You know!

By Dhammacaro

Here is an interesting question! “How can we know that we know, or not?” Have you ever asked yourselves this question when you have studied, or practised something? Sometimes we just conclude, ‘I know that!’  But when we are asked to explain what we understand of it, we cannot say. This reminds me of a Zen story, which provides us with a good example of this. Here is the story:

There was a conversation between a Zen Master and his student.  The student asked his master, “When a meditator has realised Dhamma, can he or she describe his or her realisation?” The master replied, “Some cannot, but some can.” The student asked for more understanding. “Please, Master, can you explain further what you mean?” The master said, “Those who cannot describe what they know, are like mutes who drink honey and cannot speak of how sweet it is. And those who can, are like people who drink honey and can speak of how sweet it is.” The student understood that.

Then the student raised another question, asking the master, “Master, if a meditator has not yet become enlightened, but can explain and write Dhamma scriptures, is he or she regarded as having realised the Dhamma?” The master answered, “No, they are not! They will be like a parrot which copies human language and can speak it. But the parrot never knows its meaning.” Still with doubt, the student asked his master, “Then how can I give a Dhamma talk to help people understand Dhamma?” The master answered, “You can! You just have to say what you know. What you do not know, don’t say!” The student admired his master, saying, “Thank you very much, Master, I undertand now”, and added, “Sir, you must have realised all the Dhamma by now, is that not so?” The master said, “I’m like a mute who takes bitter medicine and knows its taste, but cannot tell. And I’m like a parrot which learns how to speak human language. But then I can speak it just as other human beings do.” The student seemed to become confused again.

How about you, do you understand this? I shall leave you to think about it.  For myself, I understand that whatever we do, we should not worry about it;  just do our best. As the Master said to his student, “Say what you know. What you do not know, don’t speak.” This is well put. Things get worse when people say what they don’t know. They give wrong information to one another, and then get themselves confused. We must always ask ourselves if we really know what we are doing, or who we are. If we find out something is not good for ourselves and others, we must change it for the better. If we discover something good, we should put into practice in our daily life and share it with others. That is a good thing to do, isn’t it?