“Others may not understand that we must practice self-control, but quarreling dies away in those who understand this fact”
(Dhammapada 6).
What? Buddha is advocating repression? Horror! We all know how destructive repression is, don’t we? No, we do not. We only hope it is destructive so we can run amok in our life-sphere and rejoice in our “healthy self-expression.” Buddha is not so sophisticated; he prefers the truth: Self-mastery is essential for peace with ourselves and with others. It is definitely true that (most) others will not understand “that we must practice self-control,” but that should matter not at all to us. We should just go ahead and do it and let them eat our dust.
Quarreling should not just not take place; it must die. That is, the root of ego that produces quarreling must be dissolved like the root of a baby tooth. Self-control does the dissolving to a great extent.
In such a few sentences Buddha has told us the way to both inner and outer peace. May we follow that way and demonstrate their truth.
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