Bob Schwartz

Our theistic religions promote humility, mostly in relation to a supreme God. Before God all are inferior. That is humbling.

What if we are inferior to everyone else, not just God?

Whenever I am in the company of others,
May I regard myself as inferior to all
And from the depths of my heart
Cherish others as supreme.
Geshe Langri Thangpa (1054–1123), Eight Verses for Training the Mind

This does not fit easily into our lives. If we look around our congregations, we may struggle, thinking, “Am I really inferior to him or her? I don’t think so.” And then if we look around at others in our community or the world, the comparison is even harder.

Regarding our inferiority, as hard as it is on our self-importance, is an essential step to humility and compassion. You can make a list of the ways that you are evidently and certifiably superior to others. But to what purpose?

We should think of ourselves as the lowest of all beings. This is not an attitude of low self-esteem. In fact, it is the opposite. If we put ourselves in the lowest, humblest seat, we remove any chance of feeling insecure. From the lowest seat, there is no place to fall down. Such humility naturally comes with a sense of nobility, which enables us to focus on other beings and bring them great benefit.
Dzigar Kongtrul, The Intelligent Heart