Bum Grasshopper Posted November 5, 2007 Let me put this scenario to you all: A stranger moves into your neighborhood. You find that this person is on the sex offender list. You immediately gather your children and sternly warn them to stay far away from the house and the person. You instill fear in your children that this person is BAD and DANGEROUS! You call all your neighbors and inform them of your find. You are protecting your children from their innocents. It is your duty. Neighbors take up action to try to get this person out. Everyone sneers at him and offers no kindness. Later you find that the reason this person is on the sex offenders list because he got caught taking a piss behind a bar and got arrested for indecent exposure. He has a steady job and volunteers his time at the senior citizen center. The Tao Te Ching tells us to be kind and trusting to all, good or bad. But when does this become negligent? What is the difference between judgment and intuition? Would it not be O.K. if we sensed danger and took appropriate action? Is it not possible to be wrong in intuition? I transfered this from another post because it kind of got lost, and I wanted to hear some of your thoughts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cameron Posted November 5, 2007 Either make the decision that you will forgive the person and get to know him as your new neihbor or move out. My sense is the Old Masters took the path of least resistence. Like water..you flow with the situation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lockpaw Posted November 6, 2007 Is this an actual situation? I've never heard of some one having to register as a sex offender because they peed behind a bar. Nevertheless, if you have children, you don't take chances. You err on the side of their safety. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VeeCee Posted November 6, 2007 I'm not sure that this is really a case of intuition vs. judgement. From the way you tell it - it all seems to occur in your head. Intuition to me is more of a gut feeling - knowing something that you would have no other way of knowing. You pick it up below the level of rational thought. None-the-less, if a registered sex offender moved into my neighborhood, I would be VERY careful. Those are the kind of judgment errors that you can't undo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
karen Posted November 6, 2007 (edited) Moral judgment is different from objective discernment of the situation. You engage with each situation in a living way - you "participate" the other person, so you don't need rules and moral judgments to tell you what's prudent in any situation. Instilling fear has nothing to do with prudence, but is programming that shuts down peoples' ability to discern anything for real. Someone or something might be dangerous to me, and I might be cautious without an ounce of fear. I'm not sure that "kind and trusting" is always appropriate. That's another form of programming, so that we don't have to be alive in the moment and respond dynamically to what's real. That's why there are a lot of followers of spiritual traditions who are shut down from their life force. Forcing peace and kindness is another kind of violence. Allowing it to arise naturally as it does, is another thing. -Karen Edited November 6, 2007 by karen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arnquist Posted November 7, 2007 Judgement vs Intuition? Not a simple pairing of opposites, so I need to clarify what I think each word means first. I think of intuition as a kind of faith, it's the opposite of logic/reason. Logic and reason tell you that a sex offender is likely to be a bad person and commit more crimes in the future. Inution, wisdom, or faith in humanity might tell you that people can change and you should get to know the person before passing judgement and spreading rumors. A judgement can be made based on intuition, reason, or both. I think the reason judgement was juxtaposed with intution in the title of this thread is because most judgements we make are based on our reason, not our intuition. The best kind of judgement is based on a healthy balance of both. If you found out the guy had a criminal record as a sex offender and on top of that took the time to get to know him and he turned out to be a sleezy, lying dirtbag of a man, then you would have a fair judgement based on both. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nightwatchdog Posted November 7, 2007 "Whence the Immortal goes, nothing can harm him. In the jungle, the tiger's claws will not cut him. In the plains, the bull's horn will not gore him. In the battlefield, the soldier's spear will not pierce him. How has the Immortal achieved this adamantine bearing? He walks not through the jungle, the plain, nor the battlefield!" -Chuang Tzu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
