We humans have two kinds of knowledge — one that we acquire through learning and the other that we possess naturally. That which we acquire by learning is called intelligence, knowledge, or memory. It means that we collect and learn about material already discovered by others. The second kind of knowledge is that with which we are endowed from birth, and we call it “innate wisdom”. Most people work very hard to acquire the first kind of knowledge by collecting material and developing their memory. This is very good and should be encouraged. If we do not collect information about the world, we will not realize how advanced it is and we will lag behind the civilized world, remain undeveloped, and have difficulty communicating with other people. However, we should not neglect our innate wisdom, either. Most people do neglect it, which sometimes costs them their worldly knowledge, too.

Sometimes when we read newspapers or watch television, we learn about certain research studies, like the recent experiment with meditation by university students in Europe and America. They learned very common meditation methods that were not very advanced. They didn’t have to be very diligent to achieve some results; they meditated for about twenty minutes daily and yet got stunning results. The research on these students showed a drastic difference in their intelligence, reactions, and memorization power before and after they began meditating. Before they learned meditation, their reactions were slower, their memory was not as good, and they were less intelligent. The changes were highly noticeable. They, now, react more quickly, have better memory, and are highly intelligent. They can learn much faster than before.

Why is this so? It is because when we meditate, we come into contact with the innate wisdom that has always existed within us. Once the connection is established, this innate wisdom provides us with much supportive power, awakens the long forgotten knowledge within us, and lets us develop the power or instincts that we have always had. We have heard that scientists today have discovered that most human beings use only a very small portion of their brains. Even then, we are capable of building airplanes, traveling by spaceship to visit the Moon Goddess, going to Mars, etc. We have already discovered many mysterious corners of the universe. Imagine what we could do if we used our entire brain capacity!

Why were the students able to develop their intelligence after they learned to meditate? It is because they tapped into the functions of the brain. Perhaps meditation lets us fully utilize the knowledge, intelligence, and hidden functions of our brains. I myself have noticed that sometimes when I have many problems to solve, all I have to do is sit down quietly for a while, and the answer will come. This is also called meditation. There is nothing esoteric about it. Meditation or contemplation means that we should quiet down, concentrate our minds, refrain from thinking about other things, and focus only on one matter. This is called meditation or contemplation. The ordinary kind of meditation or mind concentration is a little bit different than meditation with a purpose. Sometimes when we have a problem and we quiet down, calm our minds, and focus our thoughts on that problem, very soon the answer will appear. Sometimes, when we are in bed at night and have put down our day’s work, a sudden solution for our daytime problem will flash into our minds. This is a result of mind concentration.

If we can achieve such good results just by sitting down or calming our minds for a while, imagine what we could accomplish if we did it with deliberate effort. We could solve greater issues by setting aside a certain period of time each day for ourselves! This is not impossible or illogical. There is nothing deceptive or misleading about it. This is not advertising the mysterious, either. Instead, it is very logical and scientific. We are in a scientific age, where human beings are highly advanced.

Thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, the human race was very underdeveloped and its intelligence very low, yet there were people who became fully enlightened beings or great sages. Jesus Christ, for example, shocked the world during His time. So, imagine what could happen today. There ought to be more of these people, and there are. There are lots of enlightened beings in this era, many more than before! First, we human beings have gone through many trials and tribulations, and through this process of natural evolution, we have become more intelligent and can react more quickly. Second, we are scientifically advanced today and have access to a rapid network of transportation and communication. We find great hope in this era, which is highly favorable for spiritual practice. Materially, we are free from want; and spiritually, we are very relaxed.

From “Knowledge and Wisdom”
News 110, Pearls of Wisdom
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Hong Kong • September 22, 1989
(originally in Chinese)

Diamonds, rubies, gold or whatever it is, the value they have is the value we give to them, but it’s not the true value. Suppose you’re in the desert, have no water, and your camels are running out of food. Can you eat the diamonds? At that time, do diamonds have any value to you? No, you’ll die beside the diamonds, and the diamonds cannot move, cannot do absolutely anything for you. So any material values in this world, only have importance because we give it to them. Otherwise, there’s nothing here that’s valuable.

Thus you see, some men love their woman so much that they would die, would kill for her but to other neighbors, she’s nothing. Even if she came to his house, he would kick her out. He’d ask what are you doing here? He would not feel her appeal at all because she has nothing to do with him. She has karma with that person, with the one who would kill for her. So everything is related to each other through karma or through the value that we attach to the subject or to the person.

There’s no real value in this world; but since we live here, we accept. We accept, but we must know so that we don’t feel attachment for these transient things, really not valuable things. We must understand the root of all the values so that we can use them but should not feel attached to them. That’s the reason why we must practice for spiritual wisdom. We must know so that we free ourselves from everything — from material binding, from attachment to passions, from the binding of physical love even.

From “Impermanent Valuable Things”
News 59, Pearls of Wisdom
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Hsihu Center, Formosa • February 17, 1996
(originally in English)

Why do we have to practice spiritually? It is because our wisdom grows and our minds become open with spiritual practice, letting us see things accurately. When we perceive the Truth, we will no longer misunderstand, be deluded by imagination, or be biased with preconceptions.

From News 92, Aphorisms
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
(originally in Chinese)