Remaining Open to Learning Makes One Happier
Feeling frustrated or stressful while learning something new is quite common, and can often lead to giving up on the exploration of new ways of doing or thinking about things. Whether it is Buddhadharma or worldly knowledge, gaining valuable knowledge of any kind, will certainly make you a happier person.
Question:
Thank you for your speech. My question comes from my own experience. I sometimes suffer from “too much knowledge”. By that I mean that when I explore something and find it is not as good as I expected, I’m really unhappy. So my question is, isn’t being intelligent and aware of more things also important? What do you do when you face this kind of situation? Do you just give up exploring things? Thank you.
Khenpo S odargye :
When acquiring any kind of knowledge, some pain or displeasure may arise. But if the knowledge is valuable, the more we learn, the more we can pacify our pains and troubles.
Like the skills taught in school, if we do not study, then we remain uneducated or ignorant. From middle school to college, even up to a doctoral degree, our knowledge gradually broadens and increases. In the course of learning, there are certainly hardships and toil, but we also reap benefits as our intellect grows.
Of course, all these benefits depend on the foundations that they are built on. It is important to build a strong foundation. Whether it is Buddhadharma or worldly knowledge, we should apply the Dharma teaching, which states that, you must learn even if you are certain that you will die tomorrow. We should have such determination. Why? There’s much valuable knowledge, and it is impossible to learn all of it in one short lifetime. But I believe that spending one’s entire life in learning is of great value and it is also my wish for myself.
Of course, there are different interpretations. But indeed, in the end, valuable knowledge should not cause pain but only bring you happiness.
