Humility: the absence of arrogance

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

“Humility, very simply, is the absence of arrogance. When there is no arrogance, you relate with your world as an eye-level situation, without one-upmanship. Because of that, there can be a genuine interchange. Nobody is using their message to put anybody else down, and nobody has to come down or up to the other person?s level. Everything is eye-level.” Ch?gyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from his book Great Eastern Sun

I am adding this quote to the discussions forum, since humility and arrogance have been part of so many recent threads, mostly by direction of conversation. Please reflect on the quote and discuss away :slight_smile:

Cheers,
Nichole

#2

Just to add I have recently read and been reminded about false humility being a near enemy , from buddhist teacher , but cant remember which one ! As usual great thoughts from chogyam trungpa rimpoche thankyou nichole

#3

I take your somewhat decent quote and one up it with my far superior quote:

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods. - Einstein

#4

I would like to express my thoughts on this.
I believe humility and contentment are very important and essential qualities.

However showing humility is not as easy. for eg when everyone shows humility, there is no issue there, how hard is it to be humble, but showing humility in the face of arrogance and aggressiveness is altogether a different issue, but isnt that the true test? will our ego let us from retaliating? and is there a fine line between humility and passiveness?

Thanks

#5

The meek shall inherit the earth…Thats if nobody minds :smiley:

#6

:smiley: this is awesome, david, as is your joke with kareng. sweet mother, i think that [I]i am finally [/I]getting your sense of humor and it only took me two years!

#7

Yes hahaha David I missed that one x your on form tonight!!

#8

Hallo Nichole,

Thank you for the beautiful quote with much Truth in it. It is however always very worrisome for me when I see how other people misinterpret the humbleness of a spiritual person as a means to trample on them, abuse and misuse them and in the process such a person is humilified in a negative way. Together with humility I think it might serve some spiritual people to learn some assertiveness as well.

#9

Yes Pandara but I think perhaps some people deliberately choose to look for something so they can twist the knife, I am not so sure it is always a misinterpretation. xx

#10

I agree, but I can only speak from my own experience at this stage and it is as I have initially described it, but thank you for adding another perspective.

#11

An interesting event took place when Swami Vivekananda was staying at Thousand Island Park. It was a dark and rainy night. A few ladies from Detroit had travelled hundreds of miles to find him there. Having met him, one of them humbly spoke out, ?We have come to you just as we would go to Jesus if he were still on the earth and ask him to teach us.? Vivekananda, deeply moved and overwhelmed with humility, replied, ?If only I possessed the power of Christ to set you free now!?

If you ask me, ?Is there a God?? and I say ?Yes,? you immediately ask my grounds for saying so, and poor me has to exercise all his powers to provide you with some reason. If you had come to Christ and said ?Is there any God?? he would have said, ?Yes,? and if you had asked, ?Is there any proof?? he would have replied, ?Behold the Lord.!?

Excerpt from Vivekananda: An Ancient Silence-Heart And A Modern Dynamism-Life by Sri Chinmoy

Another good quote: “Humility is the capacity to praise your adversary.”