Right or Wrong? Good or Bad?

This morning I’ve been composing a letter to my representative in the United States House of Representatives, and as I wrote I was thinking about the perils of dualism—the I’m-right-you’re-wrong mentality.  It’s tough to move beyond that perspective.  I took a break and went back to a book I’ve been reading lately:  The Naked Now by Richard Rohr.  The main theme of his book seems to be the need to move beyond dualism.  He tells the story of young Buddhist monks being trained in Tibet. 

During…the young novice’s training, he or she is presented over a period of three years with each and every one of the Buddha’s teachings.  During that time, she has to name all of the difficult and problematic consequences that would follow from observing this teaching.  After each answer, the older monks clap their hands in approval, and they smile at one another.  When all of the possible negative consequences are exhausted, they move onto the good consequences.  The same procedure is followed until all of the good consequences have been unpacked… There is no declaration of the perfect answer or the wrong answer.  The novice is quite simply being taught how to weigh and discern, see and understand the good and bad consequences—and from that open field, to learn himself and learn how to wisely advise others.  (43-44)

I’m letting these words settle before I complete my letter, but I fear it will still be  somewhat dualistic.  It’s difficult to distinguish between reasonable judgments and a closed mind.