A noobs balance. Where to go on my journey?

May the deep insight of direct practice inform your steps and broaden your reach. 🙏

You were seeking more knowledge and perhaps had not realized that practice must go hand in hand with study. Study without practice is weakly informed and of little value.

Were you aware that my answer was actually suggesting that you would not find an intellectual answer? This is the danger described in https://suttacentral.net/an5.73/en/thanissaro

Another aspect of practice is that although sitting in peaceful meditation may feel good, it may also not be enough. For example, I studied Zen while in college and after I had meditated for over a decade, I thought I had attained a certain equanimity. But when I went rock climbing, I became irrationally terrified. This pitfall of relying solely on safe and peaceful sitting meditation tends to trap those of us who value thinking and learning. We think we are at peace, but are not. To deepen your practice, also consider the meaning behind MN4, Fear and Terror.. Master Hakuin struggled with this as well and wrestled with the story of Yantou's death shout.. With your practice firmly established, academics will be bright and full.

Where do I go from here? One thing I have learned about Buddhism is the danger of over-intellectualization.

That's not true at all. There is a sutta where monks specializing in absorption meditation (jhana) disparaged monks specializing in the study and teaching of the Dhamma (Buddha's teachings), and vice versa.

Here's what Ven. Maha Cunda eventually advised them to do in AN 6.46:

“Thus, friends, you should train yourselves: ‘Being Dhamma-devotee monks, we will speak in praise of jhana monks.’ That’s how you should train yourselves. Why is that? Because these are amazing people, hard to find in the world, i.e., those who dwell touching the deathless element with the body.

“And thus, friends, you should train yourselves: ‘Being jhana monks, we will speak in praise of Dhamma-devotee monks.’ That’s how you should train yourselves. Why is that? Because these are amazing people, hard to find in the world, i.e., those who penetrate with discernment statements of deep meaning.”

So, while AN 5.73 warns those over-intellectualizing to also practise meditation, AN 6.46 reminds us that learning and understanding the Dharma is quite important too.

There is nothing wrong for those specializing in being Dhamma scholars, and for those specializing in jhana meditation, as long as there is balance and moderation.

However, you must remember that these two suttas are directed at monks, not lay people. Lay people are generally advised to practise the five precepts, practise virtue (Right Action, Right Speech, Right Livelihood) and learn the Dhamma (to have Right View).

Right View is the forerunner of the Noble Eightfold Path according to MN 117. So, if you help others learn the Dhamma in order to help them have the Right View (assuming that you already have Right View), then you are giving them the supreme gift, for Itivuttaka 100 says:

"There are these two kinds of gifts: a gift of material things & a gift of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: a gift of the Dhamma.

"There are these two kinds of sharing: sharing of material things & sharing of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: sharing of the Dhamma.

"There are these two kinds of assistance: assistance with material things & assistance with the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: help with the Dhamma.

"There are these two kinds of mass-donations: a mass-donation of material things & a mass-donation of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: a mass-donation of the Dhamma."

How do some of you find a balance between Buddhist practice (which aims to free us from our minds), and using your mind effectively (to learn about the teachings or follow your passion and calling in life)?

As mentioned above, having the Right View is the forerunner of the Noble Eightfold Path. So, it makes a lot of sense to learn the teachings.

Basically, I'm trying to encourage your interest in having an academic career in Buddhist Studies, as a means to study the Buddha's teachings in-depth and convey its message, albeit in an academic form, to students, the scholarly community and people everywhere.

A few thoughts in answer-like form :)

• You are only 21, but you might be dead tomorrow. Always keep in mind that we don't know the hour of our death so we should practice now. Young people generally don't think about death too much as it seems far away. As we get older contemplation of death comes more and more, but those young people wise enough to contemplate while young will have a great head start. Knowledge of our own death and how the hour is uncertain can be a great teacher and guide when planning what to do in the here and now.
• That's not to say that planning for the future is wrong. Rather, don't be too rigid in your planning. Samsara has a way of interfering with our plans. What you can do is figure out what to do now with an eye towards the future, but don't let your gaze wander too far.
• It sounds like you have a perfect human rebirth. Don't waste it! Take advantage of this rebirth and practice Dharma and learn Dharma while you can! Somewhat paradoxically to the above, remember that we practice Dharma not with an eye towards happiness in this life, but with an eye towards happiness in our future lives. If we practice thinking only to achieve happiness in this life we risk falling into worldly desire. Practicing for future lives will help prevent this and also decreases the self-cherishing attitude.
• Buddhist Geshe's study in a monastery for 17+ years. I don't think there is any better place to learn Buddhism. Rare and precious are the western individuals who learn Buddhism at Sera Monastery for instance. Did you know you don't necessarily need to be a monk to study and learn at one of these places? I don't think you even have to be Buddhist necessarily...
• Of the western places to learn Buddhism you might want to consider https://maitripa.org/ or https://www.iltk.org/en/ if your interest is in Tibetan Buddhism.

Probably the best piece of advice I could give is to go out and seek the advice of the other people who have done which you wish to do instead of asking here :) Go ask Robert Thurman or Alexander Berzin ;)

Hope this helps!