Essay Writing of Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated
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(Issue 26)
On Pride: A Systematic Inquiry from Root Causes to Remedial Practice
Instructor: Shi Ziju
Author: Shi Fafu
July 25, 2026
Abstract
This paper explores in depth the concept, roots, and multifaceted manifestations of the affliction of “pride” (māna) in Buddhism, analyzing its serious obstructions to spiritual practice and liberation. Drawing upon key Buddhist metaphors such as “the high mound of self-pride cannot yield the waters of virtue” and “drinking the water of delusion,” the paper vividly illustrates how pride erects a psychological barrier that obstructs the reception of Dharma benefit and bodhisattva practice, and even gives rise to secondary afflictions such as deceit (kuhanā), conceit (mada), shamelessness (āhrīkya), and lack of remorse (anapatrāpya), ultimately resulting in karmic retribution in the realm of asuras or even hell.
Based on this profound understanding, the paper systematically expounds the theoretical and practical methods for counteracting the affliction of pride, proceeding layer by layer from the cognitive, behavioral, and wisdom dimensions. It also clarifies the sublime benefits that arise from freedom from pride—including physical and mental dignity and swift attainment—and takes the Bodhisattva Never Despising (Sadāparibhūta) as a model to reveal the profound relationship between pride-free living and the vast compassionate vows of the bodhisattva path.
The primary research methodology is based on the study and interpretation of Buddhist canonical literature, supplemented by case analysis of the “Bhikkhu A” example and related practice phenomena. It is hoped that this study will provide practitioners who aspire to subdue pride and advance toward enlightenment with a clear theoretical framework and practical guidance, helping them break through the bondage of pride and ultimately attain Buddhahood.
Keywords: pride (māna), affliction, self-pride (ātma-māna), antidote, path to liberation, Bodhisattva Never Despising
Table of conten
I. Introduction ……………………………………………… 1
(i) Research Motivation and Background ……….. 1
(ii) Research Questions and Objectives ………….. 2
(iii) Scope and Methodology ………………………… 2
(iv) Paper Structure …………………………………….. 3
II. Basic Concepts and Roots of Pride …………………. 3
(i) Definition of Pride ………………………………….. 3
(ii) Types of Pride ………………………………………… 4
(iii) Roots of Pride ……………………………………….. 5
1. Self-clinging: the fundamental support of pride …. 5
2. Ignorance: the breeding ground of pride …….. 6
3. Reliance (shì): the triggering mechanism ……. 6
4. Habitual tendencies: reinforcing pride ……….. 7
III. Manifestations and Harms of Pride ………………… 7
(i) Manifestations in Body, Speech, and Mind ….. 7
(ii) Obstacles on the Path of Practice ……………… 9
(iii) Secondary Afflictions and Karmic Retribution . 11
IV. Case Study: How Pride Concretely Obstructs Practice ….. 14
V. Methods for Counteracting Pride …………………….. 16
(i) Cognitive Level ………………………………………… 16
(ii) Behavioral Level ………………………………………. 18
(iii) Wisdom Level ………………………………………….. 20
VI. Sublime Benefits of Freedom from Pride ………….. 22
(i) Physical and Mental Benefits ……………………… 22
(ii) Benefits for Practice …………………………………. 23
(iii) Benefits for Bodhisattva Practice ………………. 24
VII. Conclusion …………………………………………………. 25
References …………………………………………………………. 27
I. Introduction
(i ) Research Motivation and Background
In the vast ocean of Buddhist doctrine, afflictions (kleśas) are regarded as the fundamental cause binding sentient beings to the cycle of birth and death. Among them, “pride” (māna), as one of the five root afflictions (greed, aversion, delusion, pride, and doubt), is no less harmful than greed, aversion, or delusion—and is even harder to detect and counteract due to its concealed and pervasive nature. It is not only the root of interpersonal conflict and social discord in the world but also a tremendous obstacle on the practitioner’s path to liberation. In daily life, one can often observe that people who possess talent and intelligence find it difficult to work with others due to arrogance; practitioners who have the aspiration to be diligent cannot open their hearts to Dharma teaching because of contempt for teachers and fellow practitioners, and their merit fails to grow. “The high mound of self-pride cannot yield the waters of virtue”[1]vividly reveals how pride obstructs the receipt of Dharma benefit and the arising of wisdom. The author has observed that many practitioners, after gaining some Buddhist knowledge or initial meditative experience, easily develop subtle pride, which prevents them from genuinely relying on a spiritual teacher, causes them to miss the true meaning of the Dharma, and even produces “superior pride” (adhimāna) that leads them astray.
The uniqueness of pride as an affliction lies in its deep roots in ignorance and self-clinging. Through illusory comparison with others, it constructs a psychological barrier that cuts one off from the true Dharma. As the Buddha admonishes in the Dīrgha Āgama: “If one is able to relinquish caste pride and remove the mind of arrogance, then within my teaching one may attain the Way and be worthy to receive the true Dharma.”[2] This statement profoundly reveals the necessity of breaking through pride for progress toward liberation.
Although existing Buddhist literature has addressed pride in various places, these discussions are mostly scattered across different scriptures and commentaries, often focusing on theoretical aspects and lacking systematic integration and concrete practical guidance. Given the far-reaching impact of pride on practice and liberation, this study aims to systematically organize and integrate the various explanations of pride in Buddhist canonical literature—not only investigating its psychological mechanisms, multidimensional manifestations, and obstacles to bodhisattva practice, but more importantly, providing a systematic summary and practical guidance of antidotal strategies across cognitive, behavioral, and wisdom dimensions.
(ii) Research Questions and Objectives
Based on the above research motivation, this paper will address the following core questions:
1. What are the basic concepts and deep roots of ‘pride’ in Buddhism?
2. How does ‘pride’ specifically manifest, and what obstacles does it pose to the practitioner’s path of liberation?
3. How can one systematically counteract the affliction of ‘pride’ in order to achieve growth in enlightenment and ultimate liberation?
To this end, the research objectives are:
1. To clarify the basic concepts and deep roots of ‘pride’ in Buddhism, including self-clinging, ignorance, reliance (shì), and habitual tendencies.
2. To comprehensively elucidate the specific manifestations and serious harms of ‘pride’ on the individual’s body-mind and the path of liberation.
3. To systematically construct an effective set of methods for counteracting ‘pride’ at the cognitive, behavioral, and wisdom levels, aiming to establish a path that unifies understanding and practice.
(iii) Scope and Methodology
The primary research method is textual analysis, through close reading and analysis of the above canonical texts to elucidate the basic concepts, manifestations, harms, and antidotal methods of pride, as well as the sublime benefits of freedom from pride. Additionally, the study employs case analysis, examining negative cases such as “Bhikkhu A,” as well as the positive example of the Bodhisattva Never Despising recorded in the scriptures, to render the theoretical exposition more concrete and vivid.
(iv) Paper Structure
This paper is divided into seven chapters. Chapter One introduces the research background. Chapter Two clarifies the definition and roots of pride. Chapter Three analyzes its manifestations and harms in practice. Chapter Four deepens the argument through concrete cases. Chapter Five systematically proposes antidotal methods at the cognitive, behavioral, and wisdom levels. Chapter Six expounds the benefits of freedom from pride. Chapter Seven offers a conclusion.
II. Basic Concepts and Roots of Pride
(i) Definition of Pride
In Buddhist doctrine, “pride” (māna) is precisely defined as a mental factor (cetasika) that elevates oneself and disparages others. It is not merely an emotion but a distortion of attitude. As the Mahāyāna Abhidharmasamuccaya (Vol. 4) clearly explains: “Pride means relying on oneself in relation to others, with the nature of mental elevation.”[3] This points to the core characteristic of pride: it arises from an attitude of “reliance” (shì—having something to lean upon), and through this reliance produces an ego-centered overestimation or attachment in comparison with others. The object of this reliance is extremely broad: worldly cleverness, talent, wealth, status, and even supramundane merits of morality, concentration, and wisdom, or attachment to realized doctrinal principles—all can become a breeding ground for pride.
The essential nature of pride lies in self-elevation and ego-inflation, its root pointing directly to ignorance and self-view—erroneous cognition and clinging to the self. It is a state of mind arising from illusory comparison and unrealistic self-appraisal, which renders the mind unable to humbly receive others’ qualities or Dharma benefit, thereby forming a closed, rejecting psychological barrier. As the Lotus Sūtra (Vol. 1) states: “Self-pride makes one lofty and arrogant; a flattering mind is not true.”[4] Pride not only makes one self-righteous but can also lead to a deceitful and dishonest mind, because the proud person, in order to maintain a false self-image, is often unwilling to acknowledge faults, even concealing errors—this obstructs self-examination and progress.
(ii) Types of Pride
In order to understand the diverse manifestations of pride more precisely, Buddhist canonical literature provides a detailed classification. According to the Mahāyāna Abhidharmasamuccaya, the Abhidharmakośa, and the Dhāraṇī Sūtra for the Protection of the State, pride is generally divided into seven types:
1. Pride (māna): Comparing oneself with others and believing oneself to be superior or equal. This is the most basic form, commonly seen in everyday comparisons: ‘My ability is no worse than his’ or ‘I am just as intelligent as he is.’
2. Excessive Pride (ati-māna): Considering oneself superior to those who are actually one’s equals or superiors. For example, though another person’s learning is far deeper, one believes oneself to be the true expert.
3. Pride-of-Pride (māna-ati-māna): Believing oneself to far surpass those who are actually superior—extreme arrogance. For example, a disciple who, before his own teacher, believes himself to far exceed the teacher’s realization.
4. Self-Pride (ātma-māna): Generating attachment to the ‘self’ that is the false combination of the five aggregates, believing there is a truly existent self—and thereby becoming arrogant. This is the most fundamental form, rooted directly in the reification of self: ‘I am the most important,’ ‘I am the most powerful.’
5. Conceit of Superiority (adhimāna): Without having attained a given virtue or saintly fruit, claiming to have attained it; or having attained a portion of a virtue, claiming to have attained the whole. This is especially common among practitioners. For example, having had a minor meditative experience and declaring oneself enlightened, or having gained some psychic ability and believing one has surpassed everything.
6. Inferior Pride (ūna-māna): Acknowledging that one falls short of those who are far superior, yet still feeling inner resistance—or believing the gap is only slight. For example, before the greatness of a Buddha or Arhat, one verbally acknowledges their excellence, yet the mind still harbors a subtle pride, unable to sincerely bow in deference.
7. Wrong Pride (mithyā-māna): Without any virtue, or having committed negative acts, yet believing oneself to have virtue—even regarding one’s wrongdoing as correct, or taking pride in it. For example, robbing the rich to give to the poor and considering it a virtuous deed.
Although these seven types of pride differ in their forms of expression, their core nature all stems from an erroneous overestimation of the self and contempt for others. Understanding these categories clearly helps practitioners more precisely identify and counteract their own pride.
(iii) Roots of Pride
The arising of pride is never accidental; behind it lie more fundamental afflictions and psychological mechanisms. Understanding these deep roots is crucial for effectively counteracting pride.
1. Self-Clinging (Ātma-Grāha): The Fundamental Support of Pride
In Buddhism, self-clinging is regarded as the root of all afflictions and the most fundamental soil in which pride grows. Self-clinging is the erroneous attachment to the body-mind of the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, formations, consciousness), believing there to be a permanent and independent “self” or “mine” within them. Sentient beings have long been habituated to clinging to this illusory “self” and using it as a center to judge and compare everything. When this fictitious “self” is exaggerated and inflated, various forms of pride arise. Without self-clinging, pride has no support—like a tree without roots, it naturally withers.
2. Ignorance (Avidyā): The Breeding Ground of Pride
Ignorance—also called “delusion” (moha)—is confusion about the truth, a failure to understand or accept the basic Buddhist teachings of dependent origination, emptiness of inherent existence, and selflessness. Pride is precisely the erroneous judgment arising from a lack of correct understanding of self and others. Because of ignorance, sentient beings cannot see their own limitations, cannot recognize that all phenomena arise through dependent origination and have no true existence, and therefore produce the delusion that “I am superior to others” or “I have already realized the fruit of sainthood.”
As the Buddha likens pride in the Śūraṃgama Sūtra to “drinking the water of delusion”: the proud person, clinging to a fictitious self-image, becomes confused—like drinking a dizzying “water of delusion,” drinking more and thirsting more, thirsting more and growing more proud, finally drowning in the great flood of birth and death.[5] This ignorance of dependent origination and the truth of selflessness is the fundamental soil from which pride springs.
3. Reliance: The Triggering Mechanism of Pride
Built upon ignorance and self-clinging, “reliance” becomes the direct mechanism triggering pride. Whether it is worldly cleverness, talent, wealth, status, or even spiritual merit—once one generates a false attachment to these supporting conditions and regards them as the permanent “mine,” it is easy to arouse pride. This “reliance” is an illusion generated through comparison, which inflates the “self” and leads to disparagement of others.
4. Habitual Tendencies (Vāsanā): The Conditioning and Consolidation of Pride
As an affliction, pride is closely related to the process of habituation and consolidation of its power. Long-maintained arrogant mental states and behaviors cause the seeds of pride to continuously grow and become impressed in the ālaya-vijñāna (storehouse consciousness), forming deep-rooted habitual tendencies. These tendencies cause pride to arise automatically in specific circumstances, making it difficult to detect and counteract. Even when one theoretically understands the harms of pride, it will still habitually surface due to past accumulation—which explains why overcoming pride requires sustained effort over time.
In summary, the arising of pride is a complex psychological process, rooted fundamentally in confusion about reality (ignorance) and erroneous attachment to ‘self’ (self-clinging). Specific external or internal conditions then become the object of reliance, directly triggering the manifestation of pride. Meanwhile, the habituation of afflictions makes pride even harder to eradicate, requiring sustained awareness and counteraction.
III. Manifestations and Harms of Pride
As a root affliction, the harms of pride are manifested not only in personal physical and mental suffering and damage to interpersonal relationships, but also form nearly insurmountable obstacles on the path of practice, ultimately leading to negative karmic retribution.
(i) Manifestations of Pride in Body, Speech, and Mind
1. High-Handed Attitude in Speech and Behavior
Fondness for debate, intolerance of others’ opinions: The proud person firmly believes their own views are the only correct ones. They are unwilling to listen to or accept dissent, habitually interrupt others, and seek to overwhelm in arguments, thereby displaying a sense of superiority.
Disdain or contempt for others’ achievements: When others succeed or receive praise, the proud person cannot rejoice from the heart; instead they may respond with sarcasm, belittlement, or even jealousy—trying to elevate themselves by lowering others.
Fear of being ignored, striving to stand out: In social or professional settings, proud people overly emphasize their own merits and achievements, fearing to be overlooked or slighted, leading to exaggeration and boasting.
Fondness for instructing, displaying the self: Regardless of whether the occasion calls for it or whether they are truly expert, proud persons exhibit a strong desire to ‘give guidance,’ freely dispensing advice and lecturing others even on unfamiliar matters.
2. Psychological Self-Inflation
Readily seeing others’ faults, not examining their own: Proud persons view others through a distorted lens—extremely sensitive to others’ faults and talkatively critical, while making excuses for their own mistakes, even rationalizing them. This inflated self-perception prevents self-reflection.
Craving praise, insatiably: Proud persons have an unlimited need for praise. Once they receive it, they regard it as their due and expect more; when praise is lacking, they feel ignored, dissatisfied, or even resentful.
(ii) Pride as an Obstacle on the Path of Practice
1. Obstructing the Blessings of the Three Jewels and Spiritual Teachers
On the path of practice, genuine reverence for the Three Jewels and spiritual teachers is the foundation for accumulating merit and increasing wisdom. Yet pride directly destroys this foundation—its most direct and most deeply harmful obstacle in practice. Some practitioners outwardly display ritual respect toward Buddha images, scriptures, and the Saṅgha, yet have no genuine inner recognition of their sacred value. More serious still, they may outwardly show deference to a spiritual teacher, yet inwardly disparage the teaching—regarding the teacher’s guidance as nothing special, or even using the teacher as a means to gain fame and profit rather than genuinely learning the Dharma. This inner contempt, like building a high wall over the mind’s gateway, prevents the practitioner from truly receiving the blessings of the Three Jewels and the teacher’s transmission, severing the connection and resulting in a barren practice.
2. Obstructing the Hearing of the Dharma
The affliction of pride causes the Dharma not to enter the mind, robbing the hearing of Dharma of its benefit. When practitioners attend Dharma teachings with the attitude of “I already know this,” “There is nothing special here,” or “I understand this better than the teacher”—like a steeply sloping mound—even if the Dharma rain pours down abundantly, it can only flow away down the slope, unable to nourish the parched heart. This mind-set, deeply rooted in ignorance and self-clinging, makes practitioners mistakenly believe they have already understood, no longer needing to seek the Dharma with humility. As a result, they cannot receive genuine benefit from a spiritual teacher, because they have already built a “high mound” inside, blocking the inflow of the “waters of virtue.” Even if they hear much Dharma, pride will prevent them from grasping the truth, unable to transform the teaching into inner wisdom and realization.
3. Giving Rise to the Severing of Wholesome Roots
“Superior pride” (adhimāna) is a deadly trap commonly encountered by practitioners. Its core characteristic is claiming attainment without genuine attainment—asserting realization of virtue or saintly fruits before they have actually been achieved. This not only causes practitioners to remain stagnant but may even cause them to lose already-gained wholesome qualities, and because of false speech, to destroy their wholesome roots and ultimately fall into evil destinies. The Buddha strictly points out in the Śūraṃgama Sūtra (Vol. 4): to claim attainment without having attained is a gross false speech that severs the seed of Buddhahood.[6] For example, some meditators, upon experiencing minor lightness or concentration, declare themselves enlightened, cease diligent practice, stop relying on a teacher, or even publicly claim to have realized saintly fruits—holding fellow practitioners who are still striving in contempt. Such superior pride not only causes their practice to stagnate but may bring about karmic retribution for false speech.
4. Obstructing Bodhisattva Practice
Pride poses an extremely serious obstacle for practitioners who have vowed to follow the bodhisattva path. The essence of the bodhisattva path is the four immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, and the vast practice of regarding all sentient beings as equal. Bodhisattvas vow to liberate all beings, a practice whose core rests on the elimination of self-clinging and the dissolution of the distinction between self and other. Yet pride places the self above all beings, generating discrimination between superior and inferior, noble and base, and thereby disparaging others. This prideful attitude directly violates the spirit of the bodhisattva precepts—especially the precept against ‘self-praise and disparagement of others.’[7] When a bodhisattva practitioner’s mind is filled with arrogance and self-imagined superiority, the mind of enlightenment (bodhicitta) cannot become firm.
(iii) Secondary Afflictions and Karmic Retribution Induced by Pride
1. Secondary Afflictions Induced by Pride
Pride creates a psychologically self-inflating environment in which the following secondary afflictions more easily arise and mutually reinforce each other, forming a vicious cycle:
Deceit (kuhanā): An attitude of falsely claiming merit, exaggerating achievements, or concealing faults in order to gain fame, material gain, or to protect a false self-image. Deceit typically stems from maintaining the ‘superior’ mask created by pride, unwilling to let others see one’s deficiencies.
Conceit (mada): A prideful, contemptuous state of mind arising from worldly accomplishments (beauty, wealth, talent, etc.). Conceit is a specific manifestation of pride under particular external conditions; it induces complacency and laxity, obstructing progress.
Shamelessness(āhrīkya): Having no remorse for one’s own wrongdoing, lacking self-reflection and a sense of shame. Because proud persons are too self-important to admit mistakes, they have no sense of shame for their own faults.
Lack of Remorse (anapatrāpya): Having no fear of others’ criticism or of the consequences of wrongdoing. Shamelessness is toward oneself; lack of remorse is toward others. Both often accompany pride, leaving negative actions entirely unchecked.
Laxity (kausīdya): Lacking diligence toward the wholesome practices one should cultivate, and unwillingness to abandon the unwholesome practices one should abandon. Proud persons, because they feel adequately accomplished, believe no further effort is needed, thereby breeding laxity.
Heedlessness (pramāda): Scattered and undisciplined in body and mind, not directing the mind toward virtue, not being careful about negative actions. When pride leads to laxity, it inevitably brings heedlessness, causing practitioners to become dissipated and stray from the correct path.
Concealment (mrakṣa): Hiding or covering one’s faults, unwilling to let others know one’s shortcomings—especially to maintain the ‘flawless’ self-image of pride. This obstructs self-correction and growth.
These secondary afflictions mutually influence and jointly amplify the negative effects of pride, forming a vicious cycle. For example, covering up faults through pride leads to shamelessness and lack of remorse, which in turn feeds laxity and heedlessness, causing the practitioner to sink deeper into the mire of afflictions.
2. Karmic Retribution Induced by Pride
The karma created by pride will bring severe negative retributions, causing sentient beings to sink in the six realms.
Human retribution: In the human realm, proud persons often experience the results of not being respected, of friends and relatives departing, of repeated setbacks, and of receiving little assistance. For example, a talented person who, through pride, regards no one with respect, may find—despite exceptional talent—that poor interpersonal relationships prevent the realization of ambitions, ultimately leaving them isolated.[8]
Asura rebirth: In the Buddhist six realms of rebirth, the realm of asuras is the most typical destination for the karma of pride. The Great Accumulation Sūtra (Vol. 72) states that asuras, while human in their previous lives, performed many virtuous deeds yet were filled with arrogance; by the power of this karmic force they were reborn as asuras,[9] where they persist in strife and conflict.
Hell retribution: If pride develops to its extreme, it leads to even more dreadful retribution in evil destinations, particularly hell. The Śūraṃgama Sūtra (Vol. 8) details how the ten habitual causes (including the habit of pride) will give rise to the six intermingling retributions of the hell realms.[10] This means that the reversed consciousness of the proud person, through false attachments and illusory self-overestimation, ultimately results in intense suffering in which all six sense faculties interchangeably experience pain in hell.
IV. Case Study: How Pride Concretely Obstructs Practice
Through the analysis of a concrete case, one can more clearly understand how the affliction of pride creates serious obstacles in practice. Below is an analysis of a case of “Bhikkhu A,” constructed on the basis of descriptions found in canonical texts, examining the arising, manifestation, roots, and harms of pride.
Analysis of Bhikkhu A’s Pride: After attaining some accomplishment in learning and meditation, a subtle and hard-to-detect pride quietly arose in Bhikkhu A, gradually dominating his conduct. He began to rely on what he had learned and realized, generating the thought ‘What those people know is nothing more than this—I have already understood it thoroughly,’ and looked down on fellow practitioners who knew little of the Dharma or were progressing slowly. For older bhikkhus who lacked deep meditative concentration, he would silently judge: ‘Such a low level of realization—not worth mentioning. My meditative states far surpass his.’ This is a typical manifestation of ‘pride-of-pride’ or ‘superior pride.’[11]
This pride manifested in Bhikkhu A’s three activities of body, speech, and mind as follows:
Speech and behavior: When listening to a spiritual teacher’s Dharma explanation, if the content accorded with his existing understanding, he would display impatience, perhaps thinking to himself: ‘I have known this for a long time—why bring it up again?’ He might unconsciously shake his head or interrupt to correct the teacher, actually intending to display his own ‘superiority.’ When discussing Dharma with others, his aim was rarely to seek truth but rather to overwhelm others and prove his own views correct. When newcomers humbly approached him with questions, although he responded, his mind was filled with an irrepressible sense of superiority, and he would sometimes use a tone tinged with sarcasm or condescension, subconsciously intending to establish his image of ‘authority.’
Psychological level: He generated false attachment to his own meager merits, regarding the Buddhist knowledge and meditative experiences he had gained as permanently his own unchanging ‘possessions,’ and took pride in them. He failed to recognize that these merits are all phenomena of dependent origination—illusory like bubbles—not truly possessed by a permanent ‘self.’ This deep ignorance caused him to form an erroneous understanding and judgment about these merits. He mistakenly believed these conditionally arisen wholesome qualities to be the ultimate attainment, thereby generating self-clinging and fusing these merits with an illusory ‘self,’ causing the affliction of pride to inflate.
The obstacles caused by Bhikkhu A’s pride were multifaceted and far-reaching:
1. Damaging interpersonal relationships: Bhikkhu A’s arrogant words and conduct made fellow practitioners feel disparaged and disrespected, causing tension within the monastic community and seriously affecting the harmonious atmosphere of the Saṅgha.
2. Depleting merit, old virtue extinguished: Pride is a seed of wrongdoing. Although Bhikkhu A had previously been diligent, his pride gradually depleted his accumulated merit, making it difficult to grow further, and may even have caused him to lose already-attained wholesome qualities.
3. Difficulty receiving the Dharma, difficulty entering the canonical texts: Because he was self-righteous, his mind’s gate was closed tight; the teacher’s guidance could not truly penetrate. Unable to set aside his attachments, Dharma teachings that did not conform to his views—no matter how earnestly the teacher explained them—were difficult for him to accept.
4. Inviting negative retribution, drifting further from the path of liberation: If Bhikkhu A’s pride continues to grow and develops into ‘superior pride’ or even the grave false speech of ‘claiming realization without having realized,’ it would not only sever the seed of Buddhahood but might cause him, through negative karma, to fall into evil destinies and suffer for aeons, drifting ever further from the path of liberation.
This case warns practitioners: even a practitioner who once possessed certain merits may, if entrapped by pride, fall into an irrecoverable abyss. Pride can lead to extremely grave consequences—destroying merit, creating negative actions, and falling into evil destinies. This shows that pride not only obstructs the progress of practice but can utterly destroy the wholesome roots and wisdom-life of a practitioner. Its dangers cannot be underestimated.
V. Methods for Counteracting Pride
Counteracting pride is like treating a stubborn illness: it requires multiple approaches, systematically practicing at the cognitive, behavioral, and wisdom dimensions.
(i) Counteraction at the Cognitive Level
1. Deeply Recognizing the Harms of Pride
Repeatedly contemplating the various forms of suffering, negative retribution, and serious obstacles to practice that pride brings is of crucial importance for abandoning it. Just as the Dharma often likens afflictions to venomous snakes and fierce beasts, recognizing that pride is like a venomous snake—that it will devour the practitioner’s merit, sever their wisdom-life, and bring about the terrible karmic retributions of the asura realm, hell, and so on—will cause one to avoid it at all costs. This deep recognition must not remain merely at the level of rational analysis but must touch the heart and produce genuine fear. Like a bodhisattva seeing pride ‘as if avoiding a great flood,’[12]dreading to be submerged within it. When one truly realizes that pride will destroy all wholesome roots and obstruct progress toward ultimate liberation, the will to transform it will become resolute.
2. Arousing Genuine Shame and Remorse
Building on deep recognition of the harms of pride, arousing the mind of shame (hrī) and remorse (apatrāpya) is of critical importance. Shame and remorse are two great wholesome qualities in Buddhism—the foundation for abandoning evil and cultivating virtue. The Teaching Bequeathed by the Buddha at Parinirvāṇa states: ‘Those who have shame and remorse have wholesome Dharma; those who lack shame and remorse are no different from animals.’[13] This statement incisively points to the key role of shame and remorse in practice.
Recognizing that one’s own afflictions run deep, that one’s virtues are shallow, and that one’s faults are many is the prerequisite for arousing shame. When one no longer clings to a fictitious sense of self-superiority and honestly faces one’s own deficiencies, shame can naturally arise. This genuine inner sense of shame and fear will encourage practitioners to stop concealing faults and instead courageously face and correct them.
(ii) Counteraction at the Behavioral Level
Humility is the most direct and core virtue for counteracting pride. Humility is not self-deprecation, but rather an inner attitude and outer expression of modesty—based on a profound insight into dependent origination, emptiness of inherent existence, and the truth of ‘no-self,’ as well as recognition that all sentient beings possess buddha-nature and are worthy of respect.
1. Abandoning Reliance
Pride often arises in dependence upon some superior condition. Therefore, counteracting pride requires recognizing the objects on which it depends and striving to let go of attachment to them. Carefully observe what one’s pride leans upon (e.g., intelligence, talent, wealth, or even spiritual merit), and deeply recognize that these conditions are all impermanent, non-ultimate phenomena of dependent origination. When practitioners no longer cling to these changing external or internal conditions, pride loses its basis for support. On this foundation, actively cultivate the quality of humility. In daily life, deliberately practice ‘not boasting, not showing off, not flaunting’ one’s advantages or achievements—listening more to others’ views and experiences, genuinely rejoicing in others’ achievements, and affirming others’ strengths rather than habitually criticizing.
2. Maintaining Precepts (Śīla)
Precepts are regarded in the Dharma as the fundamental cornerstone for restraining afflictions and cultivating virtue. Receiving and maintaining precepts not only provides behavioral regulation; at a deeper level, it counteracts the self-clinging and reliance to which pride attaches. Through precept-keeping, practitioners strictly eliminate negative physical and verbal actions arising from pride, such as false speech and harsh words. When behavior is constrained, the underlying pride is also held in check. Particularly for bodhisattva practitioners, the precept against ‘self-praise and disparagement of others’ directly transforms behavior driven by pride—inducing practitioners to cultivate gentle and respectful speech. Long-term precept practice can gradually dismantle the habitual drive of pride and its corresponding tendencies, subtly transforming one’s character toward humility and respect.
3. Equanimity (Upekṣā)
Consciously applying equanimity to counteract the pride that looks down on others is a fundamental method for breaking the grip of pride at the level of mind’s breadth. Contemplating that all sentient beings are past parents and future Buddhas—all possessing buddha-nature and all worthy of respect—can greatly expand one’s capacity of mind. When practitioners can regard all sentient beings with equanimity, they will find no reason to be contemptuous or arrogant. At the same time, generating the vast mind of enlightenment—placing one’s practice goal in the ultimate welfare and liberation of all beings rather than in personal achievement—can effectively reduce the ego-centered ‘I’ to the point of dissolution within the boundless company of all beings. This is just as the Bodhisattva Never Despising practiced through his ‘universal reverence’: seeing all beings as future Buddhas, fundamentally erasing the distinction between high and low.
4. Training the Mind in Everyday Situations
Because pride’s manifestations are broad and subtle, permeating body, speech, and mind, constant awareness in everyday encounters—observing the very moment pride arises—is a key practice for directly counteracting it:
When criticized: avoid immediately reacting with rebuttal or displeasure. Instead, pause and carefully observe the fluctuations and resistance in the mind. At this point, remind oneself to arouse shame, reflect on whether there is fault, correct it if so and redouble effort if not, treating it as an opportunity for personal growth.
When praised: do not become pleased or self-inflated. Instead, observe the emotions in the mind, reminding oneself that one has not done one’s best, and that these are simply the results of conditions coming together—not truly possessed by a real ‘self’—so that pride does not easily arise.
Through continuous mindfulness practice, gradually weaken the power of pride. This sustained awareness enables pride to be recognized and counteracted the moment it arises, preventing it from inflating, while simultaneously cultivating a gentle and harmonious character.
(iii) Counteraction at the Wisdom Level
1. Contemplating No-Self (Anattā)
The core of wisdom in counteracting pride lies in establishing correct understanding, deeply learning and realizing the principles of ‘no-self’ and ‘dependent origination and emptiness of inherent existence.’ Deeply studying and reflecting on the truth that the five aggregates are not-self and that ‘mine’ is not-self—recognizing the illusory nature of the self. The body is a combination of the four great elements (earth, water, fire, wind); mental consciousness arises and perishes moment by moment; there is no permanent, ruling ‘self’ within. When, through wise contemplation and observation, one breaks through attachment to the five aggregates, the subject of reliance—the ‘self’—loses its support. One can also contemplate dependent origination and emptiness. When one recognizes that all worldly achievements arise through dependent origination and have no eternally unchanging substance that can be possessed by the ‘self,’ the foothold of pride collapses utterly. Since what is relied upon is all illusory—with no true existence—pride naturally dissolves when one no longer clings to illusions.
2. Relying on a Spiritual Teacher (Kalyāṇamitra)
Counteracting pride at the wisdom level is inseparable from reliance on a spiritual teacher as a key supportive condition. A spiritual teacher is a guide who possesses correct understanding and practical experience; their rich experience and insight can point out subtle manifestations of pride that practitioners have not yet noticed—especially ‘superior pride’ hidden within meditative attainments. A spiritual teacher can serve as a mirror, illuminating the blind spots of the practitioner’s mind, enabling them to awaken clearly and quickly emerge from the demon’s cave of afflictions. As the Avataṃsaka Sūtra vividly illustrates through the fifty-three teachers visited by Sudhana, the indispensable importance of relying on a spiritual teacher in the bodhisattva path is compellingly demonstrated.
3. Hearing, Reflecting, and Meditating on the Dharma
The wisdom for counteracting pride is ultimately embodied in the sequence of Buddhist practice—hearing, reflecting, and meditating on the Dharma. Through widely listening to the Buddha’s teachings and deeply studying the Tripiṭaka, correct understanding is established. With this correct understanding, one counteracts the pride rooted in wrong views (such as self-clinging). Hearing the Dharma is the source of opening wisdom; it continuously purifies the practitioner’s cognition and dispels confusion about afflictions. Then, diligently cultivating wisdom (prajñā) through reflection, contemplation, and meditation, the innate wisdom of one’s own nature is continuously revealed. When genuine prajñā wisdom manifests, one can thoroughly see through the illusory nature of pride and rest in the unborn, undying self-nature. This realization of wisdom is the path to uprooting pride at its source.
VI. Sublime Benefits of Freedom from Pride
Subduing pride and cultivating humility brings manifold benefits—not only benefiting the individual’s body and mind but also exerting a profound influence on the accomplishment of practice and the bodhisattva’s vast vows. It is the necessary path for practitioners to accumulate virtue and progress toward liberation.
(i) Physical and Mental Benefits
1. Dignifying oneself: A humble attitude springs from inner peace and insight into no-self. Once a person sets down the defensive posture and attachments of arrogance, their mind is no longer agitated; their outer speech and conduct naturally become gentle. This transformation from within brings a dignified and composed quality that makes others feel drawn and respectful, earning their trust and goodwill.[14]
2. Clear and pure learning: Pride is the greatest obstacle to hearing and learning the Dharma. When the mind is humble, a student can set aside self-pride and sincerely receive another’s guidance. This not only aids in truly understanding and practicing the Dharma but also removes the fixed impediments of ‘knowledge obstacles,’ enabling views to become ever more refined and wisdom to continually grow.[15]
3. Birth into an excellent lineage: In the Buddhist view of cause and effect, humble and respectful actions (virtuous deeds of body, speech, and mind) form the causation for accumulating good connections and receiving others’ respect and assistance. This accumulation of good fortune causes the humble person, through the rounds of rebirth, to more easily be born into honorable and prosperous circumstances—not in humble, lowly families. This is not merely material advantage but an elevation of life quality, creating favorable conditions for further practice.[16]
4. Pacification of all sense faculties: Pride is essentially a restlessly agitated affliction that drives the mental consciousness outward to compare, attach, and judge. Freedom from pride can bring the mind to a state of peace, reducing scatteredness and attachment, and allowing all the sense faculties to become calm. When consciousness returns to stillness, practitioners more easily enter into meditative concentration, and within that concentration wisdom is revealed. Freedom from pride is thus an indispensable prerequisite for concentration.[17]
(ii) Benefits for Practice
1. Growth of bodhicitta: A humble attitude can absorb all virtuous qualities, like rich fertile soil that allows all seeds of virtue to take root and sprout. When pride is removed, the mind of enlightenment (bodhicitta)—the aspiration to attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment for the benefit of all beings—can arise smoothly and continuously grow and become firm. Bodhicitta is the foundation for attaining Buddhahood, while pride is its greatest obstacle. Therefore, freedom from pride lays a firm foundation for the ultimate attainment of the enlightened state.[18]
2. Becoming worthy of receiving the true Dharma: Only with a pride-free mind can one truly receive the sweet dew of the profound true Dharma, without one’s own views obstructing the inflow of the Dharma’s meaning.[19]
3. Swift accomplishment: A person free from pride will be humble and careful in handling affairs. They will sincerely learn from others, accept suggestions, and not negligently overlook details due to self-satisfaction. This earnest attitude allows all endeavors to be swiftly accomplished.[20]
4.Non-retrogression from anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi: For bodhisattvas who have aroused bodhicitta, freedom from pride ensures firm, unwavering progress on the path to anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. Pride is one of the main causes of retrogression (as in superior pride), while humility solidifies the aspiration for enlightenment. Without the attachment of ‘I,’ one will not be disturbed by māra’s forces, thus guaranteeing that the practitioner will proceed directly to Buddhahood without ever turning back.[21]
(iii) Benefits for Bodhisattva Practice
1. The Model of Bodhisattva Never Despising (Sadāparibhūta)
In Buddhist canonical texts, the manifestation of Bodhisattva Never Despising is the finest model of freedom from pride combined with compassionate liberation. In his causal-stage practice, whenever he encountered any sentient being—monastic or lay, male or female, noble or lowly—he would bow with reverence and say: ‘I dare not despise you; you will all attain Buddhahood.’[22] This unconditional humble reverence toward all beings is the ultimate expression of ‘no-pride.’
Bodhisattva Never Despising was able to act in this way because he had already profoundly realized the truth that all sentient beings possess buddha-nature and will ultimately attain Buddhahood, thereby breaking through the fictitious clinging to self, transcending worldly distinctions of class and arrogance. This inner wisdom of ‘no-pride’ caused him to naturally express equal compassion toward beings, not reverence conditional on the other party’s situation or identity. His conduct proves that only by thoroughly breaking through pride can one truly not despise any sentient being and thus equally arouse compassion to liberate all.
2. Accomplishing the Liberation of All Beings
A bodhisattva practitioner who still harbors pride may, when propagating the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings, be unable to equally embrace certain beings due to contempt for them, or may find it difficult to accept others’ suggestions and cooperation due to excessive self-satisfaction, thus obstructing the enterprise of vast altruism. But a bodhisattva free from pride, through humility and equanimity, can enter among all sentient beings without any distinction of high or low—regardless of beings’ spiritual capacity or background—and approach, embrace, and teach each with equanimity. Such bodhisattvas can set aside self-attachment and guide beings in the manner most acceptable to them, so that all can benefit, thereby truly accomplishing their vast bodhisattva vows.[23] This is the ultimate benefit of freedom from pride expressed on the level of benefiting others.
In summary, the benefits of freedom from pride are comprehensive and far-reaching—not only the key to an individual’s physical and mental transformation, but most importantly the prerequisite for the growth of bodhicitta and becoming worthy of the true Dharma, ultimately ensuring non-retrogression on the path to anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi until the final attainment of Buddhahood. In particular, through the manifestation of Bodhisattva Never Despising, we can clearly see that thoroughly breaking through pride is the prerequisite for accomplishing the unobstructed liberation of all beings.
VII. Conclusion
This paper has explored in depth the basic concepts, roots, and multifaceted manifestations of the affliction of pride in Buddhism, as well as its serious obstacles to practice and liberation, and has systematically expounded the theoretical and practical methods for counteracting pride, along with the sublime benefits of freedom from pride.
In summary, pride is one of the fundamental obstacles to practice and liberation; its roots run deep in ignorance and self-clinging, expressed as the overestimation of self and disparagement of others through the mechanism of reliance. Its seven categories reveal its complex and varied forms, pervading the individual’s cognition and conduct like a shadow. The harms of pride extend across the individual’s body-mind as well as the path of practice. Counteracting pride requires multiple approaches, proceeding gradually. First, at the cognitive level, one must gain a profound understanding of the harms of pride and thereby arouse genuine shame—this is the inner motivation for transforming pride. Second, at the behavioral level, one should diligently cultivate humility, practice precepts, develop equanimity and altruism, and ‘train the mind in everyday situations’ to regulate the activities of body, speech, and mind. Most fundamentally, at the wisdom level, one must penetrate through deep reflective contemplation on the truths of ‘no-self’ and ‘dependent origination and emptiness of inherent existence,’ undermining pride’s foothold at the depths of consciousness, guided by a spiritual teacher, transforming ignorance at its root through correct understanding.
Freedom from pride and cultivation of humility bring comprehensive and far-reaching benefits, not only for the individual’s physical and mental transformation and elevating the level of practice, but also serving as the key for bodhisattva practitioners to accomplish their vast vows of compassionate liberation. Through the manifestation of Bodhisattva Never Despising, one can clearly see that thoroughly breaking through pride is the indispensable prerequisite for the unobstructed compassionate liberation of all beings. Freedom from pride is not merely the elimination of an affliction but the active and positive cultivation of all virtuous qualities—the necessary path to the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood.
References
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[1] Tsongkhapa (tr. Fazun), Lamrim Chenmo, Vol. 1, Supplement to the Tripiṭaka, Vol. 10, p. 631.
[2] Buddhayaśas & Zhu Fonian (trs.), Dīrgha Āgama, Vol. 6, Taishō Tripiṭaka, Vol. 01, p. 36.
[3] Xuanzang (tr.), Mahāyāna Abhidharmasamuccaya, Vol. 4, Taishō Vol. 31, p. 676.
[4] Kumārajīva (tr.), Lotus Sūtra, Vol. 1, Taishō Vol. 09, p. 8.
[5] Pramiti (tr.), Śūraṃgama Sūtra, Vol. 8, Taishō Vol. 19, p. 143.
[6] Pramiti (tr.), Śūraṃgama Sūtra, Vol. 6, Taishō Vol. 19, p. 132.
[7] Zhu Fonian (tr.), Bodhisattva Necklace Sūtra, Vol. 1, Taishō Vol. 24, p. 1012.
[8] Dharmapāla et al. (trs.), Sūtra of the Golden-Colored Youth’s Causation, Vol. 10, Taishō Vol. 14, p. 886.
[9] Bodhiruci (tr.), Great Accumulation Sūtra, Vol. 72, Taishō Vol. 11, p. 412.
[10] Pramiti (tr.), Śūraṃgama Sūtra, Vol. 8, Taishō Vol. 19, p. 143.
[11] Śikṣānanda (tr.), Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Vol. 58, Taishō Vol. 10, p. 308.
[13] Kumārajīva (tr.), Teaching Bequeathed by the Buddha at Parinirvāṇa, Vol. 1, Taishō Vol. 12, p. 1111.
[14] Tiānxīzāi (tr.), Sūtra on the Discrimination of Good and Evil Karmic Retribution, Vol. 1, Taishō Vol. 01, p. 897.
[15] Prajñā (tr.), Sūtra of the Mind Ground Contemplation, Vol. 7, Taishō Vol. 03, p. 326.
[16] Shīhù (tr.), Sūtra of Questions by the Pure-Minded Upāsaka, Vol. 1, Taishō Vol. 17, p. 589.
[17] Kumārajīva (tr.), Garland of Great Adorning Stories, Vol. 8, Taishō Vol. 04, p. 300.
[18] Dharmamitra (tr.), Sūtra on Changing the Female Body, Vol. 1, Taishō Vol. 14, p. 916-917.
[19] Buddhayaśas & Zhu Fonian (trs.), Dīrgha Āgama, Vol. 6, Taishō Vol. 01, p. 36-37.
[20] Anonymous (tr.), Tathāgata’s Secret Treasury Sūtra, Vol. 2, Taishō Vol. 17, p. 841.
[21] Śikṣānanda (tr.), Four Dharmas of the Mahāyāna Sūtra, Vol. 1, Taishō Vol. 17, p. 711.
[22] Kumārajīva (tr.), Lotus Sūtra, Vol. 6, Taishō Vol. 09, p. 50.
[23] Kumārajīva (tr.), Vimaladatta’s Questions Sūtra, Vol. 1, Taishō Vol. 15, p. 35.