To learn to judge people?

Last Friday I met with Gandalf in my temple. The purpose was to put up the poster in my temple, but I was afraid of Saruman who was sitting near the office desk. Probably he'll grab my poster away? Shudder to think... :{

Actually this is my 2nd time writing for this post, the 1st effort was totally wasted, when hunger striked this laptop.

I'm trying really hard to recall, the point I wanted to make clear. To judge or not to judge? That is the question! I'm being described by Gandalf as a very naive person who do not know how to judge between a good person and bad person. I've also been ridiculed by friends for being "too kind" (you know when you mix with non-Buddhist friends). And I remembered how I was quite turned off by a friend who pointed out to me "not everyone you see, you think is good, people like you can be easily be taken advantage off". I really dislike that girl that's why I felt the shiver when she articulated stuff that I disagree with.

Yes, by "default" I have a perception of all human as "good". It's not even neutral. Every child that is delivered by every mother, I reckon the baby is born to be good. It is human nature to be good. Somehow or rather, things happen, Karma or chemistry or physic reacted, that human may have bad thoughts. Even the truth says all beings are rooted by Greed, Hatred and Delusion, yet I still have this "perception" that all humans by "default" are good people.

So, that is why I probably have had arguments with friends who always judge me / other people (I really cannot take it), or why I cannot understand why people have to play judge. I always advocate to my physically-challenged friend to not allow other people to judge him, and I expect of him to treat me the same way I treat him.

Now I see why another friend can really piss me off, because he believe its a joke to him if I said I dont judge people or if any human is non-judgemental. This brings back to what Gandalf had advised me, to learn to judge people. You can say I'm basically too "chinchai" or too apathetic, or in a positive note practising equanimity (Upekkha), which leads me to be non-judgemental towards people. But this is making me clueless about judging people! It makes me vulnerable towards liars, cheaters, or bad people who'd make use of me.

I have 2 points to make.

If I have learnt to judge people, would that cost me to lose my non-judgemental nature, which I view as a positive value in me? What if I made a wrong judgement? There could be ulterior motives for a deception. People are not who they think they are, possibility. I give people a huge gap of anomoly for change. Even if I know myself, I am not who I am today, that I was yesterday or would be tomorrow. Does this point makes you think I am still too arrogant to submit myself to societal tendency to judge?

OR

If I have to learn how to judge people, does that really mean that I'm ignorant of judging or that I chose not to judge? ;P sei mei.. Does Gandalf really think she knows me so well, that I'm soo 'innocent', to the extend of potentially get conned by people? Point is, if I do not even care if people are good or bad, yet I just associate with or help people, irregardless of their intentions, would that make me ignorant? The problem is, I didn't even lift the brain cell to 'think' for a moment if a person is good or bad, that actually makes me LAZY eh?! I would probably have done things differently, if I've had digested an intention, analysed people's behaviour or ulterior motives. *pheew... do I have so much brain capacity to analyze people?

The story of Gandalf vs Saruman is just but a story... atleastI'm glad to hear from Gandalf that because of my good Karma, I've been blessed and never really got cheated, although I am such a sucker ;) ... i truly am *LOL*

(you dont really wanna know how naive I was in school, where I tried to be friend with a 1st-class liar, when everybody were backstabbing her, I was still "being her friend", cos of my default thinking... doh).