Not Putting Down Others

The Bodhisattva grave precepts "Not Putting Down Others and Elevating Yourself" and "Not Speaking of the Faults of Others" are valuable guidelines for our habitual speech, beliefs and actions which can cause much harm and suffering. Exploring and clarifying our life with these precepts are wonderful life supports.

Taking these precepts into a broader political and social context is not always easy; here is an insightful comment about why it seems so tempting to indulge in these habits:

 "Any ideology or movement, right or left, that is organized negatively—against rather than for—enjoys an inherent advantage in politics, mobilizing unappeasable energies that never have to default on their announced goal of cleansing the body politic of its alleged poisons.

In this respect, one might think of anti-Semitism as the purest and most murderous example of an enduring political archetype: the negative campaign."

This comment is by Ruth Wisse from Harvard University in a larger article about political speech which makes points that you may or may not agree with; nevertheless the comment itself is worth beginner's mind reflection. The article is at:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303942404579360632011640384?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Here are some letter regarding the article which raise interesting points re "putting others down":

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304181204579367033092006614

"non-judging,only meeting buddhas."

(c) 2014 Elihu Genmyo Smith