The Middle Way

Accepting you don’t know everything, accepting when you are wrong, and accepting mistakes are pivotal. This acceptance is the tool of wisdom. Our ego deludes us into believes it has nothing to gain from other people, it even makes us believes we are always right. Obviously, no one knows everything, yet it’s hard to admit when we don’t know something or when we are wrong. This is the delusion of ego we are here to shatter.

Admit to the Unknown
Admitting to the unknown is the only way to turn that unknown into a known. If you think you know something, a mental barrier like that of a brick wall is raised, and nothing gets past that brick wall. If you are unwilling to listen to someone, it’s impossible to learn from what they have to say.

Mistakes are just that
The same principle is also behind admitting when you are wrong or made a mistake. Mistakes aren’t made on purpose, they are the general result of a lack of understanding. When you admit you are wrong, you then have the opportunity to correct this in the future. Accepting the consequences of one’s actions is one of the Buddha’s Five Remembrances.

Accept you don’t know all
When accepting you don’t know something, or admitting to a mistake or being wrong, Ego is deflated as a result. This is very important on the path to liberation. No one knows everything, but Ego will make you believe you are always right, which is impossible. Coming to the terms of your humanity is liberating and an enabler. After this acceptance, you can then begin to learn what you don’t know and turn it into something you know(and repeat ad nauseum).

Another great benefit of this is that those around you will gain respect for you. It also creates a positive, resolution based environment, instead of a negative, blame based environment.

I recently spent a whole morning believing I knew the best way to purchase something. Two much wiser men spent hours telling me I could get it much cheaper, and explained how the system worked. I refused to believe them, sure that I knew better and I was right. I even went as far as accusing them of being egotistical. Through their persistent, I eventually understood that they had far greater experience, that this was my first time, and the whole thing was my Ego.

Results of Deflating Ego
Cutting Ego out of the way and seeing the truth of the situation was very beautiful. To see that Ego was fighting out of pride was a great relief. The result of all this was a greater understanding of how things work, a fair amount of money saved, and a huge drop in tension in the work place.

Admit to being wrong, Admit to not knowing everything. Listen to others, ask for help. These are the signs of dharma, of natural law;Wisdom.

This post is a personal reflection and reminder of the crafty nature of Ego. May it hopefully be a warning/light to others.

EDIT: Post added to 5 of the fifth…of March

Tags: No Tags.
Related posts:-

How Sitting Practice Enhances Life

Time as a tool of Mind

Your Personal Meditation Guide; The Five Faculties

Results of Practice

Using a Mala

Popularity: 3%