Life is easy to live for the shameless man,
Aggressive, arrogant,
Intrusive, and corrupt.
Life is not easy to live for a modest man
With high values, free from attachment,
Humble, of right livelihood,
And clear vision.
It is easy to see the flaws of others,
hard to see one's own.
One exposes the flaws of others,
As one winnows the chaff,
yet hides one's own faults,
As a cunning fowler who covers himself.
Far from removal and constantly growing
Are the blemishes of the man who clearly sees
And points out the faults of others,
But is ever resistant to corrections in himself.
-Dhammapada, 18 Φ Blemishes
There are a few lines in this one I find hard to swallow, not because I disagree, but because it's not always easy to be made aware of how far away I am.
That said, it's always good being shown where we are. Sometimes we need someone we can hear it from, whether it be a Buddha or a friend.
I'm still not sure exactly where I am, maybe I'm too fond of the word somewhere... (^_^)
Real work rarely seems comfortable (or comforting), at least in my experience. But, then, I'm pretty troubled . . .
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the study where they discovered that the main difference between competent and incompetent people was that the competent were slightly suspicious they might actually be incompetent. Whereas incompetent people were absolutely sure they were competent.
ReplyDeleteConclusion: If you're aware of your faults, or even suspect that you have unseen faults, you're able to change and grow.