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Is there a limit to the knowledge I can obtain for the right path?

When I feel I am making no progress on the path I begin to seek more knowledge. But sometimes I feel like I am running out of spiritual things to learn about or I am just taking the knowledge in intellectually instead of actually feeling it. What shall we do when one seeks more knowledge but cannot find it? shall I create my own knowledge? Will information even bring me closer to the right path?

Comments

  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Gentle Man Veteran
    ^^^This!
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    Their are many times on the path when no progress is apparent. There are even periods of aridity that can last for years. A practice that is dependent on ones perception of progress on the path will not survive for long.
    Have you considered what part of you is looking for this progress?

    .
    Invincible_summercvalue
  • Will information even bring me closer to the right path?

    Human Filofax? N o o o o !

    . . . if you want to accumulate 'spiritual materialism' to coin a phrase from a garbage collector, find virtues to be inspired and live by . . . oops may have spoken a little more truth than required . . .

    Though @how and others are right to 'drop' the 'virtuous' and other preferences, doing this prematurely is like giving away all ones belongings and then going out thieving.

    When you say information you really mean knowledge, I think you know what I mean. When I say knowledge, I really mean wisdom. To become wise one must be patient . . . maybe I'll start soon enough . . .



  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran

    What shall we do when one seeks more knowledge but cannot find it? shall I create my own knowledge? Will information even bring me closer to the right path?

    If your "right path" is to become a scholar, maybe.

    But if you want to really understand the teachings, commit to the sit.
    Chazhowcvalue
  • Willy Wonka dharma . . . makes sense to me :)

    Never abandon the Buddhas Chocolate Factory . . . :clap:
    anatamancvaluepoptart
  • anatamananataman Who needs a title? Where am I? Veteran
    Well at least a Lobster smiled with me today! Perhaps when I do become a boddhisattva I shoukld start with crustaceans... They are sentient, aren't they?
  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    edited November 2013

    Thanks I understand now that the wisdom I am searching for will not come from information but from experience and realization

    @heyimacrab - Exactly! Now that's not to say information is bad, but the Dharma is really about experiencing and living it. Head-knowledge can only get you so far.

    One of the best spiritual lessons I learned was from reading a few Zen books, sitting a lot and not reading very much, and then coming back to the same books. I felt like I "got it" at a much deeper level than before.

    lobsteranatamanbanned_crabJeffrey
  • When I feel I am making no progress on the path I begin to seek more knowledge. But sometimes I feel like I am running out of spiritual things to learn about or I am just taking the knowledge in intellectually instead of actually feeling it. What shall we do when one seeks more knowledge but cannot find it? shall I create my own knowledge? Will information even bring me closer to the right path?

    Buddha says knowledge is akin to all the leaves in the forest and what he preaches is just a leaf from a tree. Now, what knowledge are you seeking? If you want to build an atomic bomb, well, you won't find the recipe in Buddhist studies.
    anatamanEvenThirdInvincible_summer
  • No wisdom comes from studying. The first of the 5 stages is the accumulation stage. Here you will need to gather the necessary materials.
  • SabreSabre Veteran
    edited November 2013

    Thanks I understand now that the wisdom I am searching for will not come from information but from experience and realization

    If at times you feel a bit lost remember the Buddha had no books at all. He only had his mind to study. :)

    (So he must have had an even harder time than we do! :lol: )
    lobsterEvenThird
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