The Power Of Stillness.
#stillness #buddhism #enlightenment
The Buddha critiqued the Brahmins and Hinduism, yet all his great disciples were Brahmins. This makes sense because he attracted the most extraordinary minds of that society. Despite his criticisms, the Brahmins were the elites of society, and the intellectual class of India was largely Brahmin.
Sariputra was a Brahmin. Moggallāna was a Brahmin. Mahakasyapa was a Brahmin. Did they come to him because they were ignorant, socially ostracized, gamblers, dishonest, or thieves?
No! Being wise, they understood that what he said was right. When Sariputra came to him, his five thousand disciples followed, all of them scholars. He came to challenge the Buddha, and the Buddha warmly welcomed him. What greater honor could there be than to be visited by a great scholar? But the Buddha asked:
"Have you experienced the truth, or are you just a scholar? I have heard about you…"
In a moment of silence, Sariputra looked at the Buddha, as if looking into a mirror, and said:
"I am a great scholar, but as for experiencing the truth, I know nothing yet."
The Buddha replied:
"That's difficult then."
Sariputra - Chief Disciple of Lord Buddha
Debates only occur when both parties do not know what the truth is. They can argue endlessly, but the truth remains beyond their comprehension. Since neither knows, they can reason and cite scriptures, but like two blind men feeling an elephant, neither truly understands what an elephant is like. At best, one might be wiser or more well-read and thus wins, and the loser becomes the disciple of the winner. But can one really ascertain the truth based on this?

There might also be a meeting between two enlightened individuals, but there would be no reason for them to argue.
What don't they know that they need to compete over? They might sit together in silence. Perhaps they laugh or hold hands, but there’s nothing they need to say to each other. When they look into each other's eyes, they understand there is nothing to say because they both know the same truths and have reached the same realms, so between them, there is only silence.

The third scenario is where one knows and the other does not. This situation is challenging because the one who knows cannot truly express in words what the other needs to understand. The one who doesn’t know merely wastes their time unnecessarily because they cannot convince the one who knows. The whole world combined cannot persuade the one who knows, because they know and you do not.

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