True Discipline Lies in Hardship Guided by Genuine Love

It is said that after renouncing worldly life, the Buddha steadfastly engaged in ascetic practices for as long as six years, only to realize in the end that enlightenment cannot be attained through austerities. Reflecting on this fact, I have arrived at one interpretation.

The reason the Buddha initially believed that enlightenment could be achieved through asceticism may lie in the ideas deeply rooted in the society of his time—namely, the widely held belief that growth requires placing burdens upon oneself to cultivate strength, as well as religious or ritualistic modes of thought. However, the reason he eventually abandoned that path may be that he came to realize that the very method of “deliberately choosing suffering” was mistaken, and that in order to attain enlightenment, one should instead honestly make the best possible choice in the direction illuminated by truth.

This realization, I believe, carries the meaning that one must not impose suffering either upon others or upon oneself. It suggests that true enlightenment lies beyond the complete negation of the socially widespread custom of “intentionally choosing the painful option.” And that enlightenment is a heart that loves all people—supreme love itself. In fact, when this custom of deliberately imposing suffering is emphasized too strongly, it leads to structures resembling the relationship between masochism and sadism, and even extends into systems of oppression through tyranny. Within such structures, true happiness can never exist.

To reject all of this entirely and arrive at a heart that genuinely loves people—this, I believe, is the spirit of the Buddha, the highest attainable state of mind, and the true heart of love that embraces all beings.

Therefore, true discipline does not consist in deliberately seeking suffering. Rather, it lies in walking sincerely toward enlightenment and overcoming the inevitable difficulties that arise along that path.

Human beings are, by nature, endowed with an inner heart that seeks happiness. When we act against this, do we not feel a sense of unease or guilt? That feeling is nothing other than the awareness that we have strayed from the highest choice—the path that is better both for ourselves and for others. And the reason one attempts to walk such a misguided path may be the shadow cast by not yet having experienced the sense of wonder or happiness that lies beyond sincere effort.

For this reason, the choice of supreme love is of the utmost importance.

In this world, there are people who not only resist self-negation but cannot endure it at all. Rather than inflicting the suffering of self-denial upon them, by sensing the love that resides within their hearts and offering them salvation, their love begins to blossom. In doing so, both they and we are guided toward a world filled with love.

This, indeed, is the truth revealed through the Buddha’s experience of completely abandoning ascetic practices.