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Welcome to Wisdom University

You might be wondering why any institution would name itself after “Wisdom.” Think about it for a minute:

If you had to name a single quality that is singularly lacking but desperately needed in the corridors of power, not only in Washington and Wall Street but around the world, what would it be? Certainly the quality of wisdom would be high on any list. It is a timeless virtue that strangely seems to have little currency in our crisis-ridden world where power, wealth and prestige dominate the agenda and sex, violence and sensationalism permeate the media. Yet, if we had more wisdom, our leaders would rule more justly, our economy would be more equitable, and the world would be a far better place.

The reason wisdom has become so critical for contemporary society is that we are in an era of unprecedented integration framed within the turbulence of escalating uncertainty. Humanity has reached a moment when sharing its physical and spiritual resources has become an urgent historical imperative. Wisdom University views wisdom as a natural resource. Even as water, earth and air are resources of the earth, wisdom is a resource of the spirit and must be recognized and cultivated as such. Nurturing and sharing the wisdom traditions common to all humanity can assist us in raising ourselves out of the current morass of mistrust and turmoil to act more humanely with one another and more sustainably with the earth.

Interestingly, “Wisdom” is one of those rare, powerful words not already captured by fundamentalists, the New Age, or Madison Avenue. It is also a word that means about the same thing the world over. Universally, people who are “wise” are recognized as those who have a high integration of discernment and compassion. Wisdom is a quality of knowing that leads to humility and kindness. Embracing the world wisdom traditions thus allows the university to appeal to the higher self in all of us no matter where we come from or what our backgrounds are. Wisdom University offers instruction and insights into the wisdom traditions of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, the Indigenous Peoples, Judaism, and Taoism. All have something important to say as we globalize our communications, integrate our economies and manage our societies. All are essential if we are to build a truly humane global civilization.

As far as we know, there is no other institution of higher learning that is exclusively dedicated to the explicit study of and training in the wisdom spirituality of the major world traditions. There are numerous theological schools that teach certain dogmatic formulations, a plethora of secular institutions that teach the liberal arts, and myriad schools that teach specific professional skills, but Wisdom University has dedicated itself to the scholarship and exploration of the world’s wisdom traditions. In this sense, our name differentiates who we are and our particular niche in the larger community and academic world.

Please know as you peruse this website that we at Wisdom University are motivated by a deep intention to build a global community of wisdom teachers and institutions. We seek to align our pedagogy with the most ancient of the wisdom schools, and we are committed to bringing ancient wisdom into a constructive interface with contemporary society.

We welcome your participation and involvement.

Jim Garrison
President

 

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