According to Osho, wisdom is not accumulated knowledge but an innocent, egoless clarity arising from within. When the mind is empty like a dust-free mirror, it simply reflects what is; that living insight is wisdom. It cannot be taught or borrowed—only remembered and awakened, often in the silent presence of the wise—and it keeps unfolding endlessly.
Wisdom is seeing things as they truly are with a quiet, childlike heart, not just stuffing your head with facts.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, what is wisdom?
Stephen Crane writes: I met a seer, he held in his hands the book of wisdom. "Sir," I addressed him, "let me read.""Child..." he began. "Sir," I said, "think not that I am a child, for already I know much of that which you hold." "Ah, much!" he smiled. Then he opened the book and held it before me. Strange, that I should have gone so suddenly blind. Wisdom is not knowledge. The knowledgeable person cannot see it, he is blind. Only the innocent person can see it, only a child, one who knows nothing, one who functions from the state of not knowing, can know what wisdom is. Wisdom has nothing to do with knowledge, not at all; it has something to do with innocence. Something of the purity of the heart is a must, something of the emptiness of being is needed for wisdom to grow. "Only those…
Osho, what is true wisdom?
WISDOM CANNOT BE TRUE OR UNTRUE. Wisdom is simply wisdom. It is truth. There is no possibility of there ever being an untrue wisdom. All knowledge is untrue: all wisdom is true. Knowledge is borrowed, hence it is untrue. It is yours, that's why is it untrue. It may have been true to the person who imparted it to you. The Buddha talking to his disciples is talking wisdom, but the moment it reaches the disciples it becomes knowledge. Wisdom falls from its heights to the level of the listeners and becomes knowledge. Hence Buddhas have always been very much aware that they impart something of their presence, something of their silence, something of their joy, rather than imparting their wisdom. Even if they have to talk, they talk only in order to persuade you to be silent. Even if they use words, those words are used to create a…
Question: BELOVED OSHO, WOULD YOU SAY SOMETHING TO US ABOUT WISDOM? Raso, wisdom is one of the most misunderstood words in any of the languages of the world. Mostly, the misunderstanding has arisen because of the word `knowledge'. People think both are identical, synonymous. In reality, they are just the opposite of each other. The knowledgeable man is not the wise man; the knowledgeable man is simply covering up his ignorance by collecting all kinds of information from the outside. His scholarship is great, his information is vast, his memory may be very rich, but he is still not wise -- because wisdom has nothing to do with scholarship, nothing to do with scriptures, nothing to do with memory either. Wisdom is the name of pure intelligence. It is the spontaneous flowering of your being. Knowledge comes from outside. Wisdom comes from your innermost core.
That's the meaning of wisdom; wisdom is knowing. But knowledge and knowing look so alike that many people are misguided. And because it is cheap they start accumulating knowledge thinking that this is the way to become wise. Knowledgeable they will certainly become, but not wise. Wisdom has nothing to do with knowledgeability. It is not that you are well-informed. Wisdom means insight; not information but clarity, awareness, spontaneity, responsibility, the capacity to respond immediately. The knowledgeable person always looks into his accumulation before he acts. If some problem arises the knowledgeable person goes into his memory reservoir, he starts searching in his basement for the answer -- something ready-made that he has accumulated. And whenever you respond to a real situation according to a ready-made answer it is not response, it is reaction.
bliss and wisdom are two sides of the same coin only a blissful person is wise and only a wise person is blissful they happen together the fool cannot be blissful howsoever scholarly he is howsoever knowledgeable he is he cannot be blissful and the blissful person howsoever uneducated he is, uninformed cannot be other than wise he cannot be otherwise jesus is not a knowledgeable person neither is mohammed nor is kabir all the three are uneducated, absolutely uneducated not great scholars or philosophers not knowledgeable in any way just innocent people but immensely wise, absolutely wise their wisdom knows no bounds their wisdom is as vast as the whole sky their wisdom is infinite hence wisdom has to be understood what actually it is it is knowing your own being it is an experience of your own innermost core it is entering into your own centre the moment…