The Problem is: We don't know we don't know

I once went for horse back riding in Toronto with a bunch of friends in a warm spring morning back in early 90's. When the owner of the stable asked me, guess this was his job to be sure of our safety, “Have you had horse back riding before?” I honestly told him that, “Yes, I did. I have the experience of jumping a few hurdles too.” With my limited English, I certainly won’t know this is called Equestrian. In fact, I did try it when I was in the Beijing Institute of Sports when it was mid 80's. Of course, that was only for fun. I didn’t really properly trained. The stable owner heard me and he said, “Yes, I heard that before.” I was a kind of puzzling, what did he mean. So, it ends up I have the most embarrassing horse back riding experience.

I started taking in students of Chinese metaphysics since 2004, class teaching, individual private lecturing, and sometime internet course. Be it out of curiosity, or more for knowing the students so that I can adjust the pace, I always ask if they have any background in Chinese metaphysics. I always received feedback like “I have the experience of jumping a few hurdles”. There we go. When I asked them some very basic question, for instance like what does a Trine really mean. Not to my surprising, none of them can utter a proper answer. I then always tell them my favorite learning process. In fact, this process is not my invention, I just pick up this learning process from others.

When we were in senior high, we had learned Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, etc., and we thought we knew everything about the world. Once we were in the university, not to mention there are plenty of unknown in academic curriculums, we may not even know the meaning of life, the social conduct as an individual. So, we puzzled caused we found out that we don’t know we don’t know. In fact, this is good because we now know we don’t know. So, we learn.

After extremely hard learning, days and nights, think your brains out, then we have the ability to figure the ins and outs. Aha, we now know we know. When it becomes our daily practice, we can easily give a thesis on whatever the question is. Without our conscience and awareness, we are now don’t know we know.

Nobody can give you all the answers enabling you even to the stage of you know you know. If we don’t take it in as if it is part of us, I don’t think we can advance to the stage of you know you know. The way I see the job I take is not to teach, but to help the student to think. Giving out answer is not difficult at all, just yes and no, but guiding the thinking process is.