I'm my own worst enemy, has become an overused expression. Although we use the phrase frequently, do we give thought to how true it is?
His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, says, "Although there are many different types of negative action, the Buddhist scriptures summarize them as the Ten Negative or Ten Non-virtuous Actions. There are three actions of body, four of speech, and three of mind.
"The three bodily negative actions are killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; the four negative actions of speech are lying, engaging in divisive speech, using harsh words, and engaging in senseless gossip; and the three negative mental actions are covetousness, harboring harmful thoughts and intentions, and holding wrong views.
"Ideally, a Dharma practitioner should live in such a way that he avoids all these negative actions if possible, and if not, then at least he should refrain from as many as he can. Leading a disciplined life and avoiding negative actions is what Buddhists understand as an ethical way of life." Is it possible to lead an ethical life living in a society that appears to be quite unethical? How do we avoid falling into the trap of doing unethical acts because, for instance, we work under a boss who is not only unethical but who demands that we help him carry out his misdeeds? What if we are the wife or the child of such a person?
The Dalai Lama, Embodiment of Compassion, urges us to consider, "The most important thing for us to know is that afflictive emotion is our ultimate enemy and a source of suffering. Once it develops within our mind, it immediately destroys our peace of mind, and eventually destroys our health and even our friendships with other people. All negative activities such as killing, bullying, cheating and so forth stem from afflictive emotion. This, therefore, is our real enemy." He adds, "An external enemy may be harmful to you today, but tomorrow could become very helpful, whereas the inner enemy is consistently destructive. Moreover, wherever you live, the inner enemy is always there with you and that makes it very dangerous. In contrast, we can often keep an external enemy at some kind of distance." So even in the case of abusive people, the method of avoiding suffering are found in Buddha's teachings. In the Buddhist way, there is no room for violence. The Living Master, who consistently describes himself as a simple monk, relates, "In 1959, for example, we escaped from Tibet since escape was a physical possibility; but in the case of the inner enemy, whether I am in Tibet, or in the Potala, or in Dharamsala, or here in London, wherever I go it follows me. I think the inner enemy is even there in meditation. So this is the main point we have to realize: the real destroyer of our happiness is always there within us."
