The Buddha's Attitude Towards Worldly Knowledge

佛陀对世间知识的态度

Worldly knowledge can never help one to lead a pure religious life for gaining peace and emancipation.

世间的知识无助于纯净的宗教生活和解脱。

Worldly knowledge is useful for worldly ends. With such knowledge, mankind learns how to use the earth's resources to improve the standard of living, grow more food, generate power to run factories and to light up streets and houses, manage factories and businesses, cure sickness, build flats and bridges, cook exotic dishes, and so on. Worldly knowledge can also be used for harmful purposes such as building missiles with nuclear warheads, manipulating the stock market, cheating 'legally', and inflaming political anxiety and hatred. Despite the rapid expansion of worldly knowledge, especially in the twentieth century, mankind has been brought no nearer to the solution of his spiritual problems and pervasive unsatisfactoriness. In all likelihood, it never will solve mankind's universal problems and bring peace and happiness because of the premises on which such knowledge, discoveries and inventions are built.

While Buddhism can bring greater understanding on how to lead a good, worldly life, its main focus is how to gain spiritual liberation through the development of wisdom and mental culture. For ordinary human beings, there is no end to the search for worldly knowledge, but in the final analysis it does not really matter. For as long as we are ignorant about the Dhamma, we will forever be trapped in Samsara. According to the Buddha.

'For a long time, Brothers, have you suffered the death of a mother; for a long time, the death of a father; for a long time, the death of a son; for a long time, the death of a daughter; for a long time, the death of brothers and sisters; for a long time, have you undergone the loss of your goods; for a long time have you been afflicted with disease. And because you have experienced the death of a mother, the death of brothers and sisters, the loss of goods, the pangs of disease, company of the undesired, you have truly shed more tears upon this long way? hastening from birth to death, from death to birth---than all the waters that are held in the four great seas.' (Anguttara Nikaya)Here the Buddha is describing the Suffering of continuous births and deaths in the world. He was interested in one simple thing; to show people the Way out of all this Suffering.

Why did the Buddha speak in this manner to His disciples? And why did He not make an attempt to solve the problems as to whether the world is eternal or not, whether it is finite or not? Such problems might be exciting and stimulating to those who have the curiosity. But in no way do these problems help a person to overcome Suffering. That is why He swept these problems aside as useless, for the knowledge of such things would not tend to one's well-being.

The Buddha, foresaw that to speak on things which were of no practical value, and which were lying beyond the power of comprehension, was a waste of time and energy. He foresaw that to advance hypotheses about such things only served to divert thoughts from their proper channel, hindering spiritual development.

Worldly knowledge and scientific research should be complemented by religious and spiritual values. Otherwise such worldly knowledge does not in any way contribute to one's progress in leading a pure, religious life. Man has come to the stage where his mind, fed by the instruments and fruits of technological advancements, has become obsessed with egoism, craving for power, and greed for material wealth. Without religious values, worldly knowledge and technological advancement can lead to man's downfall and destruction. They will only inflame man's greed which will take on new and terrifying dimensions. On the other hand, when worldly knowledge is harnessed for moral ends, it can bring maximum benefit and happiness for mankind.

世间的知识，只会给人类带来世界末日。这怎么说呢？人类利用世间的知识获得地球的资源，用以改善生活，开发电源来照亮公路和住家，经营工厂和从事商业活动，治疗病患，建造楼宇和桥梁，烹煮美味的食物等等。世间的知识也让人们制造原子弹和核子武器，投机于股票市场，合法的欺骗，左右政治，为人类带来动乱和伤害。特别是在二十世纪的今天，人类为这种知识付出了太大的代价，使人类生活在永远不满足和精神崩溃的边缘。没有人可以解决这种人类自己造成的问题，更不要说为人类带来和平与幸福。因为这种世间的知识并不具备建设性。

但是，佛教却能透过心灵的解放，来开发智慧和精神文明，为世间创造一个善的环境。对一个普通人来说，追寻世间的智慧是一件没完没了的事，但是，最终会发现这是一件没有意义的事。如果我们无视于佛陀的教义，我们将掉入轮回的陷阱。

佛陀说过：「兄弟啊！从久远劫以来，你们可曾遭逢丧失父母之痛、丧失子女之痛、丧失兄弟姐妹之痛？你可曾失去了一切所挚爱的？可曾畏惧于疾病？这久远劫以来，你们尝遍了丧失父母、子女、兄弟姐妹之痛。尝到失去所挚爱的一切，尝到疾病的缠绕，和不如意相伴随，这一路下来，你们不知道流了多少眼泪──匆匆忙忙的从生到死、从死到生，所流过的眼泪比四海的海水还要多。」《泪水经》

这是佛陀为轮回所作的开示。他只重视一件事，就是指点人类解脱于苦的道路。

佛陀为何要对弟子们这么说呢？为何佛陀不直接解决问题呢？这世界是否永恒或将要终结了呢？这些问题或许会令人兴奋或激发某些人的好奇心。但是，处理这些问题并不能使人类离苦得乐。佛陀抛开这些没有意义的问题，因为解决这些问题的知识，不能给人类带来幸福。

佛陀不讨论这些没有实际价值的问题，这些知识欺骗了我们的理解力，浪费了我们的时间和精力。佛陀知道这些假想的问题，会引导人类走进死胡同，妨碍了精神的发展。

世间的知识和科学研究，应该包含宗教的精神价值，要不然，世间的知识无法建设一个纯净的神圣生活。今天人类生活在欲念的世界里，满脑子都充满了先进科技的成果和仪器，沉醉于个人的成果、追求邪恶的力量和对物质需求产生飢渴。失去了神圣的宗教价值观，世间知识和先进的科技，只能给人类带来失落和毁灭，导致贪婪和带来新的恐惧。话说回来，如果世间的智慧能应用在道德上，也能为人类带来最大的利益和幸福。