Two Bad Bricks

Two bad bricks, a story by Ajahn Brahm (AB), which is rather powerful to remember when dealing with perfection and guilt (at least it keeps coming back into my mind). As a monk AB built his first brick wall. When he finished, he noticed that all the other bricks were nicely in line, but there were two which we inclined at an angle. "They looked terrible. They spoiled the whole wall. They ruined it."

AB wanted to knock the wall down and start over again, or even better, blow it up. The abbot said no, the wall had to stay.

When he showed vistors around the fledgling monastry, he always tried to avoid taking them past the brick wall. He hated anyone seeing it. But one day, a visitor saw the wall and remarked casually "That's a nice wall".

AB replied in surprise "Sir, have you left your glasses in your car or are visually imparied? Can't you see those two bad bricks which spoil the whole wall?" The visitor's reply changed his whole view of the wall, of himself, and of many other aspects of his life. He said, "Yes. I can see those two bad bricks. But I can also see the 998 good bricks as well."

AB was stunned. For the first time, he could see other bricks in that wall apart from the other two mistakes. Above, below, to the left and to the right of the bad bricks were good, perfect bricks. Moreover, the perfect bricks were many, many more than the two bad bricks. Before, his eyes would focus exclusively on the two mistakes; and was blind to everything else. Now that he could see the good bricks, the wall didnt look so bad after all.

AB: How many people end a relationship or get divorced because all they can see in their partner are "two bad bricks"? How many of us become depressed or even contemplate suicide because all we can see in ourselves are "two bad bricks"?

We've all got our two bad bricks, but the perfect bricks in each one of us are much, much more than the mistakes.

So, are you a bad wall deserving destruction? Or are you a good wall with a couple of bad bricks, just like the rest of us?