Best Of

It might be the case of "not too tight, not too lose". The middle way might be best.

As someone who is quite undisciplined, I go through phases where I discipline myself and benefit very much. For me, there is no danger of getting too disciplined. As the best marathon runner in history Eliud Kipchoge said: "Only the self-disciplined ones are free. Otherwise you are ruled by your passions".

On the other hand, I have some friends for whom you might say that they are too self-disciplined in the sense that they are not comfortable with going with the flow and get all uptight and prickly as soon as things do not go according to plan and become a bit chaotic. Here, self-discipline could be a subtle neurosis too - trying to control everything.

So, the best way might be for each one of us to honestly determine where we fall on the self-discipline spectrum (too tight, just right, too lose) and correct the sails of our ship accordingly.

It is an interesting thing, that practice as a buddhist seems to require a high level of discipline. I remember when I just started my buddhist studies and had a regular practice, and discipline was tricky but I managed.

Now, quite a few years later, I am feeling more natural. If the feeling to meditate comes, then I meditate. But the feeling of discipline has entirely disappeared, I don’t seem to be able to access it anymore. The drive to meditate every morning is gone.

I appreciate the relaxed feeling of being natural. Sometimes I enjoy a little just-sitting.

“Many people dedicate their lives to actualizing a concept of what they should be like, rather than actualizing themselves. This difference between self-actualization and self-image actualization is very important. Most people live only for their image.”
― Bruce Lee