The most essential condition in the training and cultivation of oneself is that one must endure the resistance of the heart — steeling oneself and subduing one’s impulses. For any training that involves no discomfort whatsoever cannot truly be called self-cultivation. The discomfort spoken of here is not physical injury or bodily pain — rather, it is the resistance of the heart, the subduing of one’s inclinations, the transformation of one’s habitual tendencies, and the renewal of one’s conduct toward what is wholesome and refined.
This process shall assuredly bring — not bodily pain, but — a sense of constraint, of inner friction, of wounded pride, and at times, of genuine hurt within the heart. Yet in the end, dear ones, there shall come joy and a deep and abiding sense of dignity and fulfilment.
November 5th, 2019
