posted September 15, 2006 12:02 PM         

No judgment

Everything in life holds both a blessing and a curse. We deny this when we label the events of our lives as either good or bad. The following old Zen story illustrates this lesson most effectively.

A farmer had a horse but one day, the horse ran away and so the farmer and his son had to plow their fields themselves. Their neighbors said, "Oh, what bad luck that your horse ran away!" But the farmer replied, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?"

The next week, the horse returned to the farm, bringing a herd of wild horses with him. "What wonderful luck!" cried the neighbors, but the farmer responded, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?"

Then, the farmer's son was thrown as he tried to ride one of the wild horses, and he broke his leg. "Ah, such bad luck," sympathized the neighbors. Once again, the farmer responded, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?"

A short time later, the ruler of the country recruited all young men to join his army for battle. The son, with his broken leg, was left at home. "What good luck that your son was not forced into battle!" celebrated the neighbors. And the farmer remarked, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?"

"Do not judge, and you will never be mistaken."

-- Jean Jacques Rousseau

posted September 15, 2006 02:37 PM         

Mirandee.....I'm back at GU....

"Good luck - bad luck....who knows?"

posted September 15, 2006 06:09 PM         

Couldn't hurt

posted September 16, 2006 11:02 AM         

Refraining from making judgments, then right from here you can essentially stop thinking. The reality is you will always judge, and you will always have to make your own judgments, and you will always have to choose what you personally believe to be "right" or "wrong"- as long as you're alive. Unless you one day decides to practice abstinence from all earthly matters.

Then the world will lose the order totally- no one is there to be a politician, no one is there to be a scientist; no one is there to be a journalist...everybody goes oblivious, confused, and dead. Fortunately not everyone is going to be like that.

I am ethnic-Chinese, but I think Chinese Taoism is BS, so is Confuscious.

posted September 16, 2006 03:56 PM         

I think this is more regarding labeling the events of your life as good or bad. And I don't think it is human not to label things as good or bad. These types of sayings I feel are just food for thought, something to keep in mind and maybe even strive to attain if at all possible. Not really sure this one is possible though as you say.

There is a point in this story though and that is that very often in our lives what we feel at the time something bad happens to us is bad luck it often turns out to be down the road a sort of blessing in disguise. Or at least a lesson learned. I think that is the point of the story. Not so much that we shouldn't judge the events in our lives. We always will. Maybe the title of the message is misleading in that sense.

I have often found in my life that what I feel at the time is horrible I later discover that it taught me the greatest lesson that I could not have known otherwise. I think that is why there are paradoxes in our world. There could be no good without there also being bad. The bad things do help us to appreciate more the good things that happen in our lives.

Not that I believe that all things that happen to us either good or bad are to teach us a lesson. Sometimes things just happen.

Personally I know nothing of Taoism. It has not been one of my studies so I can't really judge rather or not it is BS myself. Not without knowing more about it.

posted September 16, 2006 05:19 PM         

I would suggest that
reserving judgment
is also a judgment call.

I think the moral of the story
is that the judgment to reserve judgment
is often, if not always,
the wisest judgment of all.

posted September 18, 2006 06:04 AM         

Some of the things you two have said had been what I wanted to add.

Indeed, reserving making judgment is also a judgment. I'm glad you both agreed on that.

When you consider making no judgment is a better option, you're already making your own judgment as "making no judgment is better/good/right etc...". As for nothing is right or wrong- when you express your belief in that, you're already demonstrating what yourself consider to be "right", or the opposite to be "wrong".

Or stop thinking and stop making decisions.

Just my two cents.

posted September 20, 2006 12:19 AM         

There is no such thing as "no judgment", unless you're dead, or you have stopped thinking altogether.