I myself am learning particularly living in the world of internet like today).

Words can be true but they may not be pleasant to listen to. If words are both true and polite then the ancients said that they were both worth listening to and also worth hearing. If words, apart from being both true and polite were also useful, the ancients said that such words apart from being worth believing and worth hearing are also worthy of respect.

Why one mouth is ample

Without understanding the principles of artful speech, we are to say too much. The people of old would teach small children the way to look at ourselves in the mirrors. They would say, don't go looking at how beautiful or handsome we are -- because before long old age will rob us of all these things. Take a good look at our own faces. We will notice that even though our eyes have only one function, to look, we are given two. We will notice that even though our ears have only one function, to hear, we are also given two. We will notice that even though our nostrils have only one function, to breathe, we are given two. However, our mouths have two functions, to eat and to talk, but we are given only one mouth. It is as if nature is telling us to use our mouth in moderation -- not to eat too much and not to say too much!

Of course, not to write too much as well :-)

The Wise

A society is a set of individuals. Individuals have own expertise that help the smooth flow of life. Some are rich. Some are poor. Some are leaders in businesses. Some are workers. Nonetheless, the righteous are those who submit to the will of God, do good deeds and avoid evil deeds.

Total awareness is the way to differentiate of what are good deeds and what are evil deeds. To be aware requires both Spiritual and Worldly knowledge. To be totally aware is the way to be Wise.

A wise one is distinguished by his or her wisdom. Being 'wise' however is not the same as being 'educated'. In fact if we get ourselves good degrees and set ourselves up in business and make a success of it, we will earn praises and respects from many other people. However, there are no small number of the more unscrupulous amongst these who find themselves behind prison bars in spite of all their academic knowledge. Thus it in spite of all their good intentions it is reasonable to assume that such graduates are not truly wise but are only wise in the ways of the world.

In these days of human rights, we do all we can to make people equal, but it is not always so easy. When it comes to differences of wealth or access to education, it makes sense to give people the maximum of opportunities to help themselves. But where the system of rights breaks down when people no longer want to help themselves any more -- or when people don't even want to live their lives by the rules of decency that bind society together. Of course there are some people who claim that even criminals should be given full human rights and who spend their time feeling sorry for sentenced murderers.

However, for the most part we accept that when a person's behaviors deviates into violence or vengefulness or cruelty so far as that of a wrong-doer, no matter whether the police catch him or not, that you are no longer dealing with a person like you or me any more. There is a "screw loose" somewhere in the thinking of such people. Even though they might have two arms, two legs and a head just like you or me, but there is a
difference of mind so great that it makes that person dangerous. The deviation of thinking of such people is so contagious that it brushes off on the people who associate with them.

It is differences of mind that distinguish such people from the rest of the world whose lives are governed by discretion. The difference between the mind of a fool and the mind of a wise one is a difference of quality. The mind of a fool is one where the thoughts are confused -- a mind which is unyielding and blind. Such a mind is dull and cannot think constructively about any subject. Such a mind is blind to reality.

If we were to compare such a mind to glass, we could compare it to opaque or frosted glass. Whatever we view through glass of this type will appear distorted, dark and formless. By contrast, the mind of a wise man is like crystal clear glass. Everything viewed through the glass is crystal clear. Like a clear mirror, we can even see ourselves as we really are.
If we were to divide people as to the quality of their minds, being very simplistic we can divide people into a minimum of three different types:

1) Those whose mind is usually clouded -- the fools;
2) Those whose mind is usually clear -- the wise;
3) Those half way in between whose mind is not entirely clear, but at the same time their mind is not completely obscured by clouds.

This third category represents the majority of good intentioned people in the world.

We may have to look at the following five characteristics which will betray the wholesome inward qualities of someone who is wise:

1. The wise like to shepherd others to live their lives in a proper way.
2. The wise take full responsibility for the things that are their own business.
3. The wise favor the honest and the decent.
4. The wise man is not easily angered.
5. The wise favor self discipline and orderliness.

In conclusion, the good thing about associating with the wise is that it will develop our discretions to be that of the wise with whom we associate -- or to come to the real point -- it will allow our minds to become bright and clear like that of the wise man.

There are seven features of behavior which counts as association with the wise. If our association misses out on any of these seven factors, it cannot be counted as fruitful association.

The seven features are as follows :

1. Frequently meeting up with them.
2. Make ourselves known to them.
3. Sincere towards them.
4. Loyalty towards them.
5. Help them in times of need.
6. When free joining up to talk and eat together.
7. Get Connected by means of other communication.