I remember once, maybe 30 years ago, I said to one of my teachers that I thought I had a full realization of the truth of the impermanence of this precious human life. They looked at me and were like …hmmm, right. He asked, “OK – so do you wake up every day and live your life making decisions and treating people in a way that’s an example of this insight? Not just yesterday or today…not just with a few actions you’ve taken, but most of the time? With all the people you interact with? All the life situations you encounter?”
Um…nope. I was so glad he clarified that.
Here’s the thing: if we have an intellectual understanding this insight, we might use more vacation days and tick items off our bucketlist and whatnot, but the real question is does it impact how we move through all aspects of our day? Are we letting go of the small things and forgiving and opening our hearts and all that? And if it’s a no, we likely have not fully realized this.
Not to say we have to be perfect – i’ll go into that more later– but that most of the time, is this how we move through life?
And that takes radical honesty, right?
So I love this quote from the Chinese philosopher Confucius: “If you know and do not do, you do not know.”
I love this because there’s a BIG difference between intellectually understanding something and knowing it in our BONES. This is what we’re going to jam on this week so we can be radically honest with ourselves about where we’re at.
True understanding comes from action.
In Buddhism, there’s a distinction between wisdom of intellect and true realization.
Wisdom isn’t simply acquiring knowledge, filling our minds with facts, ideas, or doctrines.
True realization, the kind of wisdom that changes us at our deepest level, is something totally different. It’s an embodied understanding that goes way beyond what we can grasp with our intellectual minds.
It’s like reading a recipe for a dish by never even cooking it… OR – more accurately – tasting it. We might understand the ingredients and steps, but we haven’t experienced the full depth of the food.
True realization is a kind of knowing that transforms us from the inside. It’s not just understanding that everything is interconnected, but knowing, in our bones, that we are part of the great web of life.
Not that we don’t also need knowledge – it comes in handy and we can get away with a lot on just knowledge alone. We might even be able to explain certain concepts to others so that they may also intellectually understand it.
But when we truly know something, have truly realized something, we don’t just teach it, we transmit it. Others notice the lived experience of the teacher and feel it.
So how do we get to the point of embodying this knowledge ourselves? Truly realizing it?
In Buddhist practice, the vehicles through which intellectual understanding becomes embodied are mindfulness and meditation.
Now, meditation isn’t just about sitting quietly to relax. It’s also about using the practice as a tool to see deeply into the nature of reality. We can begin to experience our thoughts, emotions, and sensations not as solid, permanent entities, but as temporary, shifting phenomena. We get to have a direct experience of impermanence firsthand – not as a mental concept, but as a lived experience.
When we sit with discomfort, when we observe the endless arising and passing away of thoughts, when we face the reality of suffering directly, we begin to know impermanence in a way that can’t be taught.
But it doesn’t stop there.
In Confucius’s quote, “If you know and do not DO, you do not KNOW,” we can see that action outside of meditation is the bridge between intellectual understanding and true realization.
This means that we don’t just think about compassion—we practice it.
We don’t just understand mindfulness intellectually—we apply it in our everyday lives.
Without action, wisdom remains an abstract idea. But when we act in line with our understanding, we begin to realize its truth. This is why mindfulness isn’t just a meditative practice—it’s a way of being.
True realization also comes with a healthy dose of radical honesty. After all, it’s easy to think that if we can explain something, we “get it.” But do we actually LIVE it? Are we embodying the wisdom we claim to understand?
The process of realizing wisdom in our bones requires us to be humble and honest about where we are and how we’re showing up in the world.
So let’s be honest with ourselves. Let’s stop resting on what we know in our heads and move into what we know in our bones.
What’s one area where your intellectual knowledge hasn’t caught up to the lived experience in the world (yet)?
Consider one small action you can take today that aligns with your wisdom, your deepest values. Take the first step, and remember: true wisdom lies in what we do, not just what we know.
Our wisdom is waiting for us to take the leap from understanding to LIVING it in our daily lives. Action. That’s when the magic happens.
You will learn:
// The sneaky ways not being honest with ourselves can sabotage our path
// How to bring your wisdom out of your head into the real messy world
// How to identify the difference between intellectual knowledge and TRUE realization
// The importance of taking action and applying our wisdom in our daily lives
// The dangers of not being able to identify embodied wisdom and intellectual knowledge
Resources:
// Episode 62: Commitment and How to Take Massive Action
// Episode 175: The Two Wings of Freedom – Wisdom and Compassion
// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.
// Want something more self-paced with access to weekly group support and getting coached by yours truly? Check out Freedom School – the community for ALL things related to freedom, inside and out. We dive into taking wisdom and applying it to our daily lives, with different topics every month. Learn more at JoinFreedomSchool.com. I can’t wait to see you there!
// Have you benefited from even one episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast? I’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on iTunes by clicking here.