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buddha
October 2009 
Buddha on Understanding
Posted on Dec 14th, 2008
by 
Inspire
Inspire
From the Science of Oneness by Malcolm Hollick (p 163).
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explains:
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explains:
The Buddha ... said that in order to understand, you have to be one with what you want to understand. ...
The French language has the word comprendre, which means to understand, to know, to comprehend. Com means to be one, to be together, and prendre means to take or to grasp. To understand something is to take that thing up and to be one with it. The Indians have a wonderful example. If a grain of salt would like to measure the degree of saltiness of the ocean, to have a preception of the saltiness of the ocean, it drops itself into the ocean and becomes one with it, and the perception is perfect. ...
Understanding means to throw away your knowledge. You have to be able to transcend your knowledge ... The technique is to release. The Buddhist way of understanding is always letting go of our views and knowledge in order to transcend. ... That is why I use the image of water to talk about understanding. Knowledge is solid; it block the way of unerstanding. Water can flow, can penetrate.
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This is a good explanation. I might add that a test of depth of understanding is agreement with the information. This is a technical point. In general on a spiritual path first one understands oneself. One, in effect, agrees with ones own rightness, with who one really is. This means one is willing to know who one really is.
A second step is agreeing with other viewpoints. You can understand another opinion, judgment, or idea to the point where you completely agree with it. Even an axe murderer! How and whyyou can so agree comes from agreeing with oneself. If you are always right in a cosmic spiritual sense, to the point where you know you have never done one wrong thing, it gets easier to grant the same to the other guy.
Since it is true, it works. But only if you see it that way yourself.
You can get there if you want. Promise. www.themodeloftheuniverse.com
Thanks for your comment! Very good points.