In the sense of wisdom, enlightenment beyond our levels of our understanding, it's just working this whole path, using all the techniques. Trying to see more clearly what is, and not getting too involved in what we think things are. We really need to look at the practice in a very simplistic way. When you're trying to see reality, you're trying to get away from views around reality. When you think about what I've just said, think about the Unpleasant Physical Sensations technique that we teach. I say, "Can we see sensation as just sensation, without thoughts of pain surrounding the sensation?" This is a major part of the practice, understanding on an experiential level, and therefore wisdom will hopefully grow out of that.
I'll just add that experience itself does not guarantee wisdom. I'm not sure if that was mentioned before, but it has been in a few interviews. Experience itself does not guarantee wisdom. We have to reflect about experience. The classic case, a man comes home one night, drunk, beats his wife. The next day he finds out he did it: "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" But the next weekend he does it again, does it again, does it again. Someone else gets drunk, comes home, beats his wife. Finds out the next day "Oh my gosh, how could I possibly do that, I'll never do it again," and reminds himself, "No, I'll never do it again," and they never will. So, they had the same experience, one reflected wisely and one didn't. That's more important. Just having experience by itself doesn't guarantee wisdom, but having experience and reflecting upon it can develop wisdom.
Also we don't have to have the experience! You don't have to have the same Dukkha as everybody else, just to know the pain of that Dukkha. And that's where Wise Reflection helps, so you can avoid having the same Dukkha. If you hear a story about some guy getting drunk and coming home and beating up his wife, you can say "Oh my gosh! Getting drunk? Forget it!" You don't even want to risk it, don't even want to get close to it because of the Dukkha that you understand happened to somebody else.
Time for the four types of racehorses, because that's what we're talking about right now, in a different way. The Buddha likened human beings to four types of racehorses, with regards to how quick they can wake up and start to develop as a good human being. He said that for the first type of racehorse you get on, and you go "click, click" (sound), off it goes. The second type you get on, "click, click", wave the stick, and off it goes. The third type you get on, "click, click", wave the stick, hit it once, off it goes. The fourth type you get on, "click, click", wave the stick, hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it before it goes off.
In the same way the Buddha reckoned human beings are a bit the same. Most human begins are the fourth type of racehorse. They need lots of Dukkha before they wake up. You only have to open your eyes and look at the world right? So many people have so much Dukkha, they won't wake up! And you can see it often. If only you could help them, but you can't. And sure enough they have more Dukkha next week, and they don't wake up. He said most human beings are the fourth type of racehorse. We'd rather be the first three, we'd rather not have this much Dukkha, the first three wake up quicker. I may not have this exactly as the words say in the book, but something like this: the first one hears about Dukkha in the world, "Oh, it may come to me!" and they wake up quick. Someone else has a family friend who has some Dukkha, "Oh, it's closer, it could be me!" Someone else has a bit of Dukkha themselves, not a great deal but a bit, and they go "Oh!" So those are kind of the first three, a lot of people don't wake up on that level, and they just get more and more and more, before they really wake up. From my own personal understanding, most of you are in those first three. You haven't had a super lot of Dukkha over and over and over, you're fortunate! Those of you who have had a lot of Dukkha, that's okay too, because starting today you're still fortunate. So, it doesn't matter what type of racehorse we've already been, but if you all are in the top three, work, you don't want to be the fourth!