Defeating An Enemy According To Zen Buddhism

Eastern philosophies view struggle in a very different way than Western ones. For many of these schools of thought, defeating an enemy does not mean beating them down, destroying them, or destroying them. For them , winning means neutralizing those who want to harm us and, if possible, becoming friends with them.

This perspective may sound very strange. Unfortunately, people usually consider beating their opponents as a triumph that should make them happy. This comes from the idea that the result is more important than the process. Personal exaltation becomes more important than growth.

The problem is that defeating an enemy through hurtful, harmful ways usually leaves room for a very temporary and relative triumph. Deep down we feed our enemy as well as the most negative part of ourselves. We may want immediate satisfaction, but at the same time we have strengthened every destructive feeling that is within us.

Do we defeat an external or internal enemy?

Enemies can be internal or external. Zen tells us that internal enemies are much more dangerous and destructive than external enemies. Some inner enemies are anger, pride, hatred, etc. All of these emotions are able to blind us and make us do things that go against ourselves.

External enemies, on the other hand, have limited power over us, unless we give them excessive importance. In fact, they begin to take over when they manage to activate our inner enemies. Under the states of anger or hatred, we lose the main tool we have: intelligence.

Therefore, Eastern philosophies teach us that it is not possible to defeat an external enemy unless we first conquer our internal enemies. If we do not do this in advance, we will be completely exposed to the influence and determination of our external enemies. We basically let them win.

The real enemy

Zen philosophy also invites us to analyze who the real enemy is. They suggest that it is not an envious, selfish or ambitious person who will harm us. In reality, we face emotions such as envy, selfishness, and ambition. All of these are negative aspects we hold within us. All these feelings and passions can live within ourselves.

Defeating an enemy means overcoming those feelings and emotions, regardless of who their supplier is and what their intentions are. For Zen Buddhists, we all contribute to creating more order and more chaos, depending on how we act.

Conflict leads to chaos, which ends up affecting us sooner or later. Every action gives a reaction, which means that hateful actions increase hatred. Zen Buddhism asks us to conquer an enemy instead of defeating them. Conflict is always unnecessary and makes us exhausted. It also brings more decadence to the world.

To defeat an enemy

According to Zen, any action intended to defeat an enemy must be designed to neutralize them. That means blocking their options for action. For example, if a person makes an offensive comment but you do not let it affect you, you have neutralized that enemy. If they want to hurt you and you decide to try to understand them instead of rejecting them, you have also won.

Now this is very difficult when we have not worked with ourselves hard enough. We must work to distance ourselves from all those passions and negative emotions. In addition, it is important for us to begin to be more compassionate and understand the limitations of those who go through life and hurt others.

As in Zen, the one who manages to avoid combat in martial arts also wins . If both parties learn and grow as a result of the confrontation, then it is a true victory. The strategy is based on making the enemy realize that they are wasting their strength and effort, that it is all useless because their hatred does not hurt anyone and only makes them waste energy.