Greetings fellow lovers of wisdom,
It has been quite a while since my last newsletter – the greater part of a season.
Let’s begin with an open-ended inquiry.
What is wisdom, really?
What is its opposite? Foolishness.
Are such qualities measurable and would it make a difference?
A couple of my favorite quotes.
“If a fool persists in his folly, he would be wise.” -William Blake.
“The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.” -William Blake
What is foolishness?
To proceed rashly, to knowingly recommit mistakes and errors, impulsivity, short-sighted thinking and acting without regard to future or longer term consequences. Addiction would certainly qualify. In that case, perhaps we are all fools, those of us who have not yet abandoned the path and allure of sensuality without deeply investigating our relationship with pain and pleasure, virtue and suffering.
Here are some things I’ve discovered and found worthwhile sharing since my last issue. It would seem I’ve gone very deep down Buddhist and spirituality rabbit holes.
The Dhamma Hub’s True Dhamma lecture series and guided meditations. Some absolutely excellent instruction and clarification of topics like suffering, craving, feeling, virtue and insight based on the suttas from the Pali Canon – what is called Early Buddhism. The channel is run by Dr. Florian Lau, a German professor of computer science and dedicated lay practitioner.
Multiple resources on Buddhism’s Ten Fetter model: Pernille Damore, Christiane Michelberger and Kevin Shannilec.
The Liberation Unleashed forum, book and app.
Angelo Dilulo’s audiobook Awake.
Henry Shukman’s series on Zen koans through the Waking Up app. An excellent history lesson alongside practical instruction to Zen koans. If you’re not already a subscriber, here’s a link for a free 30-day trial.
Some other resources – largely centered around communication.
Wild Mind and Writing Down The Bones, by Natalie Goldberg – on writing as a Zen practice.
Talk Like TED, by Carmine Gallo – an analysis of some of the most popular and effective TED Talks distilled into 9 elements.
Wishing you a wise week ahead.