[Buddha-l] Loving your object of study

[Jackhat1 at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/21/2007 12:58:29 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
gruenig at tulane.edu writes:

(3)  Jack, I agree with the distinction you have articulated (with the 
'learning to  swim' vs. 'applying scholarship to swimming' metaphor) which echoes 
Curt's  Yogi Berra quote on theory vs. practice.  In the current discussion, to  
avoid the 'category mistake' it strikes me as useful to delineate (not to  
mutual exclusion) roughly:
(a) intellectual inquiry which aims for and  impacts one's own liberation;
(b) intellectual inquiry which doesn't aim  for or impact one's own 
liberation;

It is possible to engage in (b)  passionately as a scholar (or speculative 
philosopher) and not practice the  dharma.  It is possible to engage in (a) as a 
seeker and not practice  scholarship.  The fact that we can use terms like 
"observing" and  "analyzing" to describe activities in both (a) and (b) does not 
make (a) and  (b) the same -- or even the named activities the  same.



====
In my bumbling way, I was trying to express the same thing. Thanks.
 
Jack



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