As soon as you concern yourself with the 'good' and 'bad' of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weaken and defeat you.
Interpretation
Focusing on judgments of others can lead to negativity in your own heart and weaken your spirit.
This quote by Morihei Ueshiba emphasizes the importance of avoiding judgment and criticism of others, as such thoughts can invite negativity into one's own heart. It suggests that constantly testing and competing against others not only detracts from personal growth but also leads to one's own defeat, advocating for a mindset of kindness and understanding instead of rivalry and malice.
In practice
In a discussion about personal growth in a workshop, you might use this quote to emphasize the importance of focusing on self-improvement rather than comparing oneself to others.
PRACTICE OF THE Art of Peace is an act of faith, a belief in the ultimate power of nonviolence. It is faith in the power of purification and faith in the power of life itself. It is not a type of rigid discipline or empty asceticism. It is a path that follows natural principles, principles, that must be applied to daily living. The Art of Peace should be practiced from the time you rise to greet the morning to the time you retire at night.
Study the teachings of the pine tree, the bamboo, and the plum blossom. The pine is evergreen, firmly rooted, and venerable. The bamboo is strong, resilient, unbreakable. The plum blossom is hardy, fragrant, and elegant.
EACH DAY OF HUMAN life contains joy and anger, pain and pleasure, darkness and light, growth and decay. Each moment is etched with nature’s grand design-do not try to deny or oppose the cosmic order of things.
Foster and polish the warrior spirit while serving in the world; illuminate the path according to your inner light.
THE BODY SHOULD be triangular, the mind circular. The triangle represents the generation of energy and is the most stable physical posture. The circle symbolizes serenity and perfection, the source of unlimited techniques. The square stands for solidity, the basis of applied control.
Aikido is the spirit of loving protection for all beings.
You cannot see what I see because you see what you see. You cannot know what I know because you know what you know. What I see and what I know cannot be added to what you see and what you know because they are not of the same kind. Neither can it replace what you see and what you know, because that would be to replace you yourself." "Hang on, can I write this down?" said Arthur, excitedly fumbling in his pocket for a pencil.
The world is full of judgment-days, and into every assembly that a man enters, in every action he attempts, he is gauged and stamped.
A tree may always be known by its fruit, and a true Christian may always be discovered by their habits, tastes & affections.
Each day has been chained to the previous one. But the weeks have wings. Anyone who believes that a second is faster than a decade did not live my life.
Londoners say, 'We're so proud of our diversity and tolerance,' but what if that diversity ends up making us intolerant?
We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings.
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