What is wisdom?

[nichiren-123]

I read a dhammapada quote (340) earlier:

Everywhere these streams are swirling,
up-bursting creepers (craving) rooted firm.
Seeing the craving-creeper there
with wisdom cut its root!

And this raises a question for me: What does 'wisdom' mean as a buddhist concept?

What exactly are we using to cut the roots of craving?

[2600htz]

Hello:

Wisdom in buddhism means understanding the 4 noble truths and dependent origination.
Shortly stated: "understanding what is stress and how to experience the cessation of stress".

Regards.

[CedarTree]

I read a dhammapada quote (340) earlier:

Everywhere these streams are swirling,
up-bursting creepers (craving) rooted firm.
Seeing the craving-creeper there
with wisdom cut its root!

And this raises a question for me: What does 'wisdom' mean as a buddhist concept?

What exactly are we using to cut the roots of craving?

Wisdom is almost an ability. The ability of other well developed factors to than see through delusion.

Wisdom penetrates into Dharma and see's things as they are.

Wisdom in Theravada is usually presented in the context of the five spiritual faculties. It is the fifth and the others are the developed factors needed for it's utilization.

hope this helps friend

[Caodemarte]

Hello:

Wisdom in buddhism means understanding the 4 noble truths and dependent origination.
Shortly stated: "understanding what is stress and how to experience the cessation of stress".

Regards.

It can also be understood as non-conceptual insight.

[befriend]

It can mean seeing clearly things like impermanence unsatisfactoriness and non self.

[BasementBuddhist]

Knowledge is knowing a Tomato is a fruit

Wisdom is knowing not to put it in fruit salad.

[paul]

"The training in wisdom centers on the development of insight (vipassana-bhavana), a deep and comprehensive seeing into the nature of existence which fathoms the truth of our being in the only sphere where it is directly accessible to us, namely, in our own experience. Normally we are immersed in our experience, identified with it so completely that we do not comprehend it. We live it but fail to understand its nature. Due to this blindness experience comes to be misconstrued, worked upon by the delusions of permanence, pleasure, and self. "---"The Noble Eightfold Path", Bikkhu Bodhi.

[TreeSleeper]

Wisdom, the Highest Virtue. Wisdom, with it, you will free yourself.

Wisdom means to "see" things in a new way. It can also mean to realize something.

The purpose of "wisdom contemplation" is to come to this new way of "seeing".
Such as when one is investigating the body, seeing it as suffering, loathsome, ugly, in pieces, impermanent, and not-self, one will eventually "see" the body in these ways. You will see that body as disgusting, something which is a burden, something that is destructible. One may see other peoples bodies as just "bodies" and not people. Inanimate object walking around. Other people may take on a "disgusting" appearance, like one is looking at a dead body. The purpose is to drop attachments, once you see in this way, you'll know for certain that the body is not self.

Or if one investigates sight, one can realize and see that everything is just a collection of colors and shapes. There's no depth to anything or distance in seeing. Everything is just there all at the same time. The mountains are as near to you as your nose so you don't really need to go hiking or seeking "far" away things. It's already near you. That's another kind of "seeing" one can come to through wisdom.

Another level of wisdom is when you realize a solution to a problem through thought based reasoning. Once you have an insight into how some aspect of your mind works or why suffering is arising , that "wisdom" will cut off that cause of suffering.

One can investigate, what is the body? What is sense-consciousness? Why do I feel painful and pleasant feelings? Why do I crave things? Etc. If one manages to investigate properly, real insights can be acquired, and attachment will fall away.

[cjmacie]

In a book by B. Gunaratana, I was once s/w surprised to read a definition of 'wisdom' as basically an established realization of anicca (inconstancy). Arguably that infers, leads to total relinquishment of tanha, upadana, etc., and towards ultimate unbinding.

[justindesilva]

From what I understand wisdom is understanding life and its involvement with Loba, Dosa, moha. For this achievement we have to perceive life with sila of disciplining the word and action while achieving an insight in to data through Samadhi. Samadhi of course is an achievement to be gained with meditation samatha and insight. All these are explained in the dammacakkapavattsna sutta and further explained in other sutta of tripitaka.
Wisdom brings in enlightenment to get rid of dukka and experience anatta in to the state if nibbana.

[Bundokji]

This is what i imagine it to be. Wisdom is when you no longer driven by desire and pride. It is the end of stubbornness.

[bodom]

"And what does it mean to be consummate in discernment? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones is discerning, endowed with discernment of arising and passing away — noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress. This is called being consummate in discernment.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html

[phil]

I think it is always a sorting out of harmful and non-harmful, beneficial and non-beneficial etc, staring with concepts of whether people are behaving in a wise way or not, and boiling down through the development of panna to sorting out in the same way the factors that operate in the moment. I think the former (non-harmful behaviour in our dealings with other people) provides a shelter for the more penetrative, liberating wisdom (i.e consummate in discernment) to develop and even if most of us (certainly me) never seem to go beyond that starting point it is still basis for a life well-lived.

[user99]

Wisdom is to so ALWAYS bee a kind human beeing.
Wisdom is to know whats wrong and stupid to do and never do wrong or stupid things.

[Idappaccayata]

I think I've heard thanissaro say that mundane wisdom- wisdom of an unenlightened person is "The ability to give up an immediate happiness for a greater, long term happiness"