Holy men are often depicted as masochists. I understand this. To stand for justice, truth, compassion, peace and fairness in life is somewhat masochistic in human societies which tend toward the hedonistic, selfish, greedy and bellicose.
The Middle Way offers a less masochistic alternative. Masochism Lite, perhaps.
Practice should always be embraced as simply that, practice. You will win some days and lose some days. But, practice is always a struggle against the animal roots of the human species, which can weigh down right action and right thinking in many situations. You see, humans, all humans, have animal brain elements (by 'animal' I mean 'non-human animal') and human brain elements. The frontal lobe brain elements can override the animal brain elements. In fact, as toilet-trained and clothed animals, we have started out with this type of override training fairly early in life. Education is the fuel of the human brain. But, the reptilian and basic mammalian brain elements are still in there and functioning without our conscious control much of the time.
So, every human's practice is a struggle on a very basic level. If we could all just talk about this struggle more and acknowledge it as our most basic commonality, perhaps that would be a great beginning of getting along, despite more superficial differences. This would entail being candid and frank about a whole range of instincts, compulsions, obsessions, bodily functions and desires.
Perhaps that is the place where many of us started our practices. By understanding and accepting the less human parts of ourselves, perhaps we can approach one another with greater humility and acceptance.
I struggle in my practice every day to deal with anger, reflexive reactions, libido, defensiveness, compulsions, anxieties and other physical impediments. This is the 'white noise' of my consciousness, through which I have been trying to hear the more human me, the compassionate me, the mindful me. Sometimes it's a out-and-out wrestling match, but, with time and daily commitment to trying, it has become a more gentle struggle, if I remember to stay in the moment.
