Knowledge must be demonstrated with behaviors (aligned); behavior must be guided by knowledge (virtues). True learning is integrated knowledge and action, with seamless alignment.
LEARNING = Integrated (KNOWLEDGE + ACTION)
Knowing kindness and possessing a kind heart is not truly kind unless our actions demonstrate kindness. Actions speak louder than words.
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We can learn plenty of wisdom from the Eastern and Western philosophers about this teaching.
Wang Yangming’s philosophy about the unity of knowledge and action is to be guided by our conscientiousness and consciousness. 王阳明的心学 (Xin Xue): 心即理 (Heart is Principle),知行合一 (Unity of Knowledge and Action),致良知 (Innate Moral Knowledge)。
In Stoic philosophy, the pursuit of virtue is seen as the highest good. By embracing the principles of utility and virtue, individuals can cultivate a mindset of Stoic resilience that enables them to flourish even in the face of adversity. Cardinal virtues promoted by Stoicism, live our lives guided by 4 virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. The "Dichotomy of Control": by directing our energy toward what we can control—our thoughts, actions, and attitudes—we can achieve inner peace and freedom from anxiety.
Continuous learning is not to separate knowledge from practice (修行). Instead, we should integrate the two. We can continually improve ourselves by applying what we learn in practical situations. This philosophy serves as a guide for pursuing excellence in life, balancing learning and application.
The entry point of learning has two gateways: studying and practicing. Some who are illiterate may not excel in academics (knowledge assessment), the practice can start with mimicking the behaviors of our mentors. If we want to learn compassion without studying knowledge from books, we can practice empathy with daily action.
Another aspect is the integrated thought, emotion, and physiology. The relationship among these three elements is bidirectional and dynamic. Changes in one domain can ripple out to affect the others, creating a complex interplay that shapes our mental and physical well-being. Recognizing and understanding these connections can be valuable for managing stress, improving emotional resilience, and promoting overall health.
Thought is thinking from our knowing. If we worry, our emotion exhibits panicky feelings and our body is uneasy. One of the fastest ways to change this state is to change our physiology, e.g. pump up our energy with open gestures and movement, say change to an excited state ready to face the issue. We can immediately feel the changes in our emotions and thoughts.
A new book “Unstressable” by Mo Gawdat and Alice Law talks about the 4 modalities of stress: mental, body, heart, and soul. When our actions are misaligned with our authentic self, life will give us a ‘soul slap’ as Alice coined it, a type of soul stress. Mo Gawdat describes the distinction of various stresses when we anticipate future threats:
Worry is the uncertain future threat
Fear is the certainty of future threat
Anxiety is the gap in our capability to face the magnitude of the threat
Panic is the shortage of time due to facing the threat
When our conscious mind (thinking mind, logic, knowledge) and our subconscious mind and body (emotion, intelligence) are aligned, we are in the ‘soulrenpidy’ (another new term coined by Alice Law), a serendipity peaceful stress-less state. So reading and knowing the content from a book such as “Unstressable” is one thing, the ability to integrate what we learned into our daily practice is the true measure of mastery.
In summary, true continuous learning is not about how many books we read, or how many seminars and courses we attend, but about integrating what we learn into observable behaviour, through practices. Self-reflect our actions and see if they align with our beliefs and values.
“学而时习之,不亦说乎?” - 《论语》
“"Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?” - The Confucian Analects
The idea looks simple but is the hardest to master. There is no end game. Life is a classroom. Every challenge is an opportunity for learning and practicing. It is a lifelong practice, and this is a bear path, my journey.