Philosophical Sayings About Worldly Matter (XXVII)

Nothing hurts more than conceit. Claim to know what you actually do not and people will turn their back on you, leaving you in the cold. How can you tell an honest person from a wise

person? An honest person is one who does not pretend to know what he does not; a wise person is one who does not say more than what the occasion demands. Both persons keep conceit away.

(This is a translation of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu’s philosophical sayings about worldly matters originally written in Chinese.)

---

Below is not an official translation, just for reference.

This topic concerns two questions: the relationship between arrogance and significant harm and the difference between loyal and wise men. The arrogant enemy is the great harm. This person only knows one but says he knows two, exaggerating his great knowledge. That is to say, pride itself is a huge enemy, and it is going to bring great harm to oneself. If a person only knows one thing, he will exaggerate it by himself, blow it up into two points, and elevate and flatter himself.

When one gets some experience but says he has a lot of knowledge, he is obviously superficial and mediocre. However, by saying that he is profound and knowledgeable, he is displaying pride. Suppose a person is arrogant, conceited, and cocky. In that case, others will regard you as false, including your friends, relatives, and others. Those people will often leave you and are unwilling to associate with you. At this time, you can't achieve your career. No one can help you, so it is a mortal enemy of career achievement.

How do you distinguish between faithful and wise people? In social life, people are divided into many levels. Here I will briefly discuss how to distinguish faithful and wise people. Both of them are far from pride. That is, neither are proud. Know a little, say a little, know two things, say two things, and don't exaggerate or reduce. This is called a faithful man. Understand a thousand pieces of knowledge, but refrain from saying anything that can cause contradictions or can't bring benefits to people. Say things that can bring benefits to people and can increase people's well-being. That is, the wise man only says what he should but doesn't say what he is not supposed to. The point of a wise man is to say things according to the timing. If it is time, he speaks for the happiness and benefit of other people.