The Four Corners of Wisdom

Consider the Four Corners of Wisdom:

Love without reason.

Happiness without things.

Joy without experiences.

Self without idea.

LOVE WITHOUT REASON. Love unconditionally. If your love requires a reason, it is transactional, only sustainable as long as it’s profitable for all parties involved.

HAPPINESS WITHOUT THINGS. Find happiness not tied to possessions or tangibles. Attachment to objects for happiness is unhealthy. As the object’s state changes, so does your emotional state, reflective of the impermanence of all things. Don’t allow your possessions to possess you.

JOY WITHOUT EXPERIENCE. Experience joy that isn’t contingent on particular experiences. Joy tied to experiences is not genuine joy but fleeting pleasure. Pleasure perpetuates a craving for itself, tricking you into believing that the object of desire can offer continual joy. Seeking pleasure is merely an avoidance of the reality of the present moment, wherein the false self cannot survive.

SELF WITHOUT IDEA. Identify yourself beyond concepts and labels. A self-constructed from ideas is the ego. When you strive to discover, invent, market, vindicate, or escape yourself, you’re operating at the behest of the false self. You exist. Adding anything more creates a fictitious narrative you can lose yourself in.