Jadeology Episode 19 – Rediscovering Thought: The Journey to Independent Knowledge

Why We Must Think for Ourselves

Here’s the truth: we all have the ability to think—but most of the time, we don’t.

Instead of thinking for ourselves, we surrender our power to external authorities. We trust people with fancy titles. We rely on big institutions with impressive buildings. If a museum curator or professor says something, we often accept it without question.

This isn’t new. Ancient Greek philosophers described it long ago in the allegory of the cave: humans chained in darkness, able to see only shadows projected on the wall by others—never the true reality behind them.

Why? Because we are weak before authority, and often too ignorant to question what we’re told.

The Greeks believed that truth is only seen after death, when we are freed from illusions. But that leaves us with nothing while we live.

Buddha’s Practical Path

Buddha, however, offered us a more practical path. He taught that we don’t need to wait until death to see the truth—we can see it while we are alive in this world.

In the Diamond Sutra, he says:

無我相，無人相，無眾生相，無壽者相

Traditionally, this is translated in textbooks as:

• No self-form

• No person-form

• No sentient-being-form

• No life-span-form

In traditional teaching, this is explained as: nothing is permanent. And that is true.

But I want to share with you my own understanding—how I read the Diamond Sutra during my jade journey, and how it gave me the courage to continue.

When I asked myself: Who am I? Why has no one built jadeology before me? No museums, no professors—how dare I attempt it? I found all my answers in the Diamond Sutra.

Are We Allowed to Use Our Own Words?

You may ask: Are we really allowed to put the Buddha’s teaching into our own words?

That is a very important question. And in fact, it touches the essence of what the Buddha taught.

He said: if someone tells you, “Because the Buddha said so, you must obey,” that is actually an insult to the Buddha.

The Buddha taught that there are a million ways to walk the path of truth. There is no single, fixed way. Each of us must find the path that truly fits us.

Why Personal Experience Matters

That is why I believe we should focus on personal experience rather than only relying on traditional explanations.

Think of it like reading a moving novel: sometimes it makes us cry or ache inside, yet we still say, “What a good book.” Why? Because we see ourselves in it. We connect with the characters, and their story reflects our own.

That’s how I feel with the Diamond Sutra.

If we only follow the traditional interpretation, then the Sutra becomes a dry, lifeless textbook.

The Misunderstood Image of Buddha

Traditionally, let me ask you: what kind of image do you have of the Buddha?

For me, I was taught to see him as passive, negative toward life—teaching that nothing is permanent, empty, discouraging effort, and attracting those who have suffered deep misfortune.

That was what I believed about the Buddha before I actually read and studied his teachings.

But that is not what the Buddha taught in the Diamond Sutra.

I don’t know when this misunderstanding of the Buddha spread so widely, but I know this: when I truly saw myself in his teaching, I discovered something completely different.

The Buddha’s wisdom is not passive at all—it is deeply positive. It encourages us to strive, to pursue truth, to keep moving forward.

This is why I am so impressed by how modern and relevant his wisdom feels to our daily lives. Instead of leaving it trapped in traditional explanation, we must weave his teaching into the fabric of our own experience.

My Compass: Four Things to Let Go

Here is my version, simplified for clarity:

👉 Let go of what others say (無眾生相) 👉 Let go of what authority says (無壽者相) 👉 Let go of what elders say (無壽者相) 👉 Finally, let go of yourself (無我相)

This teaching has been my compass.

Applying This to Jade Study

1. Let Go of What Others Say

On social media, people say whatever they want. Opinions, but no facts.

You’ll hear: “99% of jade on the market is fake.” Or endless arguments: “It’s real!” “It’s fake!”

The truth? Most people don’t know. They may see one spot, but if you ask them why, it usually ends up as pure opinion. So we don’t need to take their opinions too seriously.

2. Let Go of Authority

This one is harder. Professors, curators, directors—people with respected titles. We often think: “They’ve studied all their lives; of course they know better than me.”

But remember the cave: they may be the very ones projecting shadows on the wall.

Working in a museum for decades doesn’t guarantee truth. Authority can also create illusions.

For people shaped by Chinese culture, it is especially hard to let go of authority.

My own mother often tells me: “You’re not a museum curator, you’re not a professor—nobody will listen to you anyway.” I understand her point.

But the more I dig, the more I realize how lucky I am not to be a curator or professor.

I know a few curators who truly understand jade, but why didn’t they build jadeology? Because once you’re inside the system, your hands are tied by rules and regulations.

The system forces you to bend to its way of survival, instead of pursuing the truth.

I once overheard a brilliant researcher in a very famous museum describe himself humbly: “My position is low, therefore my words carry little weight” (位卑言輕).

I was shocked. In such a great museum, with such a respected title, he still felt his words meant nothing because of his rank.

And if even he cannot speak freely, then I asked myself: who can speak for ancient jade?

3. Let Go of Elders

In Asian culture, this is especially difficult. From childhood we are told: obey your parents, obey your boss, obey anyone above you. Questioning makes you a troublemaker.

That culture of obedience explains why jade—such a central element of Chinese civilization—has been so little studied.

For nearly three thousand years, knowledge itself was restricted, often banned—not only about jade, but across many fields.

After 1949, under the Chinese Communist Party, obedience became survival. The Party controls everything: before you are born until after your death.

You are not allowed to question—you can only obey.

Pursuing truth is dangerous, especially if it goes against a superior’s words. Even learning from foreign scholars could be seen as betrayal. Many scholars were killed for this.

“One nation, one heart, one voice”—that’s their slogan. And it tells you the situation: there is no room for a different voice. No one dares to pursue the truth.

That is why jadeology has never been established as a discipline in China.

4. Let Go of Yourself

This is the hardest step.

First, stop looking down on yourself. Humans are experts at self-doubt.

We think we’re too small, too fragile, undeserving of standing tall. But alongside our flaws, we are born with a treasure most of us never recognize—our power to think.

I believe we are all born with a unique talent, something special, something we are blessed with.

Although we carry this great wealth inside us, most of us never tap into it. We are afraid to look inward and affirm it.

Second, beware of clinging to your own opinions. This is the opposite of self-doubt. Once we begin learning, we often become attached to “what I think.”

But truth is not built on opinion—it is built on observation. Knowledge must be updated continuously.

Socrates said: “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.” Buddha said: “Nothing can be said.”

Not because they knew nothing, but because they understood: knowledge must always be renewed.

And how do we renew it? By looking directly at the jade itself. Let the artifacts teach you.

Our minds can organize jade’s material, its patterns, its craftsmanship, and its function—following Aristotle’s four causes. In this way we can build knowledge step by step.

But the knowledge must come from the jade itself—not from our ego.

This, I believe, is the greatest problem in today’s jade field: too many scholars speak from books, but not from the jade.

Greeks, Buddha, and the Same Truth

The Greeks and the Buddha—though worlds apart in culture—taught the same truth: knowledge is already within us.

To uncover it, we must strip away the layers: let go of others, let go of authority, let go of elders, and finally, let go of ourselves.

What remains is fact. Truth.

When we apply this to jade, the path becomes clear: ignore human titles and outside illusions. Jade is the subject. Jade itself will guide us to piece together our lost civilization.

That, in essence, is jadeology.

And when you have that moment—when jade suddenly “clicks”—you realize: the truth wasn’t in a museum, a book, or a professor. Not even in me.

It was already within you.