The wise man

Zen

Zen

Community Member
MBTI
INFJ
Enneagram
9w1


This line has always fascinated me. Intuitively I think I understand it but I find myself second guessing this phrase all the time. In order to be one with all that is I would like to think you would have to be an introvert. You need time to reflect and think about things. Meditate to arrive at the truth. Is the man who needs to be in a crowd weak? Can an extroverted become wise?

I would love to hear your thoughts and wisdom on this saying.
 
Holding on to insight while perfectly alone is way easier than having it while interacting with others.
 
ruji said:
Are you shaming people who like to socialize to make yourself feel superior? That is not very zen of you.
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I hoped you would reply to this being an ESTJ. I totally see where your comment is coming from. This saying has always made me think twice. Trust me bones it is no easy task to try to understand myself let alone others. Extroverted people are generally happier than introverted people. I did not create this saying but there is one general truth... The wise man is generally found alone.

My question to you is can an extroverted man or woman become wise?
 
The phrase isn't really about being an introvert or extrovert.
A wise man can always be found alone - thinking 'alone' and for himself.
A weak man with a crowd - going along with other's ideas without thinking for himself.
 
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It's said that the unexamined life is not worth living. It's also been said that a man wrapped up in himself makes for a very small package.

Every day we can observe the sun rise and then set. Every minute we can observe inward and outward breaths. We don't ask which is more important, the inward or the outward breath.

A true sage could be found anywhere, meditating on a mountain or in the middle of a crowd - she neither needs nor rejects either one.
 
Zen said:
My question to you is can an extroverted man or woman become wise?
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Asa said:
The phrase isn't really about being an introvert or extrovert.
A wise man can always be found alone - thinking 'alone' and for himself.
A weak man with a crowd - going along with other's ideas without thinking for himself.
Click to expand...

Yea I don't think the quote has anything at all to do with introversion or extroversion. It is a matter of personal journey. Your journey is your own, no one else's. Following other's journey is not going down your path it's following somebody else's.

Extroverts are perfectly capable of deep reflection, though it often appears otherwise. Similarly, introverts are perfectly capable of running wild and free and getting their hands dirty in the real world. Why would you ever think that one was superior to the other? Or that one would be a "better" path? They are both required.
 
Consider this, an introvert is used to looking inward and an intuitive feeler would also be acquainted with periods of no internal dialogue. Therefore it may well be harder for and introverted feeler to meditatively attain real insight. Where as if an extrovert who in unaccustomed to peering inward and quieting the mind should attain some level of success would it not seem logical that insight would actually come easier perhaps even have a deeper meaning?
 
Imo the quote doesn't explain itself enough to a point that I found it having multiple meanings.

You can see it as a wise men following a crowd achieving nothing out of the ordinary and therefore not wise, vice versa the wise one stays alone and think deeper into himself. Or, say, the so call wise one fears rejection and stand somewhere outside the circle not mixing with the others, and having so call unique value to make himself more like a saint..

Being different is hellish, doesn't really mean you cannot have simular hobbies that my friends have. It is just that they always remain so unbearably shallow and without substance. You can look perfectly normal while you really aren't so "normal" in thought and action. I personally won't join anymore ordinary religion and people who are religious usually let me get away with it. And at times, people get along with each other by not mentioning.. too much about oneself.
 
We are still alone in a crowd very often. We are also not as alone as one might think.
 
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A wise man can always be found alone, a weak man can always be found in a crowd.
I think if you look at the quote more in- terms of sheep and lions, the lion stands alone and the sheep stand in a crowd.
To me the quote is significant if you think about individuality and what I call stand alone spirit. Not having to follow the crowd and go along with others and the majority - this may be some thing that introverts are more inclined to do, but not necessarily. I think this is maybe what Zen was getting at but I'm not sure.
 
That was exactly what Zen was getting at.
melissa* said:
A wise man can always be found alone, a weak man can always be found in a crowd.
I think if you look at the quote more in- terms of sheep and lions, the lion stands alone and the sheep stand in a crowd.
To me the quote is significant if you think about individuality and what I call stand alone spirit. Not having to follow the crowd and go along with others and the majority - this may be some thing that introverts are more inclined to do, but not necessarily. I think this is maybe what Zen was getting at but I'm not sure.
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That is exactly what Zen was getting at. Thank you.

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I want to post this image here for future consideration. The initial image will vanish over time because it was posted with image shack. Thank you to this forum to let us all copy and paste. I will do so here.
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