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Appreciation and Criticism

One of the elementary and instrumental "homework" of our Buddhist practice is to learn to appreciate in the worst scenario, sometimes like digging out the tiniest tail of beauty from the most hideous moron indeed. Try to imagine: someone you don't like much suddenly appear and slap your face complaining about something you did not do then rush off before you can explain, and you are reminded to thank him/her in the heart for granting you a golden chance to nurture better patience.

Though, it is nothing like Ah Q, but a very pragmatic practice that strives for greater freedom and stability of the heart, from any affecting (and impermanent) situation. The well-defined goal and the rationale is actually the opposite of A Quism that grows from too much dignity perhaps. The undesirable complication is that we always miss the best stimulant for improvement: criticism.

I read Berkun's article on good criticisms (Thanks, Toby) and was glad the points are largely suggestive not just for creative/design works but almost for anything, including behaviours. All the more I consider the art of giving and taking criticisms as a crucial catalyst for development/growth, no matter for a person, an artwork, a team, a community or a kingdom, etc.

Berkun has got the definition simple and keen:

"Good criticism serves one purpose: to give the creator of the work more perspective and help them make their next set of choices. Bad criticism uses the opportunity provided by someone else'’s work to make the critic feel smart, superior or better about themselves."

Conceptually criticism does not exclude appreciation (through analyses) but in Chinese language they sound like the counterparts to each other. In such context, it will be a real beauty if appreciative temperament and criticizing skills can be maintained in a mastery of balance. Practice is all.

posted at 12:29 AM | View by Post