Michael Zimmermann
Hamburg University
So far Buddhists have not taken much notice of a new trend emerging from gerontological research: the idea that wisdom is something that can, in a purely secular way, be actively trained and attained. Whereas the idea of wisdom as a tool for a better life has been turned into therapeutic concepts, the term “wisdom” itself has been hardly analyzed in a way which would allow for a full understanding of the wide spectrum of its multi-cultural and multi-religious dimensions. The therapeutic operationalization of wisdom in terms of defining its most crucial elements, such as resilience, serenity and emotional acceptance, is based on the assumption that there exists a universally valid understanding of what constitutes wisdom. Are these elements reflected in the Buddhist traditions in which wisdom plays an overarching role? Are Buddhist ideas of wisdom compatible with these new operationalized factors of wisdom? Are Buddhists prepared to widen their understanding of wisdom as an attainable this-worldly value and thus to enhance the quality of life in samsara?
(Presented in the 2015 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum: Understanding Happiness, 16-17 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies and Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University)