Every time we come into a new environment,
we should practice finding out the smallest and the biggest things there, so that we can be aware of everything around us, without missing anything.
THE EXTENT OF WISDOM
The old professor said:
“The extent of wisdom is one’s ability to see from the smallest to the biggest, from the lowest to the greatest. Now, please take turns standing up to talk about what you can see from the smallest to the biggest, and how we can apply that extent of wisdom.”
One student stood up and said:
“Dear Professor, I suppose that in a house, the lowest is the bathroom and the highest is the altar. An application of this knowledge, I think, is to evaluate how well the members manage their household. If they can keep their house clean from the altar to the bathroom, they are capable.”
Another said:
“Dear Sir, in terms of social status, I suppose the lowest are the homeless, and the highest are the millionaires. We can use this observation to evaluate the government’s ability in how well they look after the homeless as well as the rich, so that all of them can live and contribute to the country.”
Another student said:
“Dear Professor, in terms of materials and resources, I think the lowest is trash and wastewater, while the highest is smartphones with artificial intelligence. Based on this, we can evaluate the development of a nation corresponding to how they reuse and recycle, so that there is no waste.”
Then, another student continued:
“Dear Sir, in terms of knowledge, my view is that the illiterate people have the lowest level of knowledge while a doctorate is the highest. Applying this knowledge, we can assess the education system of a country based on whether it can upgrade everyone’s learning, and leave no one behind.”
Another student said:
“Dear Sir, I think murderers, robbers, and rapists are at the lowest of society, while the saintly philosophers are at the highest peak of human beings. We can apply this when evaluating how healthy and civilized a society is, by seeing which kinds of people are the majority.”
“Dear Sir, I suppose breathing is people’s most basic need while using drugs is the most foolish and harmful need. As for the application, we can evaluate people’s ability to control themselves against temptation.”
“Dear Sir, in my view I suppose the smallest is an atom and the biggest is the universe. The application of this extent of wisdom is to find out the basic principles in Theoretical Physics.”
The last one said:
“Dear Professor, I think the idea of loving all humans is the most essential beginning, and the ability to build up a harmonious and loving world is the greatest outcome. Based on this extent of wisdom, we can consider and balance our ideals in life, which should be both practical and sublime.”
Every time we come into a new environment, we should practice finding out the smallest and the biggest things there, so that we can be aware of everything around us, without missing anything.
Written by:
Janna
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