What is wisdom?

I recently came across this short video of Slavoj Žižek talking about why he is "generally opposed to wisdom." He says:

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You do something risky and succeed, a wise man will say something like "only those who risk will profit."

If you do the same thing but fail, a wise man will come and say "you cannot urinate against the wind."

Whatever you do, a wise man will come and justify it.

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Then he gives a thought experiment with four separate statements that all oppose each other but can all be sold as wisdom:

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1. Why are we running after these miserable earthly pleasures? The only satisfaction is eternity.
2. Why run after the specter of eternity? Carpe diem! Grasp what you have here.
3. Why be caught in the contrast between eternity and temporary existence? The true wisdom is to seek eternity in fleeting temporary pleasures.
4. We are forever condemned between the two. A wise man accepts this.

Whatever I say, you can sell it as wisdom.

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What do zen masters say about wisdom? Is the "wisdom" mentioned in zen texts the same as this wisdom described by Zizek, or is it something entirely different?

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The nature of wisdom is such as it is of itself; it is not disposed of by causes. It is also called the knot of substance, and the cluster of substance. It is not known by knowledge, not discerned by consciousness—it is entirely beyond mental calculation. Frozen and silent, understanding ended, thought and judgment are forever gone—like the flow of the ocean having ended, waves do not rise again.

Baizhang

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How about this business with contradictory statements all being perceived as true?

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To say that people have an enlightened nature is to slander the enlightened, their teachings, and communities.  To say that people have no enlightened nature is to slander the enlightened, their teachings, and communities.  If you say there is an enlightened nature, this is slander by attachment; if you say there is no enlightened nature, this is called slander by falsehood.

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If a Buddha would not speak, people would have no hope of liberation, but if a Buddha did speak, people would follow the words to produce interpretations, with little benefit and much disadvantage.  Therefore Buddha said, “I would rather not explain the truth, but enter extinction right away.”

Baizhang

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“The word of the Buddha has no statement”

“Utimate truth is not a statement, nor is ultimate truth what is expressed by a statement.”

Lankavatara sutra (maybe not zen but certainly related)

Submitted April 19, 2021 at 09:43PM by anon6789017 https://ift.tt/3xa8U2E