[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Energy is dissipated, degraded, totally lost when there is the relationship of the teacher and the taught; so during these talkshere, and in the discussions that are to follow, I hope there will beno sense of any such relationship.It would really be marvellous ifwe could wipe that out completely, so that there is only themovement of learning.We generally learn through study, throughbooks, through experience, or through being instructed.Those arethe usual ways of learning.We commit to memory what to do andwhat not to do, what to think and what not to think, how to feel,how to react.Through experience, through study, through analysis,through probing, through introspective examination, we store upknowledge as memory, and memory then responds to furtherchallenges and demands, from which there is more and morelearning.With this process we are quite familiar, it is the only waywe learn.I do not know how to fly an airplane, so I learn.I aminstructed, I gain experience, the memory of which is retained, andthen I fly.That is the only process of learning with which most ofus are acquainted.We learn through study, through experience,through instruction.What is learnt is committed to memory asknowledge, and that knowledge functions whenever there is achallenge, or whenever we have to do something.Now, I think there is a totally different way of learning, and Iam going to talk a little bit about it; but to understand it, and tolearn in this different way, you must be completely rid of authority,otherwise you will merely be instructed, and you will repeat whatyou have heard.That is why it is very important to understand thenature of authority.Authority prevents learning - learning which isnot the accumulation of knowledge as memory.Memory alwaysresponds in patterns; there is no freedom.A man who is burdened with knowledge, with instructions, who is weighed down by thethings he has learned, is never free.He may be mostextraordinarily erudite, but his accumulation of knowledgeprevents him from being free, and therefore he is incapable oflearning.We accumulate various forms of knowledge - scientific,physiological, technological, and so on - and this knowledge isnecessary for the physical well-being of man.But we alsoaccumulate knowledge in order to be safe, in order to functionwithout disturbance, in order to act always within the borders ofour own information and thereby feel secure.We want never to beuncertain - we are afraid of uncertainty - and therefore weaccumulate knowledge.This psychological accumulation is what Iam talking about, and it is this that completely blocks freedom.So, the moment one begins to inquire into what is freedom, onehas to question not only authority, but knowledge.If you aremerely being instructed, if you are merely accumulating what youhear, what you read, what you experience, then you will find thatyou can never be free, because you are always functioning withinthe pattern of the known.This is what actually happens to most ofus; so what is one to do?One sees how the mind and the brain function.The brain is ananimalistic, progressive, evolutionary thing which lives andfunctions within the walls of its own experience, its ownknowledge, its own hopes and fears.It is everlastingly active insafeguarding and protecting itself - and in some measure it has tobe, otherwise it would soon be destroyed.It must have somedegree of security, so it habitually benefits itself by gathering every kind of information, obeying every kind of instruction, creating apattern by which to live, and so never being free.If one hasobserved one's own brain, the whole functioning of oneself, one isaware of this patterned mode of existence in which there is nospontaneity at all.Then what is learning? Is there a different kind of learning, alearning which is not cumulative, which doesn't become merely abackground of memory or knowledge that creates patterns andblocks freedom? Is there a kind of learning which doesn't become aburden, which doesn't cripple the mind but, on the contrary, gives itfreedom? If you have ever put this question to yourself, notsuperficially but deeply, you will know that one has to find outwhy the mind clings to authority.Whether it be the authority of theinstructor, of the saviour, of the book, or the authority of one's ownknowledge and experience, why does the mind cling to thatauthority?You know, authority takes many forms.There is the authorityof books, the authority of the church, the authority of the ideal, theauthority of your own experience, and the authority of theknowledge which you have gathered.Why do you cling to thoseauthorities? Technologically there is need of authorities - that issimple and obvious.But we are talking about the psychologicalstate of the mind; and quite apart from technological authority,why does the mind cling to authority in the psychological sense?Obviously, the mind clings to authority because it is afraid ofuncertainty, insecurity; it is afraid of the unknown, of what mayhappen tomorrow.And can you and I live without any authority atall - authority in the sense of domination, assertion, dogmatism, aggressiveness, wanting to succeed, wanting to be famous, wantingto become somebody? Can we live in this world - going to theoffice, and all the rest of it - in a state of complete humility? That isa very difficult thing to find out, is it not? But I think it is only inthat state of complete humility - which is the state of a mind that isalways willing not to know - that one can learn.Otherwise one isalways accumulating, and therefore ceasing to learn.So, can one live from day to day in that state? Do youunderstand my question? Surely, a mind that is really learning hasno authority, nor does it seek authority.Because it is in a state ofconstant learning, not only from outward things, but also frominward things, it does not belong to any group, to any society, toany race or culture.If you are constantly learning from everythingwithout accumulation, how can there be any authority, anyteacher? How can you possibly follow anyone? And that is theonly way to live - not learning from books, I don't mean that, butlearning from your own demands, from the movements of yourown thought, your own being.Then your mind is always fresh, itlooks at everything anew, and not with the jaded look ofknowledge, of experience, of that which it has learnt.If oneunderstands this - really, profoundly - then all authority ceases [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl przylepto3.keep.pl
.Energy is dissipated, degraded, totally lost when there is the relationship of the teacher and the taught; so during these talkshere, and in the discussions that are to follow, I hope there will beno sense of any such relationship.It would really be marvellous ifwe could wipe that out completely, so that there is only themovement of learning.We generally learn through study, throughbooks, through experience, or through being instructed.Those arethe usual ways of learning.We commit to memory what to do andwhat not to do, what to think and what not to think, how to feel,how to react.Through experience, through study, through analysis,through probing, through introspective examination, we store upknowledge as memory, and memory then responds to furtherchallenges and demands, from which there is more and morelearning.With this process we are quite familiar, it is the only waywe learn.I do not know how to fly an airplane, so I learn.I aminstructed, I gain experience, the memory of which is retained, andthen I fly.That is the only process of learning with which most ofus are acquainted.We learn through study, through experience,through instruction.What is learnt is committed to memory asknowledge, and that knowledge functions whenever there is achallenge, or whenever we have to do something.Now, I think there is a totally different way of learning, and Iam going to talk a little bit about it; but to understand it, and tolearn in this different way, you must be completely rid of authority,otherwise you will merely be instructed, and you will repeat whatyou have heard.That is why it is very important to understand thenature of authority.Authority prevents learning - learning which isnot the accumulation of knowledge as memory.Memory alwaysresponds in patterns; there is no freedom.A man who is burdened with knowledge, with instructions, who is weighed down by thethings he has learned, is never free.He may be mostextraordinarily erudite, but his accumulation of knowledgeprevents him from being free, and therefore he is incapable oflearning.We accumulate various forms of knowledge - scientific,physiological, technological, and so on - and this knowledge isnecessary for the physical well-being of man.But we alsoaccumulate knowledge in order to be safe, in order to functionwithout disturbance, in order to act always within the borders ofour own information and thereby feel secure.We want never to beuncertain - we are afraid of uncertainty - and therefore weaccumulate knowledge.This psychological accumulation is what Iam talking about, and it is this that completely blocks freedom.So, the moment one begins to inquire into what is freedom, onehas to question not only authority, but knowledge.If you aremerely being instructed, if you are merely accumulating what youhear, what you read, what you experience, then you will find thatyou can never be free, because you are always functioning withinthe pattern of the known.This is what actually happens to most ofus; so what is one to do?One sees how the mind and the brain function.The brain is ananimalistic, progressive, evolutionary thing which lives andfunctions within the walls of its own experience, its ownknowledge, its own hopes and fears.It is everlastingly active insafeguarding and protecting itself - and in some measure it has tobe, otherwise it would soon be destroyed.It must have somedegree of security, so it habitually benefits itself by gathering every kind of information, obeying every kind of instruction, creating apattern by which to live, and so never being free.If one hasobserved one's own brain, the whole functioning of oneself, one isaware of this patterned mode of existence in which there is nospontaneity at all.Then what is learning? Is there a different kind of learning, alearning which is not cumulative, which doesn't become merely abackground of memory or knowledge that creates patterns andblocks freedom? Is there a kind of learning which doesn't become aburden, which doesn't cripple the mind but, on the contrary, gives itfreedom? If you have ever put this question to yourself, notsuperficially but deeply, you will know that one has to find outwhy the mind clings to authority.Whether it be the authority of theinstructor, of the saviour, of the book, or the authority of one's ownknowledge and experience, why does the mind cling to thatauthority?You know, authority takes many forms.There is the authorityof books, the authority of the church, the authority of the ideal, theauthority of your own experience, and the authority of theknowledge which you have gathered.Why do you cling to thoseauthorities? Technologically there is need of authorities - that issimple and obvious.But we are talking about the psychologicalstate of the mind; and quite apart from technological authority,why does the mind cling to authority in the psychological sense?Obviously, the mind clings to authority because it is afraid ofuncertainty, insecurity; it is afraid of the unknown, of what mayhappen tomorrow.And can you and I live without any authority atall - authority in the sense of domination, assertion, dogmatism, aggressiveness, wanting to succeed, wanting to be famous, wantingto become somebody? Can we live in this world - going to theoffice, and all the rest of it - in a state of complete humility? That isa very difficult thing to find out, is it not? But I think it is only inthat state of complete humility - which is the state of a mind that isalways willing not to know - that one can learn.Otherwise one isalways accumulating, and therefore ceasing to learn.So, can one live from day to day in that state? Do youunderstand my question? Surely, a mind that is really learning hasno authority, nor does it seek authority.Because it is in a state ofconstant learning, not only from outward things, but also frominward things, it does not belong to any group, to any society, toany race or culture.If you are constantly learning from everythingwithout accumulation, how can there be any authority, anyteacher? How can you possibly follow anyone? And that is theonly way to live - not learning from books, I don't mean that, butlearning from your own demands, from the movements of yourown thought, your own being.Then your mind is always fresh, itlooks at everything anew, and not with the jaded look ofknowledge, of experience, of that which it has learnt.If oneunderstands this - really, profoundly - then all authority ceases [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]