The Sufi way is through knowledge and practice, not through intellect and talk.
Idries ShahRead
The proverb says that 'The answer to a fool is silence'. Observation, however, indicates that almost any other answer will have the same effect in the long run.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Responding to foolishness often yields no benefit, as silence can be just as impactful.
The quote suggests that engaging with foolishness is often futile, as silence may be the best response to idiocy. However, the author observes that other responses, no matter how they differ from silence, tend to have a similar long-term effect, emphasizing that the nature of the response may be less important than the act of not engaging with folly.
Themes
FoolishnessSilenceWisdomResponseEngagement
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about handling negativity, one could use this quote to suggest the power of silence.
More from Idries Shah
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You have not forgotten to remember; You have remembered to forget. But people can forget to forget. That is just as important as remembering to remember - and generally more practical.
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Banality is like boredom: bored people are boring people, people who think that things are banal are themselves banal. Interesting people can find something interesting in all things.
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Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right effort, right time, right people, right materials.
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To be obsessed by the idea of freedom, for instance, is itself a form of slavery. Such people are in the chains of the hope of freedom, and are therefore able to do little else than struggle with them.
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