Principles before personality requires a practice of honesty, humility, compassion, tolerance and patience toward others, whether we find them agreeable or not. Putting principles before personalities teaches us to treat everyone with equal respect. It also prevents us from reacting to people or situations from the level of personality/ego, instead, encouraging us to go higher - God Consciousness (Buddha nature). The Twelfth Step asks us to apply spiritual principles in all our affairs, and the Twelfth Tradition suggests we apply them to our interactions with everyone, not just those we like. To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in somebody else. Rather than speaking badly about people and in ways that will produce only friction and unrest in their lives, we should practice a purer perception of them, and when we speak of others, speak of their good qualities. If you find yourself slandering anybody, first imagine that your mouth is filled with excrement. It will break you of the habit quickly enough. - Dalai Lama
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 06:39:24 +0000