---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To reject practice by saying, 'it is…"
description: "\"To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided.\" — Longchenpa"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/longchenpa-35902_avoided_to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conce_3106500.png"
---

#  To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the…

![“To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided.” quote by Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/longchenpa-35902_avoided_to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conce_3106500.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/longchenpa-35902_avoided_to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conce_3106500.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/longchenpa-35902_avoided_to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conce_3106500.png)

> “To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided.”

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Criticizing practical work as merely theoretical shows ignorance and leads to foolishness.

**In simple terms:** Calling practice 'conceptual' is foolish.

Key Takeaway

Avoid dismissing practice as only theory.

Themes

wisdom humility learning

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- teaching
- craftsmanship
- skill development
- mindful practice

Key Concepts

epistemology practicality

Questions to Reflect On

- How does theory support practice?
- When is theory insufficient?

A Different Perspective

Practical experience is essential for true understanding.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/)

## Related quotes

> [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [What makes something simple or complex? It's not the number of dials or controls or how many features it has: It is whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/what-makes-something-simple-or-complex-it-s-not-the-number-of-dials/)

[Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-norman/)

> [Music bypasses the conceptual mind. Music does not give you food for thought...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/music-bypasses-the-conceptual-mind-music-does-not-give-you-food-for/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Conceptual art became the liberating idea that gave the art of the next 40 years its real impetus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-became-the-liberating-idea-that-gave-the-art-of-the/)

[Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/)

> [I had never thought that I would be involved in narrative structures. As a young guy, I was more interested in abstract modeling. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-braxton/i-had-never-thought-that-i-would-be-involved-in-narrative-structures/)

[Anthony Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-braxton/)

> [Our talk of external things, our very notion of things, is just a conceptual apparatus that helps us to foresee and control the triggerings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/our-talk-of-external-things-our-very-notion-of-things-is-just-a/)

[Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/)

> [Out of time we cut 'days' and 'nights', 'summers' and 'winters.' We say what, each part of the sensible continuum is, and all these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/out-of-time-we-cut-days-and-nights-summers-and-winters-we-say-what/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [“World’s religions are conceptual. There are two parts in these concepts! One is auspicious and the other is inauspicious. World’s religions are into (doing)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/world-s-religions-are-conceptual-there-are-two-parts-in-these/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [I am not really interested in clothing as a conceptual art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/i-am-not-really-interested-in-clothing-as-a-conceptual-art-form/)

[Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/)

> [I've come up through art school, through painting, through graphic design, through advertising, through TV commercials and music video. I've designed books, built billboards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/i-ve-come-up-through-art-school-through-painting-through-graphic/)

[Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/)

> [Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/our-concepts-structure-what-we-perceive-how-we-get-around-in-the/)

[George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/)

> [I doubt there's any government in the world that guides itself primarily by strategy or conceptual documents or worldview. Anybody who has the reins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/i-doubt-there-s-any-government-in-the-world-that-guides-itself/)

[Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/)

> [When I was starting out, conceptual photography had become something that had to be amateur - like, that had to be black-and-white, or photocopied,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elad-lassry/when-i-was-starting-out-conceptual-photography-had-become-something/)

[Elad Lassry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elad-lassry/)

> [Conceptual relativism is a heady and exotic doctrine, or would be if we could make good sense of it. The trouble is, as so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-davidson/conceptual-relativism-is-a-heady-and-exotic-doctrine-or-would-be-if/)

[Donald Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-davidson/)

> [I just happened to start playing music for the conceptual ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/i-just-happened-to-start-playing-music-for-the-conceptual-ideas/)

[Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/)

## More by Longchenpa

> [We should cast aside all childish games that fetter and exhaust body, speech and mind. Stretching out in inconceivable nonaction, in the unstructured matrix,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/we-should-cast-aside-all-childish-games-that-fetter-and-exhaust-body/)

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [Always engage in the quest for life's meaning, which is inner peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/always-engage-in-the-quest-for-life-s-meaning-which-is-inner-peace/)

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [Begin with bodhicitta, do the main practice without concepts,Conclude by dedicating the merit. These, together and complete,Are the three vital supports for progressing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/begin-with-bodhicitta-do-the-main-practice-without-concepts-conclude/)

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [“in the universal womb that is boundless space all forms of matter and energy occur as flux of the four elements, but all are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/in-the-universal-womb-that-is-boundless-space-all-forms-of-matter-and/)

[longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [In the experience of yogins who do not perceive things dualistically, the fact that things manifest without truly existing is so amazing they burst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/in-the-experience-of-yogins-who-do-not-perceive-things-dualistically/)

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [Since everything is but an apparition, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst out in laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/since-everything-is-but-an-apparition-having-nothing-to-do-with-good-2/)

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [Self-appearing subjects and objects are the power of the baseless ultimate truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/self-appearing-subjects-and-objects-are-the-power-of-the-baseless/)

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [“homage to glorious samantabhadra, the all-good to timeless buddhahood, basic total presence, to unchanging spontaneity, the spacious vajra-heart, to the nature of mind -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/homage-to-glorious-samantabhadra-the-all-good-to-timeless-buddhahood/)

[longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [“freedom attends reality: free at the core, any effort is wasted; timelessly free, no release is needed; free in itself, no corrective is possible;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/freedom-attends-reality-free-at-the-core-any-effort-is-wasted/)

[longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [Realization that is beyond characteristic or designation is marvelous!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/realization-that-is-beyond-characteristic-or-designation-is-marvelous/)

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [Let the flower of compassion blossom in the rich soil of maître, and water it with the good water of equanimity in the cool,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/let-the-flower-of-compassion-blossom-in-the-rich-soil-of-ma-tre-and/)

[Longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

> [“pure mind is like the empty sky, without memory, supreme meditation; it is our own nature, unstirring, uncontrived, and wherever that abides is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/pure-mind-is-like-the-empty-sky-without-memory-supreme-meditation-it/)

[longchenpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

[Explore all 13 Longchenpa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/)

## More Avoided quotes

> [I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-scacchi/i-avoided-nudity-unless-a-film-couldn-t-be-told-without-those-scenes/)

[Greta Scacchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-scacchi/)

> [Among many other weighty objections to the Measure, it has been suggested, that it has a tendency to introduce religious disputes into the Army,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/among-many-other-weighty-objections-to-the-measure-it-has-been/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [Poetry in love is no more to be avoided than jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/poetry-in-love-is-no-more-to-be-avoided-than-jealousy/)

[William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/)

> [Naive optimism and pervasive pessimism are both to be avoided, therefore. It's not an easy balance to maintain, to be asked to work away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/naive-optimism-and-pervasive-pessimism-are-both-to-be-avoided/)

[Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/)

> [“war is not so to be avoided, but is only deferred to your disadvantage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/war-is-not-so-to-be-avoided-but-is-only-deferred-to-your-disadvantage/)

[Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [I read actual physical books and have thus far avoided the electronic lure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-read-actual-physical-books-and-have-thus-far-avoided-the-electronic/)

[Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/)

> [Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/usually-i-avoided-college-students-whom-i-considered-brutal-wrapped/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Specialness as a primary mode of death transcendence takes a number of other maladaptive forms. The drive for power is not uncommonly motivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/specialness-as-a-primary-mode-of-death-transcendence-takes-a-number/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [I've always avoided publicity. I've never been good copy at any stage of my life. I don't strive for it, because I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/i-ve-always-avoided-publicity-i-ve-never-been-good-copy-at-any-stage/)

[Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/)

> [“Adversity Isn’t to Be Avoided”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-anthony-smith/adversity-isn-t-to-be-avoided/)

[Miles Anthony Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-anthony-smith/)

> [If in the words which the Secretary of State has just used, the use of a nuclear weapon is to be avoided 'at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/if-in-the-words-which-the-secretary-of-state-has-just-used-the-use-of/)

[Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/)

> [I've created a narrative of the world. I live in the world - tenuously, most times. I've avoided the digital world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-ve-created-a-narrative-of-the-world-i-live-in-the-world-tenuously/)

[James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/)

> [Against specious appearances we must set clear convictions, bright and ready for use. When death appears as an evil, we ought immediately to remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/against-specious-appearances-we-must-set-clear-convictions-bright-and/)

[Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/)

> [Pound had argued - and Eliot had helped him prove - that a poem could be sustained by memorable moments. Olson proved that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/pound-had-argued-and-eliot-had-helped-him-prove-that-a-poem-could-be/)

[Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/)

> [Never inject a man into the top, if it can be avoided. In a big organization, to have to do that, I think, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/never-inject-a-man-into-the-top-if-it-can-be-avoided-in-a-big/)

[Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/)

Browse all 470 Avoided quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Longchenpa"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conceptual-is-the-path-of-fools-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Avoided"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conceptual-is-the-path-of-fools-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/longchenpa-35902_avoided_to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conce_3106500.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/longchenpa-35902_avoided_to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conce_3106500.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/longchenpa-35902_avoided_to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conce_3106500.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and…” — Longchenpa",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Longchenpa",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/longchenpa/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To reject practice by saying, 'it...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conceptual-is-the-path-of-fools-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/longchenpa/to-reject-practice-by-saying-it-is-conceptual-is-the-path-of-fools-a/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
