What is the difference between forgiveness and wisdom?

Jeffrey

Are they unified in metta?

taiyaki

some how i believe karuna is involved as well.

Jeffrey

Seeing ignorance is itself clear. Momentary and blazing.

taiyaki

which conditions bodhicitta as volitional action.

wisdom naturally conditions forgiveness.

imho the means and goal are the same. so forgiveness brings wisdom and wisdom brings forgiveness.

so the difference is function verse theory?

Jeffrey

I don't think of forgiveness as a function. Unless it's toleration. Like letting be.

taiyaki

forgiveness is letting go is it not?

Jeffrey

you are way ahead of me.. I thought of that though.

taiyaki

if letting go is the result of wisdom then wisdom and letting go are different but dependent on each other.

essence = emptiness
nature = everything
function = bodhisattva action

but i may be way off because i am just speaking from theory, not action.

weighted

if letting go is the result of wisdom then wisdom and letting go are different but dependent on each other.

I was going to say something along the same lines.

Jeffrey

@taiyaki,

sounds like:
ultimate bodhicitta
aspirational bodhicitta
relative bodhicitta

if letting go is the result of wisdom then wisdom and letting go are different but dependent on each other.

essence = emptiness
nature = everything
function = bodhisattva action

but i may be way off because i am just speaking from theory, not action.

sukhita

I think that forgiveness is the way of letting go of the blaming mind... the resentful mind. Without freeing the mind thus, meditation will suffer... so too will wisdom. I see forgiveness as just one aspect of mental cultivation. For wisdom to arise, one needs much more than forgiveness. .... or am I going off at a tangent here.....!

Jeffrey

And the letting go is forgiveness.

Zero

I may be missing the point - here goes…

Wisdom for me is a culmination of various factors – I suppose its knowledge, insight and judgment combined? Expression of these in harmony I suppose would be wise action.

Forgiveness is excusing, renouncing, absolving, maybe even reconciling something…

I think wisdom is always the cause and forgiveness is always the effect? Or rather wisdom is a cause of many actions and forgiveness is just one of the possible effects? Feels like wisdom is more a foundation whereas forgiveness is something that is built on it….

Jeffrey

For me forgiveness is a feeling and not an arrangement.

sofa

I would say that, like with the factors of the Eightfold Path, they seem to go hand in hand. Both lead to the other.

Wisdom helps you realize how painful and stressful it is for yourself to hold on to anger. By realizing this, you should naturally let go...

And letting go of anger will make your mind more calm and free, which will in turn help the development of insight...

But of course (as in the Eightfold Path) the ultimate goal and medicine is wisdom. Eventually it will be insight that will end anger...

Jeffrey

I was thinking of forgiveness as something transcendental bringing you out of a destructive mindset. A big disaster, a big forgiveness. A small watchful forgiveness for something worrisome.

Zero

Thats interesting - but what is the imputus - surely by that analogy, the wisdom would be transcendental and the forgiveness would be a byproduct.

Again with the analogy of wisdom and forgiveness, forgiveness seems more limited than wisdom - feels more like forgiveness being a facet of wisdom rather than the other way around.

Not sure why wisdom seems so much more fundamental for me...

Thanks for the thoughts Jeffrey - will keep me pleasantly occupied!!

lamaramadingdong

Forgiveness is done for yourself. Wisdom is knowing that.

Jeffrey

@Zero, I am just saying what I experience. Forgiveness is a feeling to me. I like your idea of a facet. I'll have to think about that. Forgiving does involve rationality and I guess.

Zero

thanks for sharing your experience... I appreciate the opportunity to ponder