Learning from Anyone's Mistakes Enhances Spiritual Progress

By the Ohio News Group, USA
(originally in English)

“We are all connected, thus karma is contagious and enlightenment transferable.”
~ Supreme Master Ching Hai

Recent research on the nature of error processing may shed light on how we learn from our own mistakes and those of others. In a study conducted at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, Professor Hein van Schie and several colleagues asked sixteen volunteers to complete a specific computer task, and also to observe while their fellow volunteers completed the same task.

When the volunteers were told that they had made an error, a measurable signal was noted to arise from a certain area of their brains in response to realizing their mistakes. What was surprising was that this same electrical signal also arose in the brains of volunteers who simply observed as other participants made mistakes.

Thus the researchers concluded, "Similar neural mechanisms are involved in monitoring [both] one's own actions and the actions of others."

How should we interpret these findings? One review stated, "Missing a turnoff when driving is an annoyance, but for some of us, it's just as irritating to be stuck in the passenger seat watching the driver make a mistake." Another posed the question, "Why is it so annoying to watch someone else make a mistake? Maybe because it affects the same areas of the brain as when a person makes his or her own mistake." Thus it seems that humans can be bothered by errors made by anyone in their environment.

However, mistakes may offer us opportunities for learning instead of simply being irritating, but what are the necessary conditions that make errors act as "teachers"? Perhaps a basic requirement is one's conscious intent to learn. In other words, we may need to be open to or even invite the opportunity to gain knowledge from such experiences, and this openness goes hand-in-hand with at least some degree of humility. For if we are too proud, how can we realize that any aspect of ourselves still needs to be improved?

But humility should not be confused with self-criticism or guilt. Being humble creates true opportunities for growth whereas being self-critical can drag us down. Taking Master's words and actions as examples, we can see that She shows great compassion and humility in dealing with our human limitations, but never recommends indulging in self-criticism. For example, Her responses to questioners consistently minimize the negative and highlight the positive in people's behavior. Knowing that we have not yet fully realized our divine Self, She always tries to help us break through our fears and doubts so that we feel more elevated and free.

In this regard, Master has said, "We make ourselves suffer because we identify ourselves with our mistakes, our successes, our failures and the circumstances that affect us," implying that the "I" who made the mistake is not the same as the true Self. So, rather than identifying with the human aspects of our mistakes, we should forgive ourselves, resolve to try harder and keep moving forward.

Perhaps this is where the errors of those around us can be most helpful in enhancing our growth. If we truly wish to better ourselves, learning from others' erroneous actions can be a powerful stimulant to spiritual progress. In fact, Master has provided many commentaries on this topic disguised as entertaining stories. One such case is "The Monkey Monk" from the collection Master Tells Stories. This brief tale involves a monk who criticized another by calling him a monkey. However, since the "monkey monk" had already attained a high level of sainthood, the more ordinary monk had to pay off the karma for his action by being born as a monkey for the next five hundred lifetimes.

Master's talks are full of other such examples of alertness to others' mistakes as well. Moreover, She emphasizes that we can use our own inner wisdom to "make lemonade out of lemons"; that is, we can turn the errors of others into positive learning opportunities for ourselves.

For example, when we encounter unfair treatment in the workplace, we may at first be tempted to feel angry or hurt. But on further examination, we might realize that this negative situation is actually a positive experience: What if the seemingly undue treatment is the result of karma? Perhaps we treated someone similarly in the past. So now we have to undergo retribution to understand how it feels, and thus gain more compassion for others' feelings.

Ultimately, mistakes of any kind provide us with opportunities to learn, break through habitual responses, and thus more quickly realize our true Self. And if, as the above-mentioned study suggests, our own brains produce electrical signals when we realize our own or others' errors, then the key word truly is "realize." Realizing mistakes can help us realize God. Meanwhile, we need not be discouraged by anything "negative" we see either in ourselves or others. For we are never alone: Each of our steps, sincerely taken, will always be met by one hundred of the Master's.

For further information on the research discussed above, please refer to:
http://www.in-sourced.com/article/articleview/1674/1/13/