Why do we really criticize others?

For the better part of the last year, Ken McLeod has been offering video teachings on the 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva, the classical Tibetan text by Gyalse Tokme Zanpo (1297-1371). The text offers practical advice on how to follow the bodhisattva path, and Ken’s concise teachings on the verses each week are compellingly relevant to the life of the contempoary practitioner. Ken offers wisdom that we can contemplate and apply through the course of our day.

This week, he comments on verse 32:

You undermine yourself when you react emotionally and
Grumble about the imperfections of other bodhisattvas.
Of the imperfections of those who have entered the Great Way,
Don’t say anything — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

“When we criticize someone else,” Ken begins, “almost always people listening form a negative impression of you. Even if they agree, you are reinforcing a critical attitude in them.”

Then why do we do it?

You can watch the video below, and listen to Ken’s earlier teachings here.