Originally Posted by
chugai
One truly is the protector of oneself; who else could the protector be? With oneself fully controlled, one gains a mastery that is hard to gain. Dhammapada 160
Great! How does that work in your life, though?
Also, that scripture seems to be referencing the fact that one should not seek for outside aid from deities.
And I wouldn't be surprised if 'controlled' could also be translated as 'tamed' - which changes the reading a little bit, wouldn't you agree?
'Control' seems to indicate a ruthlessness that 'tamed' does not, at least in my mind. Also, how would you fit Chod into that scripture if read with a suppressive bent? Does the seeming incompatibility of that scripture with Chod argue that Chod is misguided or that the translation, besides being out of context, is perhaps translated a little unskillfully?
Most importantly here, I think there's a time for a hard approach and a time for a soft one. A momentary hard approach may work if, say, your friend's beautiful wife makes a drunken pass at you when your buddy's away. Determination in the face of this solitary event would certainly seem to be warranted, and the one moment of resistance would be karmically well-rewarded.
But how would such steeley reserve stand up against, say, repeated sexually obsessive thoughts about your friend's wife on your own part? Or feelings of jealousy? Or a drinking problem?
I think that there are times when being harsh with your unskillful thoughts works best and times where you have to truly meet the demon, converse with it, and possibly suffer setbacks over a long journey of understanding before you dissolve the problem at its root.
Or maybe I lack willpower - and yet, there must be a way to practice morality even for those of us who lack such traits, no?
How did Siddhartha defeat the demons while sitting beneath the Bodhi Tree? Did he attempt to 'control' them?
Chet