Summary
Buddha gets brutally honest about personal responsibility in this chapter. He starts with a simple truth: if you value yourself, you need to watch yourself carefully - at least during one part of each day, stay alert to your own thoughts and actions. The core message is that you can't give what you don't have. Before trying to fix or teach others, you need to get your own house in order first. Buddha uses the metaphor of self-mastery as finding a rare kind of leader - yourself as your own boss, which few people ever achieve. The chapter reveals an uncomfortable truth about human nature: we often become our own worst enemies. The evil we do to ourselves is like a diamond cutting through precious stone - it destroys something valuable. Buddha compares self-destructive behavior to a parasitic vine that eventually kills the tree it depends on. We bring ourselves down to exactly where our enemies would want us. The chapter highlights a frustrating reality: bad choices and self-sabotage come easily, while beneficial actions require real effort. Buddha warns against following false teachings or abandoning your own responsibilities for someone else's agenda, no matter how appealing it seems. The final lesson is perhaps the most important: you alone are responsible for your moral state. No one else can purify you or corrupt you - that power belongs entirely to you. This isn't about perfection; it's about ownership of your own life.
Coming Up in Chapter 13
After examining the inner world of self-mastery, Buddha turns his attention outward to 'The World' - exploring how to navigate external circumstances and relationships once you've established control over yourself.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 279 words)
Self 157. If a man hold himself dear, let him watch himself carefully; during one at least out of the three watches a wise man should be watchful. 158. Let each man direct himself first to what is proper, then let him teach others; thus a wise man will not suffer. 159. If a man make himself as he teaches others to be, then, being himself well subdued, he may subdue (others); one's own self is indeed difficult to subdue. 160. Self is the lord of self, who else could be the lord? With self well subdued, a man finds a lord such as few can find. 161. The evil done by oneself, self-begotten, self-bred, crushes the foolish, as a diamond breaks a precious stone. 162. He whose wickedness is very great brings himself down to that state where his enemy wishes him to be, as a creeper does with the tree which it surrounds. 163. Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do; what is beneficial and good, that is very difficult to do. 164. The foolish man who scorns the rule of the venerable (Arahat), of the elect (Ariya), of the virtuous, and follows false doctrine, he bears fruit to his own destruction, like the fruits of the Katthaka reed. 165. By oneself the evil is done, by oneself one suffers; by oneself evil is left undone, by oneself one is purified. Purity and impurity belong to oneself, no one can purify another. 166. Let no one forget his own duty for the sake of another's, however great; let a man, after he has discerned his own duty, be always attentive to his duty.
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Self-Sabotage - Why We Become Our Own Worst Enemy
The tendency to become our own worst enemy by choosing immediate ease over long-term benefit, undermining ourselves more effectively than any external force could.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to spot the moment when you become your own biggest obstacle to success.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you choose the easy wrong over the hard right, then ask yourself: 'Is this what my enemy would want me to do?'
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Arahat
In Buddhist tradition, an enlightened person who has achieved liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth. They represent the ideal of spiritual mastery and wisdom that comes from disciplined self-work.
Modern Usage:
We see this in people who've done the hard work of personal growth - the recovered addict who sponsors others, the therapist who's been through their own healing.
The Three Watches
Ancient way of dividing the day into three periods for spiritual practice and self-monitoring. Buddha suggests being mindful during at least one of these periods to maintain awareness of your thoughts and actions.
Modern Usage:
Like checking in with yourself at different times - morning reflection, lunch break mindfulness, or evening review of your day.
Self-subdued
Having mastery over your own impulses, emotions, and destructive patterns. It's not about suppression but about conscious control over your reactions and choices.
Modern Usage:
When someone can stay calm under pressure, resist impulse purchases, or choose not to react to drama - they've developed self-control.
False doctrine
Teachings or belief systems that lead you away from personal responsibility and genuine growth. Buddha warns against following ideas that excuse bad behavior or blame others for your problems.
Modern Usage:
Like self-help gurus who promise quick fixes, conspiracy theories that make you a victim, or any philosophy that says your problems are always someone else's fault.
Katthaka reed
A type of bamboo that dies after producing fruit, used as a metaphor for self-destructive behavior. Following false teachings leads to your own downfall, like this plant that destroys itself.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how addiction, toxic relationships, or get-rich-quick schemes might feel good temporarily but ultimately destroy the person pursuing them.
Ariya
The 'noble ones' in Buddhism - people who have achieved various levels of spiritual insight and live according to wisdom rather than impulse. They represent what's possible through dedicated self-work.
Modern Usage:
Like mentors, sponsors, or role models who've walked the path you're trying to walk and can guide you because they've done the work themselves.
Characters in This Chapter
The wise man
Ideal practitioner
Represents someone who has learned to watch themselves carefully and direct their own behavior before trying to influence others. Shows the discipline required for genuine self-mastery.
Modern Equivalent:
The person who's got their life together and leads by example
The foolish man
Cautionary example
Someone who scorns wisdom and follows false teachings, ultimately bringing destruction upon themselves. Represents the consequences of refusing personal responsibility.
Modern Equivalent:
The person who always blames others and never learns from their mistakes
The venerable teacher
Spiritual guide
Represents authentic wisdom and guidance that comes from genuine experience and self-mastery. Contrasted with false teachers who lead people astray.
Modern Equivalent:
The mentor who's actually walked the walk
The enemy
External opposition
Mentioned as someone who wishes you harm, but Buddha points out that through self-destructive behavior, you bring yourself down to where your enemy wants you anyway.
Modern Equivalent:
That person who wants to see you fail
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Self is the lord of self, who else could be the lord?"
Context: Teaching about personal responsibility and self-mastery
This emphasizes that true freedom comes from governing yourself rather than being controlled by impulses, other people, or external circumstances. It's about taking ownership of your life.
In Today's Words:
You're the boss of you - nobody else can or should be running your life.
"By oneself the evil is done, by oneself one suffers; by oneself evil is left undone, by oneself one is purified."
Context: Concluding the chapter on personal responsibility
This captures the complete cycle of personal accountability - we create our own problems and our own solutions. No one can save you or destroy you but yourself.
In Today's Words:
You mess up your own life, you clean up your own life - that's on you, not anyone else.
"If a man make himself as he teaches others to be, then, being himself well subdued, he may subdue others."
Context: Explaining why self-work must come before trying to help others
This reveals the hypocrisy of trying to fix others while your own life is a mess. Authentic influence comes from living what you preach, not just talking about it.
In Today's Words:
Practice what you preach - you can't help others with stuff you haven't figured out yourself.
"Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do; what is beneficial and good, that is very difficult to do."
Context: Explaining why self-discipline is challenging
This acknowledges a fundamental truth about human nature - destructive choices often feel easier in the moment than constructive ones. It validates why personal growth is hard work.
In Today's Words:
It's way easier to mess up than to do the right thing - that's just how it is.
Thematic Threads
Personal Responsibility
In This Chapter
Buddha insists you alone control your moral state - no one can purify or corrupt you without your participation
Development
Introduced here as core principle
In Your Life:
You might blame your boss, your family, or your circumstances for your problems instead of focusing on what you can actually control.
Self-Leadership
In This Chapter
Mastering yourself is presented as the rarest form of leadership - being your own boss effectively
Development
Introduced here as foundational concept
In Your Life:
You might try to manage others or fix relationships while your own habits and reactions remain chaotic.
Effort vs Ease
In This Chapter
Bad choices come naturally while beneficial actions require real work and intention
Development
Introduced here as fundamental challenge
In Your Life:
You might consistently choose the path of least resistance even when you know it leads nowhere good.
Self-Awareness
In This Chapter
Buddha demands careful self-watching during at least one part of each day
Development
Introduced here as daily practice
In Your Life:
You might go through entire days on autopilot, never examining whether your choices align with your stated values.
Inner Authority
In This Chapter
Warning against abandoning your responsibilities for someone else's agenda, no matter how appealing
Development
Introduced here as boundary principle
In Your Life:
You might constantly seek external validation or follow others' plans while neglecting your own development and judgment.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Buddha says we need to watch ourselves carefully during at least one part of each day. What specific behaviors or thoughts do you think he's warning us to notice?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Buddha compare self-destructive behavior to a parasitic vine killing the tree it depends on? What makes this metaphor so accurate for human behavior?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people becoming their own worst enemies in modern life - at work, in relationships, or with health? What patterns repeat most often?
application • medium - 4
Buddha claims that beneficial actions require effort while destructive ones come easily. How would you design your daily routine to make good choices easier and bad choices harder?
application • deep - 5
If you truly accepted that no one else can purify you or corrupt you - that this power belongs entirely to you - how would this change how you approach problems in your life?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Self-Sabotage Patterns
For the next three days, pick one specific time each day (morning coffee, lunch break, or evening routine) to honestly observe your choices. Notice when you choose the easy wrong over the hard right. Write down what you chose, why it felt appealing in the moment, and where that choice typically leads you long-term. Look for patterns in your self-defeating behaviors.
Consider:
- •Focus on actions, not just thoughts - what you actually do matters more than what you think about doing
- •Notice the gap between what you say you want and what your choices actually create
- •Pay attention to how you justify or rationalize choices that work against your own interests
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you consistently made choices that worked against your own best interests. What was the pattern? What would have happened if you had treated yourself as your own most important responsibility during that time?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 13: Seeing Through the World's Illusions
What lies ahead teaches us to recognize when society's values conflict with your well-being, and shows us detachment from material pursuits can bring unexpected freedom. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.