The stupid person says, 'I know'; the intelligent person comes to know that 'I don't know.' But there is a transcendence of both when only silence prevails. [Osho, Ah This!, page 14]
Truly, gaining a University degree is only the beginning of knowing that you know almost nothing--it is not the end of learning but rather perhaps the start of the journey to wisdom. As a university-trained educator myself, I like to remember this and like to remind my students too. The Osho quote above reminds me of it, and it also reminds me of stories. It reminds me of course of the famous 'over-full teacup' story; and it reminds me too of the story of the origin of Zen, which is one of my very favourite stories:
It is told that Zen began with a smile. The Buddha was sitting with his disciples when a rich man, an important, influential man, asked him to explain Dharma. The Buddha had learned that Dharma-- ultimate truth or meaning-- can't ultimately be explained, for it is beyond words, it is beyond the mind, it simply is; Dharma can only be lived and, in the living, recognised. That is what is meant by satori, it is a breakthrough, it is a moment when the scales fall off the eyes, a moment of recognition; and so the Buddha simply held up a flower, only a flower; otherwise he remained silent. At that very moment, one of the Buddha's disciples, Mahakashyap, recognised; he understood; he smiled. And that smile was the beginning of Zen. It was and still is that smile-- not teaching, not rules, not a specific practice, not even zazen-- that was passed from Patriarch to Patriarch, from Master to disciple, from person to person. Zen is the transmission of a smile. And that's why laughter is always at the heart of Zen.
