Buddha Quote
Tuesday October 20, 2026
FaultsI realised only recently how easily I dismiss my own misgivings.
The major misgivings I tone down, telling myself inside,
"Nay-it's not that bad-get over it." In no time, I forgive
myself. It is so easy to fool myself that that is being
compassionate to myself when actually it is a spiritually
unhealthy suppression of healthy conscience. When roles are
reversed, our attitudes often reverse. When someone lets us down
in some way, we might magnify this misgiving and hang on to it,
grumbling and cursing them inside. Forgiving, not to say
forgetting, becomes hard. It seems that he who forgives himself
the easiest is sometimes one who forgives others the hardest.
This twisted attitude pivots upon the ego. It makes us too quick
to judge others and too slow to check ourselves. The path to
perfection would be to give ourselves no excuses when we go wrong
while keeping an open mind, "giving reasonable excuses" to why
others go wrong.
This reminds me of the often quoted Dhammapada
verse 50: "Look not at the deeds left done and undone by others;
but look at the deeds left done and undone by oneself." This
means holding a mirror to oneself, constantly reflecting on one's
conduct; not holding it out to face others all the time to show
them their misgivings. I feel that there is much meaning in this
verse because we are already too often unmindful to check our own
thoughts, words and deeds. The more time you spend having your
vigilant eye on others, passing unconstructive judgment of
contempt, the more you are not being mindful of yourself. There
are few ways to go off track so easily.
If we already have
trouble holding just one single pure thought, how can we keep
holding impure thoughts about others? So do we keep quiet when
others are "obviously wrong?" Not necessarily, the moment someone
else presents before us a misgiving, we should reflect whether we
make the same mistake before correcting him. And any "correction"
should be apt and constructive, compassionately offered with no
hatred or grudge. Remember-no one is faultless (as long as
unenlightened). It is the continual seeing of faults in others,
missing one's own, that become a fault in itself.
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