Knowing Your Weaknesses Is the Beginning of Practice

Every person has strengths and weaknesses. Yet we usually try not to see our own weaknesses, while we quickly notice what is lacking in others. That is why an important part of practice is first to look honestly at the faults and habits within ourselves.

One book explains the difference between successful people and ordinary people by how they handle their weaknesses and faults. Ordinary people see their weaknesses but pretend not to see them or turn away. Mature people face them directly and recognize them. Because they know precisely where they are lacking, they can correct those points or transform them into another strength.

Community life is the same. When we live and work together, there are many things to be grateful for and also things that need adjustment. We should feel gratitude toward those who help us, but when something needs to be corrected, there are also times when it must be said. The issue is not only what we say, but with what mind and in what manner we say it.

When the wish to correct the other person comes first, our words easily become sharp, and those words can wound the other person's heart. On the other hand, if we only endure, discomfort builds up inside and may later burst out as emotion. So before a practitioner looks only at another person's shortcomings, they must first examine the habits of their own mind arising in that situation.

We need to notice when we become impatient, in what situations our words become rough, and what we keep holding back until it later appears as emotion. When we come to know that weakness, from then on it is no longer just a fault; it becomes material for practice.

A person who knows themselves does not easily blame others. A person who knows their own weaknesses speaks a little more carefully and tries to hold people with a little wider heart. When we do not turn away from weakness but shine light on it, the mind gradually matures.

Today, before seeing what is lacking in others, may we first examine the habits of our own mind and turn even our weaknesses into the path of practice.