“Please don’t agree with what I say. I could be saying anything. You are all so gullible.”
To me, this is a sign of a great teacher... and I wish we heard doctors saying it more often!
Teachers (doctors) should encourage their students (patients) to ask questions, to use their intelligence, to be curious, and to challenge what others state as truth.
Dear Christina
ReplyDeleteBrilliant. Could it be applied it in challenging a Teacher to advance us to a new pose in ashtanga? You know we want that new pose.
Cheers,
Arturo
word verif: dingne (I could be dinged for it)
A doctor asking patients to doubt him or her? Unthinkable. That's just not part of their authoritarian facade.
ReplyDeleteJim Purdy
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Hey Arturo and Jim,
ReplyDeleteYeah I think it could apply to anything including asking a teacher for the next pose - but it's not to say that the teacher/doctor doesn't know what's right for us! We might WANT that next pose but it doesn't mean we're ready for it.
So I would say: think about everything, ask questions, challenge teachers/doctors, don't be naive or gullible ... but at the same time still listen to what they say (and you may find that you end up agreeing!)
It is incredibly refreshing to hear that a physician, so often viewed as an infallible authority figure, requested that individuals question him.
ReplyDeleteThis might be among one of the many differences between Eastern and Western medicine. Speaking from a brief exposure to Eastern medicine and work experience with Western medicine, many individuals refrain from questioning authority figures like doctors in the Eastern culture (ex: India). In the Western society, however, individuals do not hesitate to seek second opinions following an initial diagnosis.
Great post!