Two Kinds of Wisdom

The term “wise” is considered a higher compliment than expressions like “bright” or “smart.” However, like knowledge or intelligence, there are two contrasting kinds of wisdom: the wisdom of death and the wisdom of life.

The wisdom of death is the wisdom that elevates oneself.

It is the wisdom of knowing how to take necessary words or actions at the right time and place,

Of perfectly concealing unfavorable aspects,

Of skillfully packaging things to appear better than they actually are,

Of knowing how to captivate and manage people who will bring benefits,

Of politely cutting off people who will not bring benefits,

Of knowing how to simultaneously pursue the maximization of work and pleasure,

Of knowing how to package greed for money as a sense of mission for work,

Of being able to rationalize anything,

Of knowing how to cultivate a reputation as a humble person,

And at the same time, the wisdom of making oneself a special being.

That kind of wisdom is the wisdom of death.

If there is someone in one place who possesses outstanding wisdom of death, people will inevitably die in another place. It may be someone you don’t know, or it may be someone you know. What is clear is that someone who tries to rise will inevitably kill someone. In the process of rising in this world, exaggeration, minimization, and some lies are necessary. Sometimes, conspiracy and scheming are also necessary. There inevitably comes a moment when you can only rise higher by rationalizing burning greed with beautiful rhetoric like “survival.” And at that moment, if you choose the side that rises, someone will be betrayed, abandoned, lose their livelihood, be ruined, and die as a result. It’s the butterfly effect.

The wisdom of life is the wisdom of sharing the light of life with others by humbling oneself.

It is the wisdom of knowing how to take a detour even when there is a shortcut,

Of knowing how to be content even when you can have more,

Of knowing why meaning is more important than greed,

Of valuing things as they are without packaging or concealing,

Of knowing how to consider others better than oneself,

Of knowing how to refuse self-rationalization in the face of pangs of conscience,

Of staying close to people you can help rather than people who will bring benefits to you,

Of knowing how to speak only the truth regardless of worldly evaluations,

Of knowing how to throw everything away rather than compromising conscience and creating secrets,

The wisdom of knowing deeply that oneself is not a special being.

That kind of wisdom is special wisdom, the wisdom of life.

Someone who has risen high with the wisdom of death is infinitely insignificant before someone who possesses the wisdom of life.