Being Critical = More Perceptive

It’s surprising when you think about it; the more one perceives, the more precise one becomes.

Of course, it could just mean one’s being more picky…! Here we are talking about positive criticism. This is the opposite of desire, and is called “The Wisdom of Discrimination”: a quality of one of the five Buddha families.

During retreats, my teacher is fanatical about the shrine. His home is spotless. His tea has to be just right. He has special plates and cups. To him, it’s critical that we understand the teaching; he will suddenly stop, scrutinise the group and change his approach if he feels his words are not going in. Tenga Rinpoche, after leading a very long prayer with monks, handed out notes to them with corrections to wrong pronunciations.

Picky?
Of course they’re picky…they care.

May we all be as critical as our teachers.