Who is more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows?
Obi Wan Kenobi
More foolish is the one who has a need to judge someone else as a fool.
Nice quote! Here is another that is on a more personal level for me.
“I must learn to love the fool in me the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries"
yes and yes! thank you both 
this quote makes me think to the childhood story of the Emperor’s New Clothes.
and just for fun, is foolish “foolish” only if it is judged so by another? if so, how many others are needed? and is something not foolish if no one speaks to it’s foolishness?
there have been a few other quotes and stories about foolishness on the forum recently and i saw this quote and thought it might add to the discussion for those who are interested.
a gift of my own sadhana has been to come to see foolishness as a non-specific way to speak about being in practice with the kleshas, as we all are. foolishness becomes neutral here, not something to drive out or to shame away, and not something to be encouraged either. for me, this neutrality is what allows me to create some positive change with regards to my own “foolishness.”
*nichole
Not thinking it is dependent on numbers, as a fool can know in his own heart he is being a fool. And if a whole group of fools decide on something foolish, who is to tell them it’s foolish? Hum…So is foolishness in the eye of the beholder?
Your last paragraph resonates with me and I’d like to ponder this for a bit.
Wherever and whenever “mind is at work”, the resultant perception is designed to make us ‘fools’. Mind’s greatest achievement is not to let us know about it.
Nichole, thanks for a new thought on sadhana.
I suppose it depends, because in the case of King Lear (and other Shakespearean plays, as well as other works of literature) the fool actually delivers truths through a comical means. And in Lear, it is the fool who stays with the king, keeps him alive, and helps him to see the folly of his ways.
…By the way, did you notice that if you say “fool” over and over again it sounds so strange and awkward and loses all meaning? I used to do that with the word “frog” as a child.
He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot. - Groucho Marx, Duck Soup
But seriously folks, here is a passage from Proverbs 26:4-5:
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
I take that to mean; sometimes it is necessary to answer fools to keep them from thinking themselves wise, and sometimes it is necessary not to answer fools, to guard yourself. The wise man distinguishes one case from another.
[QUOTE=Nichole;37353]yes and yes! thank you both
a gift of my own sadhana has been to come to see foolishness as a non-specific way to speak about being in practice with the kleshas, as we all are. foolishness becomes neutral here, not something to drive out or to shame away, and not something to be encouraged either. for me, this neutrality is what allows me to create some positive change with regards to my own “foolishness.”
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Wisdom is good, foolishness is not. Darkness is overcome by light. I don’t mean to argumentative here. I think one of the characteristics of a fool, as described in Proverbs, is that he won’t listen to anyone. Why bother to try and show him the light?
sometimes it is the fool who does not follow
[QUOTE=Suhas Tambe;37345]More foolish is the one who has a need to judge someone else as a fool.[/QUOTE]
Indeed!
[QUOTE=Suhas Tambe;37345]More foolish is the one who has a need to judge someone else as a fool.[/QUOTE]
I take exception to this remark. By the same logic, if we judge someone as wise, are we then more wise? I don’t think so. We all make judgments all the time, whether it is about other people, or events that happen, or whatever. We make judgments because we have to. It’s part of our nature, neither good nor bad. In fact, part of wisdom is the quality of the judgments we make. And part of yoga is developing the clarity of vision to make correct judgments. More foolish is the one who does not judge, or who judges poorly.
Thou shalt not be judge, lest you be judged yourself.
Is this not what Jesus teaches Asura?
I agree with what you just said to Suhas, but I find it interesting as a Christian you are contradicting what our man Jesus said.
I do not fear judgment, if my own judgments are just.
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[QUOTE=Nichole;37344]Who is more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows?
Obi Wan Kenobi[/QUOTE]
the fool who follow!
This is pretty tough question to answer. It’s like a blind person following another blind person. Who’s more blind? leader or his follower? Hard to say eh?
the fool!
the fool who follows
Learn from everyone, follow no one…