‘The unknown is not to be caught in the net of the known. Knowledge must be set aside for the unknown to be; but how difficult that is!
‘We have our being in the past, our thought is founded upon the past. The past is the known, and the response of the past is ever overshadowing the present, the unknown…
‘Addiction to knowledge is like any other addiction; it offers an escape from the fear of emptiness, of loneliness, of frustration, the fear of being nothing… The mind is frightened of this unknown, and so it escapes into knowledge, into theories, hopes, imagination; and this very knowledge is a hindrance to the understanding of the unknown…
‘It is odd what importance we give to the printed word, to so called sacred books. The scholars, as the laymen, are gramophones; they go on repeating, however often the records may be changed. They are concerned with knowledge, and not with experiencing.
‘Knowledge is an impediment to experiencing. But knowledge is a safe haven, the preserve of a few; and as the ignorant are impressed by knowledge, the knower is respected and honored…
‘Knowledge is not the coin for the purchase of wisdom; but the man who has entered the refuge of knowledge does not venture out, for the word feeds his thought and he is gratified with thinking. Thinking is an impediment to experiencing; and there is no wisdom without experiencing.
‘Knowledge, idea, belief, stand in the way of wisdom.’
—J Krishnamurti, Commentaries On Living Series 1
Consider how often you use ideas, explanations, and expectations to avoid the unsettling feeling of uncertainty. What if you allowed yourself to step into that uncertainty, just for a moment, without needing to label or understand it?
How might your experience change if you simply allow the mystery of life to unfold without labeling it?
In letting go of the compulsion to understand, you might discover a deeper communion with what is than what the mind alone can grant.
May no knowledge obscure our knowing,
Simeon
Meister Eckhart: Realizing Your True Nature
Meister Eckhart’s teachings on spiritual poverty reveal a paradox at the heart of spiritual life. In this video, we examine how desiring nothing, knowing nothing, and possessing nothing leads to union (nay, identity) with the divine mystery.
Explore the rich insights of one of Christianity’s greatest mystics and see how they resonate with other spiritual traditions.