"Out of the mouths of *ssholes... "

"Out of the mouths of *ssholes... "

Ananda:

Not everybody who joined The Sangha was highly evolved. In fact, just the opposite: we seemed to collect troubled souls that more conventional institutions had rejected.

But even these made important contributions to the community.

There was one guy, a total "jerk," who argued with everyone about everything all the time. He never did a lick of work, either, unless his job was just to be obnoxious.

Even so, he was often the only one to catch what the Yogi was saying.

He would also make a lot of important points in our discussions. And sometimes, when he did, the Yogi would say (sort of jokingly, from the corner of his mouth), "Out of the mouths of *ssholes..."

Ed.:

Truth can come from any source. The "people we like" are often the ones who just tell us what we want to hear.

Saints, on the other hand, often make terrible neighbors.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

Questions:

1. Do you know a person like the one described? How can you learn to appreciate such a person?

2. Can we accept "the right message" when it comes from "the wrong source"? Why or why not?