To: K-list
Recieved: 2003/05/27 13:23
Subject: [K-list] In Honour of Intellect
From: Chris Oliphant
On 2003/05/27 13:23, Chris Oliphant posted thus to the K-list:
I have noticed a fair amount of intellect bashing. A few times when I
have raised a point I was told that I was intellectualizing. That seemed
to be the ultimate rejection of anything I said. It felt like a
convenient way of rejecting an idea without justification. "I can't
argue the point so I will reject by calling it intellectualizing."
I would like to speak out in support of the use of intellect as a tool
toward enlightenment. I hope to show that is not intellect which is the
problem but, in fact, laziness of intellect - accepting without
questioning that is the problem.
Firstly: We all have and use intellect on this list. If we didn't we
would not know how to use a computer. We use intellect to communicate.
We think carefully over the words we use and how we use them. We
remember and use rules of spelling and grammar (some more than others).
Secondly: My two favourite teachers (Jesus and Buddha) did not speak out
against intellect. Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." The
Buddha taught Right Thought and Right Concentration. Intellect is not on
the wheel of causation but ignorance is! Even Zen which is highly
critical of intellect uses intellect as a tool of enlightenment. This is
the purpose of a Koan - to use the intellect to breakdown existing
thought patterns and habits.
Thirdly: Intellect is the tool of discernment - co-equal with the heart.
To accept something as valid solely because it feels right leads to
dogma. Leaders want followers who do not think. That way no one
questions the leader. As long as the leader is charismatic, then
everything (s)he says is accepted because it feels right. My days as a
Christian fundamentalist ended because I could not make rational sense
out of what I was being fed. (And the fundamentalist ideas are nothing
compared to some of the wacky nonsense I hear out of the New Age
movement.)
Fourthly: Intellect is a tool for identifying attachment. If I see an
object of desire and feel drawn to the object, I need my intellect to
identify the feeling and the underlying desire.
Fifthly: Intellect is used to identify and deconstruct belief systems.
Only by challenging belief can we see how the belief is untrue - how it
is connected to attachment. A belief only stands when no one questions
it. Using the intellect to peer deep within the belief reveals the
falsity. A belief is a construct of the mind but it reveals a lazy
intellect - without the discipline to question and reject. All beliefs
are lazy constructs of the mind. Applying disciplined intellect can
dismantle all belief leading to freedom and awakening.
There is a quick summary. Please read and THINK about what I have said.
I would love to hear feedback. Please challenge me - that is how I grow.
Chris Oliphant
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