The exclusive nature of self righteousness

Weychin SG

Despite the inclusive nature of Buddhist, Polytheist such as Daoist, Hindus etc., if we still have sense of self, we naturally develop a sense of being who or what we are, in that we(believe) are innately right, we also may well have develped a sense of what we are not being wrong. Not perfect, generally right. Ruffled this sense of unspoken assertion, you get defensive, maybe even agressive. It is this indignance that I would label as self righteousness.

Whether we consciously or subconsciously perceive ourselves as innately more superior, or that we see ourselves as just nomal, average and perhaps, socially and morally more acceptable. Or maybe them ( the other religion or creed) think they are superior, thus worthy being subject to our disdain or they are just morally or socially depraved(acts in name of God and Religion), thus are entitled to be subjected to general disapproval and disgust. Nett result is actually the same.

I shall repeat again, nett result is the same. We treat and subject people and their beliefs against the yardstick of how different they are from us. We are so used to comparing and commenting on others, how bad or evil they are.

When we convert or subscribe ourselves to a higher belief or creed, we are automatically insinuating that our previous position are inferior? Think about it for while, what is wrong about that sentence? If I being a better person today, are'nt I then a lousier person yesterday?! What then about my peers who were my peers, my equals, yesterday?!!

Very too often, when we assign the negative act to the person, the person become negative, or evil.

In order to satisfy our self righteousness, we lump the negative act/s and person as one inseparable, a single entity. The evil is unpardonable, and to hold accountability, the person. We demonize, because as such we've become self righteous, we've no better than those we dispise. We are just like what they are, HUMANS.

It is the unsatisfactory state of being humans that we seeking answers in religion.

Antidote? Develop no self, during the path, cultivate loving kindness and practise compassion and generosity. And while we are it, be humble and do not hung up on imposing uprightheousness. Just practise the right conduct and ground yourself with that. Self righteousness is simply an adversness in reaction to one's self.

If you are practising the Bodhisattva's Way, So you cannot allow the indulgence of looking at others with revulsion or disdain. That's the surest path to hell. With compassion comes the path of skilful means, we adapt ourselves to the situation.

So do not cringe if you see a shaven person in kassa robes spewing intolerance and hate, and people actually supporting him/her. That's just some pretty unhappy persons holding one unhappy person in awe. Are they practising tolerance, loving kindness and compassion? So are they practising Buddhism? So what is it that make us Buddhist(practitioners)? Are we really immune?

But old habits die hard, so perhaps we'd like to think we are better, in fact we are not that much better, we only think so. So a little humility is in order

Weychin SG

This some thoughts related to articles posted by moderator Aik TC.

That you for creating social awareness .

singfail SG

Now I can repost this because it matters for me more than commentaries.

Alright, so some Burmese Christians are being killed by Myanmar Buddhist militants, again. Yet:

Pray tell. Pray answer. How can somebody without a womb possibly have a low fertility rate?

Now zen Buddhists ask questions because they already know answers. Yet because they know too that the questions can kill a few [questions] as well.

Weychin SG

To have Self is to develop an identity, an allegiance to a nation, creed, tribe or religion. It gives us a sense of belonging. What you want to identified as aand to be remembered as.

We crave acceptance and acknowledgement of some kind, allowing a predictable set code of ideals, conduct and behavior. In a certain way we are stereotyping ourselves.

It is when others do not conform and aversion arise, giving form to self righteousness.

singfail SG

Precisely.

I give you again the examples on Roy Ngerng and Amos Yee, they are practically history yet because they asked to be known e.g. Amos uploads a new video again which I am tired of knowing whatś new, you never did seek fame that blatantly, I also never did too so you are just a label I too am just a label.

Roy Ngerng asked you Weychin and I for something. He wanted you to vote for him not just against PM Lee Hsien Loong but against PAP and the Singapore Government. Fine. So if he wants a vote, he wants to get into parliament to prove that there is something wrong with CPF. Now this while he sounds like he is talking dharma it is not dharma, and people have to recognise it.

The Buddha is a very mathematical and scientific guy, He is not a self-righteous guy. He looks at Himself first, He sets Himself up as a role model, makes people emulate Him automagically, so two thousand five hundred years down the road even if we illusorily misrepresent Him as a 20 meter statue instead of a 1.8 meter chap, He dies in answer to other outstanding questions.

Death is His best teaching, if we call it parnirvana, well His ashes and relics were the best teachers that death is necessary even of a Buddha to teach human beings at the end of the day.

So just as His Excellence Mr Lee Kuan Yew dies, death is necessary to educate us Singaporeans. It is not to be scorned like Amos Yee in the name of karma, Amos Yee insults every Vedic faith and Buddhist faith with his taoist interpretation of karma. But yet the boy is less than lying, why so, because Mr Lee Kuan Yew was born, He dies because itś the karma of birth, of being born from a womb, not because He was a prime minister.

Your ordinary boy at a autonomous school knows that, so if we bring this topic back to your suggestion on śelf righteousness, now there is a reason why Zhong Hua Secondary School and Serangoon Junior College are often slighted as second-tier or third-tier in Singapore. Because they were, they are. We send kids to second or third tier schools because your learning ability is barely that of those that attend RI and HCJC. Morality is one thing, however, itś the learning ability, if you don have that learning ability you dont have that.

In Buddhism we introduce magical ways to counter this. If you can study a MOE textbook or a Mahayana sutra, it is your blessing. If you fail, you can beg. Go beg Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, check out His major sutra - which many claim is a Chinese literature like Filial Piety Sutra - when one shows respect to a major bodhisattva, even if itś a figurine, either the bodhisattva helps you, or the dharma protectors help you.

The best historical example of self righteousness is Guan Yu, He is a murderer yet He believes that His murder both in the name of the Han dharma and Han dynasty is right. Karma beckons, His head got chopped off.

Self righteousness cannot supercede karma, especially weightly karma.

Karma is like gravity. Without gravity, animals and humans cannot breathe and urinate properly, you need darwinism then to evolve these babies from trees which is beyond this forum.

Karma is like promiscuity. Without promiscuity, animals and humans cannot fornicate and reproduce properly, you need darwinism then to evolve these babies from rocks which is beyond this forum.

For a kalpa to end, for a dharma age to end, you also need karma, the karma of the Buddha appearing, going into parinirvanna, things falling apart, people becoming stupid, and stupider, more and more freak disasters, crimes and deaths. If such deaths fail to happen, the next Buddha is also impossible.

So now, Mdm or Mr self righteousness, are you trying to tell me that sggirls is the most wholesome website on this planet earth? I think so, because some sggirls have already become nuns and mothers since it was founded decades back. But why are my kids using sggirls that cannot upload videos when the PRC have got better websites than sgforums?

Weychin SG

I would like to point out the difference between righteous and self righteousness, also hypocrisy.

Righteous: characterized by uprightness or morality; morally right or justifiable; acting in an upright, moral way
(Synonyms include good, honest, fair, right)

Self-righteous: confident of one's own righteousness, esp. when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others
(Synonyms include sanctimonious, pharisaical)

Hypocritical: a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs; a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements
(Synonyms include deceiver, dissembler, pretender, pharisee

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/markshea/2009/05/self-righteousness.html

Weychin SG

Precisely.

Death is His best teaching, if we call it parnirvana, well His ashes and relics were the best teachers that death is necessary even of a Buddha to teach human beings at the end of the day.

Self righteousness cannot supercede karma, especially weightly karma.

Karma is like gravity. Without gravity, animals and humans cannot breathe and urinate properly, you need darwinism then to evolve these babies from trees which is beyond this forum.

Karma is like promiscuity. Without promiscuity, animals and humans cannot fornicate and reproduce properly, you need darwinism then to evolve these babies from rocks which is beyond this forum.

I do not really follow what singfail is trying to express, but we really have to scrutinize as to whether that particular public figure is really principled and righteous.

From a buddhist standpoint (karaniya metta suttanta), to be righteous is to (morally and ethically) upright and principled and to be blameless.