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What is wisdom? Normally we often, everybody says, wisdom, wisdom, but in reality very
few understand real meaning. What is wisdom? Wisdom is a virtuous intelligent ... just
intelligence everyone has, even animals, dogs. Wisdom is a virtuous intelligent mind that functions to
understand or realize a meaningful object. This we can say is the definition of wisdom.
Wisdom is a virtuous intelligent mind that functions to understand or realize a meaningful
object. What means meaningful object? Any object through
realizing, this object gives us great meaning, that object is meaningful object. So if we
carefully check, most our ... what we understood is our ... there is not much meaning. Of course
temporarily there is some benefit but ultimately everything is deceptive. For example, yesterday
or day before I taught about emptiness. In Buddhism emptiness has great meaning; it is
very profound and meaningful object. If we realize emptiness directly we will be free
permanently from all the sufferings of this life and countless future lives, you know,
so therefore one example is, such as emptiness is meaningful object; any mind that realizes
emptiness is wisdom. Similarly if we realize existence of future
lives it gives great meaning in our life, therefore it is a meaningful object. Any mind
which realizes, understands the existence of future lives is wisdom. Also, we normally
used to say karma, karma, karma, often using not only in Buddhism but also other traditions
using karma, karma. What is the real meaning of karma? Actions and effects, which means
the connection between our actions of former lives and our experiences of this life. Our
experience of this life and our actions of former lives has connection; this connection
is real karma. It is very difficult to understand, it is very subtle and very profound; the connection
between our present experience, experience of this life, and actions of former lives.
So we say that because in our former lives we accumulated virtuous actions, which included
benefiting others, loving kindness and so forth, giving material help, giving protection,
love and so forth, I explained basic practice of Dharma, in our previous lives, because
of this in this life we are experiencing ... For example, in our previous lives we practised
giving material help to those who needed, as a result of this, in this life we will
be free from poverty and we enjoy good conditions materially. Because in our previous lives
we accumulated virtues of moral discipline, which means we our actions performed correctly,
purely, not cheating people, moral discipline, as a result of this we have now human life,
now we experience human life, we have human life which makes meaningful.
In our previous life we have practised patience, trying to prevent anger. As a result of this,
in this life we are experiencing physically attractive, beautiful. In our previous life
we practised meditation or concentration. As results of this, in this life our mind
always mostly experiencing peaceful mind, calm, peaceful happy mind, and we easy to
concentrate on spiritual practice. So, in our previous lives, we also practised some
wisdom, and because of this now we have opportunity to develop wisdom understanding the meaningful
objects and so forth. All these are karma. Understanding with wisdom; without wisdom
these subjects no-one understand. So therefore with wisdom we can understand all these things;
these are meaningful objects; so many meaningful objects.
For example, in Heart Sutra, in commentary to Heart Sutra which is The New Heart of Wisdom
it explains many different levels of meditation practice, practice of meditation. All the
objects of these meditations are meaningful objects because if we understand these objects
it gives great meaning in our lives. Like this. So therefore the function of wisdom
is understanding or realizing the meaningful objects.