Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do

Monday, January 16, 2012

There are many kinds of austerities one can practice to further his or her spiritual development, but the intention behind their practice largely determines the benefit. For example, worshiping God, serving your spiritual teachers, honoring those who have been born-again into a spirtiual life and respecting the wisdom of sages are all worthy spiritual disciplines if they are done with real enthusiasm and sincerity.  Other disciplines like always being truthful, speaking pleasantly and kindly with words that do not aggitate others, or studying the scriptures can be done purely because they are the right things to do or for selfish reasons like wanting to gain honor or respect for your wisdom or because you want to be admired for being able to put on a show of piety. The results of that kind of self-discipline are not reliable. Even otherwise good and beneficial mental disciplines like developing calmness and contentment through meditation, observing silence or other kinds of self-control can be done just to be obstinant in order to defy someone else and create difficulty in their lives. Some people practice austerities to the point that they become self-torture and mistakenly believe that it is somehow spiritually beneficial. That kind of practice is based on delusion and ignorance.

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