Full Moon – Effects of Right Restraint – 7th September 2025

It is good to restrain the eye.
It is good to restrain the ear.
It is good to restrain the nose.
It is good to restrain the tongue.

DHAMMAPADA v. 360

There is so much happening in our world about which we can easily feel angry. If we try hard to not feel angry because the Buddha taught restraint is good, it is likely that anger won’t disappear; it will hide away in unawareness and resurface at another time. The Buddha did indeed teach that restraint is good. He also taught that mindfulness is good. If our efforts to be mindful are merely a mental exercise and are not including the fire we feel in our hearts when we are enraged, we may well fail. Mindfulness practice means we aim to feel the anger without becoming lost in it. Similarly with fear. Can we feel fear without becoming lost in fear. The cultivation of restraint is not the same as repression.

(This post is also available to view at dhammakatha.org)