If you do not have wisdom within you, that is a big misfortune. There is a solution if a person lacks wisdom, and he should at least protect that solution. If that solution is also missed, then he is finished!
Nowadays, people don’t have wisdom and there is no doubt about that. We cannot stay passive, because we don’t have wisdom. If there is no wisdom within you and you stay passive, then you will be left with defilements. You cannot stay on a pile of defilements either!
In the time of the Supreme Buddha, there were monks, nuns, male lay devotees, female lay devotees, who had no wisdom. When I say wisdom, it means they cannot understand deeply about the truths —When the defilements start to come, the mind gets distracted. For one who does not have wisdom in their lives, ego will harm them the most. The ego will do the most harm. So, along with ego, all the other defilements will come together, like the flies that swamp a piece of spoiled meat.
The people who do not have wisdom are unfortunate in one aspect. However, they are fortunate to be left with another aspect. What is that aspect?
It is called confidence or saddha in the Supreme Buddha.
Wisdom is something to be developed, meanwhile saddha means confidence or pleasant mind to the Supreme Buddha If one can gain that confidence based on right understanding, it will be a great fortune. What is the danger in one who does not have wisdom? They will lose confidence very quickly.
To maintain confidence, one should be skillful. One requires a certain degree of wisdom in order to have a confident mind. That means, even though one does not have enough wisdom to fully understand the Noble Eightfold Path, they will still need some degree of wisdom to gain confident minds. Without wisdom, there will be no saddha.
In the time of the Supreme Buddha, there was a grandmother from the lower caste. Supreme Buddha could see how she would die and be reborn in the hell world thereafter.
Now, do we know if we will be reborn in hell after death? We do not know that! We will stay with this empty ego.
Do we know whether we will go to the ghost world after death?
Do we know whether we will go to the Asura realm after death?
Do we know whether we will be reborn in the animal world after death?
We do not know anything! We live in this world with an empty ego and this ego cannot give us anything. In this present life, we have plenty of help to develop the confidence in the Buddha.
Just like the boy Mattakundali. He was very smart, and could develop confidence in his mind very quickly. Mattakundali was about to go to hell but he was very smart. That small boy! 4.45
Now this small child was on his deathbed, and did anyone know that he would be reborn in hell? These days, how many little kids die? Who will know if they are going to be reborn in hell?
Nowadays, how many old people are dying? After death, it is possible that many of them are going to be reborn in hell.
Of those who have died, how many would have been reborn in the ghost world? How many would have been reborn in the animal world? How many would have got together with the Asuras?
When you are alive, you are in a human body. When you are in a human body, you do not know the battle inside the mind.
With that human body, you see there are others with human bodies like yours. You think that you are right and have escaped from the round of rebirth. You think that you live with comfort.
A foolish person thinks, “I did jobs. I raised children and found jobs for my children. I got my children married and now I can die in peace”
One does not know where one will go after death. This is the truth!