What Is the Fastest Way to Conquer Your Afflictions?
The fastest way to conquer afflictions is to strip down self-importance completely, embrace hardship willingly, and push the ego to its breaking point in service of others. Why target this “self”? Because what we call the self is nothing more than the five skandhas (five aggregates)—and the five skandhas are demons. It is this false identity that makes a mess of our entire lives. Without curing and disciplining this self, talking about conquering afflictions is completely empty.
The practice
How is this put into practice? Sacrifice the self. It is truly that simple:
- Willingly take the loss.
- Willingly support others, elevate others, and let them take the advantage.
- Willingly serve, care for, and help others, always.
When one person asks for tea, another demands food, and another calls for the dirtiest laundry to be washed, there is no room for hesitation—only gladness in doing it. The goal is to bring them joy while thoroughly breaking down the ego. Willingly enduring the discomfort of servitude to satisfy others starves the self. Once this surrender is absolute, progress becomes incredibly fast: the demon of afflictions and the demon of the five aggregates completely dissolve. The delusive thoughts that constantly disturb the mind simply vanish.
Conversely, continuing to pamper this self, siding with it, and insisting that “this ego is who I am” means never escaping the grasp of these demons—remaining trapped in chronic suffering, because identifying with the self is the very root of that suffering.
Let us be a humble servant, serving every person like a devoted attendant, with profound gratitude and total humility. Through this, we will surely break free from suffering and attain true peace and happiness.