not judging

[Shujin]

Re: not judging

Some very humbling teachings in this thread. Thank you Taigu, and all.

gassho,
Shujin

[Nenka]

Re: not judging

I believe that we can simultaneously not assign all of our complicated BS to a situation and still manage to help if help is needed. Completely content in whatever arises.

Gassho.

Jen

[senryu]

Re: not judging

Thanks Sensei Taigu for this real-life teaching.
I feel that precepts and behavior-rules may be teached like all in martial arts: if it is not lived, it is not learned. And we learn first in the skin of others (seeing) and after this in our own skin (practicing).

Please let me to share this remarkable teaching of Sensei Joko Beck, guiding us to don´t judge in our every day life:
"Whenever we say a person's name, notice whether we have stated more than a fact. For example, the judgment, "she's thoughtless" goes beyond the facts "she said she'd call me and she didn't." Joko-Nothing Special

Gassho and thanks again
Senryu
Lima, Perú

[ChrisA]

Re: not judging

Please let me to share this remarkable teaching of Sensei Joko Beck, guiding us to don´t judge in our every day life:
"Whenever we say a person's name, notice whether we have stated more than a fact. For example, the judgment, "she's thoughtless" goes beyond the facts "she said she'd call me and she didn't." Joko-Nothing Special

Yes! This act of separating description of behavior from judgment of intention is a critical aspect of assessing the development of young children (I run a preschool). A related component is what we call "behavior mapping" or "observing comments," in which we share those descriptions with children to help them be self-aware, something that's very difficult for the three- to five-year-old set. Of course, that sort of compassionate speech can also be helpful for the non-self-aware older crowd!

[Taigu]

Re: not judging

Senryu, excellent point...we all are such drama queens and we love ( at least, i do) exagerating and taking thoughts and patterns to the extreme. Practice is about being increasingly aware of these little triggers and daily assumptions, to open our eyes to the extent of our deluded life, but unllike some people who would take the burden to a priest or confess to the Supreme God, we just take responsability and bring everything back to this non- judgemental space of sitting- being.


Gassho

Taigu

[Onken]

Re: not judging

IMHO, judgement has to do with ego, "look at what that person is doing, or wearing....etc". As was stated before they are projections of our mind and our bias. If we take time to look from another's point of view, we might find a different outlook, a different way of doing or seeing things. We can all learn from each other. Easy to say....hard to put into practice.

Gassho,

Matt

[Kyonin]

Re: not judging

So hard to let judgement go and just accept reality.

As of late I have been increasingly aware of this and try to be mindful of when it's happening. I just take note and try to let judgments go and flow.

Makes life easier indeed.

Thank you, Taigu. Great teaching.

[senryu]

Re: not judging

Thanks Sensei Taigu and all friends for the teachings.
Have a nice Everyday´s Zen
Gassho
Sen

[Graceleejenkins]

Re: not judging

Hmmm. Don’t know.

Refraining from “judging” is not as hard for me as making a decision when to act or not act. The woman could have hit her head when pushed and been seriously injured or even kiled. Could have, didn’t. Or if someone intervened, the situation could have escalated to where someone was seriously hurt. Didn’t happen. I tell my young teenage nephews that in a fight, it only takes a split second for something to happen that was not intended but that could change lives forever.

When to act and when not? Gassho, Grace.

[Nindo]

Re: not judging

No judging is the core of our practice.
If there is one direction I would give my students it is this one. Not exciting. Not thrilling. Not rocking.

Thank you. This resonates deeply with me. I recently realized that I inherited a certain viewpoint towards people (for lack of a better word) from my family. It is actually quite complex, an approach to others very much based in judging. It is like a pair of lenses that are there constantly. When I noticed this was happening, it was probably the first time I really understood what "conditioning" means. This is a really hard thing to practice with, because it is so subtle. It seems to be hard-wired and below the surface, not like anger or other emotions that are quite obvious and easily noticed.

We rarely see what's in front of us, we tend to see only our thoughts and projections about what is in front of us...

I guess that's what I'm trying to say... but we so often take the projections for the truth! The stepping away part can only start once you realize there is a projection!

Anyway, I've been noticing the judging more often since. This is a very important practice indeed. "Just avoid picking and choosing." Thank you, Taigu.

[Nenka]

Re: not judging

Hmmm. Don’t know.

Refraining from “judging” is not as hard for me as making a decision when to act or not act. The woman could have hit her head when pushed and been seriously injured or even kiled. Could have, didn’t. Or if someone intervened, the situation could have escalated to where someone was seriously hurt. Didn’t happen. I tell my young teenage nephews that in a fight, it only takes a split second for something to happen that was not intended but that could change lives forever.

When to act and when not? Gassho, Grace.

I had the same concerns as you. Actually, I was recently reading about a woman in Chicago who was knocked down on an elevated train platform as some guy was running off with passenger's stolen ipod. She fell down the stairs, hit her head, and was killed. The incident couldn't help but affect my reading of Taigu's story . . . but as I understand it, the woman in this case was receiving help from two bystanders the whole time, the guy apparently regretted his behavior instantly, and although we could just judge this couple as a pair of drunks, their situation is probably more complicated than that, as all our stories are.

But yeah, it's a question . . . "When to act and when not?"

Gassho

Jen

[AlanLa]

Re: not judging

HaHa, this chatterbox place cracks me up so much I have to take a hiatus periodically, as I have been, but then I decide to check in and see that my pal Taigu has posted a thread about "not judging," so I read it and see judgment after judgment after judgment after judgment, and even more judgments even after he posted that it was judgment after judgement and so on.... Cracks me up :roll:

Of course, this is also a judgment. Do you see it? Do you see yourself?

Later, folks...................

[Engyo]

Re: not judging

I see and I don't see.
I see the faults in another; the course of action that one should take.
I don't always see why the error I supposed was so familiar; so intimate to me.
But then I know and I don't know.
I know "not judging" is the compassionate course.
I don't know why knowing this seldom saves me.
So many things like this to work on. So little time.

[Taigu]

Re: not judging

Just one thing at a time. One step at a time, Engyo.
If we want to fix everything, get it right: it doesn't work.
Knowing something doesn't really help. The doing of it is the way.
Just wake up to a single delusion at a time. Give a single smile. Say just one word.
This will be plenty. Really vast is a glass of water, or a pair of shoes.


gassho


Taigu

[Engyo]

Re: not judging

Thank you for the tea.
Gassho,
Engyo