[Buddha-l] The root of ignorance?

[Stefan Detrez]

(about 'lack of information is the root of ignorance')

2006/11/22, Piya Tan <dharmafarer at gmail.com>:
>
> Isn't that tautologous?
>

It is. Pondering on the original question, I don't think the question can be
answered. Suppose we take ignorance as the absence of knowledge (I
shamefully substitute information with knowledge, thereby sophistically
adjusting my original statement to fit my rhetorical needs). An absence has
no cause unless something external made some thing to become absent, like
sun making ice melt.The melting of the ice is not 'self-caused', but by the
heat of the sun (all this stuff sounds pretty 'nagarjunesk' or
'madhyamakish'!), etc.

Maybe it's safe to say that an inclination towards stupidity is the root of
ignorance. It lies in the character of the person and can be 'cultured' to a
limited degree. Face it: some people are too dumb to know how stupid they
are. But then again, this very thing will be their consolation. And that's
where being selectively ignorant can bring a lot of happiness.

Greetings,

Stefan
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