THE THREE DEADLY SINS OF KARMA 

JUDGMENT OF ANOTHER OR OTHERS (B)

 

“When you see a worthy person endeavor to emulate him, 

when you see an unworthy person 

then examine your inner self.” Confucius

 

Frequently when we judge others we project our own shadow onto someone else so that the ego can feel better about its little self. We would not be able to find fault in another if it was not already part of our own shadow. When we point fingers, there are often three fingers pointing back at us.

 

When you no longer need to be 'right' the purity of your soul will shine through.

We are all one but not the same.

"You are me, and I am you.

Isn’t it obvious that we 'inter-are' ”? Thich Nhat Hanh

“The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose, I am here and you are out there.”  Roshi

 

There are only two feelings, love and fear, but many emotions. Fear is mostly negative and contracts, love mostly positive and expands. They each have their dark and light sides. 'Love' your neighbor as yourself does not mean you have to like him or her but to be able to see the divinity in her because we are all made in the image of the divine. Love here is not an emotion or a sentiment but a commitment. We can help our neighbor in the present moment and give him/her a helping hand. We are not obligated  to take him home with us.

 

Emotions run high – feelings run deep. Emotions require discipline. Feelings require nurturing. The better one controls emotions the more one can express feelings.

 

We are responsible for our unskillful emotions. These are usually a property of fear's Narrow, (Monkey, survival) Mind. Our feelings of love (or the acknowledging, but not submitting to fear) is that of Spacious Mind. Our thoughts lead to our words, our words seed our intentions which manifests our deeds, either positively or negatively, thus influencing our virtues (Gandhi.) We all dance to the beat of different drums. As long as someone is not doing harm we should be accepting of his or her 'beat.'

 

“Actions arise from conditions. Do not judge then the former until the latter is well understood. If you have eaten what the judged one has eaten, and worn his clothes, and thought his thoughts, and felt both his joy and pain then you may say you have stood in his place but only briefly compared to the length of his stay. So still you may not know the past or present plights that plague him. Our judgments are frequently fraught with error and usually tainted with arrogance. Compassion and love are our salvation and joy.” Hillel

 

"Do not judge a person until you have walked a mile in his/her moccasins.” Native American saying

 

Judgment accentuates the duality we already carry. 

 

“Despise no person and consider nothing impossible, for there is no one who does not have his/her hour and there is nothing that does not have its place.” Talmud

 

“Judge not, that you not be judged. 
For with what measure you judge, you shall be judged, 
and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Matthew

 

This wisdom has several levels of meaning as in:

What goes around, comes around. If someone is perceived as being judgmental their associates or friends may wonder what s/he is saying about them. When we are judgmental, others listening may not trust us or our friendship and we will then also be judged.

We will also be judged when we cross the veil and face a spiritual tribunal which is governed by that one truth - love. 

The more you do for love, the more love will do for you.

Our karma will control what is meted out to us again. 

 

"As you sow, so you shall reap." Jesus

 

Karmically we get away with nothing. If our judgment has done harm to others the consequences of cause and effect will be severe.

Take care not to give scandal nor to do harm.

We also prime our subconscious negatively with judgmental thoughts. We should wish people well and good things will return to us by the Law of Attraction baring in mind that no good deed goes unpunished and we should not depend on the hope of results (Thomas Merton.) In other words just do it for its own sake.

Forgiveness which is a remedy for judgment, is to return to our true Selves, whether it's forgiveness of ourselves, or of others or asking forgiveness from others.

“The time will come when with elation you will great yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other’s welcome and say sit here, eat. You will love again the stranger who was yourself. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life whom you have ignored for another who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.” 

Derek Walcott