Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English".

           "Discipline" is a difficult word for most of us. It conjures up images 
           of somebody standing over you with a stick, telling you that you're 
           wrong. But self-discipline is different. It's the skill of seeing 
           through the hollow shouting of your own impulses and piercing their 
           secret. They have no power over you. It's all a show, a deception. Your 
           urges scream and bluster at you; they cajole; they coax; they threaten; 
           but they really carry no stick at all. You give in out of habit. You 
           give in because you never really bother to look beyond the threat. It is 
           all empty back there. There is only one way to learn this lesson, 
           though. The words on this page won't do it. But look within and watch 
           the stuff coming up --- restlessness, anxiety, impatience, 
           pain --- just watch it come up and don't get involved. Much to your 
           surprise, it will simply go away. It rises, it passes away. As simple as 
           that. There is another word for self-discipline. It is patience.




group posting:

            It's not about making a choice, but about NOT
            making a choice. 
            Sit back and observe the self who rises to
            strike. Don't interfere, 
            just watch, watch that self be hurtful and
            observe the inner 
            experience that self has... eventually, as you
            give that self more 
            room, he (or she) will merge into a more
            expansive self and 
            dissipate his anger... 




An interviewer asked Mother Teresa what she says to God when she prays. 

            "I don't say anything," she replied. "I just listen." 

            So the interviewer asked her what God says to her. 

            ''He doesn't say anything," said Mother Teresa. "He just listens." 
            
            And before the astonished interviewer could press her further, she added, 

            "And if you don't understand that, I can't explain it to you."