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originally posted by: Profusion
What's the optimum balance between knowledge and ignorance?
What's the optimum balance between knowledge and ignorance?
originally posted by: MarioOnTheFly
a reply to: Profusion
Answering a question in the title.
For me..." i know now...that i know nothing".
Being humble in thy knowledge...knowing full well...knowledge is fluid and ever changing.
originally posted by: Profusion
Full knowledge would be unbearable if you have any sympathy or empathy. For example, what would you do if you knew that the family next door were a bunch of satanists who tortured animals as part of their 'religious' rituals? It may be perfectly legal but how would you deal with it?
How would you deal with knowing that the married woman or man across the street is being beaten regularly against their will? Would you call the police? The problem with that is, a lot of abused spouses are in denial and they may try to get revenge against you for trying to help them. If things such as that happen enough, you're liable to end up dead or in a mental institution for trying to help people.
originally posted by: FyreByrd
a reply to: Profusion
The buddistis list three main cognitive faults that humans have to eradicate from themselves before elightenment is possible and one of them is ignorance.
If you are truly open to what is around you, without preconceived or habitual intrepretations or story-lines, then you can act in freedom for the best of all in any circumstance however 'seemly' horrific.
The others are passion and aggression (attraction/revulsion).
Full knowledge would be unbearable if you have any sympathy or empathy.
originally posted by: RavenSpeaks
What's the optimum balance between knowledge and ignorance?
Yes, you are getting it.
Now repeat after me: What is optimum balance between knowledge and ignorance !!!
Shout it from the rooftops: " "What IS the optimum balance!!!"
Ah, the Great "What"!! Summoner of all things past present and future and
Governor of All.
The Universe is on "God- O-Pilot" . Just accept that it's dynamic balance rather than a static balance.
A way will always be found to achieve an equilbrium of sorts, whether we "help" or not.
"What".........is.........the.........answer!!!
originally posted by: Profusion
The reason I prefaced the original post with the following is because "preconceived or habitual interpretations or story-lines" are irrelevant to one feeling sympathy and/or empathy. In other words, those emotions come regardless of what you think or believe.
Full knowledge would be unbearable if you have any sympathy or empathy.
My contention is the sympathy and/or empathy you would experience for all the suffering around you would be unbearable if one had full knowledge. However, that only applies if one is capable of feeling those emotions and I realize that some people probably aren't capable of that.
My belief is that most people with full knowledge would be incapacitated by emotion long before they could "act in freedom for the best of all."
Of course, full knowledge would not be possible for a person. I'm sure Buddhists don't think of that as a possibility because it isn't a possibility. I'm just using it as the basis of a thought experiment.