Breaking out of the beggar mindset.

[FairweatherFool]

I want to stop looking at other people as either superior or inferior. What makes this hard is that it's much easier for me to categorize people linearly. This is because I myself have a very narrow mind. When I try to open myself to people, there's still a part of me that, based on whatever criteria, places them either above or below me. My interactions or lack thereof with them are influenced subtly by this. I think it's so hard to break out of this pattern because my mind is lazy, and is used to just placing people into stereotypes so that I don't have to think too much.

Also, I'm afraid that, at least in part, my interest in learning of Taoism is fueled by some desire to gain some sort of superiority over others.

 

[Master Vigil]

It's normal to stereotype. We do it all the time, and sometimes its not so obvious because it's masked. Take a tiger for example. It is different from a lion is it not? But why do we stereotype cats with orange and black striped fur and call them tigers, when they are hardly any different than a lion? Because it is easier to understand them that way. Does this make it right? Well, yes and no. It is right in that they are different because of the color of their fur, their size, bone structure, etc... But are they still not cats? When we stereotype, we act as if we can judge. When you understand that all is tao, and in the end all are a part of the whole. The idea of difference just slips away. Everything has a purpose, so if your study of taoism is because of desire, it is that way for a reason. You must be patient, and let the tao work through you. Don't try to work the tao.