The Other Two Levels of Ethical Self-Discipline

Review

On the initial level of spiritual development, we exercise ethical self-discipline to refrain from destructive behavior. Our aim is to avoid things getting worse not just in this lifetime, but in future lives as well. We strive for better rebirths and the ordinary types of happiness that we can experience in them. We’re moved to achieve that goal by our dread of experiencing more and more suffering and unhappiness. But we understand that there is a way to avoid it, namely to exercise self-control and refrain from acting destructively. When we feel like doing, saying or thinking something destructive, based on some disturbing emotion like greed or anger, we notice that feeling and then just don’t act on it. Although we need to slow down quite a lot to catch that space between feeling like doing something and compulsively doing it, and that is certainly difficult at first, we can train ourselves to be able to notice it.

Think of when you’re sitting and trying to do some work, and you become bored. The feeling arises to check your Facebook wall or the news again on your phone, or text a friend. At this level of our development, we would notice when such a feeling arises and clearly decide, “If I act this out, I won’t get my work done and that will create problems. So it doesn’t matter what I feel like doing, I’m not going to do it.”

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