The Buddha taught that wise people ... - Dhamma by Ajahn Jayasāro

The Buddha taught that wise people understand what is essential and in life and what is inessential. They give attention to the essential and spend as little time as possible on the inessential.

Foolish people, on the other hand, misconceive the essential as inessential and the inessential as essential. They disparage meditation, for example, as inessential and a waste of time. They consider the time and money they spend on trivial pursuits to be necessary to their well-being. The first step on the Buddha's path to liberation does not begin with a leap of faith. It begins when we start to ask sincere questions about life: 'What is essential?', 'What is inessential?'

---

Source: