Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong
Asanga Tilakaratne
Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies & Founder Head
Department of Buddhist Studies
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Asanga Tilakaratne (PhD University of Hawai’i) is emeritus professor of Buddhist Studies and founder head of the Department of Buddhist Studies at University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has published substantially on Buddhist studies in Sinhala and English. Recently (August 2020) his collected works have been published in eight volumes (03 in Sinhala and 05 in English) in Colombo. Currently Professor Tilakaratne serves as the editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia of Buddhism published by the Government of Sri Lanka.Asanga Tilakaratne (PhD University of Hawai’i) is emeritus professor of Buddhist Studies and founder head of the Department of Buddhist Studies at University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has published substantially on Buddhist studies in Sinhala and English. Recently (August 2020) his collected works have been published in eight volumes (03 in Sinhala and 05 in English) in Colombo. Currently Professor Tilakaratne serves as the editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia of Buddhism published by the Government of Sri Lanka.
Knowledge and Wisdom from an early Buddhist Perspective
Knowledge is quantity and wisdom is quality. Knowledge is a means and wisdom is an end. Knowledge has limits and wisdom does not. Knowledge can be imparted and wisdom has to be cultivated. One may lose knowledge but not wisdom.
Buddhism makes a clear distinction between knowledge and wisdom. It identifies knowledge as factual information and practical skills. In Theravada discourses these two are respectively referred to as ‘bahusacca’ and ‘sippa’, the need of them for a good worldly living is accepted without any hesitation.