Bad Reputation
The Dalai Lama reflects on praise and blame in his commentary on lines from Longchen Rabjam's Finding Comfort and Ease in Meditation on the Great Perfection.
See the equality of praise and blame,- approval and disapproval, good
- and bad reputation,
- For they are just like illusions or
- dreams and have no true existence.
THIS VERSE REFERS to the Eight Worldly Concerns: wanting to be praised and not wanting to be criticized, wanting happiness and not wanting suffering, wanting gain and not wanting loss, and wanting fame and approval and not wanting rejection and disgrace. We all experience these, don't we? Even animals probably have them in some slight measure.
I think all of us are concerned in particular about maintaining a good reputation. For example, when I am up here on this throne teaching, from time to time, somewhere in the back of my mind, there appears the thought: How am I doing? How are people going to react to this? Are they going to praise me? Maybe not . . . Oh! That did not go well. Will people criticize me? Whenever this happens I need to catch myself and say, Look, now that I am here on this throne transmitting the dharma teachings, I should not allow myself to be affected like this by the eight worldly concerns.
However, we will find that hopes, fears, and discursive thoughts of every description will come into our minds. Even very pure monks might sometimes harbor a concern in the back of their mind about whether or not people give them a few words of praise. Even worse, they might start trying to impress others in order to receive offerings or be invited to perform rituals. Thoughts like these are really dreadful. The Eight Worldly Concerns can creep up on us, quite stealthily and sneakily, and even when we do something virtuous, they will try to find a way to slip in.
As it says in The Way of the Bodhisattva, praise and a good reputation do nothing to increase our longevity or good health. Maybe if lots of people praised us we might get a bit richer! But apart from that, praise does not make us live longer or in better health or help us in any other way. If people criticize us, it does not make us sick or unhealthy and nor does it shorten our lives. It does not affect us in any substantial way at all.
If we really stop to think about praise and criticism, we will see they do not have the least importance. Whether we receive praise or criticism is of no account. The only important thing is that we have a pure motivation, and let the law of cause and effect be our witness. If we are really honest, we can see that it makes no difference whether we receive praise and acclaim. The whole world might sing our praises, but if we have done something wrong, then we will still have to suffer the consequences for ourselves, and we cannot escape them. If we act only out of a pure motivation, all the beings of the three realms can criticize and rebuke us, but none of them will be able to cause us to suffer. According to the law of karma, each and every one of us must answer individually for our actions.
This is how we can put a stop to these kinds of thoughts altogether, by seeing how they are completely insubstantial, like dreams or magical illusions. When people praise us and we glow with delight, it is because we think that being praised is beneficial. But that is like thinking that there is some substance to a rainbow or a dream. However much benefit appears to accrue from praise and acclaim, actually there's none at all. However convincing it seems, it is as unreal as a magician's illusion. And so Longchen advises:
- Learn to bear them patiently, as if
- they were mere echoes.
In exactly the same way, when somebody says something unpleasant or hurtful to us, we need to learn to be patient and forbearing and remind ourselves that their words are just like the sounds of an echo, equally insubstantial and unreal.
From Mind in Comfort and Ease, © 2007 by H.H. the Dalai Lama. Reprinted by arrangement with Wisdom Publications, Inc., wisdompubs.org
Image: © Don Farber
I find it not convincing to treat "praise" or "criticism" as "echo, nonsubstantial or unreal". Praise and Criticism provide feedback and reaction from others, whether correct or not. Besides, it is compassionate to praise someone struggling and achieving positive results. The central matter is to build a free self that is unaffected or rather uncontrolled by the reaction of the environment. Nichiren Buddhism teaches that the correct attitude is not to be "carried away" by the influence of praise or criticism, disgrace or honour... (but not to try to imagine them as unreal or empty echo!). Nichiren quotes:
"Worthy persons deserve to be called so because they are not carried away by the eight winds:
prosperity, decline,
disgrace, honor,
praise, censure,
suffering, and pleasure.
They are neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline".
I think the middle way is this: neither to be elated (by praise) nor grieved (by criticism). Positive or negative reaction of others is not an "illusion". And it is important (and compassionate) to wisely respond without emotionalism - (but not to treat people's reactions whether + or - as illusion or unreal).
http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=794&m=3&q=Worthy%20persons%20des...
but you seem to be missing the central point, my friend. it is ALL an illusion. just a dream...
I'd sophisticate this a bit: as though just illusion or dream.
Very nicely explicated; as a Buddhist in the Theravadin tradition, it is lovely to see the same views described in Nichiren. Perhaps the traditions are not so different after all.
This is a great article. I agree that one must focus on one's motivation and not the reaction of others. Reactions are illusions and many have agendas.
Thanks safwan for posting the quote from Nichiren and your thoughts about the middle way. I very much agree that "The central matter is to build a free self that is unaffected or rather uncontrolled by the reaction of the environment." and I imagine the Dalai Lama would also agree. I suspect, though, that the Dalai Lama may have been arguing against the western tendency to look to external sources for a sense of self esteem. At least, this is what I take from this writing. It speaks to me because I have a friend who is very dependent on the opinions of others for a sense of self-esteem, and she gets angry when she does not receive the praise that she thinks she deserves. For her, it's more than a matter of temporarily getting carried away, it's a matter of a basic sense of self-esteem. So I think the Dalai Lama might say to my friend that it would be helpful for her to consider the words of others as inconsequential and realize that she is the only one who can give herself a sense of well-being from the inside.
This was really helpful for me. I am a musician so subject to criticism and praise which is like clouds that drift in the sky.
Perspectives leading to awareness come from many places and, for me, this article has great benefit. As background: I practice Taoism while studying Buddhism and lean toward Zen rather than the Tibetan schools.
Still-- to read that a teacher and leader as evolved as the Dalai Llama still suffers self doubt while giving a teaching speaks volumes to how every one of us is a traveler on an ever changing path of realization.
Thank you for the reminder of this wise teaching; it is all too easy to slip into this mindset of praise and blame so prevalent in our society as to take on an invisible barrier to our seamless connection with all beings.
_/\_
I agree with safwan. To treat praise or criticism as unreal is going too far. We can't always know for sure what our own intentions are. To ignore all external feedback can result in delusion.
Praise or criticism is as real as water off a duck's back. @<
I agree that to treat it all as illusion is fine in Absolute reality, but in the relative world, to ignore it completely is not wise. The Buddha himself taught Rahula to consider whether an action he was contemplating would be "praised by the wise" as an indicator of whether or not he should proceed. Note that he only suggested taking the feedback of the wise seriously, not merely popular opinion.
Realizing it is ephemeral should not preclude us from learning from constructive criticism or praise; we may be perfect at heart, but there is always room for improvement! I think the DL is suggesting we learn from praise or criticism and then move on, without being excessively preoccupied or forming our ego around it; not to ignore it completely.
What you mentioned, Sharmila, about the Buddha's thought of "considering the opinion of the wise", is probably the background of the statement:
" To be praised by fools, that's the greatest shame":
http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=287&m=3&q=praised%20by
it may me think of alert on our intention and developing listening...thank you for the article and all the coments
Thank you for this article - it serves as a great reminder to go within rather that reaching outward for justification.
I experience knowing, whatever another says, praise or blame, that the only truth is within. I cannot kid myself. If my actions are less than they could be, I know it. If they are true to my efforts, I also know that.
Not bullshitting yourself, by accepting other's outside view of you, is vital to self-knowledge.