If one walks looking far ahead and pays no attention
to the ground beneath his eyes, he will stumble. If one
gazes critically upon others and forgets to look into himself,
he will bring tragedy upon himself. - Rennyo Shonin

There was a Buddhist monk named Gessen, who was noted as a very talented artist. He had, however, a very peculiar trait. Whenever he started a drawing or painting, he would always insist on being paid in advance. And, needless to say, his fees were always exorbitant. He therefore gained a reputation as being a "stingy and greedy" artist.

A geisha once gave him a commission for a painting. "How much can you pay?" he asked. "Whatever you charge," she replied, "but I want you to do the work before me."

So a few days later, the geisha called Gessen. She was holding a party for her patron. Gessen, without hesitation, began his painting swiftly and thoughtfully. His painting was beautiful and bright. When he completed the painting, he asked for the high fee. This was probably the highest fee he received for any of his painting.

The geisha paid him, then turned to her patron, saying, "All this artist, this monk, wants is money. His paintings are fine and beautiful, but his mind is cloudy and tainted. Money causes his mind to become tainted. And, because of it, this painting, no matter how beautiful it may seem, is unworthy to exhibit. It is about as good as one of my petticoats." She then took one of her petticoats and asked him to do another painting on the back of it. He simply asked without a pause, "How much will you pay?"

"Any amount," replied the geisha. Gessen then named another high price. Then he quickly and effortlessly painted the picture as she wanted, received his fee, and left.

Many years later, quite by chance, someone discovered Gessen's reasons for his relentless request for payment on each of his paintings, even as his reputation as a greedy and stingy artist persisted in some circles.

Poverty was prevalent in his home province. Devastating famine often struck his area. The rich and wealthy would not extend a helping hand to the poor. So, Gessen, from his earnings had secretly built storehouses in the area and filled them with grain for such emergencies. No one knew where the grain came from or who the benefactor was.

Another reason Gessen needed money was that the road to his village was in such bad conditions that many carts could not move on it well. This caused much trouble and suffering to the aged and disabled to get in and out of the village that he had the road repaired.

And, finally, Gessen's dharma teacher always wanted to build a temple, but he was unable realize his wish during his lifetime. Gessen then built the temple in which he taught and lived the dharma as an expression of his deep gratitude to his revered teacher.

After this "greedy and stingy" monk had built the storehouses, the road, and the temple, he threw away his brushes and paints, retired to the contemplative life, and never again painted another picture.

My meditation on this anecdote: In our daily life transactions, we often hastily judge the behavior of others on biased and paltry views and information. Another person's conduct and behavior generally shows what we imagine we see and think. How foolishly we think we really know the motive and life of another person, when in fact our judgments often emerge from the hidden ignorance we harbor in our own heart and mind. We may, at times, readily wreak havoc on others with our critical and uninformed judgment, while personally resisting our own responsibility for the havoc we create within.

The Buddha, Shinran, and all the great dharma teachers and masters constantly encourage us to see life and reality in the light of self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-realization. Such a process of attention and mindfulness diminishes our reactions in blindly judging the acts and conduct of others. Self-awareness and consistent mindfulness bring clarity and personal accountability to our life and give rise to limitless acts of compassion, loving-kindness, and penetrating insight to the reality of self and others. Blind and ignorant judgments of self and others are sure signs of cultivating seeds of further discontent and suffering, inexpressible meanness, and irresponsibility. In the words of the Tibetan teacher, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey:

Sakyamuni Buddha said, "Judge not others; judge only yourself."
What appears to be faults in others may actually be reflections of
our own emotional afflictions.