> you wrote (to jason):

> did they teach you in the course of your degree to insult people in order
> to teach them, brother? i bet you'll have better luck turning students off
> that way, or turning them into mindless regurgitators who secretly resent
> you.

> the insulting reference you make to reference material is odd too, coming
> as it does from somebody who cribbed his post from the net!

From the 'Hagakure' Courtesy of 'The Way of the Christian Samurai' (with permission, mind you)

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One aspect of service to others is one another in order to help each other be the best servants of Christ that we can be. The Bible gives specific advice regarding giving such counsel:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”
Matthew 7:3-5

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.”

Matthew 18:15

The samurai also placed importance on giving good counsel, and stressed that the advice given should actually help the other person, and be given in a compassionate way:

“To give a person one's opinion and correct his faults is an important thing. It is compassionate and comes first in matters of service. But the way of doing this is extremely difficult. To discover the good and bad points of a person is an easy thing, and to give an opinion concerning them is easy, too. For the most part, people think that they are being kind by saying things that others find distasteful or difficult to say. But if it is not received well, they think that there is nothing more to be done. This is completely worthless. It is the same as bringing shame to a person by slandering him. It is nothing more than getting it off one's chest.

To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not. One must become close with him and make sure that he continually trusts one's word. Approaching subjects that are dear to him, seek the best way to speak and to be well understood. Judge the occasion, and determine whether it is better by letter or at the time of leave-taking. Praise his good points and use every device to encourage him, perhaps by talking about one's own faults without touching on his, but so that they will occur to him. Have him receive this in the way that a man would drink water when his throat is dry, and it will be an opinion that will correct faults.

This is extremely difficult. If a person’s fault is a habit of some years prior, by and large it won't be remedied. I have had this experience myself. To be intimate with all one's comrades , correcting each other's faults, and being of one mind to be of use to the master is the great compassion of a retainer. By bringing shame to a person, how could one expect to make him a better man?”
From the Hagakure, Book 1
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