"Measure Twice. Cut Once."

An old carpentry slogan. So true and so very far reaching beyond merely physical construction.

We as humans are easily prone to error, mistakes that may wreck everything we are attempting to construct if we are not careful. And at the very least we are prone to ruining the material we are working with and costing us and our boss and our clients precious time and money if we neglect this most crucial and simple principle - Measure Twice. Cut Once.

If we measure once, we may have measured wrong and will have to then measure twice anyway and cut twice. If we measured too long, we will have to measure again and cut again. If we measured too short we will have cut too short and then our material will be rendered insufficient for the project. It may perhaps be repurposed elsewhere later, but its usefulness for the present project will be destroyed.

One simple double check is all it takes to save time and money and aggravation.

So how does this principle apply to religion?

Equally in all areas.

Whether we are student or teacher in The Way we are obligated always to measure twice and cut once.

When we are learning. When we are teaching. When we are searching. When we are discovering - we Measure Twice. Cut Once.

We check to make sure the standard we are using is infact Standard and not sloppily manufactured. Then we check what we have to work with against the Measurement. We then  double-check our measurements to make sure we read them right. 

…and then we perform our following action accordingly. Whether that action be receiving information as accurate or passing on information as truth.

In all matters great or small, material or metaphysical - Measure Twice. Cut Once.