Knowledge is the
gathering of information. It involves "having the facts straight."
This is beneficial to have. But all the information in the world does not of
itself accumulate into wisdom. I suggest that wisdom is precisely the freedom
to be present. Wise people always know how to be present, but it is much more
than that. Presence is wisdom! People who are fully present know how to see
fully, rightly and truthfully. Presence is the one thing necessary, and in many
ways, the hardest thing of all. Just try to keep your heart open, your mind
without division or resistance, and your body not somewhere else. Presence is
the practical, daily task of all mature religion and all spiritual disciplines
(p. 59-60).
