As the Buddha rightly said, "Individuals who assume that they know others are only deceiving themselves." Time after time, our assumptions about others are proven wrong, yet it is difficult to overcome the impulse to jump to conclusions or form beliefs based on assumptions. For instance, when we see someone smiling at us, this does not tell us anything about their actual intentions. Just as we should be cautious in forming judgments about others, we should also be respectful of others and act cautiously since we do not want to hurt anyone out of ignorance. For example, when we visit other communities and countries, it is important that we understand their culture and traditions at least to a certain extent, since otherwise there is the chance that we may unknowingly offend others. This picture might give an indication of how people tend to read others’ actions from very different perspectives.
正如世尊所言：「那些自認為很了解別人的人，只不過是在自欺欺人。」一而再再而三，證明了我們對他人的臆測是錯誤的。我們往往喜歡驟下結論或僅憑臆測就貿然相信，但是要克服這樣的衝動是很困難的一件事。例如，當我們看到某人對我們微笑時，我們並無法得知他們的真實意圖是如何。如同我們應謹慎地對他人做出判斷，我們也應保持對他人的尊重並謹慎行事，我們不想因爲無知而傷害到任何人。舉例來說，當我們拜訪其他區域和國家時，很重要的是，對於他們的文化和傳統，應該至少要有一定程度的了解，否則很可能會在不知不覺中冒犯了他人。這張圖片說明了人們為何傾向於從不同的角度來看待他人的行為。
苏曼迦旺
