On Making Assumptions

Spiritual Signals

Traditions Speak

Christianity

In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly resists the rush to judgment—pausing before responding, asking questions instead of making declarations, and reminding listeners that perception is easily distorted. “Why do you look at the speck in your neighbor’s eye,” he asks, “but do not notice the log in your own?” The teaching is not about moral superiority, but about humility in perception.

Buddhism

In Zen practice, students are cautioned against what is sometimes called “knowing mind”—the habit of believing we already understand before we have fully encountered what is present. Assumptions arise when attention gives way to familiarity. The practice, instead, is to meet each moment freshly, without overlaying expectation onto experience.

Judaism

Jewish ethical teaching includes the principle of dan l’kaf zechut—judging others on the side of merit. When information is incomplete, restraint is considered an act of righteousness. The discipline is not naïveté, but fairness: resisting the urge to settle on an interpretation before all that can be known has been heard.

Islam

The Qur’an warns believers against suspicion, reminding them that some assumptions lead away from truth rather than toward it. In Islamic ethics, guarding one’s thoughts is as important as guarding one’s speech. Clarity comes not from guessing another’s intentions, but from humility before what only God fully knows.

Hinduism

In Hindu philosophy, ignorance (avidya) is understood not simply as a lack of knowledge, but as mistaking appearance for reality. Assumptions arise when surface impressions are treated as final truth. Spiritual practice, then, involves discernment—learning to see beyond immediate conclusions to a deeper understanding of what is unfolding.

Stoicism

Stoic thinkers drew a careful distinction between events themselves and the judgments we place upon them. Epictetus taught that it is not what happens that disturbs us, but our interpretation of what happens. Assumptions, in this view, are premature judgments—ones that can be examined, questioned, and released.

Indigenous Wisdom

Many Indigenous traditions emphasize listening before speaking and observing before concluding. Knowledge is earned through patience and relationship, not assumption. Meaning emerges over time, through attention to context, story, and the unseen connections between people and the land they share.

Everyday Life

Outside formal traditions, most of us have learned—often the hard way—that assumptions complicate relationships. Misunderstandings grow when silence is misread, tone is overinterpreted, or intentions are guessed rather than clarified. Everyday wisdom reminds us that asking a simple question often saves much unnecessary strain.

Question for Reflection

Where might you be filling in meaning too quickly—responding to a story you’ve told yourself rather than to what has actually been said or shown?