RIGHT LIVING
Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Intoxication
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Intoxication is unhealthy.
Refraining from intoxication is healthy. (MN 9) What are the
imperfections that defile the mind? Negligence is an imperfection that
defiles the mind. Knowing that negligence is an imperfection that
defiles the mind, a person abandons it. (MN 7) One practices thus:
“Others may become negligent by intoxication, but I will abstain from
the negligence of intoxication.” (MN 8)
When I strive with determination, some particular sources of suffering
fade away in me because of that determined striving; in this way
suffering is exhausted. (MN 101)
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Any source of
gratification, if indulged to an extreme, will transform into something
that causes harm to you or others or both. Some of these impulses can
be managed gently and naturally, but others may require determined
effort. Striving with diligence can be seen as a defense mechanism, a
way of keeping yourself safe from overindulgence. Sometimes you just
have to tell yourself to stop.
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Identify the
behaviors in your life that have the potential to escalate to a point of
intoxication and negligence, in the broadest sense of these terms. Make
a commitment to avoid allowing this to happen; sometimes that takes
determination and making a deliberate effort. If the application of
energy is grounded in the wise understanding of cause and effect,
self-control can be seen as a gift to yourself.
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Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings
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