Is the innocence of small children just ignorance, or does it have value?
Synthesized from Source
definition
"True innocence is not the ignorance of a child, but the wisdom that comes from transcending knowledge and embracing awareness."
According to Osho, a child’s innocence is really ignorance—natural, spontaneous, and even more valuable than the heavy knowledge of the learned—but it isn’t the true innocence of awakening. Real innocence comes after second birth: passing through learning, recognizing its limits, and consciously dropping borrowed knowledge through awareness. Then innocence becomes mature, incorruptible, and capable of knowing the absolute; this is the sage’s earned purity.
Kids look pure because they don’t know yet; real, unbreakable purity comes later when you learn, see knowledge’s limits, and let go into awareness.
Why this matters practically
- Value children’s freshness without romanticizing it.
- Learn fully, then question and drop borrowed beliefs.
- Practice awareness to regain mature, unshakable simplicity.
- Learn fully, then question and drop borrowed beliefs.
- Practice awareness to regain mature, unshakable simplicity.
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