The Liberation Stories of the Kagyu Masters – Day 8

There is a great difference between intelligence in the dharma and worldly intelligence. In the world we may think someone who is very good at picking up languages is intelligent. Or if someone is very successful in business we think, ‘Wow they’re smart as hell.’ And I’m sure many of those who invented some of the most devastating weapons on the planet, such as the atomic bomb, were considered to be extremely intelligent.
Intelligence in the dharma is the ability to see ourselves and what we are doing clearly. To see whether our inner state of mind and external behaviour are bringing benefit or harm to oneself and others. To be able to perceive whether our way of seeing things is in accord with reality or not. It’s about knowing ourselves, our own mind. In the dharma, if you know yourself, you are considered to be intelligent.