Criticism – Right or Wrong?

It all depends on the context.

To sit on the wall and make blanket statements that we shouldn’t criticise is dumbing down our intelligence. I’ve often heard such statements used as a spiritual weapons to make a person sound righteous.

Many spiritual discussions are confused: conventional responses are given to absolute questions, and absolute responses to a conventional questions. Everything is held to be real (eternalism) or nothing is held to be real (nihilism), which shows a lack of understanding of the two truths. Spirituality has turned into a philosophy, which turns into an argument – which can destroy a relationship for life.

To criticise, or judge, is correct on a relative level; discernment, discrimination and evaluation are tools for dissolving the path of confusion. Of course, voicing our view has to be done skilfully, or nor at all, as we all have filters of perception. I’ll have to admit I’m no expert in this 🙂 !

Criticism, without skill and intelligence, can be non-productive and can turn into anger and aggression – which is pointless. However, being realistic, we have to suck-it-and-see, and then learn that perhaps it wasn’t skilful to say a certain thing to a certain person… We only learn through experience, and not theory: to believe that no one should criticise puts a block on communication and freezes us in our own little worlds – whereas in actuality, we all have to toughen up!

Being honest is still a relative condition.

From an absolute level, criticism is pointless, so we could say it’s wrong, as anything and everything is allowed to come to pass, and the absolute remains untouched.

Criticism should not be harmful,
but there are times
when we have to cut through the crap!
And therein lies a minefield where we have to tread carefully…

Saying something creates a problem. Saying nothing also creates a problem. Our criticism can only be seen in the light of the four compassionate, enlightened activities of pacifying, magnetising, enriching and destroying. The difficulty is that we don’t have sufficient skill, intelligence and compassion to truly communicate.

Ultimately,
silence is golden
when silence is compassionate emptiness.