I recently had the opportunity to listen to a public talk given by a very learned man; one who has spent a great deal of his adult life in serious study on the subject of his discourse. In listening I realized that I had many deep and fundamental objections to what was being said, his points, most shaded in political dogma, I found distasteful.
Clearly I had my own hard-fought experiences on the subject matter and believed that, while the speaker was well-versed, he was simply wrong on so many points. I searched within myself and identified my attachments to my own points of view, and it was these attachment that were causing my discomfort. I suppose the take-away for me was simply the process of recognizing my own attachments and then letting them go, listening with an open mind to what was being said instead on playing "point, counter-point" in my mind.
Tonight in my reading I ran across The Four Reliances:
Do not rely merely on the person, but on the words;
Do not rely merely on the words, but on their meaning;
Do not rely merely on the provisional meaning , but on
the definitive meaning; and
Do not rely merely on intellectual understanding, but on the direct experience.
1 comment:
The way I don't ever look at the artist but at the art, perhaps. Much in the way of beautiful creation is lost by people not liking the artist - they don't just take the art for what comes down to - the experience of the art itself. Just the thought that came to mind when I read your piece. Glad you are writing on your blog again. Missed it. Thank you.
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